Night Walk

Hoshino stood where he was, watching the elevator number slowly tick down to 1.

About ten seconds later, Hoshino raised his hand and pressed the elevator button as well. Before long, the doors opened again, and he stepped inside.

When he reached the first floor, Hoshino crossed the empty hallway and exited through the dormitory building's main entrance.

It was close to nine at night. Some of the school's facilities remained open until after ten, and the streetlights would dutifully stay on as well.

Hoshino looked toward the shopping center. If Ayanokoji had really gone out to buy cup noodles as he claimed, they might run into each other here again soon.

Of course, Hoshino knew perfectly well that Ayanokoji's words had merely been an excuse.

What he needed to consider now was why Ayanokoji was going out so late.

Ayanokoji had been helping with the study group Horikita had organized lately. Had something happened there?

Finding that out would not be difficult. Hoshino opened the messaging app on his phone, found the contact named "Ike Kanji," and sent him a message.

Ike, Yamauchi, and Sudo were collectively known as Class D's "Three Idiots," and they were also the students Horikita had been tutoring in her study group. Compared to the easily emotional Sudo and the habitually dishonest Yamauchi, Hoshino chose Ike as the one to fish for information.

The process went smoothly. Under Hoshino's prompting, Ike began complaining after only a few messages, saying Horikita looked down on people and spoke harshly, and that there was no way such a lousy study group could continue.

"Horikita really does have that kind of personality. If I remember right, wasn't Kushida also attending your study group?"

At the mention of that, Ike seemed even more indignant.

"Don't mention it. Little Kushida defended us and got into a fight with that bitch Horikita. She was so angry she started crying."

Hoshino's interest stirred. "What happened afterward?"

"Then it broke up, obviously. Ken was the first one who couldn't stand Horikita anymore and left. Little Kushida fought with Horikita, then left crying, saying she would never give up on classmates with bad grades. Haruki and I left too. I only got back to the dorm a little while ago. Hoshino, wanna play some games together?"

One of the Three Idiots, all right. He was still thinking about gaming at a time like this.

"It just ended? Wait, where did you hold the study group?"

"In Ayanokoji's room."

"???"

"We originally planned to hold it in the library after school, but Ken had basketball club activities, so we moved it to the evening."

After a brief pause, Ike sent another message. "If that woman Horikita hadn't insisted on using Ayanokoji's room, I really would've invited Little Kushida to mine. Maybe after the study group, I could've asked her to stay and give me some private tutoring."

Hoshino could more or less imagine the lecherous expression on Ike's face as he sent that message.

The situation was clear now. Ayanokoji's unusual behavior was most likely related to the conflict during the study group—or, more precisely, to Kushida.

In an instant, Hoshino sorted out the chain of events in his mind:

After the study group ended on bad terms, Sudo, Kushida, Ike, Yamauchi, and the others left one after another, leaving only Ayanokoji and Horikita behind. It was impossible to know what they had said to each other, but given Horikita's personality, she probably had not listened to Ayanokoji anyway.

Then Ayanokoji left his room to comfort Kushida, only to find that she had not returned to the dormitory. After that, he ran into Hoshino in the hallway, just after Hoshino had seen Karuizawa and the others off.

Chatting with Hoshino had not taken much time. Once they finished, Ayanokoji decided to continue looking for Kushida.

Well, Ayanokoji was essentially a cold-hearted and scheming guy, but he had always maintained a harmless image in class so far. In Hoshino's opinion, what he had done today could only be described as acting so well he had fooled himself.

The school rules did not mention a curfew or anything of the sort. Even if there was one, breaking it once would only cost a few class points, and Hoshino did not care in the slightest. His curiosity about Ayanokoji, on the other hand, was impossible to suppress. He immediately decided to start tracking him down as well.

There were not many people still outside at this hour, and students were especially scarce. As Hoshino walked along, a sweep of his eyes took in the insides of every store. Before long, he spotted Ayanokoji's back.

Unexpectedly, Ayanokoji had actually bought cup noodles and was carrying them in a plastic bag.

Even more unexpectedly, the person standing beside Ayanokoji was Class D's homeroom teacher, Chabashira Sae.

Looking again, Teacher Chabashira was not alone. Class B's homeroom teacher, Hoshinomiya Chie, stood not far away with her arms crossed, wearing an expression as though she were enjoying a show.

Ayanokoji himself had not expected to run into the two teachers outside the convenience store.

"Ayanokoji, why are you wandering around this late instead of resting?"

Teacher Chabashira spoke coldly. Whatever the case, her sense of responsibility as a teacher would not allow her to simply ignore him.

Ayanokoji raised his hand with an innocent expression, indicating the bag holding the cup noodles.

Teacher Hoshinomiya struggled to hold back her laughter. Seeing the always smug little Sae run into a student with an equally smug face nearly made her burst out laughing.

Teacher Chabashira shot her best friend a glare, then cleared her throat. "It's late. Go back and get some rest."

If it had been Hoshino standing there, he would definitely have replied, "It's late. Aren't the teachers resting too?"

But Ayanokoji merely nodded expressionlessly, turned around without hesitation, and left.

After watching his back for a while, Teacher Chabashira withdrew her gaze and said as she started walking, "Let's go."

"Oh my, little Sae, what was that student's name? He was quite interesting." Teacher Hoshinomiya affectionately looped her arm through Teacher Chabashira's and asked with a syrupy smile.

"Ayanokoji. He's just an unremarkable guy."

Hearing her best friend's affected laughter, Teacher Chabashira felt inexplicably irritated.

"Where's Mashima?"

"He already went ahead. That guy never likes coming with us. I don't know what he's thinking. What's wrong with being with two beautiful women?"

The "Mashima" Teacher Chabashira referred to was Mashima Tomoya, Class A's homeroom teacher and a longtime colleague and drinking buddy of Teacher Chabashira and Teacher Hoshinomiya.

Needless to say, the three teachers would once again drink until they were completely wasted tonight.

Meanwhile, Hoshino was striding quickly down a narrow path.

At the same time he saw Ayanokoji meeting with Teacher Chabashira, Hoshino also happened to spot Kushida on the other side of the shopping street.

She was far away, and Hoshino could only barely identify her by her hair color and figure. From where Ayanokoji stood, he would not have been able to see her.

Without the slightest hesitation, Hoshino immediately abandoned Ayanokoji and hurried after Kushida.

Kushida was heading away from the dormitories. At first, Hoshino thought she was going toward the academic district. At this hour, the school buildings would undoubtedly already be locked and inaccessible. But Kushida turned midway and headed in another direction.

Advanced Nurturing High School's campus was covered in surveillance cameras, a fact every student knew. Hoshino immediately recognized where Kushida was going: a small park on campus where students could relax. There were cameras there too, but they were much sparser than in high-traffic places such as the school buildings and shopping center. With the cover provided by trees and other plants, it would not be difficult to find blind spots.

Hoshino narrowed his eyes. He was becoming increasingly curious about Kushida's actions. He swiftly mapped out a route in his mind, never slowing his steps as he skillfully avoided every camera along the way. At the same time, he maintained his distance from Kushida and made sure she did not notice she was being followed.

In the end, Kushida arrived exactly where Hoshino had expected: a secluded corner of the small park. Two tall trees blocked the view from one side, while an artificial lake lay on the other. Basically, no one would notice what happened here.

She knows how to pick a spot. And judging by the look of it, this doesn't seem to be her first time here.

Hoshino silently drew closer, his footsteps soundless. In the end, he stopped roughly ten meters away.