"Sleepyhead, wake up! If you don't get up soon, the sun will be on your butt!"
Amane gently patted Sakayanagi's bottom.
Sakayanagi groggily opened her eyes.
Someone seemed to have called her just now.
As soon as her eyes opened, two terrifying things came into view.
"Cow?"
"What cow! It's Amane, Amane!"
Amane angrily pinched Sakayanagi's nose.
"Why are you here with me?"
Sakayanagi rubbed her face, trying to clear her head. The pain in her head seemed to make her recall something.
Last night, Amane, who she had pinned down, suddenly got up and bumped her forehead against hers.
Sakayanagi waited for a long time, but no new memories appeared.
It seemed she had been knocked out yesterday.
"No way? Arisu, did you lose your memory? That's great, ahem, I mean, what a pity. My name is Miyako Amane, Sakayanagi Arisu's most important person. So important that I'm allowed to do anything to you, like cuddling, kissing your little mouth, holding your little hand, and perverted things..."
"I haven't lost my memory yet, no need to rush to turn me into a tool for your desires."
Sakayanagi Arisu tapped Amane on the head.
Honestly.
What strange things were in Amane's head? All she thought about were perverted things all day long.
"Arisu, you're not a tool~"
Amane immediately pounced on Sakayanagi and started rubbing against her.
"Get up! Get up right now, idiot Amane, did you forget we're meeting that girl today?"
At the mention of serious business, Amane finally reined herself in a bit.
"Then let's take care of business first."
Looking at the serious-faced Amane, Sakayanagi patted her chest.
She had almost been suffocated just now.
Although usually unreliable in many ways, when it came to serious matters, she was still... huh?
Amane gently laid Sakayanagi flat.
"Wait, didn't you say you were going to take care of business?"
Sakayanagi stared blankly at Amane, who was pressing against her again, her head starting to throb.
"This is business."
Amane blinked, smiling very happily.
"This is not!!!"
After much more playful bickering, Sakayanagi, having been taken advantage of in various ways, finally escaped her clutches.
What a clingy person.
"Do you need me to go with you?"
Eating the breakfast Amane made, Sakayanagi asked casually.
In her opinion, Amane should be able to handle such a small matter alone, but she still hoped that a certain idiot would ask her to go along.
Even if she couldn't provide violent support, she believed she was no less capable than Amane in negotiations and other areas.
"I can go by myself; I don't think it'll take much effort to win her over, but how do I prove my strength?"
Amane stopped eating.
"Try to restrain yourself from using violence. What you learned isn't for fighting. If you hit too hard, there will be big problems."
Sakayanagi couldn't help but remind Amane.
Amane had a tendency to resort to violence to solve problems in the past.
Because Amane's way of thinking was very strange at the time, she couldn't understand others, leading to frequent conflicts.
To resolve these conflicts and disputes, Amane began to use the simplest method to make people empathize: pain.
Originally, Sakayanagi was somewhat dismissive, believing that violence couldn't solve all problems, and that those who used violence would eventually be consumed by its negative consequences.
The result... Amane used her fists to tell Sakayanagi that if you can't solve violence, solve the person using violence. While still in elementary school, she could already knock down over a dozen adults, including Sakayanagi's bodyguards.
Such extreme and pure violence made Sakayanagi realize for the first time that even a genius can have "weaknesses" they are not good at.
"Arisu, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell? Let me rub it—no, let me see."
Amane grinned mischievously, ready to make a move.
Sakayanagi calmly picked up the cane she had placed nearby.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Three consecutive taps successfully made Amane a little more serious.
"If you don't want me to, then don't. Why resort to hitting? Look, there's a big bump here."
When one trick failed, Amane immediately switched to another method.
Sakayanagi naturally saw through Amane's thoughts.
"If you come any closer... I'll have to really mess with you, you know."
Sakayanagi tapped the table with her cane, signaling Amane not to play tricks, but to her surprise, Amane's eyes lit up.
"There's such a good thing?"
"..."
...At noon, lunch break finally arrived.
Hirono Yuki of First Year Class B, however, faced a problem.
That is, everyone in Class B was a collectivist.
They always acted together, no matter what they did.
Even going to the restroom involved group trips.
On the surface, everyone seemed like a true collective, a truly loving family.
But only Himeno knew that many were forced into this state.
Under Ichinose's leadership, Class B showed unprecedented unity, but behind this unity were countless people's silent dedication and sacrifice.
While contributing their strength, they personally extinguished all their individuality, eventually successfully integrating into the Class B collective, becoming a part of the collective, but she was no longer herself.
"Himeno, shall we go to lunch together?"
A female classmate greeted Himeno.
Himeno, who had deliberately delayed, planning to leave last, showed an unsurprised expression.
Then she quickly returned to her original demeanor.
"I'm very sorry, I had too many leftovers from last night, so I made them into a bento. I won't be eating in the cafeteria today."
Himeno said apologetically, holding up her bento box to show her classmate.
"Eh? It's fine, really. If you brought a bento, then there's nothing we can do. Shall we go to the cafeteria with Honami now? Do you need us to bring anything back for you?"
Everyone was so gentle and considerate.
Himeno, however, was terribly nervous; she wasn't good at dealing with people who were overly concerned about her.
"N-no, it's fine. Just enjoy your meal."
"Pfft, Miss Jiye is so funny. Eating is certainly a happy thing. Well, we're off then, bye-bye~"
The other person also noticed Himeno's nervousness but didn't take it seriously.
She just said a casual goodbye and was about to leave.
"Bye-bye."
Himeno waved her hand with a smile, bidding farewell to the other person.
After seeing the other person leave.
Himeno, carrying her bento box, quickly left the classroom and went up the stairs to the rooftop.
It was the height of summer, and few people chose to eat on the rooftop at noon. If she timed it right, the place would feel like it was reserved just for her.
The reason she rushed out of the classroom was that if others who also brought bentos appeared, they might ask her to eat with them.
Eating together was even harder for Himeno to accept than going to the cafeteria together.
"Seriously, why does everyone have to be so close, like they're wearing the same pants? It's so annoying."
Hirono Yuki opened her bento box.
Inside, there was no bento at all.
Instead, there was bread and juice.
This was her real lunch.
"I'm eating."
Himeno tore open the packaging, just about to take a bite.
She suddenly noticed a shadow on the ground that hadn't been there before. Himeno couldn't help but look up in the direction of the shadow.
On the highest terrace, which required a ladder to climb up to.
A white-haired girl was eating junk food while looking down at her from above.
It seemed she noticed Himeno's surprised gaze.
The girl extended the burger in her hand as if offering it.
"Hey, want some?"
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