Sunlight dispelled the clouds. Hoshida No didn't head to the Student Council; instead, he made his way to the freshman welcome ceremony in the gymnasium.
He raised a hand and pressed it against the phone in his uniform pocket. The figure of 100,000 Personal Points on the screen was especially clear.
Sakayanagi Arisu's figure, leaning on her cane, lingered in his mind. They'd only been at the school for a few hours, and while most freshmen were still marveling at its facilities, she already had access to resources far beyond the ordinary. That wasn't luck.
Hoshida No's gaze darkened slightly. The scene on the bus when he'd given up his seat came to mind again: the man in sunglasses and a suit, the excessive number of security cameras, and Sakayanagi's composed smile when she learned he was in Class D.
Pieced together, these fragments pointed to something still indistinct.
What was this school planning?
The information he'd gotten from Sakayanagi was limited, after all. She definitely knew more.
"Should I go back and ask her?" He immediately dismissed the thought. After their exchange just now, asking again wouldn't get him any answers.
The walk took less than ten minutes, but Hoshida No's thoughts raced the whole way.
The crowd ahead grew denser, and the gymnasium entrance was already close.
Hoshida No pulled himself out of his thoughts, quickened his pace, and joined the crowd.
The moment he stepped into the gymnasium, he found it already buzzing with voices.
Following the signs to Class D's section, he found that most of his classmates were already seated, their faces marked by the curiosity and nervousness typical of new students.
Hoshida No sat in a corner at the back and looked toward the stage. The sounds of equipment being tested came faintly from behind the dark curtain.
In the various corners of the audience, most of the Class A students sat up straight, looking confident.
The students in Classes B and C chatted quietly in small groups, occasionally glancing toward the other classes with a hint of unspoken rivalry.
The atmosphere in Class D was comparatively relaxed. Some were still marveling at the school's luxurious facilities, while others looked bewildered.
Hoshida No quickly searched the crowd and soon spotted the familiar silver-haired figure.
Sakayanagi Arisu sat in the front row of Class A, her cane leaning against the seat beside her. She was turned toward the classmate next to her, chatting with a gentle yet distant smile on her lips.
Ichinose and Karuizawa were likewise seated near the front of Class B, talking with the students around them. When they noticed Hoshida No, they waved. He nodded in response.
Just then, the lights in the venue abruptly dimmed. Only the spotlights above the stage remained lit, clearly illuminating the Chairman.
The Chairman picked up the microphone, his steady voice carrying throughout the venue through the speakers. "Welcome to Advanced Nurturing High School. Here, only ability determines everything..."
The student council president, wearing black-rimmed glasses, then elaborated on his words.
After the welcome ceremony ended, the students returned to their classes.
Hoshida No followed the crowd deeper into the school building. The sign for Class 1-D stood out beneath the lights.
The moment he opened the classroom door, a rush of lively voices washed over him.
The freshmen, having finished the ceremony, had evidently formed small groups on their own.
Some were discussing what the speech's emphasis on ability meant, some were still marveling at the school's luxurious facilities, and others were exchanging contact information on their phones.
The air was charged with the restlessness and curiosity typical of new students.
Hoshida No quickly scanned the classroom. On the blackboard at the back, someone had written "Welcome to Class 1-D" in white chalk, with a class list posted beside it.
His name was on the list too, with his seat number marked beside it: second seat in the last row by the window.
As he walked to his seat, he felt a gaze from his left.
He looked over. A brown-haired boy with short hair sat by the window, his strands catching the sunlight and taking on a pale golden sheen.
The boy rested both hands flat on the desk, wrists hanging naturally over its edge. His posture was so relaxed it was almost lazy.
His golden-brown eyes seemed veiled in mist, calm and unruffled—the classic dead-fish eyes. Now they rested emotionlessly on Hoshida No.
His first impression was that the boy was a loner.
The boy didn't strike up a conversation. He simply looked away without a word, and Hoshida No sat down in his own seat.
The wooden chair made a soft sound against the floor. The boy beside him kept the same posture, but his gaze didn't move away. He still had that indifferent, distant look, which made Hoshida No very uncomfortable.
Hoshida No paid him no mind and turned his gaze out the window, ignoring the stare.
The branches and leaves of the camphor trees swayed gently in the breeze. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, and the spots of light slowly shifted across the desktop, drawing an invisible boundary between them and the hubbub in the classroom.
"You were looking toward Class A."
A flat, emotionless voice suddenly sounded to his left, breaking the silence between them.
Hoshida No turned his head and met those dead-fish eyes. The boy's expression hadn't changed, as though he'd said something entirely unimportant.
Hoshida No felt a flicker of surprise. Back in the gymnasium, he had indeed glanced briefly toward Sakayanagi Arisu's seat. He hadn't expected this seemingly laid-back boy to notice.
"I was just curious," he replied without hiding it, his tone equally calm. "There's someone interesting in Class A."
Before he could say more, a girl's voice came from the right. "This seat's taken."
The girl stopped beside the empty seat to Hoshida No's right, her gaze on the seat. Her tone was direct, and she wasn't asking.
Hoshida No glanced at the boy on his left, whose expression remained blank, then met the girl's cool gaze.
"Go ahead," he said calmly.
The girl didn't seem interested in chatting. She sat down, stuffed her bag under the desk, took out a copy of Crime and Punishment, and opened it.
"What?" She suddenly looked up and folded her arms. "Do you like watching people do things, too, just like the boy on your left?"
Her long black hair was tied in a high ponytail, with a thin braid running down its right side.
Hoshida No didn't respond. He met her gaze calmly.
His composed stare made the girl pause slightly. She quickly schooled her expression and added, "The person next to you—is he your brother or something? You even have the same look in your eyes when you stare at people."
Her words fell like a pebble into the still air. A few students chatting nearby fell quiet and glanced over furtively.
Hoshida No remained silent and turned to the boy on his left, his tone unreadable.
"Do you two know each other? Or did you do something to upset her?"
The boy kept both hands flat on the desk, his eyes unruffled.
"We rode the same bus. We both stayed put when someone gave up their seat. I was curious whether she was like me, someone who preferred to keep to herself. So I looked over a couple of times." His voice was flat.
"A couple of times?" the girl immediately shot back, pointing at him with her finger. "You call that a couple of times? You stared straight at me for half a minute, like you were sizing me up. Who knows what you were thinking?"
She glanced at Hoshida No again. "And you. You were looking all over the place in the gymnasium, and now you're putting on the same serious act as him. Are all the people at this school so weird?"
Hoshida No's Adam's apple bobbed. He was just about to speak—
The crisp sound of high heels striking the floor came from the front of the classroom, cutting him off.