Kei Karuizawa/Plot

Plot
In the anime, Kei, like the other first years, listened to the speech given by Manabu Horikita, welcoming the first years to their new school. She was seen in the class talking to Satsuki Shinohara before Yōsuke Hirata asked the class to introduce themselves, agreeing with the idea.

After the teacher Sae Chabashira walked in and introduced to the class the system in which they are supposed to live in now, Kei was surprised at the fact that they received 100,000 private points, to begin with. She was seen talking with Maya Satō and Chiaki Matsushita about clothes and jewelry shopping after the classes that day. At the start of the new month of June, along with the rest of D-Class, Kei was shocked when Class D did not receive the monthly allotment of points, looking depressed throughout the explanation of S-Points and the reason D-Class didn't get any points.

At some point later, Kei went to the pool with the rest of the class, getting especially close to Yōsuke, which possibly indicates that they have been dating since. She tried asking Kikyō to lend her points along with some other girls of the class to buy herself the 'essentials', in which at least Kikyō complied with the demand. She is seen getting closer to Yōsuke, then proceeding to take the mid-test exams and passing with an overall score of 75.

In the light novels, Kei's name appeared for the first time when Ike and others were chatting about a new couple in their class as Kei was seen gazing lovingly at Yōsuke from across the room. From Kiyotaka's monologue, he described her as cute, but she had this atmosphere around her, making it difficult for uncertain people to approach her. During the lunch break, the conversation continued when Yamauchi mentioned that someone had seen Kei and Yōsuke holding hands the other day. They began wondering if the couple had already done naughty stuff together.

Sometime in late April, Kei was invited by Kushida to hang out with some of their classmates after school. The group consisted of six people, including Kiyotaka and Ike's group. When Ike showed his dissatisfaction with Kei and Yōsuke's presence in the group, Kei snapped at him and demanded what they were whispering about. Later on, Ike asked directly if Kei and Yōsuke were really going out. Kei responded by latching her arm onto Yōsuke's before he could say anything, that gesture of hers confirming Ike's answer without further explanation needed. The group went to a boutique where Kei purchased clothes worth 30,000 points. Afterward, they went to a nearby cafe and began to discuss their new lives at the school. Kei expressed her wish to had more points since she's already used up almost all of her points after buying cosmetics and clothes.

When Ken Sudō was accused of beating up three boys from Class C, Kei supported Yōsuke, who chose to believe in Sudō as he thought that it's wrong to doubt a fellow classmate right away. She helped him by stating that it'd be a problem if the case turned out to be a false charge, and they all would feel bad for him if he were innocent. Because of that statement, many girls started to express their support for Sudō. Kei later led her girls' team to search for an eyewitness.

Contrary to the anime, Kei always skipped swim class by claiming she didn't feel well. It was just a lie she made due to her bullying past, which caused a serious scar on her skin. She felt terrified that her scar would draw people's attention and create a stir.

During the anime pool filler episode, Kei saw Suzune walking out of the apartment building, claiming how there were rumors she had died, since no one had seen her over the summer break. Kei then left, dragging Yōsuke with her after Suzune expressed her disinterest in hanging out with the rest of her class when being questioned about it.

Later Kei, like all the other first years, took part in the school cruise, where she was seen calling Yōsuke over to hang out with her friends. When the cruise ship headed to an island, all first-year students were told they need to survive for more than a week with basic materials. Kei got into an argument with Teruhiko Yukimura about the hygienic materials they would need for survival, specifically the need for a toilet. Kanji Ike joined the argument as well, but after setting up camp, he surprised Kei, as he apologized for his words since he went through a similar event when camping as a child. Touched by this, Kei apologized for not understanding his reasons as well.

Towards the end of the Deserted Island exam, Kei was found crying in the girl's tent as her underwear was apparently stolen. The girls of her class had Yōsuke check all the boys and their luggage to find it. After minutes of searching, Yōsuke then found the underwear in Kiyotaka Ayanokōji's luggage but refrained from telling anyone, since he (rightfully) suspected that Ayanokōji was set up by someone else.

The next day, Kei and the other girls told the boys to build a separate camp from them because of the incident the day before. Kei had Yōsuke watch over the boys in the class while they moved, but Suzune requested that another boy should check over Yōsuke, since he could potentially be a threat as well. Though Kei defended her boyfriend, she agreed to the request but wondered which boy should help as all the other boys are deemed untrustworthy. Suzune then proposed that Kiyotaka be the second guard since he doesn't seem to have a lecherous side.

Kei recalled that Kiyotaka was often 'invisible' during class, admitting to herself that she barely noticed him being their classmate. In the same night, somebody had started a fire at camp by burning the survival test manual, Kei and the other girls questioned the culprit's identity, first suspecting that one of the boys must have done it. They soon, however, suspected Mio Ibuki because of she was nowhere to be found during the incident. They later learned that Suzune had dropped out of the test because of a fever. They then discussed Mio's motive and whether or not she was the actual culprit and C-Class' leader since her class had dropped out of the test earlier in the week.

The next morning, Kei was seen cleaning in the camp along with the girls. At the time of the class points announcement, she and the entire class were shocked to hear that D-Class came in the first place. Later that same day on the cruise ship, Kei and the others thanked Suzune for her brilliant plan, though, unbeknown to them that Kiyotaka actually planned everything but gave Suzune all the credit to boost her popularity in the class cementing her place as a dependable leader.

Volume 4
Kei got out of the shower, she stood and looked at herself in the mirror with drops of water trickling down on her skin. She thought to herself that nothing had changed since she had come to this school, but she immediately corrected herself that she had no intention of changing anything from the start, as she understood everything about herself, both in strengths and weaknesses. She was fully aware that none of the boys or girls like her, but even so, she had never thought to change.

Her gaze wandered to the old wound on her left side, the thought about smashing the mirror to pieces every time she saw that wound surfaced again. Feeling dizzy and nauseous, she gripped the sink and vomited. She kept asking herself why she had to go through such an awful experience and the reason for her suffering. Though she knew that words didn't mean anything since the past couldn't change and no one could do it, she cursed God's cruelty. Her life was destroyed because of that nightmarish day, she had lost her youth, friends, and even herself.

That's why she vowed to fix that mistake, vowing to do anything to protect herself, to ensure that she would never have to go through that past again. No matter how much people hated her, she thought it was better than suffering like that again. She deemed herself as a 'parasite,' a weak creature incapable of surviving on its own.

Much to the surprise of everyone, there was another special exam on the ship after their return from the survival island. In this exam, the objective was to find a person deemed as the VIP hidden among the members as the batch was divided into 12 groups based on the Chinese zodiac signs. Kei was placed in the same group as Kiyotaka, Teruhiko Yukimura, Hideo Sotomura, and students from other classes such as Honami Ichinose from Class B, Machida from Class A, and Mio Ibuki and Shiho Manabe from Class C. Kei couldn't hide her dissatisfaction when she saw Kiyotaka and others as she entered the briefing room for the first time, going as far to lift her chair and moved it a little away from Kiyotaka. When Mashima-sensei began to explain the rules, Kei immediately barraged him with many questions. After Mashima-sensei's second warning to her, she finally remained silent even though she looked unhappy. Not even bothering to hide her disdain, Kei blatantly asked why she was on a team together with *these* guys before called them gross. That statement apparently irritated Yukimura as he told her to stop her babbling and try listening, bringing up her attitude during the island exam and how it dragged everyone down. Kei let out her frustration by stating that Yōsuke would have been so much better and how a hundred of them still wouldn't be worth a single hair on Yōsuke's head. When Mashima-sensei mentioned Werewolf games to explain the rules in simpler terms, Kei noticed a bewildered expression on Kiyotaka's face and seemed amazed that he didn't know about the game. As if she could read his mind, Kei then apologized and added that it must be sad not to have friends. After the meeting was over, they left the room. However, Kei showed no concern at all for their future action regarding the test. She ignored Yukimura, who tried to initiate the discussion, and walked away as she made a call to Yōsuke.

The first discussion of the Cruise Ship Special Test was about to begin. When Kei entered the group's meeting room, she immediately cast her eyes away from Kiyotaka and others before isolating herself by sitting a little further away from the group. Kiyotaka noticed that her behavior was unnatural since he thought Kei would confront Ibuki the moment she saw her, given Ibuki had stolen Kei's underwear back on the island. Following Class A's decision not to take part in the group discussions. Manabe from Class C called out to Kei, asking about her encounter with Rika Morofuji, another Class C student. Manabe claimed that Kei had pushed Rika out of the line at a cafe, then asked Kei to apologize to Rika. Kei denied that and claimed she didn't know anything but retorted when Manabe tried to take a picture of her to confirm with Rika. As Manabe becames more aggressive, Kei turned to Machida for help, who told Manabe to stop forcibly taking photos of Kei and that it would be better to talk with Rika to confirm the story. Manabe eventually withdrew though she wasn't convinced. After Manabe and the other girls backed down, Kei looked up at Machida with eyes full of gratitude, which caused Machida to blush slightly. One hour passed, and the students were allowed to leave, with the Class A students going first. Kei, while hastily trying to leave, accidentally stepped on Manabe's feet. Manabe got angry while Kei made a quick apology and left. After leaving the room, Kiyotaka asked Yukimura if he noticed Kei was acting strange; however, Yukimura's response wasn't what Kiyotaka wanted to hear as Kiyotaka was sure something felt off about her.

In the second group meeting, Class A students still didn't want to participate in the discussion. Kei was seen fiddling with her phone as Kiyotaka's suspicions about her personality slowly grew through her interactions with Manabe and Ibuki. Kei was a strong presence in Class D which often brought the class together, that's why he thought that she’d be more aggressive and dominate the field. But this time, she was practically a different person. When someone spoke to her, she would answer and then immediately shrink away. Considering the test period was rather short; he couldn’t afford to take things slow. He needed to determine if she was useful or not as soon as possible, even if it meant being forceful. Later, after the meeting was over, Kiyotaka chased after Manabe and her friends in Class C. He called out to them when they reached the elevator and mentioned Kei's name. This grabbed their attention, Kiyotaka then lied that he saw Kei pushed over their friend at the cafe and wanted to give them a heads up.

The following day, Kiyotaka called out Suzune for information regarding Kei. Even though he had planned to contact Kei, he had never spoken to her before and wholly lost. Suzune answered she had no interest in her, and he should ask Hirata instead, but Kiyotaka wanted to avoid that as he had already passed on his chance of having lunch with her before the test. Suzune asked if he thought Kei was the VIP, to which Kiyotaka answered that he was more worried about her behaviour. When Suzune said it's a waste of time, he told her how there's a difference between a person's outer and inner selves. Not entirely convinced, she then asked about Kei's good points. Kiyotaka answered that she had the ability to assume control and take the initiative. As Suzune wondered if Kiyotaka wanted to make her an ally, Kiyotaka responded he had to think about that.

