Light Novel Volume 7.5/Summary

Below is the long summary of Volume 7.5 of the You-Zitsu light novel series.

Prologue
On the morning of 25th December, it was snowing hard. Ayanokōji ponders about how people all over the world would be spending time with their loved ones, some fortunate students would even have the luxury of spending it with their significant other. He then returns to preparing and grooming himself for the date he had promised. For the past 8 months since he arrived at this school, he wonders if he has enjoyed being here, as minuscule as it might be. He wonders if he'll ever experience love, consider someone precious and actually sharing happiness with another person by merely being together. Nonetheless, he predicts something significant will happen on this day, as he gets ready to leave his room and begin his date with Satou Maya.

Chapter 1
On the twenty-third of December, Karuizawa notes on her change in that she is no longer bounded by her past. More specifically, she has gained the power and courage to overcome her forgone days. She thinks back to yesterday's events of how she was faced with the full brunt of 'his' cruelty and had hit rock bottom. She knew of how Kiyotaka goaded Manabe and her friends into bullying her. She then starts thinking more about Ayanokōji and how at first she felt despair and then anger. However, he did eventually rescue her at the very last minute. She knew that he asked Manabu and Chabashira to look after her once the ordeal was over. She was extremely conflicted with the paradoxical feelings in her heart.

She then thinks back of her impression of Ayanokōji. Initially to her, he was just a background character that she never knew nor care had existed. Some peers thought that he was cool but for her personally, she wasn’t interested in someone who lacked social skills. Those same people eventually forgot about him as no matter how good one is at sports or academics, at the end of the day, people skills are instrumental to garner influence. To the him she pictures right now, she views him as someone cruel and coldhearted...though he did save her at the end. After getting to know him, he was a relatively good talker, smart, mature and more athletic than she once thought. She adamantly told herself to reject any preconception of love associated with Kiyotaka as it was because of him that all those bad things happened to her. In fact, "Kiyotaka should've been grateful that i wasn’t holding any grudge." She couldn’t forgive his selfishness if he stole her heart on top of everything. She then wonders if a normal person would ever chose to forgive Kiyotaka and finds it impossible. Only a 'gracious' person like her could forgive him, though a small part of it was her apprehensiveness of whether he will continue to protect her if she didn’t do so. Regardless, she debates on whether to give him a hard time to show that her resentment have not been fully quelled.

She then gets a message from Satou asking to meet her at 11:00 and that she is 'counting' on her.

She heads to Keyaki Mall and greets Satou. Satou offers to buy her breakfast and announces that she would be going on a date with Ayanokōji on the 25th. After hearing this, Karuizawa tries to recommend some other good looking males to date like Tsukasaki and Satonaka as according to her, Ayanokōji was someone who was beneath the standards of Satou. Irrespective of Karuizawa's deterrence, Satou explains that she has truly fallen for Kiyotaka and since he was single, she intends to get him before others could.

Satou then explains her intention with this consultation, which was to ask for advice on how to go about her date, since Karuizawa was the girlfriend of the most popular guy in their class Yōsuke Hirata and have been since soon after they first started school. Thus, she hopes that she would impart her wisdom to make her special date a success. This causes Karuizawa to go into a spiral, as she reflects on the benefits of ‘dating’ Hirata and whether she should continue to ‘date’ him, realising the fact that their relationship was restricting their ability to find their true loves.

Satou also intends to get him to fall for her that night which caused Karuizawa to be dubious as Kiyotaka wasn’t the same as other boys and may not be satisfied with normal romance. On the other hand, she reasons that he could also be someone who deep down hoped for a normal romance. After some silence from Karuizawa, Satou shows her the plan for the date:

Meet at 12 - Lunch - Movie - Shopping - Confession under the Legendary Tree - Give Present

Karuizawa felt that the plan was incredibly simple and methodical though one detail stood out instantly. Based on the plan, Satou intends to say she loves him during their first date, with her reason being to either go big or go home. Karuizawa previously expected her to slowly but surely deepen their relationship, but she was much more decisive that initially thought. She voices her queries of 'isn't confessing on the first date going too fast?', and how going on a second and third date might help her find something she doesn’t like about him. They then talked about the Legendary Tree, which had a rumoured 99% success rate if all conditions were strictly abided such as only confessing when it is after 4:00 PM but before 5:00 PM, most importantly with no one around. Karuizawa then asks why Satou fell in love with Ayanokōji. Her face became tinted with red as she explains that he's cool, quiet and extremely mature compared to everyone else in the class barring Hirata. She also recognises that he’s smart and very quick on his feet. She then begged Karuizawa to keep the secret amongst themselves as she didn’t want the other girls to know how great he was or how inexperienced she is. Karuizawa then asked why she revealed it to her, with Satou simply stating that she already has Hirata so there was no competition.

