Chapter 57: Base

Hinamori took advantage of the lecture time to go to the student council office, but she did not find the president there. She figured that at this hour, he must have gone off to practice again.

A sudden wave of anger welled up inside her.

Because of him, both she and Rukia had ended up in this state, yet he was acting as if nothing had happened at all.

However, this thought lasted only for a fleeting moment.

No matter how she looked at it, this matter could not be blamed on the president; if anyone was to be blamed, it could only be herself for failing to handle it properly.

Yesterday, after Rukia had said those things to her, she had clearly expressed her wish to remain friends with her. Yet, it was she herself who had acted out of stubbornness...

Rukia was so magnanimous; knowing that both she and Rukia had feelings for the same person, she could still treat her this way.

A deep sense of regret gripped Hinamori's heart. She should have talked things through properly with Rukia.

She truly did not want to lose this friend.

Hinamori sat in Shin's seat, suddenly feeling a warm sensation on her face. Reaching up to touch it, she discovered to her astonishment that she was crying.

At that moment, the office door suddenly swung open again.

Thinking that the president had returned, Hinamori hurriedly wiped away her tears and stood up.

However, the person who walked in was not the president, but Kaniezawa.

Seeing Hinamori sitting in Shin's seat, Kaniezawa frowned slightly. "Why are you here?"

"I... I came to look for the president."

Kaniezawa noticed the tear stains on Hinamori's face, but she paid them no mind and instead asked, "Class is in session right now."

"Aren't you here as well?"

"I asked the teacher for leave in advance." Kaniezawa was holding a stack of documents in her hand. "What about you? Did you ask your instructor for leave too?"

"I did." Hinamori's voice involuntarily dropped a few octaves.

Kaniezawa was naturally a stickler for rules and served as the head of the Public Morals Committee. Seeing this, she instantly realized that Hinamori had skipped class.

With a blank expression, she said, "Skipping class without authorization—I will be reporting this to your head teacher."

Already feeling vexed, Hinamori instantly flared up at those words. "I am a member of the student council, out here handling some student council business. There's nothing wrong with that!"

"Even so, you should have informed your teacher beforehand. Furthermore, student council work does not encroach upon a student's class time. What work could you possibly have?"

"What about the president then? He skips classes all day long; why don't you ever discipline him?"

"Our head teacher gave him permission to be excused from classes."

"You!" Hinamori was so angry she couldn't utter another word.

Kaniezawa walked up to the desk, set down the documents in her hand, and then picked up another stack.

"I will notify your head teacher about your truancy. You should return to your class immediately."

"I am not going back!" Hinamori stubbornly remained seated in Shin's chair. "Since you've already declared that I'm cutting class, why bother going back?"

Her tone had already lost its former polite deference. Thinking of her relationship with the president, and recalling the outrageous demands Kaniezawa had made of him the other day, she found the other girl all the more detestable.

Kaniezawa said coldly, "I am the head of the Public Morals Committee, and I have the authority to order you to return to class right now."

"I won't! What are you going to do, drag me back by force?"

"I will not resort to physical force, but I will report your actions today to the school leadership."

A sudden wave of panic washed over Hinamori. Yet, facing Kaniezawa, she simply refused to back down. Rukia was one thing, but who did this Kaniezawa think she was!

Clenching her teeth tightly, she suddenly sneered as well. "Senior Kaniezawa, I know you like the president, but you can give up on that dream. The president will never like you!"

At those words, Kaniezawa's face instantly turned ashen.

"What did you say?!"

"I said, the president will never like you! To think you actually coerced him with a promise he made to you just to get him to kiss you—how utterly despicable!"

Consumed by rage at that moment, Hinamori figured that since the facade was already shattered, she no longer cared about anything else.

Kaniezawa gripped the documents in her hand until they warped and creased. Her freezing gaze fell upon Hinamori, sending a shiver of panic straight through the latter's heart.

Ultimately, however, Kaniezawa did not say another word. She turned around and left the office.

After Kaniezawa departed, Hinamori let out a long sigh and gradually calmed down. She patted her cheeks, suddenly feeling an overwhelming sense of remorse.

What on earth had she just done?!

If the president were to find out about this, what would he think of her?

Hinamori had the urge to rush out immediately, intercept Kaniezawa, and apologize to her. Yet, despite thinking this, her feet refused to take a single step.

The open-air classroom for Kidou practice.

The student council possessed the timetables for every single class, so Shin knew what each class was studying and which classrooms would be vacant at any given time.

Currently, this open-air classroom was not in use by any class.

"Hadou No. 73: Twin Lotus Soaring Dragon!"

A violent surge of spiritual energy rushed from his limbs into his palms. A visible aura of spiritual energy erupted around Shin's body, suddenly firing a brilliant azure blast from between his hands straight toward the white target ahead.

The target was forged from Shakki stone; even though this Kidou spell looked overwhelmingly imposing upon impact, it failed to produce anything resembling a proper explosion.

Shin let out a long sigh.

How many attempts was this now...

Just as that thought crossed his mind, he suddenly sensed something and looked toward the entrance of the open-air classroom.

"Why are you here?"

The person who had arrived was none other than Kaniezawa.

Shin shook his slightly sore arm and asked again, "How did you know I was here?"

Kaniezawa replied, "At this hour, this is the only practice-enabled classroom left empty. If you aren't sleeping or bathing, you're right here."

Shin could not help but laugh. "You really see right through me, Kaniezawa."

No sooner had he chuckled twice than he noticed something amiss with Kaniezawa's expression.

"What's wrong?"

Kaniezawa walked toward him, stopping only when she was half a meter away. Her usually stern and aloof face unexpectedly revealed a touch of feminine vulnerability.

"Kaniezawa, you..."

"Do you like me?" Kaniezawa asked abruptly.

Such a direct question caught Shin completely off guard, leaving him momentarily bewildered.

Not again?

He was already at his wit's end trying to deal with the fallout from Rukia and Hinamori's quarrel, worrying whether their affection meters might drop because of it. He certainly hadn't expected Kaniezawa to pull a stunt like this out of nowhere, which instantly made his scalp tingle with anxiety.

Had Kaniezawa been subjected to some kind of shock?

Yet, Kaniezawa was staring at him intently, waiting for his response.

"Kaniezawa, I..."

Kaniezawa suddenly closed her eyes and cried out, "Don't answer!"

"..."

She was still holding those documents, lowered her head right where she stood, and abruptly turned around.

"Never mind. Just pretend I was never here."

Without letting Shin see her expression at that moment, Kaniezawa hurried away from the open-air classroom once more, leaving a thoroughly clueless Shin behind in her wake.

However, halfway out, she suddenly turned back, marched right up to Shin, stood on her tiptoes, and—while Shin looked on in stunned silence—gently kissed him on the forehead.

"Returning this to you."

She murmured softly.

"Kaniezawa?" Shin remained trapped in a state of utter incomprehension regarding what had just transpired.

As if talking to herself, Kaniezawa muttered, "I suppose I'm not so despicable anymore..."

With that, she turned completely and walked away for good.