In the afternoon, Kei went to the Rabbit group's discussion room earlier than usual to avoid a meeting with Manabe and her group. Upon entering the room, she saw Kiyotaka and ignored his presence. She sat away from him and passed the time by chatting with her friends on her phone while casually belittling her other Class D classmates, who were all boys, that were in her group. Kei worried about her influence, as most of her friends were together in the same group and the possibility of them gossiping about her was likely. But after a brief chat log check, she concluded that her presence was enough to stop the gossiping. To pass the time, Kei asked Kiyotaka if he was the Rabbit group's VIP or not, to which he denied it. Kiyotaka was surprised when she didn't double-check and easily trusted his words. However, he brushed it off as his goal in this test was to ascertain whether she was useful to him or not. Kei was exasperated at Kiyotaka's lack of dialogue skills, thinking that he had the looks to compete with Yōsuke, but not the charisma to stay popular. She criticized all the boys but Yōsuke in Class D and strengthened her resolve to stick with him. Unbeknown to her at that moment, Kiyotaka would grow to become her dearest and irreplaceable person during her three years of school life.

In the next group meeting, before the discussion time started, the Class C girls asked Machida to come to play with them after the meeting. Kei then arrived and told them to give back her seat as she glared at the Class C girls, feeling frustrated after seeing them being so friendly with Machida. Manabe provoked Kei by saying that Machida had promised to hang out with her tonight and asked him to choose. Machida looked a little troubled by the situation, hesitating over which girl he should pick. However, Kei quickly inserted herself between Manabe and Machida, grabbed his hand, and asked him if he would be interested in spending some time together with her, just the two of them. But if he chose Manabe, that would be the end of it. Kiyotaka was surprised that she could say that while being Yōsuke's girlfriend. Machida then asked Manabe to move, leaving her annoyed. Kei moved to the empty seat and scooted so close that she was practically glued to him with their bodies pressed together. It looked like he'd started to fall for her, which wasn't surprising because appearance-wise, she was most definitely cute. Kiyotaka noted that Kei had been attaching herself to Yōsuke and Machida to gain control and influence within her class and the group. Kiyotaka wondered about the reason for her actions, whether it was for a sense of superiority, self-satisfaction, or the spotlight.

The fourth discussion period was over. Kei, after exchanging contact information with Machida, exited the room. Kiyotaka and Yukimura noticed that the Class C girls lead by Manabe were acting strange as they followed Kei outside their usual meeting room. They saw Kei getting cornered in the emergency staircase and being confronted by Manabe and others. Manabe was still accusing Kei of the incident that happened with Rika, but Kei still feigned ignorance and denied the fact that she had pushed Rika. However, she quickly told them that she accidentally bumped into Rika when the girls tried to call Rika but refused to apologize, stating that their friend was in the wrong. As the argument heated up, Manabe and others lost their patience and began to use physical threats on Kei. Even though they started by just shoving her shoulder, this caused Kei to show strange reactions such as breathing raggedly and curling into a fetal position. Manabe and her friends then decided to go a step higher and proceeded to grab Kei's hair, forcefully pulling her up, saying that they wanted to hit her face. This physical bullying act led Kei to lose her previous arrogance and attitude, causing her to shake and tear up to the point where the previous Karuizawa Kei seemed nothing more than a façade. She began begging for them to stop while holding her head in her hand and trembling violently before finally ceasing not to move at all, as if she had given up. Before the situation could turn worse, Yukimura, who couldn’t bear to watch it anymore, interrupted them. The situation improved after Kiyotaka told them he had seen a teacher coming and that it would be best for Manabe to leave. After Manabe swore that she would make Kei apologize to Rika, whom Kei had previously wronged, they left. After Kei recovered from her trauma, she brushed off Yukimura, who showed concern towards her. She ordered him and Kiyotaka not to let anyone else know about this. As Kei opened the stairwell door, she glared at Kiyotaka before slamming it as hard as she could. Kiyotaka noticed that Kei had shown her vulnerable side. However, the threats hadn't frightened her; she'd been terrified for another reason.

Later that night, Kiyotaka noticed Yōsuke was leaving the room. Kiyotaka followed and met him in the hallway. Kiyotaka said he had predicted Yōsuke would go during the night because Kei had contacted him. When Yōsuke asked if he knew something, Kiyotaka simply replied that he was in the same group with Kei, so he understood the situation. He then requested Yōsuke to tell him everything about her.

Kei was already there waiting for Yōsuke when they arrived at the meeting place in front of the vending machine. Upon seeing Yōsuke coming, she instantly smiled, but soon her joy was replaced with anger when she noticed Kiyotaka was trailing slightly behind. She asked why Kiyotaka was here, and Yōsuke told her that he brought him along since he seemed to understand the situation. Kei was upset and said that she wanted to talk alone with Yōsuke without any third parties present. Yōsuke brought up a topic about their phone call earlier when Kei told him regarding her encounter with the Class C girls. Kei said nothing as she was still wary of Kiyotaka's presence. Afterward, Kiyotaka told Yōsuke what he had seen, that Kei and some girl named Rika had some trouble in the past and how they wanted to make Kei apologize, but then they’d almost gotten violent with her.

Yōsuke, after hearing the whole story, nodded. He finally understood why Kei had asked him to take revenge on Manabe and her friends. Kei finally broke the silence as she didn't get why Yōsuke told Kiyotaka about that. Yōsuke answered that the plan wasn't like her because she wasn't a violent person. Kei demanded that since his girlfriend was suffering, he should want to help her. However, Yōsuke refused and wanted to resolve things peacefully. Kei insisted that it wasn't possible and begged Yōsuke to understand, saying that Manabe's group hated her for practically no reason. Yōsuke refuted that the incident started because Kei had an issue with Rika. Kei reasoned that she didn't have any choice because Shinohara was there. When Kiyotaka asked what she meant by having no choice, Kei told him to shut his mouth. Yōsuke still didn't budge and told Kei he couldn't just hurt someone else to help her. Kei shouted that he was a liar since he said he would protect her, but Yōsuke stood up and said that Kei had known his stance since the beginning, that they were not actually boyfriend and girlfriend and he wouldn't fight a war for her.

Kei was horrified by what Yōsuke had just said and asked why he was suddenly saying this. Yōsuke told her that he intended to speak with Manabe and her friends in the morning and would tell them that Kei would apologize. Kei still refused, to which Yōsuke responded that he couldn't help her if that were the case. Yōsuke then asked Kiyotaka for ideas, but Kei angrily declared that she didn't need help while throwing the can of juice she was holding down the hall. She shouted that their relationship was over before she abandoned them and left.

After that, Kiyotaka tried to confirm with Yōsuke if his relationship with Kei was all for the show. When Yōsuke said that it seemed Kiyotaka already suspected as much, Kiyotaka pointed out that even though Yōsuke and Kei had been dating for almost four months, their relationship hadn't progressed much and how they still called each other by their last names. In a romantic relationship, such stagnation was exceptionally odd. Yōsuke then explained that they weren't really dating and only going out because they both felt that it was necessary. Kei had asked Yōsuke to pretend to go out with her, and he had simply honored her request. Kiyotaka noted that Kei's popularity had soared after going out with Yōsuke, and he was playing the boyfriend role to help raise her status. To Kei, Yōsuke was basically a host, and she was his parasite. He'd been a tool to enhance her social standing. A similar phenomenon had occurred in Rabbit Group too. By attaching herself to Machida, Kei could assert herself more aggressively than normal, and her level of influence had increased.

However, Kiyotaka thought that there was still more to it, as Yōsuke had easily accepted her request and she couldn't simply use Machida to increase her influence given her lack of interest in the group. There must be a trigger for her to establish contact with Machida. In the end, he concluded that she wanted to protect herself, to which Yōsuke confirmed it. Yōsuke then revealed that Kei was viciously bullied in elementary and junior high years. Using her position as his girlfriend, Kei could free herself from her past; that's why he agreed to act like they were dating. Yōsuke didn't think that Kei had been showing them her real personality, that she was just desperately trying to act tough. She only tried to mimic those who typically do the bullying by acting so confident, aggressive, and selfish. In other words, her personality was a facade, and she needed people like Yōsuke and Machida so she was able to get that assertive personality.

The next day, Kiyotaka decided to make a move. He headed down to the lowest level on the ship, where generally no one appeared, and phones had almost no reception. After observing, Kiyotaka then returned to the upper deck and had Yōsuke call Kei in a hour. Kiyotaka knew if Yōsuke said he wanted to speak with her alone, she'd respond. Even though she had said she was breaking up with Yōsuke, she'd be the one to suffer if that happened. With Manabe and her friends on the attack, Kei needed Yōsuke to protect her at school.

Kiyotaka then received a message from Yōsuke, saying he had promised to meet Kei at 4:00 PM and sent Kiyotaka information about Manabe. Kiyotaka started messaging anonymously to Manabe, telling her that he was a classmate who also hated Kei and wanted to work together to get an act of revenge on her. Manabe was initially suspicious but eventually followed and asked about the plan. Kiyotaka sent her the ship's lowest level map and said that he would call Kei there so Manabe could settle things with her. Kiyotaka also had another plan prepared in case he failed to convince Manabe through chat by blackmailing her with the pictures he had taken when she and her friends had confronted Kei at the emergency stairwell, but the risks were high, and he wanted to avoid drawing attention as much as possible.

Kei arrived early at the meeting point where she was supposed to meet Yōsuke. After realizing that she couldn't use her phone, she leaned against the wall and closed her eyes. Once four o'clock rolled around, the door opened and revealed Manabe and her friends who also came to the place, including Rika. Kei noticed them and started trembling, asking what they were doing here. Manabe answered she just happened to see Kei come here and thought it would be a perfect opportunity to introduce Rika. Manabe grabbed Rika, who was hiding behind her and pulled her forward. Even though they were facing each other, Kei averted her eyes, pretending like she didn't know her. After Manabe confirmed with Rika that Kei was the one who shoved her, she looked happy and demanded that Kei should apologize. However, Kei still insisted that she didn't do anything wrong, causing Manabe to snap and told her that she knew Kei was bullied. Kei weakly denied it, but Manabe mocked her further, saying that if Kei got down on her knees and beg right now, they might forgive her since Kei must be good at grovelling.

Kei tried to slip past Manabe, but the latter grabbed her hair and slammed her to the wall. Seeing Kei suffered, especially after her proud behaviour, made Manabe felt great. When Kei pleaded for them to stop, Manabe only laughed like she was enjoying it. She continued to drive her knee into Kei's stomach, even pressing Rika to join in. Even though Rika was hesitant, she finally gave in and slapped Kei once. However, it didn't satisfy Manabe, and she told Rika to put more force into it. Rika slapped Kei again and again as she was instructed, ignoring Kei who was in pain. Her slaps gradually grew more forceful as Kei begged them for forgiveness. Nonetheless, her pleading only caused Manabe and others to feel more euphoric as Rika starting to punch and kick her rather strongly.

