The following morning.
Ryunosuke left the house as usual, heading off to school. Ichika, meanwhile, had been lying in wait nearby for some time.
Her goal was simple: quietly swap out her opponent's room key card, slip into his room, and retrieve an object that would carry the target's fingerprints, a fruit knife used for food preparation, for instance.
She had already worked out a method that would get her opponent expelled from school while leaving herself entirely beyond suspicion. If the plan fell apart, she had already arranged for someone else to take the fall, namely Housen. She had considered every angle. Even if the scheme were sniffed out, the other side would have no evidence to pin on her.
Ichika straightened her soft reddish-purple twin tails, then darted out to stage another "accidental encounter" with Ryunosuke.
The moment Ryunosuke stepped out the door, Ichika ran straight into him, stumbling into his arms. Using the brief instant her body was pressed against his chest, she deftly swapped both of his key cards for her own copies. Then she acted as though nothing had happened and greeted him with a cheerful smile.
"What a coincidence~ Akasaka-senpai."
She even sat on top of him for a moment without the slightest hint of embarrassment. Ryunosuke got up, straightened his clothes, and said flatly, "Watch where you're going next time. This is the second time you've crashed into me."
Ichika tapped her own head with one small hand and stuck out her tongue, playing the part of a scatter-brained, adorable girl to perfection.
"Understood~ Akasaka-senpai. Want to walk to school together since we're both heading that way?"
"You warm up to people fast. Fine, suit yourself." Ryunosuke didn't think too hard about it and set off with Ichika walking alongside him.
Ichika fell in step behind him. In the space where he couldn't see her face, the corner of her mouth curved into a peculiar smile. The first part was done. All that remained was to wait for him to leave for the Student Council, then slip into his room and take what she needed.
School ended at three-thirty. Just as Ichika had predicted, Ryunosuke headed to the Student Council office and would be tied up there for roughly two hours, meaning he wouldn't be back until around five-thirty. Two hours was more than enough time to carry out the perfect crime.
Three-thirty arrived. Ryunosuke left for the Student Council exactly as expected, and Ichika moved into action.
What she didn't realize was that Yagami had been watching her.
Yagami knew what the girl was up to, that she was making her move against Ryunosuke. But he felt compelled to involve himself. Given Ayanokouji's close ties to the target, this could be an opportunity to accomplish two things at once.
Yagami had his own ulterior motive. He trailed quietly behind Ichika, conducting his own surveillance, while she remained completely unaware of him. In terms of ranking, Yagami stood at the top of the White Room's fifth generation, with Ichika placed below him. In raw ability, she was second while he was first, which was precisely why she never noticed she was being followed.
And so the two of them moved forward, each carrying their own hidden agenda.
Ichika arrived at Ryunosuke's door, let herself in, and eased it shut behind her, taking in the room at a glance. As she had anticipated, the layout was identical to her own. She moved through it as naturally as her own space, headed straight for the kitchen area, and immediately spotted the fruit knife sitting on the counter.
That knife happened to carry the fingerprints of three people: Suzune, Ryunosuke, and Ayanokouji.
To avoid leaving any trace of herself, Ichika had put on a pair of surgical gloves. She also twisted her lovely hair up and covered it with a surgical cap so that no stray strands could fall and be used as evidence. Once her preparations were complete, she carefully lifted the fruit knife, wrapped it thoroughly, and slipped it into her bag.
She then went to a convenience store, bought an identical knife, and placed it back in exactly the same spot so that nothing would seem out of place. Flawless.
After putting everything back in order, Ichika stepped out of Ryunosuke's room and used a handkerchief to wipe her fingerprints from the door handle. But just as she was about to leave, Yagami appeared behind her.
"What exactly are you doing, Ichika?"
Her body reacted on pure instinct. She spun and threw a hard punch, her fist cutting through the air toward Yagami. He calmly tilted his head to let it pass. Ichika used the momentum to throw another.
Yagami caught her fist without shifting an inch. Her other arm was pinned just as quickly. With a single controlled push, he pressed her back against the wall until she couldn't move.
Ichika's expression burned with frustration. "You were following me?!"
She already knew he must have been tailing her. There was no other explanation for his perfectly timed appearance. Yagami confirmed it without any particular concern, wearing a faintly mocking look.
"Good work, Amasawa. At this rate you'll have your task wrapped up in no time."
He said nothing about the fact that the fruit knife likely carried Ayanokouji's fingerprints as well. If he told her, she might sabotage everything out of her devotion to Ayanokouji. Keeping it from her was the cleanest way to protect his own plan. So he stayed quiet and let her remain in the dark.
Yagami released her and made no move to stop her from proceeding. Her target was Ryunosuke, his was Ayanokouji. The two didn't interfere with each other, though they had become entangled, unintentionally, through a single fruit knife that might carry both men's fingerprints.
To prevent Ichika from derailing everything the moment she found out, Yagami intended to keep that detail buried until the very end, letting the oversight run its course so he could take advantage of it at the critical moment.
He didn't say much beyond that, only asking how she planned to deal with Ryunosuke. Ichika looked at him with open suspicion.
"I thought you were only interested in Ayanokouji-senpai. Why are you suddenly poking around my target?"
She made no secret of her confusion, but kept her guard up all the same. Yagami raised both hands above his head to show he had no ill intentions. He was simply curious about how she intended to handle Ryunosuke. Nothing more.
Ichika remained wary, but since the contents of her plan wouldn't become dangerous simply by being known, she decided to tell him honestly what she had in mind.
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