Act 7: Scene 4

"Those two... they actually cared more about being lazy than their attraction towards Kushida? Pitiful. They must be thinking that they wasted the whole week studying with her then. And to make things worse, they're actually thinking that Kushida might have a thing for them, as well as feeling assured that they'll pass the midterm exams without studying in advance."

Words could not express the disappointment that Kiyotaka had for the two idiots. They're definitely going to be expelled at this rate. If that happens, he wouldn't even pity them. They bring it upon themselves if they're met with expulsion.

He shifted his attention towards Kikyo next, where his eyes widened ever so slightly upon seeing the sad look on her face.

Almost immediately, after two of their classmates left the table, the beige-haired girl slumped in her seat and bore a defeated expression. Kikyo felt she failed as a tutor for her classmates. As a result, her friends quickly went to comfort her and reassure her that it wasn't her fault, which seemed to be ineffective in cheering her up.

Kiyotaka watched the girl as one single thought was made clear in his mind.

Those two... made her sad.

Yamauchi and Ike... made Kikyo sad.

They... made her sad.

['To Protect Her Smile' has been Activated!]

Kiyotaka slowly turned around and turned his attention to the idiots who were heading to the library's entrance.

If one could see the look in his eyes right now, that person wouldn't be able to give a comment about it, because he still looked as calm as ever. His face was the same as it always was but still, it felt like something was different.

Before he could even tell what was happening, Kiyotaka felt his legs moving on their own as he followed after the two boys like a man possessed.

Meanwhile, the two were completely unbothered at the moment, as they were finally glad that they were free from studying. Truth be told, they never really planned to stick around for a few days. They simply thought that by joining and being with Kushida for a while might be an effective way to get her to like them, which obviously didn't work.

"Hey Ike, you wanna drop by the cafe for a bit and grab something to drink? I'm starving!" asked Yamauchi.

Ike shook his head and stretched his limbs for a bit. Sitting for hours wasn't a good thing for a teenager like him. "You can go on ahead. I don't wanna spend the remaining points that I have. I just want to go home and rest."

"Where do you two think you're going?"

The two boys were immediately halted in their tracks by someone else's voice. That particular voice sounded cold and unforgiving for some reason, so much to the point that it sent chills down their spines. Both turned around slowly, fearing whatever was behind them, only to see that it was just one of their classmates standing there.

"A-Ayanokouji?" said Ike.

"The hell was that for? You scared the crap out of me!" Yamauchi complained. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"I should be asking you that. From what I recall, you two are supposed to be part of Kushida's study group. I remember the two of you approaching her last Monday. Where is she then?" he answered, sending them a cold stare that they couldn't notice at first.

"She's with the others, still reading whatever they're reading."

"Then why are you here while they're studying? Shouldn't you be with Kushida and the rest of your group?"

Ike shook his head and groaned. "Studying for this long just isn't my style, man. As simple as that."

"I see. Then I'll ask again," Kiyotaka took a deep breath and stared at them again. "Where do you two think you're going?"

Yamauchi immediately felt annoyed. He didn't want to argue about this when it was never their intention to study in the first place. "Tch. Why the hell do you care? It's none of your business, any—"

He was suddenly cut off from his words when Kiyotaka advanced towards them with an even colder stare than before, which was enough to keep their mouths shut.

If looks could kill, then the two would literally be six feet below the ground right now. They felt as if they were talking to the very embodiment of death itself.

"Let's have a little talk, shall we?"

Before they knew it, they were being dragged by their collars by Kiyotaka, forced to follow him lest they risk being choked to death.

The two wanted to scream for help, but couldn't do it because of their position. They tried to remove his grip from their clothes, but couldn't beat him in strength.

After dragging the two idiots to an isolated part of the library, all while being unnoticed by the students that roamed around, Kiyotaka threw them towards an empty bookshelf. Before they could even regain their breathing, he grabbed them by their collars and brought them close to his face.

"You two are going back there right now. You're going to get on your knees and apologize to Kushida. Then you're going to study like the rest of our classmates to the best that you can, without any sort of complaint. You're going to do this until our midterm exams, and you're never going to complain again. You are going to do your best for the class. Are we clear?"

Despite that, Yamauchi still tried to put on a brave face.

"Who the hell are you to tell us what to—"

He was cut off again when he brought them closer to his face, and it felt as if Ayanokouji was staring into their very souls. Fear quickly took over, especially because of the cold tone that he used afterwards.

"Are. We. Clear?"

Both Ike and Yamauchi could do nothing but whimper as a reply.

While he continued to threaten the two for their misbehavior, Kiyotaka was unable to detect the presence of someone who was watching him from a distance. This person had been watching ever since the young man cornered the two perverts and left them with no place to go.

~XoX~

Contrary to what she is on the inside, Kikyo did want to help her class if she had to be honest. Like all of her classmates, she was also caught off guard when their homeroom teacher explained why they didn't receive 100,000 points for this month and was surprised that they were at the bottom of the barrel among all of the classes. They were considered failures and nothing more.

While she was only showing a fake personality most of the time, it didn't mean that she wanted her class to fail and never get back up from the hole they've dug themselves in. As a matter of fact, it only seemed that way because Horikita Suzune was also in this school and apparently, her classmate as well. It's because of it that she was fixated on expelling her...