Kei collapsed in fear, tears streaming down her face. Kiyotaka, who was watching the whole scene from the start, quietly closed the door. He was fully aware that Manabe and others would continue to take out their frustrations on Kei a little longer, which he didn't particularly mind. If she had been thoroughly destroyed, it would save him time and effort when he needs to build her back up.

After Manabe and her friends had left, Kiyotaka entered the room and called Kei, who was still cowering and crying on the ground. As she didn't expect him to be there, Kei became panicked about being seen like that. However, she couldn't just stop crying and act as though nothing happened. Kiyotaka continued to wait quietly, without trying to talk to her. After some time passed, Kiyotaka asked if she had calmed down as he reached out his hand to help her up. Kei didn't move to take his hand; instead, she wiped her tears and asked about Yōsuke. Kiyotaka replied he was there in his place since a teacher had called Yōsuke away, and Kiyotaka just happened to be with him at that time. When Kiyotaka asked why she was crying, Kei started trembling as she recalled what they had done to her. She told him that Manabe and her friends caused the scene and warned him to keep this a secret. To protect her social standing, she couldn't afford to be seen as a victim by the rest of the school.

Kei suddenly suggested Kiyotaka to get back at Manabe and others, that since they're girls, even someone like him could win. He responded that it was an insane request, which made Kei chided if he was scared of them even though he was supposed to be a guy. Kiyotaka argued that attacking them would only escalate the situation further, the school would carry out an investigation and conduct an interview, and it was something Kei wouldn't want. She muttered Manabe and her friends would continue doing awful things to her as she started shaking again, desperately wanted to fix the situation. Kiyotaka stated he understood that she wanted to prevent it since it would be terrible if things had gone back like in the old days.

When Kei asked what he was talking about, Kiyotaka elaborated it further, telling her that even though she had managed to escape by getting into the prestigious school and rising through the ranks to reign supreme at the head of Class D, she hadn't changed at all. She was still that bullied little girl. Kei shouted and demanded whom he was talking about. Kiyotaka then grabbed her arm and forced her up. As Kei asked what he was doing in a trembling voice, he pinned her up against the wall and forced her to look him in the eye. He mentioned how Manabe and her friends had tormented her, that they pulled her hair, slapped her face, and kicked her in the stomach. That's why she ended up like that; miserable, pathetic, crying on the ground.

As they stared at each other, he said that he knew she had bullied ever since she was little and wanted to act tough so she could stop being bullied. Kei asked if he heard it from Yōsuke, to which Kiyotaka replied that Yōsuke wouldn't be of any use to her in situations like this and how he wasn't good enough for a parasite like her. Kiyotaka noted Kei was much smarter than other people thought. She had taken care not to overdo it in the Rabbit group precisely because she had understood Yōsuke's neutral stance.

Kiyotaka then threatened to expose her past if she didn't do as he said, mentioning that he knew everything she wanted to hide. Kei understood better than anyone how terrifying it was, but she held her ground and shouted who he was to screw with her. Kiyotaka moved in close to her that their faces almost touched. When she turned her face away and tried to avert her eyes, he grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. Even though she wanted to look away, a man's strength was bearing down on her so that she couldn't move. She closed her eyes, trying to escape his gaze while loudly asked if he was just after her body. Kiyotaka replied it didn't sound too bad as he ran his fingertips across her thighs, thinking that she felt so incredibly soft that he couldn't even imagine that she was a person like him. Kei tried to escape his touch, but Kiyotaka hold her tighter and threatened her not to run or he would tell everyone in the school about her, making her stiffened. She now realized that he was completely different from the meek person she knew from school.

Kiyotaka commanded her to spread her legs. She then slowly opened her legs, tears streaming down her face as she did so. Even if she knew that she was about to be violated, she still wanted to protect her position, the pain she felt from her years of being bullied had won out. Kiyotaka placed his hand on his belt buckle and pretended to rattle it. Even so, she didn't run. She was trying to accept this as she looked at him with empty eyes. He was interested in how far she would go to protect herself and concluded that she had become a perfect tool for him. Kei feared her past and losing her current social status more than anything else, that was why she'd go so far as to offer up her body if someone requested it to protect her secret.

Kei vented her anger as she shouted that she would never bow to him. Still trembling, she gave a thin smile and looked at him with intense darkness in her eyes, telling him that it wasn't the first time someone had used force against her. She mentioned that she was everyone's victim. No matter how much she cried, screamed, or thrashed around, it didn't change anything and all she could do was take all the bullying, making her cold and robotic. As if accepting her fate, Kei then lifted her skirt and touched her panties, but Kiyotaka grabbed her arm and pushed her against the wall, asking what happened to her.

Kei told him about her punishments that happened countless times, with any kind of bullying one could imagine. They’d put tacks in her shoes or stuff her desk full of roadkill. When she went to the bathroom, she would get splashed with dirty water. They wrote words like ‘whore’ on her uniform. They also pulled her hair and punched and kicked her. However, what she had just told him was just a fraction of what she had experienced. Those were the ‘gentler’ ways she had been bullied. Kei asked why he wasn't laughing at the pitiful loser who had been bullied all her life. He noted that even after everything she had suffered, she still got back up and ready to fight again, her resilience had motivated her to enroll in this school. However, he thought that the experiences she had recounted weren’t enough to explain everything. He asked if she had told him the whole truth, believing that there had to be some other reason behind her abnormal fearfulness, something that Kei wanted to hide so much that it was worth giving up her body. When he asked again what she was hiding, she turned her head from him and lowered her eyes to look down at her left side. Ignoring her protest, Kiyotata grabbed her uniform and pulled it up, which revealed a deep scar caused by a sharp blade. It wasn't the result of simple bullying, a serious scar like this had come from a life-threatening attack.

Kiyotaka saw the darkness in her eyes that overlapped with his and decided that he had to release her from the shackles of her past. He promised to protect her from bullying from now on, claiming he was much more reliable than Yōsuke or Machida. He then showed her his phone that had a photo of her being assaulted by Manabe and her group in the emergency stairway, explaining that he had secretly taken the photo which he could use to protect Kei by blackmailing Manabe's and others. He let go of her chin, and spoke in a emotionless voice that he wanted her to cooperate and assist him in the future, doing whatever he needed. As Class D lacked unity, if she could control the girls, the situation would improve and they could be able to overtake Class A. Up until now, she had only ever seen him as a lowly, unobtrusive guy. Seeing his true self, it made her feeling terrified. He told her they first need to guide their group to victory in this exam. When Kei wondered how she was supposed to help lead them, Kiyotaka said that she could help since she was the VIP student.

The final day of the exam came. During the fifth discussion period, Kiyotaka was a little concerned that Manabe and her friends would try to confront Kei; however, his concern was unnecessary because him sending the picture had the desired effect. They were being obedient, and Kei was acting normal too.

When the Rabbit Group reached its final discussion period, Hamaguchi spoke up and suggested the group show their phones to aim for the first outcome. He showed his phone with the school's mail on it. While some were concerned about it, others started to follow suit and showed their mail. As Kei took her phone out and was about to hand it over, Yukimura was puzzled and said that he didn't think Kei would go along with this, to which she replied that she was only doing this for her own sake since she wanted those private points. Her email said she wasn't VIP. It was revealed before the final discussion began, Kei had swapped her phone with Kiyotaka's, to which he would use his points to unlock the SIM and transferred his number to her phone. Afterward, he approached Yukimura under the pretense that he was the VIP and swapped Kei's phone with Yukimura's, telling him it was his phone.

After the final discussion period ended, Kei meekly approached Kiyotaka, who was already waiting in the cafe. Kiyotaka apologized for calling her so late, but Kei dismissed it, saying it was okay. As they silently gazed at the nighttime scenery, Kei glanced at him, wanting to ask something. Kiyotaka noticed her gaze on him and glanced back at her. She wondered if everything really went okay with the double phone swap, to which he replied that he was positive that one of the guys from Class A had sent the school an email with Kiyotaka's name. When Kei asked why he could say that for sure, Yōsuke interrupted them from behind, making her jump in shock. Kei shifted in her seat and looked away uncomfortably, remembering how she had screamed at him and said they were breaking up the other day. However, she didn't refuse him when he took a seat near her.

The group soon joined by Suzune and Sudō. They talked about the four emails being sent earlier that announced the ending of the test for Rat, Horse, Rooster, and Pig groups. As Suzune questioned if one of the Class D students had sent an email in other groups, Kei, being the controller of the girls, confirmed that she had already checked the girls in their class and no one sent an email.

Volume 4.5
Two days before the end of summer vacation, Kiyotaka summoned Kei to a rest area where nobody was present due to the heat. He apologized for dragging her out when she was busy, to which she replied that he was sarcastic since she had just been hanging out in her room. He inquired about her plans for tomorrow, and she shared that she was going to sleep all day because she had no more points to spend. Kiyotaka mentioned that she would receive 500.000 points next month as a reward for the latest exam. Kei admitted that she had picked out the clothes and accessories and stuff she wanted to get. Still, she started to wonder if it was okay to use all the points instead of saving some. Kiyotaka teased her a little regarding her habit of spending points and if she could herself back, causing Kei to puff out her cheeks glared at him. She told him that even she knew how important private points were and how weird the school system was. She considered the possibility that private points weren't just meant for use on one's private desire and questioned the school's motives. He assured her that there was no reason to think about it too much, and it should be enough if she could retain ten to twenty percent of her monthly points. For Kei, who'd always been a shopaholic, curbing her desires was hard. However, if a former spendthrift suddenly became miserly, students in their class might get suspicious; Kiyotaka didn't want anyone to connect her change in circumstances to him.

After Kiyotaka told Kei the primary reason for calling her out, which was to ask her a favor, Kei expressed her dissatisfaction because he had not apologized earlier for calling her there on such a hot day. He gave her a bottle of tea which she reluctantly accepted. Kei complained that it was a little warm, but Kiyotaka blamed it on the weather, so there's nothing he could do. As Kiyotaka helped Kei, who was struggling to uncap her drink, he thought that the distance between Kei and him had diminished. Before summer vacation, it would've been impossible for them to have this kind of conversation. But to protect herself and her status, she could adapt to any environment.

Kiyotaka said that he had been invited to the pool by his friends on the last day of summer vacation. After replying that she wasn't interested in swimming, Kiyotaka asked her if she liked swimming or not, recognizing that she couldn't swim openly due to her circumstances because of the possibility that someone might see her scar. Kei answered that she's probably forgotten how to swim as she hadn't done it for years now.

