Chapter 20
Morning in Class A was usually elegant.
That was what people liked to believe, at least. Compared to other classes, Class A carried itself with a polished calm, the kind of silence that made even turning pages sound expensive. Students arrived early, reviewed notes, checked schedules, and behaved as if chaos belonged to other classrooms.
Then Kiyotaka Ayanokōji opened the door.
The room forgot how to be elegant.
Conversations died one by one. A pen slipped from someone's hand. A few girls who had been chatting near the windows went completely still, while some boys tried very hard to look unimpressed and failed with their shoulders.
Kiyotaka stood at the entrance in his uniform, relaxed as ever, the top button undone just enough to make the neat outfit look dangerous instead of careless.
His eyes moved across the room, calm and golden, and his playful smile appeared like he had walked into Class A for entertainment rather than business.
Masumi Kamuro, seated near Arisu, stared at him.
"You came to Class A this early?" she muttered. "That already sounds like trouble."
Arisu's smile curved. "Kiyotaka-kun rarely moves without purpose."
"Or without making people lose their minds."
"That too."
Kiyotaka's gaze found Ai Morishita.
Ai was seated with a small notebook open in front of her, drawing something that looked like an idol stage layout crossed with a cafeteria seating war diagram. She blinked slowly when she noticed him.
"Ai," Kiyotaka said.
The first-name call snapped several heads toward her.
Ai pointed at herself with her pen. "Me?"
"Yes."
"That is statistically expected and socially alarming."
Kiyotaka smiled. "Do you want to go on our trial date?"
The classroom froze so hard it became architecture.
Masumi's mouth opened slightly.
Arisu's smile remained, but one finger tapped once against her cane.
A few Class A girls exchanged looks. Someone near the back whispered, "Trial date?" with the fragile tone of a person watching a rumor hatch in real time.
Ai stared at Kiyotaka.
Her expression did not become normal surprise. It became Ai surprise, which meant she went extremely still while her eyes widened as if a new variable had just kicked the door open.
"Now?" she asked.
"Yes."
"Before class?"
"Yes."
"During class?"
"Possibly."
Ai closed her notebook with reverent seriousness.
"This is far more random than expected."
"I remembered you liked random things."
Ai stood so quickly her chair made a small sound against the floor.
"Compatibility score increased."
Then she walked over and grabbed Kiyotaka's hand.
Class A erupted.
Not loudly, because they were still Class A, but the air filled with startled whispers, sharp looks, and the muffled sounds of students trying not to seem invested while clearly becoming invested.
Masumi leaned toward Arisu. "She actually took his hand."
Arisu's smile was calm enough to scare people who knew her. "Ai is surprisingly decisive when presented with a strange opportunity."
"You mean when Kiyotaka shows up and asks her to skip class?"
"Masumi."
"What? That's what happened."
Ai looked down at their joined hands, then up at Kiyotaka.
"Handholding has been initiated without committee approval."
Kiyotaka looked amused. "Should we stop?"
Ai's fingers tightened slightly.
"No. Unauthorized data is still data."
That made three girls near the windows make tiny noises into their hands.
Then Kiyotaka noticed another stare.
On the far side of the room, Asuka Shiraishi was watching him.
Not curiously.
Not casually.
Her gaze was sharp, intense, and frighteningly still, the kind of stare that made even nearby classmates lean away from her by instinct.
Shiraishi had always been famous inside ANHS for rejecting boys without mercy.
Since first year, several boys had tried to approach her and returned looking as if they had been politely erased.
Now she was looking at Kiyotaka like she had found something she wanted to keep.
Kiyotaka turned toward her.
"Shiraishi."
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
The class reacted again, because he had said her name like he already knew her, even though this was their first real meeting.
Kiyotaka smiled. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Shiraishi did not blink.
Arisu's eyes sharpened with interest.
Masumi whispered, "Oh, this one too?"
Kiyotaka's smile widened faintly. "Is it because Ai and I are skipping class?"
Shiraishi answered without hesitation.
"No. I'm jealous."
The entire classroom fell apart.
A boy near the back made a sound like he had swallowed his own soul. Another student whispered, "Shiraishi admitted jealousy?" as if hearing an ancient statue confess love.
One of the boys who had clearly had a crush on her since first year looked devastated enough for someone beside him to pat his shoulder.
