It was still that same bar in Keyaki Mall.
This time, Hoshinomiya and Chabashira didn't sit out in the open at the bar counter. Instead, they found a quiet little table in a corner.
They ordered a bottle of whiskey and a bucket of ice, leaving the rest to themselves.
The two former best friends, who had spent eleven years at odds because of one Unanimous Vote exam, were now sitting together again because of a second Unanimous Vote exam.
In a way, fate really did have a cruel sense of humor.
"What a shame, really." Hoshinomiya poured herself a drink and dropped in some ice, watching the cube rise and sink in the amber liquid. She let out a soft sigh. "You really should've come and seen how my class handled the Unanimous Vote today, Sae-chan."
"They were completely different from us eleven years ago."
"What was so different?" Chabashira didn't rush to pour herself a drink. She just quietly looked at Hoshinomiya, a trace of warmth passing through her eyes.
Now that the knot in her heart had finally come undone, she couldn't exactly say she was completely calm facing Hoshinomiya, but at the very least, when she thought back on the past, her feelings were full of warmth.
At that, Hoshinomiya looked oddly torn, as if she couldn't decide whether to feel proud or ashamed.
"The kids these days are way more united than we ever were eleven years ago."
Then she added, "I've got the security footage. Want to watch it, Sae-chan? After I asked you out for drinks, I made a special trip to the monitoring room and downloaded it."
She actually went to the monitoring room and pulled the footage?
That genuinely stunned Chabashira for a second.
Just how confident was Hoshinomiya? Or rather, just how well must Ichinose's class have performed for her to be this eager to show off?
And because of that confidence, Chabashira's curiosity started itching badly. She really wanted to know what Ichinose's class had done.
After all, even though Yukio had shown up and saved Sakura during the Unanimous Vote, twisting fate away from its old path and making Chabashira feel much better about it, that only meant someone had saved Sakura. Class D's overall performance had still gone exactly like eleven years ago.
There was absolutely nothing there for Chabashira to brag about.
"Then... let me see."
Very quickly, Hoshinomiya, wearing a smug look mixed with a little embarrassment, handed over her phone. The bar itself was quiet, but soft piano music was still floating through the speakers.
So Hoshinomiya had already connected a pair of Bluetooth earbuds and handed one over too.
Chabashira took them, but after a moment's thought, she didn't hit play right away. Instead, she stood up, walked around the table, and sat down beside Hoshinomiya.
"Want to watch it together?"
Hoshinomiya blinked in surprise.
She really hadn't expected that.
Until now, Chabashira had always kept things cold between them. She never would've willingly moved closer like this before. And now?
Had she changed that much?
Just because Yukio, that little lover of hers, had gone into her class and saved Sakura?
Seeing Hoshinomiya hesitate, Chabashira asked again, a little awkwardly, "You don't want to?"
"Of course I do, Sae-chan!"
Hoshinomiya snapped out of it at once, smiling brightly like a schoolgirl again. She immediately scooted close against Chabashira's side.
They shared the earbuds, one each, and Hoshinomiya tapped the screen to start the recording.
With the bar's soft piano melody drifting in the background, Chabashira gradually came to understand why Hoshinomiya looked both proud and ashamed.
Compared to Class D, which had almost erupted into an actual fistfight, Ichinose's class had shown a willingness to do absolutely anything for their classmates.
It made both women—two old friends who had once fallen apart over the same test—feel deeply ashamed.
Whether it was Haruki Kanzaki, willing to shoulder all the blame alone for the sake of his classmates' future, or Ichinose, willing to tear apart the very class she cherished in order to protect everyone's happiness, the two of them shone far too brightly for women like Chabashira and Hoshinomiya.
Like the sun itself, brilliant enough to illuminate everything.
And yet if you got even a little too close, you'd be badly burned.
The footage ended quickly.
Only then did Chabashira reach for the bottle, fill her own glass, then refill Hoshinomiya's empty one. She raised her glass toward her.
