At the apartment, Matsuo downed the last of the drink in his bottle and sprawled across the tatami.
"Bang, bang, bang."
Hearing the knocking, Matsuo instinctively assumed it was Eiichiro. In a weary voice, he called, "Did you forget something, Eiichiro? Let yourself in."
Even after Matsuo said that, the knocking didn't stop. If anything, it grew more insistent.
"Maybe he forgot his keys? What a pain."
Grumbling, Matsuo pushed himself up with one hand and staggered toward the door. "All right, all right, stop knocking! I'm coming to open it."
"Click."
Before Matsuo could reach the entrance, the metal door opened on its own, and three men appeared before him.
With their backs to the sunlight, Matsuo couldn't make out their faces; he could only just discern their figures. But he recognized the man in the middle at a glance.
In an instant, Matsuo sobered up. His mouth hung open, and broken words came out.
"A-Ayanokōji-sama!"
"It's only been a little while, and you've already fallen into quite a state, haven't you, Matsuo?" Ayanokōji Atsuomi's stern voice rang out.
"Why... are you here?"
Matsuo's voice trembled. He wasn't a fool. The moment he saw the two tall bodyguards beside Ayanokōji Atsuomi, a terrible suspicion had crossed his mind.
Clinging to one last bit of hope, Matsuo asked, still unable to accept it, "Are you here to kill me?"
Ayanokōji Atsuomi didn't answer. Instead, he glanced at the room. "It's like a doghouse in here. There's barely anywhere to step."
Matsuo said nothing. Atsuomi didn't seem inclined to stay long, either. "Sign this."
After saying that, Atsuomi left without another word, leaving his two bodyguards at the door, apparently to collect the document.
"He's not asking you to discuss it. It's an order." (Matsuo)
Matsuo looked at the document tossed carelessly on the floor, slowly reached down to pick it up, and opened it. The moment he saw the first page, he couldn't stop his tears from falling.
"Thank you... Thank you!"
Speaking with excitement, Matsuo quickly signed his name on the document.
It was a long while before Eiichiro finally returned home. He stood at the entrance, not hurrying to go inside.
"Phew—"
"Phew—"
Only after taking several deep breaths did he steady his emotions and open the door.
"Father, I..."
He hadn't even had a chance to say what he'd rehearsed on the way home when the changes inside the house stunned him.
The once-cluttered living room had been cleaned until it was spotless. The apron Matsuo was still wearing made it clear that he was the one who'd tidied up.
"You're back, Eiichiro! Perfect timing. Go buy some groceries. We're going to have a proper meal today."
His father had looked so dejected when Eiichiro left that morning. How had he bounced back in such a short time?
Eiichiro didn't know why, but he was still glad to see his father recovering. However, considering their financial situation, he reminded him, "It's still a long time until lunch, and, Father, our finances..."
"It's fine. I've got a new job! By the way, why did you come back?"
"Oh! I..."
The sudden change of subject caught Eiichiro off guard. He was about to lie when Matsuo cut him off.
"You got expelled?"
Eiichiro looked utterly incredulous, but there was no point hiding it anymore. He slowly nodded.
He'd expected his father to be disappointed, but Matsuo said optimistically, "It's all right. Spend the next year getting ready at home, then go to this school tomorrow."
"Go with Nanase Tsubasa," Matsuo added.
Eiichiro took the school brochure from his father and slowly read the name aloud.
"Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School?"
It was just after school let out that afternoon.
Lots of people wanted to talk to Satsu—Hasebe and Inogashira, for instance—but neither of them was as quick to act as Ayanokoji.
"Let's go, Satsu."
After leaving those few words, Ayanokoji was the first to leave the classroom.
Knowing why Ayanokoji had asked him along, Satsu didn't waste time. He got up and followed.
Seeing this, Suzune finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"All right, now I should get ready for my study group." (Horikita Suzune)
In the hallway, Ayanokoji and Satsu chatted as they walked.
"Come up with a way to invite the three Yamauchis?"
Ayanokoji said, "I've invited them before. None of them was easy to deal with."
"Mm... I haven't figured it out at all."
Satsu hesitated a moment, then said, "Actually, I don't think me joining will do you any good. Yamauchi and I don't get along, as you know."
"Horikita's looking at the bigger picture. We'll be at this school for three years. There'll be plenty of other things besides this."
"Also, Satsu. You're lying. You've already got an idea, don't you?"
Ayanokoji bluntly called him out. "I can tell from your expression."
"Do you have to be such a monster? Are you psychic, or am I?" (Kato Satsu)
Satsu did have an idea—one that anyone would think of: follow the original story and ask Kikyo for help.
But Satsu didn't want to do that. He had a more direct approach.
They reached the dormitory and got into the elevator.
When Ayanokoji saw which floor Satsu pressed, he couldn't help but pause.
"I thought you'd start with the easiest one, Ike. But you're going straight for the hardest?"
"Just because he and I don't get along doesn't mean he's the hardest one. On the contrary, I think he's the easiest."
The two of them arrived at Yamauchi's dorm room and knocked.
The door opened. The instant Yamauchi saw Satsu and Ayanokoji, he immediately tried to shut it, but Satsu reacted quickly and held it open.
"If this is about the study group, don't bother. I'm not going."
Yamauchi spoke first. "Ayanokoji, you really have terrible taste. You can't even pick good people to help you."
Satsu knew what Yamauchi meant, but didn't pay it much mind. He got straight to the point. "Ten thousand points!"
"Huh?!"
Yamauchi froze. Even someone as stupid as him could understand what Satsu meant.
"Just come to the study group, and I'll give you ten thousand points. I'll transfer them right away."
Yamauchi hesitated. He'd spent all his points within a month of starting school. To make ends meet, he'd even started selling his personal belongings.
"Have you even been eating properly these past few days, Yamauchi? I went to check out the free food in the cafeteria, too. You can hardly call it fit for human consumption, can you?" Satsu continued to tempt him.
"T-Twenty thousand!" Yamauchi gritted his teeth.
"Am I being too greedy? This bastard's already spent a lot treating people to meals, and he still needs to live. Would asking for twenty thousand be too much?" (Yamauchi)
Hearing his thoughts, Satsu was delighted. He'd been ready to agree, but now he had an idea for not raising his offer.
"I can't come up with that much." Satsu put on a regretful expression.
"Let's go, Kiyotaka. We'll see if Ike's willing."
As he spoke, Satsu pulled Ayanokoji away.
He bet Yamauchi would call him back. The uncertain tone of Yamauchi's thoughts was one reason; another was that Yamauchi really was short on money. Ten thousand points would solve his immediate problem.
Even if he didn't call them back, Satsu could transfer twenty thousand points to Kiyotaka and have him come negotiate again.
If that didn't work, they could forget it. There were three of them. If Satsu invited a few others, wouldn't they still complete the task?
"I really did ask for too much!" (Yamauchi)
"He said they're going to find Ike. If Ike agrees, won't I get even less?" (Yamauchi)
"Wait!" Yamauchi shouted.
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