Unexpected Alliance

Kazama In's complaint about light novels and kitchen knives was like a drop of water thrown into boiling oil—it instantly detonated the already delicate atmosphere, yet paradoxically plunged it into an even more absurd silence.

Sakayanagi Arisu: "..."

Ichinose Honami: "..."

Kamuro Sumire: "..." (Internally: Lord Kazama... isn't your focus a bit off?!)

"Pfft—" It was Sakayanagi Arisu who broke first, letting out a short, bell-like laugh. She withdrew from the head-patting position, tapped her cane lightly on the ground, and her azure eyes once again brimmed with that playful, all-knowing smirk as her gaze flickered between Kazama In and Ichinose. "Brother In, you're still so... oblivious to the mood. But," she shifted her tone, a sweet voice carrying an undeniable edge, "it seems Ichinose-san and I have some 'girl talk' to handle privately. Brother In, you can... take your leave for now, okay? Kamuro, help me over to that parasol."

Kamuro Sumire, as if granted a pardon, stepped forward immediately and carefully supported Sakayanagi, shooting Kazama In a complex look that said, "You're on your own."

Kazama In watched the invisible, almost sparking atmosphere between the two girls, recalled his own "god-tier comment," and wisely chose silence. He gave Ichinose a deep look—she was biting her lip, her eyes stubborn and aggrieved as she stared at him—then glanced at Sakayanagi, whose smile was sweet but whose gaze was icy. Finally, he let out an almost imperceptible sigh and nodded. "...Don't be too long." With that, he turned and walked toward the distant drink bar, his steps seemingly steady but carrying a hint of escape, leaving the two girls on the invisible battlefield by the pool.

Sunlight filtered through the tall palm leaves, casting dappled shadows by the poolside. Two girls of starkly different styles stood facing each other, the air seeming to freeze.

Ichinose Honami took a deep breath, struggling to calm the bitterness in her heart and the humiliation brought by the "shared slot." She straightened her back, her azure eyes—usually brimming with sunshine—now churning with complex emotions like the sea before a storm, staring straight at Sakayanagi Arisu. "Sakayanagi-san, I don't know if what you said earlier was a joke or serious. But Kazama-kun... he's not an object, let alone a 'slot' to be 'shared.'"

Sakayanagi Arisu sat on the white rattan chair under the parasol, elegantly leaning her cane aside. At this, she merely tilted her head slightly, her smile unchanged, but her voice carried a condescending pity. "Oh? Ichinose-san seems quite angry? Is it because I poked at your little schemes? Or do you feel... I've taken your 'thing'?" She deliberately emphasized the word "thing."

"Kazama-kun is not a 'thing'!" Ichinose's voice involuntarily rose, rare agitation in her tone. "He's a person! He has his own feelings and choices! My feelings for Kazama-kun... are serious! They're built on understanding and respect! Not possessiveness!" Her words rang out with the purity and persistence of a young girl.

"Understanding? Respect?" Sakayanagi seemed to find this an amusing joke, covering her mouth with a light laugh, crisp yet cold. "Ichinose-san, which Kazama In do you understand? The silent, occasionally smiling one from Class D? Or..." She leaned forward slightly, her azure eyes like a frozen lake reflecting sharp light, "the 'Arbiter' Kazama In, who grew up amidst blades and shadows, deceit and betrayal, whose hands may be stained with darkness you can't imagine, whose very smile is a mask?!"

Ichinose was shaken by the sheer volume of information and the icy aura in Sakayanagi's words, stepping back half a step, her face paling slightly. "You... what are you saying?"

"It seems Brother In hasn't told you anything." Sakayanagi's smile carried a cruel triumph of a victor. "How pitiful. You haven't even glimpsed his true face, yet you dare to speak so boldly of 'understanding' and 'respect'?"

Sakayanagi Arisu leaned back into her chair, her gaze seeming to pierce through the pool before her, sinking into distant memories, her voice becoming ethereal. "Brother In and I... met at a banquet filled with the scent of blood and fake smiles. We were both very young then, about... six or seven? He was the sole heir of the Kazama family, and I was the frail young lady of the Sakayanagi family. Our worlds, from birth, were bound by chains called 'family.'"

