The bewitching hour after school — that liminal dusk when the day tips into something stranger.
The last of the evening sun slanted through the high windows, carving wide, slanted slabs of molten gold across the wooden floor.
Ichinose Honami and Sakayanagi Arisu were both still tied up in their respective classrooms, sorting through the endless administrative headaches that came with a wave of new students. Horikita Suzune, for her part, had gone straight back to the dorms after school to decompress in solitude.
And so — in the window of time before Amanatsu Kazuha showed up to crash the party — Karuizawa Kei found herself with a rare and golden opportunity: Chris, all to herself.
"Chris."
Karuizawa Kei walked up to where Chris was sitting at ease on the bench and held out the [Item Guide] toward him.
"Horikita asked me to pass this along to you..."
The girl paused mid-sentence, her tone shifting slightly. "I don't really know what went on between you two during the exam... but I noticed she was completely zoning out through all of afternoon classes today."
"Maybe you should find a moment to check in on her?"
Chris took the guide and looked up at the flashy blonde gyaru standing before him — who had very clearly touched up her makeup with deliberate care — and couldn't help a faint, amused smile.
"I get it when someone like Ichinose — the class sweetheart — tells me to go look after Horikita. But why are you joining in?"
"What's this — aren't you worried that if she bounces back, she'll elbow you right out of your spot?"
The barb landed exactly where it was aimed. Karuizawa Kei's fingertips began picking unconsciously at her own palm, those small fidgeting tells she could never quite suppress when she was nervous.
But she bit her lower lip and met Chris's gaze head-on.
"Of course I'm worried..."
"But the fact is — Horikita really is better than me. Her mind, her combat ability — they might actually be useful to you."
This was the survival philosophy Karuizawa Kei had distilled from living through crisis after crisis on the edge of death.
As a competent parasite, the cardinal sin was making trouble for your host.
Like microorganisms in a high-salinity droplet instinctively drifting toward a lower-salinity droplet — it was the most basic biological imperative: gravitate toward what sustains you, away from what destroys you.
Nobody likes a liability who does nothing but cause problems.
Especially not under the grinding pressure of a Black Sphere exam every single week.
Keeping Chris comfortable, helping him gather valuable combat power around him — that was itself a long-term investment in her own continued survival.
Competing for his favour mattered, yes. But if she toppled the very tree she was clinging to in the process of competing — that would be the height of stupidity.
Looking at the girl's expression — so rational it edged into something almost self-effacing — Chris reached out and gently ruffled her smooth, silky hair.
"Relax."
His voice was unhurried. "I've already talked to Horikita. Said everything that needed saying. After that, it's just a matter of waiting to see when she finds her footing again."
As for exactly when that would be — well, that remained to be seen.
Because from Chris's bird's-eye vantage point, the current state of Horikita Suzune was... honestly a little unhinged, in the most unexpectedly interesting way.
He wasn't exactly a dedicated surveillance operator — not someone who enjoyed sitting in front of a monitor screen watching people all day.
But he couldn't help it. To guard against anyone scheming against him behind his back — even if they merely thought about him — the God Sphere and ANTZ would faithfully log the moment and present it to him in full.
So, inevitably, he'd accidentally caught a glimpse —
The ordinarily proud, cool-mannered girl with long black hair was currently buried deep inside her blanket cocoon, face flushed scarlet, privately drilling silent-incantation water magic.
In Chris's own assessment, the reason Horikita Suzune kept hitting a wall at the very first step into Ripple Breathing ultimately came down to one thing: years upon years of suppressed sexuality and suppressed emotion.
In a certain sense — the "sage mode" of a cleared mind, free of stray thoughts, really was better suited to sensing the flow of life energy, wasn't it?
Karuizawa Kei, naturally, had no idea about any of these intricacies.
But since Chris had said he'd already talked to her, it probably wasn't anything to worry too much about.
The girl took the opening to shift topics, asking softly:
"So... Hirata Yousuke just messaged me on LINE asking whether I want to join the upcoming preliminary trial. He also said the new transfer student, Nanase Tsubasa, has already put her name forward to participate."
