Chapter 4
Lunch began with Class 3-D committing a kidnapping in broad daylight.
Not legally, probably.
But emotionally, absolutely.
The moment homeroom ended, Kiyotaka barely managed to leave his seat before Ike appeared in front of him like a guard dog who had found a holy relic.
"Ayanokōji, lunch. With us."
Kiyotaka looked at him.
"That sounded less like an invitation."
"It's friendship," Yamauchi said quickly, sliding beside him. "Aggressive friendship."
Sotomura pushed up his glasses with the grave expression of a man presenting evidence in court. "Your first official lunch must be handled carefully. The cafeteria is a social battlefield."
Okitani gave him a tired look. "You make eating sound illegal."
"In ANHS?" Ijuin muttered. "It probably becomes illegal during special exams."
Hirata, standing nearby with his usual pleasant smile, tried to soften the scene before the boys accidentally formed a cult around the new transfer student.
"You can join us if you want, Ayanokōji-kun. It might be easier than eating alone on your first day."
Kiyotaka's playful smile appeared slowly.
"Are you worried I'll get lost?"
Ike slapped his desk lightly. "No. We're worried the Crown Hearts will try to recruit you first."
Yamauchi leaned in and whispered, "Or worse. Girls."
Kiyotaka glanced toward the hallway.
"Girls are worse than Crown Hearts?"
Sotomura answered with absolute seriousness. "When they are controlled by Crown Hearts influence, yes."
Hirata rubbed the back of his neck. "Please ignore most of that."
Kiyotaka smiled.
"I'll consider which part to ignore while we walk."
That was enough.
The boys lit up like they had just received a limited-edition banner character.
As they left the classroom, several girls watched them go. Kei pretended not to, Maya openly did, and Chiaki looked amused in the way people did when they smelled future gossip cooking somewhere nearby.
The hallway was already crowded with students moving toward the cafeteria. The moment Kiyotaka stepped out with the Class 3-D boys around him, whispers started crawling along the walls again.
"There he is."
"The alley guy."
"He's in Class D?"
"Seriously?"
"Why does Class D always get the weird ones?"
"Don't say weird. He'll hear you."
Kiyotaka heard them.
He simply kept walking.
The boys tried to act normal.
They failed beautifully.
Ike walked like a bodyguard hired with coupon points. Yamauchi kept glancing at nearby girls to check whether their group was being noticed. Sotomura looked like he was mentally writing a thesis titled The Romantic Redistribution Potential of Ayanokōji Kiyotaka.
Hirata noticed and quietly sighed.
"You all know he's still just a student, right?"
Ike looked offended.
"Hirata. He beat Ryūen's group yesterday."
"That doesn't stop him from being a student."
"It stops him from being just one."
Kiyotaka's lips curved.
"You're making it sound like I'm not here."
"You are here," Yamauchi said. "That's the problem. We're not used to having hope walking beside us."
"That's dramatic."
"We were born in a school ruled by male idols. Drama is all we have left."
Kiyotaka almost laughed.
Almost.
Then the hallway ahead shifted.
A familiar warmth appeared in the crowd before any name did.
Honami Ichinose walked with her friends from Class 3-B, smiling gently as Mako Amikura talked with her whole body, hands moving, eyes sparkling, voice carrying just enough to be impossible to ignore.
Chihiro walked beside them, quieter, trying very hard to look like she had not spent the morning being teased.
She failed the moment her eyes landed on Kiyotaka.
Her steps stuttered.
Mako saw it.
Of course she saw it.
Her grin turned wicked.
"Found him."
Chihiro grabbed her sleeve. "Mako, no."
"Mako, yes."
Honami blinked. "Amikura-san?"
But Mako was already moving.
She crossed the hallway like a girl with a mission from the gossip gods, dragging Chihiro along with her. Chihiro looked like a hostage who knew everyone would laugh at the ransom note.
The Class 3-D boys froze.
Yamauchi whispered, "Enemy contact."
Hirata whispered back, "They are not enemies."
Ike's face tightened with heroic sorrow. "They're Class B girls. That's worse. They're polite while stealing."
Mako stopped in front of Kiyotaka with a bright smile.
"Ayanokōji-kun."
Kiyotaka looked at her.
"Amikura Mako, right?"
Mako blinked.
Behind her, Chihiro made a small sound.
Honami's eyebrows lifted slightly.
"You know me already?" Mako asked, delighted.
