After finishing his bout with Tomitsuka, Tatsuya made his way through the school building. He had already finished his share of the Student Council's work. Whenever he tried to offer a hand with the remaining tasks, he was met with the stubbornly protective gazes of Miyuki and Azusa, who flatly refused his help. Left with no other choice, he decided to spend his time in the library, much as he had done during his days on the Disciplinary Committee.
However, Tatsuya possessed a constitution that seemed to act as a magnetic pull for misfortune; the universe rarely permitted him a peaceful afternoon. (As for who exactly was doing the permitting, he decided not to dwell on it.)
"Ah, Shiba-senpai!"
"Hm?"
Tatsuya stopped and turned as a female student called out to him, running from the direction of the Robot Club's garage.
"Kasumi? Are you on patrol?"
"I just thought I'd take a different route than usual today," she replied, catching her breath.
"There are no set rules for the Disciplinary Committee's patrol routes. I don't see an issue with that."
"Right. Though I have to say, I was surprised to run into Shippou when I changed my path."
"Shippou?"
Tatsuya hadn't expected the boy, who had practically bolted from the training hall earlier, to be in that area. Of course, Tatsuya wasn't the type to pry into why he was there.
"Senpai, do you have a moment?"
"I don't have any pressing business... Is there something you need?"
Tatsuya couldn't think of a suitable excuse on the fly, and since he really didn't have anything better to do, he answered honestly. However, seeing the look that bloomed on Kasumi's face, he immediately wondered if he had made a tactical error.
"Your reputation for CAD tuning has become a legend even among us freshmen," Kasumi said, her eyes sparkling. "If you have the time, I was wondering if you'd take a look at mine. My sister still has the CAD you tuned for her on display in her room like it's a trophy."
"I don't recall 'tuning' the President's CAD... Oh, right. That."
He remembered now. During the last Nine Schools Competition, he had cleared out some residual "noise" in the software of Mayumi's CAD. He wasn't sure if that technically qualified as a "tuning," but it was the only thing he could think of.
"We have engineers under contract at home, of course," Kasumi continued, "but my sister seems to think she can perform better with a CAD you've touched than with anything the professionals produce."
"If the Saegusa family employs them, I imagine those engineers are top-tier professionals," Tatsuya noted.
"I think it's just proof of how incredible your skills are. I'd really like to experience it for myself... pretty please?"
"If it's just a simple adjustment. You're on the committee, so you should have your CAD with you. Do you want to do it now?"
"Yes, please!"
Tatsuya was struck by the sheer intensity of her response. Once again, the thought crossed his mind: I might have messed up.
At First High, no special permission is required for CAD tuning. As long as you have authorization to use the adjustment machines, anyone can do it. Normally, these labs are packed after school, but today was Saturday. Very few students were willing to linger on campus this late by choice.
"Alright, put the headset on. I'm going to take some measurements."
"Okaaay!"
(Is she... regressing?) Tatsuya wondered.
At school, Kasumi usually used the feminine 'watashi' and wore a polite veneer—though not as thick as Izumi's. Now that she was alone with Tatsuya, that mask was starting to crack, leading to a tone that felt strangely childlike to him.
"...You can take it off now."
"Whew. That always makes me so nervous."
Removing the headset, Kasumi moved behind Tatsuya to peer over his shoulder at the monitor, rolling her neck to work out the tension. To her credit, she managed to keep from gasping aloud.
(What is this? Shouldn't there be graphs? Usually, when they tune my gear at home, I see data charts... what are all these numbers?)
Kasumi didn't immediately recognize the scrolling data as her own. However, she was a top student in her own right, and it only took a few moments of study for the reality to sink in.
(If these are my specs... then Shiba-senpai can read my abilities directly from raw numbers without needing a graph. That's... that's not 'high school' level. That's insane.)
The strings of digits suddenly froze. Without a moment's hesitation, Tatsuya's fingers began to fly across the keyboard with terrifying speed. Windows opened and closed in a blur; Tatsuya didn't even seem to be looking at the monitor anymore, his focus entirely on the mechanical virtuosity of his typing.
(This speed... and it's a total manual adjustment. I see why Mayumi-nee got so worked up... just who is this guy? He's definitely not just some 'ordinary student'...)
"...Sumi."
"Huh?"
"Kasumi. I'm finished."
"O-Oh! Thank you!"
Startled out of her trance, Kasumi took the CAD back with more flustered energy than necessary. But her embarrassment evaporated the moment she activated a magic sequence.
"The activation... it's faster than usual. And the mental load is practically non-existent!"
"Everything seems to be in order?"
"Yes! Senpai, I'm actually moved! Boku, I'm seriously impressed!"
"...Boku?"
"Ah!"
Tatsuya knew that Kasumi's true first-person pronoun was the boyish 'boku', but he had merely noted that she hadn't used it with him until now. Kasumi, however, was mortified. She felt as though she had accidentally stripped off her "polite girl" costume right in front of him.
"Hey, Senpai! Would you come over to my house after this? I want you to tune every single CAD I own!"
"...I'm just a student, Kasumi. Going to a private residence to perform adjustments is something I should wait to do until I have a professional license."
"But with your skills, you could get a license tomorrow! If it's a problem, I'll just ask my dad to pull some strings and get you one!"
"... (That level of pushiness... she really is the President's sister.)"
Kasumi was so caught up in her excitement that she hadn't even realized she was clinging to Tatsuya's arm. Her entire being was focused on her request.
"I tell you what. If you bring your other CADs to school another time, I'll look at them for you."
"Really?! It's a promise! You have to keep it, okay?!"
A few days later, a female student would overhear only that last sentence and jump to a massive conclusion. Rumors would spread like wildfire that "Saegusa-san from Class C confessed to Shiba-senpai," and a literal blizzard of jealousy would rip through the Student Council room—a memory the officers would never be able to erase.
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