Chapter 544

“You aren’t going with me?”

“No. I have something to do today. I’m sorry.”

“Really? What is it?”

“Um... surveillance.”

“Surveillance?”

“Something like that. You go on ahead, Tetsuya.”

“I’m a little disappointed.”

“Sorry. Let’s talk later.”

“All right. I’ll get going.”

Tetsuya nodded, his expression sullen.

Watching his drooping shoulders as he walked away stirred a twinge of sympathy, but nothing more. She had absolutely no intention of calling him back.

She had something incredibly important to do—something that would define the rest of her life.

Once she was sure the classroom had emptied out, Miyuki hastily straightened the rows of desks and left.

Then, like a burglar sneaking into a house, she crept on her tiptoes toward the restroom Matsuda was assigned to clean.

“All of you, get out. I have to clean this, so go screw around in the restroom next door.”

As she drew closer, his blunt voice rang out from inside.

“Starting today, if I find a clogged toilet in here, I’ll track you down and rip you in half. Try it if you think I’m joking.”

“W-What if we didn’t do it?”

“I’ll kill you anyway. If you don’t want that, tell the others to keep it clean. Restrooms have to be spotless so the next guy doesn’t feel disgusted. Did you wash your hands?”

“Uh? Yeah? What?”

“Just get out of here.”

‘Phew... he’s a total delinquent.’

‘I need to start his character rehabilitation as soon as possible.’

Passing the students as they scrambled away, Miyuki stopped in front of the open men’s restroom door.

Matsuda was... reaching out to open one of the stall doors.

She could have just watched quietly, but Miyuki decided to meddle a little.

Why? Because Matsuda was about to look into that stall and spit out some incredibly harsh curses.

Recalling her memories of the past, Miyuki offered a piece of advice just as his hand neared the handle.

“It’s clogged in there.”

Matsuda flinched and whipped his head around.

“Jesus, you scared me... It’s you?”

Come to think of it, Matsuda was surprisingly jumpy.

The way he had freaked out when she entered his dark house, the way he had screamed in the haunted house... The memories came flooding back, bringing her joy.

“Yeah. It’s me.”

“It’s clogged? How do you know?”

At his question, Miyuki pointed over her shoulder and lied without batting an eye.

“The boys I just ran into told me. Didn’t they tell you, Matsuda-kun?”

“They didn’t mention it. Guess they wanted me to step in it, huh?”

‘No, it’s because you scared them by telling them to get lost and threatening to rip them in half. They were too busy running away to even think about giving you a heads-up.’

For a guy who reeked of delinquency like Matsuda to turn over a new leaf, it seemed both of them would have to put in a lot of effort.

“Why are you thinking so negatively? I asked them first, so they answered.”

“What did you ask?”

“I asked how the restroom was.”

“The men’s restroom?”

“Yeah.”

“Why on earth would you ask that?”

“Just because I was bored.”

“You get bored by the weirdest things.”

“Anyway, just turn your head away, walk over, and flush it. Want some help?”

“I’ll do it myself. Ah... this...”

It was a groan from Matsuda; he had inadvertently looked at the toilet.

He said he’d handle it, but he ended up looking after all.

Now the curses were going to burst out. She really didn’t want to hear profanity from Matsuda, but she supposed it couldn’t be helped.

Miyuki braced herself, but her eyes went wide as Matsuda merely glanced at her, scowled heavily, and flushed the toilet in silence.

He didn’t swear. Why? Was he perhaps considering her feelings?

At this point in time, she and Matsuda didn’t have much of a connection, so it didn’t seem like he would care what she thought...

‘Let’s just assume it’s because the scenario has changed.’

It seemed best to judge it that way. That way she wouldn’t get a headache overthinking it.

Whatever the case, maybe reforming Matsuda wouldn’t take as long as she had expected?

“You held that in well. I thought you’d start swearing.”

“I don’t just swear all the time. But... what’s up with you?”

Matsuda quickly washed his hands and looked at Miyuki with deeply suspicious eyes.

