Chapter 62: Shirogane Miyuki Feels Offended
Speaking of superpowers, the most familiar ones are definitely things like:
X-ray vision, hypnosis, invisibility, stopping time, etc… Sakurai Saki figured the reason people easily remember those kinds of powers is probably because they frequently appear in doujinshi. Superpowers really are a great theme, though the male protagonists inside those stories, even when they already have such powers, are still hesitant and timid — truly lacking in guts!
For Sakurai Saki, among those powers, probably only "ZA WARUDO" would be even a little useful; he could use the extra time to study hard, then make all the students at Shuchiin die from overwork trying to compete with him.
X-ray vision, if used too carelessly, would show bones and flesh, which could easily be nauseating.
Hypnosis wasn't as good as outright mind control; under normal circumstances, it could only give a few simple commands, plus it didn't work on animals.
Invisibility just hid the body, but there were countless other abilities that were much more useful.
And the superpower Sakurai Saki got today was one of those——
[X-ray Vision: Sight can penetrate obstacles, directly observing the inside.
Side effects: None]
Since this was the third time Sakurai Saki had received a power, and he had already experienced it twice before, the side effects had been completely suppressed thanks to his high level of control. His body would adapt to the superpower, though it needed a little time.
Sakurai Saki pedaled his bike to the Shuchiin school gates, cherry blossom petals covering the ground inside the courtyard.
His allergic rhinitis made him a bit uncomfortable, but when he saw Iino Miko, the corners of his mouth couldn't help curving up into a smile.
Sakurai when he saw Miko: (≖⩊≖)(≖⩊≖)(≖⩊≖)
He deliberately activated his x-ray vision to check her bag, confirming there were no hidden sweets inside.
With a gentle expression, Sakurai Saki pushed his bike over and walked up beside Miko-chan.
He softly said, "Miko-chan, good morning~"
( ＾◡＾)
Iino Miko had just finished catching a male student breaking the rules; when she turned around, she saw Sakurai Saki.
To his morning greeting, Miko-chan reflexively responded politely, "Sakurai-senpai, good morning!"
After speaking, she looked at him with a puzzled expression.
Strange!
Really strange!
He was an "accomplice" who had helped Hayasaka-senpai escape many times, yet Sakurai-senpai wasn't saying anything else?
He was just simply greeting her!?
That can't be right~
(≖_≖)
Iino Miko immediately took a few steps back.
Then she darted her eyes around, glancing behind him, then looking outside the school gates a few times. After confirming that no "yellow flash" was about to appear, Iino Miko let out a relieved sigh.
Phew~ Everything's normal!
Hayasaka-senpai still hasn't appeared on the battlefield!
Seeing the girl's panicked expression, Sakurai Saki couldn't help but feel a little soft-hearted.
Toward this kouhai-chan who was upright and full of justice, Sakurai Saki suddenly didn't have the heart to bribe her anymore!
So…
He took out a pack of chocolate and handed it to the panicking Iino Miko.
The girl, who wasn't good at refusing things, was just about to open her mouth to protest.
But she heard him say, "First-years have a quiz this week, right? Don't forget to replenish your sugar while studying."
(˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧
Oh no! This time she couldn't refuse anymore!
Σ(°△° ꪱꪱꪱ)
'Wait! Sakurai-senpai is just showing concern for his junior, not bribing me!' Miko-chan tried to convince herself, as if hypnotizing her own heart.
Her moral boundaries suddenly became much more flexible.
"Well then, I'm heading in first!" Sakurai Saki pushed his bike and walked into the school.
Iino Miko held the pack of chocolate, looking at the kind senpai's back, and in her heart, a powerful desire surged up — she had to get first place on that quiz!
After walking a few more steps, Sakurai Saki turned back to look at the girl and said:
"Oh right, Miko-chan, if you see me breaking school rules next time, remember to go easy on me a little, okay?"
