Chapter 25
The weekend began with Kiyotaka's phone vibrating like it had committed a crime.
He was sitting at his desk, half-reading one of Hiyori's recommended books and half-watching the campus clouds drag themselves lazily across the window. His room was quiet, his tea untouched, and for once, ANHS seemed peaceful.
Then the messages arrived.
Kiyotaka stared at the messages.
Then he smiled.
It was not the soft kind.
It was the kind of smile that made peace pack its suitcase.
He typed the same reply to each of them.
He sent it.
Six separate disasters bloomed across ANHS.
The first new group chat was created nine minutes later.
A pause.
Then, because no one in that group had survival instincts anymore, they added Arisu.
There was another pause.
The date location was not dramatic in the obvious way.
No expensive café.
No private room.
No stage.
No chessboard lit by moonlight.
Arisu chose an open field inside ANHS grounds, where the grass rolled gently toward a quiet line of trees.
It was far enough from the main paths to feel private, but not hidden.
The afternoon sun fell through the branches in warm pieces, and a soft breeze moved across the field like it had been invited for atmosphere.
Under one tree, Arisu sat on a picnic blanket with a basket beside her.
Kiyotaka arrived carrying two drinks.
Arisu looked up.
"You are late by three minutes."
"You arrived early."
"I arrived precisely when I wished to."
"That sounds like early with better manners."
Arisu smiled. "Careful, Kiyotaka-kun. You are on a very very romantic super couple date. Your behavior will be evaluated."
Kiyotaka sat across from her. "You saw the messages."
"I was added to a hostile group chat."
"Did you survive?"
"I conquered it."
"Impressive."
"I had weak opponents."
From a bush far away, Kei nearly crushed the binoculars in her hands.
"She called us weak opponents."
Kikyo crouched beside her with Baron Murderfluff poking from her bag. "She's doing it on purpose."
Honami was beside them, smiling gently while holding a small notebook upside down. "We shouldn't interrupt."
Mako whispered, "Then why are you here?"
Honami's smile did not move. "For peace of mind."
Chiaki adjusted a pair of borrowed binoculars. "Peace of mind has a large surveillance budget."
Maya had Pengu hidden under a leaf on her lap. "Pengu is camouflaged."
Ai wrote in her notebook. "Bush-based jealousy observation begins."
Hiyori sat politely behind the bush with a book open, though she had not turned a page in five minutes. "This is not very discreet."
Masumi, dragged there by Arisu's invitation-war fallout, looked deeply tired. "We are a bush with personalities. Of course it isn't discreet."
Nene peeked over the leaves. "Can they see us?"
Kokoro whispered, "Kiyotaka probably can."
Kayano sank lower. "Then why are we hiding?"
Kikyo smiled sweetly. "Because pretending is part of the hobby."
From the field, Kiyotaka glanced in their direction for exactly one second.
Everyone ducked.
Except Ai, who kept writing.
Kei hissed, "Ai!"
Ai blinked. "If he already saw us, hiding is emotional theater."
Hiyori nodded. "That is a good phrase."
Kikyo muttered, "Don't encourage her."
Arisu opened the picnic basket.
Inside were small cakes, neatly wrapped cookies, tiny sandwiches, and fruit cut with suspicious precision.
Kiyotaka looked at the spread.
"You made these."
Arisu's expression did not change.
"No."
"You brought a basket full of handmade cake and cookies."
"They appeared."
"In your basket."
"Coincidence."
Kiyotaka picked up one cookie and examined it. "This cookie has your personality."
Arisu's eyes narrowed. "Explain."
"Small. Elegant. Dangerous if underestimated."
Arisu's cheeks warmed faintly.
Then she looked away.
"Flattery will not make me admit anything."
"There is flour on your sleeve."
Arisu looked down.
There was, in fact, a tiny dusting of flour on her cuff.
She froze.
Kiyotaka smiled.
"The witness speaks."
Arisu lifted her chin with aristocratic dignity. "Perhaps I passed through a flour-based environment."
"The kitchen?"
"A place with flour."
"The kitchen."
"You are being unromantic."
"I am admiring the cake you did not make."
