Volume 2 - Top-Tier Character Ayanokōji-kun [DISCONTINUED] [READ THE REVISION]

Chapter 29 - A Sea Filled With Miserable Machinations

The crow pecked at the bluebird's wings relentlessly.

It wouldn't stop.

There was no reason to.

After all, it knew.

The bluebird chirped in agony.

It didn't want to experience such pain, especially coming from someone like the crow.

In a way, it felt betrayed. It thought the crow had opened up a new path, a new way forward. One that wouldn't just repeat the mistakes of the past, but carve a future without worry.

A changed bluebird.

That was its wish. It longed for it.

But the pecking didn't stop, and the pain never disappeared.

The crow looked down. It gazed into the bluebird's frightened eyes.

The only way the crow saw was to hurt the bluebird.

---

As I was comfortably sitting at home, the bell rang.

An unannounced visitor. That's extremely bothersome timing. 

I went to the entryway, but didn't open the door. Instead, I stayed silent for a while. In most cases, people would usually give up trying to enter once a certain amount of time had passed. But 30 seconds later, the doorbell rang once again. It was dusk, and after turning off the lights in the living room, I decided to slide the lid of the peephole and look through the hole to get a better picture of the person's getup, killing any sign of my presence.

It was Amasawa Ichika. I'd already been expecting something similar to this since she had followed me on my way home.

She wasn't wearing her school uniform even though it was a Tuesday, meaning she must have gone back home and changed before coming here. Basically, she prepared for this occasion, meaning this was a deliberate act. I'm sure the timing was intentional, too.

While I was pondering the eventual headaches coming my way, the doorbell rang for the third time.

"Senpai~! I've come to visit you!" An extremely over the top cheery voice called to me from the other side.

"I'm sorry, but I'm in the middle of something. Could you come by some other time?"

"That's not going to happen. My senpai's been somewhat of an ass lately and decided to be mean to Nanami-senpai all of a sudden, so I've come to investigate. If you don't open the door, I'll kick it down!"

Her voice was still cheery, but the loud thumps on my door weren't. If I let her speeches go unchecked, the neighbors would eventually hear the commotion. I'd also like to keep my door intact if possible.

I had no choice but to open the door and face Amasawa.

"Ayanokōji-senpai!"