Despite feeling nice to be valued so highly, Karuizawa was conflicted and admits to herself that if it was any other guy, she would had wholeheartedly supported her friend. She unconsciously let out a deep sign with Satou dejectedly apologising for being a bother. This caused Karuizawa to panicked as she says to revisit the plans together. Firstly, she suggested having lunch after the movie so they could have at least something to talk about if it becomes awkward. She then asked when it was going to happen with her revealing to be the day after tomorrow on the 25th. Satou giggled while Karuizawa became flustered as it was one of the most important day of the year, a day for lovers to spend and deepen their relationship - a day to confirm not start a relationship, Karuizawa silently reproached Kiyotaka in her mind. Regardless, she advice them to watch the movie at 11:50 which would end around 13:30, allowing them to have lunch and leave around 15:00, giving ample time for the confession after 16:00. Furthermore, she recommends making early reservations near the windows, and since it's in advance, the restaurant should provide delicacies not on the everyday menu. Satou thanked Karuizawa profusely and said how it is was expected of her to think of things she didn’t. Karuizawa then thinks of how it should be the boy that makes the arrangements of a date but since it was Satou's first confession, it should be fine.

On the way back, Satou makes one last request which was to have herself and Hirata on a double date. She explains that although she was elated to be on a date with Kiyotaka, she is still inexperienced as it would be her first date. Her statement surprised Karuizawa as she previously perceived a trendy girl like Satou would had a boy before. Moreover, as their second years are approaching, she is afraid that others may tease her for being slow. Karuizawa shares that despite being a late boomer, it could also be viewed as Satou respecting herself too much to settle for any less, which is also an excuse for herself as it resonates with her predicament.

After being asked to be Satou's wingwoman on the 25th, Karuizawa tries to lie by saying she planned to spend the day alone with Hirata. From Satou's perspective, they had a paragon couple relationship. Despite wanting to reject, Karuizawa eventually accepts for them to coincidentally meet up on that day. Karuizawa suggests for them to pre-establish the double date with the boys but she couldn’t explain why she knew it was unwise to manipulate Kiyotaka who would inevitably find out. Regardless, Satou chose the initial plan with Karuizawa apologising in advance in the event that Hirata choose not to go through the double date.

Back at the dorm, Karuizawa considers calling Ayanokōji to find out his intentions of whether he would rather use Satou than her and if he truly considers Satou romantically. If so, her protection may be withdrawn which caused her to become restless. Suddenly, he calls her as she was about to hit the call button. Kiyotaka apathetically asked her to investigate something for him. Karuizawa was agitated as she hoped that he would at least ask if she was fine after the abuse he put her through. In her internal dialogue, she asked Kiyotaka who he think he is and how she doesn’t owe him anything. Instead, she owes her protection for free. However, the words did not come out as she was afraid that he may forsake her.

Kiyotaka then asks for her to find out who Satou usually hangs out with, her behaviour patterns, personality, hobbies, likes and dislikes. Karuizawa then informs him that she isn’t aware as they hang out in different groups. He then quipped that the girls' de facto leader was surprisingly ill-informed. He then tells her to find out for him and that he prefer if Satou is unaware of this. As the call ended, she praised herself for acting professionally despite him being a jerk, and decides to extract the information from Shinohara. Once done, Karuizawa wonder if the date really goes well, would they actually date for real or was he going to use her as a tool. That night, she went without sleep as tomorrow would indubitably be a long day.

Chapter 2
On 23rd December, Ayanokōji goes to Keyaki mall and buys 2 small expensive things. His plan of going to watch a movie was changed as he by happenstance met Arisu Sakayanagi. Since the school area was quite compressed, it wasn’t surprising for Ayanokōji to come across someone familiar. Ayanokōji immediately notices that she wasn’t with the entourage with her reply being that Masumi hasn’t yet arrived. She then notices the bag he was carrying and asked if he was sick which he denies, She then asked if they could hang out but Ayanokōji turns down as she is too conspicuous and would draw unwanted attention to him, much to her dejection. Ayanokōji summaries that despite Arisu knowing of her heritage, she has not exposed him and most probably wants to take him down alone.

