Tit for Tat

"Don't talk back. Come with me."

Chabashira Sae's cold, hard voice left no room for argument. Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's plain face showed no emotional fluctuation, as if both the earlier "excuse" and this command were merely wind brushing past his ears. He obediently replied, "Yes." Then he turned and followed Chabashira Sae with steady steps.

Just as Ayanokoji fell into step behind Chabashira, Hoshinomiya Chie, who had been rubbing her head with a hint of grievance, instantly rebloomed her flawless sweet smile. She moved lightly, like a clingy kitten, naturally trailing behind Ayanokoji and Chabashira, her destination clearly the same counseling room.

Chabashira Sae almost immediately sensed the "tail" behind her. She whirled around, her already stern face now filled with undisguised disgust and fury, her gaze sharp as a demon's, glaring at Hoshinomiya: "Don't follow me."

Hoshinomiya-sensei acted as if she hadn't seen the murderous look, her smile growing even brighter, her voice syrupy sweet: "Don't be so cold~ Letting me listen won't cost you a thing, right? Besides, little Saezu is definitely not the type to do Individual Guidance, is she? Yet suddenly calling new student Ayanokoji-kun to the counseling room..." She deliberately dragged out her words, her eyes glinting with cunning light, "I wonder if little Saezu has some special purpose?"

As she spoke, she kept walking, even circling behind Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and lightly placing both hands on his shoulders. This gesture carried a deliberate intimacy and declaration.

Shimiya Kuki clearly sensed that, though he couldn't see Hoshinomiya-sensei's front-facing expression, the atmosphere between the two class advisors where their gazes collided instantly became extremely intense, invisible sparks and gunpowder filling the air. Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, caught in the middle, remained expressionless.

"Little Saezu," Hoshinomiya-sensei's voice carried a faint trace of provocation from behind Ayanokoji, "you wouldn't be trying to rebel against your superiors~?"

Rebel against superiors? Shimiya Kuki keenly caught this keyword. In the school's hierarchical context, its meaning was almost self-evident—it hinted at the possibility of promotion or replacement between classes! Hoshinomiya was publicly exposing Chabashira's ambition, or rather, laying that possibility bare before a Class D student (Ayanokoji). Deliberately exposing the opponent's goal to create pressure. Shimiya instantly saw through Hoshinomiya's malicious intent.

Chabashira Sae's face turned even uglier. She almost gritted her teeth, her voice icy as she retorted: "Don't talk nonsense. Of course that's impossible." Her denial was quick and firm.

"Hehe, that kind of thing really is impossible for little Saezu~" Hoshinomiya-sensei murmured meaningfully, her tone dripping with contempt. She followed closely, only a few steps from the counseling room door.

"How long do you plan to follow?" Chabashira Sae stopped, blocking the counseling room door, her anger nearly overwhelming her reason. "This is a Class D issue!" She emphasized the words "Class D."

"Eh?" Hoshinomiya-sensei blinked in feigned surprise, her smile still sweet. "I just want to go to the counseling room together! Is that not allowed?" She tilted her head, speaking in an innocent tone, "See, I can help give advice too~ After all, I'm an experienced class advisor! And besides..."

Her gaze suddenly shifted to Shimiya Kuki and Ichinose Honami, who had been silently observing, especially landing on Shimiya, her smile growing even brighter: "Ah, right! I happen to need the counseling room too! Little Shimiya, teacher wants to talk to you about the last quiz as well!" After saying this to Shimiya, she immediately turned back to Chabashira, offering a seemingly reasonable but actually aggressive suggestion, "So, little Saezu—since we both need it, why not go in together? Wouldn't that be more efficient? We can squeeze in, no problem~"

Shimiya Kuki understood in his heart. The quiz? An excuse. Hoshinomiya-sensei clearly wasn't really going to talk to him about that trivial quiz. Her real purpose was, on one hand, using this excuse to forcibly intrude on Chabashira's meeting with Ayanokoji, continuing her interference and intelligence gathering (or rather, intelligence planting); on the other hand, this casually thrown-out reason also cleverly concealed any other, more important true reason she might have for calling Shimiya Kuki. Killing two birds with one stone—pressuring Chabashira while muddying the waters. She was using Class B's affairs as a wedge to forcibly pry open Class D's closed space.

Chabashira Sae watched Hoshinomiya's "I'm going in" attitude and her use of Shimiya as an excuse, her chest heaving violently. She knew that continuing to argue would only make the situation more out of control, giving this cunning woman a chance to say more things she shouldn't. She took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing her nearly exploding anger, her gaze icy as it swept over Hoshinomiya, finally glaring fiercely at the still-expressionless Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

Just as the tension was about to erupt at any moment, Hoshinomiya-sensei's smile subtly faded a fraction, her aggressive aura receding like a tide. As if she had just realized her "excess," she released her hands from Ayanokoji's shoulders, stepped back half a pace, and flashed Chabashira Sae an even more "sincere" smile.