"OAA app," Kiyotaka said. "And you're hard to miss."
Mako put a hand over her chest. "That sounded like a compliment with teeth."
"It depends how you take it."
"Oh, I'm taking it. Chihiro-chan, did you hear that? I'm hard to miss."
Chihiro's face turned pink. "Why are you telling me?"
"Because you've been hard to revive since you saw his video."
"Mako!"
The Class 3-D boys immediately leaned in.
Ike's eyes widened. "Video?"
Yamauchi whispered, "He already has Class B viewers."
Sotomura nodded gravely. "Expansion confirmed."
Honami smiled awkwardly at them. "Sorry. Mako has been teasing Chihiro-chan since morning."
"I have done no such thing," Mako said. "I have only presented evidence."
"You replayed the alley clip in front of everyone," Chihiro muttered.
Mako pointed at her. "And you blushed every time his face changed."
Kiyotaka's gaze shifted to Chihiro.
She immediately looked down.
He smiled.
Not wide.
Not soft.
The kind of smile that made the hallway seem slightly too narrow.
"You watched that closely?"
Chihiro's shoulders stiffened.
"I... not closely. It was just... everyone was watching it."
"Everyone?"
"Well, maybe not everyone."
"But you did."
Her ears went red.
Mako clapped once. "He's good."
Kiyotaka glanced back at her. "At what?"
"Bullying shy girls politely."
Honami tried not to laugh and failed with a soft sound.
The boys, meanwhile, were watching their lunch plans crumble in real time.
Mako turned back to Kiyotaka, eyes glittering.
"We were going to lunch. Join us."
Ike inhaled.
Yamauchi opened his mouth.
Then Honami gave them a guilty smile.
"We don't mean to steal him. It's just... Chihiro-chan might pass away if we don't let her talk to him properly."
Chihiro looked betrayed. "Honami-chan, not you too..."
Hirata smiled helplessly. "It's okay. We can eat together another time."
Ike looked like he had been wounded in a duel.
"Be strong," Yamauchi whispered to him.
Sotomura adjusted his glasses. "This sacrifice may improve Class D and Class B relations."
Ijuin nodded. "We lost lunch, but gained diplomacy."
Kiyotaka looked at them with faint amusement.
"I'll repay the invitation."
Ike straightened immediately.
"You promise?"
"I said I'll repay it. Don't make it sound romantic."
Yamauchi grabbed Ike's shoulder. "He teased us too. We're included."
The boys retreated with the tragic dignity of soldiers leaving a comrade behind enemy lines.
Mako watched them go, laughing.
"You're popular with boys too."
Kiyotaka turned toward her.
"That sounded like a warning."
"It is. They looked ready to worship you."
"Should I be concerned?"
"Only if they start selling merchandise."
Honami covered her smile with her hand.
Chihiro whispered, "I think they already would."
Kiyotaka looked at her again.
"Would you buy it?"
Chihiro almost tripped over nothing.
Mako made a delighted noise. "Oh, this lunch is going to be perfect."
The cafeteria had been noisy before they arrived.
Then Kiyotaka entered with Honami's group, and the noise changed shape.
It did not disappear. ANHS students were too proud to openly lose composure. Instead, the cafeteria became full of people pretending not to look while doing a terrible job of it.
A table near the window was free.
Mako claimed it with the decisiveness of a general choosing battlefield terrain.
"Kiyotaka-kun, here."
Honami gave her a look. "You're using his first name already?"
Mako slid into her seat, completely shameless. "I'm testing the waters."
Chihiro tried to sit across from Kiyotaka.
Mako pulled her back down beside him.
"No escaping."
"Mako, I hate you."
"You'll thank me at your wedding."
Chihiro made a sound that did not form words.
Kiyotaka sat calmly, placing his tray down as if the entire table had not just staged a social execution.
Honami sat across from him with a warm but slightly nervous smile.
"Sorry again. We're usually not this chaotic."
Mako raised her hand. "False."
Yume nodded from beside her. "We're often worse."
Kozue smiled. "Only when Mako gets inspired."
Sayo leaned toward Chihiro. "Are you okay?"
Chihiro stared at her food. "No."
Yuki looked at Kiyotaka. "You're handling this strangely well."
"I was examined this morning," Kiyotaka said. "Lunch is easier."
Mako leaned forward immediately.
"Favorite subject?"
"Today?"
"That changes?"
