A few days passed.
The Sports Festival was fast approaching. Each class had gradually finalized their grand rosters for the event, ready to submit them to the school.
At this moment, it was late at night.
In the dormitory, the lights in most rooms had already been extinguished, leaving only the hallway lights shining incomparably bright.
Kikyo Kushida stood in the shadows outside the dormitory building, her fingertips sliding gently across her terminal screen.
Displayed on the screen was a complete participant list for the Sports Festival.
Class C's event allocation—sprints, obstacle races, cavalry battles, and the relay race; the lists for every event were all there.
Subaru's name was prominently listed in the final column of the relay race.
The last leg.
She stared at that name for a few seconds, the corners of her mouth curving up slightly.
That arc was very shallow, very faint, yet it carried an indescribable chill.
She recalled those days during summer vacation.
The messages she sent to Miyabi Nagumo sank like stones into the ocean.
The words she asked others to convey received no response.
Even when she personally went to the second-year area hoping for a chance encounter, she never saw that person.
Nagumo had disappeared.
Or rather, Nagumo was hiding.
Why?
Kushida didn't know.
But she knew this meant she had lost her greatest "resource"—those anonymous accounts, those untraceable information channels, those "tools" that could deliver a fatal blow at a critical moment.
She could only rely on herself now.
Or rather, rely on those who hated Subaru just as much as she did.
Kakeru Ryuen.
There had been rumors before that Ryuen was finished, but Kushida knew that he wouldn't end like that.
On the contrary, Ryuen's hatred for Subaru seemed even more intense.
She had seen Ryuen's eyes—that tyrannical gaze burning with a desire for control was not something that could be extinguished so easily.
Even if it were extinguished, there would still be ashes.
And within those ashes, the hottest sparks still lay hidden.
Kushida had to utilize this.
Even though her previous attempt to seek cooperation with Ryuen had been rejected, she absolutely could not give up any opportunity.
She took a deep breath and stepped into the dormitory building.
*
At the end of the hallway belonging to the Class D boys, a door was left ajar.
Kushida stood before the door and raised her hand to knock.
No response.
She knocked twice more, using a bit more force.
"Ryuen-kun, it's me. Kushida."
Silence.
Just as she thought no one would answer and was about to turn and leave, the door was pulled open.
Ryuen stood behind the door.
He looked a bit thinner than before summer vacation, but that thinness wasn't frailty; it was lean and wiry.
There were no injuries on his face, and his skin had been tanned to a healthy wheat color. He wore a simple black T-shirt, and clear muscle lines could be seen on his exposed arms.
What Kushida cared about most were his eyes.
Those eyes that once burned with tyranny and a desire for control had indeed changed.
But they hadn't become hollow or listless.
Instead, they had become... deeper.
Like a seemingly calm sea surface, beneath which lay whirlpools full of devouring life.
"Kushida."
Ryuen spoke. His voice was still the customary low rasp, but it held an indescribable steadiness.
"You woman... coming to find me this late, what is it?"
"Aren't you going to invite me in to sit?"
Kushida's face still wore her usual, little-angel-like smile.
Of course, Ryuen had long been clear about what kind of person she was.
Ryuen stared at her for a few seconds.
That gaze made her somewhat uncomfortable.
It wasn't hostility, it wasn't wariness, but a kind of... assessment.
Like looking at a tool to see if it was worth using.
"Come in."
He turned sideways to make way.
Kushida walked into the room.
She subconsciously scanned the surroundings and then raised her eyebrows in slight surprise.
Unlike Ryuen's usual dissolute and unrestrained style, the room was very tidy.
The window was open, and the night breeze blew in, carrying a trace of coolness.
Kushida retracted her gaze and turned around.
Ryuen was already sitting on the edge of the bed, looking at her with those dark, deep eyes.
He didn't speak; he just waited.
That posture was completely different from before.
The old Ryuen always used his presence to overwhelm others, used violence to intimidate others, looking down on others with that "I am the King" attitude.
But now, he just sat there, waiting quietly.
Like a hunter waiting for the prey to walk into the trap on its own.