Chris gave a small nod. "I had Hirata Yousuke register Nanase Tsubasa. She's got a genuine knack for Ripple Breathing — worth throwing into live combat to develop it properly."
Karuizawa Kei moistened her slightly dry lips. "Then... do you think I should join?"
Chris looked down at her — her eyes wandering across the floor, looking like she had something stuck in her throat that she couldn't say — and cut straight to it:
"You already know your own answer, don't you?"
"But if you're asking my opinion — I think you should go ahead and join this preliminary trial."
Karuizawa Kei's head snapped up, eyes wide with confusion and a flicker of dread toward the unknown. "Why?"
Chris explained patiently.
"Hirata Yousuke told me Ayanokoji Kiyotaka isn't planning to enter the main exam this round — he's going in through the preliminary trial instead."
"With the setup Ayanokoji Kiyotaka has now — Parasyte fusion plus Titan serum — he's an absolute wrecking ball in a preliminary trial. Total overkill."
Chris laid out Ayanokoji's plan to exploit the mechanic:
"On top of that, they're planning to run a little business operation. Using Ayanokoji as the anchor — students from other classes who want to buy a Combat Suit but don't have enough points can deliberately lose to him in the preliminary trial, become 'crashers,' and ride that into the main exam."
"And inside the main exam, Ayanokoji covers them. In exchange, this trial's winner is without a doubt still going to be our class. If you go, you get a shot at earning another Resurrection Count without putting your life on the line."
Karuizawa Kei's eyes went wide as saucers, completely blown away.
"W-wait, you can actually do that?!"
"Just by becoming a crasher in the main exam, you can farm points to buy gear?"
Chris nodded.
"I didn't fully get it at first either, but once Hirata Yousuke walked me through it, it clicked."
"The cumulative score that Katsuragi Kohei — formerly of Class A — has doesn't line up with what he should have earned purely from Black Sphere exam results. The fact that he has the score he does proves one thing..."
"As a crasher, monster kills scored inside the exam arena are still fully recognized by the Black Sphere system and recorded to your account."
"The thing is, none of us had thought to check for that before. And the people who were forced into preliminary trials and ended up in the main exam mostly just focused on running for their lives — very few had the nerve to actively test that mechanic."
Karuizawa Kei's expression lit up with sudden understanding.
"So that's how it works! This is basically a guaranteed money-maker!"
But almost immediately she hesitated again. "But... if that's the case, wouldn't it make more sense to give this slot to Horikita? I'm pretty sure she's already used up all the extra lives the Black Sphere granted her, right?"
Chris shook his head, dismissing the idea.
"Horikita hasn't sorted her head out yet. In the state she's in right now, sending her in would just make her a volatile liability. Better to give that spot to you."
"Besides, you've pretty much already established yourself as the leading figure among the girls in the class. Whether it's about pressing that advantage to cement your position, or purely about stacking yourself another Resurrection Count as a safety net — you're a better fit for this than she is."
After hearing Chris's full analysis, every last trace of resistance in Karuizawa Kei dissolved.
"Alright then... I'll go."
With business concluded, the girl still stood exactly where she was, showing absolutely no sign of leaving.
Her hands were clasped behind her back, the tip of her shoe tapping lightly against the floor in a fidgety little rhythm — clearly at a loss for what new topic to conjure up to stretch out this precious sliver of alone time.
Chris, of course, saw right through her in an instant.
After all — fresh off the Uninhabited Island exam, Karuizawa had been ready to just offer herself up outright.
And now that she'd actually been handed a genuine moment alone with him, she was frozen like a startled quail, unable to take even a single step forward.
Definitely the sort of thing that could make a person overthink themselves into paralysis.
But for his part, Chris was in absolutely no rush whatsoever. He had all the patience in the world.
So, to ease the girl out of her awkward limbo, he took the initiative and offered her a way out:
"By the way — how's your Ripple Breathing coming along?"
At that, Karuizawa Kei's inner turmoil evaporated — only to be replaced by a wave of pure embarrassment.
