Chapter 44: Shirogane Miyuki Wants to Be Loved
On Thursday morning, a light drizzle began to fall.
Sakurai Saki's vision had finally returned to normal. The ghosts that had once obstructed his sight were gone, and with nothing impeding his view, his mood was quite good. In fact, his love for rainy days—something he had always enjoyed—only deepened.
Rainy days were wonderful. You could sit alone in an empty room and listen to the sound of the rain falling, the patter of raindrops hitting the ground creating a crisp, soothing rhythm that brought a sense of peace and serenity.
⋆｡°·☁︎◝(ᵔᗜᵔ)◜⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆
That white-haired JK ghost girl was probably still lingering nearby, but since Sakurai couldn't see her, he didn't bother worrying about it.
He opened his umbrella. The scene before him appeared slightly blurry.
By the school gate, trees along the roadside continued to drip water.
It was a rainy day, after all. Even the strictest members of the disciplinary committee would probably be a little lazy today, right? That's what Sakurai Saki figured.
Who would willingly stand at the school gate in a raincoat for an entire hour just to catch students violating the rules?
Well, surprise! Someone would! That someone was Iino Miko—a junior known for her seriousness, sense of responsibility, and overwhelming cuteness.
"Cuteness" referred to her appearance—small and adorable, the kind that instinctively triggered a desire to protect. "Serious and responsible" described her personality. On top of that, she was incredibly easy to tease—no, super easy to tease was more accurate!
Miko: ( ｡ •̀ ⤙ •́ ｡ )
Teasing her was fun—almost as fun as teasing Fujiwara Chika!
For Sakurai Saki, teasing others came with its own ranking system.
Fujiwara Chika always gave him unexpected and wildly entertaining reactions, so she'd long since earned the title of "Rank A."
Chika: ૮₍´｡ᵔ ꈊ ᵔ｡`₎ა
Miko-chan was a new discovery that fascinated him. If possible, Sakurai Saki even wanted to pull her into the student council, so he could tease her whenever he got bored. Of course, she'd be Rank A too!
And the others below Rank A?
Rank B: Hayasaka Ai. (`−ㅿ−´)
Ai-chan's expressions were hard to read. Most of the time, she didn't give any surprising reactions. A bit boring, but still, she was gorgeous. Just standing there doing nothing, she was already a dazzling sight to behold.
Rank C: Shinomiya Kaguya. (✿◠ᴗ◠)
Shinomiya Kaguya was like a ticking time bomb. With her setup of "sharp tongue + icy demeanor," Sakurai Saki couldn't think of any way to tease her aside from verbal sparring.
Moreover, lately her mind seemed… so unpredictable it was indescribable. Her thoughts were completely unfathomable.
One moment she'd be asking him about his feelings for Secretary Fujiwara, and the next she'd be wondering how to make all the boys who wrote her love letters die young.
That woman… seriously scary. No wonder she was called Ice Kaguya-hime!
"Sakurai-senpai! Your collar is a bit messy," Iino Miko said, seeing him approaching with his umbrella.
Hearing that, Sakurai Saki adjusted his collar slightly and prepared to head into the school.
Miko-chan: (｡· v ·｡) ?
Miko's face was full of question marks. Was Sakurai-senpai really not going to say anything to her today?
There's a saying: "Only when it's gone do we realize its value." Right now, Iino Miko felt a strange sense of emptiness.
"Uh… Senpai!" Miko called out to him.
Sakurai Saki turned his head, curiously looking at the girl.
( ╹ -╹)?
It was almost time for class to start. Today, instead of riding his bike, he had taken the crowded train, so he was already running a little behind.
"This is for you. Also, those candies are really good." Iino Miko stepped forward, and to Sakurai Saki's bewildered expression, she handed him three pieces of chocolate.
After giving him the chocolates, she quickly returned to her post at the school gate.
'All settled. We're even now!'
Here's how Iino Miko rationalized it:
If it's bribery, you have to return the gift. But if it's just an exchange of presents, then it doesn't count as bribery! Besides, Miko didn't feel like she had abused any authority to help Sakurai in the first place, so there was absolutely no issue.
Sakurai: ∘ ∘ ∘ (っ º - º ς) ?
