Chapter 14: Possessed by a Ghost?

Chapter 14: Possessed by a Ghost?

“...”

In the self-study room, the charming atmosphere gradually began to change once the girl’s gaze turned strange.

When Kazama Sakura belatedly realized what she had done while her head was muddled.

Her whole body was so anxious it almost started manifesting physically.

She felt as if she could not breathe.

Especially with Yatsuno Gen’s amused gaze fixed on her.

She opened her mouth, trying to explain.

“No, I... just now, actually...”

“You were possessed by a ghost right?”

Yatsuno Gen narrowed his eyes and smiled.

“I, I am going back to class first. Goodbye!”

Some things were hard to explain, such as why a perfectly fine person would suddenly fall from a building.

Or why a beautiful girl who showed no oddities in her daily life would suddenly bark like a dog in front of a boy.

But right now, Kazama Sakura felt her cheeks burning fiercely.

That sense of shame was practically blazing in her chest, about to set her on fire!

You really have gone mad, Kazama Sakura!

How could you bark like a dog!

What? Is being a dog something to be proud of?

Aaaaah!!

The girl hurried back to the classroom and directly lay on her desk, covering her face. It was not merely because she did not want her classmates to see how abnormal she was.

It was as though she could not face the world at all right now.

I want to die. Can someone erase that memory just now? This is very important!

When Yatsuno Gen walked out of the self-study room, his steps were very relaxed.

He felt no pressure at all. He also would not have any reaction to the big news about Yamazaki Jihei falling from a building that morning.

In his words, people ought to take responsibility for the things they did. As for who had the right to judge, and whether meeting violence with violence counted as justice, Yatsuno Gen would not think about such things.

He walked out of the self-study room and prepared to return to the classroom.

Passing by unfamiliar classes, he saw unfamiliar faces one after another.

Quite a few people cast attentive gazes toward Yatsuno Gen’s appearance. After all, he was a famously beautiful boy throughout the school.

If possible, Yatsuno Gen truly did not want to look so attention-grabbing, but he had been born this way and could not help it.

This damned handsomeness was depressing.

At a glance, it was clearly a face that would easily obtain success.

Sigh.

But approaching him head-on was another familiar face. As if by extreme coincidence, Yatsuno Gen belatedly realized that this was the class she was in.

Asagiri Rin stood there, elegant and dignified, looking at him with cold distance.

Her gaze still held no color at all. To Yatsuno Gen, it was a coldness that had gradually become familiar.

Although she was already vastly different from the Asagiri Rin in his true memories, to say he genuinely disliked her was still not the case.

He could actually even greet her with a smile, indicating that he did not mind those things.

However, as luck would have it.

Whenever the two of them appeared in the same place, it was always crowded.

Perhaps it was also because two people who were too distinctive, one male and one female, always easily attracted unnecessary attention, like popular celebrities walking through the streets.

“Yatsuno is really so handsome...”

“Hiss, Classmate Asagiri is the real princess, right? But when the two of them stand together, they look exactly like they are filming an idol drama.”

“By the way, does anyone still remember when Yatsuno Gen confessed to Asagiri Rin in first year and got rejected by her?”

It seemed there was nothing suitable to say anymore.

So Yatsuno Gen walked straight past her.

Asagiri Rin likewise displayed the stability of her emotions and the strength of her presence.

When she stepped toward the classroom without so much as looking at Yatsuno Gen as they brushed past each other, the whispering crowd became like crows with their mouths sewn shut, silent out of fear.

No one knew what light lay within her deep eyes, and no one knew what she was thinking at the moment they brushed past each other.

It seemed that as someone who was completely from another world compared with ordinary people, Asagiri Rin’s value of existence was to make people believe there truly were girls this perfect in the world.

Nothing else mattered.

That’s right.

Not one bit.

“You brat, where did Classmate Kazama drag you off to just now? When did the two of you develop that kind of relationship!”

When Yatsuno Gen returned to his seat, Miura Akihiko immediately began questioning him impatiently.

Yatsuno Gen shook his head.

“Don’t talk nonsense. We are just ordinary classmates. She suddenly had something to handle just now, that’s all. It is not convenient to say.”

Miura Akihiko knew very well that even if there was something between the two of them, it was none of his business. They were a natural match of handsome boy and beautiful girl, and whether he approved or opposed it meant nothing.

Still, he said in a mocking tone, “Oh my, you two already have little secrets now? Could you be in the underground dating stage?”

“If I were going to date someone, I would do it openly. What is underground dating supposed to be?”

Yatsuno Gen asked strangely.

Miura Akihiko thought about it.

“I don’t know. But in my impression, whether handsome guys or beautiful girls, they all like hiding their relationships. Maybe it is to make cheating easier, or to switch partners without any gap?”

Yatsuno Gen sighed.

“Even if you are stepping on several boats at once, you should still do it openly. That is what makes a man.”

“That’s true... wait, that is not right, is it? You brat, are you trying to become the harem king or something, you bastard!”

When school ended.

This time, Kazama Sakura did not leave school with Yatsuno Gen, because Kazama Sakura had to attend club activities.

It seemed to be something like a dessert club.

Yatsuno Gen did not understand these things very well. He did not particularly like sweets, but there was nothing bad about girls enjoying making things.

As for why Yatsuno Gen was so carefree, that was also because he had not joined any club.