Arisu's blush deepened by one shade, barely visible but fatal to the bush observers.
Kei made a choking noise. "She's blushing."
Maya clutched Pengu. "Cake denial failed."
Mako whispered, "That was smooth."
Chiaki wrote, "Flour-based environment equals kitchen."
Masumi covered her face. "I can hear Arisu's pride cracking from here."
Honami's smile tightened softly. "He noticed the sleeve."
Kikyo muttered, "He notices everything when it helps him flirt."
Hiyori looked up from her book. "That is a dangerous talent."
Ai nodded. "Kiyotaka uses micro-observation as romantic ammunition."
Kokoro whispered, "That sounds illegal."
Nene whispered back, "Only emotionally."
Arisu poured tea into two cups with careful hands.
The field was quiet around them, the leaves shifting overhead. For a few minutes, the date almost looked peaceful.
Almost.
Then Arisu set the cup down and smiled.
"You seemed busy this weekend."
Kiyotaka lifted his tea. "Did I?"
"Many girls asked whether you were available."
"Were you monitoring my messages?"
"No. They volunteered evidence in the group chat while attacking me."
"Ah."
"You look pleased."
"I'm glad everyone is getting along."
Arisu laughed softly. "That is an ugly lie wearing a cute ribbon."
Kiyotaka's smile sharpened. "You're jealous."
Arisu's hand paused on the basket lid.
"I am not so immature."
"You were added to a group chat and immediately won the argument."
"That is not jealousy. That is good hygiene."
"Against them?"
"Against their delusions."
Kiyotaka leaned slightly closer. "What delusions?"
Arisu met his eyes.
For a moment, the amusement slipped into something more honest.
"That they can occupy your attention so easily."
The breeze touched the edge of the picnic blanket.
Kiyotaka's smile softened.
"They do occupy it."
Arisu's eyes narrowed.
"There. That was a poor answer."
"I wasn't finished."
"Then finish before I revoke your cookie privileges."
"You have always had my attention, Arisu."
She went still.
The words were quiet, but they landed with the weight of something older than this field, older than cafeteria wars, older than Crown Hearts and trial dates.
Kiyotaka looked at her like he was looking through memory.
"Back then, behind the glass, you were different from everyone else. You watched like you understood the board, even when you couldn't touch the pieces."
Arisu's fingers tightened slightly around her teacup.
"You remember that?"
"I told you I did."
"You remember many things when they are useful."
"This wasn't useful."
His gaze did not move from hers.
"It was special."
The bush went silent.
Even Kei stopped whispering.
Arisu looked down at her tea. Her face had turned pink, the blush spreading slowly despite her best effort to control it.
"That is unfair," she murmured.
Kiyotaka picked up one of the cookies.
"I learned from you."
She looked up sharply. "Do not blame me for your shamelessness."
"You are the one who brought homemade cookies and denied it."
"They are not homemade."
"They taste like jealousy."
"You have not eaten one."
"I can predict."
Arisu stared at him.
Then laughed.
Not the controlled little "fufufu" she used at school. This one was lighter, startled out of her before she could dress it properly.
Kiyotaka watched her with quiet satisfaction.
From the bush, Masumi whispered, "That laugh is rare."
Honami's expression softened despite herself.
Kikyo crossed her arms. "He's rizzing her too effectively."
Kei muttered, "Can we ban that word?"
Ai wrote, "Arisu defense breached by childhood memory and cookie accusation."
Maya whispered to Pengu, "Is this romantic or tactical?"
Hiyori answered quietly, "Both. That is why it works."
Arisu handed Kiyotaka a slice of cake.
"I didn't make it."
"Of course."
"I am serious."
"So am I."
"You're smiling."
"I'm tasting coincidence."
Kiyotaka took a bite.
Arisu watched too closely.
"Well?"
"It's good."
"That is not enough."
"It's very good."
"That still sounds like a cafeteria review."
Kiyotaka looked at the cake, then at her.
"It's sweet, but not childish. Careful, but not cold. The kind of thing someone made while pretending they didn't care how it turned out."
Arisu's lips parted slightly.
Then she looked away, cheeks bright.
"You are becoming unbearable."
"You wanted me to make it up to you."
