The Vortex Was Forming

"Hmm? Let's hear it."

Toru Hasegawa knew Ran Morishita was trying to get something for nothing and fish extra information out of him, but he had confidence of his own.

"There's someone in Class D you'll find interesting: Ayanokoji Kiyotaka."

"Someone from another class? You're not lying to me, are you?" Ran Morishita gave him a suspicious look.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka wasn't exactly a name that came up often in the boys' or girls' rumor networks...

No, she thought she might have seen his name on the rankings for handsome boys and gloomy students, but that was about it.

Toru Hasegawa said seriously, "How could I dare lie to you? I'd wager that if you got to know him, you'd have the same questions I do. It's like he has no human emotions at all. And if he does, they must be an act."

He'd learned this truth from another angle, but couldn't tell Ran Morishita how, so he could only leave her to investigate for herself.

"If you're lying, I'll tell all the girls you're a liar," Ran Morishita said, making it sound like a threat.

Toru Hasegawa retorted without hesitation, "You can't only think of yourself as a girl when you're doing things like this. Besides, are you even part of the girls' circle? I have my doubts."

Generally, no one would get that close just for information, and Ran Morishita had no intention of using her looks to get what she wanted.

A certain word that had come to mind for no apparent reason made Toru Hasegawa's gaze wander slightly.

Hmm, black stockings... From a purely visual standpoint, they really were more appealing than bare legs.

"Where are you looking?" Ran Morishita took a step back.

"Did you notice?" Toru Hasegawa calmly looked away. "Anyway, that's all. I should get going."

Ran Morishita was a little unhappy, because she felt she was far behind him in every way.

While she was still indulging her interest in observing all kinds of things, her classmate Toru Hasegawa had already learned so much and reached deep into Class D.

Although Sakayanagi Arisu still ruled Class A with an iron fist, the capable students were already harboring their own ambitions in secret, waiting to see whether she could produce concrete results in the days ahead.

As the days passed, aside from a sharp increase in his spending on various necessities, not much changed in Toru Hasegawa's life.

Miyabi Nagumo, Ran Morishita, and the others stopped paying him any attention. Suzune Horikita had gone quiet too, not sending him a single message. Only Airi Sakura occasionally spent time with him—and Kikyo Kushida had started showing up much more often.

Toru Hasegawa didn't know whether Airi Sakura had taken his earlier words to heart, but the fact that the group seemed to be getting along better on the surface was clear.

Then came the monthly quiz at the end of the month.

"This exam won't be reflected on your report cards, so don't worry."

It was hard to say how many Class A students noticed the implication in Teacher Mashima's words.

So Toru Hasegawa raised his hand.

"Do you have a question?"

It was as good as permission to speak. After all, Class A's atmosphere during lessons was unusually quiet, and no one dared to speak out of turn.

"Just because it won't be reflected on our report cards doesn't mean it won't show up somewhere else. Is that a fair interpretation?"

"Yes."

Teacher Mashima gave him a straightforward answer.

As expected, the atmosphere in the classroom immediately grew tense.

Taking the test paper from the student in front of him, Toru Hasegawa skimmed it. Aside from the last three questions, the rest were surprisingly easy.

A test?

Toru Hasegawa fell into thought.

After the quiz, his deskmate, Kamuro Masumi, couldn't wait to speak to him.

"What exactly are you getting at? Honestly, I can't make heads or tails of anything you've done so far."

"Can I take that to mean you want to understand me better?"

"...I'm just concerned about you as a friend." Kamuro Masumi turned away in embarrassment, but soon faced him again.

Toru Hasegawa was silent for a while before saying, "If you're looking for a way to get out from under Classmate Sakayanagi's control, I might be able to help."

"No, that doesn't matter to me anymore. I think I've more or less figured out what you were trying to do." Kamuro Masumi flatly rejected the idea. "She's been treating me more and more like a person lately."

"Is that so? Congratulations on becoming human again, Kamuro." Toru Hasegawa smiled faintly.

Kamuro Masumi's expression faltered slightly before she asked, "If I'd agreed to what you asked back then, would you have..."

"You don't need to say that. You can't force someone to feel something." Toru Hasegawa shook his head slightly. What he needed was sincerity, not anything else.

At the same time, though, he'd noticed a problem.

If he judged by looks alone, most of the girls at this school were right up his alley—except for Sakayanagi Arisu, who was pretending to be a high school student.

But from other angles, take Airi Sakura, for instance: he didn't seem to feel anything for her beyond physical attraction.

She had practically made it obvious that she liked him, and the changes in his own body reflected that, too.

But he knew that if they really started dating, all he'd be left with was regret. Giving up an entire garden for a single flower wasn't a realistic choice for him right now.

Toru Hasegawa had been constantly thinking about the deeper reasons he wanted a girlfriend. Airi Sakura could easily become his first girlfriend if he wanted; she would probably agree. Yet he'd given up that option himself.

Why?

He couldn't quite explain it, even to himself. At any rate, the challenges brought on by the changes in his body had successfully kept him from devoting too much energy to romance.

When a person could barely even hope to eat their fill, emotional fulfillment was a luxury they didn't need.

Right now, just getting used to this body that felt as if it had taken him over was exhausting enough. He had to make sure nothing strange happened again.

Like accidentally smashing a desk or something...

"Anyway, you don't have any plans tomorrow, do you?"

"Huh? Can I take that as you asking me out?" Toru Hasegawa stopped himself from scratching his head out of habit. Going bald at such a young age was no joke.

Kamuro Masumi stood up. "Take it however you want. I've said my piece."

With that, she left with her friends. It seemed she'd had a lot more free time lately—even enough to have friends.

Without a moment's pause, the next person to appear beside Toru Hasegawa was—

Masayoshi Hashimoto.

"Want to go have lunch together?" he asked.

Toru Hasegawa nodded. "Sure."

He, too, had found himself a circle, just like an ordinary high school student, even if it consisted entirely of people surrounding Sakayanagi Arisu.

"You asked a good question before the exam today."

At the Student Cafeteria, Sakayanagi Arisu started a conversation.

"I figured no one else wanted to ask, so I went ahead and did it." Toru Hasegawa ate his delicious set meal and replied casually. "What about you? Do you not need Kamuro anymore?"

"Hmm... I suppose I have to change my strategy a little. Are you satisfied now, Hasegawa?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Hehe."

Sakayanagi Arisu neither confirmed nor denied it. She simply gave a soft laugh and said no more.

Masayoshi Hashimoto was completely lost. He looked at Sakayanagi Arisu, then at Toru Hasegawa, and finally decided to take out his phone and make a note of something.

He had a bad feeling about this, but for now, he decided to pretend he hadn't seen anything.

In a relaxed mood, Toru Hasegawa welcomed the last day off in April.