Only a few days had passed since the first Special Exam ended. Life at Advanced Nurturing High School seemed to have returned to normal, but unseen currents were already stirring beneath the surface. Class D had barely managed to keep everyone together, Class C had been completely unified under Ryuen's dictatorship, Class A had established Katsuragi Kohei's steady approach, and Class B continued to maintain order with Honami Ichinose at its center. Four distinct paths ran parallel across the campus, each poised to collide with the others.
Kira Yoshikage's life continued with clockwork precision. He attended class, organized his notes, responded to his classmates' questions when appropriate, and followed his usual route to the convenience store and library. He drew no attention, blending perfectly into Class B's gentle order. The written exam held in the name of survival was over. He only needed to maintain his peaceful routine and avoid getting caught up in unnecessary conflicts. That was the safest choice.
That calm was broken one evening by a perfectly timed encounter.
Kira showed up at a weekend dinner with his classmates. Honami Ichinose had invited him, and he'd accepted, telling himself it would help him fit in with the group. Under normal circumstances, though, he wouldn't have taken part in an event that disrupted his routine.
When the gathering ended, his classmates gradually said their goodbyes and left. As planned, Kira headed to the lakeside outside the student apartments. Whenever something unexpected happened, he would stop here for ten minutes to sort through the day's events, breathe the quiet air, and then return to his dorm. It was a fixed ritual that helped him maintain his inner order. He rarely missed it, and no one had ever disturbed him.
The lakeside was tranquil, with trees and grass all around. Dusk painted the water a pale gold, and the evening breeze carried a cool dampness. Usually, no one was there. Today, however, a slender figure crouched by the lake, her shoulders trembling as a low, muffled muttering—strained almost to the point of distortion—shattered the night's quiet.
"So annoying... So annoying, so annoying, so annoying!"
"Why does Suzune Horikita get to act so high and mighty? Why does everyone have to revolve around her?"
"I'm the one everyone likes best. I'm the one everyone should care about... Why does she get to push me around like this?"
"She's so fake and disgusting. Who wants to be her friend? Who has to put up with her arrogance? She should just drop out... If only I could make her disappear for good."
Kira's steps came to a quiet halt.
He didn't approach right away, nor did he turn and leave. He stood silently beside the path, his gaze calm. He'd heard the owner of that voice many times before: Kikyo Kushida of Class D, the girl who always wore a perfect smile, treated everyone with warmth and kindness, and enjoyed immense popularity across the entire year.
The voice coming from the lakeside had completely torn through that sweet, harmless mask. Jealousy, resentment, irritation, and loathing—all the negative emotions she'd deliberately suppressed—were now pouring out without restraint in a place where no one else could hear. This was the secret she'd fought so hard to protect. If it came to light, the perfect image she'd so carefully built would collapse in an instant.
Kira had no particular judgment to pass on her.
Everyone had two sides. Everyone had feelings they couldn't show in front of others, and needed somewhere private to release their stress. It was nothing more than ordinary human nature—unrelated to wickedness or corruption, just a natural expression of an unbalanced heart. He wasn't surprised or disgusted, and he had no intention of using it to threaten or manipulate her.
He only wanted to finish his ten minutes of rest and then leave quietly.
The faint sound of him stepping lightly aside still alerted the person by the lake.
The outburst stopped abruptly.
Kikyo Kushida whirled around. The irritation and malice on her face had yet to fade, and her expression froze in place. Her pupils contracted sharply as she stared at Kira Yoshikage, standing on the path.
The air instantly turned still.
Kikyo Kushida's mind went blank.
He'd seen her.
He'd actually seen her. Could this person really walk without making a sound?
Or had Kira Yoshikage from Class B—the one who never showed his emotions, as if he kept everything buried deep inside—seen her?
The side of herself she'd tried hardest to hide had been exposed without warning to someone else. Her perfect image, her good-girl persona, the whole year's favor, her friendly relationships with everyone... Everything she'd painstakingly built was on the verge of collapse.
Fear and panic swallowed her whole.
Kira looked at her calmly and spoke in an even, natural tone. "Sorry to disturb you. I just come here out of habit to clear my head. If you need to be alone, I can go somewhere else."
His composure only made Kikyo Kushida more frightened.
His quiet awareness unsettled her more than open mockery would have. She understood this school's rules all too well. She knew exactly what it meant to have someone hold a secret over her. If Kira told anyone, she'd be finished.
"Wait!" Kikyo Kushida rushed forward and blocked his path. Her face was deathly pale, and her voice trembled, though she tried to sound calm. "Kira, you didn't hear anything just now, right?"
Kira didn't deny it or exaggerate. "I heard some of it."
His blunt admission crushed Kikyo Kushida's last hope.
She stared at Kira, pleading and panicked all at once. "Please don't tell anyone. Not Horikita, not anyone in Class D, and not anyone in the other classes."
"I can give you points—a lot of personal points. As long as you keep this secret, I'll agree to any condition you set."
"Please, Kira..."
The usually composed Kikyo Kushida, with her flawless smile, was now a complete mess, overcome by helplessness and fear.
Kira's tone was calm. "I have no reason to spread it around, and I'm not interested in interfering in your personal affairs."
Keeping her secret would spare him trouble. It was the choice that best served his own interests.