Masumi covered her mouth. "She didn't even hide it."
Arisu's smile became sharper. "How bold."
Ai tilted her head. "Jealousy declaration detected. Direct style. High impact."
Kiyotaka looked at Shiraishi with his playful smile, but his eyes turned slightly more focused.
"You're honest."
Shiraishi's expression did not change. "I don't like wasting time."
"That's useful."
He stepped a little closer, still holding Ai's hand. The class leaned in, spiritually if not physically.
Kiyotaka lowered his voice enough that only Shiraishi and a few unlucky front-row witnesses could catch it.
"I'll ask you out this weekend."
Shiraishi's eyes widened.
For the first time, that sharp stare cracked.
Color touched her cheeks, faint but unmistakable.
Several Class A students saw it and silently lost years of emotional stability.
Shiraishi leaned forward slightly and whispered back, strong enough not to retreat.
"Okay."
Kiyotaka's smile deepened.
Ai looked between them with calm fascination. "Scheduling future dates during current trial date may create timeline congestion."
Masumi choked on a laugh.
Arisu's fingers tapped her cane again, slower this time.
"Kiyotaka-kun," Arisu said sweetly, "you seem to be collecting promises."
Kiyotaka turned toward her. "Only scheduling."
"That is worse."
Ai tugged lightly on his hand. "My-Kiyo, if we delay further, the random date will become less random."
The nickname struck the class like a thrown perfume bottle.
"My-Kiyo?" someone whispered.
Arisu's smile tightened beautifully. "Apparently."
Kiyotaka looked back at Ai.
"Then let's go, My-Ai."
Ai's ears went faintly pink.
"Trial date resumes."
And with that, she led him out of Class A by the hand.
Behind them, the classroom burst into whispers the moment the door closed.
Masumi leaned back in her chair. "Class A's morning just got kidnapped."
Arisu watched the door for a long moment.
"No," she said softly. "It was invited."
The date began with rule-breaking energy.
Not dramatic rule-breaking. Not the kind that brought teachers sprinting down hallways.
More like slipping through the cracks of ANHS's schedule with elegant irresponsibility.
Kiyotaka had found the soft spots: quiet corridors before attendance settled, unused garden paths, rooms that would not be checked for another hour, and school areas where nobody expected students because everyone was supposed to be somewhere else.
Ai accepted the entire thing with frightening calm.
"This is not a conventional date," she said as they walked through an empty corridor.
"You said you liked random things."
"Yes. This qualifies. It has educational crime flavor."
"It's not a crime."
"Attendance laws disagree emotionally."
Kiyotaka smiled. "Then we'll call it field research."
Ai nodded. "Field research date. Approved."
Their first stop was one of the campus gardens near a maintenance shed.
The sprinklers had not started yet, but a hose had been left coiled near the flowerbeds. Ai noticed it first.
"A random object."
Kiyotaka looked at it. "You want to use it?"
"I want to know why it feels like a childhood route."
He picked up the hose and turned the water on low.
The stream came out crooked and immediately splashed his shoe.
Ai stared.
"Your first attack failed."
"I was testing water pressure."
"Your shoe lost."
Kiyotaka aimed the hose toward a patch of grass.
Ai stepped closer, then carefully placed one hand over the stream. Water scattered into glittering droplets under the morning sun.
For some reason, she smiled.
Not her usual odd little analytical expression, but a bright, silly smile that looked almost surprised to exist.
Kiyotaka watched it.
Ai noticed. "Why are you observing me?"
"You look happy."
"I am collecting water-refraction joy."
"That sounds complicated."
"It is simple. I am having fun."
Kiyotaka turned the hose slightly, making a gentle arc of water fall over the grass like a tiny rain curtain.
Ai stepped through it.
Her hair caught a few droplets.
She turned back, eyes brighter than usual.
"My-Kiyo."
"Yes?"
"This is inefficient."
"Do you dislike it?"
"No." She shook her head. "I like that."
Kiyotaka smiled.
"Then the date is going well."
Ai nodded seriously. "Randomness compatibility: high."
He tilted the hose wrong on purpose, and a light spray touched her sleeve.
Ai looked down at it.
Then at him.
"Was that intentional?"
"Maybe."
Ai took the hose from him.