Now it was Sakurai Saki's turn to be filled with question marks. He had no idea what kind of logic this girl was operating on, but he still stuffed the chocolates into his pocket.
...
...
Afternoon, in the student council room.
Sakurai Saki sat holding the chocolates in his hand, lost in thought.
"Hey, Shirogane, if a junior suddenly gives you chocolate, what do you think it means?"
"Cough! Cough!!"
Shirogane Miyuki, mid-bite, choked and coughed violently, then shot Sakurai a weird look.
You're asking me that? I haven't even gotten a single gift from a junior in my entire life!
( ｡ •̀ ᴖ •́ ｡)
When it came to romance, Shirogane was a complete amateur—he hadn't even held hands with a girl before. And on that note, there was a whole hierarchical system for such things:
Gold Rank: Holding hands with a girl
Platinum Rank: Hugging a girl
Diamond Rank: Going on a date
King Rank: Kissing a girl
God Rank: Going to a hotel with a girl
"Didn't you just become the boyfriend of every girl in school yesterday? A junior giving you chocolate is nothing strange," Shirogane Miyuki joked, his tone full of jealousy and resentment.
(¬`‸´¬)
But Sakurai Saki still looked puzzled. "But… it's chocolate, meow~!"
(•˕ •マ.?
"So what? What's the big deal about chocolate?" Shirogane felt like Sakurai was making things unnecessarily complicated.
Also, what the hell was with that weird tone just now? Did he really just 'meow'?
"Haah…" Shirogane Miyuki sighed. "Sakurai, I have a friend… and lately, he's been wanting to become more well-liked. He wants to ask you how to do that."
Sakurai Saki: (╭ರ_•́)
That "friend" of yours… isn't it you?
And this guy wants to be popular? What, is the sun rising from the west now?
Seeing that Sakurai stayed quiet, Shirogane Miyuki continued:
"My friend has another friend who's always popular with girls, so now he wants to boost his own popularity too."
That friend of your friend… isn't that me?
(ᵕ—ᴗ—)
Sakurai Saki thought for a bit, then said, "Shirogane, if you want to be popular, then—"
"It's not me! It's my friend!" Shirogane cut in quickly.
Alright, alright, for our brotherhood's sake, I'll give you some face. Let's just call him "your friend."
"I think, the key to being popular is… to be handsome, meow~." Sakurai said bluntly.
ദ്ദി（• ˕ •マ.ᐟ
Girls are visual creatures—and honestly, so are boys. Even though people always say, "I care more about personality than appearance... bla...bla...,"
Lies! Absolute lies!
Only an idiot would believe that!
If you can choose someone hot, what kind of fool would purposely choose someone who isn't?
"Handsome, huh?"
"Exactly. Just being handsome is enough—even if your personality sucks, someone out there will still like you, meow~."
Take, for example—Hayasaka Ai.
She had a ton of admirers. It wasn't obvious on the surface, but the number of love letters she received each month was just as many as, if not more than, Shinomiya Kaguya's. Hayasaka had that outgoing, sexy gyaru image, while Shinomiya gave off the unapproachable noble princess vibe that kept most people at a distance.
And just as Sakurai thought of Shinomiya Kaguya—she showed up.
He heard the door open.
A moment later, a "stranger" walked in—
Calling her a stranger was…
Because right now, her face wore a forced smile, and her movements were incredibly stiff.
If Shinomiya Kaguya had always been nicknamed "Ice Kaguya," then right now, she looked more like "Zombie Kaguya".
{¬ºཀ°}¬
That walk of hers was so odd, it actually amused Sakurai Saki.
"Good afternoon, Shinomiya-san~"
(•̀ᴗ•́ )و
He even took the initiative to greet her out of sheer curiosity.
Shinomiya Kaguya casually sat right down next to Sakurai Saki.
'Heh, so it wasn't as hard as I thought, huh~'
Baka maid Hayasaka, acting like it was some impossible task!
Today, she—Shinomiya Kaguya, the Great Young Lady of Shinomiya Family—was going to make Sakurai Saki fall for her in just one day!
He would kneel at her skirt by the end of it!
Shinomiya Kaguya was bursting with confidence!
ᕙ( • ̀ω•́ )✧