Satsu had barely reached the door of Class B when the girls inside recognized him.
As he stared at Ichinose at the front of the classroom, wondering how to start, one of the girls beat him to it.
"Are you Kato Satsu?"
Satsu snapped out of his thoughts and nodded. "Yeah, that's me."
"You... know me?"
The girl covered her mouth and giggled at his question. "I doubt there's anyone at school who hasn't heard about your match against a second-year. You faced off in front of everyone, and you can still find videos of it online."
"Besides, you ranked first on the girls' homemade list of the most popular boys! How could I not know who you are?" (Class B girl)
"Did you need something, Kato?"
The girl was clearly excited to see him, but Satsu's attention was elsewhere. After quickly scanning the classroom, he replied distractedly.
"Yeah... I'm looking for someone, but I guess I'm out of luck. Mako Amikura isn't here, is she?"
Mako? When did this creep start targeting her? What's he after? (Ichinose Honami)
After confirming that the person he was looking for wasn't in the classroom, Satsu finally looked directly at the girl in front of him.
A hint of disappointment showed in her eyes. "Mako? She didn't attend the study group today, so she went back to the dorm early."
Why couldn't he be looking for me? What's so special about Mako that she gets this level of romantic attention? (Class B girl)
"I see. Then I'll come by another time."
With that, Satsu casually glanced at Ichinose and turned to leave.
Other girls might have mistaken that glance for a flirtatious look, but to Ichinose, it was an undisguised appraisal.
It was like a beast sizing up its prey. Ichinose felt a chill run through her and shuddered involuntarily.
Mako's in danger! (Ichinose Honami)
There's no mistaking that look! That creep's definitely up to no good. I don't know what he's planning, but I have to stop him from getting close to Mako. (Ichinose Honami)
Forgetting that she was in the middle of helping her classmates with their studies, Ichinose set down her textbook and hurried out of the classroom.
Seeing the strange look on Ichinose's face, one of her classmates called after her anxiously. "Class rep, what's wrong? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine! I just remembered that I have something urgent to discuss with Hoshinomiya-sensei."
Ichinose didn't even look back as she ran straight to the teachers' office.
"What's gotten into Class Ichinose's rep all of a sudden?"
"Never mind. Since that's how it is, let's call it a day. It's already pretty late."
In the teachers' office, Hoshinomiya had just made herself a cup of hot cocoa. She was reclining in her chair, enjoying a rare moment of peace, when—
BANG!
The office door flew open.
"Ah!"
Hoshinomiya let out a shriek, clearly startled. The hot cocoa in her hand splashed all over her clothes.
Hoshinomiya glared toward the doorway, but most of her anger faded when she saw Ichinose.
Annoyed, she pulled a tissue from her desk and wiped her clothes as she asked, "What is it, Ichinose? You look like you're in a hurry."
"Sorry, sensei. I should've knocked first."
Realizing how rude she'd been, Ichinose apologized before getting straight to the point. "Sensei, do you know Kato Satsu from Class 1-D?"
"Kato? Of course I do. For a student in Class D, he's unusually popular."
As she spoke, Hoshinomiya tossed the tissue in her hand into the trash. "He's incredibly handsome, after all. It's only natural that he's popular."
"He just tried to approach Mako Amikura!" Ichinose said gravely.
"Huh?"
Seeing Ichinose look as if the world were ending, Hoshinomiya asked in confusion, "And... what's the problem?"
"Maybe Kato just wants to make a friend. Or perhaps he's fallen for Mako."
"It's perfectly normal for high schoolers to date, isn't it? Mako's cute, too!"
Seeing how unconcerned Hoshinomiya was, Ichinose couldn't help feeling confused. Didn't she know what Satsu had done before?
"Don't you think this is dangerous?" Ichinose asked cautiously.
"Dangerous?"
Hoshinomiya sounded puzzled, then suddenly understood. "You mean Kato might just be playing around?"
"But it's Mako's choice to make, not ours."
Seeing that her homeroom teacher had turned the conversation into a full-blown relationship lesson, Ichinose knew she wouldn't get any help from her, so she simply left.
What's going on? The school said we had to keep that creep's business confidential, but surely the teachers should at least know! (Ichinose Honami)
From what I've seen, Hoshinomiya-sensei has no idea what happened. I'll have to figure something out on my own. (Ichinose Honami)
That evening, after Ichinose had just finished showering, the only sounds in her room were the hair dryer and the constant notification chimes from her phone.
When she checked her phone, she saw that the girls from Class B had started a group chat.
Mako Amikura: "Really? Kato came looking for me?"
Class B girl 1: "Of course! The class rep was there at the time. Ask her if you don't believe me."
Class B girl 2: "I can confirm it too. Kato really did come looking for you."
Mako Amikura: "Did he say what he wanted?"
Class B girl 1: "No. As soon as he found out you weren't there, he left."
Class B girl 3: "Maybe he just wanted to meet you~"
Mako Amikura: "Stop joking. Though, I wish I'd known earlier—I would've come to the study group."
"Oh! Come to think of it, I think I have Kikyo Kushida from Class D's contact info. I could ask her."
Chihiro: "Actually... I think it'd be better if you didn't get too close to Kato."
Class B girl 3: "Why not?"
Class B girl 2: "Does our little Chihiro have a crush on Kato and feel jealous?"
Watching the group chat buzz with activity, Ichinose hadn't wanted to join in. But Chihiro, who knew what was really going on, couldn't think of a good excuse.
So she quickly typed out a reply too: "Chihiro's right. It's better to be careful."
Once the class rep had spoken, the others sensibly stopped teasing Chihiro. But how long they would heed Ichinose and Chihiro's warning was anyone's guess.
After the commotion in the group chat died down, Ichinose buried herself under the covers, looking exhausted.
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