Kiyotaka's smile sharpened.
"My-Ai, careful."
"I am careful."
She sprayed his sleeve.
Not much.
Just enough.
Kiyotaka looked at the wet spot.
Ai's face remained perfectly composed except for the tiny victorious glow in her eyes.
"Counterattack complete."
"You're dangerous."
"I learned from the central disturbance."
He laughed softly.
Ai looked pleased.
Their second stop was the laboratory.
It was empty because the morning class using it had been moved to the lecture room. Kiyotaka unlocked nothing, broke nothing, and somehow still looked like he had entered a place he was not supposed to be. Ai walked between the tables like an idol exploring a science museum after hours.
"This is ideal," she said.
"For what?"
"Childish experiments."
Kiyotaka looked at the shelves. "Define childish."
"Harmless, unnecessary, visually rewarding."
They found safe materials set aside for demonstrations: pH strips, colored water, clear cups, droppers, and a box of balloons meant for some later lesson. Nothing dangerous. Nothing serious. Exactly the kind of harmless nonsense Ai had somehow made sound like an academic project.
Ai mixed colored water into clear cups with intense focus.
Kiyotaka leaned beside her. "What are you making?"
"A potion."
"A potion?"
"Yes. For idol enhancement."
"What does it enhance?"
"Stage confidence and suspicious cafeteria survival."
He picked up a dropper and added blue to one cup.
Ai stared.
"My-Kiyo, you contaminated the formula."
"I improved it."
"It is now emotionally confusing."
"That suits the cafeteria."
Ai paused, then nodded. "Correct."
They created several meaningless "potions" and named them with absurd seriousness.
One was called Jealousy Turbulence Neutralizer.
Another became Pengu Approval Serum.
The third was labeled Arisu Countermeasure, which Kiyotaka said would definitely fail.
Ai wrote that down.
Then they tried a balloon static experiment. Ai rubbed a balloon against her sleeve and brought it near Kiyotaka's hair.
His hair lifted slightly.
Ai stared at it.
"Your hair has responded."
Kiyotaka looked unimpressed. "Has it?"
"Yes. The romantic data is unclear, but the static data is excellent."
She tried it again.
This time, Kiyotaka took the balloon and brought it near Ai's hair. A few strands floated upward.
Ai went still.
Kiyotaka looked at her with a grin. "Your idol aura is being disrupted."
Ai touched her hair. "My idol aura is resilient."
"It looks attacked."
"It is adapting."
He smiled. "Like you?"
Ai blinked, and her cheeks colored faintly.
"Compliment detected."
"Yes."
"Received."
Kiyotaka leaned back against the lab table. "You're easier to tease than expected."
Ai looked at him with serious eyes. "You are more fun than expected."
That line was simple.
It landed softly.
For once, neither of them added data to it.
They wandered next through places students usually ignored during class hours.
An empty music room, where Ai tapped a few keys on the piano and declared the sound "lonely but marketable."
A quiet hallway lined with old club posters, where Kiyotaka pointed out one terrible design and Ai said it had "retro tragedy charm."
A vending machine corner where they bought pudding because Ai insisted the trial date required pudding comparison.
They sat on a bench near a window where sunlight fell across the floor in a clean square.
Ai opened her pudding carefully.
Kiyotaka watched her.
"Do you always take pudding seriously?"
"Pudding collapses if mishandled."
"That sounds personal."
"It is a metaphor with sugar."
They ate in silence for a few moments.
Ai looked at his pudding cup.
"Yours has better structural integrity."
"Do you want it?"
"You would trade?"
Kiyotaka swapped cups without hesitation.
Ai stared.
"My-Kiyo, this may be considered romantic."
"It's pudding."
"Romance can be pudding-shaped."
He smiled. "Then yes."
Ai's spoon paused.
Her cheeks turned pink again.
"Data overwhelmed."
Kiyotaka leaned closer slightly. "Should I stop?"
"No."
She said it quickly, then looked down at her pudding.
"I mean, stopping would reduce sample size."
"Of course."
"Do not smile like that."
"Like what?"
"Like you know I am making excuses."
Kiyotaka's grin deepened.
Ai sighed softly. "You are very troublesome."
"I've been told."
"I believe them."
By the time lunch arrived, Ai looked different.