Kikyo Kushida couldn't believe him.
At this school, where everyone schemed and strength was everything, no one would let such a valuable piece of leverage go to waste. The calmer Kira seemed, the more she suspected he was plotting something even bigger. She had to secure something she could use to hold him back, so he'd never dare reveal a single word.
A desperate idea took shape in her mind.
As Kira turned to leave, Kikyo Kushida suddenly stepped forward and grabbed his wrist. She gripped it with a strength that completely belied her usual delicate appearance. Before Kira could react, she forced his palm against her chest.
The instant his fingertips touched the fabric, the air seemed to stop.
This was her last resort for silencing him: force his fingerprints onto her, then accuse him of molesting her. It would give her an absolute bargaining chip to keep the secret safe. As long as his fingerprints remained, she could accuse him at any time of acting inappropriately. Faced with a boy and a girl, and "proof" that seemed conclusive, no one would believe Kira's defense. Expulsion and disgrace would be his only fate.
Kikyo Kushida's face was pale, but her eyes held the grim resolve of someone with nothing left to lose. "Kira, your fingerprints are on me now. If you dare tell anyone what happened today, I'll report you to the school right away. You'll be the one who gets expelled."
"This stays between us. Keep quiet, and I'll pretend none of it ever happened. We'll have nothing to do with each other."
She was certain a threat like this would make anyone give in.
She was certain Kira would accept the deal, like anyone else would.
She believed she had the situation firmly under control.
Kira's reaction was completely beyond her expectations.
He didn't panic or get angry, and he didn't try to defend himself. He simply pulled his hand free with a strength Kikyo Kushida couldn't resist.
He looked calmly at the panicked, obsessive girl before him. His tone was gentle and sincere, and held a rare understanding and acceptance.
"I'll keep what happened today to myself."
"You don't have to protect yourself this way."
"When pressure builds to its limit, needing to let it out is perfectly normal. Everyone has a side they don't want others to see, emotions they can only release in private. That isn't a weakness, and it's certainly nothing you need to hide behind threats."
His voice was calm and gentle, like an evening breeze soothing her panic. There was no scorn, calculation, or intent to use her—only genuine understanding.
"You've been working hard. You keep up a perfect front in front of everyone, look after the people around you, and try to meet everyone's expectations. Feeling tired, irritated, and resentful is only natural."
"I won't laugh at you, use you, or turn this into a weapon against you."
"Don't worry. What happened today will stay with me."
Kikyo Kushida froze.
Her fingers, still gripping Kira's wrist, loosened without her realizing it.
She stood motionless, her pupils trembling slightly as she stared at the boy before her in disbelief.
She'd expected threats, mockery, a bargain, compromise, or manipulation. She hadn't expected this response.
Kira Yoshikage hadn't been cowed by her threat or restrained by the leverage she'd tried to create. Instead, he'd seen through the vulnerability beneath her desperation and the exhaustion beneath her perfect mask. He'd given her understanding and acceptance she'd never received before.
It wasn't sympathy or pity. It was calm acceptance.
So there really was someone who wouldn't hate her for her dark side or try to use it against her.
So her outbursts could be considered normal.
So she didn't have to survive by wearing a perfect mask every moment of her life.
An indescribable emotion rose in her chest. Kikyo Kushida's nose stung, and tears quickly welled in her eyes.
She'd always believed she could only survive through pretense and threats, by seizing other people's secrets to protect herself. Kira's few words gently cracked the shell she'd kept tense for so long, reaching the softest part of her heart—the part that longed most to be understood.
Kira kept a safe distance and spoke calmly. "You can stay here and take some time to collect yourself. I won't disturb you, and I won't mention this to anyone."
With that, he gave a slight nod and walked away along the lakeside, not looking back or leaving behind any unnecessary entanglements.
Throughout the entire encounter, he hadn't let anything show. He hadn't been tempted, threatened, or emotionally swayed. He'd simply held to his own calm and his own principles.
A silent figure stood motionless in the shadows at the corner by the apartment lake.
Kiyotaka Ayanokoji.
He'd come nearby to look for Kikyo Kushida because of an errand, but he'd arrived too late. All he could do was watch quietly from a distance. He couldn't make out the specifics of Kira and Kikyo Kushida's conversation, but he clearly saw Kikyo Kushida break down, her extreme attempt at blackmail, the tears reddening her eyes at the end, and Kira's calm response throughout.
The Class B boy who always kept himself hidden and sought a peaceful life had handled Kikyo Kushida's secret in a way no one could have predicted.
No threats, no bargains, no compromise.
Only understanding, comfort, and a calm promise to keep her secret.
For the first time, a trace of surprise flickered in Kiyotaka Ayanokoji's eyes.
Kira Yoshikage.
This boy, as quiet and hidden as Ayanokoji himself, and just as determined to stay out of things, had chosen a completely different path.
Kiyotaka Ayanokoji calmly turned and left without a sound, as if he'd never been there.
By the lake, Kikyo Kushida stood alone in the evening breeze, gazing in the direction Kira had gone. For a long time, she didn't move.
The distant streetlights stretched her shadow out long across the ground. Where her mask had cracked, true vulnerability and emotion showed for the first time.
Kira Yoshikage's words were like a seed falling into her heart, gently knocking on a door she'd kept shut for a long time.
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