Secret Discussion

Under the cold moonlight, Kushida Kikyo's twisted expression froze instantly, then morphed into a shock and fury born of being completely seen through with nowhere to hide. She jerked her head up, glaring at Kazama In as he stepped out of the shadows—those eyes, usually brimming with smiles, now stabbed at him like venom-laced ice needles.

"Kazama... In!" Her voice squeezed through clenched teeth, dripping with bone-deep hatred, all pretense abandoned. "You... saw everything?"

Kazama In ignored her gaze, which would have chilled an ordinary person, and walked forward steadily, stopping a few steps away. His eyes were calm and flat, as if appraising a cold object rather than someone losing control.

"Saw what?" His voice was as cool as the night. "Your real emotional outburst, or your carefully staged frame-up?" He tilted his head slightly, his tone carrying a trace of humorless amusement. "Good acting, Kushida Kikyo. Too bad you had more than one audience."

His gaze swept past Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, who stood silent but sharp-eyed as a blade, before settling back on Kushida's face. That calmness brought an even greater pressure.

"You... what do you want?" Kushida's voice trembled faintly from extreme anger and fear, her fingers gripping her clothes so tightly her knuckles went white.

"Simple." Kazama In's voice turned abruptly cold, carrying an unyielding judgment. "Drop your dangerous games. Stay away from Horikita Suzune. Your past, your mask, your hatred—as long as they don't affect the class or threaten specific people, I have no interest in exposing them for now."

He leaned forward slightly. Though not overwhelmingly tall, the icy aura of "The Arbiter" that radiated from him in that instant made Kushida instinctively step back half a pace.

"But," Kazama In's pitch-black pupils seemed to glint with cold stars, "if I find you targeting Horikita Suzune again, or using such dirty tricks to harm other classmates..." He didn't finish. Instead, he slowly raised a hand, tapping his temple with a fingertip, then pointed at the recording device in his pocket. The unspoken threat was chilling—he held decisive evidence that could shatter her carefully built "Perfect Kushida" image, and he could use it anytime.

Kushida Kikyo's body shook violently, all color draining from her face. She bit her lower lip so hard it nearly bled. Anger, fear, and humiliation raged in her eyes. She glared at Kazama In as if she wanted to devour him alive, but in the end, faced with absolute evidence and cold threats, her remaining reason overpowered her mad impulse. She lowered her head abruptly, her shoulders heaving a few times. When she looked up again, the twisted, ferocious expression had vanished like magic.

In its place was the familiar, sweet smile tinged with a hint of panic and helplessness—but deep within that smile lay an unmistakable stiffness and a trace of icy malice in her eyes.

"Kazama-kun, Ayanokoji-kun, you... misunderstood!" Her voice returned to its syrupy tone, with just the right amount of grievance and fluster. "I was just... in a bad mood, letting off steam. As for Ayanokoji-kun... that was an accident! Really! I tripped on my own... Sorry, Ayanokoji-kun, for scaring you! Please don't worry about it!" She bowed deeply to Ayanokoji, her tone so earnest it almost seemed real.

Kazama In watched her performance silently, his face expressionless. Ayanokoji Kiyotaka remained quiet too, his eyes deep and unreadable.

"Since it's a 'misunderstanding,' let's leave it at that," Kazama In said flatly, his tone betraying no emotion. "It's late. Get some rest. Kushida-san." He emphasized the word "san."

Kushida Kikyo, relieved yet resentful, struggled to maintain her sweet facade. "Yes! Okay! Kazama-kun, Ayanokoji-kun, good night!" She practically fled from the riverbank, her figure quickly swallowed by the darkness.

Once she was gone, Kazama In turned to Ayanokoji Kiyotaka. Without a word, he reached out, moving naturally as if brushing dust off Ayanokoji's shoulder. In that seemingly casual contact, he deftly retrieved the rice-grain-sized recording device.

"Here." Kazama In handed both the recording device and his phone to Ayanokoji. "I've sent you that video too. It's your call how to handle it." His tone was as casual as if he were passing over ordinary study materials.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka looked at what Kazama In offered, then up at his unruffled eyes. He didn't ask how Kazama In got the recording, nor was he surprised by the proactive sharing of evidence. He simply took the phone and recorder, operating them to receive the video file. Kazama In proactively shares evidence. Trust increase? Or a threat assessment of Kushida Kikyo leading to a need for shared intel. Efficiency consideration. This evidence is highly valuable.

"Mm." Ayanokoji Kiyotaka put the items away and replied simply.

Without another word, they turned in unison and walked back toward the dormitory area. The night was deep; streetlights stretched and shortened their shadows. Silence spread between them, but it wasn't awkward—instead, it carried a strange, tacit calm. Only their footsteps echoed rhythmically in the quiet night.

The next morning, sunlight dispelled the night's chill. Kazama In walked to the dormitory elevator and found Ayanokoji Kiyotaka already waiting there.

"Morning." Kazama In greeted briefly.

"Morning." Ayanokoji Kiyotaka nodded in return.

The numbers above the elevator doors flickered. As if remembering something, Kazama In pulled a clean paper bag with simple floral patterns from his backpack, opened it to reveal neatly cut, still-warm sandwiches. He naturally took one out and offered it to Ayanokoji.

