Akiyama Special Grade! Observer Morishita Ran!

Seven o'clock sharp.

The warmth and sweat from the morning run had yet to fully fade.

Horikita Suzune carefully wiped the sweat from her neck and hairline with a towel as she spoke to Akiyama Shin beside her.

"I'm going back to take a shower."

After all, they had just finished running and were covered in sweat. That sticky feeling was genuinely unpleasant, so cleaning up as soon as possible was only natural.

"Yeah."

Akiyama Shin gave a slight nod to show that he understood. He needed to freshen up as well, but his thoughts had drifted elsewhere.

"I'll get breakfast at the cafeteria before heading back."

The truth was that last night's intense battle with Kushida Kikyo, which had lasted until dawn, had taken quite a toll on him. His stomach was already feeling rather empty.

Besides, if he went back to shower now, he would inevitably wake Kushida Kikyo, who was probably still asleep.

"Alright."

Horikita Suzune said no more, merely responding briefly. The two had long formed an understanding that required no excessive explanation. She draped the towel over her shoulder, gave Akiyama Shin a slight nod, then turned and headed toward the dormitory building, her straight-backed figure gradually fading into the morning light.

Akiyama Shin watched her leave for a moment before setting off as well. Leaving the increasingly bustling track behind, he strolled unhurriedly toward the cafeteria.

The campus air was particularly fresh in the early morning. At this hour, most students were likely still indulging in a lazy weekend sleep-in.

The path leading to the cafeteria was sparsely populated.

However.

As he passed a small park plaza near the cafeteria, a figure that seemed utterly out of place amid the tranquil surroundings abruptly entered his field of vision.

Making him stop without even realizing it.

It was a girl.

She was sprawled across a wooden bench some distance away, seemingly sleeping soundly.

What stood out most was her long hair, which fell past her shoulders in an unusual gradient.

It was predominantly a deep purple, tinged with fading blue, with a playful streak of pink at the tips.

That sort of hair color was rather rare.

She wore the Advanced Nurturing school uniform, but her jacket hung casually open, exposing her white shirt, while her skirt had become somewhat disheveled from her sleeping posture.

Her adorable face was pressed sideways against her arm, her lips slightly parted. A glistening strand of drool had even slipped uncontrollably from the corner of her mouth, dripping onto the wooden surface of the bench.

Akiyama Shin frowned slightly, a trace of confusion and surprise stirring within him. He did not know this girl.

Although Kamuro Masumi had intermittently sent him information about Class A and the other classes, he had not bothered to memorize every face. There were a full 160 first-year students, after all. It was impossible for him to know them all, and he could not even immediately tell which year this girl belonged to.

Yet the sight before him instantly reminded him of Koenji Rokusuke, the similarly unconventional student in his class.

Why leave a comfortable, warm dorm room early in the morning just to sleep on a park bench?

The behavior itself was strange enough, but Akiyama Shin quickly ruled out the possibility that she had spent the night outside.

The school might have some flexibility in its dormitory management, such as Kushida Kikyo frequently sneaking into other dorm rooms.

That, too, was only possible with the tacit approval of the homeroom teacher and the dorm supervisor turning a blind eye.

But when it came to the fundamental issue of not returning to the dorm at night, the management was exceptionally strict.

Every night, students had to use their Terminals in their dorm rooms to check in, ensuring that everyone was inside the dormitory building.

After eleven at night, the dormitory doors closed on schedule, and no one was allowed in or out.

This was a rule explicitly written into the school regulations, and the consequences for violating it were severe.

Then the only explanation was that this girl had come here as soon as the dormitory opened this morning, and then... fallen asleep?

He tried to analyze her motives, only to find that he could not understand them for the moment. This pattern of behavior lay beyond his usual frame of reference. Was she, like Koenji, simply an eccentric who followed her own preferences?

Or perhaps... did she have some unusual fetish?

For example... a fetish for sleeping outdoors?

As Akiyama Shin stood there, his gaze filled with scrutiny and curiosity as he quietly watched the purple-and-blue-haired girl sleeping so defenselessly, attempting to glean more information from her.

Perhaps sensing his intensely tangible stare, the girl on the bench suddenly fluttered her eyelashes a few times before abruptly opening her eyes.

They were clear, amethyst-like eyes!

They still held the hazy moisture of someone freshly awakened, yet they were exceptionally bright. Her confused gaze swept across her surroundings before landing precisely on Akiyama Shin, standing not far away.

Their eyes met.

The air seemed to freeze for an instant.

Then, before Akiyama Shin could react, the girl seemed to have had some strange switch flipped. She sprang upright from the bench, stretched out a slender finger to point directly at him, and shouted in a raspy just-awakened voice that was nevertheless astonishingly loud.

"I sensed it! My destined one! Are you this Observer's fated partner?!"

Akiyama Shin was slightly taken aback by her sudden behavior and incomprehensible declaration, and a crack appeared in his usual calm expression.

Destined one? This Observer? Fated partner?

Those strings of words, combined with her candy-colored hair and her currently sparkling eyes.

A guess instantly surfaced in Akiyama Shin's mind.

Chuunibyou?

And from the looks of it, a severe case.

He considered it inwardly, but did not reveal much emotion on the surface. His dark red eyes merely continued to calmly meet hers, as though waiting for her next performance.

However, Morishita Ran seemed to have no need for Akiyama Shin's response. She got to her feet on her own, clasped both hands behind her back, leaned forward slightly, and struck a strange pose resembling a ninja run. Then she started forward, scurrying toward him in quick little steps that looked fast but were actually somewhat comical, reaching him in only a few beats.

The distance between them instantly closed.