While Kei intended to question what Kiyotaka wanted because his holiday plan had nothing to do with her, he asked her if the school truly did not know about her past bullying. It made her angry because it was a sensitive topic for her. After Kiyotaka insisted that this was relevant, Kei finally replied that the school didn't know. They might know about her absence from school or how many days off she had taken during junior high, but they only assumed that those were due to her being sick or skipping class. The school must've had a poor impression of her lousy attendance record and low grades; that's why they put her in Class D. She also added that even if they investigated the matter, they wouldn't be able to find any evidence. Kiyotaka then asked if she realized that the world was magnificently rotten, to which she cryptically replied with yes. She had suffered for many years, but even though she had asked her teachers and classmates for help, that only made it worse. No matter how often they had beaten her up, the school ignored the bullying and wouldn't do anything except the light warnings. Everyone spouted the same lies despite how unjust it was.

However, Kei added that she was grateful to the people who had bullied her and to the school that had covered it up because that's why she was able to grow into a new herself. By obtaining the exceptionally popular Hirata's support and protection, she managed to turn her situation around. Believing that Kei wasn't the kind of person who would resort to violence or intimidation, Kiyotaka forbade her to do anything that constitutes or supports bullying, referring to her incident with Airi during the uninhibited island exam. Kei argued that since her social status was her lifeline, it wasn't something she was ready to discard. Though she did feel sorry for Airi, the weak naturally existed as prey for the strong, especially those pretending to be strong like herself. However, she eventually admitted that she had been overdoing it a little so she would be more careful. Afterward, she made him promised that he would back her in case her position did appear to be in danger.

Kei wondered why she felt surprisingly at ease after telling Kiyotaka about her past, recognizing it as odd. She didn't know why she'd told him about the bullying; neither was Kiyotaka. Putting her guard, she then asked if the way he was acting at that moment was his real personality, adding that at first, she believed that he was just a gloomy guy, but now he was assertive and straightforward. He told her to keep her eye on him to determine what kind of person he was if she was interested. After that, Kiyotaka told Kei about his plan to hang out with Ike, Yamauchi, and Sudō tomorrow, along with Suzune, Airi and Kikyō. Kei commented that the group was a bizarre combination. She couldn't imagine Suzune and Airi hanging out with the guys; she also expressed her condolences. She assumed that the three would be ogling the girls. Kiyotaka didn't comment any further and asked her to join them the next day, which earned protest from Kei as she had no connection to the group. Kiyotaka refuted that she could put on her swimsuit at the dorm and wear her clothes over it, but Kei said that wasn't the problem; she just really didn't want to do it. However, despite her unwillingness, Kiyotaka stated that his decision was final and she had no right to refuse. He then pushed a handwritten note toward her, adding that he had shown her some consideration and told her to read it.

After she read the message closely, she suddenly got a headache before asking Kiyotaka why he didn't ask Suzune for help since they were close. When he answered that he couldn't rely on her because the entire time he'd acted entirely on his own, Kei became surprised as she didn't expect Kiyotaka not to trust Suzune despite the times they had spent together. Kei asked who he was exactly, to which Kiyotaka didn't respond. Kei then dropped the topic, adding that being more trustworthy than Suzune was a good thing. Afterward, both of them made their way toward the pool in preparation for the plan tomorrow.

The next day, which was the last day of summer vacation, Kei went to the pool with two of her friends and headed straight towards the locker room, finding the vent Kiyotaka had unfastened and replacing the memory card on the camera. When it was almost closing time, Kei approached Kiyotaka who was alone, slapping his back from behind before handing him the memory card she had taken from the camera in the locker room. She asked Kiyotaka about his plans and if he was really aiming for Class A. He answered that he was thinking about having someone expelled from the school, which bewildered Kei. She thought that Kiyotaka was definitely not normal, something that she could gauge from looking into his eyes.

While waiting until the locker room was empty, Kiyotaka suggested Kei to swim considering that the area was deserted except for a few lifeguards. Kei refused, but after Kiyotaka said it was an order, she had no choice and reluctantly removed her rash guard while saying that she hated him. Suddenly Kiyotaka grabbed her arm and before she could protest, he shoved her into the pool to which she shouted at him. Following her outburst, Kiyotaka offered his hand to get her up and asked if she had fun. Kei said she didn't, before pulling him into the water without warning and laughed.

Volume 5
At the beginning of September, just a month before the Sports Festival, Class D began making comprehensive preparations for the participation table during the homeroom period when Kiyotaka instructed Kei to object to Suzune's plan, and to then ask Kikyō for her opinion. Though Kei agreed with Suzune's plan to pair up the stronger athletes with the weaker ones, she still conducted the order perfectly, and due to her influence in the class, many joined her side. Thus, Yōsuke concluded that the class should vote to settle that matter. After classes ended, Kiyotaka exchanged looks with Kei but she went out of the classroom with two of her friends. Believing that she might not have understood his intention, he left the classroom, getting surprised when he found that Kei was waiting for him by the main entrance alone. Kiyotaka complimented her for the improvisation but did not answer her when she asked him about his real intention. This angered her because it seemed like he treated her like a dog. Kiyotaka then told her that a traitor would emerge during the Sports Festival, and when the time came, she would understand.

At the beginning of October, during the Sports Festival, Kei had been chosen as one of the horsemen for the first-year girls' Cavalry Battle. When she noticed that Mio from Class 1-C led a surprise attack on Suzune, Kei commanded Satsuki to help Suzune's unit, but before they could reach Suzune's unit, Honami's unit stopped them. As Kei instructed her unit to go forward, she thought to herself that it wasn't like her to do troublesome things, but for some reason, she did not want Kiyotaka to see her defeated. Kei managed to react well to Honami's movements and launched a counterattack, successfully snatching her headband before she fell off.

After first-year males Cavalry Battle, Kei called out to Kiyotaka using his first name without any honorifics, surprising him. Kei expressed her worries for Suzune even though she did not like her as of her mighty attitude, but could still empathize with her due to her experience of being targeted by bullies. During the lunch break, Kei and Yōsuke joined Kiyotaka for lunch while discussing Kakeru's strategy as well as the possibility of a traitor. Following the race between Student Council President and Kiyotaka, Kei couldn't hide her shock from witnessing his speed against Manabu. As other students started approaching them, Kei decided to move out of the way for the time being.

Volume 6
In mid-October, two weeks after the Sports Festival ended, Kiyotaka noticed that Kei cast a strange look in his direction before she exited the classroom. As her short, fluttering skirt caught his attention, his name was called by one of his classmates - Satou Maya. Later that night, Kei called Kiyotaka while he hung out in his room and immediately asked if Maya had confessed her feelings to him. Kiyotaka wondered how did Kei knew and she replied that Maya told her in advance that she was going to confess to him. Kiyotaka said that it had nothing to do with her but she argued that she didn't want rumors floating around, and wanted to be sure that Kiyotaka wouldn't tell Maya anything about her incase they started dating. Upon confirming that Kiyotaka and Maya only exchanged contact information and he didn't have feelings for her, they ended their phone call after Kiyotaka reminded Kei to erase records of their conversations from her phone.

A few days later, when Kiyotaka, Suzune, Yōsuke, Kei, Kikyō, and Ken had gathered for a meeting at Pallet café regarding the upcoming Paper Shuffle Exam, in a different classroom, Kakeru was interrogating Manabe Shiho and her friends, asking why they betrayed him. Having no other choice, Shiho told Kakeru the details of what had happened on the cruise ship, telling him everything including how they were in the same group as Kei and the truth about Kei's past. Shiho explained that she had to spy because she had received threats claiming to expose them unless she followed the instructions.

On October 20, after chatting with his friends and speaking with Suzune, Kiyotaka received a text message from Kei who was reporting on her investigation regarding Hiyori Shiina, confirming that Hiyori was walking around that day asking people if they knew how much sugar Haruka Hasebe put in her coffee. Kiyotaka then told her that Suzune was going to contact her the next day, and that they had planned to meet around 8 p.m. Kei wondered why it was so late, to which Kiyotaka answered that he was going to be busy because he was going to watch a movie with his study group. Kiyotaka asked Kei for another favor for which she complained, but later agreed. As they exchanged their goodbyes, Kiyotaka thought that their conversation was over, but he received another message from Kei. It was a cute strawberry shortcake sticker with a bunch of candles on it, along with the additional message of 'Happy Birthday'. Kiyotaka had thought that no one would notice his birthday this year, and was thus surprised when Kei wished him. When he deleted all the texts from their conversation, he felt hesitant to delete the birthday sticker she sent. Following that, he accessed Kei's profile and saw that her birthday was March 8, and he decided to remember it.

At the movie the next day, Kiyotaka ran into Kei and Maya. Kei insisted that this was just a coincidence but Kiyotaka didn't buy it. After watching the movie, the group went to a karaoke bar where all the important figures from Class D had gathered. Following Kiyotaka's instructions, Kei accused Kushida of acting a little too nice when they were in the middle of studies and pretended to get pissed, proceeding to pour her grape juice over Kikyō, staining her blazer. Yōsuke asked Kei to apologize to Kikyō, just as she was about to leave. Later Kei offered to pay for Kikyō's blazer to be cleaned.

On the first day of the special exam, as Kiyotaka walked into the hallway on his way to the classroom, he met up with Maya who had been waiting for him. After they exchanged greetings, Kei appeared and greeted Maya, and pulled Maya to go with her to get a drink before class. Yōsuke who watched that display mentioned that Kei was a surprisingly jealous person. Kiyotaka didn't understand it, so Yōsuke explained it further by saying that Kei had been paying more attention to Kiyotaka lately.

Volume 7
It was already Late December. After meeting his father, Kiyotaka resolved to put an end to his schemes and movements, which included cutting off his ties with Kei. He called her, asking what she was up to. She didn't believe him at first, but knew that Kiyotaka wouldn't call her without a reason. She began questioning why he was helping Class D from behind the scenes, to which he revealed that he had no choice but to lend Class D a hand, but he then apologized while explaining that the reason his actions had disappeared so he would never contact her again, but assured her that he would still protect her if anything happened as that was a promise. Kei didn't understand why he was saying all of this suddenly, and why he had become so cold. He replied that this was simply the extent of their relationship as of then. Just as the call was about to end, Kei seemed to have something to say but didn't follow up on it.

