Chapter 17 – Kushida's great adventure

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"Damn it... Damn it! How can there be such a terrible person?!" Kushida watched Yukio's receding figure, cursing under her breath with clenched teeth.

If curses could kill, Yukio would have died hundreds of times under Kushida's fervent 'blessings.'

After Yukio's warning not to threaten or provoke, Kushida unbelievably heard a "ripping" sound. In less than half a minute, Yukio had forcefully torn Kushida's clothes into shreds, leaving her with the malicious words, "You can walk back like this," before leaving nonchalantly, fueling Kushida's desire to bite through his artery and drink his blood.

As Kushida cursed, she shivered in the cool early May air of Japan. Instinctively, she wrapped her arms around herself to preserve warmth. The mischievous night breeze, showing no mercy, even caused Kushida to sneeze.

Damn it! How was she supposed to go back like this?

On her way back to the dorm, she might encounter other students. Being seen in such a state would be unbearable for Kushida, who cared greatly about her external image. It might even be better to jump into the lake!

Worse still, because of special educational policies, there were cameras everywhere! This made Kushida want to curse at the school's higher-ups.

Being spotted by other students or captured by surveillance cameras was absolutely unacceptable for Kushida.

In the quiet lakeside area, the tranquility made her heartbeats, accelerating with panic, echo loudly in her ears. What should she do?

In her panic, Kushida took out her phone, contemplating whether to ask a female classmate for help to bring a skirt to the lakeside. Yet, as she looked at the dense list of contacts, she hesitated to make a call. She could easily ask any of her many friends for help. They all liked her and would certainly come to her aid.

Such a simple task, yet Kushida found herself unable to do it.

Attempting several times, her trembling fingers withdrew every time they nearly touched a friend's contact. She couldn't bear the thought of her friends discovering her plight.

"How can I let others discover my dark secrets! It's bad enough with Yukio, but if there's another, I absolutely cannot tolerate it!"

This was the real reason why Kushida hesitated to seek help. As a person who wielded others' dark secrets as a weapon, she inherently couldn't trust her 'friends' and dared not let them see her in this predicament.

Knowing the trouble that comes with exposing dark secrets, Kushida was well aware of the unreliability of 'friends.' Secrets meant to be kept between 'friends' often ended up being leaked.

If the person she asked for help quietly spread the word, wouldn't she be in a worse situation?

Thus, after much hesitation, Kushida put down her phone and decided to imitate a classmate from Class D.

There was a gal-style girl in Class D who often tied her school jacket around her waist. Kushida had previously thought this was just for show, but now realized its practicality.

When she tried to tie her jacket around her waist, Kushida embarrassingly found that it only covered her back. The sleeves tied in front were awkwardly insufficient.

"No choice!" Kushida couldn't stay outside any longer. The longer she stayed, the more frightened she felt. She finally mustered the courage to head back, carefully arranging the jacket to cover her front. Being seen like this was absolutely unacceptable.

"It's all Yukio's fault!" Kushida continued to harbor resentment, wishing she could find him immediately and exact a gruesome revenge.

"Hey, Kikyo-chan~" Just as Kushida was muttering to herself, a girl approached her, calling out her name affectionately.

Kushida instantly bent down to hide her appearance, desperate not to let the girl see her in such a state.

"Kikyo-chan, what's wrong with you?" The approaching girl was alarmed by Kushida's distress and hurried over to check on her.

Kushida recognized her as Amikura, a friend from Class B, a class known for its good people. Frightened at the thought of being approached, Kushida hastily warned, "Don't, don't come closer!"

Amikura was confused, "Ah? What happened? Kikyo-chan?"

"I, I, I…" Kushida was completely flustered, her mind racing for a plausible excuse. Finally, she blurted out, "I have a stomachache, but, but it's okay, just need to walk it off, walk it off!"

Amikura bought the excuse, which seemed consistent with Kushida's hunched posture. Assuming Kushida was too embarrassed, Amikura tactfully left, allowing Kushida to breathe a sigh of relief.

Once assured of Amikura's departure, Kushida cautiously continued on her way. The cold sweat from the sudden encounter had completely soaked her shirt, chilling her to the bone under the night breeze.

Fortunately, it was late, and other than the encounter with Amikura, Kushida didn't meet any other students on her way back, much to her relief.

In the elevator's surveillance, Kushida still feigned a stomachache, bending over until the doors opened. Hyper-alert, she rushed back to her dorm room as soon as she saw the empty hallway, like a rabbit frantically escaping.

With a loud "bang!" she closed the door.

"Huff… huff!" Leaning against the door, Kushida collapsed to the floor, exhausted and still in shock.

Perhaps due to the adrenaline rush or the sprint at the end, Kushida's face was abnormally flushed. 

"Huff... I'm back, I'm back!" After catching her breath, she laughed manically, relieved and triumphant: "I made it back! Haha, I made it back safely!"

"Yukio, you wouldn't have guessed, would you? Hahaha!"

Recalling the encounter with Amikura and the effort to hide her front from surveillance cameras, she shuddered at the close calls.

Whether it was being discovered by Amikura or caught on camera, either scenario was unbearable for her.

But she had made it back without anyone noticing, which filled her with joy and a sense of achievement.

Walking the tightrope, where a single misstep could lead to an abyss, was a thrill she would never forget. The post-adrenaline euphoria was overwhelming, and she found herself unwilling to move, caught in a mix of flushed excitement and ongoing laughter.

Being a receptacle for others' negative emotions often weighed on her, which was why she needed to vent her frustrations on the lake's railing at night.

But now, strangely, she felt content.

"Wait, why am I so happy? This isn't right! I need to find a way to settle the score with Yukio!"

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