Sensing this, Miyuki winced inwardly but didn’t let it show on her face.

“What do you mean?”

“Why are you treating me like some adolescent kid?”

“Me? I don’t think I’m doing that...”

“Up until yesterday, you were looking at me with pure disgust, but now your eyes seem a bit softer... And calling me first thing in the morning was suspicious, too...”

“I’ve never looked at you like that, Matsuda-kun, so I’d appreciate it if you stopped making baseless assumptions. And I already told you the phone call was a mistake.”

“Weird...”

Seeing Matsuda suck in a sharp breath with a hiss, Miyuki pursed her lips tightly.

For some reason, she felt like she was going to burst out laughing.

Barely suppressing the urge, she gestured with her chin toward the stalls.

“Aren’t you going to clean?”

“I have to. I will, but...”

“But what?”

“With you standing there like that, I feel like I’m being watched. It’s kind of uncomfortable.”

“I am watching you.”

“Whatever, then.”

‘Whatever, then...’

It was a very Matsuda-like response.

But Matsuda’s forearms, visible beneath his short-sleeved shirt, looked incredibly alluring.

Seeing that slightly tanned skin after such a long time seemed to be overstimulating her.

Watching him continuously baffled by her attitude was strangely arousing as well... She was going crazy.

“What is it now...?”

“Huh? What?”

“Why are you licking your lips?”

“I am?”

“Yeah, you are.”

“It must be a habit or something.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah.”

“Got it.”

Seeing Matsuda mutter about encountering all sorts of weirdos while glancing at her, she felt like she was seducing an innocent boy.

And the sinful thrill it gave her wasn’t half bad.

Her body was even heating up.

Fiddling with her flushed cheeks, Miyuki spoke.

“I’ll inspect it when you’re done cleaning.”

“You will?”

“Yeah.”

“By what authority?”

“I’m the class rep.”

“The old geezer didn’t say anything about getting inspected.”

“Old geezer?”

“The teacher.”

“Ah... ‘old geezer’ means the teacher?”

“Well... there are a few nicknames.”

“Don’t do that. Why don’t you try calling him ‘teacher’?”

“No.”

“Just once.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Really, just once. Exactly once.”

A radiantly smiling face, legs lingering playfully on the threshold of the restroom, and a cute index finger extended straight up near her chest.

Did seeing this cause a change of heart?

Matsuda, who had been blunt this whole time, let out an annoyed sigh.

“Teacher. Happy?”

At that, Miyuki beamed and nodded.

“Yeah. Good job.”

“Whatever... go away now.”

“I’ll go. Good luck with the cleaning.”

Having said that, Miyuki shuffled sideways out of the restroom.

And then she simply leaned her back against the wall right outside.

In truth, she had absolutely no intention of leaving.

Right now, all she could think about was surprising him the moment he finished cleaning.

Her heart, which had been pounding since earlier, wouldn’t calm down.

She wanted to peek into the restroom just one more time, but Matsuda was probably staring at the door right now, dumbfounded by her bizarre behavior.

So she had to hold back. When she heard the water running, she would take a quick peek and then duck back.

“Gah—?!”

Matsuda, who stepped out of the restroom grumbling to himself, was startled out of his wits.

Miyuki was standing right next to the door.

Had she just been standing there, he wouldn’t have been this shocked, but she was staring up at him with wide, bright eyes.

Almost like an obsessive girl watching his every move.

Having been thoroughly spooked, Matsuda swept a hand over his chest and raised his voice.

“W-What the hell are you doing?”

Miyuki, whose eyes were curved into happy crescents, replied.

“To check if you were done.”

“Were you standing here the whole time?”

“No, I just got back and ran right into you.”

“I didn’t hear any footsteps...”

“You had the water running, so of course you didn’t hear me. Let’s see how well you cleaned.”

“Look for yourself and leave.”

“By the way, what are you doing today?”

“Huh?”

Matsuda’s expression twisted weirdly.

