wicked man

☆, accompany

Zao had never tried to run and walk through the dark woods at night.

He was still wearing clogs on his feet, and one hand was held in the palm of the boy.The unique aroma of leaves in the woods passed over the cheeks, it seemed that the cells in the whole body were awakened and jumped, and the joy turned into a roar that lingered in the ears.

This kind of experience that he had never had before made him tremble slightly.

There seemed to be the chaotic footsteps of someone chasing after him. Akashi pulled the girl behind him and hid behind a bush, and blocked it behind his back with one hand. status.

Chasing them out from the crowd at the ceremony were a few young men who seemed to have unkind faces.At this time, those people were talking angrily because they lost the trace of the target.

"Those two brats run really fast..."

"Hmph, they can't go far..."

This kind of dialogue came faintly. Judging from this, the few people who are not reconciled will start searching around here next.

Turning around silently, just as he was about to signal the other party to leave here carefully, the boy paused, and the slight trembling from the girl with her head bowed was directly conveyed to his palm through their tightly clasped hands.

"..."

Silently tightening the strength in his hands, the red-haired boy was silent for a moment without saying a word, and pulled the son away without making a sound, away from the few pursuers who had already started searching the surrounding bushes.

He kept a calm posture all the time, but the slight trembling of Akashi's hand holding Kanade rarely made him feel a little upset.

It wasn't until the surroundings became quiet again, far away from the lively festival, and could no longer hear the sound of tracking behind them, that the footsteps of the two gradually relaxed and calmed down.

The trembling of the playing had stopped halfway.

"...Afraid?" Slightly turned his head to look at the girl behind him, this time, no one except Akashi himself knew that his usual self-confidence was slightly shaken.

The girl with long black hair shook her head without saying a word. Unexpectedly, a subtle expression of horror and excitement appeared on her face.

"...No, it's not like this..." She murmured almost to herself, "It's not that I'm afraid... It's just because I've never had a similar experience before..."

So... a little bit excited?Zuo didn't know how to describe her mood, the only thing she could be sure of was that she didn't hate the feeling that her blood seemed to be on fire.

As if bewitched, Kanade suddenly held Akashi's hand back, raised his head and looked directly into the red eyes of the young man, with an expression on his face that had never been seen before, shining with anger.

Immediately afterwards, words that made the red-haired general of the basketball team breathless came out from those red lips that seemed to be glowing with emotion.

"Hey, Akashi. You, you like me, right?"

For a moment, it seemed that even breathing had stopped between the two people who were staring at each other in this remote grove.

Zuo, who just dropped a weight bomb, had a smile in his eyes. Although he might not be able to see anything unusual on the surface, he could clearly feel that the person in front of him tensed all his muscles in an instant. Consciously revealed a slight abnormality.

Even this person must not have expected such a scene.

Kanade couldn't help but feel proud of herself just thinking about being able to disrupt this guy's ever-orderly pace.This is really a good move. As expected, for this person, you still have to catch him by surprise.

Kanade lowered her head and snickered just missed the helplessness and smile that flashed in Akashi's eyes. If she knew that just now she missed the scene she wanted to see the most, she would definitely feel quite embarrassing.Before the black-haired girl raised her head again, the boy's expression returned to calm.

"...The conclusion should be very clear."

A cool, seemingly breezy voice sounded in Zou's ears, and the palms of his hands were clenched even more forcefully, as if trying to explain something, the thin calluses on his hands due to exercise pricked Zou. Slight pain.

"If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be such a leisurely person."

Speaking words with meaning, such words are undoubtedly a clear declaration for the basketball team leader named Seijuro Akashi.

"...Eh, ah, is, is it..."

Zuo took a deep breath, and couldn't help but look away under the other party's focused gaze, and his face couldn't stop the fever.

...Oops, the form was simply reversed by this guy.

