The sky grew dimmer as dusk spread across the sea, bathing the entire cruise ship in its colors.
Kikyo Kushida sat quietly before the mirror, having settled all the turmoil in her heart. She waited for her secret midnight meeting on the deck.
Night fell completely, enveloping the entire sea.
The cruise ship's lights came on one after another. Their warm glow filled the corridors, dispelling the chill of night rolling in from the sea, but it could not reach the shadows hidden deep in people's hearts. After a full day of intensive talks with the Dragon Group, followed by a private test laced with hidden barbs, most of the students had long since shed the tension of the day and returned to their dorms to rest.
The cruise ship gradually quieted, all its bustle fading away. The only sounds were the faint rustle of sea wind slipping through gaps in the hull and the low murmur of waves gently lapping against the ship in the distance—hollow and profound.
The clock quietly neared eight.
Kikyo Kushida rose from her seat, her posture straight and steady, with none of the panic or dejection she had shown during the day. After sitting quietly for hours, she had finally tamped down the anxiety and self-doubt roiling within her and gathered all her scattered thoughts.
She knew full well that tonight's meeting might be her only chance to turn things around.
Ayanokoji watching from the shadows, Horikita holding a devastating secret, and the perfect image she had built teetering on the verge of collapse—three mountains blocked her path, leaving her nowhere to retreat. If she missed this chance to strike a deal with Yoshikage Kira, the rest of her school life would be spent trapped in fear and helplessness, with the darkness of her past always threatening to swallow her whole.
She couldn't afford to lose, and she couldn't lose.
She pushed open her dorm room door. The corridor lights were soft, and no students were wandering about. To avoid every unknown risk and rule out the possibility of anyone spying on or following her, Kushida deliberately avoided the busier main corridors and instead took a side passage running close to the sea.
The corridor was dimly lit and secluded, rarely visited by students. It was one of the few hidden corners aboard the entire cruise ship.
She walked with light, unhurried steps, keeping herself as relaxed as possible. Though she carried the weight of betting her entire future, her face remained gentle and harmless, her practiced mask firmly in place.
No one knew that this seemingly carefree girl out for a nighttime stroll was heading to a secret meeting that could rewrite the course of her next three years.
Sea wind poured through the gaps in the corridor, carrying the sea's distinctive, crisp dampness. It brushed gently against her hair and clothes, easing the last traces of tension in her heart. Walking alone through the night, she didn't have to force a smile, accommodate anyone, or work to keep anyone's favor. For once, she had a moment of ease and clarity.
The farther she walked, the more certain she became that she had never made the wrong choice.
People were always quick to define right and wrong, lumping her breakdown back then together with the malicious cruelty of those who were born dark-hearted and took pleasure in hurting others. But only she, the person who had lived through it, knew how different the two really were. Other people's evil was jealousy and scheming they chose to nurture, deliberate plots to frame and hurt others. Her so-called "evil" was an ordinary person's forced collapse under crushing loneliness and endless pressure, a frantic loss of control when there was nowhere left to turn.
After the truth about her placement in Class D had spread, Kikyo Kushida was certain the school knew everything and had passed judgment on her.
She should have realized it from the very beginning.
She had only wanted a safe place to belong, to fit in with other people, to escape her loneliness. That was all.
Wrong was wrong. She had never tried to justify or whitewash what she had done, much less expected anyone to understand or forgive her unconditionally. She only wanted a chance—a chance to face her past, make peace with herself, and start living again.
Her thoughts were clear, her path set.
The third-floor Open-air Observation Deck soon appeared at the end of the corridor.
The moment she stepped onto the deck, the evening breeze swept over her, dispersing the stuffy air of the corridor. The observation deck was completely deserted. The tables and chairs where visitors had rested during the day stood silent and still. The black sky and ink-dark sea merged into one boundless expanse of shadow. The cruise ship's lights shimmered on the water, breaking into scattered, wavering points of light. It was just secluded enough, just peaceful enough.
Her gaze swept toward the railing, where a tall figure stood.
Yoshikage Kira had his back to the entrance, his hands casually tucked into his pockets. His posture was straight yet relaxed as he gazed calmly out over the endless sea. There was no trace of hostility from a contest of wits about him, nor any impatience from waiting. He carried a serene composure that seemed entirely untouched by the world.
A subtle feeling stirred in Kushida's heart.
All her life, she had chased after people and longed to belong, desperately putting down roots amid the noise so she wouldn't be left behind. All his life, Kira had kept away from the turmoil, preferred solitude, and guarded his true self among the crowds in pursuit of peace.
One sought warmth; the other sought stillness.
Their lives had taken utterly different paths, yet in this secret midnight contest, those paths had quietly converged.
Soft footsteps broke the stillness of the deck.
At the sound, Yoshikage Kira slowly turned around. His cool gaze settled on Kushida and paused for a moment.
With the smoothness and artifice of their daytime sparring gone, Kushida now looked calm and serious. Her gentle features held an unwavering resolve. There was no false smile, no attempt to ingratiate herself. She looked ready to lay herself bare and face everything in her past.
"Good evening, Kira," Kushida said softly.
"Mm. You're right on time." Kira gave a slight nod, his voice steady and calm, just like his composed expression. "No one followed you here. You were careful."
It wasn't a question, but a confident confirmation.
Kushida nodded lightly and looked up at the boy before her. "I avoided all the main routes and made sure no one watched me the whole way. No one else will know about our conversation tonight."
Kira said nothing more. He silently turned back toward the sea.
The evening breeze drifted past, and the night grew deeper, shutting out all the world's disturbances and prying eyes. All the testing, restraint, anxiety, and waiting had reached their end. Now all that remained was an honest confession to settle their deal and decide what came next.
The deck was utterly silent. Only the evening breeze continued, lightly stirring their clothes and setting the heavy mood quietly taking shape in the night into motion.
Kikyo Kushida took a deep breath, suppressing the last traces of shame and timidity in her heart and completely lowering the psychological defenses she had maintained for years. The past she had buried deep inside, afraid to show anyone and desperate to hide; the struggles, loneliness, and helplessness no one had understood—all of it could finally break free of its shackles.
"Kira, everything you deduced at the café today was correct."
She looked straight into Kira's eyes, without flinching or making excuses.
"I really did cause a class to fall apart in middle school in an incident of a very serious nature. And Horikita is probably one of the few people who knows the whole truth. She and I used to attend the same school. Since we started here, I've tried to befriend her, but she's rejected me every time. I suppose she resents me because she knows about the incident..."
The curtain on her past had finally been drawn back.
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