Inside a karaoke room.
This was where Akasaka and Sakayanagi were meeting.
I couldn't help smiling at the trio across from me. "You really are inseparable, Sakayanagi, Kamuro, and Classmate Morishita Ai."
Morishita Ai put one hand on her hip in a cute pose and held the other up by her face, making a peace sign.
"Yes! We're the best trio—the Rocket Team!"
I couldn't help applauding, then instinctively replied, "And who are you?"
Seeing Akasaka ask that familiar question, Morishita knew he was a fellow 2D fan. Her eyes lit up, and she instantly went into Chuunibyou mode.
She wrapped one arm around her waist and covered her face with the other, wearing a twisted grin as if Sasuke had possessed her.
"Heh heh, since you've asked so earnestly..."
After a long pause, when nobody joined in, Morishita nudged Kamuro beside her with her elbow. Kamuro folded her arms and turned her head away, making it clear she had no intention of playing along.
Seeing that, Morishita resorted to a dirty trick. She darted over to Kamuro and tickled her mercilessly under the arms.
"Tickle, tickle, tickle! I'm tickling you, I'm tickling you~"
"Hahaha! Stop tickling me, Morishita! Cut it out! I give up, I give up!!!"
Morishita Ai stopped, staring Kamuro straight in the eyes.
In the end, unable to endure the humiliation, Kamuro reluctantly played along.
"Since you've asked so earnestly!"
Morishita Ai quickly added, "Then we'll mercifully tell you!"
Kamuro gritted her teeth and continued, humiliated. "To keep the world from being destroyed..."
"To protect the peace of the world!"
Kamuro continued in a weak voice. "To carry out the evils of love and truth..."
"The cute and charming villains!" Morishita put one hand on her hip and struck a pretty pose.
"Kamuro."
"Morishita!"
The two dropped to one knee in unison, facing Sakayanagi Arisu on the sofa, and continued their speech.
"The Rocket duo, traveling through the galaxy," Morishita Ai said, growing more and more enthusiastic as she delivered the mortifying line.
Kamuro, meanwhile, sounded utterly resigned. "A white hole! A white tomorrow is waiting for us..."
All that remained was Meowth's final line.
Morishita Ai stared straight at Sakayanagi Arisu, making her meaning obvious.
Sakayanagi, sitting on the sofa, clenched her cane. She was clearly on the verge of snapping.
She could hardly believe what kind of people she had picked as her assistants.
Was Morishita Ai really like this? How had she never noticed? She must have been hiding it well...
Faced with Morishita Ai's pleading gaze, Sakayanagi suddenly looked embarrassed.
"Sorry, I don't know what the next line is. I've never watched Pokémon..." Sakayanagi said guiltily.
She had watched it, actually, but didn't want to admit it because she didn't want to say that embarrassing line.
When her leader refused to play along, Morishita Ai gave an "Oh~" and looked disappointed. Her spirits visibly sank.
Akasaka couldn't help laughing at the scene. He quietly supplied the final line.
"Meowth, that's right! We're the Rocket trio."
Morishita Ai's eyes lit up at once. She hurried over to Akasaka and grabbed his hand.
"A kindred spirit!"
Seeing how excited Morishita Ai was, Akasaka took out his phone and asked to add her as a friend. It wasn't because he was attracted to her looks; he was purely thinking he might need her help someday.
Morishita Ai added him without hesitation. I glanced at the photos on her phone and couldn't help being impressed.
"Code Geass, Death Note, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Gundam 00, Gundam SEED... Who would've guessed you were such a hardcore 2D fan, Morishita Ai?"
Morishita Ai waved her hand nonchalantly. "Just call me Morishita, kindred spirit."
I raised an eyebrow. "How are you so sure I'm a kindred spirit?"
Morishita gave me a determined look. "It's a hunch. We're the same kind."
Our eyes met, and we both wore expressions of mutual understanding. Then we made a little kissy face at each other.
Sakayanagi and Kamuro immediately fell over.
Kamuro climbed back onto the table and scolded us in irritation.
"What are you two doing? Did you just hit it off or something?!"
We both looked embarrassed. "Sorry, we just felt a kindred connection and couldn't help ourselves. ×2"
Sakayanagi rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Akasaka, you've already gotten along so well with my assistant. Anyone who didn't know better would think the two of you were a team."
Akasaka shrugged. "You don't understand, Classmate Sakayanagi. This is the unspoken understanding between 2D fans."
"Exactly!" Morishita stood beside Akasaka as if they really were on the same team, which thoroughly angered Sakayanagi.
She seriously suspected that Class A had lost so many Class Points because of a traitor. Otherwise, there was no way they could have lost so many.
Class B's points had also risen quite a bit. Someone must have been working from within.
