Next Target, 400PS!
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Hayato Hayama thought he was back to normal. Still, his heart would skip a beat whenever he looked at Kakeru Tobe and the others. Why was that?
"Ahem... I only said the Cursed Spirit attached to you was exorcised," Kai cleared his throat, maintaining a straight face under their intense stares. "However, the Cursed Technique has already taken effect. That has nothing to do with whether the spirit is dead or not."
Some techniques worked that way. Even if the caster was gone, the effects could last forever. The curse on Hayama and his friends was one of those.
"I see!" Hayama fell silent.
The four boys exchanged knowing smiles.
"I guess... It's not that big of a deal," Tobe finally broke the silence.
After all, what was done was done. Sticking with this path didn't seem so bad now.
"Maybe it's just destiny!" Yamato and Ooka nodded in dizzy agreement.
What else could Hayama say? He remembered his old crush on Haruno Yukinoshita and felt a brief wave of sadness. Maybe they just weren't meant to be. Now, that feeling was just a memory. The spark he once felt for her was long gone.
"Hey!" Shizuka leaned in close, whispering into Kai's ear while the boys were distracted. "Could you really not fix it?"
Kai's straight-faced reaction made her think he might be lying.
Kai shrugged and whispered back, "They're already like this. Better to keep it among themselves than risk them causing trouble for anyone else."
"..."
Good point!
Thinking that way felt a little wrong, but the damage was done. What else could they do? If they hadn't gone to meet that fake online girlfriend, none of this would have happened. Maybe it really was destiny.
"Ahem, since there's nothing else, we'll be heading out!" Shizuka said to the room. "The Cursed Spirit is gone, so you don't have to worry anymore. Don't worry, Kai and I won't say a word about this at school!"
'At school?'
Kai noticed the obvious loophole right away. He gave Shizuka a suspicious look, but when he saw her calm expression, he decided not to say anything and stood quietly.
"Thank you for everything, Hiratsuka-sensei. And thanks for your help, Kai." Hayama flashed Kai a sunny smile.
"Yeah, don't mention it. But do me a favor—don't smile at me like that anymore," Kai deadpanned.
"Uh..." Hayama froze, looking incredibly awkward.
Shizuka quickly smacked Kai's arm. "Stop spouting nonsense!"
Even if it was right, you don't just say it to their faces.
"Ahem, you boys keep playing. We're leaving!"
Shizuka put her arm around Kai's shoulder, announced they were leaving, and pulled him out the door.
"..." Hayama and the others stared at each other.
'Keep playing?'
Was she trying to hint at something?
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"HAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAHAHAHA!"
Kai sat in the passenger seat of the sports car, his face blank. Shizuka was behind the wheel, laughing so hard she slapped the dashboard while holding her phone to her ear.
"Machida, you have no idea! The scene was gold. If you saw it, you'd be dying right now!"
"No way!" Sonoko Machida gasped on the other end. She hadn't expected to hear such juicy gossip while she was working.
"Of course it's true! Would I joke about something like this? Let me tell you..."
Shizuka told the whole story, adding lots of drama. Machida was left speechless. Shizuka only started to calm down after she hung up.
"Is this what you meant by absolutely not breathing a word of it?" Kai asked.
"I said I wouldn't tell anyone at school, right?"
Machida didn't work at Sobu High, so Shizuka thought her logic was perfect.
"..."
The audacity to exploit a loophole like that...
"Hehe!" Shizuka didn't feel guilty at all. "Relax. Machida isn't a gossip, so she won't tell anyone. Besides, it's hard to keep a juicy secret to yourself. Only telling Machida is already a big effort for me!"
Seeing how smug she was, Kai commented, "I think you still have way too much energy to burn."
"Hmm?" Shizuka blinked in confusion.
A moment later, Kai grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled her close. Shizuka knew what he wanted right away. She gave him a half-hearted glare, then lowered her head without protest.
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"Mother!"
That night, at the Yukinoshita family dinner table. After a moment of hesitation, Yukino Yukinoshita looked up at Fumino seated at the head of the table. Mr. Yukinoshita, the supposed man of the house, was relegated to a side seat.
"..." Fumino didn't answer immediately. She set down her chopsticks and met her daughter's gaze.
Sensing the tension, Mr. Yukinoshita quickly spoke up, hoping to lighten the mood. "It sounds like Yukino wants to invite a friend. That's fine. It's just a family dinner, so having a guest is no problem."
Neither Yukino nor Fumino paid him any attention. They just kept staring at each other.
Haruno cut right to the chase. "Dad, you should probably stay out of this. Mother is the one who makes the final call anyway."
Haruno still felt a lot of resentment toward her father. When she asked him for help as a child, he never really did anything. He just tried to keep the peace without solving anything. Eventually, both she and Yukino stopped caring about what he thought.
"I-Is that so!" Mr. Yukinoshita gave an awkward laugh. When he saw no one was paying attention, he quietly lowered his head.
"Oh my!" Having shut her father down, Haruno turned to Yukino with a teasing smile. "Don't tell me you want to invite Kai-kun!"
"Hmm?" Hearing Kai's name come out of her sister's mouth made Yukino frown. "Kai?"
"..." Fumino gave Haruno a questioning look.
"Oh, remember our company's recent construction crisis, Mother?" Haruno explained. "Kai-kun is the one who solved it."
"Is that right?" Fumino perked up. She hadn't met the man responsible yet.
He had done them a massive favor. Construction had resumed smoothly, all the previous accidents ceased, and the crushing weight on her chest was finally gone. It was the only reason they could afford to relax right now.
"If it's him, then by all means, invite him over!" Fumino respected competent people. This perfectly aligned with her strategy of building powerful connections for the Yukinoshita family.
"Kai solved the company's problem?" Yukino asked abruptly.
She knew her family had been in trouble lately. But Yukino also knew that if her mother and sister couldn't fix it, she would only get in the way if she tried to help. That made her feel frustrated and powerless. She never thought Kai would be the one to solve it.
"Oh?" Haruno looked surprised by the question. "He didn't tell you?"
Since Kai was known for being a shameless flirt, Haruno thought he would use this big favor to win points with Yukino. But he hadn't said anything. Did that mean she was the one trying to earn points for him now?
"..." Yukino kept her head down and didn't speak.
But Yukino's expression softened. She realized he had been helping her family behind the scenes and hadn't told anyone.
That quiet support made her heart skip a beat...
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