Testing Each Other; Karuizawa's Fear

Even the two of them had grown somewhat grave.

No matter how dangerous it was, they had to protect Ichinose. That was exactly why they had come.

"Let's go."

Ichinose Honami took a deep breath and smiled. The three of them headed for the rooftop.

Testing Each Other, Karuizawa's Fear

Tap, tap, tap.

The three had just stepped onto the rooftop

when they saw Kijima Tsukur sitting in a chair, with Katsuragi and the others standing behind him.

In an instant,

Kanzaki and Shibata understood what Ichinose meant...

As classmates, Katsuragi and the others might not have sensed anything. They probably just thought the man seemed a little strange.

But Kanzaki and the others, who were from a different class, sensed it immediately.

This man was dangerous... Though that might not be quite the right way to put it. It was more like a strange... unsettling feeling?

Kijima Tsukur's gaze was like a blade, constantly dissecting everything in front of him.

"Hmm, there are more people than I expected~"

Ichinose stepped forward a few paces, gave them a once-over, then looked at Kijima Tsukur with a smile.

"Good afternoon, Kijima, Katsuragi, Yamamura, and everyone. It's nice to meet some of you for the first time. I'm Ichinose Honami from Class 1-B. I don't know if I count as a leader, but I'm the class representative, for now. These two are..."

"Kanzaki Ryuji, Class 1-B."

"And I'm Shibata Sou, also from Class 1-B. Pleased to meet you~"

The group began introducing themselves to one another. Aside from Kamuro Masumi, who was rather aloof, the others were fairly courteous.

"Kijima."

Ichinose Honami stopped three meters from Kijima Tsukur.

It was just the right distance. Kijima Tsukur was sitting in a folding chair, and if she moved any closer, she'd be looking down at him.

On the other hand,

since Kijima Tsukur was seated,

standing there made it feel as though she were being lectured by a superior.

Neither too close nor too far was ideal.

Strictly speaking, Kijima Tsukur should have stood up. Sitting down while talking to someone was somewhat disrespectful.

Still,

Ichinose didn't say anything about it.

That showed what Ichinose was like. She didn't care much about little things.

Kanzaki and Shibata only frowned without saying a word.

It was easy to see

that Class B was completely united behind Ichinose—more so even than Class A.

"I don't see Morishita from this morning. Is she not here?"

Ichinose looked over the people behind Kijima Tsukur and opened the conversation.

Honestly,

there were quite a few people.

There were six people on Kijima Tsukur's side alone.

Whether they wanted to talk or declare war,

it was a lot!

More importantly, she'd spoken briefly with Morishita Ai that morning. Though a little odd, Morishita seemed to be one of Kijima Tsukur's trusted followers, right?

Yet Morishita Ai wasn't here for such an important occasion!

As for Yamamura Miki, she'd been present both times, but there was nothing particularly notable about her. She seemed like someone who just carried chairs around.

But the others—

Katsuragi Kohei, Kito Hayato, Hashimoto Masayoshi, and Kamuro Masumi.

Ichinose couldn't see why they all needed to be here. Their roles seemed to overlap.

With so many people,

the whole group felt rather chaotic...

Just as Kijima Tsukur wanted to observe the other classes, Ichinose and the others naturally wanted to observe Class A and do some probing of their own.

Kanzaki and Shibata smiled. This was their leader, Class B's leader—no weaker than anyone else!

Kijima Tsukur answered frankly,

"She didn't come."

"I see. That's a bit of a shame."

Ichinose Honami thought for a moment, then decided to get straight to the point.

"Kijima, did you call us here to discuss this school?"

"That's right."

Kijima Tsukur nodded and said plainly, "I've also called people from Classes C and D. I don't want to say this twice, so let's wait until they get here."

"Hm? You called people from Classes C and D too?"

"Mm."

At that,

Ichinose and the others were stunned.

They'd assumed this was about cooperating and sharing information, declaring war, or even scheming against one another.

They hadn't expected it to be none of those things.

Was this a gathering involving the entire first year?

The three exchanged glances. Things had already gone beyond what they'd expected.

Seeing that Kijima Tsukur had no intention of saying more, Ichinose Honami hesitated for a moment, then went to stand off to the side. Kanzaki and Shibata followed her.

Shibata glanced at the people from Class A and lowered his voice.

"Ichinose, won't this be a little awkward? Should we go over and ask them for information?"

"Mm, you're right. But I want to observe them first."

"..."

As she spoke,

Ichinose watched Kijima Tsukur's group without drawing attention to herself and soon noticed something was off.

The differences in distance were slight.

The people from Class A were talking among themselves too, but they were clearly divided into three factions.

Kito Hayato and Hashimoto Masayoshi were with Kamuro Masumi at the center.

Katsuragi stood alone behind Kijima Tsukur, while Yamamura Miki seemed almost isolated, standing two or three paces away.

There was something wrong with this class!

After noticing that, Ichinose exchanged a few words with Kanzaki and the others, then began getting closer to Kamuro Masumi and her group.

Kijima Tsukur didn't interfere at all.

Soon,

tap, tap, tap.

With the sound of footsteps, three blondes appeared on the rooftop.

They were one boy and two girls. Kijima Tsukur recognized one of them: the girl named Kushida Kikyo from the bus.

They were Hirata Yosuke, Karuizawa Kei, and Kushida Kikyo from Class D.

Just one glance

was enough for Kijima Tsukur to sense something was off.

Generally speaking,

the person walking in the middle was the core of the group, just as Ichinose Honami had been at the center of the three-person group from Class B.

But in this group,

the person walking in the middle was a girl with a high ponytail and flashy makeup.

She acted exaggeratedly, as if deliberately claiming the middle spot and purposefully keeping Kushida Kikyo apart from the boy.

Rather than a team, it felt more like... two women fighting over a man?

Mm.

That was definitely the impression.

But that wasn't a big deal. There were plenty of flighty women in the world.

The thing that stood out most was how she changed.

When she walked in and their eyes met,

she clearly stiffened for a moment. Then, while talking as if nothing had happened, she casually moved to the side, giving the middle spot to the boy.

Others might not have noticed anything. They might have thought she was just circling around the boy.

But to Kijima Tsukur, the change was genuinely strange.

It felt... more like she'd been frightened?

That was right.

Karuizawa Kei felt her heart pounding.

Her instincts told her that the man in front of her was extremely dangerous. Just one look at him made her feel as if he were about to peel her open.

Now, hiding behind Hirata, Karuizawa Kei was filled with regret. She should never have come.

And that was exactly what was happening...

A flashy, frivolous gal being frightened by the sight before her made her seem rather fake!

Still,

Kijima Tsukur didn't care. Whether she was genuine or not had nothing to do with his objective.

"Hm?"

The boy leading the group looked surprised.

"Um... Sorry, are you all from Class A?"

"That's right."

"We're from Class 1-B."

After they introduced themselves to one another, the boy leading the group smiled.

"Sorry, we're not late, are we? I'm Hirata Yosuke from Class 1-D. These are Karuizawa Kei and Kushida Kikyo."

"Hello..."