As the saying went, practice was the best way to learn. Whether or not she encountered setbacks, Ichinose Honami had to go through this. The real class competition had yet to begin, and she needed to become familiar with these things as soon as possible if she was to grow.
Her first meeting with Sakayanagi had left quite an impression on Hashiba Hikaru. The silver-haired girl was definitely no simple character, and he was sure to get the short end of the stick if he dealt with her.
This was a great opportunity for Ichinose Honami to gain some experience.
"Oh, everyone's already at the place for the celebration. They're asking where we are in the group chat."
The girl across from him held her phone, her eyes shining with joy.
"Really?"
"Let's hurry over. Our classmates are waiting."
Ichinose Honami's face brimmed with cheer. Though she'd just been given an important information-gathering task, the moment she heard about the get-together, her attention shifted to that.
"Sure."
Hashiba Hikaru nodded. School was already out, so it was nice to celebrate together. The students of Class B had been through a lot with him lately. They deserved a chance to relax.
When the two of them arrived at the address posted in the class chat, they found a spacious restaurant that had been reserved for Class B. Familiar faces filled the place.
As they entered, their classmates applauded and welcomed them, making the atmosphere even livelier.
"Hashiba, Ichinose, thank you!"
"You two are definitely the stars of today's celebration, so come on in and take your seats."
Shibata shouted to them from his seat. He'd already undone the buttons on his uniform and looked completely at ease.
Hashiba Hikaru and Ichinose Honami were seated at a table in the middle of the restaurant. The lively students sat around them, including Shibata Sou, Kanzaki Ryuji, and several girls led by Ando.
Once they were seated, Class B's celebration officially began.
With delicious food and good friends gathered around, the Class B students made the restaurant grow livelier by the minute.
Just then, a new message popped up on Hashiba Hikaru's phone.
Kushida Kikyo: Hashiba, are you free sometime soon? I've been waiting to treat you to a meal! Reply when you see this.
The boy thought it over, then sent a reply.
Hashiba Hikaru: Tomorrow works. How about the afternoon?
To his surprise, a reply came the very next second. Had she been on her phone the whole time?
Kushida Kikyo: Great! Let's meet at the Family Restaurant in Keyaki Mall. See you there!
Hashiba Hikaru: Sounds good.
After putting down his phone, the boy decided the timing was rather convenient.
The task of sounding out Sakayanagi's attitude had already been handed to Ichinose Honami, and the point-recovery plan was complete.
Now he needed to focus on raising the stock prices of the characters in his portfolio. There was also the newly listed [Shiina Hiyori Stock], with an initial price of 30 and 3,000 shares issued. She was another promising target.
I'm looking forward to seeing you tomorrow, Kushida.
Ichinose Honami's Move
After the lively celebration ended, Hashiba Hikaru opened his dorm room door, clutching his aching stomach.
He'd been mobbed by his Class B classmates during the meal. Besides Shibata and the others he already knew well, even students he'd barely spoken to before had crowded around to chat.
What's more, there'd been the classic toast-everyone-at-the-party ritual.
With his classmates getting more and more worked up, Hashiba Hikaru couldn't very well refuse them. He'd had to respond to each of their enthusiasm, and now his stomach was paying the price.
They were all minors and couldn't drink alcohol, but too many soft drinks could leave you feeling awful all the same. Shibata and Kanzaki Ryuji had apparently anticipated this. Instead of helping, they kept refilling Hashiba's glass and even egged the girls on to come toast him, too.
If Ichinose hadn't stopped them in the end, Hashiba Hikaru might have been done for at that restaurant.
"Those bastards. They must've planned to stuff me full of drinks from the start!"
Hashiba Hikaru grumbled as he made his way to his chair and sat down. His body felt awful, but the excitement from the party still lingered.
He hadn't let himself go like that in a long time. For the first fifteen years of his life, he'd worked hard at his studies to achieve his dream of getting into a good school. He'd had a few friends he could talk to, but not many, and he'd long since lost touch with them.
Now, within this completely enclosed campus, he was growing closer to his classmates, and a strange sense of belonging had taken root in his heart.