"Oh my, little Saezu looks really troubled, doesn't she~" Hoshinomiya's voice returned to its usual sweetness, with a hint of "understanding" thoughtfulness. "Alright, alright, today I won't disturb Class D's 'important meeting'!" She spread her hands in a gesture of concession.

Chabashira Sae's tense body seemed to relax slightly, but her eyes remained full of vigilance and coldness.

Hoshinomiya-sensei ignored Chabashira's cold face, continuing with a beaming smile: "Then I wish little Saezu a smooth meeting!" Her tone sounded utterly sincere, and she even gave a playful wave. "Make sure to guide Ayanokoji-kun well~"

After saying this blessing that seemed to come from the heart, Hoshinomiya-sensei didn't linger, nor did she look back at Shimiya and Ichinose. She simply turned, walked away with light steps, humming a tuneless little song, and disappeared down the corridor, as if the fierce conflict had never happened.

Chabashira Sae watched Hoshinomiya's retreating figure, her face still livid, but her tense nerves had clearly relaxed considerably. She no longer paid attention to Shimiya and Ichinose outside the door. She whirled around, almost roughly shoved open the counseling room door, and barked at Ayanokoji: "Get in!"

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka obediently stepped into the counseling room. Chabashira Sae followed closely, slipping in after him.

"Bang!"

The door was forcefully shut from inside by Chabashira Sae, cutting off the view from outside, and the clear sound of a lock clicking was heard.

In the corridor, only Shimiya Kuki and Ichinose Honami remained, along with the tightly closed counseling room door, which seemed to still echo with the aftermath of the fierce confrontation. Ichinose Honami appeared still immersed in the explosive standoff, a trace of bewilderment and lingering fear on her face.

Just then, Hoshinomiya Chie's light footsteps and humming returned. Like a fluttering butterfly, she reappeared at the corridor corner, her signature sweet smile on her face, as if her departure had only been a short stroll.

"Oh my, sorry to keep you waiting~" She walked briskly up to Shimiya Kuki and Ichinose Honami, her gaze sweeping over the locked counseling room door, a regretful "what a shame" expression on her face, but her tone was utterly relaxed:

"Little Shimiya, see? What bad luck~ This counseling room is being used by little Chabashira and them~" She pointed at the closed door, then winked playfully, gesturing toward another door down the corridor with the same "Counseling Room" sign. "But no problem! We'll use the other one! I just confirmed it—the other room isn't in use right now."

As she spoke, she walked briskly toward the other counseling room, turning back to wave enthusiastically at Shimiya Kuki, her voice full of urging and a faint, hard-to-detect hint that they were getting down to business:

"Over here, over here~ Little Shimiya, let's get started too!"

Shimiya Kuki calmly watched Hoshinomiya-sensei's back as she headed for the other counseling room. He knew in his heart that Hoshinomiya-sensei's summons wasn't just about that "quiz." Without hesitation, he stepped forward and followed her calmly.

At that moment, Ichinose Honami seemed to snap out of the shock. She remembered that she had originally wanted to consult Hoshinomiya-sensei about the study group, and since Shimiya-kun was also there, maybe listening in wouldn't hurt? More importantly, she felt a flicker of curiosity and a sense of responsibility as a core class member about Hoshinomiya-sensei suddenly calling Shimiya for a private talk. She bit her lower lip, quickly caught up to Shimiya Kuki, and said softly, "Hoshinomiya-sensei, about the study group, I also..."

Hoshinomiya-sensei heard the footsteps, turned back, and saw Ichinose following. A fleeting, unreadable expression crossed her face, but it was instantly replaced by an even brighter smile: "Oh my, little Honami is coming too? That's fine, that's fine~" She greeted her warmly, as if Ichinose's arrival was exactly what she wanted. "Perfect timing, we can hear little Shimiya's opinion on the study group and helping classmates too! Many hands make light work~ Come in, come in!"

As she spoke, she had already pushed open the door to the other counseling room, stepping aside to clear the way, her flawless sweet smile fixed on her face as she waved to Shimiya and Ichinose:

"Over here, over here~ Little Shimiya, little Honami, let's get started too!"

Shimiya Kuki and Ichinose Honami entered the counseling room one after the other. Hoshinomiya-sensei followed closely and stepped inside as well.

"Click."

The door was gently closed.

The corridor fell completely silent, leaving only two closed counseling room doors, like silent sentinels, each guarding the secret conversations of Class D and Class B now underway within.