Not in some dramatic way. Her uniform was still neat, her hair was slightly touched by garden water, and her expression remained mostly calm. But there was a brightness to her now, a silly little glow hiding inside her eyes.
She was enjoying herself.
Kiyotaka noticed every part of it.
They entered the cafeteria together.
Hand in hand.
That was when the usual lunch table saw them.
Honami stopped mid-sentence.
Kikyo's chopsticks froze.
Maya hugged Pengu so hard his repaired seam nearly filed another complaint.
Kei's eyes dropped instantly to their hands.
Arisu's smile turned elegant and lethal.
Masumi, from the support table, leaned back with immediate satisfaction. "And there it is."
Mako almost stood. "They came back holding hands."
Chiaki grabbed her phone. "Trial date report begins."
Chihiro whispered, "Ai looks happy."
Masumi nodded. "That's the problem."
Kiyotaka brought Ai to the table.
Ai sat down calmly, still wearing that unusual bright silly smile.
The interrogation began before she fully placed her tray down.
Honami smiled. "Ai-san, where were you?"
Kikyo's smile followed. "Yes, you disappeared from class."
Kei crossed her arms. "And came back holding hands."
Maya lifted Pengu. "Pengu requests details."
Arisu rested her chin on one hand. "Start from the beginning."
Ai looked at all of them.
Then at Kiyotaka.
Then back at them.
"I enjoyed it."
The table went silent.
That answer somehow did more damage than a confession.
Kei's face reddened. "That's not enough detail!"
Honami's smile trembled. "What exactly did you enjoy?"
Ai thought seriously.
"The hose. The pudding exchange. The lab potions. The static hair incident. The hallway tragedy poster. My-Kiyo's ability to make inefficient activities feel meaningful."
Kikyo's angel mask cracked. "My-Kiyo?"
Maya gasped. "Pudding exchange?"
Kei slammed her hand lightly on the table. "Static hair incident?"
Arisu's eyes narrowed. "Lab potions?"
Mako whispered from the support table, "This date sounds better than most official dates."
Chiaki nodded. "Random route success."
Chihiro smiled softly. "Ai looks really happy."
Masumi looked at Arisu. "Princess, your face."
Arisu smiled. "What about it?"
"It's too calm."
Ai looked at the girls with her silly bright smile still intact.
"Conclusion: random skipping-class-style trial date was successful."
Kei nearly choked. "Do not say successful so proudly."
Honami leaned toward Kiyotaka. "Kiyotaka-kun, you took her to play with a garden hose?"
"Yes."
Kikyo's eyes sharpened. "And a laboratory?"
"Yes."
Maya hugged Pengu. "And pudding?"
"Yes."
Arisu smiled. "And you invited her personally from Class A?"
"Yes."
Kei stared at him. "You planned this?"
Kiyotaka smiled.
"I remembered Ai liked random things."
That answer hit the table in a softer way.
Ai looked down at her pudding cup, cheeks faintly pink.
The others noticed.
That made the jealousy worse.
Honami's voice gentled, but the danger remained. "That is... thoughtful."
Kikyo's smile became strained. "Very thoughtful."
Maya pouted. "Kiyotaka-kun remembered her likes."
Kei looked away, touching her necklace. "He remembers things too well."
Arisu's gaze stayed on Kiyotaka. "He always has."
Kiyotaka looked at all of them.
"Are you upset?"
Six different expressions answered him before words did.
Ai, still glowing softly, raised a hand. "I am not upset."
Kei pointed at her. "You don't count. You're the cause."
Ai tilted her head. "I thought My-Kiyo was the cause."
Everyone looked at Kiyotaka.
He smiled.
"I helped."
Mako slammed both hands on the support table. "He admits it again!"
Chiaki nodded. "The central disturbance remains self-aware."
Kiyotaka glanced at Ai. "Did you enjoy the date, My-Ai?"
Ai's smile brightened in that strange, sincere way.
"Yes, My-Kiyo."
The main table erupted.
Honami smiled too hard.
Kikyo's mask broke again for half a heartbeat.
Maya buried her face into Pengu.
Kei groaned into both hands.
Arisu laughed softly, though her eyes promised future counterplay.
Kiyotaka took his seat, entirely too pleased with himself.
The trial date had ended.
The trial date war had just begun.