Ichinose

Qiuyue: (Isn't that Ichinose? Ayanokoji's beside her too. Looks like Class B and Class D have already reached a cooperation agreement?)

(So today's also the day Shiranami confesses to Ichinose? Should I meddle? If I keep Ichinose from owing Ayanokoji a favor, she probably won't get involved in the scheme to trick Class C into dropping the lawsuit. I can meddle.)

"Good morning, Ayanokoji."

"Good morning, Qiuyue."

Qiuyue stepped forward to greet him, his gaze landing on Ichinose.

"Um..."

"Ah, hello there. I'm Ichinose Honami. Nice to meet you."

"Hello, Ichinose. I'm Qiuyue Qi, same class as Ayanokoji. Nice to meet you."

While Qiuyue was talking to her, some passing students also greeted Ichinose, and she responded, "Good morning."

This was a bit rude to Qiuyue standing in front of her, so each time she greeted someone, Ichinose looked at Qiuyue with an awkward expression.

Qiuyue: (Those greeting her are probably Class B students.)

"You're really popular, Ichinose. Not just a little."

"That's not true. It's just that everyone trusts me, and I can't let that trust down."

Ichinose said this while clenching her fist as if to encourage herself.

Qiuyue: (...First, I need to know whether Class B and Class D have definitely formed a partnership. Honestly, cooperating doesn't help Class B at all.)

(But I still need to get the troublemaker out of the way. How do I make Ayanokoji leave? Ah... got it.)

Qiuyue opened his phone, sent a message to Ayanokoji, and gave a slight wave in front of him to signal he should check it.

After seeing Qiuyue's gesture, Ayanokoji looked at his phone.

[Weren't you and Ike going to compete over who finds a girlfriend first? I think I've fallen in love at first sight. She's my target. Ayanokoji, please, can you find an excuse to leave first? Pretty please?]

[Fine.]

Ayanokoji looked up at Qiuyue, who smiled sheepishly. Ayanokoji let out a sigh.

"Ichinose, I have something to take care of, so I'll head off first."

"Huh? Oh, okay. If you've got things to do, go ahead. Bye, Ayanokoji."

Ayanokoji quickened his pace and left.

Seeing Ayanokoji gone, Qiuyue tried to start a conversation with Ichinose.

"Ichinose, this might be a bit forward, but I'm curious—what were you and Ayanokoji talking about just now?"

"Ah... well... it's about cooperating with your class. I was asking Ayanokoji to relay the message to Horikita."

"Why our class? We're Class D. You should have better options, Ichinose."

"Well, you see, we're Class B. To surpass Class A, we can't exactly cooperate with them. And as for Class C... haha, they seem a bit hard to get along with."

"Besides, they want to surpass us too. Right now, Classes A, B, and C are all very close in points. Probably in the next exam that adds a lot of class points, we could overtake each other."

Qiuyue: (Ah... they've still cooperated. Ichinose... your kindness will be exploited by others. Just like in the original, the cooperation was all Class B helping Class D, and once Class D climbed up, Horikita unilaterally dissolved the partnership without Ayanokoji saying a word.)

(Here I am, with a character I loved so much in my past life talking right in front of me, and I'm completely calm.)

(The best outcome would be for me to resolve Ichinose's confession incident, so Ayanokoji can't make her owe him a favor. But... knowing Ichinose's personality, she'd probably help even without owing a favor...)

"...I see. Let's walk together. Class is about to start."

"Sure."

Qiuyue and Ichinose walked side by side toward the school building.

Qiuyue: (How can I get Ichinose to tell me about her situation and ask for my help? Feels impossible.)

"Ah!"

Ichinose suddenly let out an "ah." Qiuyue instinctively looked at her. She was fidgeting with her fingers, looking a bit shy, but her expression was serious.

Qiuyue: (What's this? So cute. Wasn't I just completely calm? Why am I suddenly...)

"Um..."

Qiuyue: (It's probably the confession incident. Since we just met, she's too embarrassed to say it outright.)

"It's okay, Ichinose. Just say it. If I can help, I'd be happy to."

"...Um... Qiuyue, have you ever been confessed to by a girl?"

"No."

Qiuyue answered instantly. Ouch, right in the feels.

"Ah... sorry, sorry, Qiuyue. I didn't mean it like that. I was..."

Qiuyue: (I know, I know... Actually, I kind of like watching girls get close to each other...)

"Are you about to be confessed to?"

"...Yeah. Um, I know we just met, but if it's not too much trouble, could you stay with me a little after school? About... you know... the confession thing."

"Sure, I've got nothing but time anyway."

"Huh?"

"I know what you're trying to say. I don't know many people—just a few in our class. I've already asked around as much as I could, and it didn't help Sudo."

Qiuyue: (Honestly, I don't know anyone at all.)

"...I see. I hope you find a witness soon. I'll help look too."

"No, I don't think that'll do much good."

Qiuyue: (I figure it's the same as the original story. Even if we find witnesses or evidence, it won't matter. The fact is Class C got beaten up. With that reality, there's no way Sudo walks away innocent.)

"But Ayanokoji and Horikita already went to check the scene. If you think it's a waste of effort, why don't you tell them that?"

Qiuyue: (Like I'm gonna tell you they're setting up fake cameras to trick Class C.)

"I think they're well aware. I'm free all day, mostly reading novels in the library."

Qiuyue: (With Shiina...)

"...Could it be... Qiuyue, you're actually pretty impressive?"

"Your imagination. I'm a Class D student, you know."

Qiuyue denied it at lightning speed.

"But..."

"Ichinose, where should I wait for you after school?"

Ichinose understood that Qiuyue didn't want to keep talking about that topic, but she was still happy he'd agreed to her request.

"Thank you, Qiuyue. After school... let's meet at the back gate."

"Okay, the back gate. Got it."

They happened to arrive at school just then, so they said their goodbyes and headed to their respective classrooms.

Qiuyue: (Sigh... what do I do about Chihiro Shiranami? What method is Ichinose going to use?)