Her fingers unconsciously traced the smooth ivory surface of her cane, as if drawing strength from it. "The Kazama family... is far larger and darker than you can imagine. Their world has no sunny beaches, only cold blades, deadly poisons, and betrayal everywhere. From the moment Brother In could walk, he was forced into the harshest training—combat, stealth, interrogation, disguise... learning how to end a life in the shortest, most efficient way. His childhood wasn't toys and candy, but sandbags, shooting ranges, and endless physical limits." (This was half-truth, half-lie; previous chapters can be referenced to understand why. It's been emphasized that the root of his trauma was his mother's death; these childhood events were real, but self-imposed, not forced by family or his father.)

Sakayanagi's voice carried a barely perceptible tremor. "I remember once... he was injured during training, badly. His back was torn open by a wooden sword, but he didn't even grunt. He—that cold Head of the Kazama Family (this would also be mistaken for his father, but it refers to Kazama In himself)—just glanced at him indifferently and said, 'If you can't even take this much pain, you're not fit to be the Kazama heir.' Then he had him dragged away without even giving him medicine. It was me... who secretly had our family doctor treat his wounds." Her eyes dimmed slightly. "But my uncle found out..."

She looked up at Ichinose, her gaze complex. "In that cold world, only we two 'monsters' could slightly understand each other. I was the 'porcelain doll' held back by my body; he was the 'killing machine' honed by his family (himself). We would hide in the vast, empty back garden of the Kazama estate, under the cherry blossom trees, sharing a piece of candy we'd secretly stashed. He would clumsily tell me about the birds he'd seen flying by outside the training grounds; I would read him fairy tales he never had time for... Those were our only stolen moments of warmth. Back then... he would still give me a faint, but genuine smile."

Sakayanagi's lips curled into a bitter arc. "But later... everything changed. The internal strife in the Kazama family grew worse, with assassination attempts on the heir coming nonstop. Brother In witnessed his most trusted guard fall before him, a poisoned needle piercing his throat... From that day on, the light in his eyes vanished completely. He began to seal himself off entirely, wrapping himself in layers of cold, hard shells. The smiles disappeared, emotions were stripped away, and he became the perfect 'Arbiter' tool the family needed. Our connection was forcibly severed by the families, citing 'security,' for a long, long time. Until... we both came to this school."

Sakayanagi's gaze refocused on Ichinose, carrying scrutiny and a faint, barely noticeable envy. "So, Ichinose-san, you say you understand him? You understand the Kazama In who smiles at you in the sun, makes you breakfast, and protects you in the rain. But that's just... the occasional, suppressed part of him that belongs to 'humanity.' His true core has long been frozen in the abyss by his family and the darkness of the past. The sunlight you see is nothing but a reflection off the ice."

Sakayanagi's account unfolded like a heavy painting before Ichinose Honami. The descriptions of darkness, blood, betrayal, and loss sent chills and pain through her. She couldn't imagine Kazama In's childhood being spent in such an environment. But... it didn't shake her heart.

Ichinose Honami listened quietly, the shock and pity in her eyes gradually replaced by a more determined light. She didn't retreat; instead, she stepped forward, meeting Sakayanagi's complex gaze, her voice clear and firm. "Sakayanagi-san, thank you for telling me this. It makes me... care for Kazama-kun even more." Her voice was choked, but her eyes were unwavering. "Yes, I may not know all his dark past. But what I see is no illusion!"

Her thoughts drifted back to the evening that changed her life. "The first time I met Kazama-kun... it wasn't at some banquet, but in a dirty, messy dead-end alley near my home, full of trash bins. He was curled up in a corner, filthy, his clothes torn in several places, with scrapes and bruises on his arms. His eyes... were hollow and wary, like a wounded wolf pup licking its wounds alone."

Ichinose's voice softened, carrying the warmth of memory. "My mother, soft-hearted, brought him home. He ate a whole pot of curry rice my mother made, but kept his head down, only murmuring a quiet 'thank you for the meal.' Back then, though he was silent and guarded, I could feel that deep inside... he was tender."

Her gaze grew distant. "Later, my family hit a huge crisis. My father was seriously ill and lost his job; my mother worked multiple jobs but could barely make ends meet. My sister and I often went hungry, couldn't even afford tuition... It felt like the sky was falling. Just when we were at our most desperate, Kazama-kun 'coincidentally' showed up again. He would always 'find' discount coupons, 'have extra' special ingredients, and even when my sister had a fever and we couldn't afford medicine, he 'just happened' to 'find' the right medicine and a small bag of fruit at our door..."

