Chapter 6
Kiyotaka was walking with Ryūen when the noise reached them.
It came from the third-year Class B hallway, low at first, then sharper as they got closer. Not the usual lunchtime noise. Not gossip. Not laughter.
This sound had edges.
Ryūen noticed it too.
His grin stretched lazily across his face. "Kukuku... sounds like someone's getting executed without paperwork."
Kiyotaka kept walking.
Beside them, Ishizaki leaned forward slightly, trying to catch the words through the classroom door.
"Isn't this Honami's class?"
Ryūen's eyes narrowed with amusement. "Even better."
Kiyotaka didn't answer.
He had already heard enough.
A girl's voice, shaking.
Another girl defending her.
Several students talking over each other.
Then a male voice, loud enough to be heard clearly from outside.
"Honami, stop avoiding the question. The class savings don't match the records. You were responsible for managing them."
Kiyotaka stopped outside the open doorway.
Inside Class B, Honami stood near the side wall, surrounded by eyes that had once looked at her with trust.
Hiro Hayashi stood in front of her.
The Golden Prince.
Bright uniform. Handsome face. Perfect posture. The kind of boy ANHS had spent years praising until even his shadow looked expensive.
But under the classroom lights, with his finger pointed toward Honami and his smile nowhere to be found, he looked less like a prince and more like a spoiled actor who had forgotten which expression came next.
"The missing points didn't disappear by themselves," Hiro said, voice rising. "If there's an explanation, then say it."
Honami's lips parted.
Nothing came out.
Because she knew.
She knew exactly where the points had gone.
Small requests at first. Then larger ones. Hiro had called them temporary. Necessary. A little help. Something only she could do because he trusted her.
Because she was kind.
Because she liked him.
Because he knew she liked him.
A few days ago, she had stopped sending them.
And now the missing points had become her crime.
Mako stood near her, furious in a way that made even her usual teasing energy look like smoke before a fire.
"Honami wouldn't use class funds for herself!"
Chihiro's hands were clenched near her chest, her voice trembling but stubborn. "She's been handling things for everyone this whole time. You know that."
Someone from Hiro's side clicked their tongue.
"Then why can't she explain it?"
Another voice followed.
"Hiro-kun is only asking what everyone wants to know."
The room pressed in around Honami.
She tried to breathe.
It didn't work.
Her vision blurred, the edges turning dark. The classroom felt too bright and too cold at the same time. Every stare became heavier than the last. Every whisper crawled under her skin.
'Why... why can't I say it?'
Her throat burned.
If she said Hiro's name, the class would fracture.
If she stayed silent, they would bury her.
She was so tired.
So horribly, quietly tired.
Then the darkness in her vision changed.
Not into light.
Into something darker.
Something standing in front of her.
Warm, somehow.
A shadow with a heartbeat.
Kiyotaka stepped between Honami and Hiro without asking anyone for permission.
The classroom went still.
Not silent. Still.
Like every student's body had understood before their minds did.
Ryūen leaned against the doorway, arms loose, grin already growing. Ishizaki stopped beside him with the restless energy of someone waiting for permission to laugh at the wrong time. Albert's presence filled the space behind them like a wall nobody wanted to test.
The students who had been loud a few seconds ago suddenly discovered the beauty of breathing quietly.
Kiyotaka looked at Hiro.
Just looked.
Hiro's expression tightened.
"Ayanokōji?"
Kiyotaka did not greet him.
Did not explain himself.
Did not even pretend he had come by accident.
Behind him, Honami stared up through damp eyes, her voice barely holding together.
"...Why?"
The word was small.
Almost lost.
Kiyotaka heard it anyway.
He didn't turn around.
His voice came low, calm, and impossibly steady.
"Protecting someone I know doesn't need a reason."
The words fell into the room and stayed there.
Honami's eyes widened.
Kiyotaka glanced back at her then, just enough for her to see his face.
The expression he showed her was not gentle in the usual way. It still carried danger. Still carried darkness. But it was warm where it touched her, like standing near a fire at night and realizing the flames would burn anything that came too close.
"Especially someone real," he added. "That's rare enough."
Honami's breath caught.
Mako stopped moving.
Chihiro looked like she had forgotten where she was.
