"It really is wonderful, being invited to join a band like that."
Masao raised a knowing eyebrow at Hitori. She squirmed in her seat, her gaze fixed anywhere but on him.
"It's... it's fine, I suppose."
"So why didn't you just say yes?"
"Well, I..."
He didn't let her finish. "You froze up, didn't you? Too nervous to form the words."
Hitori's eyes went wide. 'How did he know?'
"Right now, you're thinking, 'How did he know?'" Masao said, his voice flat.
Her jaw went slack. 'He knows again! Can he read minds?'
"And now you're wondering if I can read minds."
A lopsided, almost predatory grin spread across his face. "Shocked? Want to know my secret?"
Hitori could only manage a mute nod.
"It's simple, Bocchi-chan. You're an open book. Every single emotion plays out right there on your face. I can read you perfectly. You don't have a single secret from me."
Combined with his sharp features and that smirk, his words painted him as a complete villain. Hitori instinctively shrank back, a cocktail of fear and vulnerability tightening in her chest.
'I feel completely seen. It's terrifying.'
All she wanted was to vanish—to find a dark, cramped closet and disappear from the intensity of his eyes.
"Thinking of hiding? Your stop isn't for a while yet. No escape for you."
As he leaned in slightly, Hitori could only shake her head, her large, watery eyes pleading for mercy.
——
Finally, the automated voice announced Shuka University Station.
Hitori burst from the train cart, her face red, her uniform slightly rumpled, and her whole being radiating flustered panic.
"Bocchi-chan," Masao called after her, his tone shifting to something almost gentle. "Ijichi (Nijika) and the others will ask again. Try to say yes next time, okay? And... you can call me. If you need to. We are friends, after all."
The word friends gave her pause.
Even if this friend was weird, a bully who took delight in her discomfort… he was her only one. Maybe… maybe it would be okay to ask for help someday?
She offered a tiny, hurried nod before scrambling onto the platform and away.
——
Masao headed home first, swapping his casual clothes for his own high school uniform and grabbing his bag.
When he arrived at his school, the clock read 8:30—a full thirty minutes before homeroom. He shook his head with a wry smile.
No wonder teenagers here have time to save the world. They're practically swimming in free time.
The campus grounds buzzed with a distinct energy. It took him a moment to place it: midterm results.
Following the chattering students, he made his way to the large display board in the main corridor. His eyes skimmed down the ranked list. A satisfied smile touched his lips.
——
Across the city, at the elite Shuchi'in Academy, the same ritual was unfolding. In a place where pedigree and performance were everything, exam rankings were a serious event.
The student council members were among the first to the board.
Miyuki Shirogane's eyes scanned the list with laser focus, finding his name.
[Miyuki Shirogane: 499]
'Not perfect.' A cold spike of panic. 'Where did I lose a point? I drank the coffee. I was alert. Was it the all-nighter? Did it finally catch up to me?'
His teeth found his lower lip as he searched for his crush/rival's score.
[Kaguya Shinomiya: 498]
A wave of relief, immediately followed by confusion. 'I won by one point. I kept the top spot... Wait. Is there a name above mine?'
Beside him, Kaguya Shinomiya was undergoing a similar, but far more violent, internal cascade.
'One point! Again! Forever trailing behind the president… Am I eternally destined to be second? ...Hold on.' Her blood ran cold. 'I am not second.'
It was at that moment she appeared.
"Wow! I got first place? That's so lucky! Hehehe!"
Chika Fujiwara practically glowed, an aura of literal sunshine and imaginary flowers seeming to burst around her.
Friends immediately swarmed, their congratulations warm and effusive.
"Oh, stop, it's nothing really!" Chika giggled, scratching the back of her head in a gesture of faux humility. "I just studied a teensy bit harder this time! Hehe!"
The atmosphere around Miyuki and Kaguya crystallized into something dark and heavy.
Miyuki's hands clenched into fists at his sides. 'I lost… to Fujiwara? Of course. She's a natural. I have to work harder. I have to—'
Kaguya's thoughts followed a different, darker path. Her eyes, fixed on Chika's beaming face, grew hollow and dead.
'Fujiwara. You "studied a teensy bit harder" and took the summit. What does that make all my sacrifice, all my meticulously scheduled hours? I was the one who tutored you. Is this my reward? You're nothing but a pampered, overperforming barnyard creature in a human suit. A cow with better grades and a bigger social circle. Just… explode.'
The intellectual defeat was absolute, and unacceptable. The carefully constructed world where effort yielded rightful reward shattered. A profound blackness swallowed her mind.
'Ah. Yes.' From the depths, a single, shining thread of malice emerged. A smile crept onto Kaguya's lips, so devoid of warmth it made the air around her seem to chill.
'Fujiwara-san has that… friend, doesn't she? Tanaka Masao. It's time the precious, innocent Fujiwara learned exactly who her little pen pal is. The moment the truth cracks that bubbly façade… I want to see it. I want to watch the light leave your eyes. Keh keh keh…'
From his shadowed corner, where he excelled at being overlooked, Ishigami caught a fleeting glimpse of that smile. A full-body shiver seized him.
'The Vice President is in a mood. Something terrible is going to happen here. I need to file for emergency leave. Immediately.'
——
During lunch break, Masao bounced his way toward the Service Club room with a careless tune on his lips.
He found Yukinoshita already there, seated with her characteristic perfect posture.
"Well, well," he said, leaning against the doorframe. "If it isn't the silver medalist herself. Should I start calling you Yukinoshita the Second from now on?"
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