After Housen and Nanase left, Yukio returned to the vending machines along the street, treated his class members to a drink, then sent them on their way.
Out of trust in their boss, nobody asked questions. After all of them promised to keep it quiet, they slung arms around each other and headed back to the dorms.
Only Ryuuen looked at Yukio and left him with a single line. "Tell me when the time's right."
Once everyone was gone for the night, Amasawa popped down from the treetop with a grin.
She landed lightly—no stumble, no wobble—steady as could be.
"Senpai, you were being so dramatic this time. What—were you trying to play hero under Housen's threat and save the damsel? Or were you just getting him to agree to team up with Second-year Class D, so Horikita-senpai and Matsushita-senpai could get through their crisis?"
Yukio didn't bother hiding it. "What else? Have you swap the knife for a similar-looking spring-loaded trick blade? Or secretly record it and deal with it later?"
"Sure, that would've made Housen go away—but it also would've wiped out Second-year Class D's chance to team up with First-year Class D for free."
"If Housen got kicked out, the leftover First-year Class D members might start demanding a few hundred thousand points before they'd help. Because I'd be the one who set that precedent."
"Hehe." Amasawa smacked her lips, like she'd just thought of something. "If you already planned it like that from the start, why'd you still have me team up with Sakura-senpai?"
"Now everything's playing out exactly how you designed it—Second-year Class D can just team with First-year Class D. Sakura-senpai wouldn't get left behind either."
"Simple." Yukio's eyes gleamed faintly under the moonlight. "I don't trust First-year Class D's academics."
"With you involved, there won't be any accidents."
"Aw, should I be touched? Honored?" Amasawa made a finger-gun and propped it under her chin. "My academics being trusted this much by senpai~"
"But wow, senpai—you look like such a respectable guy, and yet you're totally not honest. You had me go find teammates for two senpai… and now you're also backing up those same two senpai."
"Senpai, you're greedy~"
As she spoke, she swung that finger-gun around and shot at Yukio, like she was aiming at some serial heart-arsonist. With that mischievous look, it felt like her next line would be something like In the name of the moon, I'll punish you!
"Hm?" Yukio glanced at her little pose. Lately, this underclassman was getting a bit too bold. "You want to eat extra-concentrated wasabi dango again, is that it?"
"Quit messing around."
"Did Tsukishiro have anything he wanted you to pass on to me?"
Back when Amasawa had clung to him to play that three-color dango game, she'd promised she'd go ask Tsukishiro.
"Ehh~ senpai~ that's such a sneaky topic change." Amasawa dragged out her complaint, then recalled it. "Actually, right after that night, I went to see Chairman Tsukishiro."
"He seems pretty optimistic about you, senpai. When he heard it was your question, he answered right away—said that as long as we wait until this year's cultural festival, he'll speak frankly with you."
"Cultural festival?" Yukio froze.
Of course he knew what that was—an iconic event basically every school on Japan had.
But ANHS would have one too?
He'd been enrolled for a full academic year already. When he'd been a first-year last year, he'd never even heard of a cultural festival happening here.
There were no related records in the student council either. It was safe to say that since the school's founding, ANHS had never held anything like it.
"Yup!" Just mentioning it made Amasawa's eyes brighten—clearly full of anticipation.
And honestly, that tracked. A girl who got that excited over a silly three-color dango game—of course she'd be hyped about getting to experience a cultural festival for real.
Being trained in the White Room was basically house arrest. Fifteen years in a sealed, all-white facility, where the closest she got to a school festival was reading about it online or in books.
How badly she'd wanted it… only someone who'd come out of that place could truly understand.
"I heard Chairman Tsukishiro's the one pushing it through."
"Even if other staff think it's inappropriate—doesn't fit ANHS's rules about isolation from the outside—Tsukishiro's still pushing it no matter what. Sounds like it's been officially confirmed recently."
"Ahaha~ I'm gonna enjoy the hell out of it when the time comes."
"???" A few question marks practically popped up over Yukio's head.
He already knew Tsukishiro wasn't here for Ayanokoji Yuuji's orders—much less to drag Ayanokoji Kiyotaka away.
But… he came here just to run a cultural festival?
Wasn't that a little too absurd?
Still, if Tsukishiro said he'd reveal everything at the cultural festival, then Yukio would find out the full truth when it arrived.
"Oh, right, right." While Yukio was thinking, Amasawa suddenly lifted her right hand and bounced in front of him, asking cheerfully, "Senpai also said you were going to assign that gorilla Housen a second thing to do~"
"Can you tell your adorable kouhai what you want Housen doing next?"
"Heh. Sorry—no." Yukio already knew Amasawa's background. There was no way he'd casually tell her what he was planning.
Amasawa immediately pouted. "Why, why? I've let senpai push me around this whole time—doesn't that earn me your trust?"
That was… a pretty dangerous way to phrase it. Yukio's cheek twitched. "You 'let me push you around,' huh? Then why don't you tell me about your past?"
"Dame yo~ Digging into a girl's past is totally against the rules~" Amasawa blinked her dark-gold eyes, quietly on guard. Did Yukio-senpai… catch on to the White Room's existence?
To avoid looking guilty, she brushed him off while deliberately steering his attention elsewhere.
"But~"
She dragged out her voice again, and placed her hand on the hem of her pleated skirt.
"If senpai tells me that secret, then I might~"
Her small pale hand lifted the skirt hem—just a little, but higher and higher.
This wasn't even hinting anymore. It was basically a full-on announcement.
"No thanks." Yukio didn't even bother giving it a second glance. "I'm not interested in cartoon animals or the classic blue-and-white stripes."
"What?! Who'd wear something that childish? We're in high school—of course I've matured! I'm wearing the black hollow-lace kind with frilly trim!"
"Hm? Then let me take a look."
"Nope! Not happening!"
"Whatever. Don't shout so loud. Constantly yelling isn't a good look. I'll buy you a cup of black tea."
"Thanks, senpai~ Ah, right—black tea is fine. No sleepy-time, thanks."
"Tell that to the vending machine supplier."