Then Kiyotaka turned back to Hiro, and the warmth disappeared from his face as if someone had closed a door.
Hiro tried to recover first.
"This has nothing to do with you."
Kiyotaka stepped closer.
The difference between them became cruel.
Hiro was handsome. Popular. Loved by half the school's gossip pages.
But with Kiyotaka in front of him, he looked smaller.
Not physically only.
Socially.
Spiritually.
Like a painted crown placed beside a blade.
Kiyotaka towered over him with that faint, dangerous smile, eyes calm and merciless, looking down at Hiro like a villain studying an unimportant side character who had wandered into the wrong scene.
"You're blaming her," Kiyotaka said.
Hiro's jaw tightened. "I'm asking for accountability."
"No." Kiyotaka's smile grew by the smallest degree. "You're choosing the one person least likely to defend herself properly."
A fanatical girl near Hiro's side stepped forward.
"Don't talk like you know anything! Hiro-kun is only-"
Ryūen laughed.
Not loudly.
He didn't need to.
"Kukuku..."
That laugh crawled across the classroom like a knife being dragged along glass.
The girl stopped speaking.
Ryūen tilted his head, grin sharp. "Go on. Finish that sentence. I'm curious how stupid it gets."
Ishizaki snorted.
Albert only stared.
That was enough.
The Crown loyalists went quiet.
Hiro's face flushed with anger. "Dragging Ryūen here doesn't make you right."
Kiyotaka's eyes never left him.
"I don't need Ryūen to be right."
Ryūen's grin widened at that.
Hiro forced a laugh, but it came out thin. "You really think you can just walk in here and act like you own the place?"
Kiyotaka's smile became beautiful in the worst possible way.
"No."
He turned slightly.
An empty chair sat beside the nearest desk.
The classroom watched him approach it.
For half a second, nobody understood.
Then Kiyotaka's fist came down.
The crack split the room.
The chair buckled under the impact, one leg snapping as the plastic seat twisted harshly against the floor. A few students screamed. Someone's phone clattered onto a desk. The sound echoed too long for something so quick.
Kiyotaka straightened.
A thin red line marked his knuckles.
He didn't check it.
Didn't flinch.
Didn't even lose the smile.
Ryūen whistled from the door, delighted. "Kukuku... that's punctuation."
Hiro stared at the broken chair.
Then at Kiyotaka's hand.
Then at Kiyotaka's face.
That was the mistake.
Because Kiyotaka's eyes were not angry.
If they were angry, Hiro might have understood them.
They were amused.
Coldly, patiently amused.
Like Hiro was not a threat.
Not a rival.
Not even a problem.
Just noise.
Kiyotaka stepped back in front of him.
"Now," he said softly, "try again."
Hiro swallowed.
The room saw it.
He hated that they saw it.
"This is ridiculous," Hiro snapped, too loud now. "You don't know anything about the fund, or Class B, or Honami."
Kiyotaka's head tilted slightly.
"Then explain it."
Hiro froze.
Kiyotaka's smile sharpened.
"Explain the missing points. Explain why she looks terrified to speak. Explain why you're angry that she stopped giving you something."
The last line hit the room differently.
Mako's eyes widened.
Chihiro's hand flew to her mouth.
Several Class B students turned toward Hiro at once.
Hiro's expression cracked.
Only for a second.
But Kiyotaka saw it.
So did the camera hidden near the back, held by a student who had started recording when Ryūen arrived and now couldn't stop.
Hiro looked at Honami.
Kiyotaka moved.
Just one step.
Enough to block his view of her completely.
The message was silent and absolute.
You do not get to reach her from here.
Hiro's pride tried to stand.
His body didn't follow.
"You're insane," he muttered.
Kiyotaka's smile softened into something almost playful.
"Maybe."
A pause.
"But you're leaving."
No one breathed.
Hiro's fists clenched.
He looked like he wanted to say something grand. Something princely. Something that would turn the crowd back toward him.
But the classroom had changed.
His fans were uneasy.
The doubters were thinking.
Honami's friends were staring at him with a new kind of anger.
Ryūen was laughing with his eyes.
And Kiyotaka stood there, dark and calm, warm only to the girl behind him and merciless to everything in front.
Hiro turned away first.
It was not a victory walk.
It was a retreat pretending to have better things to do.