After the closing ceremony of the second semester, Kakeru started executing his plan. He had called out Kei out to the rooftop, threatening to expose her past of being bullied if she didn't come. Around 2 PM, Kei showed up on the rooftop; and demanded to know what Kakeru was after. He replied that he wanted to know the identity of the person he had designated as X, the one controlling class D from behind the scenes; to which she answered she had nothing to say. Despite being threatened that her past would be revealed, Kei argued that if he did that before he could draw the answer out of her, there would no more be an incentive for her to tell him anything and his search for X would be delayed. Realizing that Kei wouldn't budge, Kakeru instructed Mio to hold Kei down and ordered Ishizaki Daichi to fill the buckets with water. When Kei realized what was about to happen to her, she tried to break out of Mio's hold but the effort was to useless. Following Kakeru's orders, Daichi dumped water from the bucket onto Kei's head, making her collapse on the spot and start trembling, as she internally relived all the bullying from her past. Kakeru grabbed her bangs, lifted her up by pulling them, and claimed that she's the sort of person who is conditioned to receive bullying, and that human nature could not be changed so easily. He then dumped the other buckets of water on her, asking again who's the one protecting her by blackmailing Shiho's group. Kei just shook her head and denied revealing even when Kakeru repeated this over and over. Kakeru, who was by then amused, continued this torture, admitting to himself that he's breaking her for his own pleasure.

After they had dumped water on her multiple times, darkness started to rear in her head. She began to blame herself, wondering why she was being bullied, questioning why she was even alive. She wondered what she had done wrong, while Kakeru laughed in front of her. She was scared, and the bullying she received in the past continuously replayed itself in her head. As she was recalling her past, she wondered if Kiyotaka had abandoned her. Noticing that she trusted X quite a fair bit, Kakeru then revealed that she was deceived, telling her the truth behind the incident during the shipboard exam, wherein X had deliberately set up her bullying so as to acquire evidence, that she wasn't saved but trapped. Those words caused Kei to fall into extreme despair.

Kakeru reminded her that there was still one way to save herself, which was to tell him about X's identity and he promised that he would never get her involved again. Feeling despair and rage for being betrayed, and her heart wishing to be saved, her lips started moving while still trembling. But to Kakeru's surprise, Kei shouted that no matter how many times he asked her, she would never tell him, that she had no intention of saying it from the very beginning. Even if starting tomorrow she lost her place at this school, and even if she continued to suffer, she would never give him the name.

Kakeru felt bewildered asked why she still covered for X even though she knew that she was just being used. Kei answered that she didn't understand as well, but she just wanted to act cool until the very end. Despite being baited, she didn't betray him. She was broken but still proud. If she could help Kiyotaka gain the peace he desired, then that would be acceptable for her. Her life had never been as interesting except when she had worked with him, as things had gotten exciting and she had fun. Although she didn't understand most of what she was ordered to do, she felt like the heroine supporting her hero from the shadows. That's why she regretted nothing. Kakeru declared that she's a person worthy of his respect.

When Kiyotaka showed up on the rooftop, Kei, feeling shocked, asked him why he had come there. He simply replied that he had made a promise, that he would save her should anything happen. Kiyotaka revealed himself as X to Kakeru, saying that he had come to take Kei back. When Kakeru threatened to reveal his existence and also Kei's secret, she interrupted him by saying that it was fine, that if everyone was to know about Kiyotaka, then he could reveal her secret as well. She looked at Kiyotaka, and he immediately averted his eyes. Kakeru grabbed Kei's bangs, tossing her to the side while saying that her role was over. Kakeru ordered Daichi to give Kiyotaka a throughout beating, but as Daichi approached Kiyotaka, Kei screamed to stop him. She tried to get back up and jump onto Kakeru, but Kiyotaka assured her that she didn't have to worry as he easily caught the fist Daichi had swung towards him. As Kei watched Kiyotaka defeat Kakeru and others, she was left unable to speak a word.

After the fight ended, Kiyotaka approached her and extended his hand, asking why she didn't sell him out to Kakeru. Kei answered that it was for her own sake while trembling before collapsing into his chest. She admitted that she was scared, but he told her that there was no need to think about anything then, because as of that moment, she had managed to recreate the present by overcoming her past. He confessed that he was the one who hurt her and wouldn't ask to forgive him, but he just wanted Kei to remember that if something like this happened again, he would definitely save her.

Volume 7.5
On December 23, after waking up, Kei noted the change in herself, that she no longer had a horrible past chaining her down. She believed that the events at the rooftop happened because of the seeds that she, who was bullied by Shiho and the others, had planted. It was wrong for her to act tough and continue to take on an arrogant attitude. As she was mulling over her feelings for Kiyotaka, she got a call from Maya asking her to meet as she had something to consult Kei about. After arriving at the Keyaki Mall cafe, Maya offered to buy Kei's breakfast and informed her that she would be going on a date with Kiyotaka. Hearing that, Kei pretended to be calm, and without realizing it, she bit off a larger bite of her scone than usual. Kei tried to recommend other boys to Maya; however, it was all in vain. As Kei was dating Yōsuke, Maya wanted to know the secret behind making a date a success. Kei mused that there's no way she would know the techniques of romance without having any experience in romance herself. But she didn't want to betray Maya's expectations, so she thought that she should act bold and continue to lie as she was Yōsuke's "girlfriend." As she was thinking that, she began wondering if Yōsuke's existence was still essential for her.

To Kei's surprise, Maya told her that she was actually planning on confessing to Kiyotaka on their first date. Kei then asked for Maya's reason for falling in love with Kiyotaka, saying that it might be useful for the date plan was. Maya shyly answered that it was because he was cool and looked mature. Kei sighed as she was trying to overturn her thoughts and act for Satou's sake. They talked about the legendary tree behind the school building, and that if one confessed under that tree, the confession would definitely be successful. Kei was really bothered after knowing that the date would happen on the 25th; in her thoughts, she labeled Kiyotaka as a boy who just wanted to do lewd things. On the way back from the café, Maya suddenly proposed to have a double date with Kei and Yōsuke joining as she would be too nervous and wouldn't be able to hold things together if she was alone with Kiyotaka. Kei wondered if someone as steeped in lies as herself could even be of help to Maya, but she agreed after thinking that if she could bring Maya and Kiyotaka together, there would no longer be the off-chance where he would steal her heart away.

When Kei returned to her room, she felt conflicted if she should call Kiyotaka or not regarding his date with Maya. But before she was able to touch the call icon, her phone vibrated, displaying his number on the screen. Kei panicked and answered the call, only be greeted by a flat voice from him, saying that there's something he'd like her to investigate. Having been annoyed by his indifference towards her after what happened on the rooftop, she complained and reminded him of his words he had said a few days ago, that he wouldn't be relying on her anymore. But after hearing Maya's name from his mouth, she listened. He wanted to know who Maya normally hung out with, her pattern of action, her hobbies, and her preferences. Kei said that she would try asking around, and Kiyotaka told her to mail him the details before ending the call. Frustrated that he just hung up like that, she thought that she should've coughed once or twice near his ears.

On December 25, as Kiyotaka and Maya greeted each other before they began their date, Kei showed up with Yōsuke and approached them. Seeing Kiyotaka and Maya together, Kei asked if they were going out, which made Maya panicked as she denied it. Kei continued her teasing, going as far as telling them that they should start dating. After talking for a while, she suggested for a double date to Yōsuke, saying that she was curious about those two, leaving everyone bewildered except for Maya. Yōsuke showed his concerns, but Kei insisted that it would be interesting to try something different. As everyone already agreed, Kiyotaka had no choice but to accept the sudden proposal.

Now a part of a double date, the four of them walked towards the movie theater. However, the persistent attacks from Kei didn't end. Rather they continued to increase in intensity. Kei mentioned that Kiyotaka and Maya looked good together and asked Maya not to hide their relationship if they were going out. After saying everything she wanted to say, she left with Yōsuke, giving privacy to Maya and Kiyotaka. Unfortunately, the conversation between the two appeared to be awkward as they were both silent. As Kiyotaka didn't know what to talk to Maya about and was pondering over the topic, Kei directed a hopeless gaze towards him. Their gazes met for just under a second. Following their silent conversation, Kei finally decided to help him by telling Maya that Kiyotaka just didn't know what to talk about.

Afterwards, the conversation between Maya and Kiyotaka went on smoothly. When Maya complimented him about his race with the student council president, Kei cut in and said that it was hard to believe it all of a sudden, adding that he surprisingly seemed like a cold person, that even if a person precious to him collapsed from a cold, he didn't seem like the type to even visit them. Kiyotaka could feel sarcasm packed in her words and believed that she must be holding a grudge against him. As they came close to the movie theater, a 2nd year from Class A, Miyabi Nagumo called out to them from behind. When Miyabi expressed his interest to chat with Kiyotaka, and the atmosphere became awkward, Kei approached Miyabi while she was laughing and told him that his face was quite scary. Kiyotaka observed that while the other three from his group naturally just froze up towards this abnormal sight, Kei was the only one who boldly spoke up to Miyabi, trying to lift the atmosphere.

Later, they went to a family restaurant where they would be having lunch together. As Maya guided them to their seats, Kiyotaka didn't fail to notice towels and splittable chopsticks prepared for four people. When Kei said that they reserved more seats after hearing about this place from Maya earlier, Kiyotaka directed his gaze towards Kei, calling her a liar just by eye contact. Kei answered back by saying that she didn't want to hear that from someone who's never even gone out with anyone before. Just from their gazes alone, they were able to read each other's feelings.

After finishing their meal, Kei declared that they should now go their separate ways. Kiyotaka suspected there was something Kei was aiming for by leaving him alone with Maya. True to his suspicion, after Yōsuke and Kei had left, Maya confessed her feelings towards him on their way to the dormitory. Sadly, Kiyotaka turned her feelings down and said that he hadn't matured enough for romance yet. Maya couldn't hold back her tears and ran back towards the dorm, leaving him behind. After finishing his call with Ikuto Kiriyama, Kiyotaka called out to Kei, who he had figured was hiding behind the bushes, telling her that she would catch a cold if she kept on hiding there. As she approached him, she asked why he turned down Maya's confession. He replied that since Maya was a normal girl, she would naturally want a normal romance, and he couldn't give her that. However, Kei denied his statement, and retorted that once you've fallen in love, there would be times when you no longer care about such things, and that Maya would have definitely accepted his true self. But to her surprise, Kiyotaka stated that his main reason he rejected Maya was Kei, that if he had chosen to go out with Maya, Kei wouldn't have been beside him right now. As they were walking, Kiyotaka mentioned that he would meet a 2nd-year student and invited her along.

After 20 minutes had passed from the promised meeting time, Kei started complaining. Ikuto approached them, directing his gaze towards Kei. He asked for the identity of the girl beside Kiyotaka, to which Kiyotaka simply replied that she was his trustworthy partner. They talked about Miyabi, who had risen to class A and how the exam in the next year would include competition and cooperation between school years. Ikuto also stated that the only way to defeat Miyabi was to either expel him or to forcibly drag him out of office.

Upon returning from the meeting with Ikuto, Kei retorted about being claimed as his partner earlier, and lectured him that there was an appropriate attitude and sincerity required if he wanted her to become his official partner. However, since it couldn't be helped, she agreed to become his partner, expecting to get his favor if she followed him. Kiyotaka then told her about the possibility of her getting marked as an target alongside him and how the enemy might use something to expel both of them. She replied that if it came down to that, she would save him. When Kei asked what kind of middle school student he was, he denied her an answer. Kei swore that one day, she would absolutely make him tell her.