"I did not request an attack."
"I'm making up for several canceled moments."
Arisu's expression softened.
He was right.
The world around Kiyotaka had become crowded since he arrived at ANHS.
Honami with her warm insistence. Kikyo with her maskless venom.
Kei with her sharp denial and trembling honesty.
Maya with Pengu and open-hearted courage.
Ai with strange data and soft surprises.
Hiyori with quiet pages and wild edges. Ichika with fiancée chaos sharp enough to stab the sky.
Arisu had watched all of it.
Sometimes amused.
Sometimes entertained.
Sometimes jealous enough to imagine moving half the school like chess pieces until the board returned to her advantage.
But here, under the tree, Kiyotaka was looking at her.
Only her.
And that was more dangerous than any public declaration.
"You are late," Arisu said softly.
"I know."
"To many things."
"I know."
She met his eyes.
"And yet you say it so calmly."
"If I panic, will that help?"
"No."
"Then I'll do something else."
"What?"
Kiyotaka reached toward the basket and picked up another cookie.
"I'll eat every cookie you didn't make."
Arisu blinked.
Then laughed again.
The bush collectively suffered.
Mako clutched Chiaki's sleeve. "She laughed twice."
Chiaki whispered, "We need to record this."
Masumi hissed, "Do not. She will kill you politely."
Kei glared through the leaves. "Why is this actually cute?"
Kikyo whispered, "Because Kiyotaka is cheating with childhood trauma chess nostalgia."
Honami frowned gently. "I don't think that is what this is."
Kikyo sighed. "Fine. It's sweet. I hate it."
Maya looked at Pengu. "Pengu says Arisu looks happy."
Ai nodded. "Happiness confirmed. Jealousy among observers increasing."
Hiyori turned a page without looking at it. "This is like reading a romance from inside a shrub."
Kokoro whispered, "That sounds like a strange book."
Hiyori smiled. "I would read it."
Arisu leaned back against the tree, cane resting neatly beside her. Kiyotaka sat near her, close enough to make the date look soft, not close enough to make it scandalous.
The open field stretched around them.
For a moment, Arisu imagined it differently.
Not ANHS.
Not surveillance bushes.
Not trial dates and group chats.
A quiet garden somewhere outside the school's walls. A chessboard between them. Tea cooling beside untouched sweets. Kiyotaka sitting across from her, older but still wearing that infuriating smile, looking like he had understood her next move before she had even touched the piece.
In that imagined future, she was not chasing him across a crowded board.
He was already there.
Waiting.
The thought made her chest warm in a way she could not fully command.
Kiyotaka noticed, because he always did.
"You're thinking."
"I often do."
"About winning?"
Arisu's smile returned, softer than usual. "Not exactly."
"Then about me."
"How arrogant."
"You didn't deny it."
She looked at him.
"I was thinking about the future."
Kiyotaka's expression remained calm, but his eyes sharpened.
"What kind?"
"A quiet one," she said. "Perhaps too unrealistic for you."
"Try me."
Arisu's smile deepened.
"A garden. Tea. Chess. No interruptions."
"No group chats?"
"Absolutely none."
"No bush observers?"
"Especially none."
From the bush, several girls froze.
Kei whispered, "She knows."
Masumi sighed. "Of course she knows."
Kikyo muttered, "Her smugness has sonar."
Kiyotaka glanced toward the bush again, then back to Arisu.
"That future sounds peaceful."
"Would you get bored?"
"Yes."
Arisu's eyes narrowed.
Kiyotaka smiled. "But if you were there, I'd stay."
Her blush returned at full force.
"You terrible man."
"I'm improving."
"You are weaponizing sincerity."
"Only for you today."
Arisu looked away with a defeated little smile.
The bush nearly turned into a riot.
Honami pressed a hand over her heart. "Only for her today..."
Kei snapped softly, "Don't repeat it."
Kikyo looked offended. "He never says normal things like a normal person."
Maya hugged Pengu. "Kiyotaka-kun is dangerous under trees."
Ai wrote, "Tree-based rizz amplification confirmed."
Hiyori nodded. "Trees are classic literary accomplices."
Mako whispered, "This is painful but I can't stop watching."
