The Eve of the Storm

On the way back to drop off Sakayanagi, Kitahara looked at the smiling girl beside him, hesitated for a moment, and finally spoke:

"Sakayanagi, what do you intend to do next? You don't still want Katsuragi to continue leading, do you?"

"Hehe, I am far more concerned with what kind of deal you made with the Student Council President than that," Sakayanagi said softly.

"Ha... with your intelligence, Sakayanagi, you must have guessed it already. There's no need to probe further."

"Besides, our current cooperative relationship should be solidified even more."

Facing Kitahara's evasive words, Sakayanagi simply shook her head slightly and said, "Once I have buried that person, I will slowly play my game against you, Kitahara."

Hearing Sakayanagi's calm tone, Kitahara nodded as if he had known it all along.

After all, given Sakayanagi's personality, she felt uncomfortable if she wasn't challenging someone; this was how she tried to prove to others that she was no less capable than anyone else, even with her frail body.

Sigh, but that physical condition will always be a major flaw.

Noticing Kitahara's sigh, Sakayanagi spoke again: "Rest assured, Kitahara-kun, dealing with you is completely different from dealing with him. After all, you are a true genius."

Hearing Sakayanagi's evaluation of him, Kitahara could only echo, "I didn't expect such a high evaluation from you, Sakayanagi. I'm truly flattered."

Yet, he thought silently to himself.

[It's debatable whether you can even defeat him now. By the time you do, you'll probably have already graduated. Will you even be able to find me then?]

Not detecting the perfunctory nature of his words, Sakayanagi unconsciously tilted her head up slightly, looking quite pleased.

After dropping Sakayanagi off at her dormitory, Kitahara returned to his own room.

Lying on his bed, Kitahara finally heard the voice that had been absent for a long time.

[Congratulations to the Host for completing the temporary mission]
[Issuing temporary reward—Mysterious Gift Pack]
[Opening Mysterious Gift Pack...]
[Congratulations to the Host for obtaining Panacea *3]

"..."

"You didn't just issue this reward because you heard me complaining about Sakayanagi, did you?"

[Host, all rewards are randomized; there is absolutely no possibility of malicious manipulation.]

"Is that so? Why do I find that hard to believe?"

"By the way, System, can this medicine cure any illness?"

[Of course, Host. Whether it is heart disease or anything else, it can solve it all.]

Hearing the System's reply, the corner of Kitahara's mouth twitched.

"And you say you didn't prepare this specifically for Sakayanagi? You even specified the exact condition. Are you my System or hers? Look in my eyes, answer me."

[...]

Seeing that the System had completely given up on responding, Kitahara knew he couldn't exactly beat it up, so he let it go.

Lying on his bed, Kitahara stared quietly at the Panacea in his hand and thought.

[Can this thing really solve every illness? It looks exactly like an ordinary capsule from the outside.]

[If it really could solve Sakayanagi's problem now, given her personality, she would definitely participate in the upcoming Uninhabited Island exam. The situation might become uncontrollable by then.]

[But if I dare to give it to her now, I'll probably be investigated immediately, so I'd better plan this slowly.]

However, Kitahara did not notice that his attitude toward Sakayanagi had been gradually changing.

Furthermore, Kitahara was unaware that Kushida and the others were holding a celebration party in Ayanokoji's room upstairs; one had to say, their mental fortitude was truly impressive.

As night fell, Kitahara succumbed to the day's exhaustion and drifted into a deep sleep.

Meanwhile, in the plaza where he had discussed matters with Horikita Manabu, sounds of rhythmic impact echoed.

The scene shifted to reveal the "little angel" repeatedly kicking the safety railing with her legs, muttering to herself:

"So annoying."

"Acting all high and mighty just because you're cute."

"It's just awful, awful... absolutely awful."

"Why hasn't someone like Horikita just died yet? So annoying, truly annoying, that bitch."

"And that guy Ayanokoji, he said he'd help me gain the class's attention, but instead, he left me to shoulder the responsibility for the whole thing. He deserves to die too."

"He's gotten so close to Horikita; he should definitely be expelled as well."

"The most annoying one is that bastard Kitahara. Who the hell do you think you are? You have so many points and don't use them, yet you let me face the cold shoulders of the class, and you reject me time and time again. It's just..."

Before she could finish, the sound of a vibrating phone came from the bushes behind her.

It turned out that during the celebration party earlier, she had left her phone on Ayanokoji's bed, so Ayanokoji had brought it over to return it to her, never expecting to witness this scene.

(If Kitahara knew about this, he would surely cough up blood. The "handprint" scene he had been looking forward to for so long, and he wasn't even there to see it, having already fallen into a dream.)

(However, if Kitahara really did know about this, he would probably thank Ayanokoji. If not for him, he wouldn't know how long Kushida would have kept cursing; after all, given what he did to Kushida, she might have kept cursing until dawn.)

Cough, cough. Since it was already quite late, every sound seemed exceptionally clear.

Hearing the noise, Kushida ceased her actions, turned her head, and glared coldly at the bushes where the sound had originated, saying, "Who? Who's there?"

Seeing that he had been discovered, Ayanokoji could only let out a faint sigh before stepping out and saying, "It's me, Ayanokoji."

Upon seeing that it was Ayanokoji, Kushida walked quickly toward his position.

At this moment, Ayanokoji was still calmly explaining, "Kushida, you forgot your phone..."

Before he could finish, Kushida had already snatched the phone from his hand, lowered her head, and said coldly, "Did you see everything?"

"If I said I didn't, would you believe me?"

Hearing Ayanokoji's reply, Kushida looked up, revealing an expression and a fierce gaze completely different from her usual self, and said, "If you dare tell anyone, I won't let you off."

Staring at the cold-faced Kushida before him, Ayanokoji spoke up, "And what if I do tell someone?"

"Then I'll go around telling everyone that you tried to rape me," Kushida continued.

"That's a baseless accusation."

(If Kitahara were here, hearing this conversation, he would surely say, "It's coming, it's coming.")

Sure enough, the very next second, Kushida slowly grabbed Ayanokoji's right hand and said, "No problem, this won't be baseless anymore."

Immediately following, amidst Ayanokoji's look of surprise, Kushida slowly placed his hand onto her full breast and continued, "Now it's covered in your fingerprints; there's no need to even look for evidence."

Clearly unsatisfied with just that, the Kushida before him increased the pressure and said, "I am absolutely serious."

As for Ayanokoji, who lacked emotion, he remained expressionless in the face of this situation and said, "I understand. So, can you let go of your hand now?"

"Listen well, if you dare to betray me, I will absolutely not forgive you." Having heard the definitive answer, Kushida released her hand and threatened him once more.

At this moment, Ayanokoji looked at the different version of Kushida before him, his mind constantly recalling the image of her getting along peacefully with others, and he thought silently to himself.

So, this is the reason why you were placed in Class D.

Watching the silent Ayanokoji, Kushida continued, "Ayanokoji, can you..."

"Can you swear to keep what happened today buried in your stomach forever?"

Ayanokoji nodded silently.

"I understand. Then I will trust you," Kushida said finally.

(Truth be told, if Kitahara were here, he would have intervened again. So much for a vow, right? In the end, he just brushed it off with a nod? No wonder later on...)

After saying these words, Kushida's expression shifted back to her usual self, and she spoke to Ayanokoji in a lighthearted tone, "Good, now we have a secret between us."

Watching the restored Kushida before him, Ayanokoji thought quietly.

Kushida, tell me, which one of you is the real you?