Akiyama Shin could even clearly see the excited gleam in her eyes, as well as the glistening drool still hanging from the corner of her mouth, which she had yet to wipe away.

"Destined one!"

Morishita Ran tilted her head up, her amethyst eyes fixed tightly on Akiyama Shin's deep dark-red ones. Her tone carried the excitement of someone who had discovered a treasure.

"Actually... you noticed long ago that there's something wrong with this school too... and you've been making plans in secret... haven't you?"

She lowered her voice slightly, giving it the mysterious air of sharing a secret.

Another nearly imperceptible flicker of surprise crossed Akiyama Shin's eyes. He had not expected her to suddenly broach such a practical subject. Though her wording was still full of chuunibyou flair, what she was referring to happened to touch upon the very core of what concerned him.

It gave him a different kind of interest in this girl who seemed less than normal.

His expression remained impassive, but his gaze became more scrutinizing.

He neither admitted nor denied it.

Instead, following her lead, he asked in a subtly guiding tone.

"So, destined one..."

He deliberately repeated her embarrassing form of address, a faintly teasing note in his voice.

"Aren't you going to introduce yourself first?"

At his words, Morishita Ran's eyes immediately shone even brighter, as though she had received some sort of recognition.

She suddenly reached out her right hand, grabbed Akiyama Shin's right hand without asking, and shook it firmly.

Then she introduced herself loudly, like a proclamation.

"Heh heh! Listen well! This Observer is Morishita Ran of Class 1-A! My mission is to observe the trajectories of all things in this world and the truths hidden within!"

Class 1-A?

Akiyama Shin's thoughts stirred.

She was actually from Class A.

And judging by her appearance, she was probably an extremely unusual presence even in Class A, where elites gathered and factions were clearly divided.

"Class 1-D, Akiyama Shin."

He succinctly gave his name and class while calmly withdrawing his hand from her overly enthusiastic grip.

"Akiyama... Shin...?"

Morishita Ran murmured his name once, then nodded vigorously.

"Alright! I'll remember it! Akiyama Special Grade!"

Special Grade?

What kind of strange title was that now?

The corner of Akiyama Shin's mouth twitched almost imperceptibly.

He secretly wondered whether she had watched too much Tokyo Ghoul, but he did not correct her. Instead, he found it...

Rather interesting.

When faced with someone who did not play by the usual rules, perhaps there was no need for too much maneuvering.

So, meeting Morishita Ran's expectant gaze, he admitted it quite readily.

"Yeah, I really am making plans."

"I knew it! I just knew it!"

Morishita Ran was so excited she nearly jumped up. Her hands clenched into fists before her chest, and her face shone with the joy of finding someone like herself.

"This Observer's senses are never wrong!"

As if recalling something important, her expression suddenly turned serious. She leaned closer to Akiyama Shin and lowered her voice as though delivering classified intelligence.

"Akiyama Special Grade! According to this Observer's close observations over the past several days, those fools in Class A are showing signs of internal conflict! Undercurrents are stirring between the Katsuragi Faction and the Sakayanagi Faction. They'll probably go to war soon!"

She waved her small fist, her voice carrying a hint of exasperation.

"How foolish!"

"With a great enemy before them, they're still wasting strength on internal strife!"

Akiyama Shin was taken aback again.

Going to war was certainly... a dramatic way to put it.

Still, the information she provided corroborated the intelligence Kamuro Masumi had sent earlier. Class A's internal conflict was undoubtedly beneficial to him and Class D.

Looking at Morishita Ran, this self-proclaimed Observer who seemed well-informed yet whose behavior was difficult to predict, an idea quietly took shape in his mind.

He curled his lips slightly, revealing the faintest smile, and followed her train of thought in a tone as though devising a strategy.

"Since an internal war is about to break out... then let's build a road to peace."

He paused, his gaze falling upon Morishita Ran's purple eyes, which glittered with curiosity and excitement.

"And you, as the Observer of that road to peace..."

"From now on, you'll need to be my Observer as well. Share with me whatever intelligence you believe is valuable. How does that sound?"

It was effectively a direct invitation to cooperate, even if wrapped in chuunibyou trappings.

Morishita Ran stared blankly for a second after hearing him, then an incomparably radiant smile bloomed across her face.

She suddenly clenched her right hand into a fist and struck it hard against her left chest, producing a soft thump. Then she straightened her back and shouted loudly as though swearing an oath.

"Understood! Morishita Ran is willing to offer her heart to Akiyama Special Grade! I shall not fail your trust, and will observe every fogbank and hidden reef along the path ahead for you!"

The pose gave off the fiery feeling of an anime character pledging loyalty to the protagonist.

Seeing how earnest she was, Akiyama Shin's smile deepened slightly. Though the method was unusual, the result seemed fairly good. He took out his Terminal.

"Then let's exchange contact information."

"My Observer."

"Yes! Akiyama Special Grade!"

Morishita Ran hurriedly pulled out her own Terminal and quickly added Akiyama Shin as a friend.

After finishing, Akiyama Shin glanced toward the cafeteria and casually asked.

"Want to get breakfast at the cafeteria together?"

At his words, Morishita Ran touched her flat stomach and nodded vigorously.

"Yes! To build up enough stamina to support observation operations... replenishing energy is necessary!"

With that, she naturally fell into step beside Akiyama Shin, and the two walked shoulder to shoulder toward the cafeteria.

As he walked, Akiyama Shin glanced out of the corner of his eye at Morishita Ran, who was hopping along beside him and humming some unknown tune.

Morishita Ran from Class A...?

An unexpected gain.

Her behavior was strange, but she seemed capable of becoming an interesting source of information. As for her talk of destined ones and offering her heart... for now, he would treat it as seasoning for their cooperative relationship.