After finishing his conversation with Kamuro Masumi, Akiyama Shin didn't linger. He headed straight for the dormitory.
Horikita Suzune followed silently behind him, still trying to process everything she had just witnessed.
Akiyama Shin's almost savage intuition and precise grasp of people's psychology made her wary of him—and, against her will, drew her in.
When they reached the dormitory, they looked up.
A modern high-rise stood before them, its exterior clean and simple. The signs at the entrance and the information on their terminals explained the dormitory's layout. The building had ten floors, with sixteen rooms on each floor—exactly enough for the 160 students in each grade.
What surprised them a little was that boys and girls shared the same building. They weren't mixed on the same floors, though: floors one through five were for boys, while floors six through ten were for girls.
Horikita didn't know why the school had designed it that way, but Akiyama didn't care in the least. To him, it was just a place to stay, nothing more.
He glanced at the dormitory information displayed on his terminal.
Room 501.
It was on the highest floor of the boys' dormitory and close to the elevator—a pretty good location.
The information on Horikita's terminal showed that she had been assigned Room 601.
Their rooms were directly above and below each other, with only one floor between them.
They stepped into the empty elevator. The metal car rose slowly in the silence, accompanied only by the faint sound of its machinery.
Horikita looked at Akiyama's tall, distant figure. In the end, she couldn't contain her curiosity and desire to know more.
Her question about Kamuro Masumi kept scraping at her thoughts like a feather.
"Akiyama."
She cleared her throat. Her voice sounded especially clear in the cramped space.
"How... exactly did you figure out that Kamuro... was stealing?"
Akiyama didn't turn around. He calmly watched the floor numbers tick by, then answered in an even voice that gave nothing away.
"Maybe... my dynamic vision is pretty good."
Horikita was stumped by his answer and couldn't think of what to say.
Good dynamic vision?
What kind of explanation was that?
Had he caught the tiny movement of her hiding the item in a single glance?
How sharp did his eyes have to be?
Looking at Akiyama, who seemed to think his answer perfectly reasonable, she suddenly felt helpless.
It seemed that whenever something unbelievable happened to him, it could always be chalked up to his own abilities, leaving any doubts she might have feeling pointless.
She pressed her lips together and tried another question—one that was more central, and mattered more to her.
"Then... how did you first discover this school's rules?"
She wanted to know where his thinking had begun. She wanted a glimpse of how that terrifying insight worked.
Just then, the elevator chimed softly and came to a smooth stop on the fifth floor.
The doors slid open.
Only then did Akiyama turn his head and glance at Horikita with his dark red eyes.
His gaze was calm, yet seemed to see right through her.
"You'll have to find out for yourself."
He left her with that brief but weighty reply, then stepped out of the elevator without pausing.
The doors slowly closed behind him, shutting out the sight of his departing figure.
Horikita was left alone in the enclosed space, staring blankly at the cold metal doors.
Find out... for herself?
She turned his words over in her mind, her feelings tangled.
She felt the frustration of being rejected and the anxiety of facing the unknown, but more than anything, she felt a fighting spirit that refused to give in.
He was right. Relying on other people's answers would never let her truly grow.
Following the signs, Akiyama found Room 501 and used his terminal to unlock it.
The room wasn't large, but it was fully equipped, clean, and tidy—plenty of space for one person.
He put away the daily necessities he had just bought and hung up his uniform, ready to enjoy some much-needed time alone and get some rest.
Just then, the terminal on the bed vibrated, and its screen lit up.
He picked it up and saw a friend request from Kushida Kikyo.
Akiyama raised an eyebrow slightly.
There were only a handful of people on his friends list so far.
Teacher Chabashira, Horikita, and Kamuro. He hadn't given anyone else in his class his contact information.
Had she gotten it from Teacher Chabashira?
He considered the possibility.
As their homeroom teacher, she would reasonably have the contact list for the whole class. And Kushida's eagerness to connect with everyone made it entirely plausible that she had asked for the list and added people one by one.
He didn't hesitate. He accepted the request. Another channel for information couldn't hurt. He could decide what to do with it later.
