When she opened her eyes from that brief, fog-thick darkness, the first thing Shiina Hiyori registered was the air — close and a little stale, pressing in from all sides of the cramped space.
She took stock of her surroundings. In the narrow confines, she, Amikura Mako, Kamuro Masumi, and Chris were all crowded together — but there was no sign of Koenji Fuuka.
"Mmh..."
On reflex, she raised a hand and touched her cheek. The sensation against her fingertips confirmed it: she was still alive.
"It's over..." Shiina Hiyori murmured softly. "But — how exactly did it end?"
"Probably the same way as last time."
Chris was frowning, wearing the expression of someone straining to recall something and coming up completely empty.
"Back when we ran into the Kabane during that exam — we had no memory of what happened with those hidden creatures at the end either. I'd imagine this time is more of the same."
Shiina Hiyori gave a small nod at that explanation, though a lingering unease still clung to her.
In contrast to her quiet composure, Kamuro Masumi had already hauled herself up off the floor. She sprawled against the porthole window without ceremony, peering down at the lobby below — where people were already beginning to reappear — and let out a long, satisfied breath.
"Who cares how it ended! We're alive, aren't we!"
"We stayed put the whole time — hiding, or backing up the upperclassmen — and the monsters got wiped out. I'm calling it: we definitely made a difference!"
Amikura Mako didn't bother poking holes in that particular brand of optimism. She was already pulling out her phone, firing off a message to Ichinose Honami to let her know everyone was safe.
Shiina Hiyori watched this, leaning back against the cold wall, feeling faintly, gently helpless.
She shifted her weight to step forward and get a look at the floor below — and then stopped.
"...Hiss."
The faint chill of the floor seeping up through her socks finally reached her.
"Right — where are my shoes?"
Hearing that, Kamuro Masumi turned back to the window and scanned the lobby below before replying.
"I can see a pair of shoes tossed in the corner of the first-floor lobby. There's a uniform jacket and a tie next to them too... The style looks about right for you and Chris?"
Chris leaned over for a look himself, then straightened up with easy nonchalance.
"Yeah, that's them. Stay here, Shiina — I'll head down and grab yours on the way."
"Ah..."
She had been on the verge of nodding her thanks — but her toes curled, just slightly, inside her cotton socks.
As if something had surfaced in her memory. Or perhaps driven by some instinct she couldn't quite name — a kind of wordless, inexplicable fastidiousness — she suddenly called out to stop him.
"Actually — wait a moment, please."
Shiina Hiyori's lashes lowered, veiling whatever was moving behind her eyes.
"Chris-kun... if it's not too much trouble... could you just throw those shoes away for me? I won't be needing them."
As she said it, she turned to Amikura Mako, who had just finished sending her message.
"Amikura-san — would it be alright to ask Ichinose-san to bring a new pair of boots when she comes? I'd really appreciate it."
Amikura Mako blinked, then gave a quick nod. "Ah... of course, no problem at all."
Chris paused mid-step, turning back to look at the girl — at those slightly restless, curling toes — and understood without needing it spelled out exactly what she was worried about.
As he turned and headed downstairs, a quiet feeling welled up in his chest.
She trusts me that much?
Good thing I'm not a foot fetishist. Otherwise I'd be failing a girl's earnest, pure-hearted trust in spectacular fashion.
Several dozen minutes later.
In front of RING Café.
Shiina Hiyori, now wearing a fresh pair of boots, made her way to the counter. She'd intended to bring up the matter of Koenji Fuuka using the café's equipment without permission during the exam, and discuss compensation with the staff.
What she hadn't expected was the response she got.
Faced with her inquiry, the young barista only looked confused. "I'm not sure what you mean, miss — our machines don't show any sign of being touched. Are you maybe thinking of a different place?"
From the window seat, Kamuro Masumi was chewing on a straw, entirely unsurprised.
"Don't bother."
She waved it off. "The exam space got reset, same as last time after the school building exam. Everything's been restored to how it was."
