Fuka propped her cheek up with one hand, tilting her head as she observed the junior before her.
"You truly are fascinating. If only I could keep you all to myself, how wonderful that would be."
She used her free hand to give his cheek an affectionate, teasing pinch. Ryunosuke swat the meddling hand away.
"Cut it out, Senpai. I'm a family man. Don't go creating misunderstandings."
He was referring to Suzune—after all, she cooked for him at home every single day. If anyone dug even an inch deep, the truth would come out; it wasn't exactly a state secret.
Ryunosuke chose honesty, even if he did harbor a certain level of interest in the gallant senior before him. Fuka stopped playing around, letting out a small sigh of mock regret.
"A crying shame. I've grown quite fond of my 'Little Junior.' I didn't expect another wild cat to have marked her territory so soon."
Though she felt a twinge of disappointment, Fuka didn't dwell on it. She shifted gears immediately to her actual reason for seeking him out.
She had waited for Ryunosuke on purpose. After all, there was no such thing as a "coincidence" on the one path Ryunosuke was guaranteed to take home. This was a calculated ambush.
Since Fuka's class was the sole survivor of her year level, they could no longer participate in school exams through normal means. After all, who would they compete against? There was only one class left.
Consequently, the administration had amended the rules: the lone third-year class would now take their exams alongside the entire second-year body. This was why Fuka wanted to propose a formal alliance with Ryunosuke for mutual benefit.
Ever since the Nagumo incident, Fuka had fully acknowledged the boy's capabilities.
Ryunosuke signaled his agreement; having an extra class on their side would only bolster their chances of victory. Why refuse?
The two shook hands, sealing a pact for the upcoming trials.
◆━⊰✿✧✿⊱━◆
Elsewhere, Ichika was far from idle. She was currently brainstorming ways to make Ryunosuke's life a living hell!
She headed to Class 2-A to find their leader, Honami, and began with some light small talk. Faced with a junior who had dropped by out of the blue, Honami was her usual friendly self, engaging in polite conversation.
Ichika carefully baited the hook, dropping Ryunosuke's name to test the waters. According to the rumors, Ryunosuke had a revolving door of girlfriends. She wanted to pinpoint the real ones so she could strike him where it hurt.
She wasn't the type to follow orders blindly. While she had promised Ryunosuke not to attack him directly, she had never said anything about his harem.
The clever little fox was deftly dancing around the boundaries of their deal. Even if Ryunosuke found out, his hands would be tied. However, since Ichika didn't know for sure who the "main" girl was, she had to vet them one by one.
What Ichika didn't realize was that the rumors weren't just smoke—they were all true. The stories didn't refer to one girl, but all of them. She mistakenly assumed the "official" girlfriend was hiding behind a smokescreen of false rumors.
She figured Ryunosuke was intentionally spreading chaos to protect his true love. Ichika was overthinking it. Ryunosuke wasn't that deep; if he knew he was being evaluated as a master of counter-intelligence, he'd probably burst into tears.
This was the classic pitfall of a genius: they always project a higher standard onto others for no apparent reason. In short, Ichika was overestimating her opponent. Because she had nearly been dismantled by him once, she refused to believe his abilities were anything less than extraordinary. She ranked him alongside Yagami, or perhaps even higher, near Ayanokouji.
Ryunosuke himself would probably think: (You're giving me too much credit. Why is everyone so "Overthinking" these days? I'm not some god-tier protagonist like Sakamoto from 'Haven't You Heard? I'm Sakamoto', you know.)
Back to Honami—faced with the junior's pointed questions, her innocent nature prevented her from sensing the danger. She continued to answer normally. However, Hachiman and Himeno quickly realized something was off about this underclassman.
The questions kept circling back to Ryunosuke. It was a blatant fishing expedition regarding Honami's relationship. Himeno frowned, thinking: (This girl arrived with bad intentions. Is she Ryunosuke's enemy?)
Meanwhile, Hachiman prepared to step in. Regardless of her goal, Ryunosuke was his current benefactor, paying him a cool 100,000 points a month.
For that reason alone, Hachiman had to stand by his boss. Furthermore, Honami was their leader; this couldn't be ignored.
Just as Ichika was about to get a definitive answer, a clueless Honami continued her long-winded explanation, scratching her neck sheepishly.
"Haha... my relationship with Akasaka-kun? How should I put it?"
Honami fidgeted with her fingers, her eyes darting around. Honestly, that reaction alone was all the answer Ichika needed. Technically, she didn't even need to ask anymore.
Fortunately, Himeno and Hachiman moved in.
Himeno covered Honami's mouth, signaling her to stay quiet while shooting Ichika a wary look. Meanwhile, Hachiman, with his signature slouch, placed himself between them, forcibly killing the topic.
"Th-that's... quite enough, cute underclassman."
Hachiman forced a smile, though it came off as somewhat predatory. Instinctively, Ichika took a step back. It was a natural human reaction.
Hachiman's lip twitched. Whatever. He was used to it. Based on his middle school data, he had been rejected over 100 times—at least, in his head. Since he counted every time he greeted a girl and received no response as a rejection, he'd reached that astronomical number.
In his younger days, Hachiman had suffered from his own brand of "Chuunibyou," believing every girl was into him. In short, he'd been a narcissist, which led to a string of misunderstandings that turned him into a mental masochist.
Hachiman fancied himself an expert in romance, but Ichika's visceral reaction still stung.
(Damn you looks-obsessed worshippers! You bratty juniors! Sooner or later, you'll pay the price for being so shallow!)
(Curse all you 'pretty-face' cultists! Just explode already!!!)
Ichika was eventually ushered out of Class A, but she had the confirmation she needed. She skipped merrily toward Class B to continue her mischief. Naturally, she was looking for Ryunosuke's "official" girlfriend on paper, who was currently resting her chin on her hand, smiling as she watched Arisu.