A few of his loyalists followed after him, but even their footsteps sounded uncertain now.
Ryūen watched them leave and clicked his tongue.
"Golden Prince, huh? Looked more like cheap foil to me."
Ishizaki nearly laughed, then wisely covered it with a cough.
The room remained frozen.
Kiyotaka did not chase Hiro with more words.
He didn't need to.
The damage had already learned how to walk on its own.
Slowly, he turned back to Honami.
The change was immediate.
The dangerous smile faded.
Not completely. It never truly left him.
But it softened, becoming something quieter, something almost tender. The kind of warmth only visible because everyone had just seen what his darkness could do.
Honami was still curled near the wall, her shoulders trembling. Tears clung to her lashes, but she looked at him like she couldn't understand how someone so frightening could feel so safe.
Kiyotaka crouched in front of her.
For a moment, he said nothing.
Then he reached out and rested his hand gently on her head.
Honami's face crumpled.
Not loudly.
Not dramatically.
Just enough to show how close she had been to breaking.
"Kiyotaka-kun..."
His voice lowered.
"I came to ask you to lunch."
She blinked through her tears.
"What?"
He offered his hand.
"Do you still want to go?"
The absurd softness of it after everything that had just happened made the room feel unreal.
Mako stared.
Chihiro pressed both hands to her chest.
Honami looked at his hand.
The same hand that had broken the chair without hesitation.
The same hand now waiting for her like it had been made only to help her stand.
A tiny smile appeared on her tear-stained face.
Fragile.
Shaky.
Real.
She placed her hand in his.
Kiyotaka pulled her up carefully.
Honami wiped at her cheeks, embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I probably look awful."
Kiyotaka looked at her for a second.
His smile returned, faint and warm in its own dangerous way.
"No."
She gave a weak laugh. "You didn't even think about that answer."
"I didn't need to."
Her cheeks colored despite the tears.
Ryūen groaned from the doorway.
"Oi, Kiyotaka. If you're done filming the romance scene, lunch is waiting."
Honami's face turned redder.
Kiyotaka glanced at him.
"You're loud."
Ryūen laughed. "You broke a chair with your fist and I'm loud?"
Ishizaki muttered, "He's got a point, bro."
Kiyotaka ignored that and turned back to Honami.
"Let's go."
She nodded.
Mako stepped forward like she wanted to say something, then stopped. Her eyes moved from Kiyotaka to Honami, and for once, she didn't tease.
"Take care of her," she said.
Kiyotaka looked at her.
"I am."
Simple.
Certain.
Mako's expression softened.
Chihiro looked like she was trying not to cry again.
Honami held Kiyotaka's hand a little tighter.
Then they walked toward the door.
Class B parted for them.
No one told them to.
They simply moved.
Ryūen pushed himself off the doorway, grin still sharp, and turned with them. His gang followed, rough shadows trailing behind the darker one at the center of the room's attention.
The classroom did not explode right away.
For a few seconds after Kiyotaka left with Honami, Class 3-B simply sat there, staring at the doorway as if the air itself had been cut open.
Then the whispers began.
"He really made Hiro leave..."
"No, he didn't just make him leave. He stood over him."
"It looked like Hiro shrank."
"Don't say that."
"You saw it too. Hiro looked like some background character who walked into the wrong boss fight."
Someone near the back replayed the clip with trembling fingers. The video shook slightly, but it caught everything that mattered.
Honami cornered.
Hiro pointing at her.
Kiyotaka stepping in.
The way the room changed when he looked at Hiro.
And then the chair.
That single crack was already becoming campus history.
Mako stood beside Chihiro, arms crossed tightly. For once, she didn't look like she was preparing a joke.
"He blocked Hiro from even looking at her," Chihiro whispered.
Mako's eyes stayed on the broken chair. "Yeah."
The video spread before anyone could stop it.
Not just to Class B.
To Crown Hearts fan groups.
Anti-Crown chats.
Class D gossip circles.
University division rumor boards.
The caption that finally stuck was brutal.
AYANOKōJI KIYOTAKA MADE HIRO HAYASHI LOOK LIKE AN NPC. CLASS 3-B INCIDENT. HONAMI ESCORTED OUT.
The comments became war.
Hiro walked away because he was mature.
