A New Beginning (Part 1)

(Karuizawa)

Before I knew it, two weeks had passed since school started.

Gradually, the unfamiliarity with the environment from the beginning of the term faded, and as usual, we gathered at Zelkova Shopping Center.

Since I had a bit of a craving for sweets, I chose Palette as our meeting spot.

A message came through on my terminal—the others were still touching up their makeup in the mall restroom.

Feeling a little peckish, I decided to head in first.

I'd been thinking about the matcha mille-crepe here all through class.

"Hello, I'd like one matcha mille-crepe, please."

"Sure thing. Keep an eye on your terminal notifications—it'll buzz when it's ready for pickup."

I nodded, then found a seat by the window.

While waiting for the dessert to be made, I opened the chat room.

Did touching up makeup really take this long?

Just as I was thinking about hurrying them along, I suddenly noticed the ambient light above my seat was blocked by something.

A group of girls had gathered around my table.

I glanced at them.

None of them were from Class D...

A vague sense of ill intent crept up on me.

They just silently surrounded me, not saying a word.

I pretended to be nonchalant, replying to messages, but secretly sized them up.

Then, a girl who arrived a little late but seemed to be the ringleader sat down across from me.

Her makeup was a bit overdone, her collar buttons undone, boldly showing off her collarbone and skin.

She crossed her arms over her chest, lifted her chin, and said:

"You're Karuizawa from Class D, first year, right?"

"Can I help you?"

I frowned, a little annoyed that my dining atmosphere was being disturbed.

"A few days ago, right here, you pushed Rika, didn't you?"

"Rika? I don't know her."

I denied it.

"Still refusing to admit it? You won't give up until I call her over to confront you, huh?"

"I'll say it again—I don't know any Rika."

"You're really the type who won't cry until you see the coffin, aren't you!"

As she spoke, she pulled out her terminal, seemingly ready to confront me on the spot.

A memory from a few days ago suddenly surfaced in my mind.

On Sunday, Palette was absolutely packed with business.

While no one likes waiting in line, it was still a stroke of luck to avoid having to wait alone.

I chatted with my friends as we queued up.

At that time of day, every café probably had a long line, but since it was prime time, there was no way to say no.

We were almost at the front, but the girl ahead of us seemed to be pondering what to order.

After patiently waiting for her for a bit, I noticed she still looked torn.

The girls in my group were a little annoyed, since we'd already been queuing for a while.

So I spoke up to interrupt her endless deliberation.

"You're really wasting other people's time like this."

"After all this time, you still haven't figured out what you want? Other people's time is precious too—do you have to be so selfish and make everyone stare at you?"

"Or is this your way of getting attention?"

Bombarded by my verbal accusations, she seemed flustered.

Apologizing, she slowly shuffled out of the way.

I just thought of it as a minor incident and didn't dwell on it.

Could that girl be the Rika they're talking about?

I couldn't help but feel a hint of hostility from the girls around me.

All over something like that?

I can't stay here any longer.

Like a pack of wolves that have been suppressed for a long time, finally finding an outlet to vent, ready to devour everything in sight.

Given the current situation, there's no choice but to lower my head.

But if the girls from my class who are about to arrive witness this, I feel like that would be even harder for me to accept.

If possible, leaving this crowded, gossip-filled place first would be the best option.

I scanned my surroundings, looking for an opportunity to slip away.

But that tiny movement was caught, and suddenly a girl pressed down on my shoulder.

"Don't think about running. This isn't getting resolved, so there's no way we're letting you go."

"You—don't be unreasonable. What Rika... I've never heard of her at all."

She had already dialed Rika's phone.

"Then call her over and say it to her face."

I pretended to stop resisting.

Feeling that the grip on my shoulder wasn't squeezing as hard anymore, I faked rubbing my shoulder...

Then, with all my strength, I pried her hand off...

And successfully escaped from Palette.

"Don't think you can run! You have to apologize to Rika today!"

I glanced back at the girl chasing after me and gritted my teeth.

No way. I can't let them see me looking so pathetic...

With no time to hesitate, I turned into a side alley and kept running.

A dim, shadowy path—one I'd passed by several times without ever feeling it had any presence.

I looked up at the sky and noticed it was a bit hazy.

The streetlights on the main road had already lit up, but the lights on this path hadn't responded.

It felt like being cut off from the outside world. I stepped lightly and continued deeper.

I'll just hide here for a bit.

To be honest, suddenly running into something like this again caught me a little off guard.

Was it because the two weeks of peaceful school life since enrollment had made me let my guard down?

I should have handled it better, but I still instinctively chose to run away.

Ah...

