Class 1-B had successfully secured a legal loophole against the school's unreasonable trap of drastically changing the exam scope — obtaining past exam papers.
Since that day, the after-school study sessions held in the library and empty classrooms had become a major event attended by nearly the entire class.
It was early May.
The day's study session had just settled down, and a few students were chatting casually when—
"…Um, Ichinose-san. There's something I want to talk about…"
Several girls from the class gathered around Honami Ichinose with uneasy expressions.
"Hm? What's wrong? Did something happen?"
"Yeah… Recently, some boys from Class C have been harassing us a little… They deliberately bump into us when passing by, and say really nasty things…"
The atmosphere in the room instantly tightened.
Kanzaki and Shibata stopped talking and looked seriously toward the girls.
Ichinose frowned and folded her arms worriedly.
"Why would they do something like that…? If we ignore it, it might escalate."
For Ichinose, who valued the peace of the class above all else, malicious interference from another class was not something she could overlook.
However, beside me, one girl quietly lowered her face.
—Hiyori Shiina.
She was probably feeling deeply guilty that students from her former class, Class C, were causing trouble for the classmates she now considered companions.
(…Hiyori. There's absolutely no reason for you to blame yourself.)
Seeing the angel beside me looking dejected caused a quiet—but fierce—flame of anger to ignite inside me.
Anything that made Hiyori sad had to be eliminated from this world.
Those Class C delinquents were probably trying to wear down Class B mentally through petty harassment, but did they really think such third-rate tactics would work in front of me?
(Alright. I'll teach Ichinose and the others some concrete countermeasures. Always move around in groups so they can't isolate anyone. And if anything happens, immediately record it with your phones and gather evidence to present to the school!)
I slowly stood up and looked down at Ichinose and the others as I spoke.
"—There is no need to grieve. Hyenas lurking in the darkness instinctively prey upon pitiful sheep separated from the flock… Therefore, never walk alone through the shadows."
"""...Uh?"""
Ichinose and the girls froze in perfect unison.
Yeah. I was used to this by now.
"And rather than merely trembling in fear, carry within your hands a 'mirror that captures truth.' Drag the moment they surrender to their desires into the light, and press the blade against their throats so they can never rise again."
(WHY DOES IT ALWAYS SOUND LIKE I'M A TERRORIST?! "Press the blade against their throats"?! I JUST MEAN RECORD THEM WITH YOUR PHONES!!)
As expected, the girls recoiled in terror.
"H-He's planning murder…"
But fortunately, we had the strongest translator alive.
"…Ichinose-san."
Hiyori raised her face slightly and smiled gently.
"Sousuke-kun is saying this:
'If you walk around alone, you'll become easy targets, so always move in groups. And if they harass you, immediately use your devices to record audio or video so you can collect solid evidence to submit to the school.'"
"""...!!"""
After hearing Hiyori's flawless translation, Ichinose and the others brightened immediately.
"I see!!"
Kanzaki nodded deeply.
"Indeed. No matter how cunning their traps are, if they know evidence can be gathered, they won't be able to recklessly bare their fangs. …As expected of Aizen. A precise move."
Hiyori also smiled proudly.
Not only was she happy that her translation had helped the class, but more importantly, she was happy that Sousuke had acted to protect Class B.
Thus, Class B officially adopted the defensive rule of "moving in groups and recording incidents with their devices."
A few days later, in mid-May, after the harassment from Class C had calmed down—
Hiyori and I were studying in the back of the library together with the usual members of Class B.
Then—
"Oi oi, the failures from Class D are actually studying in the library? Don't try acting smarter than you are."
A vulgar, irritating voice tore through the quiet atmosphere.
Looking up from my book, I saw a Class C student named Yamawaki harassing another group studying nearby.
The ones being targeted were students from Class D.
A beautiful black-haired girl with a strong personality—Suzune Horikita.
A cheerful short-haired girl who seemed friendly with everyone—Kikyo Kushida.
And a red-haired delinquent-looking boy—Ken Sudou, along with Ike and Yamauchi.
"HAH!? What'd you say, bastard!? Say that again!!"
Provoked by Yamawaki's blatant taunt, the hot-blooded Sudou exploded in anger and kicked his chair back as he stood up.
His large hand grabbed Yamawaki by the collar.
"Oh? You wanna fight? Go ahead, delinquent boy. Start violence here and your precious Class D points will drop even further."
"You bastard…!!"
The atmosphere instantly became explosive.
A fight was about to break out in the library.
"Wait! Fighting is bad!"
Unable to ignore it, Ichinose immediately stood up and hurried between them.
As the leader of Class B and someone trusted by the teachers, Ichinose's firm attitude caused Yamawaki to click his tongue.
"…Tch. So the honor student from Class B shows up. Fine, I'll let it go today. Try not to fail your exams and get expelled, losers."
Snorting mockingly at Sudou, Yamawaki left the library.
Sudou still looked furious while Ike and the others desperately tried calming him down.
After letting out a small sigh, Ichinose turned worriedly toward Kushida, whom she apparently knew.
"Kushida-san, are you okay? …Oh right, by the way, how's everyone doing with the new exam scope? The midterms had major changes in every subject, right?"
At that moment—
The atmosphere at Class D's table completely froze.
"…Eh? The exam scope changed…?"
Kushida stared blankly at Ichinose.
Sudou and the others also looked confused.
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
Apparently, their homeroom teacher still hadn't informed them about the changes.
