"Ah!" This time, Kiyona really did let out a quiet gasp, but she immediately covered her mouth. The short, stifled sound slipped out despite her best efforts, like a pebble tossed into still water, sending ripples through the heavy silence of the classroom.
Kanji Ike, seated near the aisle in the front row, was chewing on his pen as he struggled with trigonometry. At the sound, he abruptly turned around, his sleepy eyes full of confusion. Onodera, the girl sitting beside him, also turned toward the noise. Even the physics teacher, who was explaining "the special manifestation of energy conservation under the influence of friction," paused with chalk against the blackboard for half a second, then cast an inquisitive glance toward the back of the room through her lenses.
However, when everyone's eyes settled on Hoshino Kanade and Kiyona—
Kiyona's...
But most importantly, she hadn't pulled her right foot back! Hoshino Kanade reacted even faster and more discreetly. The instant Kiyona gasped, his left hand, which had been gripping her ankle, pressed down sharply. At the same time, his right elbow seemed to rest casually against the edge of the desk, but it was placed with precision. Using the angle between his body and the desk, he trapped Kiyona's foot beneath the desk, inside the "cage" formed by his legs!
Even more cunningly, he leaned his upper body forward slightly. His broad shoulders and bowed head formed a natural screen, completely obscuring the space beneath the desk from the teacher and most of the class. His body and the desk edge created a perfect blind spot.
His upper body didn't move at all. He even lifted his left hand and lightly scratched behind his ear with the end of his pen, brow furrowed as he focused on the open workbook in front of him, as if the faint sound had merely come from him scratching his head and he was now deeply stumped by a difficult problem.
"Oh... Those two again..." Kanji Ike concluded automatically.
After all, the couple's habit of "accidentally" knocking things over, whispering to each other, and occasionally making strange noises was old news in Class D.
Seeing Hoshino Kanade looking so focused on his work, he pursed his lips and turned back without interest, resuming his battle with the problem on the board.
Onodera wondered to herself, "Maybe Kiyona got poked by her pen again? The way she's covering her mouth... Does Hoshino have a difficult problem?" She, too, turned her attention back to the blackboard.
The physics teacher adjusted her glasses. That problem Hoshino's working on is a little difficult. No wonder she's scratching her head... The chalk continued to scratch across the board.
Within seconds, every gaze that had briefly turned their way shifted back, as if brushed aside by an invisible hand.
The "order" of the classroom quickly restored itself, and the sluggish river of knowledge flowed on.
Only Kiyona knew that her foot was still trapped in those "clutches," unable to move!
Kiyona slumped over her desk.
She angrily swore to herself that she wouldn't talk to Hoshino Kanade for the rest of the day—no, at least not for the rest of this class period! What a jerk! Hmph!
Meanwhile, in the seat diagonally ahead of Hoshino Kanade, Matsushita Chiaki had witnessed the entire "show" from beginning to end. Her feelings could no longer be described as mere "shock."
Matsushita Chiaki was a typical example of someone who "kept her abilities hidden" in Class D.
It wasn't that she lacked ability. But after realizing that Class D's chances of reaching Class A were practically nonexistent, she'd decisively given up and set her sights on doing nothing until graduation.
She usually hung around Karuizawa Kei's clique, quietly observing everything that went on in class.
Of course, a few unusual classmates had caught her interest, too. Hoshino Kanade, who always seemed a little mysterious, and Ayanokoji Kina, whose mannerisms seemed somehow different, were both high on her "watch list."
She observed them simply out of habit, gathering information to satisfy her curiosity.
But she'd never imagined that her everyday observations would let her witness scene after scene like this... something beyond her wildest imagination!
These two young people... had actually done something like that?!
Before you continue