The glass revolving door closed behind Watanabe Hayabara, and a chill air carrying the distinctive, slightly bitter scent of ink washed over him. The chandelier beneath the dome cast diamond-shaped shadows across the marble floor. Students sat scattered among the bookshelves, heads bowed over their books, the rustling of pages like silkworms munching on mulberry leaves. Out of habit, he felt for the mechanical lock model in his uniform pocket. Its cold metal made his fingertips tingle.
Shiina Hiyori appeared at the end of the third row of social science shelves. The hem of a black pleated skirt showed beneath her cream knit cardigan, and the daisy hairpin tucked into her hair swayed gently as she waved. Watanabe Hayabara noticed the ginkgo leaf bookmark tucked into the copy of One Hundred Years of Solitude open on her lap. Its golden hue stood out against the dark pages.
"Sorry for the wait." Watanabe Hayabara drew out the last word as he sat down. The wooden chair legs made a faint scraping sound against the floor. His gaze swept over the Starbucks cup on the table. Condensation slid slowly down the mermaid logo and left a dark mark on the wood grain.
"Did you ask to see me to share your thoughts on what you've been reading, Shiina?"
Shiina Hiyori smiled faintly and shook her head. "No, actually, I'm just here on Ryuen Kakeru's behalf to discuss a deal with you."
Watanabe Hayabara looked surprised. He regarded Shiina Hiyori with confusion. "You don't seem like the sort of person who'd go out of her way to help Ryuen Kakeru, Shiina."
Shiina Hiyori's lips curved upward as she explained, "I just don't want Ryuen Kakeru interrupting my private time all the time. That's why I came to discuss this deal with you."
Watanabe Hayabara put on an exaggeratedly wounded expression and sighed. "Oh, so you didn't want to meet me after all, Shiina. That really hurts."
Shiina Hiyori smiled. "All right, stop joking around. I really do have a book I'd like to share with you, Watanabe. But that'll have to wait until after we've concluded our deal."
"Then let's get straight to the point. What does Ryuen Kakeru want to work with me on? Though I do owe him a favor right now." The faintly contemplative note in his voice sounded like an abacus clicking away behind the scenes.
Shiina Hiyori placed her phone face down on the table. Its rose-gold casing reflected the curve of her eyes. "Ryuen Kakeru said this time he wouldn't ask you to honor your promise, Watanabe. What a pity."
Watanabe Hayabara leaned back in his chair. The creases in his uniform caught the sunlight with a cold sheen. "He really does have foresight. Is he deciding based on the expected returns? Not stupid, I'll give him that."
"By the way, there's something I've never understood—" Shiina Hiyori suddenly leaned forward, her hair brushing against the water bottle on the corner of the table with a faint rustle. "How did someone as capable as you end up in Class D, Watanabe?" Her lashes fluttered as she studied his face.
"Did Longyuan Xiang ask you to ask me that, too?"
"Or are you more interested in me?" He deliberately lowered his voice at the end, catching the faint flush rising on her ear from the corner of his eye.
Shiina Hiyori suddenly covered her mouth and giggled, showing teeth like little shells. "I'm just really curious." She pulled a notebook from her canvas bag. A bookmark from The Little Prince was tucked into its first page. "After all, someone rumored to be able to take apart a mechanical lock with his bare hands shouldn't be buried in the lowest-ranked class, should he?"
Watanabe Hayabara raised an eyebrow, his gaze passing over her slender wrist. "If you became my girlfriend, I'd tell you." He reached for the notebook beside her hand, his fingertip brushing hers. The warmth was gone in an instant.
"Watanabe, you're eating what's in your bowl while eyeing what's in the pot. What a bad boy." Shiina Hiyori quickly pulled her hand back, her ears turning an even brighter red. "But more importantly—" She suddenly leaned closer, the citrus scent of her shampoo mingling with a faint trace of gunpowder. "I'll stop teasing you. Actually, Ryuen Kakeru wants to talk to you about the midterm exams." She opened her notebook. Its pages were densely packed with notes on every subject, and a sticky note bore Ryuen Kakeru's flamboyant handwriting: "Drag the entire year into this."