Obviously he was the one who said it first, but under Akashi's gaze, the initial aura suddenly dried up like a punctured balloon. 'What did I say in a moment of brain fever just now? 'Zuan couldn't help blaming himself like this.

Looking at the black-haired girl pretending to be an ostrich with a smile, Akashi didn't intend to let her go.Slightly lowering his head, he put his face close to the other's ear viciously, feeling the girl's whole body stiffen, and the red-haired boy smiled happily.

There was a chuckle in his ear, and the slightly warm moisture brushed against his ear.Zao felt that his ears were burning hot, and his heart was beating uncontrollably.

"You, what are you doing..."

In the end, the low-qi protest sounded more like a soft coquettish voice. He had never been so embarrassing in front of anyone in more than ten years. Zou was even thinking of cutting seppuku to save face. Yan wailed in his heart.

However, the other party was still unmoved, and laughed even harder.

Before Zuo blushed and couldn't help pushing him out, unexpectedly, his whole body was surrounded by a wave of warmth.

She was brought into the young man's not-thin chest, and she could clearly hear the powerful beating of the other party's heart through a layer of fabric. The beating of the eardrum.

The hug from Akashi is just like himself, it seems plain, but it is impossible to break free - at least in Kanade's view, she must have been unable to break free anymore.

If it's this person...if it's him—

... There is no need to resist, it is also possible, right?

Feeling the tense body of the girl in his arms relax little by little, the red-haired boy raised the corners of his mouth, and the anxiety that had been lurking in his heart for a long time was finally completely eliminated.

"No matter how hard it is to cover it up, to smear it beyond recognition with paint, I know it."

He lowered his voice and whispered in the other's ear.

"—No one knows you better than me. Those around me don't need anyone else but you."

correct.Akashi Seijuro knew Suzumiya Kanade better than anyone.No matter what method she uses to hide herself, she can't hide it from him who knows her best.

This, I believe, will not change in the future.It's not an impulsive empty love, but paying attention to the person in front of me has become a part of my daily life and habits.

It is.And so will the future.

In the future, it was already destined that she would go down with him.

The author has something to say: the romance is too gorgeous... the heart is broken...

☆, Extra Story: Talk about it in the future

It wasn't until he was about to graduate from junior high school that when Mao Kurokawa was tidying up his studio, he accidentally found the painting drawn by Suzumiya Kanade a long time ago.

It was a painting depicting a large swath of crimson cherry blossoms with gentle brushstrokes. Just looking at it like this, it seems that you can feel the creator's heart.It was a warm feeling that made people soften unconsciously.

"It's really good, this..." The curly-haired girl gave a rare admiration, "When will you draw pictures like this?"

"Well...it was last year." The other party replied casually, squinting his eyes as if recalling something.

"Although it's already summer, it's a bit strange to draw cherry blossoms in summer, isn't it?"

Kurokawa shook his head, carefully spread the painting on the table, and flattened the corners with his hands.

"Not really. But, it's really rare..."

She will have such emotion, and there is no way to do it.It is precisely because my friends have always painted things that people can't really agree with, so it seems that such a painting is particularly precious and amazing.

Heichuan looked at the friend beside him, who was looking at her, showing a strange smile without saying a word.The girl with long black hair was outlined in a moving arc by the sunlight, and her long eyelashes cast a shadow on her pretty face.

This person called Suzumiya Kanade has always been dazzling.Even if you don't try to express it deliberately, there is no doubt about it.

Kurokawa Mao suddenly felt a little dazed.

The last time I saw such a smile from this person seemed to be... last year's summer festival.

……

The summer festival in the second year of middle school seemed to be a night destined to be not very peaceful.

First, because the robbers hid the jewels in the bear puppet Kuroko won for Momoi, Kurokawa, who was also walking around with the puppet, was also targeted.After finally settling all this with the help of Ziyuan, the red-haired general and the red-faced Qin appeared in front of everyone holding hands, which shocked everyone's already calm mood.