Chiaki replied, "That is the foundation of this entire friend group."
Kiyotaka reached for the basket again.
Arisu caught his wrist.
"You've had enough cookies."
"You brought them."
"I did not make them for you to devour thoughtlessly."
"You didn't make them."
"Do not use my lies against me."
"You admit they're lies?"
Arisu realized too late.
Kiyotaka smiled.
She stared at him.
Then sighed. "You are insufferable."
"You like that."
"Unfortunately."
Her fingers were still around his wrist.
Neither moved.
The contact was innocent, small, almost accidental. But Arisu's gaze dropped to it, then rose again. Her composure tried to rebuild itself and failed halfway.
Kiyotaka turned his hand slightly, just enough that their fingers brushed.
Arisu's breath caught.
From the bush, Maya whispered, "Finger contact."
Ai wrote immediately. "Finger contact detected."
Kei hissed, "Stop documenting pain."
Kikyo whispered, "No, keep going. I need evidence for future teasing."
Honami smiled faintly despite her jealousy. "Arisu looks... happy."
Masumi's voice softened. "She does."
For once, even the bush stopped sounding hostile.
Arisu slowly let go of Kiyotaka's wrist, but he caught her hand before she could fully retreat.
She looked at him.
"Kiyotaka-kun."
"You started it."
"How childish."
"You said you wanted a quiet future."
"I did not request handholding as a contract."
"You should have been more specific."
Arisu's fingers relaxed into his.
Her smile became small, bright, and helplessly warm.
"You are taking liberties."
"Yes."
"Bold."
"You invited me to a very very romantic super couple date."
"You named it that."
"You didn't correct it."
"I was busy being attacked in a group chat."
"And winning."
"Naturally."
They sat under the tree, holding hands over the edge of the picnic blanket while the sun moved gently through the leaves.
Kiyotaka looked at her with that calm, dangerous softness only a few people ever saw.
"Arisu."
"Yes?"
"You were special before I knew what wanting something meant."
Arisu's eyes widened.
This time, she did not have a reply ready.
The bush died again.
Kikyo whispered, "That was illegal."
Kei nodded faintly. "Definitely illegal."
Honami's cheeks warmed despite herself. "That was beautiful."
Maya covered Pengu's ears. "Pengu is too young for this level of romance."
Ai wrote, "Observer emotional damage severe."
Hiyori whispered, "That line belongs in a book."
Masumi looked away, smiling faintly. "Princess is going to remember that forever."
Arisu's hand tightened around Kiyotaka's.
Her voice came out quieter than before.
"You cannot say something like that and expect me to remain composed."
"I didn't."
"You are cruel."
"Only a little."
"A lot."
"Then why are you smiling?"
Arisu looked down, unable to hide it.
"Because I am foolish."
"No."
Kiyotaka's thumb brushed gently over her fingers.
"Because you're happy."
Arisu closed her eyes for a second.
When she opened them, her smile was no longer smug.
It was something softer.
Something almost shy.
"Yes," she admitted. "I am."
The date might have ended peacefully if the bush had not sneezed.
Nobody knew who did it.
Later, everyone blamed Ishizaki even though he was not there.
The sneeze came from somewhere inside the leaves, followed by absolute panic.
Kiyotaka and Arisu both turned.
The bush shook.
Kei's voice hissed, "Who sneezed?"
Mako whispered, "Not me."
Chiaki whispered, "My data says it was Nene."
Nene gasped quietly. "Your data is evil."
Kokoro said, "Everyone lower your heads."
Maya whispered, "Pengu has leaves in his face."
Kikyo muttered, "Baron Murderfluff would never fail like this."
Honami tried to smile through the crisis. "Maybe they didn't hear."
Arisu looked directly at the bush.
"I did."
The bush went silent.
Kiyotaka took another sip of tea.
"I did too."
A slow, shameful procession emerged from the shrubbery.
Kei came out first, trying to look like she had simply been passing by through dense plant life.
Honami followed, smiling like guilt had been wrapped in silk.
Kikyo stepped out with Baron Murderfluff under one arm, shameless but annoyed.
Maya emerged holding Pengu, whose head was covered in leaves.
