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Disclaimer: I don't own Classroom of the Elite but if I did, there will be MAJOR CHANGES.

17.1

"Do you… want us to start dating then, or…?"

That question made the young man halt in his thoughts regarding food for the moment, as he shifted his attention to Hiyori's words.

"Hm…"

Did he want them to start going out as a couple right away? After all, they were already aware of each other's feelings now, so there's no need to beat around the bush.

He also had no problem going out with a beautiful girl like Hiyori, especially when they click so well together.

However, there was just something about this possible arrangement that didn't sit right with him.

"How about we put a hold on that label for now? I would like to spend more time getting to know you before getting into an official relationship with you, Hiyori. Perhaps that way, I'll be able to figure out for myself if I do hold romantic feelings for you."

"I see…"

While she could understand Kiyotaka's point and agreed with his logic wholeheartedly, there was still a small part of her that felt disappointed.

They were already close with each other and even though a few things happened between them that she had no control over, Hiyori saw nothing wrong with them trying things out as a couple.

"Are you disappointed?"

Hiyori quickly turned back towards him, and she realized that he was waiting for an answer from her.

She quickly shook her head in response. "N-No, no, that sounds fair. I also think it would be pretty awkward if we just became a couple right away. It's only been a month and a half since we first met…"

"Has it? It feels like I've known you for a long time," he shrugged.

"You're not the only one who thinks that way," she chuckled, quickly getting over her earlier disappointment. "Maybe we could just enjoy what we have for now, then? As I said, I already like spending time with you, Kiyotaka-kun."

"It's a deal, then. However, that doesn't stop me from doing this."

In one smooth move, Kiyotaka reached out with his hand to grab the back of Hiyori's head, before pulling her towards him. The girl could only look on with shock as Kiyotaka's lips descended upon hers in a kiss.

For Hiyori, she couldn't believe that the boy in front of her was actually kissing her. While this wasn't the first time that this happened between them, she felt that it was because she didn't really remember anything from last night. In her eyes, this was her first kiss and Kiyotaka just took it in one swoop.

However, she didn't feel uncomfortable or anything from his sudden action. As a matter of fact, after being taken aback for a moment after feeling Kiyotaka's lips on hers, she immediately surrendered to the sensation that it brought upon her. She didn't know how, but it felt like every single neuron in her body sent feelings of euphoria to her brain all at the same time, putting the girl in a temporary trance.

In other words, Hiyori felt like she was in heaven.

Fitting for someone who was referred to by many people as an 'angel'.

Was this how a heroine feels when she gets kissed by the main character in a story? Did it really feel this good to be kissed by the person she liked?

Just as Hiyori felt the desire to return the kiss, Kiyotaka had already pulled away with a trail of saliva still connecting their lips, denying her the chance to enjoy the sensation for a little more. This also broke her out of her temporary trance and caused her to look at him in confusion, wondering why he stopped kissing her and why he even did it in the first place.

"Now we're even," he told her, internally amused at the expression on her face as a result.

"But… but only couples do this sort of thing," she mumbled, regaining her senses after a few seconds. She blushed afterwards, already unable to get the feeling of Kiyotaka's lips out of her head as soon as it ended. "I thought we were going to take it slow?"

"You don't get to say anything when you were the one who kissed me first, Hiyori."

"B-But I just said that I wasn't—" Hiyori tried to argue with him, only to realize what would happen if she did that. In the end, she only sighed in defeat and covered her reddening face with her hands. "Fine, you win. It'll be a waste of time to continue arguing with you at this point."

He reached out to pat her head softly, obviously amused at her reaction. "I'm glad you understand, Hiyori."

"I feel like you only did that because you wanted to kiss me," she puffed her cheeks and pouted at him, although she didn't make any complaint about the way he patted her head.

"I did say that I enjoyed kissing you, so can you blame me?"

As Hiyori sighed and shook her head at the silliness of their banter which was pretty serious earlier on, Kiyotaka felt his stomach grumble again. This time, it bothered the young man to the point that he couldn't ignore it anymore. He was hungry and he needed food now.