"Wouldn't it be better to meet Ryuen Kakeru in person? Don't you think, Shiina?" Watanabe Hayabara looked at Shiina Hiyori. "After all, it's not good to chat in the library."
"I think so, too. That's why I turned Ryuen down when he first asked."
"What do you think, Ryuen Kakeru? Don't hide behind your phone like a coward."
"Meet me behind the Special School Building, Watanabe Hayabara!" a man's cold voice came through the phone.
At dusk, the Special School Building looked like a giant beast lying in wait. Wind whistled through the fire escape with a mournful wail. When Watanabe Hayabara arrived, Ryuen Kakeru was leaning against the wall, smoking. The glow of his cigarette intermittently lit up the upward curve of his lips.
"Watanabe Hayabara, I heard your grades are all question marks. I'll test whether you're qualified to work with me first." Ryuen Kakeru rubbed his hands together, looking eager to get started.
"You're contradicting yourself, Ryuen Kakeru." Watanabe Hayabara smirked.
Shiina Hiyori stood quietly to one side, reading a book. This was something she couldn't take part in.
"Shiina, could you hold my glasses?"
"Sure." Shiina Hiyori took the glasses Watanabe Hayabara handed her and hurried aside to give the two of them room.
Ryuen Kakeru's roundhouse kick tore through the air with a rush of wind. Watanabe Hayabara lowered his shoulder and turned aside, then smoothly hooked his hand around Ryuen's shin with the trapping hand characteristic of Jeet Kune Do. The moment their limbs made contact, Ryuen Kakeru changed his move. His elbow shot toward Watanabe's face like an iron spike—a classic sanda combination of defense and offense.
"Nice one!" Watanabe Hayabara advanced instead of retreating, dropping low as a short-range punch from the bridge of his arm skimmed past Ryuen Kakeru's elbow and struck for the opening beneath his ribs. Ryuen hastily tightened his stomach to absorb the force, but his opponent wrapped him up and locked his waist. Jeet Kune Do's signature neck grab and knee strike came fast and vicious, the knee nearly grazing Ryuen's jaw.
Ryuen Kakeru suddenly fell backward, using the momentum to sweep a leg across the ground. Watanabe Hayabara jumped on one foot, twisting his waist and turning in midair. The Jeet Kune Do finger jab became a glint of cold light, shooting toward Ryuen's throat like a striking snake. Ryuen rolled across the ground to evade the lethal move. When he sprang back to his feet, he had already assumed a sanda defensive stance, fists and palms guarding his vitals as he fixed his eyes on his opponent's openings.
"Got you!" Ryuen Kakeru seized the brief opening and slid forward with a heavy punch. Watanabe Hayabara met him head-on instead of retreating, releasing a burst of inch power. His "sun-character punch" struck Ryuen's fist first. Their opposing forces collided with a dull thud. Ryuen stumbled backward, but Watanabe followed up with a series of punches that poured down like a torrential rain, driving him back step by step.
Ryuen Kakeru suddenly switched from defense to offense, kicking sideways at Watanabe Hayabara's knee. Watanabe crouched and lowered his elbow, slamming its tip against Ryuen's shin in a direct clash. The instant Ryuen recoiled in pain, Watanabe followed close behind. He looped his left arm around Ryuen's neck, braced his right arm against his lower back, and executed a clean shoulder throw that slammed him hard into the ground.
Ryuen Kakeru struggled to get up, only to find Watanabe Hayabara's knee already pressed against his chest and his fingertips hovering three inches from Ryuen's throat. "Want to keep going?" Watanabe Hayabara's breathing was steady, and a teasing smile crept back onto his lips.
Watanabe Hayabara withdrew his fingers and knee, allowing Ryuen Kakeru to breathe. Ryuen was panting heavily, but he looked exhilarated.