"If the Sphere only rolled back the damage we caused and left us on the hook for the bill, then it really would be a piece of work..."
Shiina Hiyori gave a small bow of apology to the staff and made her way back to her seat.
"By the way — the uninvited participants this time, besides all of you, should have also included... Ayanokoji-kun, right?"
Ichinose Honami, who had just arrived to rejoin the group, turned her gaze to Chris with a quiet question. "How is he doing?"
Chris glanced toward the window, watching the flow of people outside on the street, and answered casually.
"Him? He probably took a beating."
"The monsters must have scared him pretty badly — he didn't seem to be in a good headspace. He went straight back to the dorms the moment it ended."
At those words, Ichinose's breath went a little softer, a little quieter.
She dropped her eyes. For a long stretch she said nothing at all — just sat there in silence, hands wrapped around the warm curve of her coffee cup, somewhere far away in her own thoughts.
"Going forward, if we run into another existence that can interfere with cognition, that's going to be a serious problem."
Sakayanagi Arisu lifted her teacup and took a delicate sip, her voice carrying a note of genuine concern. "Even after the fighting's over — it's nearly impossible to tell whether you were affected, or what you might have lost..."
Chris gave a slow nod of agreement beside her.
Fair point.
He had to admit — The Silence was a genuinely useful tool. Whether he needed to manufacture a sense of crisis, fill in a logical gap on the fly, or patch over a plot hole after the fact... everyone who encountered it forgot they had. No need for the Black Sphere to intervene. If the mechanics had a loose end, he could just chalk it up to memory suppression and move on.
Convenient.
The mood around the table had grown a little heavy.
Kushida Kikyo's sweet smile appeared on cue, as she reached out to nudge the atmosphere somewhere lighter.
"Hey, don't be too gloomy! At least Shiina-san and everyone made it out okay this time."
"That said — going forward, we really do need to be more careful. Whether it's people drafted into the official exam or people like today who could end up as uninvited guests — we all need to sharpen our teamwork."
Kushida Kikyo laced her fingers together, her tone warm with apparent concern for everyone present.
"At the very least... in a crisis, nobody should be the one dragging the team down."
Amikura Mako opened her mouth.
She had the sting ready: From any angle you look at it, Kushida Kikyo — who has contributed exactly zero to any Black Sphere exam — is the last person who should be saying that.
But before she could get it out —
Ichinose Honami had already surfaced from her thoughts and nodded, smoothly picking up the thread.
"Kushida-san is right — our ability to coordinate in a crisis absolutely needs to improve."
"That said, I think everyone here already understands that after what we've been through. There's no need to be too hard on anyone. What I think matters more right now is something else."
As she spoke, Ichinose Honami's gaze crossed the table and settled directly on Sakayanagi Arisu and Kamuro Masumi.
"I heard from Hoshimiya-sensei that tomorrow... a new transfer student will be joining Class B."
"I've been wondering — is this some kind of built-in mechanism? Once a student is truly eliminated from negative points, does the school automatically arrange a replacement transfer student to fill the gap?"
"A transfer student?"
Kamuro Masumi looked genuinely puzzled — clearly caught completely off guard by this news.
Sakayanagi Arisu, on the other hand, set down her teacup and smiled — noncommittally.
Of course she wasn't surprised.
Sending Hashimoto Masayoshi to linger outside Class B's door had been her doing — a subtle nudge, a hint planted specifically for Ichinose. As the Director's daughter, how could she possibly not know about the existence of "Amase Kazuna"?
This transfer student was, in all likelihood, a plant sent by the newly arrived Deputy Director Tsukishiro.
Since the fact was already set in stone and couldn't be changed, she had naturally pivoted to thinking about how to use it — leveraging Ichinose as the entry point, weaving something out of the situation.
Her role, of course, was simply to cast the bait.
The follow-through? Someone else would rise to it. They always did.
Sure enough — right on schedule, Kushida Kikyo, who couldn't stand being left out of things, jumped right in.