As it began snowing again, Kei presented Kiyotaka with a small bag; It was a Christmas present from her, adding that he should be paying her back with a gift twice the amount in return. When asked why she didn't give it to Yōsuke, she told him that she was unsure of what to do and wondering if she would no longer be useful if she broke up with him. However, Kiyotaka reassured her that wasn't the case; the fact that he never told her to continue her relationship was his answer.

As they continued to chat, he noticed that Kei was back to calling Yōsuke by his surname but still calling him by his first name. He thought it that was a good opportunity and decided to call her Kei from now on, causing her to panic inside her head. Kiyotaka then revealed that he also had a Christmas present for her. Although she started to complain after seeing it was a pharmacy bag, she still received it, and checked the contents. It was cold medicine and a receipt; As she pored over the receipt details, she noticed that it was bought on the 23rd of December. He explained that on his way back to the dorms after buying it, he saw her and Maya together at Keyaki Mall, and even from a distance, he could see that she was healthy, so he concluded that the medicine was unnecessary. Kei was curious about why Kiyotaka didn't attempt to visit her earlier or at least give her a call if he's worried about her to which he replied that because he knew that she hates showing weakness, even if he contacted her via phone, she would try to act tough.

Upon realizing that he had always been worried about her ever since that incident on the rooftop, she felt the sudden need to hide her face, which was rapidly becoming red. She panicked, and inside her heart, there was another her who was squealing while running around. Kei wondered if it was fine to fall in love with someone who has been partly bullying her. But there was no more mistaking it - she couldn't deny her feelings anymore towards Kiyotaka. She had really, seriously, fallen in love with him.

Volume 8
Not too long after the 3rd-semester began, another special exam was being held by the school; it was a training exam in groups that focused mainly on the mental development of the students, to be conducted over seven nights and eight days. Kei received a request from Kiyotaka, asking her to observe and report the situation on the girls' side. On the third day, he decided to get in contact with her. After confirming that Kei was having dinner in the cafeteria with her friends, and that too at the same place for the past 3 days to make herself easy to locate for Kiyotaka, he checked the time and took a seat near her. As he began thinking of a way to make her aware of his presence, she sent him a signal by letting out a squeak. After she succeeded in making her friends going back ahead before her, she called out to Kiyotaka who was sitting behind her. When he mentioned that he didn't have any information on the girls' side of the exam, she felt happy deep inside knowing that she was relied on by him. However, she quickly got rid of that thought, believing that it was weird that she was feeling delighted even though she was being worked to the bone.

Before they started discussing the main topic, Kei asked him why did Kakeru stopped being the leader of class C, wondering if Kiyotaka's chastisement had worked. He assured her that Kakeru wouldn't do anything to Kei from now. Hearing him calling her by her first name multiple times, she became flustered. She tried to calm herself down, but after he consecutively called her name three times in the same sentence, she realized that she was being teased. While pouting, she protested that she shouldn't have permitted him to call her by her first name. As they were finally getting down to business, Kiyotaka asked Kei to inform him regarding Arisu Sakayanagi and Masumi Kamuro's group. She explained that both of them were in the same group composed of three classes, with nine from Class A, while not accepting anyone from Class B. Later, he told her that there were a few girls he'd like her to keep an eye on, and named those who were likely to become the key players.

After the conclusion of the Mixed Training Camp, which resulted in Akane Tachibana's expulsion, Kei was waiting on the side of the gymnasium's entrance to meet Kiyotaka. When he came out and started walking through the corridor, Kei marched after him with a slight delay. She expressed her surprise because the situation had turned out to be exactly as he had predicted. He then explained her the reason why Miyabi had used class 3-B for this strategy, and how he had managed to achieve the given results. Before they split up, Kei wanted to know that if she happened to be in a situation similar to Akane, say an exam where even a lifeline couldn't be used, what he would do. However, Kiyotaka responded that even without asking him, she already knew the answer; He wouldn't let her get expelled no matter what method he would have had to use.

Volume 9
On a fine day in early February, just five minutes before the bell rang, Kiyotaka walked into the classroom as he noticed an unusual sight - A circle had formed around Kei, which was causing a commotion. When Suzune asked if he had known beforehand that Yōsuke and Kei were breaking up, he denied it by saying that it was their private affair. Still, his answer unintendedly caused Suzune to grow even more suspicious. Satsuki asked Kei about the reason for their break up, which she simply answered that she just wanted to think things through on her own since Yōsuke had spoiled her too much. Nearing the end of the school day, the cataclysm caused by Yōsuke and Kei breaking up had yet to die down, as Haruka told the rest of the Ayanokouji group that she always thought that they would break up one day, adding that Yōsuke seemed like he'd appreciate a quiet, beautiful girl more. However, Airi disagreed and mentioned Kei was also cute, before passing it onto Kiyotaka for confirmation, which startled him as he found it difficult to answer.

On the morning of February 14, Kiyotaka sent a message to Kei that he wanted to meet up with her that evening. He suggested a time around five o'clock, to which Kei replied that she had plans to go out with her friends after that. Later that day, they met at a place at a short distance away from the dorms. Kei started complaining about the cold weather and why they had to meet up at that place, but he argued that strange rumours might spread if they were seen together in the lobby and it would be a problem for her. As he was asking if she was all set for the end-of-year exams, her body stiffened up. He then promised to help her study even though it would have to be in the middle of the night. Afterwards, Kiyotaka showed Kei the unregistered phone number that called him a few days earlier, asking her if she knew anything about it. However, she didn't know and would check it out for him later. After they were finishing their business and Kiyotaka was about to take his leave, Kei called out to him in a hurry and asked what day it was today. But before he got to answer, Kei lightly tapped a small box of chocolate on his head to conceal her embarrassment. She then explained that she was going to give it to Yōsuke, but there was no longer a reason for her to do that, telling him to thank her by returning the favour a thousand times over.

Shortly after, someone approached them from behind; it was Masayoshi Hashimoto from Class 1-A, who had been following Kiyotaka for a few days, ever since he had left the lobby. When he greeted Kei, she didn't have any clue who he was and turned to Kiyotaka for an explanation. After Kiyotaka introduced Masayoshi, the latter teased them for holding a secret meeting in such a secluded place. He was curious regarding what it was about Kiyotaka that Kei was interested in, since her previous boyfriend Yōsuke was one of the most popular guys in the entire school. Kei spoke up that there had been a misunderstanding; she only entrusted the chocolate with Kiyotaka for him to give it to the person she liked. In other words, he was just the middleman. Kei voiced her displeasure against Masayoshi, who continued his questioning. She wondered why he was sticking his neck into something he had nothing to do with. To her bewilderment, Masayoshi drew a few steps closer to her as he reached out his arm and pressed her against the wall behind, asking if she would go out with him. Kiyotaka realised that Masayoshi had been attempting to bait a reaction out of him by making a move on Kei. However, she forcibly pushed Masayoshi away and took her distance away from him before heading back to the dorms.

The next day, February 15, the class fell into chaos once again because of the rumours that had been posted in the morning. There were a total of four of them, and one of them was about Kiyotaka having a crush on Kei. When his classmates asked Kiyotaka for confirmation, he denied it without hesitation. When Kei and the rest of her friends finally got to the classroom, they began to whisper amongst each other while periodically glancing over in Kiyotaka's direction. He thought that it was hard to hear Kei and her friends badmouthed him, so he looked away. After school, the rumours continued to spread with no end in sight. While he was spending some leisure time after getting to his room, he got a call from Kei, and she asking him what was actually going on. He reassured her that she didn't need to worry since rumours always tended to fade away with time. He also added that thanks to the rumour, it should now be easier for the two of them to get in contact with each other. At the end of Volume 9, it was revealed that it was Kiyotaka himself who spread the rumours with Kikyō Kushida's help.

Volume 10
On the second night after The Class Poll was announced, Kiyotaka got a phone call from Kei. She asked him what she should do about the special exam since she wasn't sure about how many people hated her. When he agreed that it wouldn't be strange if she got a few censure votes, Kei snapped back at him by saying that he should be telling her otherwise even if he had to lie. Kiyotaka advised her to act quietly so that she doesn't attract too much attention. Afterwards, they talked about the candidates to nominate for the censure votes in the class, and his plan on picking people he didn't expect to be useful. Before they ended the call, he asked her to inform him if the class already decided on the student to get rid off.

The next day, Kei got a hold of information that everyone was going to vote Kiyotaka out of school, and thus without wasting any time, she called him that evening. She told him that about half of the class would vote against him, and if anyone dared to tell him about it, that person would be the one getting expelled. He thanked her for letting him know despite knowing the risk that she also could end up being targeted herself, which she answered that it wasn't a big deal. Kei wondered what he was going to do; she expressed her worries and said that even though he might seem perfect, he had some flaws.

The day before the exam began, Kei received a text message from Kiyotaka, asking her to spread the rumour about how Yōsuke intended to sacrifice himself and volunteer to be expelled tomorrow, and for their classmates not to vote against him. Kei then sent the message to everyone in the class other than Yōsuke and Yamauchi.

Finally, the day of the exam arrived, and just like Kiyotaka had predicted, Yōsuke went up to the podium and requested the class to expell him. After the voting ended, Sae announced the results, starting with the top three receiving the highest votes. The third and second places were Kikyō and Yōsuke, with the first place being Kiyotaka, which was shocking for everyone. Following Haruki's breakdown, Kiyotaka left the classroom with Suzune immediately chasing after him. When she asked how much he knew, Kiyotaka denied her an answer.

Kei, who witnessed that scene, called out to Suzune from behind, wondering what they were talking about. As Suzune said that it seemed Kiyotaka wasn't trusting her, Kei looked at Kiyotaka's back, who was going farther away from her. Suzune said that Kiyotaka seemed to trust Kei more than her, with Kei asking her for the reason. Suzune presumed the reason was her distrust towards Kiyotaka, while Kei trusted him from the bottom of her heart. Kei simply replied with a fact, that nobody would trust someone who doesn't trust them; Those precise and obvious words from Kei caused Suzune to flinch. Suzune then revealed that she was scared to trust him and felt like she would be betrayed, that she would witness something she wouldn't want to. Kei complimented her about her initiative in the class yesterday, but advised that Kiyotaka was a different matter altogether. She told Suzune that if she was scared, her relationship with him could never begin.

Volume 11
On March 8, Sae announced the final special exam, Event Selection Exam, to the class. In the exam, each class was paired with another class from the same grade, whom they would directly compete against in seven chosen events. Besides the events, the class must also choose a student as a command tower, the one who would be responsible for selecting students for the events and had the right to intervene in all of the events, effectively making them the leader, but would be expelled if the class lost. Kiyotaka volunteered to be the commander as he was the only one who had a protection point in the class, thus he'd be able to avoid the expulsion even if class D lost.

