Act 18: Scene 6

Once again, I implore you to watch this. I'm sure all of you will enjoy what you see anyway.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idNXxLyo-pU

Himeno Yuki walked up to the small group of students with a mixture of both surprise and confusion present on her face. Her attention was solely directed towards Ayanokouji though, because she didn't expect the young man to be here at all... to think that they were living on the same floor this whole time.

"Pretty much," he shrugged, not even surprised at seeing this girl here. He was surprised that they would meet here out of all places, though. Oh well, at least this saves him from explaining to her that he was also a resident of the 4th floor in this dorm building. "You as well, Himeno?"

"That's a pretty big coincidence... Ichinose-san lives here too, if you don't know."

"I didn't know that at all," he replied, feigning surprise at hearing that.

It was at this moment that Kiyotaka's companions made their presence known... and not in a subtle way.

"Kiyotaka-kun, who's this girl?" Kikyo asked in the same sweet voice she used earlier, which spelled danger in all capital letters underneath the smile that she showed on the outside.

"You better answer her, Kiyotaka~" Kei flashed him a smile as well, which also hid a lot of malice underneath.

"I agree with Kushida-san and Karuizawa-san. Who is she and how do you know her?" Suzune narrowed her eyes at him, demanding an honest answer from him and nothing else.

"She's Himeno Yuki. A student of Class B and Ichinose's classmate," he explained while letting out a deep sigh. As long as he's careful about what he says, he wouldn't have to worry about anything else. "She's one of the people I approached while we're searching for the witness to Miyake's case."

Kikyo was the first to react to that information; she stepped forward and waved her arm at the girl from Class B.

"It's so nice to meet you! I'm Kushida Kikyo," she greeted before grabbing Kiyotaka's arm and hugging it close to her chest again, as if she was asserting her domain and authority to a newcomer. "I'm a close friend of Kiyotaka-kun."

"Good to meet you, I guess," Yuki shrugged, completely oblivious to Kikyo's intentions.

"Hmph," the blonde gyaru folded her arms and looked away with a huff. "Name's Karuizawa Kei. That's all you need to know."

Yuki tilted her head curiously. "The tsundere schtick is a pretty old trope by now, don't you think?"

"Horikita Suzune." Out of the three of them, only Suzune showed the proper respect and politeness to the Class B student by bowing her head slightly. "One of Ayanokouji-kun's classmates."

"Pleasure's all mine," the violet-haired girl showed the same courtesy, bowing her head slightly before turning back to Kiyotaka. "Heading to your classes too?"

"Yes."

"Wanna walk together?" she asked.

Kiyotaka nodded, but he knew that he shouldn't be the only one making that decision. He turned to his three companions to ask them for their opinions.

"Is that fine with you three?"

"It's totally normal for friends to walk with each other to school," Kikyo smiled, having a feeling that this girl might not be a threat like how her two other companions were. At least she hoped so. "I'm okay with it!"

"I have no complaints," Suzune shook her head. At this point, she just wanted to get to their classroom already.

"Fine, she can tag along..." Kei huffed and turned her head away with a pout, clearly not pleased with someone else joining but for the sake of not looking like a bad person, she relented.

At that moment, the elevator doors opened and the group all went inside. They stood in silence for a while as they waited for them to get to the ground level

But then, out of nowhere, the violet-haired girl from Class B began to speak. "Oh yeah, now that you're here, I want to tell you about something important that I found out about you. You're gonna want to hear this, Ayanokouji."

"And that would be?" he turned to her with a curious look, while the three other girls listened.

"Looks like you're not just growing popular because of the ranking list that I showed you yesterday," Yuki stated. "I noticed my classmates were talking about you again in our group chat, but for a whole different reason."

"Ayanokouji-kun, what does she mean by that? What list is she talking about?" Suzune asked the young man, but he didn't seem to hear her for now because his attention was on Himeno.

"Why were they talking about me?"

"You ladykiller," the Class B student grinned as they stepped out of the elevator and into the lobby. "Now I understand why you got included in that stupid list of ikemens, Ayanokouji."

