The vibrant, chaotic energy of a post-holiday school morning saturated the air of Toyogasaki Private Academy's First-Year G Class classroom. The air buzzed not with academic fervor, but with the shared relief and residual excitement of students reuniting after the extended Golden Week break.
"Ohayou gozaimasu!""Morning!""How was your Golden Week?""It was amazing! Went to my grandparents' place in the countryside!""Hahaha… Mine too! My family went all the way to Nagano Prefecture! The sky there was so unbelievably blue, it felt fake!""Really? Sounds wonderful!""Ugh—! I'm so jealous! My family only did a two-day 'staycation' here in Tokyo… it barely felt like a break!""I… I went on a trip with my… my girlfriend…""BAKA!! YOU TRAITOR! DIE, DIE A THOUSAND DEATHS!!""Uwaa! D-Don't be like that! It's not a big deal…!""..."
The scene was a microcosm of the entire first-year floor. Every classroom echoed with similar shouts, laughter, and the clatter of exchanged stories and souvenirs. It was a universal ritual, the decompression after a shared period of freedom.
Amidst this cheerful din, Kasumigaoka Touji moved with purpose. He first presented small, thoughtfully chosen souvenirs to his immediate desk neighbors, Kumin Tsuyuri and Gotou Hitori, who accepted them with bright smiles and thanks. Then, picking up two remaining small, elegant gift bags, he made his way toward the back of the class where a distinctive head of blonde twin-tails sat.
"Sawamura-san, here. A small souvenir," he said, offering one of the bags.
Eriri Spencer Sawamura looked up, her expression instantly smoothing into a picture-perfect, refined young lady's smile.
"Ara, thank you very much, Kasumigaoka-kun." She accepted the gift with both hands, a gesture of impeccable grace.
A nearby girl, Girl A, leaned in with a gossipy twinkle in her eye. "Oho? Only for Sawamura-san? How special~"
Kasumigaoka Touji chuckled, unfazed. "Not at all. Everyone in the club is getting one. I've still got to deliver the others, so I'll be on my way."
With a casual wave, he turned and slipped out of the classroom, leaving a faint trail of whispered curiosity in his wake.
"…Kasumigaoka-kun really is something else, isn't he?" sighed Girl B, her gaze following him out the door. "Talented, handsome, humble, and generous to his friends… the complete package."
She then crossed her arms, adopting a thoughtful, almost analytical pose as she turned her scrutiny to Eriri.
"It's just a shame he's already… occupied. And by two stunning girls, no less. Really cuts down the chances for the rest of us… Though," she mused, her eyes cataloging Eriri's features, "if someone like Sawamura-san made a move, she might just have a shot."
Her mental checklist ticked off: Blonde twin-tails—check. Impeccably fair, porcelain-like skin—check. Delicate, doll-like features with those occasional, charming glimpses of small fangs—check. And the pièce de résistance, the 'rare' and potentially niche flat-chested attribute! A unique selling point that his other two girlfriends decidedly did not possess!
It could work… or maybe not, she pondered. After all, his known preferences seem to lean toward the… generously proportioned. Both of them are in the 'super' category. A true connoisseur of the bust, perhaps.
Thankfully, Eriri Spencer Sawamura was blissfully unaware of this internal market analysis. Hearing the tail end of the comment, she simply smiled and waved a dismissive hand.
"Ishimaki-san, please, no matchmaking. I have absolutely zero interest in him in that way. We are simply friends and clubmates." As she spoke, she opened the gift bag. Inside was a distinctive white box. "Ah, Shiroi Koibito? This is a Hokkaido specialty. Did Kasumigaoka-kun travel there during the break?"
"Those are famous! And pricey," Girl A remarked, peeking at the elegant cookies.
"Mm," Eriri confirmed casually, pulling out a pack. "His parents relocated there for work. He went to visit them over Golden Week."
The nonchalant way she divulged this personal information caused both of her friends to blink in surprise.
'You even know details like that?' their expressions screamed, though they held their tongues.
"Here, have some," Eriri said generously, breaking open the box and handing each girl a pack of the delicate white chocolate cookies.
"Eh? We get some too?""Arigato, Sawamura-san!"