"I was really taken aback at that time. Although I didn't guess it at all...but Akashi's speed is faster than I imagined."

When talking about his mood at that time later, Kise scratched his head and confessed very honestly, "At that time, I thought it was too much, obviously I haven't even caught up with Xiao Heichuan-oh puff!"

He received an elbow from the curly-haired girl standing beside him, and covered his stomach with a bitter face.

Compared with the silent tacit relationship between Akashi Seijuro and Suzumiya Kanade, Kise Ryota and Kurokawa Mao are much more youthful and tortuous from the time they realize their relationship. Seeing the beautiful boy with blond hair emerging With a smirking face, you will know that their story must have a pretty happy ending just like any story.

Unlike the two who were full of stupid couples all day long, Akashi Kazuko's behavior pattern didn't seem to change after that.It's just that there are more figures of the two walking out of the campus side by side after the daily club work. Occasionally, in the studio of the shogi club, you can also see a boy and a girl playing chess silently.

Both Akashi and Kanou are very satisfied with this way of getting along. There is no need to deliberately match each other's pace, but there is always someone who is always by your side.

"It's like an old man and an old lady from somewhere."

The young Heizi who still had a thin sense of existence commented so pertinently, with an imperceptible smile in his eyes, maybe Heizizhe is the person who can understand their way of getting along best except for the two.

……

If you look at it this way, you will silently fill in the admission application with Seirin, which is different from the Luoshan chosen by Akashi, and happily make the same choice as Takema-kun. The decision of Kanade is not very shocking. It's hard to understand.

"Sure enough, it's still going to be a surprise. Well, that's the way it is, but Seijuro probably knows that I won't obediently fill in the same school with him." For some reason, he showed a very proud look, very complacent She raised her chest, "It's just high school, no matter how you think about it, there's no need to go so far to Kyoto, right?"

Even so, isn't it human nature to want to go to the same school as the person you like?It's hard to understand why Kurokawa, who chose to go up to Kaijo with Kise, had a thought like Kanade's.Rather, the more you try to get to know this person, the more frustrated you become as you are now.

"So you and Akashi are really confusing..."

The curly-haired girl sighed helplessly, brushed her fingers over the picture of spring cherry blossoms, decided not to delve into this topic, and turned her attention back to the painting.

Seriously speaking, this can be called a very good work.Play's talent is unquestionable. If she paints with her heart, such delicate brushstrokes can be completely controlled, right?However, after the initial astonishment, Kurokawa couldn't help feeling a strange sense of disobedience.

Feeling it out of nowhere...a false feeling.This strangeness almost disappeared in a flash, no matter how carefully she studied the picture, she couldn't find the source of that feeling.

...Maybe I'm just too sensitive.

Saying this to myself in my heart, I heard the voice of my friend with a smile on the side.

"It seems that Mao you like this painting very much, then, I will give it to you as a present~"

"Eh?" He opened his eyes differently, and Kurokawa looked at the painting in his hand with some hesitation, and then looked at the squinting eyes, with a familiar smile on his face.

"is it okay?"

"Of course. Well, originally, this is..."

"Huh? What?"

The other party seemed to say something in a low voice, but facing Kurokawa's questioning, Zou just pursed his lips and refused to say more.

The girl with long black hair just smiled and stared at the large expanse of pink on the screen, something flickered in her narrowed eyes.In the next second, her smile softened even more.

"Mao, let's go to this year's summer festival too."

The author has something to say: Well, in fact, girls who think the happy ending is not bad can stop watching it really _(:з」∠)_

☆、Shiina Extra: Mirage

In the beginning, maybe it was just because of longing.

After school, I happened to pass by the school's music room. In the supposedly empty music room, the melodious piano sounded slowly.

Shiina will never forget the scene she saw secretly through the crack of the door.No longer the usual smiling face and popular appearance, the girl sitting on the high piano stool, with a face full of indifference, knocked down the black and white buttons one by one like a high-ranking princess.

