The Hunter's Bite / Captured

You're not in elementary school anymore. Is this your first day at school?

No, wait. Thinking about how Class D acted in the anime...

All right, author, I take back what I said. You really put some thought into this.

But I'm going to give you hell for that unconventional introduction.

Look at what you wrote: "Romantic relationships incompatible with the identity of high school students are prohibited."

Where are we? Japan.

High school students are already bursting with hormones, and everyone can see what they're like out in the open.

So in this completely enclosed campus, it's even easier for things best left unsaid to happen.

What do you think the odds are that every third-year student graduates a virgin?

The elevator doors opened on the fourth floor.

He stopped outside Room 402, took out his key, and unlocked the door. A student's living space came into view.

The first thing he saw in the twenty-five-square-meter room was a large bed, two meters by 1.8 meters. It fit snugly into the corner, making the most of the space. The bedding looked like decent quality and seemed like it would make for a good night's sleep.

Beside it hung a closed blue curtain, and next to that stood a desk.

A modern black chair sat in front of the desk. On it were a black laptop, a black storage box, and an intercom phone. There were also wall outlets above and below the desk.

A white air conditioner hung above the desk, already powered and ready to use. To the right stood a storage cabinet twice the height of the desk, with eight compartments.

Looking around, he spotted a kitchen built into the wall.

It was divided into two sections. Pots, bowls, and utensils were neatly arranged on the left, alongside an induction cooktop, kettle, and microwave. On the right were a sink and a cutting board hanging from a hook on the wall.

The school had probably included it for students who couldn't get used to the cafeteria food.

Some students were skilled cooks and could save money by making their own meals. Others simply couldn't stomach the free, unappetizing set meals and could cook for themselves instead.

Last came the bathroom and toilet.

"How did you change so much in such a short time?"

Watching Karuizawa Kei circle around him like a curious child, eagerly surveying the room, Tanaka Yukishin couldn't help the twitch at the corner of his mouth.

It wasn't that he lacked experience. It was just rare for a woman to nearly scare herself to death over a single sentence.

And after recovering, this girl had become a completely different person—so bold it was ridiculous.

Could two sentences really make you feel like you'd been transported to another world, then reborn?

What kind of legendary protagonist template do you have? I want one too.

Karuizawa Kei turned around and tilted her head.

"Hey, Tanaka-kun, aren't we old friends? Why would you ask me something like that?" She flashed him a playful smile, then laughed smugly.

She looked just like an obnoxious brat who was asking for a scolding.

"You're right. Let's find somewhere to sit," Tanaka Yukishin said, heading toward the bed.

But Karuizawa Kei beat him to it. She leaned back and sat on the bed, bracing herself with both hands. Seeing that, Tanaka Yukishin stopped and turned toward the chair.

"Isn't Tanaka-kun going to sit with me?"

Great. I've broken through her defenses, and now her attack power's maxed out. No idea what she's thinking, though.

But I've never been one to worry about that. I'll just stick to the plan.

He sat down and turned the chair around until they were facing each other.

Chapter 6: The Hunter's Bite

"Now that we're in the dorm, I can finally say this without worrying."

"I have high hopes for you, Kei-chan, so I'm giving you two choices."

"Here's the first one: you can leave right now. But at some point, I'll let your information out. I hope you'll have grown enough by then to face it calmly and protect yourself. Don't worry too much, though. I'll give you time to grow."

"I once heard two interesting sayings."

"The first one: 'Running away is shameful, but useful.'"

"During the few months of vacation, you can study hard and effectively disguise yourself as a gal, fooling everyone in your class. That would fit the first saying perfectly."

"Then surely you can manage the second one, too."

"The best way to overcome fear is to face it. So in a few months, you'll be able to confront it calmly—and defeat it."

"Here's the second choice: since you've given up resisting, you're no use to me if you can't live up to my expectations. All that's left is for you to become my meal. Get everything ready. When I come back this afternoon, I hope you'll have washed up, put on some beautiful makeup, and changed into a cute outfit. Be waiting for me to devour you. After that, you'll belong to me."

After finishing his long speech, he placed a spare key on the desk and gestured for her to take it.

The corner of Tanaka Yukishin's mouth curled up, and he secretly congratulated himself.

You're so bold, huh? Let's see what you're made of. Don't beg too soon. I'm not letting you off the hook anyway.

But to Tanaka Yukishin's surprise, Karuizawa Kei didn't look afraid. She gazed at him with anticipation.

"I kind of want to ask which option Tanaka-kun hopes I'll choose. But what I'm really curious about is, if I choose the second one, will I be Tanaka-kun's first girlfriend?"

Wait, what's gotten into you? This isn't how the story was supposed to go.

I don't care which one you choose, but you're supposed to look scared and frightened, then trade barbs with me for a while. And when you're still hesitating, I'm supposed to give you the final push and make you choose.

How did you turn the tables on me?

When did I win you over?

Tanaka Yukishin wasn't stupid, so he'd already figured out how the girl felt about him.

But it made no sense.

Even if you were going to throw yourself at me, there should be a reason. Sure, I'm handsome, but I'm threatening you right now. Come on, show some respect for our situation.

"Tanaka-kun, you're clearly the aggressive type. You brought me to your room, threatened me into making a choice, and now you won't even answer a helpless little girl's question?"

Karuizawa Kei didn't get a reply, and pouted, looking a little unhappy.

But she didn't stop pressing him.

