On the track that morning, a cool breeze brushed past. Ayanokoji Kiyoha stood beside the track with her arms folded, staring fixedly at the figure who had just crossed the hundred-meter finish line. For the first time, she found herself doubting herself.
The reason was simple, almost absurd: she might not be able to beat Wu Qiao anymore.
She didn't even need to fight him to know. Just watching that smooth, brutal sequence of physical feats made the widening chasm between them painfully obvious.
In the face of absolute strength and speed, any technique or strategy would seem powerless.
A series of cold calculations flashed through Ayanokoji Kiyoha's mind. In professional combat sports, a 20% difference in body weight could be enough to make someone forfeit. And even among people of the same build, the difference in absolute strength between men and women couldn't possibly exceed 30%.
At a difference of over 40%, any real fight would be a one-sided beatdown. And right now, Wu Qiao's physical abilities had soared to an utterly inconceivable level, one that defied all common sense.
Just moments ago, the timer at the hundred-meter finish line had stopped at a number that made her scalp prickle: 9.34 seconds.
And he'd run that time while injured, before he'd even fully recovered!
That was enough to break the limits of human ability—enough to surpass the world record.
How had that seemingly lazy, absent-minded boy honed his body into something monstrous without anyone noticing?
Ayanokoji Kiyoha narrowed her eyes slightly, recalling how she'd secretly recorded Wu Qiao's physical stats after noticing how unnaturally fast he was improving.
Every record pushed the limits higher; every observation defied common sense. This kind of growth curve didn't belong to a normal human being.
Watching Wu Qiao jog to cool down, then turn and give her that carefree smile, Ayanokoji Kiyoha let out a quiet breath. The tension that had long held her taut seemed to ease a little.
Perhaps... perhaps this boy really could give her the peaceful school life she'd always dreamed of.
After all, when a "monster" who could run the hundred meters in 9.34 seconds stood before you and promised to shield you from harm, the shadows of the White Room and the possibility of being tested or drawn into trouble didn't seem quite so concerning anymore.
It was the last day of April, and the sun was shining. Ichinose Honami was in as bright a mood as the weather. She hadn't even opened the elegant cake box yet, but just thinking about the unexpected surprise waiting at her door that morning filled her with a sweet warmth.
Wu Qiao's clumsy yet thoughtful care was like a little surprise popping up in an ordinary day. She couldn't stop smiling all day long.
After classes ended, Ichinose Honami invited Wu Qiao and Ayanokoji Kiyoha to dinner without hesitation.
They went to the buffet restaurant on the school's Commercial Street, where they often ate. The familiar place and cozy bustle made her feel at ease.
Sitting in the lively restaurant and looking at the boy and girl across from her, so different in personality yet both so special, Ichinose Honami quietly made a decision.
She wouldn't go out of her way to probe the unfathomable secrets they carried. Not Wu Qiao's strange, terrifying potential to do anything he set his mind to, nor Ayanokoji Kiyoha's seemingly ordinary yet unfathomable true nature.
She pushed all those weighty speculations about the future, and all the tragedies that had played out again and again in simulations, to the back of her mind.
She would stop wondering whether Wu Qiao might become Blackened under the immense pressure of the future. She would stop agonizing over Ayanokoji Kiyoha's almost obsessive concern for Wu Qiao and her possessiveness toward him. And she would stop worrying about how difficult it might be to make her wish for everyone to graduate happily come true.
Let this peaceful, beautiful moment last a little longer.
"Come on, eat up. The sukiyaki's really good today!" Ichinose Honami said with a smile, serving food onto both their plates. The restaurant's warm lighting shone in her clear eyes, reflected alongside the two people who meant so much to her.
Wu Qiao was wolfing down his food without a trace of manners. He gave a muffled reply when he heard her, while Ayanokoji Kiyoha ate quietly, her expression calm whenever she occasionally looked up at Ichinose Honami.
At Advanced Nurturing High School, sharing a meal like this, without any schemes—just to fill their stomachs and enjoy each other's company—was a rare luxury in itself.
Ichinose Honami propped her chin on her hand and looked at the two of them, thinking silently: No matter how soon the storm comes, at least today, we'll finish this meal together.
Kushida Kikyo stood outside the buffet restaurant's glass doors, looking dazed. When she'd woken up that morning, she'd been horrified to discover a strange voice in her head.
After testing it and working out who it was, she quickly identified the voice as Ayanokoji Kiyoha's—the young lady who seemed sheltered in class, as though nothing mattered to her.
But this Ayanokoji Kiyoha didn't seem to belong to the present. She came from the distant future.
Through the glass, Kushida Kikyo watched the three young people inside, each with their own thoughts. Her signature perfect smile finally slipped. Irritated, she asked the voice in her mind, "Why did you make me come here with you?"
Ayanokoji Kiyoha yawned in her mind and replied lazily, "Nothing in particular. I just miss this time. It's kind of interesting to watch the three of us back then."
Kushida Kikyo's expression immediately darkened. Lowering her voice, she gritted her teeth and asked in her mind, "Now that you've seen it, can I leave?"
She didn't want to waste time here, let alone get involved with this inexplicable ghost from the future.
"Want to know how to hide yourself perfectly—and find out the best way forward? Then listen to me." Ayanokoji Kiyoha's voice carried a hint of unquestionable certainty, stopping Kushida Kikyo in her tracks as she turned to leave.
Kushida Kikyo bit her lip, but finally gave in. She knew this Ayanokoji Kiyoha from the future had information she couldn't afford to refuse.
Ayanokoji Kiyoha rolled her eyes in her mind. Her high school life had indeed been peaceful, but that very peace meant that, looking back now, she'd missed out on too many interesting things.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have borrowed Finality's power from Wu Qiao to cross time and return to this point just to "have some fun."
Since she'd come, she might as well find something amusing to do—and see what kind of spectacular expression this Two-Faced Girl would make when she learned about the future.