Morning Snack?! Class Outcast in Akiyama Shin's Eyes?!

The next morning.

Morning light filtered through the gaps in Room 501's plain curtains, casting long, narrow patches of light across the floor.

It also fell gently upon the two people sleeping in each other's arms on the bed.

Kushida Kikyo lay on her side, curled up in the crook of Akiyama Shin's right arm, sound asleep.

Several suggestive red bite marks dotted the snow-white skin of her exposed shoulder and slender neck.

Like red plum blossoms fallen upon the snow, they testified to last night's unrest.

The warmth of the sunlight made her eyelashes tremble, and Kushida Kikyo slowly opened her eyes.

The moment her awareness returned, she saw Akiyama Shin's sleeping face at close range.

His black hair lay softly over his forehead, concealing those dark red eyes that normally carried such an oppressive presence.

At that moment, he looked unusually quiet, even possessing a rare hint of harmlessness.

Kushida Kikyo's heart inexplicably skipped a beat, and a flush spread uncontrollably across her cheeks.

Yesterday...

They really had...

Complicated emotions tangled within her heart.

Did she hate it?

It didn't seem that intense anymore.

Did she like it?

Not exactly.

More than anything,

it was a complicated sense of dependence.

Or perhaps,

a sense of belonging.

As though a soul that had always drifted aimlessly, forced to wear a mask at every moment, had finally found a harbor where it could briefly dock and even reveal part of its true self.

Even if that harbor itself was full of danger and uncertainty.

After venting the negative emotions she had suppressed for so long through tears last night, then exhausting herself in the almost plundering intimacy that followed, she unexpectedly felt a long-lost sense of relaxation and peace.

As if possessed, she lifted her head slightly and pressed her soft lips lightly to Akiyama Shin's elegantly lined neck.

She even stuck out her little tongue and tentatively licked that patch of skin like a kitten.

Seeing that his breathing remained steady and that he showed no sign of waking, a subtle dissatisfaction rose within Kushida Kikyo.

Supporting her somewhat sore waist, she carefully and slowly slipped beneath the covers.

In his sleep, Akiyama Shin felt a strange warm, moist sensation. His brows furrowed slightly, and he finally slowly woke from his slumber. Instinctively reaching out, he threw back the blanket.

Beneath it, Kushida Kikyo raised her moist, dreamy eyes and met his newly opened dark red eyes, still clouded with a trace of sleepiness.

"Looks like you've recovered your energy quite well."

Akiyama Shin's voice was hoarse with sleep.

The blush on Kushida Kikyo's face deepened. Somewhat embarrassed and irritated, she crawled out and stubbornly retorted.

"None of your business!"

Their brief clash ended half an hour later.

It was not for lack of willingness, but because time was pressing.

If they delayed any longer, they would be late!

The two quickly went into the bathroom to wash up, then changed into clean uniforms and left the dorm one after the other.

They made it just before the bell rang, stepping side by side into the somewhat noisy classroom of Class 1-D.

In Japan at this time of year, dawn usually came early, and the classroom was already full of energetic students.

For most Class D students immersed in the dream of Heaven Academy, sleeping in was practically unimaginable.

When Akiyama Shin and Kushida Kikyo appeared together at the classroom door, the previously noisy room instantly fell silent for a moment.

Then all sorts of inquisitive, curious, and suggestive gazes focused on the two of them.

The little group at the back—Yamauchi Haruki, Ike Kanji, and Sudo Ken—reacted the most fiercely.

"Hey, hey! Look! How did little Kikyo end up coming to school with that Akiyama?!"

Yamauchi Haruki sharply jabbed Ike Kanji beside him with his elbow, his face full of jealousy and displeasure. He deliberately lowered his voice, but it was still loud enough for the people around him to hear.

"Could they have...?"

Ike Kanji looked equally indignant, as though his own goddess had been defiled.

"Exactly! And they came in together right at the last minute..."

