The old school building under the setting sun stood silently at the edge of the campus, like a giant skeleton abandoned by time.
Natsukawa Sosuke stepped on the fallen leaves covering the ground as he entered the space.
At the end of the corridor, a figure could be vaguely seen leaning against the wall with hands in his pockets, seemingly having waited for a long time.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.
"Did you call me here for something?"
"Sorry, sorry. The study group ran a bit late."
"After all, as you know, that's my job."
Ayanokoji didn't take the bait, simply looking at him calmly. "So, is there some hidden secret for calling me to a godforsaken place like this at this hour? If it's to celebrate everyone passing the midterms, I think it's better to have a drink at the dorms."
"We can have drinks anytime."
Natsukawa cracked his neck, producing a series of soft pops. He took off his uniform jacket, tossed it aside, and began unbuttoning his cuffs, rolling up his sleeves bit by bit.
"I've been feeling a bit rusty lately, so I wanted to find someone to spar with."
He looked up, his eyes burning as he stared at Ayanokoji.
"Ayanokoji, be my sparring partner."
"..."
Ayanokoji was silent for two seconds, and then a look of confusion appeared on his usually expressionless face.
"Sparring? You mean fighting?"
He shook his head, his tone flat.
"Then you've found the wrong person. I'm just an ordinary person with no special talents other than being a bit fast. I know nothing about violent things like martial arts. If you're looking for a punching bag, I think Sudo would be more than happy to oblige."
"An ordinary person, huh..."
Natsukawa Sosuke smiled.
He took a step forward, and the pressure he had been hiding beneath his lazy exterior was released without reservation at that moment.
"Ayanokoji, if you're truly an ordinary person, then I'm afraid there are no monsters in this world."
"Still acting? Your reaction speed and endurance back in the forest weren't something you could fake."
"That's just the result of daily exercise." Ayanokoji remained unmoved, even turning to leave. "If you only called me here for such boring speculation, then I'm going back."
Watching the figure turn to leave, Natsukawa Sosuke didn't stop him, but simply uttered a single phrase unhurriedly.
"White Room."
In that instant.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, who was in the middle of walking away, abruptly froze mid-step.
It was as if the air had been sucked out of the room in that second.
The disguise known as 'mediocrity' that had been draped over him vanished without a trace.
Ayanokoji slowly turned around.
Those dead-fish eyes that were always half-open no longer held their usual laziness and dullness; instead, they were replaced by a bottomless darkness.
"...Where did you hear that term?"
His voice remained steady, but his tone dropped to freezing point.
'So this is the pressure of the masterpiece? It's really no joke.'
He marveled inwardly, yet he maintained that profound and mysterious smile on his face.
"Don't look at me like that, it's quite scary."
Natsukawa shrugged, naturally shifting the blame.
"I didn't find this out myself. Someone took the initiative to tell me."
"Who?"
"The little princess of Class A, Sakayanagi Arisu."
Natsukawa Sosuke leaned against the wall and began his performance.
"That young lady sought me out during the summer break. She seems to have a near-pathological obsession with you."
"She said she once saw you through the glass in that White Room when she was a child. You are the only successful product of that place, a so-called artificial genius."
"Over the years, she has kept you in her thoughts, wanting to see you again and defeat you with her own hands, just to prove that a so-called 'genius' can overcome an 'artificial creation'."
"So, she asked me to create a stage to force you to go all out, so she could have an unreserved confrontation with you."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka listened quietly; the hostility in his eyes receded, but his vigilance did not fade.
"Sakayanagi Arisu..."
He searched for the name in his mind.
"I have no memory of her. Nor do I recall seeing such a person when I was a child."
"Furthermore," Ayanokoji looked at Natsukawa, "I have no interest in her challenge. I came here only to live an ordinary high school life. I don't want to be dragged into such a boring conflict."
"So, are you telling me this because you plan to use this secret to threaten me? To make me your muscle?"
"No, no, no, of course not."
Natsukawa Sosuke waved his hand, the smile on his face becoming a bit more sincere.
"As I said before, we're friends. Good friends should help each other."
"I just want to find a sparring partner to brush up on my rusty skills and improve my self-defense. In exchange, I'll help you take care of the trouble on Sakayanagi's end. How about it?"
