By Zephyria Dragged out of the cafeteria by Ashley, Koi was bewildered but hurried to keep up, almost running. Ashley went around the cafeteria building and found a quiet corner, pinning Koi against the wall.
Koi, leaning against the wall in a daze, looked up and saw Ashley with his arms braced against the wall, looking down at him. He knew that Ashley was at least twice his size, but unlike other times, Koi felt intimidated by him.
He’d never felt this way before.
Koi flinched, feeling uneasy, and Ashley frowned. He clearly didn’t like Koi’s reaction. But Ashley’s shadowed, frowning face made Koi even more afraid.
“U-Um… why?”
He managed to open his mouth, but his voice was terribly cracked with tension.
Ashley’s mood worsened at Koi’s reaction, who didn’t understand the sudden situation and was just trying to read the room.
“You really don’t know why I’m doing this? Not at all?”
Ashley asked. His voice was quieter and calmer than usual, but Koi wasn’t relieved; he was even more scared.
“S-Sorry…”
He mumbled softly, and the lines on Ashley’s forehead deepened even more.
“Sorry? For what?”
“That’s…”
Koi’s words trailed off, and he stammered. He needed to say something, but he was afraid that opening his mouth would only make Ashley angrier. He kept stammering, “Um, that’s…” and sweating profusely, so Ashley finally gave the answer.
“What the hell was that you just did?”
“Huh? What… what did I do?”
Koi blinked, bewildered by the sharp tone, and Ashley forced down his anger, continuing in the quietest voice possible.
“I’m talking about what you did to Bill just now.”
“Oh…”
Only then did Koi recall the situation, trailing off awkwardly. Seeing his reaction, as if he’d realized something, Ashley took a deep breath and opened his mouth.
“How could you do that? How could you do that right in front of me, Koi? Tell me, now.”
His words gradually quickened as his anger rose. Koi noticed that he was struggling to suppress his anger and found it even harder to speak.
“Um, that’s…”
He swallowed hard and apologized again. “I didn’t think anything of it…”
“You didn’t think anything of it?”
Ashley immediately cut off Koi’s words. “Why didn’t you think anything of it? I’m right next to you, and you do that without thinking? Why?”
“Th-That’s, um…”
Koi stammered, flustered and not knowing what to do.
“He’s just… Bill’s a friend. I was just helping him…”
“Wiping his lips is just helping him?”
“It wasn’t his lips, just the corner of his mouth a little…”
Ashley saw right through Koi, who was at a loss for how to resolve the situation. Koi had much less experience than him and was naturally lacking in imagination. He shouldn’t be pushing him like this, getting angry.
…He knew that.
He felt like he was going crazy, burning up inside. In his head, he knew that he should explain rationally, calmly persuade him, and warn him not to do it again, but he just couldn’t get the words out.Before his eyes, Koi wiping Bill’s mouth and the two of them smiling at each other kept flickering, and it stole away his reason.
“…Ash?”
Koi’s voice trembled with uncertainty. Seeing the pale face looking up at him, Ash was overcome with the thought of wanting to embrace him and reassure him, but at the same time, he was seized by a violent impulse to push him to the edge and make him cry.
…What if I.
Koi looked at him with fearful eyes. Looking down at his wavering pupils, Ash thought. What if I, right now…
“Ash.”
Koi swallowed hard. His eyes widened as if startled. But Ash didn’t even notice it.
What if I, right now, were to rape you.
“Ash, the color of your eyes is strange.”
Koi barely managed to mutter in a terrified voice.
Ash’s pupils, which were gradually darkening, turning almost black, suddenly turned golden. Koi, startled by the sight of the dazzling golden eyes, pressed himself even closer to the wall, and Ash grabbed the wall with both hands and looked down at him. His heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was drumming not only in his chest but throughout his entire body.
Haa, haa.
His breathing gradually quickened, and heat bloomed throughout his body. Koi was seized with fear at Ash’s flushed face and erratic breathing.
“Ash, are you okay? Are you feeling unwell?”