"Ah..." Her face went stiff, the tips of her ears flushing red, her chin dropping even lower. "That... I'm sorry, I think I'm just too slow. I still haven't gotten the hang of the basics..."
Chris hadn't really expected her to have cracked it — he'd asked mostly just to give her something to hold onto. He replied with an easy, unhurried reassurance:
"It's fine."
"If you converted Ripple Breathing into S-points equivalent at the Black Sphere shop, it'd only come to a modest twelve points, all told."
"But until something better comes along, practising Ripple Breathing is like going to the shooting range to drill your aim — it's the best foundation-building option available."
"And it's not like there's any downside to working at it. Even if it never reaches the point of being useful in combat, at minimum it extends your lifespan and does wonders for your skin... assuming, of course, we get to live long enough to grow old naturally."
That last line landed like a small, dark punchline — the kind that makes you laugh despite yourself.
Karuizawa Kei fell into a brief silence.
Then, in a quiet mutter:
"Chris... honestly, if you could just adjust that habit of yours a little bit — the way you talk — you'd probably be a lot more popular with girls."
Chris, however, was entirely unbothered.
"No need."
"Maintaining a fake version of myself is exhausting. I'd rather just be who I am. And I think... that's probably exactly why I was able to pick up Ripple Breathing so quickly."
To illustrate his point, he raised his right hand with a casual flick.
His breathing technique engaged — and with a sharp, crackling snap, golden arcs of electricity leapt and danced across his fingertips.
He held the Item Guide in his other hand and passed it over the sparking fingertips with a slow sweep.
Ding —
The screen flickered, and crisp text materialized:
[Ripple Breathing]
[An ability that manipulates life energy through a specialized breathing technique. At its core, it works by using respiration to simulate and replicate the vibrational frequency of sunlight within the body.]
[All living things carry life energy. Ripple Breathing simply amplifies and brings that energy under conscious control through a specific method of breathing. This is why it can heal wounds, reinforce the body, and slow the process of aging.]
[Through regular vibrational resonance of life energy, that resonance can be transmitted into objects — shattering an enemy's cells, snapping weapons apart, and even allowing the user to walk on water.]
[Note: The stronger an individual's life force — and the more willing they are to release themselves and embrace their true instincts — the easier Ripple Breathing is to learn, and the more formidable its power becomes.]
Chris let out a slow, quiet breath.
"Pretty much lines up with what I figured. Looks like what I told Horikita wasn't entirely made up."
"Made up?" Karuizawa Kei caught the stray remark, her expression jumping to full surprise.
"Yeah."
Chris explained: "Horikita's brother sacrificed himself at the volcano to save us. And even though the Black Sphere told us he isn't actually dead — just transported to another world — Horikita Suzune, being the stubborn, single-track mind she is, has apparently laid every one of those tragedies squarely at the feet of her own inadequacy. That's why she's been spiralling."
He looked out at the deepening dusk beyond the window. "To jolt her back into motion — after I saw her tutoring Nanase Tsubasa, only for Nanase to go ahead and teach herself anyway — I pieced together some things from my own experience and deliberately spun a story to give her a push."
"She needed somewhere to put all that feeling. Otherwise, she'd have completely fallen apart."
Karuizawa Kei nodded slowly, turning the thought over in her mind, murmuring half to herself:
"Be yourself... and even when there's pressure, let it out..."
But almost immediately, her eyes dimmed.
"But, Chris — I'm different from you. I'm different from Horikita, too. I'm just someone who can only survive by clinging to someone stronger. A para—..."
"If I 'became myself' and ran away from your protection, or pulled off the mask I wear now... I'd fall apart. I genuinely couldn't survive that."
Chris didn't buy the all-or-nothing logic for a second.
"Why does 'being yourself' have to mean upending everything you have?"
"Horikita spent years forcing herself to model after her brother, which is what ended up suppressing her own nature. That's exactly why I nudged her to let it go."
"But the truth is — everyone has their own path they're meant to walk. There's no absolute right or wrong in this world. Both are possible; that's the only real answer."
He looked at her, his voice softening a fraction.