He walked away because Kiyotaka looked at him like a bug.
Do not disrespect Hiro.
Then tell Hiro not to fold in 4K.
Kiyotaka punched a chair and didn't flinch.
That's not cool, that's dangerous.
Unfortunately, dangerous was working.
He stood in front of Honami without asking for anything. Crown Hearts could never.
Delete that.
No.
In the anti-Crown circles, the clip was treated like a national holiday.
Someone slowed down the moment Kiyotaka stepped closer to Hiro. Someone else circled the difference in posture like they were analyzing a sports match. A third person made the mistake of adding dramatic music, and within minutes it was everywhere.
Hiro had always looked good surrounded by lights, fans, and admiration.
But beside Kiyotaka's stillness, his shine looked painted on.
Kiyotaka did not glow.
He swallowed the room.
And now everyone had seen it.
---
Honami did not fully return to herself until they were already inside the cafeteria.
She blinked at the noise, the tables, the students pretending not to look, and finally at her own hand.
It was still holding Kiyotaka's.
No.
Their fingers were not simply touching.
Her hand was actually in his.
Intertwined.
Warm.
Steady.
The realization hit her so hard her face burned.
'I held his hand from the classroom all the way here...?'
Her heart panicked.
'Why didn't I let go? Why didn't he let go? Why does it feel worse now that I noticed?'
Kiyotaka glanced at her.
That small, dangerous smile returned, softer than before but no less unfair.
"You're back."
Honami's lips parted.
"I..."
Ryūen dropped into a seat across from them and laughed before she could recover.
"Kukuku... took you long enough. You walked all the way here holding his hand like you were escaping a burning castle."
Honami's face went redder. "Ryūen-kun!"
"Don't blame me. I'm just reporting the crime scene."
Ishizaki sat down heavily, still staring at Kiyotaka's hand. "Forget that. Bro, that punch was crazy. The chair broke like it owed you money."
Kondō nodded, looking half-impressed and half-disturbed. "You didn't even react."
Albert's gaze stayed on Kiyotaka's knuckles. He gave a quiet nod, solemn as a judge approving a verdict.
Kiyotaka looked at his hand as if remembering it existed.
The skin over his knuckles was split. Not badly, but enough to leave a faint red mark beneath the cafeteria lights.
Honami saw it.
Something inside her went very quiet.
Ryūen noticed her expression before anyone else did.
His grin slowed.
"Kukuku... wait."
Kiyotaka placed a cold dessert beside Honami's tray.
She blinked, pulled halfway out of the strange silence forming inside her.
"When did you get that?"
"Before sitting."
"I didn't notice."
"You were distracted."
Her blush returned. "Because you were holding my hand."
"You were holding mine too."
Honami opened her mouth.
Closed it.
Ryūen slapped the table once, laughing. "He got you there."
Kiyotaka picked up the spoon and scooped a small bite of the cold dessert.
Honami stared.
"Kiyotaka-kun?"
"You haven't eaten."
"I can eat by myself."
"I know."
"Then why are you..."
He held the spoon near her lips.
His expression was calm, but his eyes carried that dark playfulness that made even simple gestures feel like traps wrapped in silk.
"Because if I ask normally, you might refuse."
The cafeteria around them became painfully interested.
Honami's face turned crimson.
"Kiyotaka-kun, people are watching."
"Yes."
"That's not helping."
"It wasn't supposed to."
Ryūen leaned back, grin sharp. "Brutal. Feeding her in public after stealing her from Class B. Hiro's fans are going to start coughing blood."
Kondō looked at him. "Don't say it like that."
Ishizaki muttered, "But he's not wrong."
Honami stared at the spoon, then at Kiyotaka.
Her heart was sprinting.
Her pride was screaming.
Her mouth betrayed her.
She leaned forward and accepted the bite.
The dessert was cold, sweet, and humiliatingly comforting.
A nearby table erupted into whispers.
"He fed her."
"She actually ate it."
"After the Class B incident?"
"Hiro is finished."
Honami covered her face with one hand. "I can't believe I did that."
Kiyotaka took a bite from the same dessert.
"You looked hungry."
"I was not hungry."
"You still ate."
"That is not a proper argument."
"It is evidence."