She then decides to asks him about the Class C incident, which Ayanokōji attempts to be oblivious to. Arisu was aware that he had some involvement with the downfall of 'Dragon Boy' but decides to play along after remarking that he doesn’t seem to be injured. Both of then agrees that there were other candidates like Kouenji who could had taken down Dragon boy. Ayanokōji then asked if they could change the subject. She then goes on to ‘challenge’ him to a duel, which he politely declines. She states that she'll just play with Ichinose to stave off boredom since Ayanokōji won't entertain her. Ayanokōji offers Horikita Suzune as an opponent which Arisu refused as she isn’t a suitable opponent for her. After which, he proffer her to fight Ryuuen or seniors students as he rather her ignore him. Arisu said that ignoring him was not an option but in the interim, she'll play with Class B whom Class D has a collaborative relationship with.

Ayanokōji began to find the conversation interesting and remarked that she had picked her pawns well. He then attempts to provoke her by questioning her abilities and informing her that he’s aware of her heritage as well. Her usual calm demeanour began to crumble as he denigrated her class and insulted her abilities of being subpar compared to someone like Ichinose whom effortlessly garnered the support of her class while she had to use her father's good name. Seemingly crossing the line, she declares that simple tricks won’t work on someone like him and that he is being quite arrogant for someone who was a genius since birth and further cultivated in the White Room. He inquired as to why she was so hostile to him, with her reply being that irrespective of all his privilege upbringing, innate and cultivated skills, if she could defeat him, that will undeniably prove that no mere individual could had defeated a natural-born genius. She would spare no expense to see her hypothesis through.

Kamuro then arrives and reprimands her for leaving their agreed spot. Arisu apologises and changed the subject as she had no intention of revealing Ayanokōji's true abilities and having her prey gunned and snatched away by others. She then asks her a sudden question as to what she thinks of Ichinose. Kamuro answers that she's a kind honours student who is a model to others. Both Arisu and Ayanokōji shares the same sentiment as they thought about the difficulty of conquering such a foe.

Arisu goes on to call out an Achilles' heel of Ichinose, saying she's probably hiding her true nature and secretly looks down on others. Kamuro understands the mentality but adamantly refutes that Ichinose is like that and is genuinely good natured. Arisu smiles and compares Ichinose to Masumi's secret. Arisu glances at Ayanokōji to see if he'd caught on which he genuinely was confused at. Arisu then makes it apparent that both Masumi and Ichinose secrets are the same, although the results were different. It was revealed that she successfully got the information directly from her through a strategy called 'cold reading'. Finally, Arisu returns her gaze to Ayanokōji, saying that those are the only hints she'll give at the moment, as she tries to fish a reaction out of him over Ichinose. Seemingly satisfied and making her desires evident, she turns and takes her leave. Ayanokōji then reflects on what he could do and that he should at least notify Horikita of the exchange.

Ayanokōji then decides to go the movie theatre. He goes into the theatre and wonders about his weird obsession with watching movie ads before the movie, before being interrupted by Mio Ibuki, who's seat is coincidentally next to his.

As Ayanokōji tries to focus on the movie, he occasionally feels Ibuki's gaze upon him but decides to endure it. At the ‘climax’ of the movie, the lights go out due to technical difficulties.

In the interim, they talk briefly about Ayanokōji's past actions and intentions, but Ibuki quickly ignores him again. Even after 20 minutes of black screen, the movie still didn't play, thus, Ibuki strikes up another conversation. She states that she won't leave the theatre until he does. Another announcement is made saying the screening is cancelled. On their way back, Ibuki drags him into hiding from an approaching Daichi Ishizaki.

After Ishizaki and the others pass, Ibuki brings up the point that he might "spill the tea" to everyone. She then proceeds to challenge him to a street fight inside the mall. Ayanokōji, of course, trying to avoid it. Ayanokōji deducts that Ibuki just can't accept her defeat against him.

He accepts the fight on the condition of a location change. She leads him into a storage room, only for it to be locked a few moments later. He agrees to the fight on the condition this will be their last ‘personal’ fight.

Ibuki's starts kicking him. Ayanokōji dodges and then slaps her on the forehead, causing her to collapse backwards. She doesn't give up and continues to kick him. He gets bored, grabs her throat with his left hand at which point she admits defeat.