Hoshinomiya smiled, understood immediately, and raised hers too.
The two women, who had spent eleven years estranged, clinked glasses again for the first time in eleven years.
Chabashira tipped back the whiskey in one go, then let out a long breath. Her expression was light, but also heavy. Relieved, but conflicted.
"Kids these days... are they really all this amazing now?"
Hoshinomiya smiled sweetly, and for just a moment, Yukio's figure flashed through her mind. Still smiling, she answered, "They really are. Kids these days are incredible."
"Hm?" Chabashira blinked.
For some reason, she had the distinct feeling that what she meant and what Hoshinomiya meant weren't exactly the same thing.
Was that just her imagination?
Probably.
Maybe she just shouldn't have downed that drink so fast. Chabashira rubbed her temple lightly and gave a small laugh.
"Thinking back on eleven years ago... we were yelling at each other, grabbing each other by the collar, suspecting one another, scheming against each other... Compared to Ichinose, we were miles worse."
"Well, obviously." This time it was Hoshinomiya who topped off both glasses. "Just look at who raised that class."
Her face practically screamed, Come on, praise me.
It was equal parts innocent and outrageously shameless.
Chabashira already wanted to ease the tension between them. No matter how you looked at it, it was something that needed to happen.
From a practical point of view, if she could reconcile with Hoshinomiya, then Hoshinomiya probably wouldn't keep obstructing her efforts to raise a Class D to Class A anymore. Maybe this class didn't have that future, but the next one might.
And emotionally, Hoshinomiya really had been one of her dearest friends in high school. Chabashira genuinely wanted to make peace.
So she took the opening.
"You're right. Eleven years ago, you really were good at building a warm atmosphere. I was always the quiet one. It was you and Misora who kept the conversation going."
"That kind of warmth in Ichinose's class... there's probably some of you in it too, Chie."
That touched something in Hoshinomiya.
She suddenly remembered the three of them from back then—leading their class together, cutting through hardship, fighting side by side.
When you'd had a little alcohol, those beautiful moments from the past tended to come back one after another.
Her whole expression softened.
"You can't say it like that. Back then, you were the brains of our group, Sae-chan. Half the time, if it hadn't been for your analysis and judgment, none of us would've gotten through things so smoothly."
They both fell quiet at the same time.
Then they looked at each other, smiled, clinked glasses again, and drained them.
A few rounds later, maybe because the alcohol was finally hitting, or maybe because it was genuine, Chabashira was the first to apologize.
"Chie... I'm sorry. Eleven years ago, it was because I kept holding out that the class timed out in the end."
"Ah—Sae-chan... don't... don't say that." Hoshinomiya was slurring a little by now. "I... when I voted for Misora... and then for you... I still regret it, even now."
"Hic..." Chabashira, cheeks flushed red, covered her mouth with one hand, suddenly embarrassed by the little hiccup. "Really? I never would've guessed."
"How was I supposed to show that?" Hoshinomiya muttered. "But... but now... I don't want to keep stopping you anymore, Sae-chan. It's pointless. Once I finish with this class... I'm leaving."
"Leaving?!" Chabashira sobered up a little on the spot, staring hard at her.
Then she thought of herself.
Wasn't she the same?
If she ever managed to take a future Class D to Class A, she'd leave too. Yukio had even told her he'd be waiting for her at the school gate when that day came.
"Thank you," Chabashira said at last, her feelings too tangled to give any answer more complicated than that.
Hoshinomiya waved it off casually.
"Don't thank me for crap. We're... we're best friends, remember?"
The second those words came out, both women froze.
Then, at the same time, they relaxed and smiled.
For the first time in a very, very long while, both homeroom teachers were smiling with complete ease.
After eleven years, Chabashira and Hoshinomiya had finally reconciled.
...
For every 50 Power Stones → +1 extra chapter.