"Eh? Wait, you seriously didn't know…?!"
"...!!"
The first person to react was Horikita.
Her face turned pale instantly as she abruptly stood up.
She must have immediately realized that her class had completely fallen into the school's trap.
"Ichinose-san…! Thank you for telling us!"
Stuffing her notebooks into her bag, Horikita sprinted out of the library.
She was undoubtedly heading off to confront the teacher or devise countermeasures.
(What's with all the noise…? Has Class D been abandoned by their teacher? Well, not my problem… Hm?)
Just as I was about to return to the study session—
I noticed someone.
At the corner of the chaotic table, sitting more inconspicuously than anyone else, was a single boy quietly observing everything while holding a pen.
Brown hair.
Eyes as hollow and emotionless as the deep sea.
Though he acted indifferent to everything around him, his very presence suggested he perfectly understood the entire situation.
(...!?)
My heart pounded violently.
There was no way I could mistake him.
I remembered that face clearly.
(Kiyotaka!! KIYOTAKA'S HERE!! Seriously!? He got out of the White Room too!?)
Back in that insane white facility, he was the only person who could match me in talent.
The "old friend" who once exchanged words with me across a chessboard.
I had never forgotten the lonely look in his eyes on the day I was expelled from the facility.
(Thank goodness…! So he safely made it into the outside world too! And he even enrolled in the same school!? That's way too much fate at work!! I need to go talk to him right now! Just say, "Long time no see! How've you been!?")
Filled with excitement and emotion, I stood up and walked directly toward him—
Kiyotaka Ayanokoji.
As I approached, Yamauchi and Ike stiffened in fear.
Naturally.
Aizen Sousuke—a walking mass of intimidation—was heading straight toward their table without hesitation.
Even Ichinose looked surprised.
"Eh, Aizen-kun…?"
At the center of everyone's attention, I smiled my best smile—
—or rather, the cold smile of a Demon King—
and spoke.
"—What a coincidence, Kiyotaka."
My deep, calm, overwhelmingly arrogant voice echoed through the library.
"To think that you too had spread your wings from that white miniature garden into this world… To encounter you once more upon this chaotic game board…"
(AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!! I DID IT AGAIN!! WHY DOES A HEARTFELT REUNION WITH AN OLD FRIEND SOUND LIKE THE FINAL BOSS APPEARING!? WHY CAN'T I JUST SAY "Long time no see, how've you been?" LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!?)
Sudou and the others looked utterly bewildered.
"…White miniature garden?"
"What's this guy even talking about?"
"He knows Ayanokoji…? And what's with that insane pressure…?"
However—
Kiyotaka Ayanokoji alone did not react.
He stared back at me with those hollow eyes while calmly analyzing the situation internally.
(…So he finally approached me. Aizen Sousuke.)
Without changing his expression even slightly, Ayanokoji thought:
(I had a bad feeling since the entrance ceremony… But using the phrase "white miniature garden" in public to hint at my past was clearly intentional. Should I interpret this as intimidation… no, a declaration of war? I don't know whether this man is an assassin sent to drag me back or if he has some other objective, but… I can't afford to slip up here.)
Quietly exhaling, Ayanokoji maintained the façade of an ordinary high school student while completely misunderstanding my intentions.
"Yeah… Long time no see, Sousuke. I didn't expect to meet you here either."
(OOOOOOHHHH!! HE ANSWERED ME!! AND NORMALLY TOO!! Just like old times—still quiet and cool!! He's not even shaken by my poems. As expected of you, Kiyotaka!!)
Tears of joy welled up inside me as I looked down at him and spoke.
"…Fufu. Seeing that unchanged gaze of yours alone is enough to satisfy me for today. …However."
I smoothly took out my phone.
(Since we reunited, let's exchange contact info! We should hang out sometime!)
Excited beyond belief, my brain unconsciously generated another overly stylish phrase.
"—Until the next time we face each other across the board, I would like a means for our words to meet within silence… Will you connect with me through an invisible thread?"
An absurdly dramatic poem asking for contact information.
The surrounding students recoiled in horror.
"An invisible thread…? Is that some kind of curse?"
"That's terrifying…"
Meanwhile, Ayanokoji calmly took out his own device.
(Exchanging contact information… huh. If I refuse, he may expose more White Room information here. Is he planning to act friendly on the surface while monitoring me behind the scenes? …This is becoming troublesome.)
"…Alright. I don't mind."
Ping.
Their devices connected, and the contact exchange was completed.
The moment I saw the words "Kiyotaka Ayanokoji" displayed on my screen, my heart danced with joy.
"…Thank you, Kiyotaka. Let us speak again someday beyond the veil of silence."
I gracefully turned my back and returned to Hiyori and the others.
What remained behind was an overwhelmingly bizarre scene:
A man radiating terrifying presence walking away elegantly—
and a completely unmotivated-looking boy from Class D who had calmly faced him without fear.
"…Sousuke-kun. Did you know that person?"
"Yes… He is a man with whom I once gazed upon the same sky long ago."
Answering Hiyori's question, I carefully placed my phone back into my pocket.
The reunion between a genius expelled from the White Room and its greatest masterpiece.
One side viewed it as a joyful reunion with an old friend to enjoy school life together.
The other viewed it as the arrival of the most dangerous assassin capable of destroying him.
And so, with the angel named Hiyori at his side, the reincarnated Aizen Sousuke unknowingly reconnected his strange fate with the "true monster" lurking within the Advanced Nurturing High School.