Chapter 57: Appearing as Prey
The sun set.
The night slowly crept up into the sky.
The students practicing in the gym had already left.
Only Mana remained alone.
After saying goodbye to Kanade, Mana found it hard to calm her restless heart.
Taking advantage of the opportunity when no one was around, she started to mimic the moves she had watched countless times in the videos.
The casting for “New: The Flower Beyond” was imminent.
This was the promise she had made to Nagi—
“I will carry on with that part meant for you, until I become a true global superstar.”
She must become “Hoshimiya Nagi”—
Otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to atone for her mistakes—
“Clap, clap—”
The sudden sound of applause, accompanied by the sound of high heels on the wooden floor, echoed in the empty gym.
Mana abruptly snapped out of her trance and turned to look in the direction of the noise.
Ryoko’s slender figure slowly emerged from the shadows, a faint smile on her face.
“Such remarkable acting! For a moment, I thought it was the legendary Hoshimiya Nagi standing here~”
“Yano Ryoko…” Mana adjusted her stance subtly, the pose filled with wariness.
“Do you desire so desperately to obtain what belongs to that child?”
“Be it acting skills or a position in the entertainment industry—”
“This time—do you even intend to take away the person that child loves most?”
“Yano, you—”
Mana furrowed her brows upon hearing this, a hint of panic flashing in her eyes.
Ryoko’s smile widened, her voice carried an irresistible charm that struck deeply into the hearts of others.
“What if that child knew you were deceiving her, that incident was entirely your script… what would happen then~”
“It’s time to end your game of friendship, isn’t it?”
…..
…..
In a café located far from Hoshikage Middle School.
The decor inside the shop was exquisite, but at this hour, there were only a few customers.
Nagi got off the car with Tomita and chose a window seat.
Tomita ordered himself a coffee, while he ordered Nagi a glass of milk and a slice of cake.
Clearly, he saw her as a little child.
For Nagi, this was fine, as it lessened his wariness.
Though whether he would be wary of such a girl is a different question.
When ordering, Nagi requested to swap her drink for pure milk.
Since pure milk is white and has no sediment, if anything odd were to be added, it would be easier to notice right away.
She also flashed a cute smile and asked the female staff to recommend a cake, hoping to leave an impression on her.
Additionally, she used honorifics throughout her order, speaking very respectfully to Tomita.
She even pretended to be polite by mentioning, “It’s our first meeting today; I feel embarrassed to make you spend money.”
This allowed the staff to understand that she and the man in front of her were not familiar, keeping her guard up.
Finally, she added a cup of ice cream for dessert but requested it to be served after she finished the cake, to prevent it from melting too soon.
This made the staff check on her status from time to time to see if she was done with her cake.
After all, her current persona was—
A natural beauty who is “completely unsuspecting of others”—
Such a frail middle school girl facing a tall man would be powerless to resist~
Once the staff brought over their drinks.
Tomita adjusted his posture.
His handsome face took on a serious look, mixed with a hint of shyness.
Nagi noticed from the small details on his face that he often wore this expression.
Combined with his handsome features, many young girls must have fallen for this act, right?
“I’ve always been a fan of Miss Hoshimiya.”
“Re-really? Thank you…” Nagi responded, appearing flattered.
“So, when I saw Miss Hoshimiya with friends, and someone was telling lies, it pained me greatly!”
Could he be referring to me? Has he seen through me?
A big question mark arose in Nagi’s heart, but she continued to play along.
“Lies?”
“Yes!” Tomita noted Nagi’s surprised expression, mistakenly believing she had taken the bait, feeling overjoyed.
His expression grew more sorrowful.
“Just thinking about how my respected Miss Hoshimiya was deceived by her childhood friend makes me very sad; I feel that no matter what—”
As he spoke, Tomita expected to reach out and hold her hand as usual.
To his surprise, he found Nagi’s hands neatly resting on her lap.
Unable to proceed, he could only awkwardly take a sip of his coffee, burning his tongue in the process.
From Nagi’s perspective, it felt like the person in front was unexpectedly parched during a deep emotional speech, suddenly starting to act silly and perform tricks.
Which circus did this clown come from?
Well, whatever, even if he is a clown, just spill the information—
“That’s not true! Kanade and Mana-chan wouldn’t lie!”
Nagi leaned forward anxiously, seemingly incredulous and angry at Tomita’s claims.
“Oh…” Tomita instinctively shrank back at her fierce demeanor.
“Of course, I’m not intentionally belittling Miss Hoshimiya’s friends, but what I said is true…”
“Isn’t it true that Miss Hoshimiya has felt something amiss? But because you are too kind, you don’t want to suspect others.”
His vague suggestions twisted her words while providing justifications.
Creating a hypothetical situation, leading her to think on that basis.
“That’s not true…”
Nagi’s feet were placed neatly together, sitting back at the edge of her chair, her gaze avoiding contact with Tomita.
From the perspective of behavioral psychology, these actions often indicate an individual feeling uneasy and tense.
Tomita, witnessing this, felt a surge of delight.
Such a fragile and insecure little girl would easily trust him if he showed a reliable side in front of her—
“I’ve had moments where I was deceived and betrayed by friends like this…” Tomita said, lowering his head heavily.
“But sometimes we need to face it bravely…”
Unconsciously, he changed the pronouns in his speech to “we.”
This subtly implied he was on her side.
Here, there was only “us, the deceived” and “them, the deceivers.”
Closing the distance between them, creating a sense of closeness in her mind.
“But just thinking about that person who caused Miss Hoshimiya that incident—”
“Now they are still casually staying by Miss Hoshimiya’s side…”
“I can’t forgive her—”
Tomita saw Nagi slowly lifting her head to look at him.
Her expression and posture relaxed, revealing a guilty side.
“Mr. Tomita, that’s all my fault…”
“No, the truth isn’t like that—”
“In fact, the real culprit that caused Miss Hoshimiya’s injury back then is—”
Tomita felt his scheme was working, his excitement growing, a smile spreading involuntarily…
Indeed, even that legendary child star was just a little girl…
As long as he followed the methods of that young boy, he could easily become this naive girl’s psychological support—
Although Ryoko had assigned him the task of revealing the truth to shatter the relationship between her and Manaka,
this presented a perfect opportunity.
To push this innocent girl into the depths of despair, then play the savior and rescue her…
Slowly turn this pure and lovely angel into his own possession…
Tomita felt a whirlwind of emotions inside him, his gaze sweeping over the girl’s fair skin and her feminine curves just beginning to show.
Even after having tasted countless beauties, he had to admit the girl before him possessed a charm that surpassed all things.
More, more…
To crush her innocent spirit under the weight of harsh reality, to cast her into an endless abyss…
She is mine…
Tomita thought in his heart:
I’ve got you—
—I’ve got you.
Nagi’s heart revealed a crescent-like sinister smile.
Just when Tomita planned to reach out again,
the ice cream was forcefully slammed onto the table.
Interrupting his thoughts and pulling him back to reality.
The ice cream splattered onto Nagi’s uniform.
“I’m so sorry! This customer! Please come here, let me help you clean it up—”
The young female staff spoke with an authoritative tone and was about to pull Nagi.
She also cast a cautious glance at Tomita, who sat across from her.
“I’m really sorry; please let me compensate you here… Can you provide me with your parents’ contact information?”
The staff repeatedly apologized and insisted on contacting Nagi’s parents.
“Please allow me to apologize to them in person and to compensate—”