Kushida suppressed the indescribable unease in her heart, curving her eyes slightly to reveal her customary gentle smile.
"Ryuen-kun is still so direct."
"Cut the crap."
Ryuen's tone remained flat, but within that flatness was something that hadn't been there before—patience.
"Don't make me think you're a boring woman."
Kushida's smile stiffened for an instant, but she quickly recovered.
She took her terminal out of her pocket, pulled up that list, and handed it to Ryuen.
"Tomorrow's Sports Festival. The participant list for Class C."
Ryuen took the terminal, his gaze falling on the screen.
He scrolled page by page, his expression showing no change.
Sprints, obstacle races, cavalry battles, scavenger hunts, relay races—the participants for every event were clearly listed there.
Until he saw the final column.
Subaru. Relay Race. Last Leg.
His gaze lingered on that line of text for a few seconds.
Then he looked up and returned the terminal to Kushida.
"You showing me this, what's the meaning?"
"What's the meaning?"
Kushida's smile deepened, but there was no mirth in those eyes.
"Ryuen-kun, you should understand, right? In the upcoming Sports Festival, the White Team—that is, your Class D and Class A—will be opposing our Red Team. Our list hasn't been submitted yet. You can further adjust your participant list based on our arrangement; that way, your advantage will be greatly increased, right?"
"Enough."
Ryuen interrupted her.
His voice remained calm, but within that calm was an unquestionable pressure.
"What do you want to say? Say it directly."
Kushida dropped her smile.
She looked at Ryuen, and finally, the real thing was revealed in those eyes—a cold, burning hatred that almost incinerated her entire being into ashes.
"I want Subaru to lose."
"Not just lose, but suffer a crushing defeat."
"To be thoroughly defeated in front of everyone."
"I want to see a crack appear in that expression of his that is always indifferent, always high and mighty."
"I want to see him... also show that kind of... that kind of despairing, broken expression."
Her voice got lower and lower, colder and colder, until finally, it was almost squeezed out from between her teeth.
Ryuen was silent for a few seconds.
Then he laughed.
It was a very ugly smile.
Stiff, twisted, as if he hadn't practiced this expression for a long time.
"Kushida, you really are an interesting woman."
He stood up, walked to the window, and turned his back to her.
"You know, I thought a lot during summer vacation."
His voice came from ahead, carrying an indescribable, distant feeling.
"Thinking about why I lost."
"Thinking about why I was beaten by him like that."
"Thinking about why I... would develop that kind of mentality."
Kushida didn't speak.
"I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, thinking about it over and over again."
"Thinking about the look he gave me in the woods that day, thinking about the feeling when he choked my neck, thinking about every sentence he said."
"Have you seen that kind of look, Kushida?"
Ryuen turned around and looked at her.
Moonlight fell on his face, illuminating that once tyrannical countenance into something somewhat pale, yet carrying a strange, almost transparent... something.
"That wasn't a human's look."
"That was the look of someone watching insects, watching dust, watching a roadside stone."
"He could crush me to death at any time, just like crushing an ant. And he... he really thought about it."
"He really wanted to kill me."
Kushida's breathing stagnated for an instant.
She remembered the look Subaru gave her.
Indeed, that was not the look of someone looking at a person.
That was the look of someone looking at a lab specimen.
"Later, I figured it out."
Ryuen continued.
"I lost because I was too self-righteous. I thought I was very strong, thought my methods were ruthless enough, thought no one could challenge my rule."
"But I was wrong."
"Subaru, he isn't human. He is a kind of... thing beyond the scope of my understanding."
"Facing that kind of thing, fear is instinct."
He paused.
"But after fear, there are two choices."
"One is to shrink in the corner forever and tremble, pretending nothing happened, pretending you can still live like before."
"The other is—"
He looked at Kushida.
"Learn to coexist with fear."
"Let fear become a part of you, become a thorn in your every breath, become the fuel for your every action."
"Then, take it with you and keep moving forward."
Kushida fell silent.
She looked at this man in front of her.
That tyrant who was once violently unbridled and insufferably arrogant.
That person she had disdainfully called "trash."