"If you don't mind me asking, do you have something here that I can cook, Hiyori? I haven't really eaten anything since last night, so if it's fine with you, can I use your kitchen?"

At the mention of food, Hiyori's eyes widened in realization. That's right, she hasn't eaten anything yet for breakfast!

She even felt her stomach grumbling quietly, reminding her that just like her friend, she didn't have anything to eat from last night up until now.

She quickly pointed to the fridge that was next to the sink. "Oh, y-yes! If you check the fridge, Kiyotaka-kun, there should be some ingredients there since I went shopping recently. Again, I'm sorry for what happened…"

"Water under the bridge," he waved her apology off before getting off the bed to get to work. "Are you sure you're fine with me using your kitchen?"

"Please help yourself. I feel hungry as well," Hiyori smiled and nodded, only to gasp when she had a moment of realization. "W-Wait, you can cook, Kiyotaka-kun?"

Kiyotaka nodded as he opened the fridge and took several eggs from their tray, as well as a pack of ham slices near the freezer.

"I find it to be a relaxing hobby. Did that surprise you?"

"No, not really. W-Well, actually yes, but it's just, remembering what you said about trying out a lot of things for the first time, which included ice cream…"

"What about it?" he asked, taking a quick glance at his friend on the bed.

"It gave me the idea that there's still a lot of different food that you have no knowledge about, so I guess I'm surprised that you know how to cook," she mumbled, before realizing how hurtful her words may have sounded. "I don't mean it in an offensive way, of course…"

"No, I get what you mean. You're right that there are a lot of foods that I haven't tasted yet throughout my life, but that's exactly why I find it relaxing to cook. Learning recipes and then carefully executing them is one way of experiencing what I haven't experienced yet."

"I see," she nodded slowly, as a smile slowly began to unravel on her face. "I think I understand now, and I would be delighted to try whatever you come up with, Kiyotaka-kun."

Kiyotaka hummed as he cracked several eggs into a bowl and used the nearby whisk to beat them lightly.

"Hmm… now I'm feeling hesitant to cook when you only want me to give you some. It's your fault that I'm this hungry, you know? Let me cook this breakfast for myself," he told the girl.

His sudden comment made Hiyori frown in response. She wasn't planning to take his food for herself or whatever he had in mind!

"Oh, come on. You got to sleep in my room, didn't you? If you're gonna use my kitchen, you're cooking a meal for me too. I want to taste what you make, that's all. Like you, I haven't eaten anything since last night."

"Technically, you only 'forced' me to sleep here."

Her frown deepened and she folded her arms across her chest. "You're really going to blame that on me when I wasn't even in control of my own actions?"

Kiyotaka shrugged and lit up the stove, before opening the pack of ham slices and slicing them into little strips.

"Not really, but I firmly believe that you had some influence over what you were doing last night, even if it was done subconsciously. After all, you did say that you like me, right?"

After being reminded of her words earlier, the frown on her face slowly disappeared and was easily replaced by a look of embarrassment.

Ugh, why did he have to bring that up again?

Okay, yeah, they might be aware of each other's feelings now because they admitted it to one another, but it was still embarrassing!

It's as embarrassing as finding out that Kiyotaka slept beside her for the whole night and then unknowingly kissing him… it's something that she would never be able to recover from at this point.

Before she could come up with an actual response however, Kiyotaka spoke again.

"Well, you did give me a first kiss that I'll never forget, so I'll let it slide and give you that breakfast you want. Just sit there and relax, Hiyori."

It was after those words that Hiyori realized what he was trying to do, causing her to glare and pout at him., and it made her feel like an idiot for not getting it sooner.

"You just want to tease me, you meanie."

"It's amusing to see you embarrassed from a kiss, which I enjoyed very much. I'm lucky I got to share my first kiss with a beautiful girl like you," he remarked.

"O-Oh, really? That was my first kiss too, you know. But since I was half-asleep that time, it felt like that the kiss we had a while ago was my real first kiss," she tried to fire back at him, despite the raging blush on her face.