Ayanokōji calls for the staff member who forgot to lock the door (since he'd get in trouble too if it got reported) and makes a lousy ‘I was fooling around with my partner’ excuse.

As he was making his way back, he sees Satou, Shinohara and Matsushita slightly ahead of him and decides to eavesdrop on their conversation. Matsushita complains on how none of them was able to get a boyfriend before Christmas with Shinohara remarking that Matsushita could easily accomplish that. Matsushita respond by saying she isn’t willing to settle, while Shinohara shares that she greatly desire a significant other. In her mind, their class is a catastrophe with Karuizawa already hoarding the main prize in Hirata. They then share their respective age preferences when dating. Shinohara then turned her attention to Satou and asked for her progress with Ayanokōji. Taking that as his cue, Ayanokōji decides to hide in the bookstore where he coincidentally meets Ryuuen and briskly ignored.

As the other girls went to the bathroom, Shinohara got into a heated argument with an irascible female senior and her boyfriend. The senior immediately degraded her and her poor standing in Class D. Just before Ayanokōji decides to step in, Ike Kanji went and defused the situation by ignoring the female senpai and informing her male counterpart that a teacher is nearby. His strategy worked as Shinohara thanked him but was annyoed at the fact when he joked that she’d always glared at him. They briefly teased each other for being alone on Christmas day as he made his leave. Ayanokōji soliloquied that he was unable to extract relevant information about Satou.

On his way back, Ayanokōji gets a call from Haruka Hasebe, inviting him to a party on Christmas. Ayanokōji declines as he informs her that he has a date with Satou, though he rather calls it a hang out session. Haruka then confirms with him on whether he’s going out with anyone at the moment, which he denies, citing that is was the same situation as with Hiyori. Hasebe then asks how he'll deal with Airi as chances of her fainting or becoming severely depressed is astronomically high if they bumped into each other. Hasebe decides to help him out and alter their plans. She then asked if he recognises Airi's feeling for him, which he acknowledges that it was not the normal sort of admiration. On the bright side, Hasebe was glad he wasn’t 'that dense' so she chose not to push him for an answer.

Ayanokōji sees Airi as someone who was just beginning to grow so it was within expectations that she would develop feelings for him out of the few male friends she knows. However, she needed more time to mature before progressing from simple friendship to romantic love. The same could be said for him as he attempts to understand the subject of school, friends, and eventually love. Before exploring the deep ends, he'd like to test the shallows first. Ayanokōji was grateful for the accepting nature of his group as they are given the autonomy to choose whether to hang out without discrimination afterwards.

Chapter 3
It's Christmas Eve! Ayanokōji goes to meet Ryuuen in the morning just before 7am. Ryuuen told him that it's rude to invite someone so early in the morning. Kiyotaka asks if he'll make him regret for making him stay in the school, with his reply being as long as his doesn’t continue frivolous actions such as this one and inadvertently shift his attention back to him. Kiyotaka then brings up the rooftop incident, which causes Ryuuen to snap and comment that he really is a piece a work who even puts himself to shame. Ryuuen then cut to the chase and asked if Kiyotaka intends to make him his puppet. Kiyotaka refuses to answer the direction directly.

As Ryuuen gets 'bored', Ayanokōji offers him a cooperation between Class C and D to beat Class A and B. Ryuuen shares his view that even if he was successful in defeating them, it would be meaningless if he was still around. Kiyotaka then quipped that he is extremely dejected after one measly defeat. Ryuuen snaps once again and asks if he wants another fight before Kiyotaka started deescalating the situation. Ryuuen knew he needed to mature and knew it wouldn’t be wise to fight someone after what had just happened. As Ryuuen attempts to leave, his interest was piqued when Kiyotaka suggests that something useful might happen to him.

They come up with an agreement for Ryuuen to lay the foundations for a Class C-D ‘alliance’ against A. It was also pivotal that the information of Class A targeting Class B to be genuine for a smooth victory. Ryuuen throws out his analysis that Ichinose has no way to beat Sakayanagi and asks Kiyotaka if he's intending to lend a hand. Kiyotaka then shares that he would like to be an observer and doesn’t care who loses or win at the end. Ryuuen was suspicious that Kiyotaka would just watched Ichinose 'burn' but he instead asks for his lack of ambition to rise. Kiyotaka answers that he's not against rising to Class A while facing challenges along the way especially when others around him are making moves, but that is a rather obnoxious thorn still on his side. After evaluating the deal, the two talk about the problem of Kushida, who is still hunting Horikita. Ayanokōji states that he'll get Kushida expelled causing Ryuuen to laugh. The two then start discussing Ryuuen's strategy of saving up 800 mil points.