(≖⩊≖)
Iino Miko: ( ˶°ㅁ°) !!
She lowered her head to look at the chocolate bar in her hands, then raised her head again to look at Sakurai Saki's back.
'It's over! I got bribed again!'
Filled with guilt, Miko-chan spent the whole morning like a lost soul, to the point that even when Hayasaka Ai dashed past her, she didn't notice at all.
This state lasted all the way until noon, when she finally felt a bit better after eating the chocolate bar.
...
The first class on Monday morning was Literature.
Sakurai Saki kept his head down, diligently taking lecture notes, while Hayasaka Ai beside him pretended to be serious as she copied things into her notebook.
The teacher was standing in front of the blackboard, blocking part of the written content behind him.
Sakurai Saki activated his power, looking through the teacher's bald head to read the board.
With a superpower that had no side effects, he didn't need to worry about emotional drain, and he could still sleep soundly at night — today might just be one of the most pleasant days Sakurai Saki had experienced recently.
After finishing copying all the content from the board, Sakurai Saki glanced sideways at Hayasaka Ai.
Of course, he would never use his power to look at her body — doing so would make him no different from a pervert.
Sakurai Saki was only curious about something inside Hayasaka Ai's blazer pocket.
'Is that… a love letter?'
However, his x-ray vision only allowed him to see the front side of the paper, not the back. As a result, Sakurai Saki couldn't tell who had written the confession letter; he could only see the blank page, not the lines of text on the other side.
He remembered that Hayasaka Ai had never accepted such things before; normally, if she saw one, she'd just ignore it and toss it by the end of the school day — and yet today, she had unusually brought it all the way into class?
Sakurai Saki wasn't the least bit worried that Hayasaka Ai might like someone else. Based on what he knew about her, the odds of her accepting the confession of some "weed by the roadside" were basically zero.
...
The first period ended.
Hayasaka Ai let out a yawn.
(* ´ ﹃｀*)
Last night, she had stayed up thinking about how to make Sakurai Saki understand her feelings, and as a result, she hadn't slept well.
After her previous attempt at a straightforward confession had ended in failure, Hayasaka Ai had even considered confessing over the phone — but that felt too casual, too much like a joke, so she'd given up on that plan.
As for the letter in her pocket — that was merely a backup plan. After all, Hayasaka Ai felt that giving someone a love letter in this day and age was pretty old-fashioned. Besides, the aftershocks from that incident when every girl in school confessed to him hadn't even settled down yet.
Hayasaka Ai glanced at the other girls in class, feeling extremely awkward.
Right now, just getting close to Sakurai Saki would instantly earn her strange looks from those girls.
'Do they seriously think they still have a chance? How ridiculous.' Hayasaka Ai wasn't the least bit intimidated by the so-called hundreds of "quantum state" potential girlfriends orbiting around Sakurai Saki.
As long as she could capture his heart, all those others would have just one fate: to be losers.
（￣^￣）凸
...
'Who on earth gave her that love letter?' Sakurai Saki was still puzzling over it.
If he hadn't known, it would've been fine, but now that he did know, there was no way he could ignore it.
However, he couldn't just directly ask about it — after all, he only discovered it thanks to his x-ray vision.
...
Lunchtime.
In the Student Council room.
Shirogane Miyuki saw Sakurai Saki walk in with a heavy expression.
Sakurai: (◣_◢) ゴゴゴゴ
"What's wrong?"
Bad mood?
"Shirogane, I have a friend who's really curious about something…"
That "friend" you're talking about… isn't it just yourself?
"You see, there's this girl who normally would never accept a love letter, but suddenly she's holding onto one…"
Shirogane Miyuki immediately felt something was off.
The girl you're talking about… sounds like it's also you, right?
Shirogane still remembered very clearly — last time, this guy had brought a love letter to consult with Shinomiya Kaguya!
Bro, wasn't insulting me once already enough? You want to do it again?!