Anyway, since she wanted to help her class, Kikyo had no qualms about Yosuke asking her to step up as a tutor for her classmates. She had no experience in teaching other people, but it shouldn't be hard, right? It's just about relaying what she knows to her classmates and making them understand the things they don't. The whole thing might even be fun.

However, things would have been better if the two idiots in class weren't in her study group (Curse Horikita for not taking them in her group instead!). From the start, when she was approached by Yamauchi and Ike, she already knew that they were only after her and didn't have the intention of studying. Honestly, Kikyo was surprised that they lasted for the whole week before finally giving up and showing their true colors.

But still, they've ruined everything. They'll surely fail their midterm exams at this rate and get expelled afterwards. Now, while she didn't really care about them, Kikyo also knew that it might affect their class's morale if two of them were given the boot.

Therefore, as much as she didn't like it, the best course of action would be to help them study too and help them pass the upcoming tests... but now, there's no hope of that happening anymore.

"Hey, Kushida-san," said Satsuki, bringing her out of her thoughts. "You don't have to worry about those two, all right? Let them fail their exams if they want to. It'd actually be a miracle if they get expelled for failing."

Kikyo sighed. She wished she could agree just so she can be rid of them already. "But it's not supposed to be like that. We're all supposed to pass so our points can—"

"We're sorry, Kushida-chan!" spoke two familiar voices.

The remaining students at the table quickly turned their heads to whoever just spoke, and they were surprised that the two boys who had just walked out on them earlier were back. Not only that, but they were also kneeling on the ground in a dogeza position in front of Kikyo herself.

"We're sorry, Kushida-chan! We didn't mean to make you feel sad! Please forgive—"

Satsuki quickly recovered from her surprise and frowned at them. "Oi, keep it down. We're still in the library, idiots."

"Ike-kun? Yamauchi-kun? I thought you two didn't want to study anymore?" asked Kikyo, genuinely surprised to see them again after only a few minutes. After they left earlier, she was completely sure that they wouldn't return... and yet here they were.

"We're sorry about walking out on you! We promise not to do it again! Please take us back!" wailed Ike.

"Yeah! We promise that we'll study as hard as we can from now on! So please forgive us!" cried Yamauchi.

Their pleas did nothing to ease the girl's confusion. "Huh?"

"Woah, woah, slow down. What exactly made you two change your minds?" asked Maya, who was curious on what could have caused the two to come back.

"I just had a little talk with them," said a new voice, getting the girls' attention easily. And with that, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka stepped out into the open for them to see, as he stood behind the two kneeling boys.

Kikyo's eyes widened as soon as he came into view. "Ayanokouji-kun?"

"H-How did you convince them?" asked Maezono.

"The system's broken skill made me act before they could get away," the young man said in his mind. "I saw them leaving and asked why. When I learned the reason why they left your table, I convinced them that studying is for everyone's sake. Nothing more than that, really. I'm glad they weren't being stubborn about it, though."

He sent a hidden glance at the boys below him and while they were unaware of it, both Ike and Yamauchi could feel the eyes of someone with murderous intentions directed towards them.

Kikyo snapped out of her trance not long after, and she turned her attention towards Kiyotaka.

"Thank you for convincing them to come back, Ayanokouji-kun. I really appreciate it!" she spoke, flashing him the biggest smile that she has shown today.

Kiyotaka shrugged. "It was no problem."

[You gained 20 Affection Points— ERROR! ERROR! ACTION INVALID! AFFECTION POINTS NOT DISTRIBUTED!]

"What the hell..." Kiyotaka thought in confusion as he stared at the notification that just appeared before him. The moment it was gone, he quickly whispered, "Menu," making the world around him stop and lose all color. He quickly picked [Heroines' Status] from the various sub-menus that popped up and tapped on Kikyo's section.

[Kushida Kikyo: 'Thankful and Happy Friend']

[Relationship Status: A Rocky Relationship]

[Affection Points: 99/100]

[Heroine Summary: (View?)]

"It remained the same." The young man frowned in confusion as he stared at the girl's 'summary'. He was completely sure that that would have been enough to increase Kikyo's Affection Points and max out her 'route', but it seems like it wasn't. "Even that skill wasn't enough to raise 'Affection Points' with her, despite having the ability to alter reality... I suppose that confirms it. Kushida herself is preventing her Affection Points from increasing... but why?"

With this, he wondered what exactly it would take for her to stop so that her route can be maxed out, and so that he could get some answers. At this rate, he was already wondering what would happen once her Affection Points reach 100, because if the girl herself was preventing it from increasing, it must be something that's valuable and not so easily claimed.

"Her virginity, perhaps...?" Kiyotaka thought, before quickly getting rid of that thought.

Well, it did make sense, honestly. After all, this superpower that he had wasn't a regular dating simulator, but rather an eroge. It wouldn't be surprising if the reward for maxing out a heroine's route was a 'sex scene' between him and that particular heroine. That's how a lot of eroges play out and considering the fact that he had many heroines, one 'scene' wouldn't be the last...

But sadly, he won't get an answer until he raises a few more Affection Points from either Suzune, Kikyo, or Arisu. Those three were the closest to maxing out their respective routes, and it's only a matter of time before one of them does.

"I'm not hoping for anything, but the reward for this better be worth it," he muttered.