"Huh-?!"
The sounds of Kikyou yelping alerted everyone in the class. That includes me, who was taking a nap.
"K-Kikyou-chan? Are you alright? You suddenly fell asleep when the break started and now this... Did you not get enough rest last night...?"
"Eh? Ah, mn... Yeah, I think I'm just a bit tired..."
Well, thanks to the noise she made, I managed to snap out of my own dizzy spell.
"You good, Kiyotaka?" Akito looked behind and asked me.
"Yeah... I stayed up last night reading a light novel. My bad."
"You're becoming more and more of an otaku like Sotomura and Ijuuin. That's pretty amusing considering your personality."
"Join us. You're in for a world of fun."
"The contrast of your tone and words makes me feel like I'm being invited to a cult, but as your friend, I'll consider it," he chuckled. "It's rare for you to doze off like that. 'Same goes for Kushida."
It was true that I spent my entire nighttime reading another light novel series. I should probably start cutting back on it just to maintain my health.
It's also atypical for Kikyou to be lacking in sleep, but since she can feel Ryuuen's crosshairs pointed at her, it's not strange for Kikyou to start overthinking due to anxiety.
"Seems like we had it pretty bad last night, huh? I wonder if she got nightmares, waking up in that manner?"
Akito shrugged, narrowing his eyes to get a better look at Kikyou's expression.
"Who knows? She doesn't look scared, at least. In fact, I think she looks flustered. Maybe she had an embarrassing dream." He turned back to me and asked. "How about you? Did you dream about anything? You slept for a good ten minutes. Isn't that around an hour or two in the dream world?"
Contrary to popular belief, time isn't actually compressed when we dream.
"Hmm... I don't think so."
Well, it's not like I can tell anyone about the dream I just had. Climbing the stairs of adulthood with Kikyou-- That's a wild premise for a dream. I'm glad her scream woke me up. Seeing any more of that would've been bad for a teenage boy like me.
I gave her a quick glance and saw her looking at me. Kikyou immediately averted her gaze and looked away. Her face turned increasingly red as she tried her best to act normal in front of Ryuuko and the others.
"There's no way..."
As the teacher walked in, I dismissed the ridiculous idea that maybe we saw the same dream, and paid attention to the lecture instead.
Kikyou's POV:
Ugh... I can't even look at Kiyotaka-kun anymore...
What in the world was that crazy dream, anyway?! Are we even capable of doing that...? I mean, sure, there are a lot of bottled-up feelings inside me, but there's no way Kiyotaka-kun feels the same, right?
And besides, even if I did have feelings for him, it's not like we can just start dating and do... that...
"Kikyou-chan, you look red. Are you feeling hot?"
"H-Hot-?!"
"Excuse me, Kushida-kun. Is there a problem?" The teacher raised an eyebrow in displeasure.
"Ah-! I'm very sorry, Sensei. I'm just feeling a bit under the weather."
Shit! Mii-chan probably just asked me if I felt feverish, but it caught me off-guard!
"Is that so? Then go ahead and visit the infirmary."
"I-It's fine, Sensei. I'm feeling much better now. Thank you very much."
"Really? Well, sure."
I'm not even given a warning for disrupting the class. The teachers must feel really good about the point system doing their disciplinary duties for us.
I whisperingly reassured Mii-chan and the others about my condition. The strange looks that my classmates gave me were annoying, to say the least.
I'm sure I'll get lots of questions from the boys about this. They'd want me to open up to them so they can act like someone I can rely on when I'm having a problem. Well, I'll just do my thing and keep them at arm's length. It'll be tough, but I can't talk about it with any of my friends-- especially Kiyotaka-kun.
(Kushida Kikyou spent the entire day with a slightly hastened heartbeat.)