Ichinose's eyes glistened with tears, but her lips held a warm smile. "I know it wasn't a coincidence! It was him! He was silently protecting the family that once gave him a warm meal, in his own way! He never said it, but I knew! He didn't want us to feel burdened!"

Her voice rose sharply, carrying undeniable strength. "And that time... I almost did something I shouldn't have (stealing) to buy a hair clip for my sister. It was him! He saw through my struggle and pain, grabbed me, and scolded me in such a fierce tone: 'Honami, is this how you get what you want?' It was him! He used the last of his money to buy that clip, shoved it into my hand, and said, 'For your sister. Don't let her down.' He taught me that no matter how hard it gets, I have to stand tall and love myself!"

Ichinose's tears finally fell, but her eyes blazed like fire. "Sakayanagi-san, you say his heart is frozen in the abyss? But what I see is completely different! The him who trembled with hunger in that alley but still stayed alert; the him who silently protected my family without expecting anything in return; the him who didn't hesitate to pull me back when I was about to go astray; the him who ran with me through the rain; the him who erupted with such terrifying fury when he saw Sakura-san being bullied... These are all real! They're the living, breathing Kazama In! No matter how heavy his past, deep inside, he still holds warmth and justice!"

She wiped her tears forcefully, her voice ringing with conviction. "Maybe he's used to hiding behind coldness, maybe he's afraid to express feelings easily. But that doesn't mean he has none! And it certainly doesn't mean he should be treated as a cold tool or a 'slot' to be arbitrarily assigned! What he needs is understanding, companionship, someone who can truly enter his heart and melt those frozen corners! Not what you did earlier—using 'engagement' and 'sharing' to provoke him, treating him like a toy to satisfy your need for control!"

Ichinose's words struck like thunder in Sakayanagi's heart! Her smile vanished completely for the first time. She looked at this tear-streaked girl, whose eyes were stubborn as stars, who unflinchingly defended Kazama In's dignity and worth, who laid bare a past she had never been part of—one that truly warmed him... A complex emotion she had never felt before swept over her.

Not anger, not jealousy, but... a profound shock and a faint, barely perceptible shame?

The noise of the poolside seemed to fade, leaving only the silent confrontation and surging emotions of the two girls. Kamuro Sumire stood a few steps away, eyes downcast, her mind already numb: "Too much info... The young lady's dark childhood memories... Lord Kazama's tragic training history... Class B's angelic redemption story... This is more intense than a soap opera..."

After a long silence, Sakayanagi Arisu finally spoke, her voice no longer sweet or cold, but carrying an unprecedented, almost weary calm. "A toy? Hah... Ichinose Honami, you really are... naive to the point of foolishness, yet foolish in a way that's impossible to hate." She laughed bitterly. "You're right. What I said earlier... was intentional. Very malicious, I know."

She looked up, her azure eyes shedding all pretense and calculation for the first time, revealing a fragile confusion. "The engagement was a joke between the elders; I never took it seriously. Sharing? That was an absurd test. I was just... unwilling to accept it."

"I can't stand that he's shut himself away, even shutting me out—the only 'kindred spirit' who knows his past."

"I can't stand that after coming to this school, he seems to have found something in you... something I could never give him—that pure, shadowless warmth."

"And I can't stand even more... seeing him, when he could live like a real person, stubbornly locking himself in a cage called 'The Arbiter.' Using that damn, book-learned, clumsy way to 'socialize' and 'raise favorability'!" Her tone carried a gritted-teeth frustration of wanting to forge iron but finding it lacking. "He was meant to be a falcon soaring the nine heavens, yet he's broken his own wings and willingly wallows in the mud!"

Sakayanagi's gaze sharpened as she looked back at Ichinose.

"You say stimulation? That's right, I want to stimulate him! In the most extreme way, to tear open that cold mask of his and force him to face his true feelings! Whether it's anger, disgust, or... something else! Anything is better than this walking corpse of a state!" Her voice carried a near-obsessive fervor. "I know better than anyone that the fire inside him hasn't gone out! He's just forcibly suppressed it himself! What he needs is an explosion! A violent shock! Not a slow boil like a frog in warm water!"

Ichinose was stunned by Sakayanagi's fierce outpouring. She saw the deep, hidden concern for Kazama In in Sakayanagi's eyes, a desperate desire to save him. It was a complete departure from her usual image.