"I'm fine with either option. Since Tanaka-kun said he'd be back this afternoon, you must still have something to do. So I'm not the only one who needs to get ready. Tanaka-kun should get ready to devour me, too. And I'll live up to your expectations."

Two choices? Only an idiot would pick one. Clever Karuizawa Kei wanted both.

She didn't know if she was Tanaka-kun's first girlfriend, but Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School was completely enclosed.

Three years was more than enough to win Tanaka-kun over. Anyway, it's June or July...

...Ten-odd seconds later, she watched Tanaka Yukishin's expression shift from playful to blank before he left the room. Karuizawa Kei closed the door, covered her mouth, and slapped her thigh as she laughed wildly.

Tanaka-kun was so easy to read.

As the saying went, "A gentleman can be deceived by appealing to his principles."

And Tanaka-kun was so easy to fool.

Once she'd recovered from laughing, she caught a whiff of sweat from her own body and went pale. She remembered how she'd tilted her head and acted cute in front of Tanaka-kun, teasing him while she was in that state.

I'm doomed. I feel like I've lost a ton of points in Tanaka-kun's eyes.

Ah!!!

As she groaned, Karuizawa Kei picked up the spare key Tanaka Yukishin had left on the desk and left the room.

After all, a certain Ultraman once said that when trouble came, you couldn't just sit around and wait.

She'd go back to her room and wash up, then head to the shopping district to buy some winning lingerie. After eating, she'd warm up, rest a bit, and wait for Tanaka-kun to return.

As for Tanaka Yukishin, he was still a little puzzled about why she'd acted that way, but he didn't stop walking.

He was the type to ask when he didn't understand. He'd come back that afternoon, devour Karuizawa Kei, and ask her afterward. Then he'd have his answer.

As he walked down the broad, plant-lined road, the breeze carried the fragrance of leaves and flowers.

What Tanaka Yukishin needed to do was make the information he needed for his plan seem plausible.

On the surface, Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School advertised a nearly one-hundred-percent success rate for further education and employment, making it one of the finest schools in the country.

But that wasn't the real story.

In reality, the school judged everything according to each student's ability. It was a school built on pure meritocracy.

Each grade was divided into Classes A, B, C, and D. Only students who graduated as members of Class A were entitled to the promises the school had made before enrollment.

The classes were ranked according to the school's core mechanism, the S System.

The S System operated in secret at Advanced Nurturing High School. It was an undisclosed scoring system that evaluated student performance in real time and converted it into clear numerical scores.

Those scores were called Points, and they came in two types: Class Points and Personal Points.

A class's ranking depended on its Class Points, while Personal Points served as the campus's exclusive currency.

On the first of each month, the S System deposited Personal Points into every student's account based on their class's Class Points multiplied by one hundred.

Tanaka Yukishin's plan was to get his hands on Personal Points. But unlike Koenji Rokusuke and Sakayanagi Arisu, he didn't come from a family with enough influence to have received some relevant information before enrolling.

He'd gotten his information from his cheat ability, which shared it for free. So he couldn't just use it outright. He had to wrap it in a plausible explanation.

That was why he was wandering around campus: to familiarize himself with the place while also laying the groundwork for his future actions.

The closest buildings to the student dormitories, apart from the cafeteria, were the shopping district.

It was only ten thirty, so Tanaka Yukishin wasn't hungry yet.

As the biggest supplier in this enclosed space, the shopping district was quite lively.

Tanaka Yukishin walked into a convenience store, planning to see what the free goods mentioned in the information from his cheat were like.

Instead, he saw a girl in a school uniform sneak a cartoon hair clip into the bag she was carrying.

A thief? A kleptomaniac?

What were you thinking? Did you not scout the place before committing the crime?

There was a camera in the corner on the right, pointed straight this way.

She had her back to him, so he couldn't see her face. But she had beautiful purple hair tied in a ponytail, and the legs beneath her skirt were rosy and toned.

She probably exercised and paid attention to her appearance. She shouldn't have been this careless.

Whatever. I'll record it, then ask her about it.

Why overthink things? If I don't understand, I'll just ask.

With that thought, Tanaka Yukishin took his student ID terminal from his pocket, opened the camera, and started recording. Of course, he wasn't as careless as that "master thief."

In Japan, taking videos or photos on a phone made a sound.

Tanaka Yukishin didn't know why they'd set it up that way, and he couldn't be bothered to look into such useless details.

But he hadn't been to an electronics shop to modify the relevant features yet, so as he recorded, he covered the speaker and sound outlet with his other hand. It wasn't completely silent, but compared with the normal volume, it was far less likely to be noticed.

Even if she did notice, it didn't matter. The camera in the corner of the store was recording too. At worst, he'd go from having sole possession of the leverage to sharing it with the school.

After recording, Tanaka Yukishin uploaded the video to the computer in his dorm room. Then he waited by the entrance for a few minutes, watching as the purple-haired girl came out and prepared to leave.

"Hey, I have something I want to ask you. How about we find somewhere quiet?"

Chapter 7: Captured

A few days later, Kamuro Masumi had once again indulged her peculiar hobby.

She felt completely satisfied, as if her whole life had finally come together.

The world before her seemed brighter, the air smelled sweeter, and everything was wonderful.

After leaving the convenience store, she planned to check out her dorm before going to the cafeteria for lunch.

"Hey, I have something I want to ask you. How about we find somewhere quiet?"

A magnetic male voice came from beside the store.

She turned around and sized up the speaker.

She concluded that she didn't know him, and that he didn't look like he exercised much. He seemed weak.