Sakayanagi hadn't come here just to give him the points. She also wanted to find out who had betrayed the class.
Now, even without asking, she was beginning to suspect Morishita Ai.
After all, Morishita was openly fooling around with Akasaka...
Morishita Ai covered one eye with a hand and swept her arm toward Akasaka, unleashing the power of Geass.
A red, bird-shaped pattern slowly appeared in Morishita Ai's eyes [this was all imaginary; please ignore it].
"By the power of Lelouch Lamperouge, I command you, Akasaka Ryunosuke: submit to me!"
Akasaka played along, throwing his head back and laughing.
"That level of mental interference is nothing before these Mangekyō Sharingan..."
"Enough, you two!!!"
Sakayanagi finally couldn't take it anymore and stopped them from carrying on with their act.
She'd had enough of these two Chuunibyou.
She even regretted choosing Morishita Ai as her assistant.
How had she not realized this girl was a Chuunibyou? She'd thought Morishita was simply quiet and kept talking to herself. She hadn't expected her to be a full-blown Chuunibyou...
Akasaka and Morishita froze at the same time, then both looked embarrassed.
They'd gotten carried away and completely forgotten what they were there for.
They'd finally met someone their age who shared their affliction, so they'd let their guards down and forgotten why they'd come.
Morishita returned to her place behind Sakayanagi and resumed her usual quiet demeanor. It was obvious she'd recovered her composure.
Akasaka also returned to his serious manner and continued the conversation.
Sakayanagi took a deep breath, calming her turbulent emotions, then spoke slowly.
"I admit I lost this time, Akasaka. But I want to know exactly how I lost. Who betrayed Class A?"
Sakayanagi stared straight at me, as if certain that Class A had a traitor!
Faced with Sakayanagi's question, Akasaka Ryunosuke had no intention of revealing who it was.
After all, she had helped him without realizing it.
Kamuro might be a little dim and a little foolish, but that wasn't enough for him to betray her.
I thought for a moment, then shook my head. "There's no traitor in your class, Sakayanagi. You're overthinking it."
"Hmph," Sakayanagi scoffed, clearly unconvinced.
"If there's no traitor, how did you manage to make our class lose points?"
"I don't believe you did it without someone on the inside helping you."
"But I'll honor my bet. I'll still pay you what I owe."
With that, Sakayanagi transferred 900,000 Personal Points to me.
I accepted the 900,000 Personal Points without a change in expression. Perhaps the sums I'd handled before were so large that 900,000 no longer felt like much.
Seeing my reaction, Sakayanagi grew curious.
"Judging by your reaction, you must have more than 900,000 on hand."
"And your victory over Class A this time was connected to you, wasn't it? Did you also make a fortune in points from that?"
Though she phrased it as a question, she was practically certain.
Both classes' points had changed, and it was obvious the man before her had caused it. That only made Sakayanagi more interested in him.
Other than the time at the White House, she hadn't lost her composure like this before.
Sakayanagi Arisu gradually began looking at Akasaka as if he were prey, as though she had already claimed him for herself.
Akasaka saw the look and knew the Mother Tyrant had set her sights on him. But it didn't matter, as long as he earned points and achieved his goal.
He'd have to go up against Sakayanagi sooner or later anyway. He might as well do it sooner.
With the points in hand, Akasaka didn't say anything more. He got up to leave the karaoke room, said goodbye to Sakayanagi, and walked out.
Sakayanagi stood at the door, watching the figure who had defeated her since the day they enrolled. A smile slowly curled at the corner of her mouth.
"We'll meet again, Akasaka. The battle between us has only just begun..."
"Let's go, Morishita, Kamuro."
Sakayanagi leaned on her cane and slowly stood up.
The two girls followed close behind her, one on each side.
Before leaving, Sakayanagi called her father.
"Father, I met someone very interesting. Could you look into someone named Akasaka Ryunosuke for me? I want all the information on him, as soon as possible."
The Chairman on the other end of the line—Sakayanagi Narumori—sounded rather helpless.
"Daughter, you're asking your father to abuse his authority for you. That wouldn't be fair."
Sakayanagi pouted adorably, her voice taking on a pleading tone.
"If you don't agree, I'll never speak to you again."
As a hopelessly doting father, Sakayanagi Narumori couldn't withstand that threat. He agreed without a second thought...
Having achieved her goal, Sakayanagi hung up. An odd smile appeared on her lips.
"Akasaka, our contest has only just begun."
"After all, knowing your opponent inside and out is the key to victory."
"Just you wait..."
Elsewhere, Akasaka Ryunosuke suddenly sneezed.
"Ah-choo! Who's badmouthing me? How strange."
Before you continue