"It depends on which teacher is asking."
Mako pointed at him. "Dodger."
Kiyotaka's smile grew. "Curious."
"Obviously. You appeared out of nowhere, got perfect scores, fought Ryūen, and made the boys of Class D look like they discovered a national treasure."
"They're friendly."
"They looked like they wanted to start a religion."
Chihiro quietly added, "They were happy you greeted them."
Kiyotaka glanced at her.
"That was enough?"
Chihiro looked up.
"Sometimes people like being noticed."
The table softened for a second.
Kiyotaka held her gaze just long enough for her to realize she had spoken honestly.
Then his smile curved.
"Then I should be careful who I notice."
Chihiro's face reddened again.
Mako slapped the table lightly. "There! That thing. You keep doing that."
"What thing?"
"Turning normal sentences into emotional crimes."
Kiyotaka picked up his drink.
"I thought I was being polite."
"You are. That's the problem."
Honami laughed softly. "I think I understand what she means."
Kiyotaka looked at her.
"And what do you think I mean?"
Honami blinked. "Me?"
"You said you understood."
The question was gentle, but his gaze made it feel like he had pulled her slightly away from the noise around them.
Honami straightened.
"I think... you don't say much, but when you do, it feels personal."
Mako's grin sharpened. "Honami-chan, that was smooth."
Honami flushed. "I didn't mean it that way."
Kiyotaka smiled.
"I'll accept it that way anyway."
Honami froze for half a second.
Yume whispered, "He got her too."
Kozue nodded. "That was clean."
Mako looked at Chihiro. "You're no longer alone."
Chihiro was too busy looking at her tray to celebrate.
Mako recovered first, because embarrassment only made her more dangerous.
"Fine. New topic." She folded her arms and leaned forward. "Are you single?"
Honami nearly coughed.
"Mako!"
"What? Important question."
Chihiro looked like her soul was trying to leave through the cafeteria window.
Kiyotaka did not even blink.
"That depends on who's asking."
Mako stopped.
For once, her teasing bounced back into her own face.
Yuki covered her mouth.
Sayo's eyes widened.
Yume leaned forward like she had just seen a live performance.
Mako pointed at him slowly.
"That was illegal."
Kiyotaka's smile turned lazy.
"Was it?"
"Yes. I ask the dangerous questions. You don't get to make them dangerous back."
"Then ask safer questions."
"Fine. Favorite food."
"Something warm."
Mako stared.
"That's it?"
"What answer did you expect?"
"I don't know. Spicy ramen. Steak. Expensive rich-boy food. Something with personality."
Kiyotaka looked at his lunch.
"Food doesn't need personality. People add enough of that."
Kozue smiled. "That's unexpectedly poetic."
"No, that's suspicious," Mako said. "People who say things like that either have trauma or are secretly good cooks."
Kiyotaka looked back at her.
"Which one would make lunch more interesting?"
Mako opened her mouth.
Closed it.
Chihiro whispered, "He keeps winning."
"I am aware," Mako said.
Kiyotaka's eyes moved to Chihiro again.
"What about you?"
"Me?"
"Favorite food."
She blinked, surprised he asked.
"Um... I like sweet things. Cakes, mostly. Not too rich though."
Kiyotaka nodded.
"Quiet sweetness."
Chihiro tilted her head. "What?"
"It suits you."
The table went silent.
Chihiro's face turned red all at once.
Mako grabbed her own chest like she had been hit by a stray bullet.
"Excuse me?"
Kiyotaka glanced at her. "Did I answer incorrectly?"
"No, you answered too correctly. That's the issue."
Chihiro's fingers curled around her spoon.
"T-thank you..."
Kiyotaka's smile softened.
"You're welcome."
For a breath, the danger in him shifted. Not gone. Just covered by something calm enough to feel almost kind.
That made it hit harder.
Honami watched quietly, her eyes thoughtful.
He doesn't flatter loudly. He makes small things feel seen.
That was dangerous in a completely different way.
Mako narrowed her eyes, clearly refusing to lose in her own territory.
"Okay then, Ayanokōji-kun. Since you're so good at turning people red, what's your type of girl?"
Chihiro looked up so fast her spoon clicked against her tray.
Honami's smile froze.
Yume whispered, "She went for the final boss question."
Kozue murmured, "This could destroy us."
Sayo nodded. "Mako may have doomed the table."
Kiyotaka rested his chin lightly on his hand.