Ryūen laughed again. "Kiyotaka, you're evil."
Kiyotaka's smile shifted faintly.
"Only at lunch?"
"Don't ask him that," Kondō said.
Honami tried to laugh.
She almost did.
Then her eyes dropped again to his hand.
The hand he had used to stand between her and Hiro.
The hand he had hurt without hesitation.
The hand he was now using like the injury didn't matter.
Her smile slowly faded.
The cafeteria noise dimmed.
Not literally.
But to her, it did.
The warmth in her chest twisted into something darker, thicker, and terrifyingly calm.
Kiyotaka protected her.
Kiyotaka bled for her.
Kiyotaka treated it like nothing.
No.
That wasn't acceptable.
"Kiyotaka-kun."
Her voice was soft.
Too soft.
Ryūen's grin froze for half a second.
Ishizaki looked at her, confused. "Uh..."
Honami smiled.
It was still beautiful.
That made it worse.
Her eyes, usually warm enough to soften an entire classroom, had gone dark and still.
"Give me your hand."
Kiyotaka looked at her for a moment.
Then he offered it.
Honami took his injured hand in both of hers.
Carefully.
Possessively.
She opened her bag and pulled out alcohol wipes. Her fingers moved with gentle precision as she cleaned the injury, but the expression on her face did not belong to the Honami everyone thought they knew.
She looked calm.
Terribly calm.
The wipe touched the cut.
Kiyotaka did not flinch.
Honami's smile thinned.
"You feel pain, don't you?"
"Yes."
"Then why aren't you reacting?"
"I am."
"No." Her fingers tightened lightly around his wrist. "You're watching me."
Ryūen slowly leaned back, eyes gleaming. "Kukuku... angel's gone dark."
Ishizaki whispered, "Boss, is she mad?"
Ryūen's grin returned. "Mad? No. That's worse."
Honami ignored them.
She finished cleaning Kiyotaka's knuckles, then took out her handkerchief. It was white, neat, and faintly scented with something sweet. She wrapped it around his hand with careful movements, tying it firmly enough to stay.
When she finished, she didn't let go.
Her fingers slid between his.
Intertwined again.
This time, she knew exactly what she was doing.
Kiyotaka glanced down at their hands.
Then at her.
Honami smiled at the bandage like she was satisfied with claiming proof that he had been hurt.
"There."
Kiyotaka lifted their joined hands slightly.
"This is yours."
"Yes."
"It might stain."
"I know."
"You don't mind?"
Honami looked up at him.
Her eyes were dark, her smile gentle, and the combination made Ishizaki sit up straighter.
"You used this hand for me. Why would I mind?"
Kiyotaka's expression paused.
Only for a breath.
Ryūen saw it and covered his mouth with one hand, shoulders shaking.
"Kukuku... she hit him."
Kondō muttered, "I think she did."
Albert nodded once, gravely approving.
Honami turned Kiyotaka's hand over, inspecting her work.
"And don't do that again."
"Break a chair?"
"Hurt yourself."
"It was minor."
"Kiyotaka-kun."
His name left her mouth softly.
Too softly.
The entire table felt it.
Honami leaned closer, still holding his hand, her thumb resting near the bandage.
"You can scare people without bleeding."
Kiyotaka's smile returned, but there was curiosity in it now.
"Are you scolding me?"
"Yes."
"In public?"
"Yes."
Ryūen lost it.
He laughed openly, leaning back in his chair. "Kukuku! Class B's saint just started ordering the monster around."
Honami's eyes slid toward him.
Still smiling.
"Ryūen-kun."
His laughter stopped for half a second.
Then his grin widened.
"Oh, she's dangerous dangerous."
Ishizaki whispered, "I don't like how politely she said that."
Kondō nodded. "Polite threats are worse."
Honami turned back to Kiyotaka as if nothing had happened.
"If you want to protect me, then protect yourself too."
The cafeteria around them buzzed with whispers.
Someone already had their phone out.
Another photo spread.
Kiyotaka sitting beside Honami.
Her handkerchief wrapped around his knuckles.
Their fingers intertwined on the table.
Honami smiling with dark, frightening tenderness.
The caption appeared almost instantly.
HONAMI CLEANED AYANOKōJI'S WOUND AND HAS NOT LET GO OF HIS HAND. REPEAT: HAS NOT LET GO. RYūEN LOOKS SCARED?
