Soul for a Girlfriend?

Chapter 43 - Ulterior Motives?

I yawned as I didn't sleep last night and stayed up reading a manga. I took a nap in the evening which I shouldn't have because it ruined my urge to sleep at night. Still, the ending of the manga was worth staying up for. I'll share this manga with Ts?men.

Lilith was right about my slow progression with Yasurouka. Already been two weeks and I still don't know what her problem is. With Tomose I caught a hold of her problem, that's why I devised my plan according to that.

But with Yasurouka it's different, she looks fine apparently. She has good friends who care for her and her academic life is sailing smoothly too. From outside, her life appeared pretty good. But I'm sure there is something, otherwise she wouldn't be my target right now.

I looked towards Yasurouka, sitting at the front of the class. She was talking with Gaisen and Kizhashi. She was smiling, and it looked like she was teasing Kizhashi about Gaisen because Gaisen was looking at them while blushing a bit. But this was all from my speculation. Despite being friends with Gaisen, and Yasurouka to some extent, I wasn't welcomed in their group.

Even if I take part in their conversation, I'll just feel out of place and they'll also not be able to speak their mind freely because they might have some things that's just exclusive to three of them.

I noticed Yasurouka turning her head towards her left side and looking at someone. It seems like that girl called her. Yasurouka got up from her chair and walked over to her desk. They seemed to be discussing something as Yasurouka was leaning over her desk and looking at the notebook in front of her. I assumed she was helping that girl with something study related.

I got up from my chair and walked towards her since this girl's desk was in the front row next to mine. I stopped beside her, and Yasurouka seemed to notice my presence as she looked at me.

"Helping with… what is this… Mathematics?" I said, glancing at the hyperbolic graph in the open notebook.

"Yeah" She nodded and again switched her gaze towards the notebook.

"You don't have to solve it, just give me a little hint" The girl clapped her hands and said that to Yasurouka.

"I know… don't worry." She replied in an absent tone as I can tell that she was focussed on that numerical problem. I didn't say much as I wasn't good at maths and second, this doesn't concern me in any way.

Three of us were looking at the notebook and there was silence between us. After thinking for quite a few moments, she suddenly asked for a pencil from that girl and started scribbling something in the empty space next to the numerical. It seemed like she arrived at the correct solution. After she was done, she looked at me with a satisfying grin on her face.

"Was a bit complicated, but I got it." She handed the pencil back to that girl and started explaining to her what she wrote.

Looking at her, she was sure good at maintaining her social relationships with others, and the fact that she was genuinely trying to help this girl made me wonder if this kindness is what made her so popular among other students. I have seen other students who are good at studies too, but they aren't liked much, probably because of their arrogance.

"Ahh thank you so much Reina-chan!" The other girl said in a cheerful voice and smiled at Yasurouka.

"I'm glad I could help," She said with an awkward laugh. The girl resumed her work while me and Yasurouka walked a bit farther from her desk.

"You sure are a nice person, aren't you?" I narrowed my eyes at her.

"You seem to think I'm a nice person from that day we met at the library."

"Well, I don't seem to think that, I do think that about you."

"Ahh… I don't know why you think I'm a nice person."

"Helping a fellow classmate who is having trouble with studies is something a nice person would do."

"Well, if you put it like that…"

"You also agreed to our deal pretty fast, despite us not talking even a word before that day."

"That's because… you're Gaisen-kun's friend, that's why." She said, but that was clearly an answer, which she blurted out without thinking. This was quite interesting, so I decided to pressure her on this event since I was involved in that. I had the right to know her reasoning behind her agreement.

"You were under no obligation to agree to that deal." I looked her directly in the eyes.

"Well… I mean I'm not as nice as you think." She averted her eyes. Seems like she is trying to hide something.

"And may I know why you think that about yourself?" I tried to ask her in a way which won't appear as me being desperate to pry into her life.

"It's because… I… um… you don't know me, that's…" This is the first time I'm seeing her fiddle with her words. She wasn't the kind of person to crumble up while talking to someone, let alone a person like me.

"Well, you have never told me about you… so yeah I don't know." I shrugged and looked at her.

"What if I've ulterior motives for the kindness I'm showing? Will you still call me nice?" She replied with a question of her own.

Ulterior motives? Showing kindness and expecting something in return is totally normal though. Well, I have questionable morals so I might say anything about this.

"Well… it's nothing… nevermind" She laughed.

"Heh?"

"I meant that helping others in studies also helps me revise that stuff again so it benefits me too." She smiled and gave a light shrug.

"I see." I nodded because I didn't know what to say. I could clearly tell that she was misleading me, but I couldn't say that on her face, or at least not right now. She turned around and started walking towards her desk.

"Well, whatever you say… I'll consider you nice." She turned her head towards me for a split moment, but didn't say anything. I don't know what kind of reaction it was, but she heard that for sure.

It seems like whenever it comes to the topic of talking about her, she either laughs it off or tries to change the topic. If this keeps going, then I won't be able to get close to her anytime soon.

She has this shell around her which she isn't letting me enter. But what is there that she has to protect it with a shell like that? If I can even get a hint of that, it'll be enough for me.

I don't think I can do it on my own. I'll take Gaisen's help now. He has known her for a long time now so I might get some clues from talking to him.