Kijima Tsukur sat in his seat with one leg crossed over the other. He propped his chin on his left hand and pulled out a Rubik's Cube with his right to pass the time. Katsuragi and Kamuro Masumi stood behind him.
It was ten minutes before four-thirty. A little early.
"Heh..."
Kamuro Masumi folded her arms and glanced at Kijima Tsukur with a scoff.
"Was her name Morishita? I don't think you've talked much with that weirdo. Did she tell you how the other classes responded?"
"..."
Kijima Tsukur ignored her.
In fact, there hadn't been any response. Morishita Ai had only reported on LINE that she'd notified everyone. Whether the other classes came or not was up to them.
"I'm just saying..."
Kamuro Masumi's tone was a little mocking. "Whatever method you used to get this information, and whatever analytical skills you showed a few days ago, I'll admit you have some ability, but..."
As she spoke, Kamuro Masumi looked even more disdainful.
"The other classes won't indulge you like we do. Are you really sure they'll come?"
"You..."
Kijima Tsukur turned around and looked into her eyes, a little surprised. "Your name was Kamuro Masumi, right? I didn't expect you to be so unexpectedly considerate."
Though her words were sharp, she was basically analyzing the situation for him, telling him not to get too cocky and at least to know his place.
"Huh?"
Kamuro Masumi was at a loss for words. "Are you an idiot?"
As she spoke, Kamuro Masumi didn't hold back. She kicked the leg of his folding chair, but Kijima Tsukur raised a hand and blocked her.
"Don't get so angry..."
Kijima Tsukur blocked Kamuro Masumi's shin with his left hand, his expression unchanged, though he was a little surprised inside.
He had no doubt about his own judgment.
It was just that decisive girls like her were quite rare. It was as if she were simply making it clear that he shouldn't mistake her for a good person.
So,
Kamuro Masumi didn't press the matter further, though she was a little surprised herself. This guy seemed pretty capable, too.
Katsuragi, Kito, and the others were just as surprised.
Kijima Tsukur had been sitting in his seat and blocked the kick aimed at the chair leg by hooking his hand behind him.
It was difficult to put any strength into a position like that.
To block the kick, he would have needed to be far stronger than his opponent.
Of course, Kamuro Masumi probably hadn't used all her strength, but it was still enough to show that Kijima Tsukur was definitely no pushover.
"Interesting."
Only then did Kijima Tsukur turn to look at Kamuro Masumi.
"Are you unhappy, or even offended, when someone calls you considerate?"
"You..."
"Don't get worked up. I'm not interested in that sort of thing."
Kijima Tsukur gazed at Kamuro Masumi's amethyst eyes and said calmly,
"Kamuro, be my woman. You're pretty, and I like your personality."
"Huh?"
Silence.
Kamuro Masumi was dumbfounded.
She'd been a little angry before, but now she was genuinely stunned.
Katsuragi and the others beside them were equally shocked. They'd been talking about the meeting, and suddenly he'd confessed his feelings.
That was a bit of a quick change of subject, wasn't it?
What were they supposed to do?
Watch the drama or leave?
They should have felt awkward, but Kijima Tsukur's change of topic was so outrageous that Katsuragi and the others couldn't even feel embarrassed. They were just completely bewildered.
After a long while, Kamuro Masumi finally came to her senses and glared at him.
"Get lost. I'm not interested in weirdos like you. Or do you think you can win me over and make me betray Sakayanagi this way? Dream on. Neither you nor her are any good!"
'Whoa...'
Once they'd recovered, Katsuragi and the others stared straight ahead, pretending not to notice.
What was going on with these two? He'd confessed so quickly, and she'd rejected him just as casually. They were pretty strange.
Just as Kamuro Masumi had said,
Kijima Tsukur was a weirdo, and Kamuro didn't seem much different.
Everyone stole glances at the two of them.
The topic had changed so quickly that they couldn't keep up. It didn't seem like there'd be any trouble, so they might as well just watch.
In the corner, Yamamura Miki also looked back and forth between them.
Did that really count as a confession?
So casual...
"Don't misunderstand."
Kijima Tsukur leaned back in his chair and turned around, unconcerned.
"It's just that Sakayanagi has something on you, and your interests are aligned, so you're working for her, right?"
"I told you, you'll all become my subordinates. It's fate. I'm not interested in things like winning people over."
"Hmph."
Kamuro Masumi crossed her arms and snorted.
Though she really disliked Kijima Tsukur's matter-of-fact attitude, she had to admit he was capable. He'd seen right through her situation at once.
"Kijima."
At that moment, Hashimoto Masayoshi managed a strained smile, hoping to salvage the situation.
"Why don't we just forget it? I don't think they're coming."
"Relax."
Kijima Tsukur glanced at him, in a good mood, and finally offered an explanation.
"I have a reason for doing this."
"..."
Hashimoto Masayoshi still wanted to argue.
No matter what his reason was, he couldn't act like this...
But... there was no way to stop someone from leaking their class's information.
Limited to three people.
Kijima Tsukur had done it on purpose, of course.
He wasn't sure what the others thought, but any normal person would probably find the school's offer suspicious, wouldn't they?
Limited to three people.
Based on who showed up,
they could get a general idea of the other classes' dynamics and their leaders' styles.
For example,
would they be late?
How many people would arrive in the end?
Would they send only their leader, or would they break the three-person limit?
What was the dynamic between those who arrived?
How did they treat students from other classes? How did they react when they heard the information? And so on!
A single invitation could reveal quite a lot, and that would determine how he dealt with the other classes in the future.
Although he'd decided on ALL-A, with everyone graduating from Class A,
Kijima Tsukur had never promised that it would be achieved peacefully.
Just then, Kijima Tsukur's ears twitched slightly.
"They're here!"
As soon as he said that,
Katsuragi, Hashimoto Masayoshi, and the others immediately grew serious.
No matter how much they argued within their class or what their goals were, they were still one united front when they were outside. Everyone in Class A understood that much.
Meanwhile,
on the top floor of the school building,
Ichinose Honami glanced toward the rooftop and suddenly stopped. The two boys following her looked a little puzzled.
They were the two representatives selected by Class 1-B,
Kanzaki Ryuji and Shibata Sou!
"Ichinose, what's wrong?"
"Nothing. I just need to collect myself a little."
"Hm?"
Kanzaki and Shibata exchanged a glance.
Today, Ichinose Honami had brought them some new information. She suspected that only students who graduated from Class A might have the freedom to choose their careers.
They weren't sure if it was true yet, but it seemed quite possible.
The three of them had more or less guessed that Kijima Tsukur had invited them because he wanted to discuss the school.
But they hadn't expected that the cheerful, clever Ichinose would need to collect herself. The two of them couldn't help feeling puzzled.
"Ichinose."
Shibata asked with some curiosity, "You said you ran into Katsuragi from Class A and Kijima at the Student Council yesterday, right? What kind of person is Kijima Tsukur?"
"Hmm... How should I put it?"
Ichinose tried to think back and awkwardly scratched her head.
"I can't really describe it. I know it's not very nice to say, but if I had to... he gives me a dangerous feeling."
"..."
Kanzaki and Shibata looked at each other.
They'd only known each other for three days, but they'd already gotten a general sense of her.
Ichinose seemed like the type who wouldn't speak ill of others, yet she'd described Kijima Tsukur as dangerous—a rather negative judgment.
Just how dangerous was Kijima Tsukur?
At that thought,
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