Kiyotaka nodded in acknowledgement. "I'm honored that I get to have both of those kisses. I enjoyed it both times."

Hiyori smirked as she stood up from the bed, her embarrassment completely forgotten in favor of getting one over Kiyotaka. He has teased her for long enough, and she wanted revenge!

"Y-Yeah? Well, you're not the only one who liked it!"

However, Kiyotaka didn't even seem remotely affected by her attempt to tease him.

"It pleases me to know that I wasn't a bad kisser, Hiyori. I would hate it if I left a bad taste in your mouth because I suck at kissing."

"Y-You…" she sighed in defeat afterwards, too overwhelmed by embarrassment to continue their banter. There's no point in continuing if she can't even get him to change that expression on his face. "You're too much sometimes, Kiyotaka-kun."

"I don't believe I am. Your buttons are just easy to push," he shrugged. "As I have said, I have no experience in this topic. However, having some reassurance from you makes me relieved. I honestly would feel disappointed if your first kiss sucked because of me."

Despite the annoyance she felt towards him at the moment, Hiyori couldn't help but shake her head in amusement.

Though their feelings for each other were mutual, it's not like their relationship and overall dynamic had changed drastically. It seemed like everything was more or less the same, at least for now. After all, they both agreed to not become a couple right away.

This is good though, because the last thing she wanted to happen was for things between them to get awkward.

"Hmm… maybe I could go for it…"

Having a sudden idea pop into her mind, Hiyori smirked to herself and stood up from the bed before walking over towards the young man.

As he added the ham slices to the egg that was being cooked, Kiyotaka was then taken by surprise when he felt a pair of arms wrap around his back in a warm and comforting hug.

"Then from now on, I expect you to be a good kisser all the time, Kiyotaka-kun."

Before he could ask Hiyori what she meant by those words, the girl went up on her tiptoes and planted a soft kiss on his cheek, making him stare at her with a confounded look on his face.

In response, Hiyori only smiled and winked at him, before going back to fix her bed and everything else.

Meanwhile, the young man continued to stare at her, even while cooking their breakfast, as he couldn't help but feel even more intrigued and interested with Hiyori.

Even when completely awake and not half-asleep, this girl is quite aggressive.

Well, Kiyotaka wasn't going to complain about that one bit.

17.2

As soon as their breakfast was prepared, both teenagers sat around the small dining table and began to eat. After a few compliments by Hiyori regarding Kiyotaka's cooking, they continued on in silence, wanting to satisfy their hunger before anything else.

"By the way, are you going to go with everyone else to the supposed island for our summer vacation, Kiyotaka-kun?" Hiyori asked halfway through their meal, breaking the silence between them.

He looked up to face her and nodded. "Of course I'll be there. Why are you asking?"

Hiyori sighed in relief. "Good. I'd hate to spend time on that island when you're not there, Kiyotaka-kun. Especially when we can also spend time together there."

"I share the same sentiment. I'm not enjoying that vacation if you're not there," he said firmly. "Though I wonder if we'll have to stick with our classes… or we're going to be given free reign of who we want to hang out with."

"I hope it's the latter. I can't imagine myself spending a few days being surrounded by my classmates all the time."

"That was the case before you met me, though."

"But I don't want to go through that again, obviously. Not when you're there and I could just spend time with you instead," she said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Even if it's a vacation for everyone, I can't see myself fully enjoying it if you're not with me, Kiyotaka-kun."

He waved his hand a few times to lessen the growing tension in the room. "Okay, okay. I was only being hypothetical, that's all. No need to be upset too much, Hiyori. It's not like I won't be going along on the vacation, because I said that I will."

"It's your fault for making me think about it," she pouted.

"Hmm… now that I'm seeing this strange side of you, you kind of strike me as the type of girl to be possessive over something or in this case, someone. Are you like that, Hiyori?"

Her eyes widened in alarm, before she looked away to hide the growing blush on her face.

