Oh no! They all seem a bit off!

Chapter 17 A Two-Way Journey to Mouth and Teeth!

Walking through the narrow alley, Shiina Maki lowered her head, secretly glancing at Akizuki Makoto walking ahead. She pursed her lips, hesitated for a moment, and then whispered:
"I'm so sorry, Akizuki-kun, I will do everything I can to repay that money as soon as possible..."

"Let's put the money aside for now, and you don't need to pay it back. If you really feel sorry, please answer my questions honestly, okay?"

"can!"

Shiina Maki nodded quickly, already somewhat guessing what Akizuki Makoto was going to ask.

It's nothing more than a matter concerning her mother.

Akizuki Makoto stopped and looked behind him, asking softly, "Were you bullied yesterday?"

"what……"

The sudden question startled Shiina Maki, and then a look of hesitation appeared on her face before she gave no answer.

Akizuki looked at her quietly.

He believed that Shiina Maki would tell him, because she had promised him that she would answer him honestly.

As expected, after a short silence, Shiina Maki took a deep breath and whispered, "Yeah, I got beaten up yesterday."

Upon hearing this, Akizuki Makoto unconsciously clenched his fists and asked, "...Who is it?"

"Sawada-kun, and also Ainan, Kitahara..."

Shiina Maki named the four people who had cornered her in the bathroom one by one. The fear and timidity she felt when she was bullied resurfaced, causing her voice to tremble slightly.

"it is good."

Akizuki Makoto memorized the names of the four people, and then asked, "Were the injuries on your body inflicted by your mother?"

"Yes."

Shiina Maki lowered her head and answered honestly, her body aching all over again.

"Why would you rather be abused than live with your mother? Is it because you say she's your only family, nothing more?"

"Yes, my mother is my only family. Even if she hits me, it's because she loves me and wants to correct me because I made a mistake."

"Make a mistake? What mistake did you make?"

"He made noise, disturbing his sleeping mother; he didn't do the housework properly; the food wasn't good; he was disobedient..."

Maki Shiina listed out all the mistakes she had made.

As Akizuki Makoto listened, he couldn't help but frown.

Just because of these trivial matters, Shiina Maki was beaten up like this?

After listening to the various pieces of evidence listed by Shiina Maki, Akizuki Makoto sighed and said, "Shiina-kun, although I didn't mean to gossip about your family, you know in your heart that this is wrong, right?"

"..."

Shiina Maki lowered her head, remained silent, and bit her lip tightly.

Seeing this, Akizuki Makoto's expression turned helpless. He could only sigh again and say, "If you need help, come to me anytime, and I will help you."

"Akizuki-kun... why did you go to such lengths for me?"

Shiina Maki looked up at Akizuki Makoto, her heart filled not with joy, but with a very complex and complicated emotion.

She couldn't describe the feeling; it was just complicated, and her mind was in turmoil.

Logically, she should feel joy, honor, and flattered.

Because the god she had been longing for had finally noticed her and offered her help, something she had never dared to dream of.

"Is it out of pity or sympathy for me?"

She asked the question so cautiously, and her feelings became even more complicated.

If it's out of pity or sympathy, then she'd rather Akizuki Makoto keep his distance from her and let her remain in unrequited love.

She liked Akizuki Makoto, who was gentle and treated everyone equally, but when that gentleness came to her, she suddenly felt disgusted by the gentle Akizuki Makoto.

Doesn't that mean that Akizuki Makoto would treat everyone the same way? She's not special.

It was only because of her tragic circumstances that she evoked Akizuki Makoto's pity.

"To be honest, I don't know why I did it this way, I just couldn't stand by and do nothing."

When faced with Shiina Maki's question, Akizuki Makoto also felt he had a hard time answering. His starting point was very simple: pity and sympathy.

But he couldn't answer that way.

Because the expression on Shiina Maki's face at that moment was so sad, as if she was about to collapse at any moment.

"As expected..."

Shiina Maki murmured absentmindedly, but before she could finish, Akizuki Makoto interrupted, saying, "Actually, I've been keeping an eye on Shiina-san."

"Eh?"

Upon hearing this, Shiina Maki suddenly raised her head and stared blankly at Akizuki Makoto.

Under her gaze, Akizuki Makoto scratched his head, a faint smile on his face, and began to speak.

"Because you are always so quiet, yet you have such a strong presence, and you also have good grades and a smart mind."

"This, this... is no match for Akizuki-kun. Akizuki-kun is the one who is ten thousand times smarter than me."

Shiina Maki waved her hand, responding somewhat flusteredly.

"You know what? When I first saw you, I thought it was strange. I was thinking, it's summer now, why are people still wearing winter school uniforms?"

"I'm so sorry, I'm a weird person. Did I make you feel disgusted or uncomfortable?"

“…You.”

Makoto Akizuki chuckled helplessly, raised his hand and gently tapped Maki Shiina's head, then continued, "There is something strange about it, but there's nothing disgusting or uncomfortable."

"Is that so..."

Shiina Maki lowered her head, raised her hand to touch the spot where she had been hit, and suddenly realized that the indescribable complex feeling in her heart had completely disappeared!

Instead, there was a sense of excitement and exhilaration.

She felt she had misunderstood; Akizuki Makoto wasn't helping her so eagerly out of pity or sympathy.

That might be part of the reason, but it's not the main factor.

"It's because of your strangeness that I couldn't ignore your existence, and I've been keeping an eye on you ever since."

At this point, Akizuki Makoto seemed a little embarrassed. He raised his hand to touch his nose, paused for a while, and then continued.

"Then I discovered that, apart from your eccentric style, you're actually a very nice person."

"You pay great attention to detail and care about other people's feelings, which I think is very good."

"But sometimes I feel that this is a bad thing, because you care too much about other people's feelings, which is why you get bullied. I hope that when you are bullied again, you can be brave, after all..."

At the end, Akizuki Makoto suddenly stopped and didn't continue.

If I keep talking, I'll let something slip.

After all, Shiina Maki has the superpower to stop time and superhuman strength.

It's truly speechless that they were still bullied like this.

"I-I know!"

Shiina Maki didn't pay attention to what Akizuki Makoto hadn't finished saying, and nodded excitedly like a chick pecking at rice, her heart filled with uncontrollable joy.

So, while she was secretly following and spying on Akizuki Makoto, Akizuki Makoto was also secretly watching her?

Doesn't this mean they're actually going in both directions?!
So, her past actions—following Akizuki Makoto all the way to his apartment building, spying on him whenever she was in the same place as him, collecting his belongings, sneaking into the men's changing room to obsessively smell his shirts—should all be forgiven, right?
After all, they are heading towards the dental industry in both directions!

(End of this chapter)