Ch. 21 - Nogami’s Gaslighting (Part 1)

“Fufufu, curious, aren’t you? Don’t you wanna know why we brought you here?”

Sae walked up beside Harutaki, hands folded behind her back. She jabbed his waist lightly with her elbow, her voice teasing.

But she didn’t wait for an answer, continuing in a sing-song tone:

“For the sake of secrecy, you’ll need to wear this first.”

With a “ta-dah” sound effect, she swung her hidden hand forward. A strip of pitch-black cloth dangled between her fingers.

“This goes…”

She circled behind him.

“…right here…”

She rose on tiptoe, fumbling to slip the cloth over his eyes. But her clumsy knots, combined with the height difference, meant that no matter how she tried, she only managed to yank the strip tight around his neck.

“Eyes…”

Harutaki clawed at the twisted rope of fabric, fighting not to actually be strangled unconscious. Still, it squeezed hard enough to make him cough violently.

“Cough—cough—so what, you lured me in here to strangle me and hide the body?”

When he shot a look at Nogami, she had one palm pressed to her forehead, unable to watch. Meanwhile, Minako’s cheeks puffed like balloons as she tried—and failed—not to burst out laughing.

“Ughhh, forget it! I quit!”

Flushing with frustration, Sae hurled the cloth at the tallest of the three, stomped her feet, and flopped down at the table with a sulky huff.

Catching Harutaki’s puzzled stare, Minako giggled into her hand and offered an explanation:

“Sae insisted on doing it herself. I told her it was a bad idea.”

Then, tilting her head, she teased,

“But wow… I didn’t think you’d be this dense, Hoshikawa-kun~.”

She stepped into Sae’s vacated spot, gave his uniform hem a little tug.

“I figured you’d be smart enough to crouch down on your own.”

Finally realizing what they were trying to do, Harutaki bent slightly. Minako smoothly slipped the cloth into place, tying it with practiced fingers until his vision was gone.

“If it feels too tight, just tell me, okay?”

The whisper brushed against his ear, soft and warm as a wife’s farewell before her husband leaves for work. That gentle touch of breath sent an itch straight through Harutaki’s chest.

This girl was dangerous.

“All done. Come with me.”

But instead of grabbing his hand, Minako pinched the cuff of his sleeve like a shy schoolgirl, tugging him forward step by step.

Terrifying.

She knew exactly what boys wanted. She knew how to stir up fluttering hearts, how to reel expectations in and then keep the leash just taut enough. She was the type who could play with distance perfectly—raising hope, never letting it snap.

Somewhere deep down, Harutaki felt it: she was the same kind as him.

Both of them controlled their behavior with calculated distance. Both masked their real hearts behind flawless social grace. Both wore roles like actors, chasing goals with smiles that never slipped.

And from her… that same air of superiority he himself once exuded when standing over his peers.

“Hey, Sanada-san, are you good at studying?”

He asked suddenly.

Sae, still sulking at the table, lazily answered for her:

“She’s amazing. Ever since middle school, she’s always been at the very top. Hoshikawa-kun, you’ve seen the rankings, right? Minako’s name has been in the top ten since the first year!”

At Nichiya High, like most schools, grades were private, shared only with the student. But the top ten in each year were always posted on the main bulletin board for all to see, as encouragement and example.

Yes. That was it.

Outstanding grades. Gorgeous looks. A wealthy family. Broad horizons.

Exactly the type who, like he once had, stood above their peers, superiority seeping out without trying.

“What, do you want me to tutor you?” Minako’s tone was playful.

“I could, you know. If Izumi gives the okay… and if your scores improve, well, maybe a little reward wouldn’t be out of the question~.”

Heh.

Of course she knew Nogami would never agree. This was just her way of stirring the pot, riling emotions, playing at affection without committing.

“So,” Harutaki tilted his head, blindfold still snug, “why exactly did you drag me here?”

Even with his eyes covered, he wasn’t worried. With his physical edge, slipping free would be trivial. And Nogami, he knew, detested crude violence.

Sure enough, her haughty voice came from just ahead:

“Why, to share lunch with you, of course.”

“…Right. So how much chili powder did you dump in, or did you just go with laxatives?”

Yeah, right. Bullies inviting their victim to eat? What else could it be but a trap?

“Hey, she’s serious.” Sae piped up in defense.

That threw him.

Sae had always leaned closer to his side. And with her blunt, straightforward personality, she didn’t seem the type to deliberately deceive him.

“You can sit now.”

“Where’s the chair?”

He tapped the floor with his foot. Nothing there.

“No chair. Sit on the ground, idiot.”

Fine.

Cross-legged, Harutaki lowered himself onto the clean wooden floor. With the classroom regularly tidied and indoor shoes keeping it decent, he didn’t really care.

As long as Nogami didn’t cross his bottom line, he could play along. Better to bend than to trigger something worse.

The scrape of lids and chopsticks followed, fabric rustling—must be them opening bento boxes.

Wait… they were actually feeding him lunch?

But why the blindfold? Why the theatrics?

Before he could dwell on it, a chair screeched closer. A sudden voice startled him—

“Ah—”

Wood clattered. Someone had dragged a seat right up next to him.

“Open your mouth, idiot!” Nogami snapped.

Ah, there it was. That was the Nogami he knew.

But… what was their game?

Even if they slipped something into the food, at worst, they could only smear his reputation further. “Scumbag” to “sleazy playboy scumbag.” Nothing new.

Besides, judging from Nogami’s behavior all along, violence or any sort of underhanded trickery clearly wasn’t her style…

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