"List of ikemens? I didn't know about that..." Kikyo thought to herself as she continued to listen to this valuable piece of information. "And Ayano— I mean, Kiyotaka-kun is a part of it?"

"Wait, I remember those rankings... I was checking it out when we first started going to this school..." Kei said in her thoughts, being reminded of when she used to be a follower of that blog site, which immediately stopped when the co-ed dorm arrangements were implemented on the same day. "I don't remember Kiyotaka being in it the last time I saw it... wait, has it really been that long?"

Realizing that she wasn't going to get an answer from Kiyotaka, Suzune turned towards Yuki herself. "What are you talking about, Himeno-san?"

Himeno turned to Horikita after that question. "Last night, our classmates were talking about Ayanokouji in our group chat. I thought it would be about those dumb rankings again, but they were talking about him being already taken by one of your classmates which meant he's not available anymore."

"I don't like where this is going..." Kiyotaka thought.

For a moment, he thought of interrupting Yuki while she's speaking and redirect the conversation to a completely new topic, but realized that would be a futile effort. His other heroines would simply ask her to ignore him and continue on.

And so, the young man wisely decided to turn his head away and pretend he wasn't listening at all.

"Not available anymore? Would you please elaborate more on this, Himeno-san?" the black-haired girl asked, in need of more information because this topic was completely alien to her.

"I'm surprised you don't know. But I guess it's also because your class is going through something big that you didn't notice the people around you were talking about it. Just like how Ayanokouji had no idea that he was part of that ikemen list for this week."

"Tell us," Kei spoke in a serious tone.

Kikyo didn't say anything, but she nodded in agreement.

"My classmates were talking about how Ayanokouji was able to get the attention of three of his female classmates," Yuki explained. "I didn't get a lot of details from them because it was already getting late when I asked them, but word is, three girls from Class D are after the same guy. It's a growing story in my class."

The serious looks on both Kushida and Karuizawa's faces disappeared in an instant, and was quickly replaced by a wave of embarrassment in the form of deep-red cheeks and a bead of sweat rolling down their faces.

The two knew that they were the ones being talked about and while they had no problems with their classmates knowing of their feelings for Ayanokouji, someone from Class B being aware of it made them feel uneasy.

"Is that all that they talked about?" asked Horikita.

"They talked about a lot of things, but I didn't get all of them, obviously. Other than the fact that three girls from Class D staked their claim on Ayanokouji, they also said that those same girls kissed him in front of everyone..."

The blush on Karuizawa and Kushida's became worse, to the point that their entire faces turned red. They had no choice but to follow Ayanokouji's example and turned their heads away to hide their expressions from everyone around.

"...and that's where I stopped listening to them, because I knew that all they'd be talking about was pure bullshit. Kissing three girls in front of everyone... I mean, I suppose I can imagine them having a thing for you since you're up pretty high in that ikemen list, but kissing is a whole different story—"

Yuki turned her attention back towards Kiyotaka, only to cut herself off when the young man quickly looked away the moment their gazes met. That was enough to tell her what she needed to know and it caused her to widen her eyes in surprise.

"No way..."

He sighed at that. So much for trying to keep a low profile. "Whatever you are thinking of, I can promise that it's not what happened."

"You player! You were asking me what it would take for me to go out on a date with you, while you were already being chased by three other girls," the girl pointed at him accusingly with a look of disbelief on her face. She honestly didn't know if she should be surprised, angry, confused, disgusted, or all four at the same time. "Are you not interested in any of them even though you kissed them?"

"In my defense, I didn't kiss any of them. They're the ones who kissed me," Kiyotaka attempted to explain his side of the story, only to get cut off when Suzune began tapping on his shoulder as a way to get his attention.

"Ayanokouji-kun, please explain what Himeno-san just said..." the girl gave him an impassive look, which was actually doing well to hide her growing agitation.

On the other hand, Kikyo and Kei snapped out of their embarrassment the moment they heard the d-word come out of Yuki's mouth. Kikyo sent him a blank look, which was a hundred times scarier than any normal glare she would give because he didn't know what was on her mind exactly!

