Seiji wasn"t someone famous for being strong. In fact, he was famous for being trash. Izawa"s guess was completely off the mark.
Seiji, not knowing how to respond to Izawa, remained silent. He glanced over at Natsuya and noticed her strange expression.
Izawa, however, mistook Seiji"s silence for tacit admittance and confirmed his conjecture in his mind.
"I apologize for bringing this up again. I shall make no further mention of it."
"It"s fine," Seiji said quickly. "I"m not someone famous for being strong..."
Izawa revealed a faint smile. "I understand. There"s no need to say any more, s.h.i.+roysan."
"Just what did you understand there?" When he saw Izawa"s expression, Seiji knew that the man had definitely misunderstood him.
He wanted to explain, but he was clueless as to how he could do so. What was he meant to do? Reveal his true ident.i.ty? While this was an option, he felt that it would be unnecessary.
He probably wouldn"t meet Izawa again after this party... or even if they met again in the future, who knows when that would be.
"I wonder what the presidents think about this…" Seiji looked towards Natsuya. She indicated nonverbally that he should decide for himself.
At this moment, their food arrived.
Seiji was hungry, so when he saw plates of delicious food arriving for him, he put the matter behind him and started eating.
During the meal, Kanna began chatting about anime and manga. Seiji responded well to this topic and kept the conversation flowing.
By the time lunch was over, Kanna Fujihara was still having fun. As they walked together to the resting area, she kept up an unending stream of conversation with Seiji. Kanna didn"t relent in the slightest even when they arrived!
Seiji enjoyed their conversation—except for the topic of boys" love, which was a little...
He mentioned that this topic made him slightly uncomfortable on numerous occasions, but this anime-crazed girl seemed to be running amok. At every opportunity, she changed the conversation"s direction to that topic and expounded on it at length.
It was only now that Seiji could personally empathize with Izawa"s difficulties. In a way, serving such a master would definitely be a difficult task.
Right now, Ryuuno Izawa was free. He merely stood by his lady master"s side like a silent statue. He neither interrupted nor spoke and blended perfectly into the scenery.
Natsuya, however, was currently feeling dissatisfied. The pa.s.sionate conversation between Kanna and Seiji made her feel somewhat left out.
Although neither of them ignored her, she was unable to get involved as they were wading deep into the sea of anime and manga. This left her with a rather unpleasant taste in her mouth.
After sitting for a while, Natsuya stood up to go to the restroom.
After leaving the restroom, she saw Akatsuki Mitarai loitering in the hallway. He was looking out of the window.
Natsuya glanced at him for a moment. Almost instantly, she looked away and walked past him without acknowledging his presence.
"Don"t you want to know why I suddenly took such a direct method and even proposed such a bet?" Akatsuki asked, turning around to look at her as she walked past him.
Natsuya stopped in her tracks. His behavior was indeed unexpected. Not only was he direct, he even gambled... this did make her somewhat curious.
"Because I want you to accept me," Akatsuki said in a soft voice. "I want you to accept my true self, not the mask that I"ve worn for so long."
Natsuya slowly looked towards him.
"I"m not an ordinary person. I"ve been aware of this ever since I was young. I"m a special existence. However, the regrettable part is that ordinary people can"t understand the special me, including even my parents.
"That"s why I have to wear a mask, the disguise of an ordinary person. Although this is rather sad, there"s some fun to be had in it."
Akatsuki smiled thinly. This smile wasn"t his typical fake and gentle smile. It was something different—a smile that seemed to contain an incredible darkness.
Natsuya"s brows knit together when she saw this smile.
"The first time that I saw you, I fell in love with you at first sight. I felt that you were far too beautiful, and my mask slipped for a split second. Oh yes, your eyesight happened to be quite sharp, Natsuya. You detected my true self.
"Afterwards, I tried to get closer to you, but as you were an ordinary person, you were unable to accept the special me. You were stubborn about it, and for the first time, I tasted the bitterness of rejection.
"I felt anxious and angry. Those emotions were unpleasant, truly unpleasant… but they only served to elevate your position in my heart. In my eyes, you grew increasingly beautiful. That was truly interesting. After I noticed this, I even began to enjoy your rejections.
"But… this can"t continue forever. Your beauty has its limits. Every flower has a time when it blooms. After this time pa.s.ses, it"ll begin to wilt. That time is almost upon us. I must have you before this time arrives, no matter what.
"I wore my ordinary-person mask and used ordinary methods to get closer to you. Although that was a little fun, it"s time to stop that now That was why I directly told you my intentions and even gambled with you. I wanted a kiss from you—but that was only the start. After that, you"d give me more and more.
"However... I never expected that I would lose." Akatsuki"s eyes were chipped ice. "I admit it: I underestimated that guy... but no matter. Losing has its own benefits. Although I can"t obtain you step by step, obtaining you all at once will be quite fun as well. In fact, I"m looking forward to it even more.
"Right now," Akatsuki said, licking his lips, "your beauty is at its peak! I can"t wait for the moment I obtain you."
Natsuya felt an indescribable chill wash over her. Her stomach churned and roiled, and she struggled to suppress the urge to run back to the restroom and vomit.
"You lost your bet already, so don"t approach me!" she said coldly.
"The terms of the bet state that I cannot approach you anymore; they say nothing about being unable to obtain you."
"You"re just using sophistry!"
"Not at all." Akatsuki smiled. "But if you think that I"m going back on my word, go ahead and tell Miursan. Even if I"m punished, or if this is publicized, or if I"m laughed at, none of it matters. At any rate, when I obtain you, all of this will be nothing more than a joke."
"You won"t be able to do as you wis.h.!.+" Natsuya"s eyes were now filled with frosty rage.
"I can indeed..." Akatsuki strode towards her, his face twisted with unnatural malice.
Natsuya was just about to react, but someone was quicker than she was. A tall figure suddenly appeared in front of her and unleashed a merciless punch at Akatsuki"s face!
Akatsuki raised his hands to block the punch, but he was still sent flying by the powerful force. He crashed through the window and fell to the dirt.
"Seiji..."
"I saw that guy getting close to you with a strange expression on his face. He seemed like he was about to do something rude to you, so I punched him." Seiji looked over Natsuya. "Are you alright?" he asked in a concerned voice.
"I... I"m alright."
"Will there be a problem since knocked him through a window like that?"
"No, it"s not a problem at all." Natsuya grinned and flashed him a thumbs-up. "Instead, I should be saying good job."
A cold breeze came in through the window. However, the president"s heart was br.i.m.m.i.n.g with warmth.
Akatsuki didn"t make that punch into an official incident.
Natsuya had already mentally prepared herself to deal with such an incident. She"d already met with Miursan in order to explain what happened. It was then that she"d discovered that Akatsuki hadn"t reported the incident.
"Inflating this matter into a scandal probably wouldn"t benefit him," she mused.
Some people had heard the commotion, while others bore witness to the events, sparking discussions everywhere.
"s.h.i.+roysan, did you really knock Mitarai-san out through a window?" Kanna inquired, blinking her eyes curiously.
"That"s right."
"Wow... so vicious."
"s.h.i.+roysan would definitely have his reasons for doing so," Izawa said. "Did something happen at the time?"
"I didn"t like him, so I beat him up," Seiji said directly.
Izawa was rendered speechless.
"s.h.i.+roya did it to protect me," Natsuya clarified in a soft voice. She looked at Seiji with a gentle expression and continued, "s.h.i.+roya believed that Mitarai was about to do something rude to me, so he simply acted to prevent him from doing so."