Ai came out still writing.
Hiyori closed her book politely.
Mako, Chiaki, Chihiro, Kokoro, Nene, Kayano, and Masumi followed in various states of embarrassment, curiosity, and defeat.
Arisu stared at them.
Then smiled.
"My, my. What a coincidence. Everyone decided to take a walk through the same bush."
Kei crossed her arms. "We were concerned."
Kikyo smiled. "About public safety."
Maya lifted Pengu. "Pengu was scouting."
Ai nodded. "Bush observation yielded significant data."
Honami softly added, "We didn't want to interrupt."
Arisu's eyes gleamed. "You watched from a shrub."
Hiyori looked at the tree. "In literature, bushes often conceal either assassins or narrators."
Kiyotaka glanced at the group. "Which one were you?"
Kikyo answered instantly. "Narrators."
Kei muttered, "Jealous narrators."
Mako raised a hand slightly. "I was dragged."
Masumi looked at her. "You walked here faster than anyone."
Mako lowered her hand.
Arisu leaned closer to Kiyotaka, their hands still joined.
The girls noticed at once.
Kei's eyes went straight to their fingers.
Honami's smile tightened.
Kikyo's eyebrow twitched.
Maya hugged Pengu.
Ai wrote faster.
Arisu smiled with pure royal cruelty.
"As you can see, the very very romantic super couple date is proceeding well."
Kei pointed at her. "You're enjoying saying that."
"Immensely."
Kikyo lifted Baron Murderfluff. "Baron Murderfluff says your smugness is excessive."
Arisu glanced at the villain teddy. "Please inform the Baron that his cape lacks refinement."
Kikyo gasped. "You take that back."
Maya lifted Pengu. "Pengu says the Baron's cape has dark charm."
Ai looked between the plushies. "Plush alliance forming against Arisu."
Arisu smiled. "How unfortunate. I shall defeat them with cookies."
Maya froze. "Cookies?"
Kikyo narrowed her eyes. "Don't bribe our mascots."
Kiyotaka picked up the basket. "There are enough for everyone."
Arisu looked at him. "Kiyotaka-kun."
"You brought them."
"I did not bring them for the bush."
"The bush worked hard."
Kei snapped, "We are not the bush."
Kiyotaka smiled. "Then you don't want cookies?"
Kei paused.
Honami smiled softly. "I think we can accept."
Kikyo sighed. "Fine. For Baron Murderfluff's honor."
Maya bounced slightly. "Pengu accepts dessert diplomacy."
Ai wrote, "Date invasion resolved through cookie distribution."
Hiyori smiled. "A sweet ending."
Arisu sighed like a queen forced to feed peasants, but her smile was too warm to be offended.
"Very well. Since Kiyotaka-kun insists on rewarding terrible spies."
The group gathered around the picnic blanket, no longer pretending they had not been spying.
Arisu distributed cookies with elegance and judgment.
Kei accepted hers while glaring. Honami thanked her with genuine warmth.
Kikyo inspected hers like it might contain aristocratic poison.
Maya gave a crumb-sized tribute to Pengu.
Ai analyzed texture. Hiyori praised the flavor honestly enough to make Arisu blush again.
Kiyotaka watched the scene unfold under the tree.
His peaceful date had become a picnic tribunal.
Arisu noticed his expression.
"You look pleased."
"I am."
"You enjoy this chaos."
"Yes."
"You are hopeless."
"You're holding my hand."
Arisu looked down.
She had not let go.
The others noticed.
Again.
Kei groaned. "Still?"
Kikyo smiled sharply. "Princess has grip strength."
Honami's smile turned playful. "Arisu, your hand seems occupied."
Maya whispered to Pengu, "Very very romantic."
Ai wrote, "Handholding duration extended under group pressure. Arisu victory conditions stable."
Masumi looked at Arisu and smirked. "You're not even hiding it."
Arisu lifted her chin, cheeks faintly pink but smile victorious.
"Why should I?"
Kiyotaka looked at her.
The sunlight moved across her face, touching her hair, her smile, the softness she rarely let the school see.
"Good answer," he said.
Arisu's blush returned.
The group erupted again.