"Kiyotaka, you better explain what she meant when she said that you asked her out on a date..." Kei bore a strained smile on her face and her eye was twitching dangerously.

Great. Just great. Now they're angry about something else entirely! How would he be able to get out of this situation now?! Is he in danger of being preyed upon by several yanderes again?!

"Even so, are you not even remotely interested in them? You know, you're pretty much at the point where a lot of guys would kill to be in the position you're in," Yuki pointed out, still oblivious to what the other three girls were feeling at the moment.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Kiyotaka chose to answer Yuki instead of dealing with his three classmates who were all about to explode at any moment...

"It's hard to explain..." he muttered, unsure of what he could tell the girl that wouldn't lead to any more complications.

All of a sudden, the beige-haired girl of Class D snapped out of her yandere expression when she realized something important. Thank whatever gods above that Kiyotaka wasn't going to be ripped apart today, phew...

"Wait, Himeno-san. Do you know who those girls are?" she asked.

Yuki shook her head. "No clue. I didn't really ask my classmates. I don't know anyone from your class except Ayanokouji, either. Wouldn't have mattered even if I knew."

"Ah... I see, hehehe..." Kikyo chuckled, while also feeling relieved. It would have been bad if Himeno knew that she was one of those girls but then again, the girl from Class B didn't bother to ask her classmates.

There's still a chance that the students of Class B might know that she's one of the girls who 'staked their claim' on Ayanokouji, and that's a scenario that she dreaded. She wasn't ready for other classes to know about her feelings towards a boy, not when she still has a goal to expel a certain someone from this school.

"Why are you even asking, Kushida-san? You're in his class, shouldn't you know who they are?"

That question caused Kikyo to freeze, realizing that she had been caught because she said something without thinking about it. Damn it, now she screwed everything up!

"Uhm... that is..."

Kiyotaka noticed the dilemma that she was in and quickly stepped in before something else happens.

"Kikyo was just trying to see if your class was fully aware of what's been happening in our class. First, it was Miyake's case and now this issue involving me and three of my own classmates. I'm starting to think my class is becoming the most interesting out of all the first-year classes because of the attention we've been getting."

"I see what you mean," Yuki shook her head in amusement, causing her to miss the sight of Kikyo and Kiyotaka sharing a nod of agreement. "Is it true, though? You really got three girls to fall for you?"

Releasing a sigh of defeat, the young man nodded at her question. There was no point in denying it at this point.

At this point, Himeno could only be amazed. "Wow. When did this start?"

"When did what start?"

"Those three girls. When did they start liking you?" she asked, feeling interested in this topic now more than ever.

Before Kiyotaka could answer her question, Suzune opened her mouth first to ask Yuki something else in return.

"You seem very fixed on this topic, Himeno-san. Is there a reason why?" asked Horikita, noticing that the girl from Class B has done nothing but ask Ayanokouji question after question up until now.

Is she trying to get information on Class D for whatever reason?

"Just curious, really. When I met Ayanokouji, I thought he was a pretty boring person but he made me eat my words with this," Yuki confessed. "You don't have to feel threatened, it's not like I'm planning to get information about the other classes from you. I don't really care about that stuff."

Suzune turned her head away to hide a frown. That response in itself was suspicious already, but perhaps she could give this girl the benefit of the doubt.

As the group of five students walked altogether, they were unaware of that they would soon be joined by a new face, one

"Himeno-san, it's so unlike you to go to school this early! I wonder what got you to be early this time..."

Hearing that voice caused all of them to stop and turn their heads to whoever just spoke.

Ichinose Honami walked up to them with a big smile on her face, both fascinated and happy to see her classmate going to school at the same time as her. That was when she noticed Himeno's three other companions, which made her widen her eyes in surprise.

"Oh, you were walking with Ayanokouji-kun and his classmates! How did you come across each other?" she asked, a look of excitement forming on her face.

"Ran into each other by coincidence," Yuki deadpanned.

Kiyotaka released a sigh of relief upon hearing that answer from Yuki. At least she didn't say anything about meeting him on the same floor, otherwise it would have led to another awkward atmosphere between them.