When he urgently cupped Ash’s cheeks with both hands, Ash suddenly grabbed his wrist.
“Ah!”
Koi cried out involuntarily at the tremendous grip.
And the next moment, his body slammed against the wall, and Ash leaned into him. Koi’s feet involuntarily lifted off the ground, and his face, as he looked up at Ash on tiptoes, was filled with fear. He, too, had realized it.
That Ash was not normal right now.
Could it be, no way.
Koi struggled, trying to escape from the unknown sense of crisis.
But there was no way he could overcome Ash’s strength. Rather, Ash easily snatched both of his wrists with one hand and pinned them, and grabbed Koi’s waist with his remaining arm. Koi was completely trapped by him, with no way to escape.
He met eyes with the brilliantly shining golden eyes. Koi was still trying to escape, but all he could manage was to twist his shoulders a little.
Watching him, Ash chuckled and released the hand that had been holding Koi. As if to say that Koi’s two hands were useless even if they were free. And that was indeed the case. Koi gripped his shoulders and tried desperately to push him away, but Ash didn’t budge.
Ash simply wrapped his arms around Koi’s waist, pressed his body close, and looked down at him. Koi’s pale face was somehow pleasing to him. Haa, a sigh like a lament escaped from between his parted lips.
“Ash!”
Just as Ash was about to lean down and kiss Koi, Bill’s voice suddenly rang out. In an instant, Ash and Koi’s bodies froze simultaneously.
When Koi turned his head, he saw Bill standing not far away. He was standing there awkwardly with a surprised look on his face and wide eyes.
Why is Bill here?
While feeling a mixture of relief and doubt, Bill opened his mouth in a flustered manner.
“Ash, what are you doing with Koi right now…? And what is this scent?”
Bill wrinkled his face, pressing his nose with his sleeve after smelling the Pheromone scent.
He must have been worried and followed me.
Koi soon realized the situation. Bill must have thought that the atmosphere had become unpleasant because of him and had come looking for them.
Of course, it was something he could do because he thought of both Ash and Koi as friends, but it wasn’t a very good choice. Unlike Koi, who had a disability, Bill could smell. He immediately reacted to the strong Pheromone scent that was spreading around Ash.
“Ugh…”
“Bill!”
Suddenly, Bill hunched over and began to vomit. Koi turned pale and cried out at the sight of him throwing up all of the lunch he had just eaten.
“Ash, wait a minute! Let me go, Bill is…”
“Bill is, what?”
Ash cut him off. Koi, startled, lifted his head and met the golden eyes staring at him, and turned white. Soon after, he remembered why this situation had occurred. Because I did something unnecessary in the cafeteria.
“A, Ash, I’m sorry. It was my fault, I won’t do that again…”
Koi apologized urgently. Seeing Bill in distress, it was not the time to hesitate.
“Let’s, let’s call an ambulance. No, even the infirmary… Bill is sick, we need to help him now. Right? He’s your friend…”
Before he knew it, Koi’s voice had turned into a plea. It wasn’t just Bill. Ash’s condition was also strange. How could his eye color change like this?
But Ash didn’t seem to want to listen to him. Rather, he hugged Koi even tighter and spat out in a rough voice.
“Don’t worry about him, you just need to look at me.”
“Ash…!”
When he desperately called his name again, Bill vomited again. This time, he even had convulsions and collapsed, and Koi became desperate.
“Ash, I’m serious. Something really bad is going to happen, we need to help Bill…”
When he cried out in frustration, Ash suddenly glared at him with frightening eyes. At that moment, Ash gritted his teeth and muttered to Koi, who was terrified.
“Shut up, don’t say anything about other guys in front of me.”
His rough voice settled in his ear. Koi tried to push him away, but he didn’t budge.
Ash wasn’t listening to him at all. He had clearly lost all reason. I have to do something, I have to do something…
Just as he barely managed to think of something, Bill’s figure, staggering to his feet, came into his blurry vision. And then, all of a sudden, he charged at Ash with all his might.