Game

That day, the classroom, usually so peaceful, was suddenly attacked by an unknown life-form.

Run! A voice screamed inside Hoshino Kanade.

Before she completely takes you down... find her weakness.

But unfortunately, Kiyona was a genius who excelled at everything, without a single weakness.

Yet it was precisely because she was so flawless that Hoshino Kanade was even more convinced that every moment he spent with Kiyona, every unexpected flutter of his heart, was a carefully planned ambush by her.

Still, he couldn't be sure that in this real world, Kiyona would have the same absolute rationality as in the original story, so Hoshino Kanade could only try to stay somewhat clearheaded.

Clearheadedness was his last armor, while a fluttering heart... was always a trophy offered to the hunter.

Cool strands of hair curled around his fingers, stirring a fine, ticklish sensation. His palm betrayed his reason once more, unable to resist longing for the soft warmth atop Kiyona's head.

"Y-you're making me sound better than I am."

Hoshino Kanade's face flushed. He lowered his head slightly and glanced to the side.

A little while later, Kiyona still showed no sign of letting go.

"Okay, okay, class is about to start."

"Let's go see the club fair together after school this afternoon."

"I know. You don't have to keep reminding me."

At last, it was over. Hoshino Kanade turned back around, the blush brought on by the rising warmth in his face slowly fading.

His classmates were all whispering to one another, and Hoshino Kanade could feel glances of all kinds coming from every direction.

It made him uncomfortable. He'd probably need some time before things returned to normal.

Now Hoshino Kanade and Kiyona were famous in their class, with an impact far greater than their self-introductions.

Though Hoshino Kanade had no desire to be famous.

The chaotic study atmosphere in Class D made it hard for students who wanted to focus to settle down.

But even sitting in the last row, with several "monsters" in front of her, Horikita Suzune still listened attentively and took notes in every class.

Hoshino Kanade had to admire her for that.

Time always seemed to fly when he was studying. The afternoon classes passed quickly as he read—though Hoshino Kanade felt this had more to do with the shorter afternoon classes at Japanese middle and high schools.

Afternoon classes ran from one thirty to three. There were only two lessons, a mere hour and a half in total.

After that came half an hour of cleaning, and once it was past four, it was time for club activities.

At Japanese schools, club activities were an important part of campus life.

Students could freely choose clubs that interested them, ranging from sports like baseball and kendo to cultural clubs like anime studies and the tea ceremony. There were even more unusual ones, like the robotics club and the ESP research club.

They could develop their interests and gain all kinds of other benefits, too. Winning awards in club competitions could help with further education; clubs also gave students a chance to make friends across classes and grade levels, or even form a girls' band together...

All in all, clubs were both the starting point for students' interests and a springboard for personal growth. Hoshino Kanade felt their value far exceeded the lifeless knowledge taught in class.

That said, back in middle school, Hoshino Kanade had always been in the Going-Home Club. No violent teacher had ever forced him to join some strange club.

After they finished cleaning, there was still an hour and a half before the club fair began.

Back to reading.

"Kanade, let's go to the gym."

Kiyona's voice sounded by his ear.

Who knew how long Kiyona had been waiting? While Kanade read, Kiyona had sat in the seat in front of him and watched. After all, Kiyona had nothing else she wanted to do; she might as well observe a human.

Calling it reading might have been a stretch. Kiyona thought flipping through the pages was a better description. He read even faster than she did, and time seemed to fly by with every "swish, swish, swish" as Kanade turned the pages.

"Then let's go."

By the time Hoshino Kanade and Kiyona arrived at the gym, the club fair had just gotten underway.

The gym was buzzing with voices. Senior students from every club enthusiastically promoted their clubs to the newcomers.

The display boards showcased each club's features with pictures and text, the flyers were informative and eye-catching, and the whole place was brimming with excitement.

It was time for another routine reminder of how deep the school's pockets were.

Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School had not only outstanding clubs across the board, but also elite clubs and competitors certified at the national level.

Its club facilities were far more complete than those at other schools of the same level, too. Some were even luxurious, like the hyperbaric oxygen chamber.

None of that had anything to do with Hoshino Kanade, though. He was only there to accompany the princess.

Kiyona didn't seem particularly interested either. Though she stood amid the noisy recruitment fair, she remained detached from the excitement.

She gave each club's booth only a passing glance before looking away. She neither stopped to ask questions nor picked up any flyers. Her eyes and brows were full of aloofness.

That made sense. At Kiyona's level, she could probably beat most of the clubs here.

So had Kiyona really gone to all the trouble of acting sad in the classroom and insisting that Hoshino Kanade come along just so they could go together?

"Is there any club you want to join, Kiyona?"

This felt just like going shopping. Hoshino Kanade hated shopping, and he hated window-shopping even more.

"I don't think there's a club I like. I only realized that after coming to the fair."

Kiyona turned to look at Hoshino Kanade, resting one hand against her chest. After the briefest pause, she delivered the line without changing her expression.

"To me, a club without you, Kanade, has no meaning."

Her cool voice seemed to have the power to freeze time and space.

The Judo Club president, who had been enthusiastically recruiting new members nearby, fell silent. The watching students turned incredulous, astonished, envious... gazes toward the two of them.

Without time to think, Hoshino Kanade offered the people around them a brief apology, then grabbed Kiyona and ran outside.

He deftly led Kiyona through the shoulder-to-shoulder crowd and made it out of the gym without trouble. Then he stopped somewhere quiet, a little farther away.

"Why did we run?"

Kiyona pretended to be slightly out of breath as she asked.

"If we hadn't run, we wouldn't have gotten away. The crowd would only have gotten bigger."

"Why were they looking at us?"

You really didn't understand at all, did you?

"Gossip is human nature, especially in high school, when hormones are running high. People are especially sensitive about things between boys and girls."

"Oh~ I don't get it."

At that, Hoshino Kanade grew awkward, too, his fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of his clothes.

"Those two things you said just now in the gym... they were kind of like a confession, weren't they?"

"And at lunchtime, you..."

"Oh, that's what you mean." Kiyona seemed to remember something, too.

"I played a gal game last night. Don't people in those games all talk like that?"

"Huh?"

Hoshino Kanade's lips parted, but he swallowed the words he hadn't managed to say. So this was what it meant to have mixed feelings—to be caught in a jumble of emotions.

"You're great at gal games. Don't play them again."

So she really had been playing gal games.

Hoshino Kanade didn't know what else to say. It had come to this.

"Fine."

Kiyona acted very obediently, but Hoshino Kanade couldn't see the curve of her lips.

"Let's go eat first."

"Mm."