"But... a violent shock could also cause greater harm!" Ichinose retorted, though her tone softened. "Like just now... your words hurt not only me, but him too! I saw his expression when he left... it was complicated! He wasn't feeling good!"

"Harm?" Sakayanagi let out a scornful laugh, then slumped back into her chair. "Maybe... but I have no other choice. Watching him go on being 'normal' day by day, slowly sinking into the illusion of 'peace' he's built for himself—that's what I can't bear most!" She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and when she opened them again, only a desperate resolve remained. "Ichinose Honami, tell me, besides using strong medicine, what other way is there to crack that ice armor thicker than Albert's muscles?"

Ichinose fell silent. She thought of how seriously Kazama In had watched Love Song of Green Seasons, how he'd made those clumsy, endearing moves to "raise favorability," how he instinctively shrank from real emotions and helplessly analyzed them with logic... Sakayanagi's words, though extreme, weren't without reason. Kazama In really had wrapped himself too deeply.

A bold idea quietly took shape in Ichinose's mind. She looked at the girl before her, who had shed all pretense and was left only with deep concern for Kazama In. After a moment's hesitation, she asked softly, "Classmate Sakayanagi... do you... truly want Kazama-kun to find his real self? Even if... that might mean he doesn't choose you in the end?"

Sakayanagi Arisu shot a sharp, piercing look at Ichinose, as if to stab through her. But eventually, that sharpness faded into a barely audible sigh, tinged with a resigned bitterness:

"Ha... choose? I never had the right to choose. The Kazama family, the Sakayanagi family... our fates were never our own to decide. I just... don't want to watch him turn into a soulless puppet." She paused, her voice dropping to a near-pleading tone. "At least... while he's still 'free,' let him live like a 'person' once... even if just once."

This deep, possessive-transcending hope unlocked all the defenses in Ichinose's heart. She understood now. The seemingly proud, controlling girl before her had feelings for Kazama In far more complex and profound than she'd imagined.

Ichinose Honami took a deep breath, her gaze turning resolute. She walked up to Sakayanagi and extended her hand:

"Classmate Sakayanagi... no, Arisu. I understand. We... maybe we can cooperate."

"Cooperate?" Sakayanagi raised an eyebrow, looking at Ichinose's outstretched hand with some surprise.

"Mm!" Ichinose nodded firmly. "We both want Kazama-kun to be well, don't we? You know his past, where his scars are, how to use strong medicine to jolt him. And I... maybe I can offer him some of the sunshine and warmth he needs that you don't have?" She gave a tear-streaked but utterly sincere smile. "Like... ice and fire? Completely different, but maybe... together we can melt that iceberg?"

Sakayanagi Arisu looked at Ichinose's outstretched hand, then at the unreserved trust and determination in her eyes. The coldness and obsession in those blue eyes gradually faded, replaced by a hint of appreciation for a worthy rival and... a faint glimmer of hope.

"Ice and fire... melting an iceberg together?" she repeated softly, and finally a genuine, untainted smile tugged at her lips. She raised her hand, not to shake Ichinose's, but to pull out her diamond-encrusted custom phone.

"Contact info. Kamuro, add Classmate Ichinose's number." she ordered.

Kamuro Sumire immediately stepped forward, respectfully took Sakayanagi's phone, and looked at Ichinose. Ichinose quickly recited her number.

Sakayanagi took back her phone, tapped the screen lightly, and soon Ichinose's phone chimed with a notification.

"From now on, the 'Operation Save Kazama In' temporary alliance is established." Sakayanagi's voice regained its usual elegance and hint of control, but her eyes were much softer. "Ichinose Honami, don't disappoint me. Remember, our goal is to make him 'come alive.' As for who he ends up with..." She paused meaningfully. "Let the best win. But at least, he should have the right and ability to choose."

Ichinose looked at the new contact "Sakayanagi Arisu" on her phone, then at the girl before her who had donned her elegant mask again but whose eyes were now different. She nodded firmly: "Mm! It's a deal!"

The pool water rippled, the sunlight still bright. A confrontation full of jealousy and gunpowder had unexpectedly ended in this surprising alliance. Two girls—one from the abyss of darkness, one from the shore of sunlight—had temporarily set aside their differences for the same icebound "Arbiter," forming a strange alliance. Kazama In's future seemed destined to undergo a violent transformation in the intertwining of ice and fire. And at the drink bar in the distance, a certain "party involved," busy studying a juice ingredient list, remained blissfully unaware.