"Wanting to be yourself doesn't mean you have to act like some kind of hero."
"Do what you're meant to do. Love what you genuinely want. Accepting that you're someone who needs protecting — honestly, there's nothing complicated about that, is there?"
At those words —
Karuizawa Kei stared at the face so close to hers, utterly still.
Yeah...
As long as he still needs me. As long as I can do this better than anyone else in this position...
Why shouldn't I be allowed to stay by his side without any guilt?
Something clicked into place for the girl.
She tilted her face up toward him tentatively, her voice dropping soft as a whisper — as though she were afraid even a breath too heavy might shatter the moment:
"Then..."
"Right now... I want to hug you. Is that okay?"
Chris was quiet for a beat.
Then he opened his arms.
"Sure. It's not like I lose anything from it."
With his permission granted, Karuizawa Kei took a step forward, then another — closing the distance slowly.
Her heart was hammering against her ribs.
But this time, it wasn't the blind dependency that had gripped her at the razor's edge of a Black Sphere exam — that reflexive clinging born of the suspension-bridge effect, when proximity to death made everything feel like love.
This was a decision she had made for herself. In full clarity. Following her own instincts.
Honestly? Taking that step didn't feel like some grand, triumphant moment.
There was fear in it —
Fear that getting closer would make it even harder to ever pull away; that she'd sink in so deep she'd never surface.
And beneath that, a quieter, more cutting dread — that she wasn't worthy of this, that she didn't deserve to be held with this kind of gentleness.
But when the trembling girl finally let herself fall into the circle of Chris's arms —
Feeling the steady, powerful rhythm of his heartbeat against her. Breathing in the faint, clean scent of soap that clung to his uniform.
That absolute sense of safety — rising through her nose, seeping into her every limb — dissolved every last shred of fear and unease in an instant.
She felt whole.
It was a strange, extraordinary feeling. One Karuizawa Kei had never once truly experienced in all sixteen years of her life.
And just as the girl's arms moved of their own accord to wrap around Chris's back — wanting, greedily, to steal just a little longer inside this warmth —
At the half-open door of the training hall.
Ichinose Honami had come looking for Chris to get his take on things — having just discovered that both Ryuuen's class and Sakayanagi's class had already begun holding meetings to select their participants for the upcoming preliminary trial.
She walked straight into it.
Karuizawa Kei, arms locked tight around Chris, holding on.
Ichinose Honami's feet came to a dead stop.
She didn't know what to do with herself.
Her rational mind told her to turn around, walk away, pretend she hadn't seen a thing.
But an instinct she hadn't even known was there seized hold of her feet.
Rooted her to the spot. Kept her eyes fixed, unblinking, on the scene before her — while something inside her chest upended completely: sourness, hollowness, and a sharp, nameless jealousy all knotting together in a mess she couldn't begin to untangle.
Chris, facing the door, naturally clocked Ichinose standing frozen in the entrance the moment she appeared.
With perfect composure, he gave Karuizawa Kei a light pat on the back.
"Alright — Ichinose's here."
Karuizawa Kei startled, jolted clean out of the soft, hazy world she'd retreated into.
She extracted herself from Chris's arms with what felt like genuine reluctance.
She turned her head — and found Ichinose staring at her, frozen.
Something lurched in Karuizawa Kei's chest.
She could see it with her own eyes: the gentle, habitual smile that lived at the corners of Ichinose's mouth was fading at a pace that was almost visible — draining away, leaving something hollow in its place.
Then Ichinose's gaze went briefly glassy — like something had jabbed her somewhere deep — and the soft, warm light that usually lived in her eyes dimmed by half, giving way to something shadowed and still.
Pinned by that look — which had a very real, almost physical weight to it —
Karuizawa Kei waved her hands frantically in denial.
"I — Ichinose! It's not what you think! Seriously, it's not what you're imagining!"
"I just — I was just having trouble with my Ripple Breathing, and Chris was comforting me, that's all!"
Chris nodded from beside her.
"That's accurate. She was under a fair amount of pressure."