Very... envious.

At that time, Shiina couldn't stop thinking, that's great, can she also become like this?Powerful, beautiful, that kind of posture that doesn't matter to anyone, and looks like a king patrolling her territory... She also thought, become such an enviable appearance.

Shiina Saya, who is still a junior in elementary school, doesn't understand what the surging emotion in her heart is. In the girl's pure thinking, if she also learns the piano herself, and can play such elegant and beautiful music, Does it mean that you can get closer to the girl in front of you?

Although it was the first time she came into contact with the piano with such an impure motive, to everyone's surprise, after trying it once, she really showed an extraordinary talent on the piano, which was not what she imagined. When she played a complete piece of music for the first time, the joy in Shiina's heart was unimaginable even for herself.

Yes.correct.

It is not for any other reason, but the reason why she has learned the piano so far. After the impure motive at the beginning fades away, all that remains is her fanatical love for the piano.

Of course, Shiina did not forget her original purpose.She gradually realized that the girl she saw that day was called Suzumiya Kanaru, who was in the same grade as her, knew that she was popular in school for being perfect, knew that she was known as a genius in piano playing, Know--

This person is not as easy-going and cheerful as she appears on the outside.

If you want to ask why she knows, then the answer must be because she has been silently paying attention to this person.From the very first day, what this person showed in a place where no one was around was a completely different indifference and arrogant arrogance.

Hiding such a side, when she smiled and faced the people around her, she must have sneered at these guys in her heart!However, everyone still thinks that Suzumiya Zuo is "gentle" and "cheerful", and they are all fooled. These idiots.

It is because Suzumiya Kanaru is such a person in Shiina's heart that she can treat these wishful fools with such a false attitude and cruelty without hesitation. It is because of the cruelty hidden in the dark that Shiina I can't bear to look forward to this person.

Ahh, that's right.This is a secret that only she and she know.No one has seen the cruel side of Suzumiya Kou, only she——only she is the most special one.

It doesn't matter even if the two actually seldom communicate, Shiina is confident that one day Suzumiya Kanou will know, she is different from other people, one day she will be able to stand upright...by her side.

However, such a firm cognition quietly cracked when he learned that the other party suddenly announced to give up the piano.

How is this possible?This person...how could he give up the piano? !

When Shiina rushed to Suzumiya Kanade uncontrollably because of her anger, facing the eyes of the other party looking at her, the beautiful idea that had been constructed in her heart all along, as well as the "special" she was complacent about, were all shattered in an instant. .

The way this person looked at her was no different from looking at anyone else.Just watching indifferently, it can't be called intimacy, and it can't be called disgust. Shiina, who has been paying attention to her, knows clearly that she doesn't take her seriously, and may even completely forget her existence in the next second. eyes.

...No, it shouldn't be like this.The way this person looked at her shouldn't be like this...!

All the blood in the whole body seemed to rush to the head in an instant, dominated by anger and a kind of betrayal. When Shiina regained consciousness again, it was already time to lie on the hospital bed of the school.

ah.is that so.She reached out to catch Suzumiya because she was anxious, but she was dodged, and she fell down the stairs directly...?

The arm is temporarily unable to move.In this way, the next prepared game will be ruined.

……ha.How should I put it, she really did it on her own.

Suddenly fell into a feeling of bewilderment, that kind of strong self-loathing, after hearing the classmates who came to visit the doctor tell her in a gloating tone that there was a rumor in the school that Suzumiya would push her down The rumor about the stairs, but the other party silently and acquiesced, turned into a kind of embarrassment that even she couldn't control.

This person... Could it be that he is pitying her? !Just because she broke her arm, does this person want to compensate her in this way? ?

She doesn't need—what she wants is not such a thing at all—! !