As the negotiations are done Manabu shows up. He reminds Ayanokōji of the promise of defeating Nagumo. After a short fight between Ryuuen and Manabu, with the latter easily incapacitating the former. Uncharacteristically, Ryuuen praised him and referred to him with the respectful honorific Senpai, with Manabu also acknowledging he also have some worth and quickly averting his attention back to Ayanokōji. Manabu then reveals that the student council can even make and implement special exams though their authority is limited. He also reveals that Nagumo has already played a part in 17 expulsions. Manabu then directly task Ayanokōji with maintaing order in the school no matter the means, even if it meant removing Nagumo.

Ryuuen tries to empathise with Nagumo's idealogy, stating that those that were expelled were simply being crushed for being worthless and that he is just making the school more fun. Manabu disagree stating that a good leader should strive to help the entire student body graduate, without leaving anyone being. Upon being asked for his opinion, Ayanokōji agrees with the statement but added that for people like him and Ryuuen, they aren’t the type to be able to chase such a best-case idealistic scenario and make it come to fruition, with the only person coming to mind be Ichinose Honami. Manabu accepts his answer and did not try to convert him, finding solace that as long as he stops Nagumo, it would be fine.

Ryuuen decides to leave before he gets wrapped up in the drama in student council, stating that although its an interesting chat, it would be a waste of time for him and not worth the trouble. Before leaving, Ayanokōji asks if he's going to do it alone with his reply being that he was always alone. Manabu then asks why he allowed Ryuuen to hear all that, with his reply being that he wanted to divert his attention elsewhere, since Ryuuen wouldn’t want to take on the council if he had to also fight Ayanokōji. Sakayanagi would be a worthy foe however, he didn’t seem like he want to fight anyone anymore.

The former student council president and Ayanokōji stay behind to talk about Nagumo. Manabu says, there are people against Nagumo in 2nd year and divulge all the information he had about them to Ayanokōji. He added there was one second year who vehemently opposes Nagumo but he couldn’t reveal the identity yet as an added precaution. Ayanokōji decides to accept the offer much to the joy of Manabu, whom remarked that he wouldn’t entrust a difficult mission like this to someone incapable. Manabu then gave his consent to use his name and title as much as he wants and expressed his permission to also use Suzune in any way Ayanokōji wishes to. Ayanokōji asks for the reason behind their strain relation, with him answering that she may be capable though the Achilles' heel of always chasing after him is her greatest detriment. Ayanokōji then asked for his cooperation if he is successful in making Suzune join the student council which Manabu accepts.

Ayanokōji goes back to his dorm and asks Suzune to meet him. She tells him to come to the cafe. On his way there he overhears, that Sudou was rejected by Suzune, though he is far from giving up. He also overhears that Ike is going on a "date" with Shinohara that night, as a thank you for saving her earlier.

He arrives, and surprisingly sees Kushida with Suzune. He tries to avoid Kushida hearing unnecessary information, but Suzune forces him to talk by reasoning that Kushida is also a member of their class and that she won’t listen to him anywhere else if he decides to leave. He asks if she has any interest in the student council and says her brother wants her there. She doubts him since she couldn’t find any reason as to why her brother wouldn’t tell her directly and would rather go through somelike like him. Ayanokōji quipped and asked if that ever happened before, with her stating that she won’t listen to his lies any further. To solve the conundrum, they decide to contact him directly. Despite being his sister, Ayanokōji was astonished that Suzune did not have his number and so, they decided to contact his secretary via Kushida. She gave her final stern warning that there will be consequences if he is caught lying though Ayanokōji displayed no fear and knew that Manabu would cover for him as part of their strategy.

She was able to get on a call with him to confirm, though was uncharacteristically bashful when talking to him. Manabu confirms Ayanokōji's words, but Suzune declines the offer (after the call). She was angry and perplexed at why someone like Ayanokōji was the intermediary and becomes greatly paranoid. Ayanokōji decides to leave to not divulge any more information to Kushida, though he could sense something was amiss in her. He knew that it must be painful for Kushida to maintain her bubbling attitude infront of Suzune and must have been struggling internally, while she waved him goodbye.