"I see, I see..." she nodded before turning her attention to the other Class D students except for Kiyotaka. "Hmm... let's see if I remember... Kushida-san, Karuizawa-san, and Horikita-san, right?"

The three girls nodded at that, causing the pink-haired girl's smile to widen. She felt proud of herself for managing to remember three of Kiyotaka's classmates, even though they have only crossed paths with each other a few times in the past (once for Kei, twice for Kikyo and Suzune).

"Since you're all heading to class like me, would it be okay if we all walked together?" she asked happily.

Tired of the same question at this point, the whole group simply nodded and didn't say anything else. By now, they only wanted to get to their respective classrooms and if more people wanted to walk with them, then so be it. It's not like they were some kind of secret cult or sisterhood with Ayanokouji as the central figure wherein not everyone can join...

"Thank you for having me, everyone. This is the first time I'll be walking alongside people from other classes, but I'm excited."

Kikyo chuckled as the whole group continued on their way, this time with Honami coming along with them. If someone else would see them right now, they would immediately shout about how some lucky young man managed to get himself surrounded by a group of beautiful girls as if he had a harem of his own.

They wouldn't be entirely wrong about that assumption, though.

"The same goes for us, Ichinose-san. This is the first time that we're with students from another class. I can't speak for my other classmates, but I normally walk to school with just Kiyotaka-kun and Horikita-san."

"Really? It sounds like you're pretty close to Ayanokouji-kun!"

"Well, we've been friends ever since the start of the school year. I'd say we're pretty close to each other by now!" the beige-haired girl smiled brightly, happy about the relationship that she managed to cultivate with the young man so far. Even if she had three obvious love rivals in Horikita, Karuizawa, and Matsushita, it doesn't matter. It's only a matter of time before Kiyotaka realizes that she's the only suitable option for him.

Honami turned her attention towards the black-haired girl next. "What about you, Horikita-san? Would you say that you and Ayanokouji-kun are close together?"

"Why are you asking such a thing, Ichinose-san? Don't you think that such a topic would be considered a private matter between the two individuals involved?" Suzune folded her arms and frowned slightly at the leader of Class B.

"That wasn't my intention, so I apologize if I made it seem that way. I'm only curious about what you think of Ayanokouji-kun because I find it kind of strange. Every time I see him, he's always accompanied by a girl. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen him with another boy. He's always with a girl every time we meet,"

"Ladykiller," Yuki snorted.

That got a chuckle out of Kei, realizing how true those words were. Even she couldn't recall a time that Kiyotaka actually spent time with someone who's not her, Airi, Kikyo, or Suzune. They were the people whom he was around with the most, after all. Not that she saw anything wrong with that.

"I'll agree with you there, Himeno-san."

"Same here," Kikyo giggled, as she couldn't help but find it to be a funny coincidence as well. It's actually better that he was mainly around the girls than the boys, otherwise the perverted idiots like Yamauchi and Ike might have tried to corrupt Kiyotaka and make him a part of them.

"I suppose that's true," Suzune shrugged, sharing her opinion on the matter.

Kiyotaka shook his head at them. How could they think that he mainly stuck around the girls and no one else? "For your information, I do hang out with our male classmates sometimes. Sudo and Hirata are my friends and just recently, because of this case, Miyake as well."

While everyone else shared a laugh regarding Kiyotaka's lack of interactions with those of the same gender as him, Honami took this opportunity to approach the brown-haired teen in a discreet manner, without attracting the attention of the others.

"If you don't mind, Ayanokouji-kun... would you mind indulging a question I have for you?" she asked, looking quite nervous all of a sudden. It was a stark contrast to her demeanor a while ago, causing him to look at her in confusion. "I-If it's too personal, then you don't have to answer it..."

He wondered what this was all about for a brief moment, before shrugging. Ichinose will likely tell him in just a bit. "If it's something I can answer, why not?"

"Has a girl ever confessed her feelings to you?"

...okay, that came out of nowhere.