****
Meanwhile, Kasumigaoka Touji had already navigated the bustling hallway to another first-year classroom. He stopped outside the window of Class F, First Year. Kato Megumi's seat was conveniently located on the aisle side, fourth from the front. The window was slid open, allowing the spring breeze and hallway noise to filter in. Inside, the girl was focused on her smartphone, her expression one of serene concentration.
Rather than call out, Kasumigaoka Touji raised a hand, aiming to give her shoulder a gentle poke. However, as if sensing a shift in the air, Kato Megumi chose that exact moment to glance toward the window. Her large, typically placid eyes widened in a flicker of surprise at seeing him there.
"Yo!" Kasumigaoka Touji recovered without a hint of embarrassment, transforming the aborted poke into a casual four-fingered wave. He then presented the remaining gift bag with a calm smile. "Souvenir. From Hokkaido."
"Arigato gozaimasu." Kato Megumi turned fully in her seat, accepting the bag with both hands. She looked up at him, her voice maintaining its characteristically light, almost airy quality. "But why did Kasumigaoka-kun bring it over yourself?"
She already knew from their group chat that a souvenir was coming; the method of delivery was the surprise.
"Well, I was handing them out to everyone else, so I figured I'd drop yours off on the way," he explained, shrugging. He ignored the few curious glances from her classmates that their interaction had drawn. "I should head back. Homeroom's about to start."
"Okay. Take care." Her moist, dark eyes followed him as he walked back down the corridor, not looking away until he turned the corner and vanished from sight.
****
Back in his own classroom, the atmosphere was still one of relaxed holiday chatter. That is, until the bell for the first period rang.
It was supposed to be math. The textbooks were out, and minds were reluctantly shifting gears.
But then, a palpable shift occurred. A wave of low pressure seemed to roll down the hall and into the room, preceded by the sharp, familiar click of heels on linoleum. The cheerful noise in Class G died an instant, suffocated death.
All eyes turned to the door as their homeroom teacher, Kojima Kana, entered. Her expression was its usual stern mask, a file folder tucked under one arm, and—ominously—a small, unadorned metal lockbox in her hand.
A collective, silent question hung in the air: Why is Kojima-sensei here? First period is math!
They held onto the faint hope she was merely passing through. That hope was brutally extinguished as she strode purposefully to the teacher's podium and set the metal box down with a decisive clack.
"Is the class present and accounted for?" Kojima Kana's voice cut through the silence, her hawk-like gaze sweeping across the room. That single look was enough to scour away any lingering holiday laziness, replacing it with a sharp, attentive dread.
"Good. First order of business." She opened her folder. "Takahashi Yako, Akizuki Yuna, and Inohara Miyako from our class have transferred to other schools due to personal circumstances." Her eyes flicked to the three conspicuously empty desks. Murmurs of understanding rippled through the class.
So that's why they weren't here this morning.
"Second order of business…"
She paused, letting the anticipation build for a deadly second before delivering the one-two punch.
"Prior to the commencement of the monthly exams, we will be conducting a seat change."
A beat of confused silence.
Then—"Monthly exams?!""We're having exams now?!"
The outcry was instantaneous. A monthly exam, announced without warning, right after a major holiday? It felt like a tactical ambush!
"That is correct," Kojima Kana confirmed, utterly unmoved by the wave of student despair. "For the next two days, regular classes are suspended. You will be taking your monthly examinations."
She tapped the metal box.
"Now, for the seat change. We will draw lots. Takada-kun," she said, looking at a boy seated near the door, "you will begin. The person whose number you draw will come up next to draw, and so on until all seats are reassigned. Takada, please come forward."
"H-Hai!" The named boy, Takada Shun, stood up nervously and approached the podium. He reached into the proffered box, fingers fumbling slightly before pulling out a tightly folded slip of paper. He unfolded it.
"Number… 17."
Kojima Kana's eyes scanned the seating chart in her mind. "Number 17. Kani-san. Please come up."
From her seat, Kani Nayuta, who had been secretly, fervently praying to every deity she could think of for the chance to sit next to Kasumigaoka Touji this time, froze. Her eyes went wide.
Already?! She was the first one drawn? Swallowing her surprise, she stood up and made her way to the front, her heart a mix of disappointment and nervous anticipation for the lottery of fate that was about to decide her new academic neighbor. The post-holiday reprieve was officially, and ruthlessly, over.