The next morning, Haruka woke up tired.
Not physically.
Somehow, that would've been easier.
He stared at the ceiling for almost a minute before remembering where he was.
Room A-0174.
Same ceiling.
Same stupid crack near the corner.
Same sound of Saito snoring like he was fighting for his life.
Haruka turned his head.
Saito was sleeping sideways on his bed, one leg hanging off the edge.
Yume was already awake.
She was sitting by the window, reading something.
She looked at him.
"Morning."
"Morning."
"You look dead."
Haruka blinked.
"Thanks."
"I wasn't complimenting you."
"I know."
He sat up.
For some reason, Sakura's voice was still stuck in his head.
Promise?
He rubbed his face.
"...Annoying."
Yume looked up.
"What?"
"Nothing."
Saito suddenly moved in his sleep.
"Five more minutes..."
Haruka stared at him.
"He's been saying that for twenty minutes. I bet... "
Yume smiled.
"Let him sleep."
"We'll be late."
"Then wake him."
Haruka looked at Saito.
Then at Yume.
"...You do it."
"Why me?"
"You're scarier."
Yume's smile disappeared.
"I'm not."
Haruka nodded.
"Sure."
Yume grabbed a pillow.
Saito woke up approximately two seconds later.
"WHY THE HELL ARE YOU BOTH STARING AT ME?!"
Haruka stood up.
"Good morning."
"I hate you."
"I know you don't, tsundere."
The academy was unusually busy.
Students moved through the halls in groups.
Teachers walked faster than usual.
Several guards stood near the main entrance.
Haruka noticed immediately.
Something had changed.
He slowed down.
Yume noticed.
"What?"
"Security."
Saito looked around.
"More guards?"
"Four additional ones."
"How'd you—"
"They weren't here yesterday."
Saito sighed.
"Right. Of course you noticed."
Haruka kept walking.
The guards weren't the interesting part.
It was where they were standing.
Two near the entrance.
One near the administration wing.
One near the eastern corridor.
Not random.
They were covering movement between the student areas and the restricted sections.
Haruka's eyes narrowed.
"They're hiding something."
Yume looked at him.
"How do you know?"
"I don't."
A pause.
"I'm guessing."
Saito smiled.
"That's new."
Haruka glanced at him.
"Don't get used to it."
Information
By lunchtime, Haruka had already asked six people about the increased security.
None of them knew anything.
That was useful.
Because when six people knew nothing—
Someone usually knew something.
He found the seventh person.
A second-year student.
Quiet.
Usually alone.
Haruka sat beside him.
"Hey."
The student looked over.
"Uh... hey?"
"Why are there more guards today?"
The student hesitated.
"Don't know."
Haruka nodded.
"Okay."
He stood.
The student stared at him.
"That's it?"
"Yeah."
Haruka walked away.
Saito caught up with him.
"That was pointless."
"No."
Haruka looked back.
"He looked at the administration wing when I asked."
Saito paused.
"...Oh."
Yume caught up too.
"So?"
"He knows something."
"Then why didn't you pressure him?"
Haruka shrugged.
"If I pressure him, he'll realize he's being investigated."
He continued walking.
"If I leave him alone, he'll think about the question."
A small smile appeared.
"And eventually he'll tell someone."
Saito stared at him.
"...You're actually evil."
"No."
Haruka looked at him.
"I'm just patient."
Yume laughed.
"That's somehow worse."
The Venue
That evening, the three returned to Room A-0174.
Haruka closed the door.
Locked it.
Then pulled the curtains.
Saito immediately became serious.
"Okay."
Yume sat down.
"What happened?"
Haruka placed several sheets of paper on the desk.
"The J-class venue."
Saito frowned.
"What about it?"
"It's poorly secured."
Yume leaned forward.
"How poorly?"
"From the inside?"
Haruka pointed at the map.
"Very."
He tapped three locations.
"These cameras don't overlap."
Another point.
"These corridors are only checked every twenty minutes."
Another.
"And the eastern storage room has an old maintenance passage."
Saito's eyes widened.
"How the hell did you find that?"
"Someone told me."
"Who?"
"Doesn't matter."
Yume studied the map.
"You want to break into the restricted section."
"No."
Haruka shook his head.
"I want control of the venue."
Silence.
Saito frowned.
"Control?"
"Think about it."
Haruka pointed at the map again.
"Everyone here thinks J-class is the bottom."
He paused.
"That's exactly why it's useful."
Yume's eyes sharpened.
"You want to turn it into our base."
"Not exactly."
Haruka leaned back.
"We already have a base."
He pointed toward the room.
"This is where we think."
His finger moved to the map.
"The venue is where we move."
Saito slowly understood.
"...You're trying to make the entire J-class work for us."
Haruka smiled.
"Exactly."
The Plan
Haruka wrote four words on the paper.
INFORMATION.
PEOPLE.
MOVEMENT.
CONTROL.
Yume read them.
"Explain."
"Information first."
He pointed at the first word.
