Visitors in the Dead of Night

"Something's wrong. Abort the plan and move!"

As he spoke, the masked man who had been waiting outside to help them escape didn't bother asking whether the two agreed. He hoisted them onto his back and darted into the darkness.

Even so, faintly, a man's furious roar still seemed to echo through the air.

As for who it was, Rinya, watching the scene in silence from afar, no longer had the energy to wonder.

He stretched his tired limbs, and finally felt a little more at ease.

After all, he'd briefly imbued so many people with that kind of energy. Even with his extraordinary physique, it had been hard to bear all at once.

Once he was sure the other party had completely withdrawn, Rinya immediately called Chairman Sakayanagi.

In short, he told him that after this incident, the other party probably wouldn't act recklessly for a while, but they should still stay as vigilant as possible.

As for what to do next, he left it to him. Now that there was already a scapegoat, the other higher-ups at the school probably wouldn't suspect him.

However, one thing Chairman Sakayanagi said at the end of the call gave him pause.

After tomorrow, winter break would begin.

He also hinted at the school's plans for what came next.

Rinya had known about them for a long time, but a polite show of gratitude was still in order.

After ending the call, he checked the time. It was already one in the morning.

Just as he was about to head back, a message notification in the top-left corner of his phone caught his eye.

When he saw it was from Kushida, he'd assumed she'd found out someone's little secret and was sharing it with him again.

But the message said that Chie Hoshinomiya, from Class 1-B, had just secretly come to his home to look for him. She was still in Kushida's sight, and she wanted her master to know.

Rinya was taken aback. Hoshinomiya should still have been in the hospital receiving treatment. Why had she come to see him alone so late at night?

Given Hoshinomiya's usual fujoshi personality, she would never have done something like this. It seemed that other side of her might have awakened.

"Heh. If I don't seize the chance now, when will I?"

On his way home, Rinya immediately changed course. He'd been waiting for the other side of her, so how could he let such a golden opportunity slip by?

Of the four homeroom teachers, she was the only woman in whom Rinya could sense two distinct sides. That was precisely why the homeroom teacher, whose normal self was nearly impossible to win over, offered limitless possibilities through her other side.

To advance his new class plan, he absolutely needed a homeroom teacher under his control.

With that in mind, he called Kushida and told her to keep following Hoshinomiya while tracking her location. Then he hurried over himself.

"Yes, Master."

After hanging up, the girl quickly got dressed. Using her phone to track Hoshinomiya, she followed her from a distance, step by step.

But there was one thing Kushida could never have imagined.

Hoshinomiya hadn't come to see him simply to chat. On the contrary, she was prepared to use any means necessary to get him expelled.

Unable to recover from the collapse of her perception caused by her normal self that day, her mental state had grown increasingly unstable.

And so, when the other side that had emerged from within her mind realized that a man named Rinya lay behind all her problems,

her negative persona immediately resolved to use the cover of night to drive out, at any cost, the man who was influencing her primary consciousness.

Because of this, tonight she was exceptionally alert to everything around her.

Kushida, who was following her, had no idea what was going on. After all, the two barely knew each other.

That was why Kushida instinctively assumed Hoshinomiya was much like herself.

She would never have guessed that this woman had once been more ruthless than anyone when it came to achieving her goals.

If the Class Vote expulsion exam hadn't taken place before graduation and made her realize that no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't overcome the school's arrangements, why would she have sealed away her dark side and lived on with a different personality?

"Whoosh~"

A breeze swept past. Hoshinomiya's eyes flickered, and she gave a cold smile.

As she passed a corner, she suddenly stopped in her tracks...

Though Kushida behind her was cautious, she wasn't cautious enough.

The girl waited a moment, then turned the corner. In an instant, Hoshinomiya swung the hand chop she'd readied.

"Ah~"

Kushida let out a muffled groan and crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

Seeing this, Hoshinomiya wasn't stupid. She realized at once that someone had been watching her.

And who would be out at this hour?

Remembering that Rinya wasn't home even at one in the morning, she picked up her phone and checked the location tracker. Her eyes brightened, and a plan came to mind.

Meanwhile, Rinya was on his way over. When he noticed Kushida's location suddenly speeding up on his phone, his eyes narrowed. He sensed something was off, but continued toward her anyway.

This time, though, he suddenly moved several times faster than before.

His figure surged like a gale. Before the naked eye could fully follow him, he had already vanished.

"This... This is..."

"How is that possible?!"

On the other side, Hoshinomiya had just poured alcohol into her mouth, planning to leave a few traces on her clothes to frame him.

When she saw the signal on her phone racing toward her like a game of Snake, even her other side couldn't help blinking in disbelief.

"Long time no see, Hoshinomiya-sensei~"

The next second, before she could recover from her daze, a hollow voice seemed to rush past her ear along with the wind.

Knowing she'd been exposed, she immediately put on her usual act. She glanced around and spoke timidly. "W-Who's there? A teacher shouldn't be pranked this late at night."

After a while, she still couldn't see anyone around her. Hoshinomiya wondered in secret if she'd imagined the voice.

She looked at her phone again. The location marker from before had disappeared.

So she called out a few more times, still pretending.

When no one answered, her expression quickly turned cold. Had she been tricked?

Her negative persona was naturally quick-tempered and ruthless.

Not only had she failed to find Rinya after coming out in the middle of the night, she'd also spent all that time shouting at nothing. Her anger flaring, she returned to where Kushida lay unconscious.

When she splashed cold water on the girl, Kushida shuddered all over and immediately curled up, trembling.

Hoshinomiya didn't waste time. She demanded, "Who told you to follow me? Was it Rinya? Was it?!"

Kushida looked bewildered. She froze for a moment, then seemed to understand what had happened. Cursing herself inwardly for her carelessness, she put on her usual act to protect herself.

She sobbed softly. "Waaah... Hoshinomiya-sensei, what just happened? Why did you pour water on me?"

"I was on my way home just now. Why am I here now? Why did this happen?"

"I'm so cold. I'm so scared."