People were social creatures, and that really wasn't wrong.
Never mind. There's no point thinking about that. I should focus on what matters.
Hashiba Hikaru rubbed his stomach and checked his System Panel.
The only stocks he'd bought so far were [Ichinose Honami Stock] and [Kushida Kikyo Stock], and he still had 118,000 points.
The stock analysis for [Kushida Kikyo Stock] came to mind. It was an important case study. Its initial stock price was low, but more importantly, nearly every time she'd lowered her price, it had been related to Horikita Suzune.
Hashiba Hikaru had already agreed to Horikita Manabu's request to help Horikita Suzune grow, so he was bound to spend more time with her.
But he still couldn't tell how much contact would cause Kushida's stock price to fall. He'd have to finish this experiment first. Only then could he build up enough experience to earn more points in the future.
Before that, though, he had to raise her stock price. Otherwise, none of it mattered.
The next day, the afterglow of the previous evening's celebrations still lingered in Class B's classroom. Everyone was tired, but smiles remained on their faces.
"Good morning, Hashiba!"
"Morning."
After exchanging greetings, Hashiba Hikaru returned to his seat and noticed that his deskmate, Ichinose, still hadn't arrived. He couldn't help wondering if she'd gone to bed too late the previous night.
A few minutes later, as the boy leafed through his book, a familiar, sweet scent drifted closer. The girl's gentle voice sounded by his ear.
"Good morning, Hashiba."
"Morning, Ichinose. You're a little late today."
"Hehehe, I actually started carrying out the plan yesterday." Ichinose gazed at Hashiba Hikaru with a cheerful smile, a hint of pride in her voice.
"Really? Then I'm all ears. How did your task go, Ichinose?"
"Yesterday, I contacted the girl from Class A whom Ando knows. I found out from her that Classmate Sakayanagi often spends time with a girl named Kamuro Masumi."
"I got Kamuro's contact information and messaged her, asking her to pass along what I wanted to say to Classmate Sakayanagi." Ichinose took out her phone and showed it to Hashiba Hikaru. "Classmate Sakayanagi didn't turn me down. She agreed to meet privately."
"That's quite a roundabout way to do it."
Hashiba Hikaru glanced at the chat log, which showed Ichinose and Kamuro's conversation.
Then he spotted a very important detail, and his expression suddenly changed.
Ichinose and Sakayanagi had arranged to meet today?
Hashiba Hikaru hurriedly asked, "Ichinose, where are you meeting today?"
"At a café in Keyaki Mall. Classmate Sakayanagi picked the place."
"...I see. Got it." The boy nodded, his mind at ease.
If they weren't meeting in the same place, it should be fine.
Though Ichinose Honami knew that Kushida had invited him to a meal, judging by the girl's behavior the other day, there was no telling what might happen if she saw him meeting Kushida.
Hashiba Hikaru cared about Ichinose's feelings. Ideally, they wouldn't run into each other.
"I also found out a lot about Class A from that classmate." Ichinose hadn't noticed the change in the boy's expression and continued, "The divisions in Class A are really serious. Katsuragi's faction and Sakayanagi's faction are classmates, but they never act together. They even eat separately."
Ichinose Honami couldn't understand the situation. She murmured softly, "Everyone belongs to the same group. Why do they have to act this way...?"
"Heh. I guess that's just how Class A is."
Hashiba Hikaru thought it made perfect sense and explained to Ichinose Honami, "The students in Class A already have different goals and opinions. Learning about the hidden rules only made that more obvious."
"They all know the school considers them the best students in their year, so of course they're proud of themselves. Katsuragi and Sakayanagi each earned the support of part of the class through their own abilities and formed their respective factions."
"Without a clear reason, defecting would make people think they'd been wrong from the start. That would lower their standing, so they're both trying to absorb the other faction and prove that their own choice was the right one."
"Before the Special Exam begins, they'll probably stay like this."
"Why can't everyone just work together...?" Ichinose nodded, but the situation still bothered her.
"Enough about that. What time are you meeting Sakayanagi?" Hashiba Hikaru changed the subject and asked Ichinose for the exact time.