"We need to know who enters this venue, who leaves it, who gets transferred, who gets punished and who gets rewarded."
Next.
"People."
"We recruit students who can actually help."
Next.
"Movement."
"Who goes where. When. Why."
Finally—
"Control."
Saito crossed his arms.
"And how exactly do three J-ranked idiots control an entire academy venue?"
Haruka looked at him.
"Three?"
He smiled.
"We're not three anymore."
Saito went quiet.
Yume smiled.
"The seven."
"Seven for now. Or maybe more I forgot to count"
Haruka corrected her.
Saito shook his head.
"You're seriously planning to recruit the whole class?"
"No."
Haruka looked at the map.
"That would be stupid."
He circled several names.
"We don't need everyone."
"We need the right people."
The First Recruitment
The next day, Haruka approached one of the students he'd been watching.
The same student he'd recruited before.
They looked nervous.
"You called?"
"Yeah."
Haruka handed them a folded piece of paper.
"Give this to someone."
"Who?"
"You'll know."
The student stared at him.
"What is it?"
"Nothing dangerous."
A pause.
"Probably."
"That's not reassuring."
Haruka smiled.
"Good."
The student opened the paper.
Inside was a list.
Names.
Three students.
One from J-class.
One from I-class.
One from A-class.
"Why them? Plus there's upperclassmen in the list... "
"Because they don't like the academy."
The student looked confused.
"That's it?"
"No."
Haruka's expression became serious.
"They also know how to keep their mouths shut."
The student nodded slowly.
"And what do I tell them?"
Haruka turned away.
"Tell them..."
He paused.
Then smiled.
"Someone is building something, that might be on their favor."
A Small Problem
That afternoon, Haruka was walking through the eastern corridor when someone grabbed his shoulder.
He turned.
A student.
One he didn't recognize.
"You."
Haruka blinked.
"Me?"
"Yeah."
The student stepped closer.
"You've been asking a lot of questions."
Haruka smiled.
"Have I?"
"Don't play dumb."
"I wasn't."
The student narrowed his eyes.
"Why are you asking about transfers?"
Haruka stared at him for a moment.
Then—
"Why are you asking me?"
The student froze.
Haruka continued.
"If you're concerned about what I'm doing..."
He stepped closer.
"...you already know more than you should."
Silence.
The student's expression changed.
Haruka noticed.
Fear.
Not of him.
Of something else.
Interesting.
Haruka stepped back.
"Relax."
The student swallowed.
"I'm not interested in fighting you."
"Then what do you want?"
Haruka smiled.
"Information."
The student stared at him.
"You really are weird."
"I've been told."
Haruka walked past him.
Then stopped.
"By the way."
The student turned.
"Who told you to watch me? Someone did... Don't they? "
Silence.
The student didn't answer.
Haruka didn't need him to.
His reaction was enough.
Someone was watching.
Again.
Night
Room A-0174 was quiet.
Saito sat on his bed.
Yume was at the desk.
Haruka stood by the window.
Saito broke the silence.
"So..."
Haruka looked over.
"How many?"
"Nine."
Yume looked up.
"Nine?"
"Nine people are currently involved."
Saito whistled.
"That's fast."
"They're not members."
"Yet."
Haruka smiled.
"Yet."
Yume leaned back.
"You realize this is getting serious."
"I know."
"If we mess up..."
"I know."
"We could lose everything."
Haruka looked at her.
"I know."
Yume stared at him.
"Then why do you look so calm?"
Haruka was silent for a moment.
Then—
"I'm not calm."
Saito and Yume both looked at him.
Haruka looked back through the window.
"I'm just tired."
That answer somehow made the room quieter.
Yume's expression softened.
"You don't have to carry everything yourself."
Haruka smiled faintly.
"I know."
"But you keep doing it."
"Yeah."
"Why?"
Haruka thought about it.
Then shrugged.
"Because somebody has to think."
Saito threw a pillow at him.
"Bro, you're so annoying."
Haruka caught it.
"I know."
Yume smiled.
"You're impossible."
"Probably."
For a moment—
Everything was normal again.
Then Haruka looked at the papers on the desk.
Nine names.
Seven recruits.
Three original members.
One organization.
And a government that had no idea what was growing underneath its own roof.
Haruka picked up his pen.
He crossed out one name.
Then wrote another.
Saito watched.
"What's that?"
Haruka didn't look up.
"Step two."
"What's step two?"
Haruka smiled.
"We take the venue."
The room went silent.
Yume's eyes widened slightly.
Saito slowly grinned.
"...Now we're talking."
Haruka looked at the map.
The J-class venue was drawn across the paper.
Every entrance.
Every exit.
Every blind spot.
Every guard.
Every weakness.
He had spent days studying it.
And now—
He finally knew where to begin.
Outside the window, the academy lights flickered.
Haruka stared at them.
Then quietly said—
"Let's see how much of this place belongs to them."
A pause.
"...And how much we can take."
To be continued.