There were not many clubs he was interested in, and whatever he tried to do seemed too easy, without any challenge to speak of, so he was too lazy to waste time on that sort of thing.

Although time existed precisely to be wasted.

Today, he also did not go play Japanese mahjong to earn some extra money. He had won a little too much recently and needed to quiet down for a while.

When he returned to the apartment, the first thing he saw was that this time, there was no extra paint or strange words on the door of Kiyono Mitsuki’s home next door.

It looked like a relatively peaceful day.

So Yatsuno Gen stood at the door and knocked.

From inside came the sound of a wheelchair rolling.

This feeling was rather wonderful.

It was like there was a cat inside waiting for its owner to come home. On the surface, it usually ignored you, but in reality, it had already caught the very first footstep of your return.

“Are you there?”

Yatsuno Gen asked with a smile.

From inside, a slow and somewhat cold voice came.

“Are you annoying or not? What do you want now?”

“I am just telling you that if you need to change clothes, do it as soon as possible. I will take a shower, then take you out later.”

Clang!

The sound of something colliding immediately came from inside.

Hiss. “Ow.”

Even the sound of sucking in a breath through the door was very cute, but such a simple sentence should not have produced that kind of reaction, right?

“Are you all right?”

Yatsuno Gen pretended to care, though his smile did not diminish at all.

An exasperated voice came from inside.

“Can you not settle down for one day! I am not going out. Go do whatever you are supposed to do!”

“Oh, I am just telling you. See you in half an hour.”

“Hey! Yatsuno Gen!!”

The roar gradually faded into the distance.

Yatsuno Gen hummed a song as he returned to his own rental apartment.

He changed out of his school uniform shirt and took a shower.

Although his body no longer had any sweaty odor caused by perspiration, and his life was poor and simple.

There was a saying: the truest flavour of life is plain delight.

Being diligent and clean was also a kind of ritual in life.

Half an hour meant half an hour.

Yatsuno Gen, changed into a simple black T-shirt and jeans, appeared on time at Kiyono Mitsuki’s door.

Knock, knock, knock.

There was no sound or response from inside.

So Yatsuno Gen directly took out that key and opened the door.

Because this kind of apartment was actually very small, almost as soon as he entered, he could take in the entire living room.

Yatsuno Gen very directly saw Kiyono Mitsuki, who was frantically tidying something away.

Snap.

She shut the makeup box at once and also pressed down the mirror on the table.

Then she turned back in annoyance and glared angrily at Yatsuno Gen.

“Why did you come in without saying anything again?!”

“I did say something. You did not open the door.”

Yatsuno Gen walked over.

He saw Kiyono Mitsuki, who had clearly changed clothes.

It was not that familiar white floral dress. Instead, she had changed into a pure white T-shirt as a base layer, with a thin light green jacket over it.

On her lower half was a long white gauze skirt, and on her feet were open-toed sandals.

Even on her beautiful toes, which resembled white silkworms, there was bright red nail polish.

Seeming to notice Yatsuno Gen’s gaze observing her, the girl’s cheeks unnaturally turned away.

“What are you looking at?”

“You dressed up nicely. Very suitable for going out.”

“Who dressed up? Before you came back, I was already like this. Do not flatter yourself.”

Kiyono Mitsuki said coldly.

Even though she knew her answer was not very convincing, the first principle of lying was to deceive yourself first.

“Then you really do live at home with quite a sense of ritual every day. I underestimated you.”

Listening to the boy’s serious reply, Kiyono Mitsuki felt her face about to turn burning hot.

“If there is nothing else, please go back. I want to rest.”

She said.

Yatsuno Gen nodded.

“If I really turned around and left right now, wouldn’t you explode?”

“...Impossible.”

“Although Sister Kiyono is also very cute when she is stubborn, if you keep being stubborn all the time, you will even drive away the air around you.”

Yatsuno Gen reminded her kindly.

The girl lowered her head slightly, her fingers tangling together on her legs.

The words she spoke were clearly much quieter.

“Then leave... it is not like I am begging you to stay by my side...”

Yatsuno Gen simply pretended not to hear.

He directly began pushing her wheelchair toward the door.

“All right. Enough of this useless talk. Let’s set off.”

This time, Kiyono Mitsuki did not struggle excessively. She bit her lip slightly and asked, feigning coldness, “Where are we going?”

“I am taking you to play football.”

Kiyono Mitsuki:???

Seeing the girl’s eyes instantly resemble those of an enraged tigress, Yatsuno Gen could not help laughing out loud.

“At this hour, of course we are going to eat. After you recover, I will consider taking you to play football.”

“...Bad-hearted.”

“Hm?”

“Hmph, nothing. It is just that I am very picky. I do not eat just anything.”

The girl turned her head away. When she was about to be pushed out the door and saw the colour of the sunset outside.

Clear timidity and hesitation appeared on her face.

This door.

She no longer remembered how long it had been since she had gone through it.

But the boy pushing her from behind merely stroked her head.

“It’s fine. If you do not like the food, you can just watch me eat when the time comes. Needing someone to beg you just to eat, you really have been spoiled.”

“Then why are you taking me! Let go, I am not going!”

“Because Sister Kiyono is a feast for the eyes. Looking at you while eating gives me a good appetite.”

The girl lowered her head again.

She did not want him to see the sudden blush on her face.

Too bad-hearted.

He really was too bad!