In the evening, Ayanokōji was in his dorm staying in and watching television instead of partying with his guy friends. As he got bored and scrolled through articles pertaining to something other than Christmas themes, he ponders how the day was like any other day. Suddenly, the doorbell rang and it was Airi who was out with Hakura since two in the afternoon. Airi mentions how she heard that he won’t be attending their group meeting tomorrow and so, she decides to give her adorably tied gift now. Airi gave her permission to open the gift and it was revealed to be a pair of blue-gloves. Ayanokōji thought back to how the plain design is well suited to his tastes and that it was his first time wearing a pair. Airi was elated after he praised and thanked her. She began to make her exit, glancing back once and waving timidly to Ayanokōji. Ayanokōji wonders how he should go about showing his gratitude, and decided to search up for ideas when giving presents.

Chapter 4
Christmas Day! Ayanokōji thinks about the upcoming date and goes to the meeting place. He then sees Satou approach after arriving a litter earlier. As they greet each other, Ayanokōji briefly sees a wrapped up item protruding from her bag. Choosing not to dwell too much on it, Ayanokōji asks if they should proceed with the date. Soon after, Hirata and Karuizawa shows up. After talking for a while, Karuizawa suggests that they should have a double date, which bewilders both Hirata and Ayanokōji. Hirata and the two girls accept, and after pondering about it, Ayanokōji accepts too.

The two girls reveal the uncanny ‘coincidence’, that they're going to see the same movie at the same time, with their seats on opposite ends of one another.

As they walk to the movies, Karuizawa teases Satou, that she and Ayanokōji look like a couple and such, while Satou and Ayanokōji try to converse (with Hirata and Karuizawa chiming in sometimes). Ayanokōji figures out Karuizawa's goal is to make him and Satou a couple.

Karuizawa suddenly asks Ayanokōji, on his "type of girl". He says the 元気 (energetic) type but clarifies that someone who can tug him around a bit. As Karuizawa asks, what his relation to Suzune is, Ayanokōji realises it's for Satou, since she already knows. From this, he deduces that the double date was set up and proposed by Satou.

The four are interrupted by Nagumo and his followers, who calls out to Ayanokōji. He wishes for Ayanokōji to be his next opponent after Manabu graduates. He reasons that if Manabu saw something in him, there must be something worth investing his time in. The tension was palpable with Karuizawa trying to ease it but Nagumo soon leaves before anything else could happen.

They arrive at the theatre. Satou and Karuizawa goes to the toilet. Hirata and Ayanokōji talk about Karuizawa's improvements. They then talk about Nagumo. Hirata mentions that he played a role in the students leaving the football club and then leaving school. The girls come back and they watch the movie.

The movie ends with Kiyotaka remarking that for an animated film which he rarely watches, it exceeded his expectations. An inadvertent product of the movie allows Satou and Kiyotaka to close their emotional distance as well as their physical distance. Satou then asks if she could give him an insensitive question which he told her to fire away. The other duo eventually joins them with Karuizawa interjecting that she too has a question. Hirata then suggests for them to asks each other some questions. The first question came from Karuizawa to Kiyotaka which was whether he had gone out with anyone before. His gives an elusive answer but confesses that he never had a romantic relationship before, much to the relief and joy of Satou.

By the same token, Satou asks if Kiyotaka preferred girls with long or short hair, with his reply being that it doesn’t matter as long as it suits the person. Karuizawa points out that his answers are cliche and boring, making it readily apparent that she enjoys picking out his faults. Hirata then concurs with Kiyotaka's answer, causing Karuizawa to change her attitude and agree with her boyfriend's statement. Kiyotaka was weary of Karuizawa's intentions in putting him in a bad light in front of others, although, he was heartened to see it had the opposite effect of Satou, that no matter how hard she attempted to knock him down, Satou immediately lifted him back up.