"Stop it…"

"I see," Kiyotaka nodded slowly as things began to click inside his mind. "I should have seen this coming though. I definitely have to rethink my plans because I was actually going to prank you by secretly taking the books you bring with you one of these days and let you worry about where you put them."

"On to more important matters," she rolled her eyes and sighed. "What are we going to do if we're separated because we're in different classes?"

Kiyotaka shook his head and leaned back against his seat. "I doubt that the school will try to prevent us from being with who we want when it's supposed to be a vacation for the students. However, if that does happen for some reason, then it's no big deal."

"No big deal?"

"I'll just head to wherever Class-C is and hang out with you there."

Hiyori thought about that for a moment, and weighed the possible outcomes of that scenario in her mind. Her classmates will definitely wonder why a Class-D student is with them and ask her why she's with him. It's also likely that they'll make fun of him for his status, or something else about him entirely.

But then again, why should she care about what her classmates think?

Kiyotaka was someone dear to her and that's not going to change. If they ever think of insulting or talking down on him simply because he's a member of the lowest class, then she'd defend him from them.

"That's not a bad idea, but what if it's a requirement for us to only be with our classmates?" she asked, bringing up another possibility into the table. "What if our teachers deduct points from us if we aren't with our classmates?"

"Again, I think it's unlikely for that to happen but if it does, then we meet up somewhere where we'll be alone. Surely, the teachers won't be able to cover the whole island, would they? They won't know that we're with each other, unless our classmates are aware of it."

"Hmm… I should be worried that you're suggesting that we meet up alone on an isolated island, but I suppose I can trust you."

"Whatever bad thing you're thinking of me right now, it's not true. I have no ill intentions in mind, nor am I planning to keep for myself or anything. I was only thinking of a way where we can spend time in peace."

"Heh. I was only teasing you, of course. Don't worry, I understand completely," she giggled. "I trust you, Kiyotaka-kun."

After they were done eating, Hiyori gathered the dishes and utensils that they used before taking them to the sink so she could wash them. When Kiyotaka suggested that he could do it instead, she only told him to stay where he was and that she would do it.

"So I guess we'll see each other during the weekend only when we'll be leaving for that island…" he muttered.

"You don't want to meet up again in the next few days?" asked Hiyori, turning her head slightly to look at him in confusion.

"If you want, we can. Just say the word," he told her. "Although, you're definitely showing how possessive you can be if you want to meet up everyday even though we'll be spending a lot of time together during our supposed vacation."

Instead of getting annoyed at yet another attempt in teasing her, Hiyori thought about his words deeply this time.

"Well, let me ask you this, Kiyotaka-kun…" she breathed out. "Do… Do you have a problem with me acting this way towards you? Just tell me if you do, I… I won't get mad. Truthfully, I think you're right. I believe that I'm… acting possessive towards you, but that doesn't mean I have the right to be. You're free to spend time with other people, Kiyotaka-kun… not just me."

There was no answer from Kiyotaka for the next few moments, and it was starting to make her nervous about what he's planning to say.

Will he tell her that he does have a problem with the way she acts? Will he complain about her being overly clingy? About acting like a possessive girlfriend when she's not? The possibilities were making her restless and—

"I don't mind it," he shrugged. "I find it kind of cute and interesting that someone like you can be possessive. It's not going to stop me from wanting to hang out with you, Hiyori."

The girl stared at him in shock for a few moments, in complete disbelief that he brushed the matter off like it was nothing, before a smile slowly broke out on her face.

Hiyori got worried over nothing, it seems.

"You said it yourself, didn't you? I'm a rotten individual," she chuckled in amusement while wiping the dishes after she finished cleaning them. "And I also told you that you might be surprised at what I'm like."

"That you did," Kiyotaka nodded before turning around to face her. "And while I admit that I am surprised, I can't say I dislike this."

"I don't dislike this either, Kiyotaka-kun," she smiled at him in return.

MINASAN, YONDE KURETE ARIGATŌ! AISHITEMAAAAASUUUUU! *starts playing air guitar*

-Lance