The Lamb Walked Into the Tiger's Den

"Because that's just the kind of person I am." Toru Hasegawa sighed. "Disappointed?"

"Eh? I feel like you've changed a lot, Hasegawa-kun, when I wasn't looking."

Honami Ichinose was astonished. Was this really the same Toru Hasegawa who had boldly professed his love to her? Somehow, he didn't seem quite the same.

"People change. I've just come to see that a little more clearly... What was it you wanted to talk to me about this morning?" Toru Hasegawa steered the conversation back on track.

Honami Ichinose was no longer as shy as before. First she glanced at the nearby stairwell, then slowly walked over to the railing farther away.

Toru Hasegawa moved with her.

He knew. He'd known all along.

Honami Ichinose had arrived just a few seconds after the two of them began talking, and...

Kamuro Masumi was also eavesdropping right now.

Unfortunately, Honami Ichinose had probably already realized that the stairwell didn't block sound well, so she'd changed locations.

That made Toru Hasegawa think a little more highly of her.

No wonder she was known as the leader of Class B. She was nothing like those small fry in Class A.

"Actually... Senior Nagumo sent me a message this morning. He said he wanted to meet me on a day off."

"I see. So that's why you came to talk to me?"

"Mm..." Honami Ichinose hesitated briefly, then suddenly said, "Is it really okay that I heard about Class A's business?"

She'd changed the subject, which took Toru Hasegawa by surprise.

"You're more concerned about other people than your own problems?"

"Mm. I think anyone would be concerned after hearing that conversation just now. Stealing things and all..." Honami Ichinose couldn't hide her unease.

Toru Hasegawa sensed trouble. Honami Ichinose's words seemed to hold a hidden meaning, and her subtle attitude made him feel there was more to it than met the eye.

"You heard the rest of it too, didn't you?" Toru Hasegawa sounded completely unconcerned. "You have to get past the obstacles in your way if you want to keep moving forward. Anyone can understand that."

"What if you can't get past them?" Honami Ichinose couldn't help asking.

"Then you do everything you can to get past them, just like I did a moment ago." Toru Hasegawa once again acknowledged what he'd done: he had deliberately let Honami Ichinose hear his conversation with Kamuro Masumi.

"You really are mean, Hasegawa-kun." Honami Ichinose seemed to have recovered a little and teased him before continuing, "Since you've already come up with a solution yourself, I probably shouldn't say more... I'd like to hear what you think about Senior Nagumo's invitation."

"What I think...?" Toru Hasegawa thought it over. His impression of Miyabi Nagumo was still centered on how strangely fixated he was on Manabu Horikita, so he decided to message Masayoshi Hashimoto first.

"Hmm...? Were you just messaging someone, Hasegawa-kun?" Honami Ichinose asked curiously.

"Yeah. I was wondering: if Senior Nagumo invited you to meet him, what about the others?"

Meaning Sakayanagi Arisu and Katsuragi Kohei.

Toru Hasegawa asked Masayoshi Hashimoto about the two of them, confident that Hashimoto would get back to him quickly.

Sure enough, a message soon arrived on his phone.

[Masayoshi Hashimoto: Neither of them got a similar message. By the way, why did you ask?]

[Toru Hasegawa: Thanks. There's just something I'm curious about.]

[Masayoshi Hashimoto: What is it?]

[Masayoshi Hashimoto: ...]

[Masayoshi Hashimoto: You got what you wanted and ran, huh? Damn it, I'm coming to find you and get an explanation!]

"Looks like the other two students from Class A didn't get a message. You're special." Toru Hasegawa's expression didn't change. Ignoring his phone's vibrations, he began thinking about how Honami Ichinose differed from the other two.

All the information he'd gathered so far rapidly swirled together in his mind.

"Just me?" Honami Ichinose was very nervous. Just as Toru Hasegawa had said, she seemed to be special.

"Is it because you're in Class B? Senior Nagumo was apparently assigned to Class B at first too, then climbed his way into Class A and gradually took control of the entire year..." Toru Hasegawa analyzed the information he had so far aloud.

So, was it because Nagumo had an excess of empathy?

No, that couldn't be right.

Toru Hasegawa immediately dismissed the idea. Miyabi Nagumo might have an excess of empathy, but it was unlikely that he actually did.

There had to be some other reason...

As he thought, Toru Hasegawa kept looking Honami Ichinose up and down, making her even more nervous.

"...I see. So that's what it is." Toru Hasegawa suddenly nodded, as if he'd had a revelation.

"You figured out why?" Honami Ichinose looked a little delighted. No wonder the student council president recognized him. She'd spent all morning trying to work it out, but he'd figured it out in just a few minutes.

"Ahem... I need to confirm something first." Toru Hasegawa cleared his throat and messaged Akane Tachibana.

She replied just as quickly as Masayoshi Hashimoto had.

[Secretary Tachibana: He has a childhood friend, but he still accepts advances from every other girl. He's such a womanizer!!!]

[Toru Hasegawa: ...Got it.]

After seeing Akane Tachibana's message, Toru Hasegawa's suspicions were confirmed.

"Just like the reason I first approached you, Senior Nagumo's reason is the same." Toru Hasegawa spoke slowly, sounding a little embarrassed.

"Huh?" Honami Ichinose was briefly confused, then a blush quickly spread across her lovely face.

She didn't really care much about her own body, but she hadn't expected that this was why two boys had set their sights on her at the same time.

"Even if I'm hardly in a position to say this, he probably wants to make you his own private possession."

Toru Hasegawa hadn't expected to find himself relating to Miyabi Nagumo in a way, and couldn't help feeling a little defeated.

He could more or less imagine what methods Miyabi Nagumo would use, and that upset him too.

"I don't quite understand..." Honami Ichinose was puzzled by an idea she'd never heard before.

Toru Hasegawa took a deep breath and decided to start from the beginning. "Your homeroom teacher must have told you today, right? There's some kind of pattern to how this school assigns students to classes. Otherwise, last month's results couldn't have produced such a precise ranking."

It would be one thing if Class A had simply ranked first and Class D last, but Classes B and C fit the pattern too.

"Mm. Even though the school assigned me to Class B, I'm really glad I got to meet everyone in Class B!"

Honami Ichinose's expression didn't waver, as if she genuinely felt that way.

"I admire you for that." A hint of respect showed on Toru Hasegawa's face. Not everyone could be as carefree as Honami Ichinose. However...

He was about to drag her straight into the abyss.

"But that's not the issue. I think you should have had the ability to be assigned to Class A. So why did you end up in Class B?"