Attempting to shift the attention, Ayanokōji asks if Hirata is aware that he's popular. Karuizawa snapped while Satou became anxious due to such a random question being thrown out. Karuizawa reprimanded him by saying he should be asking Satou the questions. They then arrived at the restaurant which Kiyotaka was dubious as to why it was reserved for four. Karuizawa lies by saying she added extra seats while they were in the bathroom. Kiyotaka then communicates with his eyes expressing she was a bold liar, with her glaring back that he has no rights since he never gone out with anyone before. He then asked Satou on what she does on her days off, eliciting a sardonic comment from Karuizawa that it was the best he could do. Although, Satou was happy that he asked her a question. Karuizawa was emitting a clear sense of irritation which Hirata picked up on. The reason was due to Kiyotaka not using any of the informations she worked to gather for, though he reasons in his mind that he just wanted to know Satou as a person more and did not intend to use them in his date.

During the meal, Ayanokōji finds out that Satou likes to read, specifically about fashion designs. She shares that becoming one seems to be quite cool, at least for her. Therefore, she aims to reach Class A as well to reach her goal, with Kiyotaka thinking that she should also factor in the possibility of graduating in lower classes. Satou then returned the question with him replying that a safe answer would be to attend college. Karuizawa surprising shares the same opinion, as she thinks that college clubs seem to be quite fun. Kiyotaka remarked that it was fun spending time with a group he doesn’t usually hang out with, though it was exhausting as well.

After the meal, Karuizawa follows Satou's signals for Hirata and herself to leave first. Once alone, Satou is concerned that Ayanokōji didn't have a good time since he didn't even laugh once during the date. Ayanokōji explains that he has trouble expressing himself and that it is rare that he shows any type of emotions. She then confesses to him, but he softly rejects her, explaining that he isn’t ready for such a commitment. He went on to explain that no matter who asked him out at the moment, be it Horikita, Kushida or even Airi, his answer would remain unchanged. Furthermore, he attempts to reassure Satou that he wasn’t rejecting her but rather blames himself for not being mature enough to handle romance. Satou obviously fighting back her tears gave a small smile. She laments that it was rather unrealistic to confess only after one date and that she may had rushed things. He offers for them to hang out again as he truly had a great time together with her. With that, Satou demeans herself and decided to excused herself first as she couldn’t control her tears. Ayanokōji invites them to head back together but Satou did not move. She then quickly apologised and runs back to the dorms crying, leaving him behind. Ayanokōji states, that he probably would have accepted her if she had confessed before the relay race and that he might have missed out on a great 'opportunity' to create many 'experiences'.

Ayanokōji had noticed a person lurking in the shadows and someone suddenly calls him on his phone. The person calling him asked to meet him behind the school building in 20 minutes.

He then goes to confront Karuizawa who had purposefully stayed back and witnessed the entire scene of Satou's confession. They argue about why Ayanokōji rejected Satou. Ayanokōji reasons that Satou is a normal girl who is looking for a normal romance, before questioning Karuizawa on whether she thinks he could give her that. She then shoots back by saying that when a girl is in love, superfluous thoughts like that are redundant, and that Satou would had accepted him for who he is, despite his flaws. Ayanokōji states that it would have made Karuizawa worried of her position with him, and he couldn't afford losing such a valuable tool. However, he explains that he wasn’t entire opposed to dating Satou. Karuizawa quipped that Satou may soon fall for someone else which Ayanokōji replies that there’s nothing he could do about that, the former picking up vestigial hints of regret in the latter's tone.

Ayanokōji mentality was that if Satou was a good replacement for Karuizawa, he wouldn’t had mind having a relationship with her. However, the events of today showed that Satou was not as charismatic nor as quick-witted during times of duress. The experience with Nagumo as well as her inability to maintain her facade of a lie were all detriments. If he were to take on powerful enemies like Chairman Sakayanagi and his father, Ayanokōji did not remove the idea of using Karuizawa as a honeypot for sexual stuff to possibly take them down. Thus, he did not want to give her up as a sacrifice until those threats were removed.

As Ayanokōji was contemplating, Karuizawa remarked as if he only viewed people as deposable tools. Ayanokōji did not refuse her statement though he did add that it's not a matter of choice. She then asked if he ever loved someone else, which he also denies while thinking that he may incapable of it. Although he left the White Room physically, some parts of him would always remain there. A place where you must live in a constant state of self-defence. He wasn’t ready to experience normalcy and reasons that it doesn’t matter as long as he wins in the end. He wonders if this mindset would remain unchanged till the moment of his death.

Karuizawa begins grumbling about how she wasted all that effort and time for Satou only for him to reject her. Changing the subject, Ayanokōji mentions about how she was doing surprisingly well despite experiencing a traumatic incident a few days prior. She reveals that it's been years since she was bullied like that and apologised for lying about the time she first gotten bullied which was in Junior High instead of elementary school. Ayanokōji realised that she only did so to manipulate Hirata into being more inclined to help her, further cementing her resourcefulness and determination in Ayanokōji's mind.