Shiina didn't know how to describe her mood. The days in the hospital were pale and empty, and only from the students who came occasionally could she get some information about the school's situation.That person began to be attacked by various rumors, people around that person began to point fingers at her, and that person remained silent from the beginning to the end.

Who told her not to tell the truth!If she thinks arrogantly that she can compensate her in this way, then just let her suffer!

At that time, Shiina thought happily, but when she returned to school again, she suddenly found that the familiar figure had disappeared from the school at some point.

transfer school.move place.

Leaving behind the growing rumors in the school, it just disappeared from everyone's sight without making a sound and indifferently.

There couldn't be a more willful bastard than this man.Since then, Shiina has always thought so.

Looking in the direction of the school gate through the window of the teaching building, on the forest road planted with cherry blossoms, the girl with long black hair and the boy with red hair beside her quietly walked side by side along the narrow path.Although they couldn't see their expressions clearly, anyone could tell that there was an atmosphere of tacit understanding around the two of them that no one else could get in.

Saya Shiina leaned against the window, watching the other party's leaving back for a moment, until they disappeared from sight, she closed her eyes, and breathed a sigh of relief silently.

"...Really, it's almost conceivable. The look in the senior's eyes when he transferred to another school must be the same as that time."

Such indifferent, haughty eyes, like the eyes of a king who only belonged to his own world.

Try hard to make yourself better, try hard to stand shoulder to shoulder with this person.All she wanted was to be truly seen by this proud person.

However, all efforts are in vain.Whether it's her, or...

"Now, I can say this with certainty."

From the first time she saw this person again in the middle school, she already knew it.

"Compared to that time—it hasn't changed at all, senpai..."

At the very beginning, it was just because of longing——

The author has something to say: Shiina is actually a good girl... I really like her _(:з」∠)_

☆, TE: return to zero

For Kurokawa Mao, there is probably nothing like a friend who was crying and screaming the day before, and even slapped the other person to break up the friendship, and the next morning as if nothing happened, jumping in front of his eyes, laughing It was even more shocking to say hello to myself brilliantly.

"Yo, Mao, good morning~"

...What the hell is going on with this guy?

The curly-haired girl stared at the smiling guy in front of her in disbelief.

But the other party was not moved at all. After saying hello on her own, the girl with long black hair kept smiling and walked beside her with unhurried steps as usual.

"…………"

The unprecedented silence that suffocated Kurokawa spread around the two of them, but Kanade didn't seem to notice it, and even the corners of his lips did not change at all.

Maybe this person is punishing her in this way.

A wry smile overflowed unconsciously. Once such thoughts appeared, Kurokawa could no longer expel them from his mind.An unspeakable bitterness spread from the mouth. The short road in the past seemed to be stretched infinitely by someone intentionally at this moment, and every second was a torment.

"...Don't make such an expression."

An extraordinarily gentle voice sounded in his ears, but when Kurokawa met Shangzuo's eyes, he couldn't help feeling like he was falling into an ice cellar.This is the 'Zuzumi Suzuki' that she doesn't know, this kind of look has never been cast on her...

"Why does it seem like you're about to cry? If you're Mao, it looks better when you smile."

Just like before... no, more gently than before, he reached out and smoothed the broken hair around the curly girl's ears, Kanou pursed her lips and widened her smile, looked past the other party, and looked behind the girl.

"Then I'll retreat first, and see Mao when I'm working."

Behind the two, a beautiful boy with blond hair was trotting towards them.But it wasn't until Kise gently patted her on the shoulder that Kurokawa recovered from the shock that Kanade brought her.

Even though the warm morning sun was shining on her body, Mao Kurokawa still felt a chill, flowing from the soles of her feet to her limbs, making her shiver involuntarily.

This is not the 'Suzuna Suzuki' she is familiar with. It is impossible for the one who looks at her with such strange eyes to be the gentle but gentle 'Suzumi Suzuki' she knows.

So, who was the person who was talking to her just now...?