"This new transfer student... are they just some unlucky soul dragged in by the Black Sphere at random, or someone specifically hand-picked and inserted by the school's higher-ups? That's still a complete unknown, isn't it?"
Shiina Hiyori interjected quietly, her tone gentle, as if trying to ease the air back down.
"Either way — once they're placed in a class, the new student will be fighting alongside us in the exams, won't they?"
Kushida Kikyo had been on the verge of following her instinct and firing back with something about not trusting appearances — but the words died on her tongue.
She caught herself just in time, remembering that she was supposed to be playing the role of the class's little angel. Breaking character now would not be a good look.
She course-corrected quickly, her voice bouncing back to its usual warmth.
"Ah — you're right, Hiyori-chan! That goes without saying! When it comes to the Black Sphere, we have to unite every ally we can!"
Sakayanagi Arisu glanced at Kushida from the corner of her eye, one brow lifting a fraction. The corner of her mouth curved — thin, precise, just a little contemptuous.
What dreadful acting.
Lucky, though. She had to give her that — to have survived this long without being caught.
"Unite our strength, hm..."
Ichinose Honami seemed not to notice the undercurrents running through the girls around her.
As if she had made up her mind about something, she turned her head — toward Chris, who had been half-checked-out, scrolling idly through his phone — and spoke.
"Actually... Chris-kun, could I ask a favor?"
Chris, who had been happily watching the drama unfold, glanced up. "What is it?"
Ichinose closed her eyes.
Her long lashes trembled faintly. After a few seconds, she opened them again — and whatever softness had been there before was gone. Her gaze was clear and steady.
"I want you to teach me swordsmanship."
"After these past few battles, I've realized that to push the combat suit to its full potential, long-range firearms alone aren't enough. Against fast-moving creatures... I'm going to need to learn to fight up close with a blade."
Chris looked mildly surprised.
"For swordsmanship, the school has a kendo club. You don't really need to come specifically to me for that."
"Heh. You're really quite obtuse sometimes, Chris-kun."
Sakayanagi Arisu rested her chin on one hand, a quiet laugh escaping her.
"Have you already forgotten? Not just anyone can put on the combat suit. Whether we're talking about building technique or learning the kind of swordsmanship that works in a life-or-death fight — do you honestly think the ordinary members of the school's kendo club... could hold up against even a few swings from Ichinose-san in that suit?"
"They'd be in the ICU before the first session was over."
"In that case!"
Kushida Kikyo's eyes lit up, sensing an opening. She pressed her palms together hopefully.
"Could I come and observe — maybe learn a little too? Coach Chris! I've always been interested in swordsmanship, even just the basics for self-defense would be great!"
Chris was indifferent either way, and looked toward Ichinose.
"Up to Ichinose. I don't mind."
"Ichinose~"
Kushida Kikyo leaned forward slightly, closing the distance, her eyes going soft and pleading as they found Ichinose Honami's face. "Can I come along? Just the one extra person?"
Looking at Kushida's face, so close now —
Ichinose Honami's gaze flickered.
The old version of herself would have answered without a second thought — smiling, warm, never hesitating for a moment in the face of a friend's request.
But now, her mind flashed: the image of Shiranami Chihiro dissolving away. The crushing, suffocating weight of Goto's presence bearing down on her.
Ichinose Honami let the corner of her mouth pull, just barely, into something that didn't quite reach a smile.
"About that... it might be a little difficult, Kushida-san."
"That kind of high-intensity sparring is easy to send flying in the wrong direction. Could we maybe... wait until I have a little experience under my belt before opening it up? I'm still so clumsy right now — I'd be embarrassed to have everyone watching..."
Kushida Kikyo's smile froze on her face for just a moment. A quiet, small "...Oh" slipped out.
"It's okay, I believe in you, Ichinose-san! I'm sure you'll get the hang of it in no time — and when you're ready, I'll find you again about training together, okay? Just don't forget about me by then~"
____
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