I crouched down against the wall and hugged my knees.

Really, it was just a small quarrel—why make such a huge fuss over it?

Thinking back to how they looked like they wanted to eat me alive, I couldn't quite understand.

I carefully recalled the faces of those girls, and they vaguely matched the group of girls Sato had mentioned before.

They were...

Class C students.

I remembered hearing during idle chatter that Class C had some incidents right at the start of the semester.

Vaguely, I recalled something about fights, violent incidents, and the like.

Because I was in a bad mood over some things at the time, even matters like this didn't really stick in my mind.

I just brushed it off as afternoon tea gossip.

And now, thinking about how those girls seemed to be holding back some kind of emotion, it's hard to imagine they wouldn't do something impulsive.

Once people get impulsive, things happen that they'll keep regretting even after they've gone to hell.

What a troublesome feeling...

Being targeted by people like this.

I shook my head and decided to head back to the dorm first before thinking about it.

Brushing the dust off my skirt, I was about to stand up when I heard footsteps from around the corner.

Did they catch up?

I quietly peeked out to confirm...

Why is it President Horikita, and him?

I quickly pulled my head back.

They didn't... didn't see me, right?

The sound of footsteps didn't draw any closer. The silence around that corner was so deep it made me uneasy.

What would happen if I got caught?

Wait—there's no rule saying students can't be here, right? Even if I'm found, so what?

Why am I panicking like this?

It's because... because that incident threw me off balance...

Yeah, it has to be just that.

I steadied my nerves, held my breath, and tried to eavesdrop on their conversation.

The pairing was strange—one was the student council president, the other a first-year freshman.

What kind of talk needed a meeting spot like this...

The evening dusk had already fallen, leaving only the faint moonlight to illuminate the ground.

"You surprised me a little."

The stagnant atmosphere was broken by a voice.

President Horikita started the conversation.

"I thought it was all cleaned up. Why come looking for me again?"

"Of course. I'd say it exceeded my expectations a bit."

"If it weren't for that document, I wouldn't have been happy to get involved."

"But you still finished it."

"Does the president have a particular fondness for postmortems, choosing such an out-of-the-way place?"

Hajima-kun looked around, then spoke:

"Not just the streetlights—even the cameras feel like they're not running."

"The facilities here are under periodic maintenance. Normal."

"How's campus life been lately?"

"Thanks to the president's concern, pretty comfortable."

"But still, I'm quite busy. If there's nothing urgent, I need to return a book before the library closes tonight."

"You seemed so eager to learn when you first enrolled. Now you act like you couldn't care less."

"Honestly, it feels a bit dull now."

"Oh?"

"Campus life is rich and interesting too."

Why did I get the sense that these two were familiar but not really close?

One moment they were talking about things I couldn't follow, the next they were on everyday school topics.

It was all foggy to me, but no matter what, Hajima-kun had cooperated with the president for some reason.

Could I interpret it that way?

"Still, it's not like there's no room to negotiate."

President Horikita said nothing, as if waiting for more.

"I want to join the student council, and use its authority to make things convenient for myself."

President Horikita frowned and spoke:

"Be specific."

"Hard to get specific about that. Roughly, it means whatever I want to do, you'd delegate the power to me."

"That's impossible. Even though the student council seems to have immense power, even I have many restrictions."

"Is that so, President? It's getting dark, and I still need to hurry to the library..."

"That request is a bit of an overreach."

"I told you before—that one chance, once used, is gone."

"But without that first time, this meeting wouldn't have happened."

"So the president needs to have the resolve to bear that too."

I listened to their exchange, trying hard to process it, when I suddenly realized the conversation had stopped.

I looked up instinctively and found Hajima-kun staring straight at me.

!?

I'd been spotted?

"Avoiding the student council office building, not mentioning a word of the discussion on mobile devices, not even bringing Secretary Tachibana. This place is remote, and the cameras happen to be under maintenance."

"From that perspective, my offer isn't unreasonable."

"If you can accept a nominal position in the student council, and everything you do requires my approval, then I might reconsider."

"Is it that you're unwilling to grant me any real authority, or have you already delegated most of it to that person?"

That person?

"Nagumo hasn't reached that level yet."

"He's still the vice president, and barring any surprises, he'll take over after you graduate. Even so, you're still this composed?"

"He's quite at odds with you, you know."

President Horikita pushed up his glasses, offering no reply.

"Let's leave it at that for now. I'll find you when I need something."

"And what about what you promised me?"

"...I'll keep my word."

Though still somewhat confused by what I'd overheard, one thing was certain:

Hajima-kun possessed abilities that even President Horikita couldn't afford to ignore.

There was no doubt about that.