Amikura Mako's reasoning was simple.
She hadn't just discovered the truth from their recent date but had also calmly reflected on when the two had secretly started dating.
This semester?
Impossible.
The semester had begun with the sports festival, and she had often seen Ichinose Honami leading everyone in practice.
There was no way she'd have had the energy for a relationship.
No matter what, there must have been some initial trigger for their romance, right?
Amikura Mako suspected it was during summer break.
Ichinose Honami had acted strangely then, especially in the way she looked at her—hesitant, as if holding something back.
Looking back now, perhaps they were already dating at that time, and she just didn't know how to bring it up.
But the trigger must have been even earlier, since summer break was too short.
Not only that, Amikura Mako was also pondering another question.
Why hadn't the two publicly announced their relationship?
There must be a reason they couldn't say it out loud.
What kind of normal relationship would be kept a secret?
It was obvious—their relationship was definitely problematic.
Combined with what Amikura Mako had accidentally witnessed and Kaoru's candid admission of his thoughts, she was now certain.
Kaoru had most likely deceived Ichinose Honami's feelings.
Or perhaps Ichinose Honami was just too naive.
Just now, it was merely a test, and Kaoru admitted without hesitation that his girlfriend was Ichinose Honami, showing no particularly strong reaction—as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Mako felt somewhat disillusioned with Kaoru and decided to probe further into his true nature.
"Are you running a fever?" Kaoru asked irritably.
He had initially entertained thoughts about Mako, but just as he was about to let her go, she had approached him on her own—which changed the situation entirely.
"Not at all. I'm serious," Mako said, her brows tightly furrowed.
"You know you have a girlfriend, yet you still go around provoking other girls. Isn't that just being a playboy?"
Her words made sense, leaving Kaoru momentarily speechless.
"Besides, you just admitted that you're only with Honami-chan because of your desires. If that's the case, I can satisfy your needs now. Can't you just break up with Honami-chan afterward?"
"Weren't we just talking about the rumors earlier?"
"It was just a rumor. What's more important now is the issue with Mitoma-kun. I can't let a pervert like you get close to Honami-chan." Mako pressed her lips together.
"If I hadn't seen you with Kiryūin-senpai, would you have planned to hide it from Honami-chan forever?"
"I'm a pervert, and perverts don't break up with their girlfriends," Kaoru admitted bluntly.
"If it were you, would you let go of a sweet, soft girlfriend like that?"
"So… have you done anything bad with Honami-chan?" Mako stared straight at him, her eyes tinged with sorrow.
Kaoru averted his gaze and murmured, "I'll help with the rumors, but right now, Honami needs you guys the most."
"What will it take for you to let Honami-chan go?" A flicker of pain flashed in Mako eyes.
"She's already under attack. If she finds out about your affairs on top of that… it would be too much for her."
It wasn't just concern for Ichinose Honami's feelings—her own emotions were tangled up in this too.
From learning that the two might be dating, to suspecting Kaoru, her mood had been fluctuating wildly.
Even she didn't know what she was thinking anymore.
Instinctively, she resisted the reality that the two were already together, even wanting to deny Kaoru's existence under the pretense of unreliability.
"Amikura-san," Kaoru suddenly closed the distance between them, sitting right beside her.
"You want me to break up with Honami for her sake, right?"
Mako Amikura nodded instinctively, then froze as Kaoru's hand landed on her thigh, gently stroking it.
"You think I'm a playboy and a pervert, toying with Honami's feelings. I'll reserve my opinion on that," Kaoru said, his fingers tracing over her thigh.
The white thigh-high stockings only reached just above her knees, leaving the soft, smooth skin of her thighs exposed, glowing faintly under the light—the texture was exquisite.
"What I'm more curious about is why you'd make such an offer—sacrificing yourself to get me to break up with Honami. Forget whether I'd even agree. What were you thinking when you proposed this?"
Mako's expression stiffened.
His touch felt like it carried an inexplicable magic, sending tingling currents through every place his fingers brushed, making her entire body tremble uncontrollably.
"I... I am... You just want to do weird things to girls, don't you?"
Her retort was weak, her eyes flickering with uncertainty.
"Exactly. I want to do weird things to Honami, and I want to do weird things to you too," Kaoru admitted outright.
"You already know I'm a pervert, so why let me take advantage of you?"
Mako snapped back to her senses and quickly slapped his hand away, putting some distance between them.
Yet Kaoru merely smiled, his presence overpowering as he closed the gap inch by inch, leaving her no room to retreat.
"It's too late to realize that now. A man and a woman alone—do you really think I won't do anything? Especially when you were the one who invited me to misbehave earlier."
Mako tried to stand, but he grabbed her arm in an instant, sending her tumbling onto the floor.
Before she could react, his eyes were right in front of hers, their lips barely a dozen centimeters apart.
His breath was so warm she could feel it.
"Just as you see me as a pervert, I can't help but wonder if you're deliberately tempting me," Kaoru murmured, his hand sliding up the girl's thigh.
The soft, smooth flesh felt different from the texture of her stockings, his fingers tracing from her knee toward the hem of her skirt.
The warmth of her inner thigh grew more intense, the slickness of her skin feeding his greed.
"I didn't!" Mako's face burned red, her eyes blazing with fury as she clamped her legs tightly around his wandering hand.
Kaoru studied her expression calmly.
"Open your legs."
The words struck her like a physical blow.
Her lips parted slightly, her gaze locked onto his face in anguish before she looked away, biting her lower lip as if to stifle any sound.
She squeezed her eyes shut, surrendering, though a single tear escaped.
In that instant, Kaoru felt her legs stiffly part, submitting to him in humiliating vulnerability.
Mako kept her eyes closed, waiting... but nothing further happened.
Instead, she heard a soft click.
After a moment of confusion, she snapped her eyes open—only to see Kaoru holding his phone with a faint smirk on his lips.
"Didn't expect your expression to be this cute too."
Mako froze.
He was just... taking a picture?
"Though I did want to do something bad to you, the price isn't one I'm willing to pay," Kaoru said, sitting back beside her as he fiddled with his phone.
"Also, I think you might've misunderstood. Beyond desire, I do have other feelings for Honami."
Mako regained some clarity, her voice icy.
"You expect me to believe a pervert's words?"
"If you don't, I'll have no choice but to assault you right here," Kaoru replied, his tone even colder than hers.
Mako fell silent, frustration gnawing at her. Maybe she'd misjudged him.
"You... don't seem like the Mitoma-kun I knew."
"No. I was planning to make a move on you—until Honami stopped me."
"Make a move on... me?"
"You didn't actually think I was a good person, did you?"
Mako was stunned.
Now that she thought about it, Kaoru had never really hidden the lewdness in his gaze from the start.
Strangely, he rarely approached her after that.
"No, no, no... This is just too weird, isn't it?" Mako found it hard to comprehend.
"Are you saying Honami-chan knows you're a playboy?"
"She even wanted to change me," Kaoru murmured.
Mako believed it.
Such words truly carried the naive optimism characteristic of Ichinose Honami.
But then, had he initially intended to target her from the start?
No wonder he suddenly got close to her and even knew how to subtly comfort her.
For a moment, Amikura Mako's emotions were complicated.
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