But less than ten seconds after he accepted, before he'd even had time to put down his terminal, a string of message alerts began sounding one after another.
He picked it up again. Several messages from Kushida had appeared on the screen.
[Kushida Kikyo]: Akiyama! I'm so glad you finally accepted! (◍•ᴗ•◍)
[Kushida Kikyo]: Why did you leave early during class today, and again after the opening ceremony?
Everyone introduced themselves afterward. It's too bad you weren't there (´･ω･`)
[Kushida Kikyo]: Did something come up?
If there's anything I can help with, please let me know!
[Kushida Kikyo]: Oh, right! Everyone's planning to go out for dinner together tonight to get to know each other better!
It's at the restaurant next to the school cafeteria. You'll come, won't you, Akiyama? I really hope you can make it! (★ ω ★)
The rapid-fire messages were full of cute emoticons, seemingly sincere concern, and friendly invitations—the perfect fit for the angelic image she had carefully cultivated.
Akiyama read through the useless spam without expression, his finger hovering over the screen for a moment.
In the end, he didn't reply. He simply turned off the screen and tossed the terminal back onto the bed.
He needed to rest, and had neither the interest nor the energy to deal with this meaningless social performance.
He lay down and closed his eyes, trying to block out all distractions from the outside world.
Meanwhile.
In a room on the sixth floor of the girls' dormitory.
Kushida sat cross-legged on her bed, her terminal in front of her. The screen clearly showed her chat with Akiyama, filled with the green bubbles of the carefully composed messages she had sent.
On the other side, there was nothing but a glaring expanse of white.
One minute passed...
Five minutes passed...
Ten minutes passed...
There was still no reply.
The sweet, adorable smile on Kushida's face slowly stiffened, froze, and finally vanished completely.
Deep in her eyes, which were usually brimming with laughter, twisted anger and jealousy began to take its place.
"Heh... hehehe..."
A low, cold laugh escaped her.
Suddenly, she snatched up the terminal beside her and hurled it with all her strength at the floor, which was covered in a soft carpet.
The carpet absorbed most of the impact, so the device wasn't damaged. But the violence of the gesture was a horrifying contrast to her usual image.
"Bastard! Who are you trying to impress by acting so high and mighty?!"
She lowered her voice and ground out the vicious curse through clenched teeth. Her usually angelic face twisted with anger.
"You pathetic little pauper! You've got a bit of cleverness, so now you think you can act all high and mighty! You really think you're somebody?! You ungrateful piece of trash!"
She grabbed the pillow from her bed and hugged it tightly, kneading and pounding it as if it were Akiyama himself.
She needed to vent the negative emotions surging inside her, which were almost enough to tear through her facade.
"So what if you're a little good-looking? What's so great about that! I'm beautiful too, damn it!"
"How dare you ignore me... How dare you read my messages and not reply...!"
"Damn you... Damn you! I'll make you regret it! I'll make you get down on your knees and beg me!"
She kept cursing, her voice rising and falling, sometimes shrill, sometimes low, echoing through the empty room.
If anyone had seen her then, they would never have connected this foul-mouthed girl with the sweet, sunny little angel who was always ready to help others.
After cursing for a while, her anger seemed to ease a little. But a deeper anxiety and resentment welled up in its place, and she thought of someone else.
"And Horikita... Horikita Suzune!!"
She ground out the name, her eyes filled with a complicated mixture of fear and disgust.
"Why is she here too?! Why won't she leave me alone?!"
"Does she know something? Is she going to tell people about me?!"
"No... I absolutely can't let her ruin my life now! Absolutely not!"
Her intense paranoia plunged her into even greater agitation. She gripped the pillow tightly, her knuckles whitening, and began plotting how to guard against Horikita—or even strike first.
And while she was trapped in her dark thoughts, unable to bear them...
Room 501.
Akiyama had long since shut out all the distractions from the outside world. His breathing was slow and steady as he sank into a deep sleep.
To him, Kushida's solo performance wasn't even worth a moment of his attention.
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