"Four thirty, at the café in Keyaki Mall." The girl read the time from her phone.
"Good. I hope you get the information you need, Ichinose."
Hashiba Hikaru smiled. Knowing the time made things easier, and the café and the Family Restaurant were on different streets. There was no way they'd run into each other.
This time, things were going my way!
Two Plans in Motion
The day passed quickly. When the dismissal bell rang, Hashiba Hikaru began packing his things. He was meeting Kushida Kikyo at four, earlier than Ichinose Honami's meeting with Sakayanagi. He'd made the sensible choice.
"Hashiba, are you busy later? Want to go sing karaoke?" Shibata came over. Ever since he'd stuffed Hashiba Hikaru with drinks last time, he'd been eager to hang out with him.
For one thing, Hashiba was easygoing and hardly ever got angry. For another, everyone trusted his abilities and wanted to get on his good side.
"No, I've got something to do. Maybe next time."
Hashiba Hikaru smiled, but didn't explain. He left the classroom, leaving the athletic boy standing there, dumbfounded.
Shibata had assumed Hashiba Hikaru usually spent time with Ichinose Honami. But when he looked back, the pink-haired girl was gone, too. It seemed the two of them both had plans today.
"Seriously."
Shibata muttered to himself, then picked up his bag and went to look for Kanzaki Ryuji. Like him, Kanzaki was an active member of Class B, and the two of them were friends.
After leaving the classroom, Hashiba Hikaru returned to his dorm first. He changed into some casual clothes he'd bought earlier. Since this was his first time meeting Kushida Kikyo in private, he figured he should make an effort and leave her with a good impression.
His goal was to raise her affection for him, so he couldn't afford to neglect his appearance.
He wore a light-colored autumn outfit: a shirt paired with neatly pressed trousers. Compared with his burgundy uniform, it softened his appearance, making him look less like a student and more mature.
"That should do it."
Hashiba Hikaru stood in front of the mirror and adjusted his appearance. The relaxed clothes paired with his already striking features made him look even more handsome.
He sent Kushida a message to say he was on his way, then stepped out of his dorm.
Hashiba Hikaru had been to the Family Restaurant at Keyaki Mall many times. It was popular with students and always crowded, so it was best to reserve a table ahead of time.
Since Kushida Kikyo was treating him to a meal, she'd naturally booked a table early.
The short-haired girl took the meeting just as seriously. Before leaving, she'd spent a long time fussing over her appearance in her dorm. As well as changing into a cute outfit, she'd put on a light touch of makeup, making her pretty face even more captivating.
"That should be fine."
Kushida sat at her desk and fixed her hair. Her face was completely expressionless; this was how she looked when she was alone.
Maintaining the image of an energetic, sunny girl was exhausting, after all. There was no need to keep it up when she was by herself.
"Good afternoon, Hashiba!"
The girl looked at her reflection and let a brilliant smile bloom across her lips. Practicing her greeting before leaving made her feel more secure.
Once she stepped out of her dorm room, her expression softened again, and she headed toward her destination.
Along the way, she ran into some classmates she knew. After exchanging greetings, they couldn't help asking who she was meeting, since she'd dressed up so beautifully.
"It's a secret."
The girl was already well practiced in that sort of response. It didn't lower their opinion of her; if anything, it added a touch of playfulness.
Today, Kushida Kikyo was once again the cheerful little angel adored by countless people.
Just as she was nearing the Family Restaurant, she spotted a figure standing outside.
The boy was tall and wore light-colored autumn casual clothes. His handsome face was expressionless, yet he gave off a peculiar charm.
Several girls deliberately slowed their steps to get a better look at him. A few bold ones even approached to ask his name and class.
Kushida took quick, light steps toward Hashiba Hikaru. There was no denying that his looks were right up her alley. If the girl weren't completely uninterested in dating right now, she might even consider choosing him.
As she got closer, Kushida heard the boy answering a senpai who'd come over to flirt with him.
"Really? You want to be friends with me, senpai? I'm Shibata Sou from Class 1-B, and I'm single."
Before you continue