Iroha Isshiki: "Rei Ao-senpai, about what you said just now, I—I agree! I'll look forward to our weekend date, hehe!"
In the hallway, Rei Ao glanced at the message from Iroha on his phone and chuckled softly to himself. Just earlier, she was so flustered that she ran away, but now she was texting him again, teasing him like a mischievous little devil.
"What an interesting Kouhai,"
Rei Ao murmured, putting away his phone. Then he turned slightly to the side—
A shriek rang out, followed by a thud as a golden-haired girl fell to her knees on the floor.
The girl, dressed like a blonde gal (gyaru), rubbed her stinging knees in pain. It was her—Ai Hayasaka.
Rei Ao observed the girl who'd almost collided with him (but whom he'd dodged), a thoughtful look in his eyes.
This scene was oddly familiar, much like his first encounter with Iroha Isshiki. The difference was in their methods: Iroha had purposely hidden around a corner, waiting to ambush him, while Hayasaka seemed to have sprinted from the opposite end of the corridor at full speed—normally an accident.
Yet Rei Ao noticed that Ai Hayasaka did harbor some other intention toward him. Apparently, unlike Iroha, she didn't have designs on his body. He pondered this in passing, then bent down as if concerned:
"Are you okay? Want me to help you to the infirmary?"
"No need. It's just a little pain."
In a perfect gal attitude, Hayasaka forced herself to stand. Patting the jacket tied around her waist, she gave him a quick glance and spoke with a dismissive air:
"You're Rei Ao from Class 3, right?"
"Oh, so you know me? May I ask your name?"
"Hayasaka Ai, Class 5."
She looked him up and down with a hint of playful mockery.
"You sure are a mean guy, just watching a girl fall in front of you without doing anything."
"Heh. You were running too fast. It's against school rules to sprint in the hallway."
Rei Ao responded with ease, unaffected by her barb.
Hayasaka had nothing to say, merely rolling her eyes.
With that, she turned on her heel and left, as though she'd lost interest. Rei Ao likewise said nothing further, leaving the corridor in the opposite direction.
Not long after he left, the sound of quick footsteps approached. Ai Hayasaka came back to the "scene of the accident." While she still sported her gal attire, the playful expression was gone. The "gyaru" look was merely a disguise she used at school.
She eyed the spot where she fell, then took out her phone to open a micro-camera recording she'd set up beforehand. She replayed the footage showing Rei Ao's inhumanly swift dodge—the kind only possible with near-future-sight. Hayasaka's brow creased.
"As I suspected... He's not normal."
No matter how she calculated it, there was no way an ordinary person could pull off such an extreme evasive maneuver without any prior knowledge. Unless...he was more than human, i.e., superhuman. This simple test confirmed for her that Rei Ao was far from ordinary.
"Next step is to probe him further."
She murmured softly, then stashed her phone away, removing the micro-camera before leaving.
In the very spot she'd stood a few seconds before, Rei Ao's figure appeared out of thin air.
"Tsk, why have all these people suddenly decided to focus on me?" he mused, having listened to her analysis in secret without her noticing.
He didn't bother hiding his presence—if she didn't sense it, that was on her. It didn't concern him much anyway, and in fact, he found it all rather amusing.
He wouldn't mind if more pretty girls ended up "delivering themselves" to him.
"I wonder if that Ojou-sama also has some designs on me..."
Indeed she does, buddy.
In the Student Council room...
"I must surpass him!"
Kaguya Shinomiya, the esteemed young lady, was currently harboring her own thoughts about Rei Ao, focusing all her energy on studying as she desperately tried to beat him in the upcoming exams.
On the sofa, Secretary Chika Fujiwara was slouched, munching on potato chips.
She glanced repeatedly at Kaguya, who was buried in her books, clearly wanting to say something but holding back. Finally, she broke the silence:
"Kaguya-chan, why are you studying so hard lately? Is it because the midterm tests are coming up?"
In the past, Kaguya had always faced such tests with perfect composure. Chika had never seen her this driven. She'd even assumed that "geniuses don't really need to study."
Kaguya's expression tensed. Fujiwara wouldn't understand what a burden it was having the Shinomiya family name or dealing with someone like Rei Ao over her head. Not seeing Kaguya's disquiet, Chika just kept "complaining" in a carefree way:
"Oh, Kaguya-chan, you're such a good student, working that hard. You're leaving us ordinary people with no chance!"
Kaguya shot her a glare, replying icily,
"You can do the same and review your notes to get better grades."
Chika scratched her head sheepishly. "N-no thanks..."
Her grades weren't bad—just not top-tier. She never had any major pressure from her family, so she had no reason to push herself that hard.
Burying her nose in textbooks sounded awful; she'd rather play board games or gossip now and then.
Suddenly, a thought sparked in Chika's head:
"Oh right, Kaguya-chan, do you think that super-amazing Rei Ao-kun is maybe also cooped up studying for the upcoming tests?"
The moment Kaguya heard his name, her head shot up. Her brow knitted.
Chika's words made Kaguya's mind spin. Rei Ao was already amazing—if he was also studying as fiercely as she was, then she'd lose every advantage!
That couldn't happen!
Kaguya's gaze grew determined.
I must surpass him! I am a daughter of the Shinomiya family!
If Rei Ao was studying diligently, she had to work even harder! She decided: tonight, she'd pull an all-nighter if necessary.
"But do you think he might be cramming all night?" Chika continued. Then she suddenly shivered. "Yikes, why is it so cold all of a sudden?"
Kaguya withdrew the frosty death glare she'd aimed at Chika, her expression turning stony.
This bird-brain sure knows exactly the wrong thing to say!
Her mood cratered. Any last scrap of wishful thinking was dashed by this chatterbox. Was there no hope for her? Kaguya's face looked grim.
Meanwhile, Chika, oblivious to her near miss with a murderous glare, kept munching on her chips. Had looks been lethal, Chika would have been sliced and diced a thousand times by now.
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