The two strolled along a tree-lined path on campus. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, scattering dappled shadows across the ground. A faint floral fragrance hung in the air, lending the scene a particularly peaceful feel.
The branches and leaves swayed gently in the breeze. Now and then, the clear call of a bird rang out, as if accompanying their walk.
Onizuka reached out and gently supported Sakayanagi Arisu beside him.
"Classmate Sakayanagi, I wonder where you're headed?"
"Oh my, why aren't you calling me senpai anymore?" The girl turned her head, a faint smile on her face. Her short silver hair glimmered in the sunlight.
"If you don't like it, I can go back to calling you that," Onizuka said with a shrug.
Sakayanagi paused slightly, as if pondering something.
"Then there's no need. Call me whatever you like. Oh, just take me to the classroom. Class 1-A. I forgot to pick up a few things," she said softly.
"Class 1-A?"
Onizuka thought back over what had happened earlier. Something had indeed seemed a little off. That man's hesitant expression had meant he wanted to say that he was the club president.
Onizuka had thought he was just a little disgruntled.
But that made sense. After a lower-year girl had come to challenge him and crushed him so thoroughly, he probably had no face left to admit that he was the president.
Onizuka looked down at the girl beside him. What a nasty personality. She could play tricks on someone she'd only just met to this extent.
Utterly vicious!
He decided he wouldn't talk to her anymore! He'd thought that since he'd come across such a talented girl, he might as well lend a hand. He'd said it before: he shouldn't do good deeds!
Perhaps sensing that Onizuka was a little angry, Sakayanagi Arisu kept her eyes ahead and spoke in a calm voice.
"My leg."
"What?"
"Don't play dumb. You looked, didn't you?"
There was no denying it.
Now he had every reason to be relentlessly condemned on moral grounds.
He'd thought he'd looked away quickly enough. He hadn't expected her to be so perceptive.
"Forget it. We're even."
See? He'd said people should do more good deeds!
"Uh, thanks for the hospitality?"
???
Sakayanagi turned her head, and a confused, somewhat indignant expression entered Onizuka's view.
Onizuka immediately looked away, turning his gaze to a tree beside the path. What a tree this tree was!
Then he felt a sharp pain at his waist. Even so, Onizuka didn't turn around. He chose to endure it.
He knew exactly what was happening. Sometimes, silence and patience were the best ways to solve a problem.
Five or six seconds later, the pain in his waist gradually faded. Onizuka heard Sakayanagi give a soft snort.
He knew that was the end of the matter.
"Classmate Sakayanagi, the whole Chess Club lost quite a few points to you, didn't they?" Onizuka broke the silence first and asked.
"Mm... Actually, it wasn't just the Chess Club. I've already swept through all the indoor clubs, Onizuka~"
"Looks like I came too late. But do you trust me that much, Classmate Sakayanagi? Something like that should be kept secret." He looked at the girl beside him in puzzlement.
"For Onizuka, something like this wouldn't be a secret at all if you asked around a little."
"It's not quite that simple. Otherwise, I wouldn't have fallen behind you."
Sakayanagi's eyes narrowed to slits. Her gaze, like a sharp blade, stabbed straight at Onizuka's face.
Her voice carried a hint of teasing. "Oh my, Onizuka really isn't honest. Apart from these indoor clubs that don't require any exercise, you've already brought all the others under your wing, haven't you?"
Onizuka looked at Sakayanagi in puzzlement.
"Hm? How do you know?"
Sakayanagi smiled softly, a hint of smugness in her smile.
"Rumors about Onizuka have been a hot topic around school lately, although they've only been circulating among the second- and third-years."
Onizuka's shoulders sagged a little. He spread his hands helplessly in surrender.
"All right. In that case, there's no need for me to waste my time elsewhere. I never expected to keep it up for long anyway. Making it this far is already pretty good."
A hint of appreciation flashed in Sakayanagi's eyes. She continued, "I imagine you've studied the school's S System in depth, Onizuka."
"The S System? What's that?"
They exchanged smiles.
Little fox.
Big liar.
Time passed quickly, and Onizuka escorted Sakayanagi Arisu to the classroom door.
"How about coming in for a look? See if there's any difference between Class A and Class D?"
Onizuka refused Sakayanagi Arisu's invitation without hesitation. "I think I'll pass. I'll get into Class A someday through my own abilities."
"Oh my, Onizuka is certainly confident," Sakayanagi Arisu said with a laugh, one hand half-covering her mouth.
"Of course." A faint smile appeared on Onizuka's face. "Would you like me to wait for you?"
Sakayanagi Arisu waved her hand lightly, her voice relaxed. "Surely you haven't become so free because of me, Onizuka? There's no need, though. Someone will come to pick me up in a little while."
Onizuka nodded. "In that case, see you, Classmate Sakayanagi."
"Goodbye, Onizuka."
After seeing Sakayanagi Arisu to her classroom, Onizuka turned around, his mind full of thoughts, and slowly headed back to the dormitory.
Sakayanagi Arisu, Class 1-A, one meter fifty tall, almost no athletic ability, extremely intelligent, with excellent logical thinking and deductive skills.
And the chairman of this academy was also surnamed Sakayanagi.
Getting this information hadn't been easy. It had cost him a lot of effort and points, especially since he'd had to insist on keeping it strictly confidential.
Just as Sakayanagi had said, for him, finding out these things wasn't difficult-especially finding out where she would be today and arranging a chance encounter.
Back in the dormitory, Onizuka stretched lazily, gently pushed the door open, walked over to the trash can in the room, and tossed in the book from his schoolbag.
It was the book he'd spent the whole day reading: Chess for Beginners.
The edges of the pages were slightly yellowed, and the book recorded countless basic games and strategies. But for him, there was clearly no need to keep reading it.