"That's way too much of a coincidence! Damn it! That Akiyama guy really is impossible to like!"

Sudo Ken folded his arms, his thick brows tightly furrowed. His displeasure stemmed more from his ingrained prejudice against Akiyama Shin's pretty-boy image, though compared to Yamauchi and Ike, he was relatively more objective.

"They just came to class together. What does that prove?"

"But... if he really has any skills... I'd like to see them for myself..."

He had his own standards for recognizing strength.

Elsewhere.

Horikita Suzune's cool gaze lingered on the two for a moment before calmly moving away as she continued previewing her textbook.

She had no particular thoughts about it. More than anything, she regarded Akiyama Shin as someone worth observing and learning from.

Still, after Wang Meiyu returned to the dorm last night, she had cautiously asked through the Terminal whether Horikita Suzune liked Akiyama Shin.

Only then did Horikita Suzune belatedly realize how great a misunderstanding her words at yesterday's dinner had caused.

She had intended to find an opportunity to clarify things with Akiyama Shin today, but upon hearing the crude remarks from Yamauchi Haruki and the others, she frowned in displeasure, finding them only noisy.

Yukimura Teruhiko at the front heard Yamauchi Haruki and Ike's comments. Pushing up his glasses, he glared sternly at them.

"Yamauchi, and Ike, please keep quiet. Don't make baseless speculations or spread false information!"

"And class is about to begin!"

Beneath his rigid exterior, he possessed a natural reverence and respect for those who excelled academically.

Ever since learning at last night's dinner that Akiyama Shin was a rare god of the sciences, he had begun to see him in a new light and had even wanted to ask him for guidance. Naturally, he could not stand Yamauchi and the others slandering Akiyama Shin for no reason.

As the class's mediator, Hirata Yosuke immediately stepped forward as well. Then, with his gentle and infectious voice, he smiled and tried to smooth things over.

"Alright, alright, Akiyama and Kushida, please return to your seats. The teacher will be here any moment."

"And classmates should respect one another. Don't let baseless speculation affect the class's harmony."

Akiyama Shin and Kushida Kikyo ignored the discussions and stares around them, walking straight toward their seats.

Kushida Kikyo had once again put on that flawless, sweet smile, as if nothing from last night had ever happened.

Only when she occasionally glanced at Akiyama Shin did her eyes reveal a faint, barely perceptible complexity and dependence.

Akiyama Shin sat down calmly, his gaze inconspicuously sweeping over Yamauchi Haruki and Ike Kanji, who were still chattering away.

Noisy flies... Not only do they drag down the class's overall quality, but they also easily breed trouble.

His thoughts turned cold as he began calmly calculating.

How he could find the right opportunity in the future to precisely suppress these liabilities of the class.

If necessary,

he would clear them out of Class D as discarded pieces.

At that moment, the classroom door opened. Chabashira Sae entered in high heels, carrying a stack of teaching materials. Her cold gaze swept across the class, and the room instantly fell completely silent.

"Take out your textbooks. Today, we're covering Japanese."

She was concise and immediately began the first lesson.

Akiyama Shin opened his brand-new Japanese textbook. Looking at the densely packed classical grammar and hiragana inside, his brows imperceptibly furrowed. To him, it was no different from a book of heavenly script.

His brain was better suited to logical reasoning and mathematical analysis, but the humanities, which required extensive memorization and intuitive understanding—classical literature in particular—were indeed an obvious weakness for him.

A weakness was a weakness. Acknowledging it and making up for it was necessary.

He was not discouraged. Instead, it stirred his fighting spirit.

He knew his own learning ability. As long as he was willing to invest time and effort, there was no fortress he could not conquer.

If he wanted to lead Class D further ahead,

and even avoid falling behind in future individual competition,

improving himself in every respect was an unavoidable path.

He composed himself, forced his attention onto Chabashira Sae's explanation, and began trying to understand those obscure texts. Yes, Akiyama Shin was that hardworking a person.