Eyes in the Dark

"Reading," Ayanokoji Kiyotaka replied without looking up.

"Is that so?" Kei Karuizawa's smile remained unchanged, but her gaze sharpened slightly. "I had assumed someone like you would be interested in more practical things."

"Such as?"

"Such as... how to survive better in this school." Kei Karuizawa lowered her voice. "I've heard some interesting things. About you, and Kushida-san."

As expected. The information had already spread.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka finally looked up at the girl before him. In the original story, Kei Karuizawa was a complex existence—on the surface, a glamorous leader of the popular clique, but in reality, she possessed a painful past and deep-seated fragility.

"Rumors are always distorted," he said.

"Perhaps," Kei Karuizawa shrugged. "But I'm more curious about something else—do you really have that kind of ability? I don't mean the confession, but... other things."

Her eyes swept over him, seemingly evaluating something.

"If you are asking whether I can protect myself," Ayanokoji Kiyotaka closed his book and said calmly, "the answer is yes."

Kei Karuizawa's eyes widened slightly, then she smiled. This time, there was less pretense and more authenticity in her expression. "Interesting. You know, in this class, I've always felt only a few people were worth noting. Now, I might have to add you to that list."

She stood up. "By the way, a friendly piece of advice—be careful of Sudo. Kushida-san seems very interested in him, and Sudo's attitude toward you... isn't exactly friendly. Male jealousy, you understand."

With that, she turned and left, leaving behind a faint scent of perfume.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka looked back out the window.

Ken Sudo... that troublemaker. If Kushida Kikyo was truly inciting him to cause trouble, things could become tricky. It wasn't because he couldn't beat Sudo—on the contrary, with his current combat skills, Sudo posed no threat at all.

The problem was that if things escalated, it would attract unnecessary attention, especially from the school administration and the student council president, Horikita Manabu.

"I need to avoid a direct confrontation, but I cannot show weakness either," he formulated his strategy. "The best way is... to make the conflict lose its meaning before it even begins."

The opportunity arrived during the afternoon physical education class.

The lesson consisted of basic basketball training and group matches. The PE teacher divided the students into four groups for half-court three-on-three practice games.

Coincidentally, or perhaps unfortunately, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and Ken Sudo were placed on opposing teams.

"Hey, Ayanokoji." While warming up, Ken Sudo walked over without hiding his hostility. "I heard you've been acting pretty arrogant lately?"

His voice was loud enough that several surrounding students looked over.

"Is there something you need?" Ayanokoji Kiyotaka asked calmly.

"Don't play dumb!" Ken Sudo glared at him. "Stay away from Kushida, you hear me? Otherwise, you'll regret it!"

A typical case of adolescent hormonal overcompensation. Yang Ye almost wanted to sigh.

"My business with Kushida-san has nothing to do with you." He turned to leave.

"You bastard—" Ken Sudo reached out to grab his shoulder.

Then, a scene unfolded that shocked everyone.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka didn't even fully turn around; he simply shifted to the side, raised his hand, and parried, his movements as fluid as if he had practiced them a thousand times. Ken Sudo's hand was easily swatted away, and the momentum caused him to stumble forward a step.

"What...?!" Ken Sudo froze.

The surrounding students were also stunned. The always silent Ayanokoji had actually neutralized Sudo's move so easily? One had to remember that Sudo was a starter for the basketball team, with some of the best athletic reflexes in Class D.

"Class is starting, Sudo-san," Ayanokoji Kiyotaka said, walking toward his group.

His movements were natural, as if nothing had just happened. But the few students who witnessed the scene had looks of disbelief in their eyes.

The group matches began.

When Ayanokoji Kiyotaka received the ball, everyone assumed he would pass it to a teammate as usual—his performance in past PE classes had always been average, or even mediocre.

But this time, he moved.

With a simple change of direction, he cleanly bypassed the student defending him; when Ken Sudo came over to cover, he used a behind-the-back dribble followed by a spin to break through easily; facing the final defender under the basket, he jumped, his form graceful, and with a light flick of his wrist—

The basketball traced a perfect arc and swished through the net.

Silence.

Then, cheers erupted from his teammates.

"Ayanokoji, since when were you so good at basketball?!"

"That spin just now was so cool!"

Ken Sudo, on the opposing team, turned ashen. As a member of the basketball team, he could naturally see the technical level of that sequence—it was definitely not something a beginner could do, nor even a level an average basketball enthusiast could reach.

"Coincidence... it must be a coincidence!" he gritted his teeth.

But over the next few minutes, the "coincidence" happened again and again.

No matter how Sudo defended, Ayanokoji always found a way to break through, and no matter the angle of his shot, the ball always seemed to go in. What made Sudo feel even more frustrated was that Ayanokoji's expression remained calm throughout, as if he were doing something completely mundane.

This wasn't a match; it was a teaching demonstration.

When the whistle blew to end the PE class, Ken Sudo's face had turned from blue to red, and then from red to white. His pride—his pride as an athlete—had been completely shattered.

"You... have you been hiding your strength all this time?" He glared at Ayanokoji, his voice filled with resentment.

"I just had a good day," Ayanokoji Kiyotaka said, picking up a towel to wipe his sweat, his tone flat.

This answer was even more agonizing for Sudo than a direct admission. In good form? Could a skill set of that caliber really be explained away by just being in good form?

The surrounding students whispered among themselves, their gazes toward Ayanokoji shifting completely. He had transformed from "that weird guy who made a confession" into "a guy hiding his true depths."

Standing on the sidelines observing everything, Kushida Kikyo gripped the water bottle in her hand tightly.

Her original plan—to incite Sudo into teaching Ayanokoji a lesson, which would have allowed her to better control both of them regardless of the outcome—had failed completely. Not only did it fail, but it had also caused a subtle shift in Ayanokoji's standing within the class.

"A miscalculation..." she whispered to herself, her smile remaining radiant, though her eyes were cold.

What unsettled her even more was that she noticed the physical education teacher was also observing Ayanokoji, jotting something down in a notebook.

After school, in the teachers' office.

Sae Chabashira looked over the class observation report submitted by the physical education teacher, her eyebrows arching slightly.

"Ayanokoji Kiyotaka... basketball skills have improved by leaps and bounds, assessed at the level of a varsity team starter?" she read the comments on the report. "Interesting. During the physical fitness test at enrollment, he was clearly only at an average level."

"I was surprised as well," the physical education teacher pushed up his glasses. "His movements were extremely professional, even displaying some habits of a pro player. This doesn't look like something that could be practiced in a short period of time."

Sae Chabashira looked out the window, a faint smile appearing at the corner of her mouth.

In this school, every student had their own secrets. But Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's secret seemed more interesting than she had imagined.

"Continue observing," she said. "If his 'form' can stay this good, perhaps Class D really has a chance..."

She didn't finish her sentence, but the physical education teacher understood what she meant.

The game at this school had only just begun.

And Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, who stood at the center of the storm, was currently walking back to the dormitory, a new system notification echoing in his mind:

[Ding! The prerequisite for the random mission "Prove Your Worth" has been met: Attract the attention of a teacher. The mission is officially activated.]

[Host, please prove your worth in tomorrow's math quiz.]

The night deepened, and the lights of Advanced Nurturing High School flickered on one by one.

In this campus where ability was the only criterion, an existence that was supposed to remain hidden was quietly changing the rules of the game.

And in the shadows, more eyes had already opened, watching this storm that was about to arrive.