"Breakfast." Kazama In was concise.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka visibly paused, looking at the sandwich offered to him, then at Kazama In's calm face. Kazama In offers breakfast. Behavioral pattern anomaly. A social attempt based on Love Song of Green Seasons? He analyzed quickly internally, but his face remained blank as he reached out and took it. "Thanks."

Ding. The elevator doors opened.

Inside stood Horikita Suzune and... Kushida Kikyo.

Kushida Kikyo had fully reverted to her usual sunny, adorable self. Her face beamed with energetic smiles, and seeing the two outside, she waved enthusiastically. "Good morning! Kazama-kun! Ayanokoji-kun! What a coincidence!"

"Morning." Kazama In and Ayanokoji replied in unison, stepping inside. Horikita Suzune only gave a slight nod, her gaze lingering on Kazama In for a moment with a faint, hard-to-read scrutiny.

The elevator descended. Kazama In opened his bag again, took out a sandwich, and handed it to Horikita Suzune. "Horikita-san, breakfast."

Then he took out another and offered it to Kushida Kikyo. "Kushida-san, here."

Horikita Suzune looked at the sandwich before her, a rare flicker of surprise crossing her cool face. She hesitated, then took it. "...Thanks." Her voice carried a hint of unaccustomed stiffness.

Kushida Kikyo's smile grew even brighter as she accepted with both hands. "Wow! Thanks, Kazama-kun! I didn't know you could cook! Amazing!" Her tone was full of surprise and praise, her eyes clear and bright, as if the twisted girl from the riverbank last night had never existed.

Kazama In watched her perfect performance, his expression unchanged, and simply explained, "I read it in a book. Love Song of Green Seasons mentioned that preparing breakfast for classmates, especially homemade, makes it easier to raise affinity." He spoke seriously, as if stating a verified scientific theorem.

"... "

An eerie silence fell over the elevator.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka silently bit into his sandwich, chewing expressionlessly. As expected. Behavioral logic source confirmed. Social cognition deviation exists. Raising affinity... object range misunderstood.

Horikita Suzune's hand holding the sandwich froze mid-air. She looked at Kazama In's matter-of-fact calm face, the corner of her mouth twitching almost imperceptibly. She ultimately chose to silently stare at the food in her hands.

Kushida Kikyo's sweet smile froze for a fraction of a second, then burst into exaggerated laughter to cover the awkwardness. "Pfft hahaha! Kazama-kun! That... that 'raising affinity' in the book usually means... well... between boyfriends and girlfriends!" She laughed and waved her hands, cheeks slightly flushed, but her eyes darted quickly between Kazama In and Ayanokoji, carrying a hint of subtle scrutiny.

Kazama In raised an eyebrow slightly at this, showing a look of realization, which then shifted into a calm "I see." A faint, almost innocent smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Oh? Is that so? Understood. That must be it." His tone was frank, as if he'd just accepted a useful correction of knowledge.

Horikita Suzune and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka fell silent again. Kushida Kikyo could only keep dry-laughing, the atmosphere in the elevator reaching a peak of awkwardness.

Finally, the elevator reached the first floor. As the doors opened and the four stepped out, a crisp, lively voice rang out:

"Ah! Kazama-kun! Ayanokoji-kun! Horikita-san! Kushida-san! Good morning!"

Ichinose Honami stood near the lobby entrance, her pink-gold hair dazzling in the morning light. A warm smile lit up her face as she walked quickly toward them. Her gaze first landed precisely on Kazama In, her blue eyes as clear as a sunny sky, carrying undisguised familiarity and a brilliant sparkle.

"Good morning, Ichinose." Kazama In replied calmly, as if her appearance was no surprise.

"Good morning, Ichinose-san." Ayanokoji and Horikita also greeted her. Kushida Kikyo immediately switched to social mode, responding sweetly, "Good morning, Ichinose-senpai!"

Ichinose Honami approached, her smile bright, but her eyes were almost glued to Kazama In, carrying a familiarity and delight that others found hard to understand. Kazama In remained composed, but opened his paper bag again, taking out the last sandwich and handing it to Ichinose. "Breakfast."

Ichinose Honami's eyes widened in surprise, and she accepted it with both hands like a precious gift. "Wow! Thanks, In... uh, Kazama-kun! Did you make this yourself?" She barely caught herself from blurting out that intimate nickname, her cheeks flushing slightly, but the joy in her eyes only grew.

Kazama In nodded. "Mm."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka internally: Same strategy applied to Ichinose Honami. But the near-slip of address reveals a past relationship. The connection between them runs deeper than I thought. Horikita Suzune also cast a thoughtful glance between Kazama In and Ichinose.

Thus, the group—Kazama In, Ayanokoji, Horikita, Kushida, and Ichinose—walked together toward the school building. The atmosphere was much lighter than in the elevator, with Kushida Kikyo and Ichinose Honami naturally becoming the center of conversation (or rather, Kushida working hard to maintain the mood).

As they walked, Ichinose Honami seemed to remember something, speaking with a hint of playful worry and anticipation. "Ah, speaking of which, this month's class points should be distributed soon, right? I wonder when exactly they'll hit our accounts? I'm so excited!" Her words were light and natural, but skillfully steered the topic toward something all students cared about.

Kazama In walked beside them, quietly listening to their chatter. The morning light fell on his silver-and-crimson hair, and on the spine of Love Song of Green Seasons, which he had somehow pulled out to read again. A new school day, beneath a calm surface, had quietly begun.