The comments went feral.
Honami what happened to your eyes??
She smiled like she was about to lock him in a hospital room for his own safety.
That's not angel mode. That's dark angel mode.
Kiyotaka fed her dessert and unlocked something.
Hiro fumbled so badly he created yandere Honami.
Crown Hearts fans please take attendance, we lost another one.
At the table, Honami's phone kept buzzing.
She didn't look at it.
Her attention stayed entirely on Kiyotaka's hand.
Kiyotaka noticed.
"You're ignoring your phone."
"Yes."
"That's new."
"I'm busy."
"Doing what?"
She looked at him, smile sweet enough to fool anyone who had not seen the darkness behind it.
"Making sure you don't do anything stupid with this hand."
Ryūen wheezed.
Ishizaki pointed at Kiyotaka. "Bro, you're being guarded."
Kiyotaka looked at their intertwined fingers.
"So it seems."
Honami's blush returned suddenly, fighting with the darker calm in her eyes.
"I mean... not guarded. I just..."
She stopped.
Her fingers tightened.
No.
She did not let go.
Instead, her smile came back, soft and unnervingly honest.
"I don't want anyone else hurting what protected me."
The table went silent.
Even Ryūen didn't joke immediately.
Kiyotaka studied her.
For once, Honami did not look away.
Something had changed.
She could feel it inside herself, curling warm and black around the place where fear had been. A few days ago, Hiro's messages had made her chest ache. An hour ago, his accusations had nearly crushed her.
Now, sitting beside Kiyotaka, holding his injured hand in hers, she felt something else.
Not peace.
Not exactly.
Peace sounded too gentle.
This was stronger.
Darker.
A warmth that had teeth.
Kiyotaka finally smiled.
Slowly.
Dangerously.
"You've become bold."
Honami's face flushed, but her eyes stayed fixed on his.
"Only because you're careless."
"I don't remember being careless."
"You punched a chair."
"It was effective."
"It was unnecessary."
"Was it?"
Honami's smile sharpened, small and terrifyingly sweet.
"If you wanted Hiro to leave, you could have looked at him like that a little longer."
Ryūen slapped a hand over his mouth.
Ishizaki stared. "She said it."
Kondō blinked. "She understood the intimidation."
Albert nodded with deep respect.
Kiyotaka leaned slightly closer.
"You noticed?"
Honami's fingers remained locked with his.
"I noticed everything."
That line was too calm.
Too possessive.
Too unlike the Honami everyone knew.
Ryūen looked delighted.
"Kukuku... Hiro broke her and Kiyotaka rebuilt her wrong."
Honami's gaze flicked to him.
Ryūen raised both hands.
"I mean better. Definitely better."
Kiyotaka's smile widened by a fraction.
Honami turned back to him, her expression softening again.
"Does it still hurt?"
"A little."
Her eyes darkened.
"Good."
Kiyotaka's brow lifted slightly.
Honami realized what she had said, but she didn't retreat from it.
"If it hurts, you'll remember not to do it again."
Ryūen whispered, "That's horrifying."
Ishizaki nodded. "Cute, but horrifying."
Honami lifted Kiyotaka's hand slightly, still intertwined with hers, and rested it carefully on the table between them.
Then she picked up the spoon with her free hand.
Kiyotaka looked at her.
"What are you doing?"
"You told me to eat."
"I did."
"I'm listening."
She took a bite of the dessert, cheeks pink but eyes still calm.
Then she scooped another spoonful and held it toward him.
Kiyotaka's smile turned amused.
"You're feeding me now?"
"You fed me first."
"That was different."
"Yes." Honami's smile became darker again. "You still had two usable hands then."
Ryūen threw his head back and laughed.
Kondō muttered, "She's not letting that hand go."
Ishizaki grinned. "Not a chance."
Kiyotaka accepted the bite.
Honami watched him closely, satisfied only after he swallowed.
"There."
"You're strict."
"You need strict."
"I've survived so far."
"You've been unsupervised."
Ryūen slammed the table lightly. "She's claiming management rights."
Honami did not deny it fast enough.
Her face turned red.
Kiyotaka looked at her, smile deepening.
"Are you?"