It was a face that seemed to say... ‘Why are you asking me that?’

No matter how distant they used to be, now that she had closed the gap a bit today, wasn’t it fine to ask this much?

Thinking so, Miyuki continued.

“I asked what you’re doing. Are you meeting that guy again? Was his name... Watanabe?”

“Watanabe...? Ah...! Watanabe Takashi?”

What was that reaction?

Didn’t Matsuda hang out with Watanabe Takashi almost every single day?

So why did he react to his name as if he had just dragged it out of a distant memory?

Just as Matsuda found her strange, she now felt the current Matsuda was strange, too.

‘Could it be...’

A sudden thought flashed through her mind.

Was it possible... had Matsuda also regressed to the past?

And he was acting right now to build connections, just like she was?

If the same thing had happened to him, his odd reactions all day would completely make sense...

“Matsuda-kun.”

At Miyuki’s narrowed-eyed call, one of Matsuda’s eyebrows furrowed.

“What now?”

“Are you acting right now?”

“Acting? Acting like what? Like a good guy?”

Now he was acting completely natural again.

“Don’t you even know your own friend’s name, Matsuda-kun?”

“Friend?”

“I mean Watanabe Takashi.”

“Oh... that? It’s just because I didn’t expect to hear his name coming out of your mouth. Do you know how many Watanabes there are?”

“I guess so... but usually, when you hear a familiar surname, don’t you instantly think of the people closest to you?”

“What exactly are you trying to say?”

Well, for now, it seemed absolutely certain that Matsuda hadn’t regressed.

She could tell just by looking in his eyes. He genuinely didn’t understand the situation.

She should stop testing him here. If she prodded unnecessarily, Matsuda might start avoiding her.

She might have already made him suspicious anyway.

“Um... never mind.”

“Now move along.”

Matsuda swept his gaze over the hallway before issuing his eviction notice.

Hiding her disappointment, Miyuki looked up at him and asked.

“Why do you keep trying to send me away?”

“No... why do you keep sticking to me?”

“I’m not sticking to you, it’s surveillance.”

“Aren’t you going to inspect the restroom? You said you would.”

“I have to. If there’s any spot you missed, you’ll have to redo it, so let’s go together, Matsuda-kun.”

A hollow chuckle escaped Matsuda’s lips.

He was dumbfounded by the sudden shift in her behavior.

But what could she do? Just looking at him made love overflow in her heart, and she couldn’t treat him the way she used to.

This was Matsuda’s fault. He shouldn’t have toyed with her heart in the first place.

Shifting all the blame onto Matsuda, Miyuki stepped ahead and stood in front of the restroom door.

And then she gestured for him to come over.

“Hah...”

Matsuda let out an old-man grunt and muttered.

“Is this a new type of bullying?”

She was just doing it because she wanted to get closer, yet he called it bullying...

Though to be fair, the contrast between her attitude yesterday and today was so stark that his reaction made perfect sense.

Suddenly, she remembered something Matsuda had told her in the past.

He had confessed that he’d liked her for a long time.

Was it the day before she was harassed by that pervert? The exact timeline Matsuda mentioned was right around then.

If so, those feelings must still be inside him right now.

Of course, his feelings might not be that deep yet at this point in time.

But one thing was certain: Matsuda wasn’t the type to just say things for lip service.

Then wouldn’t it be fine if she just threw herself at him right now?

Playing coy was exhausting, and her body, flushed since earlier, was getting hotter, making it hard to endure.

Shouldn’t she just lunge at him and kiss him?

Or maybe she should sneak into his house in the dead of night, pounce on him, and fiercely demand that he take responsibility.

In the old days, there were even cases of kidnapping marriages, where someone would suddenly declare marriage or just snatch a bride away and hold a wedding on the spot.

‘No, I have to hold back.’

The fresh, sweet memories from before she and Matsuda started dating.

She wanted to experience that again, to build those memories anew, perhaps in an even better direction.

So she had to hold back. Even if it was hard.