At the same time…
Inside the faculty office.
Lunch break had begun, giving the teachers a brief chance to relax.
Class D’s homeroom teacher, Sae Chabashira, sat at her desk typing on her computer without pause.
Nearby, the English teacher, Satoshi Mashima, spoke in his usual calm voice.
“Chabashira-sensei.”
“I taught Class 1-D during fourth period today.”
Without looking away from her monitor, Chabashira answered flatly.
“If you’re here to report how disorderly my class is, save your breath.”
“They’ll learn their lesson in about a month.”
Mashima frowned slightly.
As an educator, he could never agree with such a hands-off approach.
“This year’s Class D certainly has more difficult students than usual.”
He paused.
“But one student stood out.”
“Kaoru Hanayama.”
Mashima took a sip of coffee.
“There are qualities in him that deserve recognition.”
“Oh?”
A cheerful voice suddenly cut into the conversation.
“So we’re talking about Class D?”
“Did Mashima-sensei just compliment one of Sae-chan’s students?”
“I’ve got to hear this.”
The newcomer was Chie Hoshinomiya, the homeroom teacher of Class 1-B.
She approached with her usual playful smile.
Chabashira barely spared her a glance.
“You’re being naïve, Hoshinomiya.”
“You’ve seen his entrance exam scores.”
“His academic evaluation is below E.”
“He couldn’t even handle basic calculations.”
“He’s exactly why he’s in Class D.”
“A deeply flawed student.”
Mashima quietly shook his head.
“Academic ability isn’t the only measure of a person.”
“Sometimes…”
“A teacher should trust their students a little more.”
“Exactly!”
Hoshinomiya laughed as she casually draped her arms around Chabashira’s shoulders from behind.
“Mashima-sensei understands.”
“You’re always so cold, Sae-chan.”
Her tone remained playful.
But beneath the smile…
Her eyes were unusually sharp.
“Still…”
“What if one of those ‘defective’ students suddenly grew into someone capable of threatening Class A?”
“Wouldn’t that make you happy?”
For the first time during the conversation…
Chabashira’s fingers paused over the keyboard.
Only for an instant.
Then they resumed typing.
Without turning around, she answered quietly.
“Pointless fantasies.”
“Go bother someone else.”
5:00 p.m.
Students steadily streamed toward the First Gymnasium for the club orientation.
Among the crowd…
At nearly two meters tall, he rose above almost everyone around him.
Without anyone saying a word, students instinctively stepped aside to let him pass.
Walking a short distance beside him…
Was Suzune Horikita.
She spoke first.
“…Don’t misunderstand.”
“I’m not here because of you.”
“I intended to attend this orientation from the beginning.”
“I want to learn more about this school’s hidden rules.”
Hanayama glanced at her.
Behind her composed expression…
He sensed something else.
A faint nervousness.
Anxiety.
Her calm demeanor felt just a little forced.
(She’s putting on a brave face.)
Hanayama noticed immediately.
But he had no intention of exposing it.
Mocking someone else’s weakness wasn’t the conduct of a man.
“I know.”
That was all he said.
The simple response caught Horikita off guard.
She had expected an argument.
Instead…
Silence.
The two continued walking side by side.
The First Gymnasium was already crowded.
Representatives from every athletic and cultural club stood beside colorful recruitment booths.
Excited conversations echoed everywhere.
“Come check out the tennis club!”
“The basketball team is recruiting!”
“I wonder if there are any cute upperclassmen.”
The gymnasium buzzed with energy.
Hanayama quietly observed the surroundings.
Like a massive tree rooted firmly in the earth…
He simply watched.
Then…
A man stepped onto the stage.
Instantly…
The atmosphere changed.
He didn’t raise a microphone.
He didn’t shout for silence.
He merely stood there.
His sharp eyes slowly swept across the crowd.
One by one…
The conversations stopped.
Within seconds…
The gymnasium fell completely silent.
“I am…”
“Manabu Horikita.”
“President of the Student Council.”
His voice wasn’t loud.
Yet every student heard it clearly.
“…Impressive.”
Anyone could silence people through fear.
But this young man had subdued an entire gymnasium through nothing but presence.
(With a few more years of experience…)
(He could command an organization.)
Among the Hanayama-gumi…
Someone with that level of composure could easily become a trusted lieutenant.
Perhaps even rise higher.
For Hanayama…
That was extraordinarily high praise.
Onstage, Manabu calmly explained the school’s club system.
He discussed recruitment procedures.
Student council activities.
Responsibilities.
Rules.
Everything was delivered clearly and efficiently.
As Hanayama listened…
Something at the edge of his vision caught his attention.
Standing nearby…
Suzune Horikita had gone completely still.
She stared fixedly at the student council president.
Her hands had unconsciously clenched the hem of her skirt.
Her knuckles had turned white.
It wasn’t admiration.
Nor simple respect.
It was something much deeper.
Something painful.
(…They’re siblings.)
The shared surname had already suggested it.
Now…
Hanayama was certain.
There was history between them.
A complicated one.
Whatever had happened…
It wasn’t something that should be pried into.
“…”
Hanayama remained silent.
Everyone carried wounds they preferred to keep hidden.
A person’s private pain wasn’t something another had the right to expose.
If someone wished to speak…
They would do so themselves.
Until then…
Respecting their silence was the only proper course.
That was Kaoru Hanayama’s code.
Eventually, Manabu concluded his speech.
The club representatives stepped forward.
Immediately, the tense atmosphere disappeared.
The gymnasium once again filled with excited voices.
Only then did Suzune slowly release her grip on her skirt.
She quietly let out the breath she had been holding.
Hanayama pretended not to notice.
Rolling his broad shoulders, he cracked his neck.
“Now then…”
He looked toward the rows of club booths.
“Let’s see…”
“Which upperclassman is the easiest to talk to.”
Leaving Horikita to collect herself, Hanayama calmly walked toward the bustling recruitment area, intent on gathering information in his own way.