He looked at Mako.
Not Chihiro.
Not Honami.
Mako.
The playful smile remained, but something under it sharpened. The air around him changed just enough for everyone at the table to feel it. His gaze was calm, amused, and far too focused.
"My type?"
Mako swallowed.
Then forced her grin back.
"Yes. Your type."
Kiyotaka's eyes moved slowly, studying her like he had all the time in the world.
"Someone who talks before fear catches up."
Mako's smile twitched.
"Someone who laughs loudly because silence feels too honest."
Yume's mouth fell open slightly.
Kiyotaka continued, voice low enough that the noise of the cafeteria seemed to move around it.
"Someone who teases others to see how close she's allowed to stand."
Mako's face began turning pink.
Kiyotaka's smile deepened.
"And someone who pretends she's only curious, because admitting interest would feel like losing."
The table died.
Mako stared at him.
Then slowly leaned back, one hand over her face.
"Ooooffff..."
Chihiro made a tiny gasp.
Yuki whispered, "He described her."
Kozue nodded. "Completely."
Sayo looked between them with wide eyes. "Mako lost."
Mako pointed at Kiyotaka without removing her hand from her face.
"You are evil."
Kiyotaka's smile was beautiful in the worst possible way.
"You asked."
"That doesn't mean you were supposed to assassinate me."
"I was being honest."
"Honesty should have limits."
Honami tried to hide her laughter behind her hand.
Mako peeked between her fingers and saw Chihiro still red beside him.
"Chihiro-chan, help me."
Chihiro shook her head quickly.
"No. You started this."
"I raised you better than this."
"You did not raise me."
Kiyotaka looked at Chihiro.
"Would you have asked something different?"
Chihiro stiffened.
"M-me?"
"Yes."
She hesitated, then glanced at his face before looking away again.
"I would have asked... why you smile like that."
The table quieted again.
Even Mako lowered her hand.
Kiyotaka looked at Chihiro for a moment.
His playful smile stayed, but the sweetness thinned.
What remained beneath it was darker.
Not cruel.
Not angry.
Something closer to a blade slowly sliding free of its cover.
"Like what?"
Chihiro's voice became smaller.
"Like you know something bad is going to happen."
Kiyotaka did not answer immediately.
Around them, the cafeteria noise continued, but the table felt separate from it now.
Honami watched him carefully.
Mako's teasing expression faded into curiosity.
Kiyotaka's eyes stayed on Chihiro.
Then he smiled a little more.
"Maybe I'm waiting to see who notices."
Chihiro's breath caught.
Mako whispered, "That is not a normal answer."
"No," Honami said softly. "It isn't."
Kiyotaka looked away first, returning to his lunch as if he had not just changed the temperature of the entire table.
Yume leaned toward Kozue.
"Why did that make him hotter?"
Kozue whispered back, "Because we're all in danger."
Sayo nodded, looking troubled. "Emotionally, at least."
Mako slowly picked up her drink.
"I asked if he was single and favorite food. How did we end up in psychological horror?"
Kiyotaka glanced at her.
"You asked my type."
Mako pointed her straw at him.
"And you chose violence."
"Not today."
Mako froze.
"Not today?"
Chihiro covered her mouth.
Honami looked down, smiling despite herself.
Mako groaned. "I hate that the scary part is funny."
The lunch continued after that, but the atmosphere had changed.
Not awkward.
Charged.
Mako kept trying to regain control of the conversation, and Kiyotaka kept letting her think she had it before pulling the chair out from under her pride.
"So," Mako said, still recovering. "Do you like cute girls or mature girls?"
Kiyotaka looked at her.
"Are those the only categories?"
"You're dodging again."
"I'm rejecting poor classification."
Mako clutched her chest. "He criticized my categories."
Chihiro, braver now by half an inch, asked, "Then how would you classify people?"
Kiyotaka's gaze shifted to her.
"By what they hide."
Chihiro blinked.
"What do I hide?"
Mako immediately leaned forward.
"Careful. He'll destroy you gently."
Kiyotaka's smile softened just enough to make Chihiro forget Mako's warning.
"You hide curiosity behind nervousness."
Her lips parted.
"And you hide kindness behind silence, because if people notice it too much, they might ask for more than you can give."
The words landed quietly.
Chihiro looked down, cheeks pink but eyes softer.
"That's... not wrong."
Mako muttered, "That was supposed to be my lunch entertainment. Why is it becoming therapy?"
