At noon, the sunlight was just right.
News traveled fast in Class D—or rather, Class D never really bothered to keep anything secret.
Without much effort, they spilled everything that had happened in class.
As soon as the bell rang, students received gossip through their own channels.
"...Her stress tolerance is seriously terrible," Asakusa Tetsu muttered, listening to the discussions around him.
He really hadn't expected Chabashira Sae to be that fragile. She put pressure on others every day, yet when it was her turn, she just collapsed on the spot.
Her mental resilience was awful.
"Asakusa, wanna grab lunch together?" Shibata Sō said cheerfully, slinging an arm over his shoulder. "I feel like I can eat a ton today."
Asakusa shook his head. "Nah, you go ahead."
"I'm not really hungry."
After a month of training in the White Gym, his improved physique had gradually taken shape thanks to all the carbs he'd consumed.
Now, he didn't feel as strong a need to eat as before.
Of course, if he really went all out, he could still eat far more than he used to.
"Seriously? You, not hungry?" Shibata looked surprised. "Then fine, I'll go alone."
"Don't skip tonight's study group. I don't have training today."
After saying that, he let go of Asakusa, waved, and left.
Asakusa slowly stood up and walked out of the classroom.
He wasn't lying—he really had no appetite. Compared to eating, he'd rather find a sunny spot and waste some time lying down.
Clear his mind.
Coincidentally, he'd found a good place not long ago.
The school rooftop.
The Advanced Nurturing High rooftop was practically a legendary site.
Whether it was Stamp Girl's rise to fame, Dragon Boy's humiliation, or Parasite Girl's stress training, all of it had started there.
He didn't know what had gone wrong to make the rooftop lose one of its cameras, or why the once-unlocked door had been fitted with a magnetic electronic lock, but it didn't matter.
He had a universal room card. He could open it whenever he wanted.
Swipe it, and the door opened.
Still, constantly using his card wasn't ideal—hard to explain if someone saw him. After discovering the rooftop's circuit breaker, he experimented a little and easily found the power switch controlling the door.
Click.
With a light pull, he no longer needed his card.
Hardly anyone came to the rooftop anyway.
It wasn't that the location was bad—it was just that going up there alone was too unsociable. Do it often enough, and you'd drift away from everyone else.
Since the school regularly sent staff to inspect rooftop facilities, he also stuck a label near the breaker to remind himself that it powered the door.
Today, he planned to go up and soak in the sun.
"...?"
But as soon as he reached the stairs, he froze.
The magnetic door, which should've been powered off and freely passable, was now glowing faintly red.
Access denied.
Who turned the power back on?
Staff?
Wasn't the inspection still far away?
...This felt troublesome.
With a silent sigh, he took out his universal card.
"Beep."
A faint sound rang out. The red light turned green.
He gently pushed the door open.
And clearly heard vicious curses coming from inside.
"Why are people still digging up old stuff and causing the same arguments after more than a week? Are they insane?! Isn't the past in the past?! And she already fainted—yet they're still shifting blame?! What kind of trash are they?!"
"I'm gonna throw up, seriously—"
Kicking the railing hard, the hollow steel pipes rang out.
After letting out a long breath, Kushida Kikyo turned around.
And by sheer coincidence, her eyes met Asakusa's.
"..."
"..."
Silence fell.
The wind howled past, but time itself seemed frozen.
Neither spoke.
Peaceful. Serene.
"..."
Kushida's body completely stiffened.
She never imagined that the rooftop—her carefully confirmed safe haven—would fail her at the very moment she let her guard down.
And unlike the fake scare with the diary's forced message, this time was real.
She'd exposed her true self right in front of someone.
Idiot, idiot, idiot—how the hell did this guy open the door?!
What?! Tell me, that door was locked tight! I checked it again and again—there was no way to open it! So how did you open it?!
Did you steal a staff ID card or something?!
Kushida was going insane.
She'd checked everything so carefully, eliminated every possible risk, just so she could vent freely and feel safe up here.
And before she could even finish venting, her true nature was laid bare.
And when she looked closely—
Wasn't this damn idiot Asakusa Tetsu?!
That lunatic who sold recording pens everywhere, the infamous freshman psycho.
Exposing herself in front of him...
...Wasn't that basically the same as stripping naked in public?!
If it had been a staff member, it'd still be better. They didn't really interact with students, probably wouldn't even know who she was, let alone spread it.
But it had to be a fellow freshman!!!
That was the worst possible outcome.
...No, even staff seeing it would be bad.
But fellow students were definitely worse.
What should she do? What could she do? What was she supposed to do?!
Her mind raced.
She'd added Asakusa as a contact before—smiling brightly, acting friendly, becoming his "friend."
He knew her masked persona.
If she pretended nothing happened and left, rumors about her would spread later.
If she wanted to shut him up, she had to use unconventional methods.
For example—
Threaten him first, before he could threaten her.
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