"Hahaha! So that's the real strength behind those question-mark grades? Interesting!!!"
"Longyuan Xiang, don't think you're anything special just because you were a big shot in middle school. You were just a small-time leader. Don't be a frog in a well."
Ryuen Kakeru instantly grew angry. "Watanabe Hayabara, I may have lost this time, but I, Ryuen Kakeru, will bring you down. No matter when, I'll beat you someday!!"
"I look forward to the challenge. Can we talk about your plan now?"
Ryuen Kakeru slowly got to his feet and brushed the dust off his clothes. "Do you know where the midterm exams come from, Watanabe Hayabara?"
"It's just a little midterm exam. I don't see why I need to know." Watanabe Hayabara chuckled.
"Over the years, the midterm exam questions have never changed. That gives us an opportunity."
"If you're planning to sell the midterm answers, then we have nothing to discuss." Watanabe Hayabara made to leave.
"What about 500,000 Class Points?" Ryuen Kakeru offered the points as payment.
"Go on, then. Though I'm the one getting the short end of the stick." Watanabe Hayabara stopped.
"We'll replace the midterm exam with a new test. Classmate Sakayanagi will provide the new test, and you'll provide Class C with the answers."
"So you've teamed up with Sakayanagi after all. I was wondering why Masumi had been so busy these past few days. How much is Sakayanagi getting paid?"
"500,000."
"Fine. There's a flaw in this plan."
"The students in Class A are good at studying, so they can answer most of the questions. But I doubt they can match you, Watanabe. Surely you're not lacking confidence in your abilities?" Ryuen Kakeru said with an odd expression.
"I didn't know Ryuen could be so sarcastic. But that won't work on me."
"If Class C's overall score goes up, that won't affect the elimination system, will it?"
"Then we'll just have them all get the same score."
"Do you think the school won't find out?"
"In this school, isn't strength everything? What's wrong with earning a score through my own strength, Watanabe Hayabara? You're still too narrow-minded!" Longyuan Xiang wouldn't pass up any chance to mock Watanabe Hayabara.
"The tyrant really has a commanding presence, doesn't he? He can control the scores of the whole class... Fine, I agree to the plan."
"Then let's sign the contract." As he spoke, Longyuan Xiang glanced at Shiina Hiyori. Seeing this, Shiina Hiyori came over and pulled a sheet of paper from between the pages of her book.
------Contract------- Party A will pay Party B and Party C 500,000 points each. Party B will provide Party C with information about the new midterm exam questions, and Party C will provide Party A with the answers. This will ensure that after the midterm exam, Party A earns the most Class Points, with the other classes' gains trailing Party A's class by at least 25 Class Points. Party A's signature: Longyuan Xiang Party B's signature: Sakayanagi Arisu Party C's signature: _______ Witness's signature: Itagaki Kazuma
"It looks like Teacher Kazuma really thinks highly of you." Watanabe Hayabara teased as he signed his name under Party C. Ryuen Kakeru didn't respond to the teasing.
"Have you considered how we'll pass along the information, Ryuen Kakeru? As expected, after we submit the request to change the test, it'll be hard for us to see Sakayanagi again."
"That'll be up to you, Watanabe. Isn't your girlfriend often with Sakayanagi these days?"
Watanabe Hayabara turned to look at Shiina Hiyori, wondering how she'd react to being called his girlfriend. Unfortunately, all he saw was her serene, elegant, beautiful face, lowered as she read.
"Pleasure doing business with you, Longyuan Xiang. Don't bother me unless you have something important. Don't push things too far. If you step over an ant without killing it, it'll be hard to control that power."
"I'll bring you down, Watanabe Hayabara. Just you wait!"
"Don't bluster. It'll only make you look weaker."
"See you next time, Hiyori-chan!" Watanabe Hayabara instantly traded his mocking tone for a gentle one.
"See you next time, Hayabara-kun."
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