Honami's mouth opened.
No answer came.
The old Honami would have panicked, apologized, denied everything, tried to turn it into kindness.
The new darkness inside her smiled first.
"Maybe."
The table froze.
Ryūen's grin looked like it might split his face.
"Kukuku... oh, Hiro is dead."
"Ryūen-kun," Honami said sweetly, "please don't say strange things."
"That was the least strange thing at this table."
Kiyotaka glanced toward the students filming from nearby.
"People are watching."
Honami looked toward them.
For a moment, the nearby students all pretended to become experts in their lunches.
Honami smiled.
Let them watch.
The thought surprised her.
Not because it was cruel.
Because it felt good.
Let them see.
Let Hiro see.
Let the Crown Hearts fans whisper until their throats hurt.
Kiyotaka had stood in front of her when she couldn't speak.
If the whole school wanted to talk, then they could talk about that.
She turned back to him, fingers still intertwined.
"I don't mind."
Kiyotaka's eyes narrowed slightly with interest.
"No?"
"No."
Her thumb brushed lightly against the handkerchief wrapped around his knuckles.
"They should know whose side you chose."
The words came out soft.
Too soft.
Kiyotaka watched her for a long second.
Then his smile curved, dark and pleased.
"And whose side did you choose, Honami?"
Her heartbeat stumbled.
Ryūen went quiet just to hear the answer.
Honami looked down at their joined hands.
Then back at Kiyotaka.
Her smile was still gentle.
Her eyes were not.
"The one that stood in front of me."
No one joked.
Not even Ryūen.
For a moment, the cafeteria noise seemed to fall away.
Kiyotaka's expression softened, but the danger did not leave him. If anything, it became warmer, more intimate, more impossible to look away from.
"Then eat," he said quietly.
Honami blinked.
"What?"
"You chose a side. Sides require energy."
The tension snapped.
Ryūen groaned. "Bro, you ruined the dramatic moment."
Kiyotaka looked at him. "She still hasn't eaten enough."
Honami laughed.
A real laugh, small and breathless, dark warmth dissolving into something almost normal again.
Almost.
She picked up the spoon.
But she still did not let go of his hand.
As they ate, the gossip kept multiplying.
The videos from Class B.
The photo of the wrapped hand.
The clip of Honami feeding Kiyotaka back.
The screenshots of their intertwined fingers.
Every update cut another thread between Honami and the image Hiro had used to keep her close.
Somewhere on campus, Crown Hearts loyalists were screaming in private chats.
Somewhere else, anti-Crown students were celebrating like a tyrant had lost a province.
At the cafeteria table, Ryūen leaned back, watching Kiyotaka and Honami with wicked amusement.
"You know," he said, "this might be the funniest thing I've seen all year."
Honami looked at him politely.
"I'm glad my emotional breakdown entertained you."
Ryūen paused.
Then laughed harder. "Kukuku! She's got jokes now too."
Ishizaki looked impressed. "Dark Honami is kind of scary."
Kondō nodded. "But calmer."
Albert gave another approving nod.
Kiyotaka glanced at Honami.
"Dark Honami?"
Her cheeks reddened.
"Please don't call me that."
Ryūen's grin sharpened. "Too late."
Honami squeezed Kiyotaka's hand.
Not hard.
Just enough.
Kiyotaka looked at her.
She smiled at him, sweet and threatening at the same time.
"You won't call me that, right?"
Kiyotaka's playful smile returned.
"That depends."
"On what?"
"Whether you keep holding my hand hostage."
Honami looked down.
Their fingers were still intertwined.
Her blush deepened.
But she didn't let go.
"No."
Kiyotaka tilted his head.
"No?"
Her voice was soft, but firm.
"No. Not yet."
Ryūen quietly mouthed, not yet, then nearly broke laughing again.
Kiyotaka did not pull away.
Honami's smile returned, brighter now but no longer innocent in the same way.
The angel of Class B had not disappeared.
She was still there.
Kind.
Warm.
Gentle.
But something dark had wrapped around that kindness, something born from fear, relief, anger, and the terrifying comfort of being protected without needing to beg for it.
She had not fallen into darkness.
Not exactly.
She had found someone already standing there.
And for some reason, his darkness felt warmer than the light she used to chase.