By the time Kurokawa packed up his things after school in the afternoon and walked through the forest road to the studio of the painting department, the only two people in the department who would participate in club activities had already sat quietly in front of the drawing board.

The curly-haired girl couldn't help but pause, and her hand that was still on the door frame just stopped there.

The girl sitting in front of the drawing board had her black hair casually loose. The afternoon sunlight passed through the window and cast on the ceiling in front of her, forcibly dividing the whole room into two.The girl's face is hidden in the shadows, and the hand holding the paintbrush is dancing lightly as if waving a magic wand.

It was a beautiful picture of spring cherry blossoms in full bloom, large expanses of delicate pink seemed to float out of the canvas at any time under the sunlight, it was obviously such a gentle picture, but it might just be her illusion or not Kurokawa almost intuitively believed that the expression on the face of the person who was painting could never be the kindness and gentleness shown in the painting...

As if the work had been completed, the black-haired girl put on the last stroke calmly, and then she turned her head with a smile.

"It's really early, Mao...but I managed to catch up."

"...Wh-what caught up?"

Feeling inexplicably guilty of being peeped through the secret, Kurokawa froze slightly, then put down his hand on the door frame, walked in as if nothing had happened, and put his schoolbag on the wooden table beside him.

Still seemingly unaware of all this, Kanade turned her gaze back to her own painting, and raised her chin towards the large cherry blossoms.

"That's it. It was specially drawn for you."

Looking at the painting whose paint hadn't completely dried up, Kurokawa's premonition turned more and more in a bad direction.She couldn't see anything wrong with the painting, but this in itself was precisely the biggest problem.

Kurokawa has always believed that a person's spiritual world can be seen from his paintings.At the same time, she clearly knew that the person in front of her would never be the person she described.

"...It's really rare, so you can draw such a picture?"

Her dry question was not answered, the black-haired girl just raised her chin slightly, showing a silent smile.

Eyes widened suddenly, the curly-haired girl stretched out her hand without any warning and pressed her thumb on the place where the other party's last stroke was made just now. She didn't care about the paint on her hand, and simply wiped it with half of her palm. After the cherry blossoms faded, what was exposed from the pink gap was a withered scene.

"…………"

Facing Mao Kurokawa, who was completely stunned, Kane kept smiling and hummed softly.

"What's the matter, don't you like it?" She said, raising her eyebrows slightly, "Actually, I prefer the beauty of dead branches and bleakness, but you don't seem to like it very much because of Maou. , so I did a good job of painting 'spring' on it?"

Looking blankly at the indescribably weird scene of the combination of gorgeous cherry blossoms and dead branches in front of him, Kurokawa moved his lips, but he couldn't make a sound.

Seeing her expression like this, the girl with long black hair laughed again.She tilted her head to look at her work, like a real artist, staring at the canvas with gentle eyes.

"Really, how about acting a little bit happier?" She complained half-truthfully, "Or is this still not to your liking? Well, at least tell me your standards, Mao."

"Play you...!"

A flash of fear flashed in his heart for a moment, Kurokawa suppressed his panic, and stared at the person opposite her in disbelief.

What is this person trying to say?What the hell is she... talking about?

Zuo ignored the panic and panic of the curly-haired girl. She packed her things slowly, walked to the door step by step, and turned to Heichuan with a smile.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Mao."

Isn't this kind of "Suzumiya Kanade" more acceptable than the cherry blossoms painted on the residual leaves?If that's what you're hoping for...

The black-haired girl squinted her eyes, and when she saw the red-haired boy at the corner, the indifference hidden under the smile finally faded away.

——She is just, back to the past.

The author has something to say: Slag Cheng actually doesn’t know how to paint at all, and the content about painting is all made up. 233 Juju, please point out the mistakes gently.Basically, it’s all over here... Ahhh, it’s so cheerful _(:з」∠)_Tomorrow I will release the picture my friend drew for me!