Honami smiled gently at Chihiro, then looked at Kiyotaka.
"What do I hide?"
The question came out before she fully meant it.
The table reacted instantly.
Mako's eyes widened.
Yume mouthed something silently.
Kiyotaka looked at Honami.
His expression remained playful, but his eyes became sharper, and for a second Honami understood why the alley video had scared people.
Not because he was violent.
Because when Kiyotaka focused, it felt like he removed every decoration from the room and left only the truth standing there.
"You hide exhaustion," he said.
Honami's smile stayed.
It just became still.
Kiyotaka continued, voice calm.
"You're good at making people feel safe. So good that they forget safe people need somewhere to rest too."
No one spoke.
Honami looked at him for a long second.
Then she smiled again, softer this time.
"That's a heavy thing to say during lunch."
"It was a heavy question."
Mako slowly leaned back.
"Okay. New rule. No asking Ayanokōji-kun about what we hide unless we want emotional damage with our meal."
Kiyotaka looked at her.
"You're the one who asked my type."
"And I regret becoming literate."
Chihiro laughed.
It was small, but real.
Kiyotaka noticed.
His smile shifted again. Less sharp, more quietly amused.
"There it is."
Chihiro looked at him.
"What?"
"You look less nervous when you laugh."
Her face flushed again.
Mako slapped the table softly. "Chihiro-chan, we're losing you."
Chihiro covered her cheeks. "Stop saying things like that."
Kiyotaka picked up his drink.
"I can stop."
Chihiro glanced at him through her fingers.
"...I didn't say you had to."
Mako made a sound of absolute betrayal.
Honami laughed, bright and surprised.
Kiyotaka's smile curved at the corner.
"Then I'll be careful."
Mako threw a napkin at him.
"No, you won't."
He caught it before it hit his tray.
The movement was so casual, so quick, that the girls went quiet again for half a second.
Mako stared.
Chihiro stared.
Honami's eyes widened slightly.
Kiyotaka placed the napkin neatly beside his tray.
Then looked at Mako.
"You missed."
Mako slowly lowered her hand.
"That was unfairly attractive."
Yume whispered, "She said it out loud."
Mako did not even deny it this time.
"I stand by my statement."
By the time lunch ended, the Class 3-B table had become one of the cafeteria's main attractions.
No one nearby had heard everything, but they had heard enough.
Mako laughing too loudly.
Chihiro hiding her face.
Honami going quiet at something Kiyotaka said.
Kiyotaka smiling like he was flirting, threatening, joking, and studying them all at once.
The unofficial blog received updates from three different angles.
At the table, Mako checked one of the posts and gasped.
"They spelled Chihiro's name wrong."
Chihiro looked horrified. "That's what you're worried about?"
"What else should I worry about?"
"The fact they're posting about us!"
Mako waved it off. "That was inevitable the moment you blushed like a tragic heroine."
Chihiro groaned.
Kiyotaka stood, picking up his tray.
"Thanks for inviting me."
Mako looked up at him with narrowed eyes.
"You're leaving after causing all this?"
"I only ate lunch."
"You emotionally vandalized the table."
"I'll apologize to the furniture."
Honami smiled. "You really are strange, Ayanokōji-kun."
Kiyotaka looked at her.
"Only strange?"
Her smile faltered into a small blush.
Mako pointed at him again.
"There! He's doing it again."
Kiyotaka's gaze moved to Chihiro.
"See you around, Chihiro."
He said her name simply.
No honorific.
No teasing added.
That made it worse.
Chihiro's eyes lifted.
"...See you."
Mako watched Kiyotaka leave, then slowly leaned toward Chihiro.
"Congratulations."
Chihiro frowned, still red. "For what?"
"You survived first contact."
Yume giggled. "Barely."
Kozue rested her chin on her hand. "He's different from the Crown Hearts."
Sayo nodded softly. "They make people feel admired."
Honami watched Kiyotaka disappear into the hallway.
"And Ayanokōji-kun?"
Mako's grin returned, but there was something thoughtful beneath it now.
"He makes people feel discovered."
No one argued.
Because that was exactly why the lunch felt dangerous.
The Crown Hearts had spent years shining above ANHS.
Kiyotaka had sat down for one meal and made a table full of girls wonder what he could see when he smiled.
And somewhere, in the growing noise of the school's private chats, the first crack in the old order widened.