"I don't need it."
Ayanokoji's refusal was blunt.
He put his hands back in his pockets, returning to his indifferent demeanor.
"As long as I ignore her, there's nothing she can do. In this school, as long as I don't break the rules, no one can force me to do anything. As for the so-called secret... as long as I don't admit it, it's just a rumor."
"Is that so?"
Natsukawa Sosuke looked at his stubborn attitude, and the curve of his lips widened slightly.
It seemed that the Sakayanagi card alone wasn't enough. He needed to apply some stronger medicine.
"Ayanokoji, do you think that just by hiding in this completely enclosed school, you're safe? That you can escape that man's control?"
Ayanokoji's gaze froze once more.
"Do you know why that little princess is so sure you'll accept the challenge?"
Natsukawa lowered his voice. "Because not long ago, a man named 'Ayanokoji Atsuomi' has been trying to contact the school authorities, wanting to have someone... expelled by force."
"You should know better than I do who that is, right?"
"..."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's expression finally changed completely.
That name.
The name that had loomed over his entire childhood like a shadow. The person who created the White Room and viewed him as a tool.
"This school is under government jurisdiction and is highly isolated," Ayanokoji's voice remained calm, but his speaking speed increased slightly. "Without a legitimate reason, even a guardian cannot arbitrarily have a student expelled. Unless the student themselves agrees, or they seriously violate school rules."
"That applies to 'ordinary people'."
"But your old man is no ordinary person. To get you back, he'll use any means necessary."
"And..."
Natsukawa threw out his final trump card.
"What if Sakayanagi Arisu, the Chairman's daughter, cooperates from the inside?"
"The Chairman's... daughter?"
Ayanokoji was stunned for a moment. This piece of information was indeed beyond his expectations.
If Sakayanagi Arisu really was the Chairman's daughter, then her claim of "seeing me when she was a child" had a logical explanation. To show off the results, that man might indeed have brought the children of high-ranking officials to visit.
"I see."
Ayanokoji lowered his head, his mind racing as he analyzed the current situation.
If that man really used political pressure, combined with the Chairman's daughter working from within... the school's "protective umbrella" probably wouldn't last much longer.
If he were forcibly expelled, the "ordinary life" he longed for would be completely shattered, which was not what he wanted.
"...How do you plan to help me?"
After a long while, Ayanokoji looked up. There was no longer any disguise in those eyes, only absolute rationality and calculation.
He admitted that in this round, Natsukawa had him cornered.
"It's simple."
"You should know your father's temperament; he'll likely take action within a month or two. He might even come straight to the school."
"On my end, I'll be responsible for stalling Sakayanagi Arisu. I'll make a deal with her, using her obsession with 'personally defeating you'."
"When that man tries to force a negotiation with the school to demand your expulsion, I'll persuade Sakayanagi to ask her father, the Chairman, to step in and protect you at all costs."
"For Sakayanagi, if your father takes you away, her 'toy' will be gone. To settle the score with you, she will definitely use her father's power to counter your father's pressure."
"You can persuade Sakayanagi?" Ayanokoji was somewhat skeptical.
"I have my ways."
Ayanokoji was silent for a moment.
He was weighing the pros and cons.
Although he had thought of several methods in these few minutes, if what Natsukawa said was true, using the Chairman's authority to counter external pressure was indeed the simplest and most effective defense.
And the price... was just to spar with this man?
This deal was indeed worth it.
"...I understand."
Ayanokoji nodded, his eyes returning to their calm state.
"If you can do what you promised, I agree to the small matter of helping you train. But if you dare to lie to me..."
"Deal. Don't worry, why would I lie to a good friend? You have to trust my character."
Natsukawa Sosuke snapped his fingers.
"Well then, there's no time like the present."
He assumed a starting stance for Long Fist,
"Come on, Ayanokoji, come at me head-on. Let me see just how powerful the killing techniques taught in that so-called White Room really are."
"...I don't know any killing techniques."
Ayanokoji sighed, but he didn't make any extra moves, just standing there and letting Natsukawa take the initiative to attack.
"But I'll try my best... not to send you to the infirmary."