Out of all the things that she could have asked him, he wasn't expecting a question like that from this girl. It seemed so out of character for this girl, who spent the better part of two weeks avoiding him because of what happened between them in the onsen. It was just weird that someone who got embarrassed from being around him was now asking him a question like this.

Hmm... maybe this was just an elaborate scheme to prank him? She was from Class B, after all, and Himeno was talking about how her classmates had a discussion regarding him last night. Maybe she was trying to get something from him so she could tease him for it...

As a reply, he only raised an eyebrow at her. "I don't believe I have to answer that. Himeno told us that your classmates were talking about me last night, so you should know the answer to your own question, Ichinose."

"So it really is true..."

"Why were you asking, anyway?"

"Well... I wanted to ask..." she leaned closer to him so that he would still be able to hear her voice despite the girl communicating by whispering at this point. "Did you accept one of their confessions?"

Kiyotaka frowned slightly out of confusion. It seemed like she wasn't planning to tease or prank him at all. Her question felt like a genuine one now, though he still wondered what this was all about.

"That's a different matter entirely. I don't really know what to explain it to you, Ichinose."

Even though he had no clear response to her question and chose to deflect it instead, it was enough to convey to Honami that he didn't have an answer at all. "N-Never mind then. Forget I said anything."

"As if I can do that," the young man said in his mind, taking note of how nervous the girl looked. She was clearly worried about something, but what could it be? What was she thinking about? He should try and find out for himself. The system might do something if he didn't help her out, especially if this issue made Ichinose sad. "Did someone confess to you?"

Honami snapped out of her nervousness and turned to him, before nodding a few times. "O-Oh, yeah. Kind of."

"So that's what's bothering her."

With that, Kiyotaka put on a more serious expression in response to her revelation. He didn't know why, but there was a small part of him that felt jealous upon hearing that someone confessed to Honami.

Of course, why wouldn't he feel that way?

The pink-haired girl was his heroine, which has been clear to him ever since he met her, so why would someone else confess to a girl who was his? While he wouldn't admit it outright, he was a selfish person at his core and wanted nothing more than to have victory all to himself. That also meant that whatever belonged to him, belonged to him only. Despite this though, Kiyotaka ignored this growing feeling for now.

"How are you going to handle that?" he asked.

"I don't know, but... I need your help on it," Honami turned to him with a desperate look on her face. "If you're okay with it, can you spare a little time after class, Ayanokouji-kun? I know all too well how busy you and your classmates are with the incident right now, but—"

He quickly waved off her concerns. "It's fine. I can spare a bit of time."

"R-Really?" Honami looked at him with her eyes wide in shock, as Kiyotaka gave her a nod. This caused the girl to let out a massive sigh of relief before a smile formed on her face once again. Just from being reassured that she wouldn't be alone in confronting her little problem later on, it was enough to snap her out of her uneasiness just now. "Oh, thank you, Ayanokouji-kun. I promise I'll repay you for this."

"Don't worry about paying me back. It's fine, really."

"Thank you, nonetheless."

"What are you two talking about back there?" came the voice of a certain blonde gyaru, who noticed that Kiyotaka had been talking to Honami behind their backs for a while now... literally.

The young man was quick to give her answer before things could turn south. "Ichinose was just asking me a question, Kei. Nothing more."

"Uh huh..."

Even though Kei doubted his words and believed that there was something going on between the two, the blonde girl simply decided to let it be. It was probably not important, anyway.

Kiyotaka sighed in relief that the situation was put to rest before it could get worse. From there, the journey to their classrooms finally became quiet and steered away from any possible conflict. The best part is that they were able to walk in peace without anyone else noticing or making a comment on them, as if they were invisible to the eyes.

[A Special Event Has Been Triggered!]

...the brown-haired teen wasn't even surprised at seeing that notification, so he didn't react much to it. One of his heroines had just been confessed to, and she came to him for help later today so she could face whatever's waiting for her head-on.

No matter what happens, one thing was clear, even if he wouldn't verbally acknowledge it right now.

He wasn't going to let anyone have one of his heroines, no matter who it is.