Later that evening, Kei, who was still in her school uniform, came to visit Kiyotaka's room as per his instructions. When he asked if she just got back from school, she answered that she just finished hanging out with her friends, since she was the star today. Seeing that he had no idea what she was getting at, Kei became a bit irritated and dismissed the topic. Kei was worried that other people might have seen her coming to his room, which could spread some rumors. However, he reassured that since Masayoshi and few other senior students had already seen them together, there was no longer any point or merit in hiding their relationship. She then proceeded to tell him about the relevant information of every girl in the class.

After some banter, Kei asked why they couldn't talk on the phone, but he answered it was easier to talk face to face about those things. She said she would leave soon, seemingly expecting something. In the end, Kiyotaka brought up that he had another matter and took out the present he had bought and gave it to her, saying that it was her birthday present. She was surprised that he knew, given that he acted like he didn't know earlier. He admitted that he was teasing her a bit, which made Kei flustered. He added that it was a combined present for white day and her birthday. She tried to act normal, not looking him in the eye while saying that she'd gotten a ton of good stuff from her friends, so his gift would be better worth her time. But seeing Kei acting like that just increased his teasing attitude more. He deliberately stopped before handing her the present and asked if she was really looking forward to his gift. When Kei denied it, he simply said that he could always take the present back. Not being able to bear his teasing anymore, Kei then grabbed the present out of his hand.

As she opened the cover, she screamed out of surprise seeing a heart-shaped gold necklace. Considering that it was a gift surpassing what friends gave to each other, she had no clue whether to be happy or sad. Kiyotaka realized that it wasn't the best gift at all, so he received a little shock since presents were meant to make the receiver happy. He told her that it cost 20,000 yen after she asked, he also revealed that he didn't know what to give girls, so he just browsed on the net and used a shopping site selling presents for girls, and since he felt that white day and her birthday were close together, so a combined should be a bigger one, and thus he chose a pricy one. Kei looked at him as if drawing back and said that he might be smart but he was an idiot with these kind of things. She gave him 10 out of 100 on his gift. He asked if she wanted a box of sweets instead, to which she replied that it'd bump him up to 15 points. He said that she could leave it when here before she returned to her room if she didn't like it. She looked at the necklace and him before trying it on and looking at herself in the mirror from several angles, saying it looked a bit childish but her style was great so everything looked good on her anyways. She placed the necklace back in the box and put it her bag saying that since it was his first gift for to a girl, she would take it for him. Kiyotaka thought that was fair, not that he had anyone else to give it to either. Kei wondered if there would ever be a time when she could wear the necklace and go together with him somewhere. She was certain that it would definitely be a very enjoyable day.

Volume 11.5
On the first day of spring break, Kei came to a café in Keyaki Mall after Kiyotaka told her that he had something to discuss with her. But to her dismay, she was forced to witness Hiyori and him together on a date from afar. Already upset from the scene she saw, Kei confronted him after Hiyori had left and asked what he wanted from her. Kiyotaka said that he had forgotten what he wanted to talk to her about and would get in touch later if he remembered, leaving Kei speechless. Unbeknown to her, he had deliberately set that up to upset her.

When the spring break was nearing its end. Kei was preparing herself in her room when she suddenly got a call from Kiyotaka. He asked her if she could meet him in person, she said it's fine but she wouldn't take any responsibility if others saw them together. Kei came to his room in a bad mood, presumably from the incident earlier in the break. She asked if there was anything he wanted, and said that he would have to hurry because she had plans with the other girls later. However, he became quiet and just kept looking at her. She didn’t like how he wasn’t being himself, so she brought up another topic. She explained that Maya had been suspicious about their relationship, asking her if she had parted with Yōsuke just to date him. Kiyotaka said he had been asked the same from Chiaki, with Kei turning pale and thought that he was joking. She wondered if he had a plan but he said he would simply ignore it. Kei argued that it wouldn't work since their relationship wasn't anything special to begin with, while he answered that it would have the opposite effect if he denied it now, and because Chiaki was friends with Maya, she could hear about Kei and Kiyotaka from her. Kei reluctantly agreed to his proposition.

Kei was worried that the rumor of her ditching Yōsuke for Kiyotaka would spread throughout the school. He asked why she was bothered by that, and she answered that it would have an impact on her because if there was a person of the opposite sex behind someone, people tend to find it difficult to approach them. When he asked if he was in the way of her new love, she answered positively. Because Kei wasn't sure he understood, she mentioned Hiyori and how Kiyotaka had a good relationship with her. He explained they were good friends and they both like reading books, asking Kei if there was anything wrong with that. Kei became jealous because Hiyori was the total opposite of herself. She wanted to say more but was frustrated and thus forgot what she wanted to say next. She folded her arms and looked the other way, stating that if the rumors of Kiyotaka and Kei spread, it would become difficult for him to get closer with Hiyori. She wished that he denied it, but instead he agreed with her. Kei said she had no say in whom he wanted to get close to and turned her back at him. Kei asked if they could leave their talk for later, as she wanted to head for Keyaki mall a bit early because there might be some boys from other classes coming too. He asked her what she meant by that. She answered that she wanted to find a new boyfriend and asked if that was a problem, to which he immediately answered no, making her want to leave even more.

Kiyotaka thought he was teasing her way too much, so he stood up and said that if she didn't like what he was going to say, she could just ignore them. He asked if she wanted to go out with him. But Kei did not understand and instead turned around. He repeated his question, his confession. They looked into each other's eyes, seemingly communicating without saying a word. Kei got flustered and considered it to be a bad joke, not realizing Kiyotaka's true intentions. She couldn't understand because he had just talked about himself getting closer to Hiyori. He explained that it was only a little test to see if Kei would get jealous. He had deliberately called Kei to the cafe to let her see him with Hiyori, and even though it wasn't really necessary, that was his way of showing how he was not skilled in love. Kei said that if he was joking, she would end their relationship right now, and that was his last chance to retract the words if it was just a joke. He said that it was not a joke and wanted to hear her answer. She got flustered again and asked why.

Kiyotaka wondered why, he couldn't explain it well but he wanted to stop any other guy from getting her as their girlfriend. She asked if he liked her, with stuttering words. He felt her strong emotions behind those words, his heart was trembling and he could say that he loved her with a conviction. He then asked what her answer was. Her mind was in chaos before she gathered herself and answered that she could go out with him, for his sake. He wondered if that meant that she liked him too. She stuttered and struggled to say it, which he thought it was strangely adorable. She mustered all her courage before answering that even though it was annoying, she loved him.

He then extended his arms on both sides of her. Kei panicked, thinking he would kiss her, but he said that he wouldn't do it yet. She repeated his words while stammering, with him admitting that he might do it in the future, freezing Kei in her tracks. He gently embraced her, asking if that was fine, if it was just that. Kei replying that it was. As he held her in his arms, she thought he had grown a bit from before.

2nd Year Volume 1
Several days after the Partner Exam was announced, Kei received another task from Kiyotaka, asking her to check if someone had bought a knife from a shop specializing in selling home goods. Later that night, Kei contacted Kiyotaka to tell him about the fruits of her investigation. According to the store clerk, only one knife had been sold since April, and apparently one of the new students attempted to buy one too. But when he was about to pay, a girl showed up and stopped him from going through with the purchase. After getting this information from Kei, Kiyotaka then changed the topic to Kei's partner for the special exam. Her partner was Shimazaki from Class 1-B, and even though Kiyotaka thought that he wasn't bad, he still asked her if she had been studying properly or not since he hadn't heard anything about her attending one of the study sessionst. Kei complained that she couldn't get herself interested, and it wasn't like Kiyotaka would be there either. When he asked if she would study diligently as long as he was around, she happily answered that she would definitely work hard in front of her boyfriend. He then suggested having her come over to his room the next day at 6:00 so he could help her study. Kei, who felt excited, tried to tease him that he must be worried because he would be sad if his girlfriend were to get expelled. He was tempted to tease her back in response, but he thought she'd feel more motivated if he just went along with her, so he agreed. As he was about to hang up the call, she stopped him because they've only talked about the special exam and studying so far, expressing her desire to talk with him more about something completely unrelated to that.

On Friday evening, the fifth day of the special exam, Kei went to visit Kiyotaka's room as they had promised last night. To start out, Kiyotaka took out five test sheets and asked Kei to complete them; he wanted to know where strengths and weaknesses. Although reluctant, Kei began to work on the sheets. After Kiyotaka finished grading them, he concluded that she would definitely have to start attending Hirata's study sessions starting the next day. She argued that her partner had a B- in Academic Ability, so she should be fine. However, he objected to her statement and said that it's important that she got herself into a position where she could score 250 points on the exam since there's a good chance they might score less than 300 points if Shimizaki hated studying as well. Feeling a little scared all of a sudden, Kei agreed to study more before heading home. As they began preparing, Kei tapped the spot beside her, inviting him to come over and teach her from close to her.

For little over an hour, the two of them studied together in his room as he casually gave Kei advice. To his surprise, Kei gave him the impression that she actually had a good head on her shoulders; however, due to the bullying she faced back in her middle school days, she hadn't been able to receive standard education and hadn't properly learned some of the fundamentals that were a part of middle school education. After some time, Kei's gaze fell upon something on the floor in front of her, and she picked it up. Upon realizing that it was a girl's hair, she got angry and asked who Kiyotaka had over. As he was deliberating over how he should go about explaining things to her, the sound of the doorbell interrupted them; a video feed of the dorm's lobby was displayed on the monitor near the entryway. Kei was curious about who it was and went over to take a look at the screen. Thereupon, she saw that the visitor was none other than Ichika Amasawa, waving her hand at the camera with a wide grin on her face. Kei glared at Kiyotaka, but gestured to have her come instead of ordering him to send her away, wanting to make sure that the hair was Ichika's.

After explaining to Kiyotaka that she came because she might've left something in his room, he decided to let her come inside. Ichika excitedly introduced herself to Kei, utterly unconcerned about Kei's face, who looked obviously unhappy. Ichika asked if Kei was Kiyotaka's girlfriend by any chance, but Kei answered that it had nothing to do with her, and asked about her relationship with him instead, to which Ichika dismissed her question. Ichika knelt down and began taking a look under the bed; the hem of her skirt went up, and naturally drawing focus to the size of her rear, which earned Kiyotaka a glare from Kei. He then offered to trade places with Ichika, and started by checking to see if her hair tie somehow ended up underneath his bed. When Kei asked again what Ichika's relationship was, Ichika explained that Kiyotaka was her personal chef, much to Kei's confusion. Kiyotaka then proceeded to explain it in detail as he continued to search for the hair tie while Ichika was checking the kitchen. However, it seemed like he couldn't get Kei to believe him with a verbal explanation alone. When she was about to check with Ichika, he grabbed her arm and stopped her; he brought his index finger to her lips, subtly instructing her to keep quiet. Even though she didn't understand his intentions, she managed to recognize that it was necessary and began to help him with the search.