From what Chris could read in Ichinose's expression right now — experience told him that somewhere in the depths of that girl's heart, a full melodrama was already playing out: He betrayed me, Maybe I should just disappear, that whole tragic inner theatre.
That was Ichinose Honami for you. When it came to that particular flavour of feeling — she was genuinely, extraordinarily gifted.
That said — she really had grown, this girl who'd been forged in fire and brought back from the edge of death.
Even though she'd been blindsided by a sudden rush of bitter feeling —
The moment she saw the two of them step apart, and heard Chris step in to clarify, the tight knot in her chest loosened, just a little.
Maybe... just like Karuizawa said, I really did misread the whole thing?
After all, senpai has always been a genuinely good person. Comforting a classmate — that's completely normal for him.
Ichinose Honami quietly talked herself down, pressing the lingering doubt beneath the surface for now.
She pulled together a composed, presentable smile and spoke:
"Senpai."
"I noticed that Sakayanagi's class and Ryuuen's class have already started selecting their participants for the next preliminary trial. But everyone's barely just come off the midterm exams — the new transfer students haven't even had time to settle in yet..."
"Has something changed?"
Seeing Ichinose shift directly into work mode, Chris gave a nod and walked her through it.
"Ayanokoji Kiyotaka figured out that kills scored by crashers inside the arena are fully counted by the Black Sphere system."
"So he's planning to run a transaction during the preliminary trial."
"The idea is to have students who are just a few points short of buying a Combat Suit deliberately lose to him to trigger the trial, and then have him escort them through the arena to farm points."
Ichinose took that in — and her expression shifted to one of wide-eyed concern.
"Is... that actually going to work?" "Ayanokoji Kiyotaka has the Parasyte fusion and the Titan serum, but as crashers, they start without any Black Sphere equipment, right?"
"If they're going in empty-handed — can they actually deal effective damage to monsters that keep getting stronger? Isn't this just turning into a battlefield where Ayanokoji Kiyotaka carries the entire weight alone?"
Chris rubbed his chin thoughtfully before picking up the thread.
"Your concern isn't wrong — I had the same worry. But not for that specific reason."
"By now, most of the people who've been through Black Sphere exams have extra gear they've purchased. We can lend those base-tier free weapons to Ayanokoji's group to take in — which doubles as a stress test for what we might face in a larger-scale exam down the line."
"What I'm actually worried about is whether there'll be enough monsters in the trial arena to go around. If there aren't enough for everyone to farm the points they need to buy gear, then the whole thing becomes a farce."
He paused, then reconsidered.
"Then again — no harm in trying. The next exam will most likely not take place in our world of origin anyway. Since we'd be transporting to some unknown other world — as long as the Black Sphere doesn't intervene directly, letting them test the water and feel out where the rules bend isn't a bad idea."
Listening to Chris's full breakdown —
Ichinose Honami thought it through carefully. She still felt a twinge of discomfort at the idea of sending classmates in to voluntarily risk their lives — but she had to admit, it was currently the fastest path to getting everyone armed.
In the end, she gave a small, resolute nod.
"Understood."
"When I get back, I'll reach out to the classmates willing to cooperate with Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and talk it over with them."
With that settled, Ichinose Honami turned to leave.
But at the doorway, she paused.
She kept her back to the room, turning only half her face — eyes cast downward, her true expression hidden.
"Senpai."
"...I'm sorry. I interrupted you both just now."
She left those words behind — carrying just a thread of something quiet and lonely — and then Ichinose Honami's figure vanished around the corner of the corridor.
Chris clicked his tongue, watching her go.
She'd looked like she wanted to say something. Explain something.
But in the end she'd stayed exactly where she was, rooted to the spot — without the slightest intention of moving.
While, privately, she was absolutely delighted.
Yes. That's exactly the reaction.
Even when she was confused, even when she was desperate to know the truth — boxed in by Karuizawa Kei's presence, she had no choice but to retreat, leaving behind that one perfectly sour little parting line.
Jealousy really was its own art form, wasn't it.
Too little and it didn't sting. Too much and it choked.
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