At this moment, standing under the moonlight, he looked at her with a gaze she had never seen before.
It wasn't a will to fight, it wasn't hatred, it wasn't even the posture of cooperation she wanted.
It was something deeper, more complex, and also something that made her more uneasy.
"Ryuen-kun..."
She spoke, her voice somewhat dry.
"Do you... not hate him anymore?"
"Hate."
Ryuen answered without hesitation.
"Hate until the cracks in my bones itch."
"Hate until every night I close my eyes, it's those eyes of his."
"Hate until with every breath, I can feel that suffocation of him choking my throat."
He raised his right hand, looking at that hand that had once been crushed by Subaru.
"But Kushida, there are many ways to hate."
"One is like you, hiding in the dark, spreading rumors, doing those petty moves that don't itch or hurt."
"The other is—"
He clenched his fist.
"Make yourself strong."
"Strong enough to stand in front of him, instead of hiding in the shadows."
"Strong enough to make him... have to look me in the eye for once."
Kushida's expression changed slightly.
"You... what do you want to do?"
Ryuen said with a smile:
"Subaru is very strong."
"But no matter how strong a person is, they have a weakness."
"What is his weakness?"
Kushida frowned.
"He... he doesn't care about anything?"
"Wrong."
Ryuen shook his head.
"If he didn't care about anything, he wouldn't have come to watch this 'game'."
"What he cares about is 'color'."
"What he cares about is watching people like us, in extreme states, what kind of expressions we will show."
"This is his weakness."
"Because he wants to watch, he won't easily destroy those 'who have the potential to generate color'."
"He will keep you. He will keep me. He will give us a chance to perform."
Ryuen's mouth pulled into an arc.
"Then we will perform for him to see."
"Use his rules, play his game, and when he expects it the most..."
"Give him a surprise."
Kushida stared at him for a long time.
She suddenly realized that she seemed to have never truly known this person.
The violent Ryuen of the past was just a beast dominated by power and desire.
But the Ryuen standing in front of her now...
Was a different kind of thing.
A more dangerous thing.
"A few days later at the Sports..."
She began to speak.
"The upcoming Sports Festival is just the beginning."
Ryuen interrupted her.
"I need your information, but I don't need you to participate in specific actions. You are being watched too closely by Subaru; any unusual movement will be noticed by him."
"So?"
"So you continue doing your thing. Spread rumors, sow discord, continue being your 'angel', that's fine too. As long as you can distract his attention so his gaze isn't completely locked onto me, that's enough."
Ryuen walked up to her, looking down from above.
"Remember, Kushida. We are not allies now, not partners."
"We are just prey on the same boat, targeted by the same hunter."
"As for who can survive to the end, who can really take a bite out of that hunter..."
He paused.
"Depends on our own abilities."
Kushida was silent for a few seconds.
Then she nodded.
"I understand."
She turned and walked toward the door.
When her hand was on the door handle, she paused for an instant.
"Ryuen-kun."
"Hm?"
"That surprise you mentioned... can you tell me what it is?"
Ryuen smiled.
It was a genuine smile—carrying confidence, carrying anticipation, carrying a light burning with something bordering on madness.
"You'll know when the time comes."
Kushida didn't ask again.
She opened the door and walked out.
The door closed behind her.
*
In the hallway, Kikyo Kushida walked quickly.
Her heart was beating very fast.
Not fear, not excitement, but a more complex emotion—like anticipation, yet like apprehension, also carrying a trace of indescribable... something.
Ryuen had changed.
Changed so much she almost couldn't recognize him.
But that change made her feel both hope and unease.
The hope was that perhaps he really could deal with Subaru.
The unease was, if Ryuen really succeeded—would he become another Subaru?
Another, more dangerous, harder-to-control monster?
Was this perhaps what Subaru wanted?
And was today's negotiation really this smooth?
Clearly, before this, Ryuen had been unwilling to cooperate with her.
Kikyo Kushida's heart was full of doubts, and her pace couldn't help but quicken.
She didn't know that inside the room, the smile on Ryuen's face had completely disappeared.
____
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