Shortly after that, Ichika called out to Kiyotaka from the kitchen as she finally found the hair tie, which had fallen into the gap between the counter and the fridge. She apologized for having bothered the two of them, adding that Kiyotaka wasn't one to be underestimated since she didn't expect him to have such a cute girlfriend. And because of that, it wasn't a good idea to just be Kiyotaka and her alone the next time he cooked for her, so she planned to invite Kei with them. After Ichika left, the studious mood between them had disappeared, but he still had to keep explaining the truth to Kei until she was satisfied.

The next day, Kei received a call from Maya, asking if she wanted to walk around the Keyaki Mall. However, upon meeting there, Maya suggested that they chat somewhere without a lot of people around and pointed at the school buildings. Even though Kei had a sneaking suspicion what this would be about, she continued pretending and nodded along. At the school, Maya confronted Kei and asked if she was dating Kiyotaka, to which Kei immediately denied. But she became hesitant when she saw the look in Maya's eyes that seemed like they were about to cry. Maya begged Kei to tell her the truth, or else, she wouldn't be able to think of Kei as a friend anymore. Those words were imbued with strong emotions, and thus Kei decided to tell her everything, as she simply couldn't turn a blind eye to that earnest look in Maya's eyes. It was the very least she could do to apologize. She then told her that she was dating Kiyotaka and how they got together right at the end of spring break. She also admitted that back when Maya reached out to her, she had already started to think of him as a member of the opposite sex.

Maya, who felt betrayed, slapped Kei across her left cheek, saying with that they were now even. But to her surprise, Kei offered her right cheek too, believing that the pain Maya suffered was still far greater than her own. Maya became flustered and apologized. Kei pulled Maya into a tight hug and said she was sorry for falling for the same person. Afterwards, Kei invited Maya to have some tea with her, to which Maya agreed.

2nd Year Volume 2
On May 1, the day that the results of the special exam were announced, Class D was in turmoil upon the surprising perfect score of 100 in mathematics that Ayanokouji Kiyotaka had achieved. In the midst of the turmoil, as Teruhiko began to raise his suspicion, Kei lamented about people seeing her scores, intending to draw attention to herself and proceeded to defend Kitoyaka by throwing a wild guess, stating that maybe he was a math genius. Plenty ideas floated around, and after Ken’s dismissal of cheating on Kiyotaka’s part, Kei intervened once again, prompting the idea of progress during the year and pointed out how Ken's academic ability had improved for instanc.

Kiyotaka, after leaving Tsukishiro’s office, got back to the classroom. When Teruhiko was about to approach him, Suzune stepped onto the podium and presented that Kiyotaka holding back during last year was her idea from the beginning. While Teruhiko still wasn’t convinced of the whole situation, and the class was still divided on the topic, Kei struck with a casual comment, highlighting how well Suzune dealt with the situation, trying to split the others’ attention by drawing it away from Kiyotaka's abilities and elevating Suzune as well. Even though Kiyotaka hadn’t given Kei a signal or instructions as he did with Yosuke, she instantly understood what she had to do. With Yosuke's help, this had the effect to rally the class and thus diffusing the whole situation.

On a mid-May afternoon, after Kiyotaka left the student council room, he noticed that Kei had sent a message to him, asking whether she could come to his room if he didn't have any special plans that day. Kiyotaka then replied that he was coming back and she could come whenever she wanted after 20 minutes. He used the time to clean his room little, and shortly after, Kei barged in through the door hurriedly and let out a breath to calm herself down without the time for their proper knocking system. Kiyotaka reminded her that it was impossible to hide their relationship forever. He put her shoes in the shoe closet before locking the door and hung the U-shaped chain; it was a countermeasure in case somebody triedto enter. When he asked her if she'd like something to drink, she offered to prepare the drinks herself since she was worried about his injury and ordered him to wait in the living room instead. As Kiyotaka watched the TV while waiting for Kei, she raised the responsibility that he bears now because of his perfect score in maths and how it was harder for her to open up about their relationship. She felt anxious that people might perceive her dating him for a high status image. However, he refuted her argument by pointing out that dating a cute girl was also a status point for boys, and that there wasn’t anything wrong with that. Kei became flustered and asked if he found her cute, to which he replied that he wouldn't date anyone he didn't think as cute.

Kei returned to the living room and proudly placed the cup with coffee onto the table. After laying out the room as if to study in case something happens, they started talking about trivial topics, starting from the things he ran into at school that day and going back a few days to what happened then. Whom they met up with in Golden Week and what kind of TV they watched. Both of them discussed all sorts of topics and wasted much time talking about useless stuff together. However, Kiyotaka thought it wasn't a bad thing, as he unconsciously started to understand what love was by seeing different sides of her. As they burned through the topics, the conversation faded as the silence between them grew. The room's mood had changed, and they began to feel the desire to touch one another, of craving a response. They looked at each other. At first, Kei was hesitant, trying to turn her eyes away, but afterwards, she resigned herself and gave up on her escape. The distance between their hearts and their bodies started to shrink. He could sense her breath as she could his, but as their lips grew closer, the door rang.

Kei started to panic and blush while Kiyotaka went to the door, and through the peephole, he saw none other than Ichika Amasawa. Despite Kiyotaka’s efforts to make her leave, she insisted on him cooking for her, having come prepared with ingredients as well. Seeing his hesitation despite her being prepared, Ichika insinuated that Kiyotaka was not alone. While she knew of the relationship between Kei and Kiyotaka, she had also been watching Kei for these past weeks. She told him that she had kept the relationship secret out of goodwill, but that might change. Having no other choice, Kiyotaka opened the door to let Ichika in. Upon meeting her gaze, Kei had a bitter, sour expression while Ichika was smiling widely. As she set her eyes on the bed, she teased them by saying that it wasn't right for a young couple to be alone in the locked room, stating that she felt something lewd between them and how she thought they would have an illicit sexual relationship, leaving Kei speechless. Kiyotaka intervened to ease Kei's burden, saying that the school rules forbade sex. But to their dismay, Ichika took the contraceptive device out from her bag and explained that the school rules was just a decoration. In other words, the prohibition was an unspoken regulation, that if students were going to do it, it must not be exposed and they would need to use contraception. Ichika offered contraception as the apology for her involvement in the Kazuomi Hōsen plot that ultimately led to Kiyotaka’s injury. Hearing those words, Kei was surprised. Seeing Kei’s panic reaction, Ichika smiled meaningfully, revealing her interest. She teased Kiyotaka for not telling his girlfriend the details of the special mission.

Ichika suddenly said that her mouth was dry and wanted a coffee. When Kiyotaka asked Kei to make a coffee for her, Kei immediately protested. But after Kiyotaka offered that he would do it if Kei could accompany Ichika instead, Kei chose the first option and headed to the kitchen while puffing out her cheeks violently. Shortly after, Kei returned to the living room and brought back the cup of coffee. However, instead of drinking the coffee, Ichika stood up and said that it was time for her to go back, prompting Kei into a rage. But when Ichika asked if Kei preferred her to relax, Kei reluctantly agreed that Ichika should go home. After Ichika left, the room returned to its original silence. However, the sweet atmosphere from just before had gone, and the atmosphere became very heavy. Although Kei felt very irritated, she knew that to continue talking about Ichika was of no use. Instead, she focused on the special exam that resulted in Kiyotaka’s injury and demanded him explain everything. It was not like he wanted to keep it as a secret; he just didn't want her to worry. However, he was now backed into a corner, so he decided to tell Kei about the current situation.

In mid-June, as Kiyotaka walked towards the school, he recalled the accident with Ichika two months ago and how it had left too deep an impression on both him and Kei, that they hadn’t yet found the right time to get close again. He thought that no matter how conducive an atmosphere they created, there was always something akin to an invisible wall between them.

Later, on one of their customary evening dates in his room, they started discussing the groupings for the upcoming exam. Kei was surprised to learn that Kiyotaka wasn't planning to group up with anyone, and while he understood her desire to group up with him in the exam, he couldn’t risk having her close due to his ongoing battle with Acting Director Tsukishiro. She asked if he would be able to take first place, but instead of answering her, he threw the question back at her, wanting to know what she actually thought. They gazed at each other and her body became stiff. Kei showing some angst at the possibility of him taking the first spot, which again would make their relationship even harder to reveal. Kei felt uneasy that she might get expelled in the exam. However, he reassured her that there was still a way to save herself even if they were not in the same group, which was to keep the deposit of the number of private points needed to nullify the expulsion. He promised to gather up the remaining points for her, even if it meant selling the "Trial Card" as keeping her safe was more important than that.

2nd Year Volume 3
On July 19, the day before the students landed on the island for the special exam, Kiyotaka had called Kei out to the relatively unpopular aft deck of the ship. As they stood beside one another and stared out at the sea, Kei expressed her thoughts regarding the fact that their relationship still didn’t feel real to her, to which Kiyotaka silently agreed. Even though they were a couple since spring break, they still hadn’t gone on any real dates together and had always met up in secret, so opportunities to develop their relationship were truly few and far between. Kiyotaka then proceeded to ask her to help with a few certain things regarding the special exam, to which Kei agreed but only if it was something within her power.

On July 22, the third day of the special exam, Kei's group happened to meet Kiyotaka, who was camping with Kanji and the others. At first, Kanji refused to let Kei's group eat fish and camp with them, given his dislike of Kei, but he changed his mind after getting persuaded by Ken, who pointed out that she might know something about Satsuki. As Kanji prepared the additional fishes, Kiyotaka announced that he’d go into the forest for a bit, with Kei doing the same not too long afterward. They met at a fairly large tree and sat down together with their backs up against the trunk. He then pointed out that she seemed to be doing alright, having scored 37 points. Later, he asked if anything happened to her these past few days, thinking that the White Room student might try and come in contact with her. Kei handed him her tablet where she had noted down all of the students she had come in contact with.

Shortly after, Kei changed the topic and suddenly leaned in very close to his face, asking about the first-year girl that had been traveling around with him. Kiyotaka understood that as his girlfriend, she would be extremely upset and uncomfortable with the fact that he was with another girl, so he drew in close to her face as he squeezed her hand in his, assuring her that he was just traveling together with Tsubasa Nanase in order to get through the special exam successfully, that he had no other intentions. However, Kei was still upset with the fact that he was alone with another girl. Sensing that no amount of smooth-talking would be able to ease her heart, he then pressed his lips onto hers, smothering her pout away. Kiyotaka thought that he would’ve liked to enjoy the moment for a while longer, but couldn’t due to the ongoing exam, and someone could pass by while they were sitting there. After their lips parted, he asked her to have faith in him and wait.