She then asked if he was going to ask for forgiveness after sending Manabe and her friends to bully her which he gave a half-hearted apology to. She was also befuddled since he was giving her mix signals about contacting her. Ayanokōji apologies once again but instead of accepting that, Karuizawa wanted him to reveal the purpose of his meeting with Nagumo in the afternoon. She states that due to his actions in the sports festival, more people are turning their attention to him. He replies saying it's only a once in a blue moon incident and he intends to stand back since the class is now more united. Karuizawa rejects his statement, mentioning how Class B unity is unbeatable. Afterward, she recognised that he just wants to fade into the background.

They then talk about his relationship with Manabu. Ayanokōji felt that it was safe to reveal the truth to Karuizawa and explains his connection to him via Horikita Suzune. She then asked if Manabu knew the person underneath his mask which he denies, adding that no one knows him as deeply as she does. Karuizawa didn’t seem unhappy or burdened but rather felt special for knowing Ayanokōji's secret. Due to him using the 'former student council president title' and requisiting his assistance on the rooftop, he now owes him a favour which is to be repayed by going against Nagumo. Karuizawa remarks on the sophistication of the entire drama and how Manabu made him in charge of dragging Nagumo from his throne. Ayanokōji notes that it would be an arduous task though Karuizawa opined that only he could accomplish it and If he can’t, no one else can. Ayanokōji noticed how her perception of him improved significantly and no amount of modesty could dupe her.

He then mentions that he would be meeting a second year senpai and asks if she wants to follow along, which she does as they head to the school building.

Epilogue
It was 20 minutes after the promised meeting time, which resulted in Karuizawa commenting that it was rude of them to be tardy despite being the organizers. Ayanokōji eventually sees Vice-president Ikuto Kiriyama approaching and remarked how it was unexpected for the second-in-charge to go against the president. Kiriyama then asks for the identity of Karuizawa which Ayanokōji calls her his partner and vouched for her trustworthiness. Kiriyama accepted his words at face value since he was already willing to seek help from a first-year due to the dire circumstances.

Moving on, he explains that he only joined the council as he idolised Manabu and has never agreed with Nagumo's regime, so he naturally wants to take down Nagumo. He also mentioned that Nagumo had defeated him and risen to Class A while he dropped to Class B. Kiriyama confirms that Nagumo was able to bring most of the second-years under his control, with some just resigning themselves to his reign. To achieve this, Nagumo promised reform and those that proven themselves to him, would be promoted to Class A. Despite contemplating resignation from the council, Kiriyama stayed on so as to keep Nagumo's reign in check. He was visibly frustrated at the possibility that if he failed, the school would be doomed.

He also reveals that an exam in the third semester will include a battle or cooperation amongst the 3 school years. After discussing the situation for a bit, Kiriyama states that the only 2 ways to defeat Nagumo are to expel him or forcibly kick him out of office. At the moment, Nagumo is watching the third years closely, but inevitably after they graduated, he would switch his targets onto the first-years.

Ayanokōji questions how much he could trust Kiriyama as despite his hatred being justified, it was still heavily biased against Nagumo and possibly being used to manipulate himself. Kiriyama notices his apprehension and reveals that he doesn’t have to be the one to defeat Nagumo but he can’t stand his juniors being subjugated to the 'same hell' he endured. Ayanokōji states that he wants to do something without being either liked or disliked by Nagumo but he'll cooperate with him because of personal reasons. Kiriyama apologies in advance as Ayanokōji would soon find out who Nagumo really is and would be under his radar. However, he will help him by leaking information to him and letting him do as his please as long as it was within the confines of the school rules.

Kiriyama holds Ayanokōji in high regards and has high expectations of him since Manabu endorsed him, although there are boundaries he can’t easily crossed like breaking the school rules for them. For his final warning, he tells Ayanokōji that if he proves himself incapable of meeting the challenge up ahead, he'll stop contacting him which puts himself at further risks. Furthermore, if Nagumo finds out of their interaction due to any incompetence on either side, both of them would be taken down. They then agree to not have further direct contact and use safe measures like burner e-mails for contact. As Kiriyama leaves, Karuizawa remarks that the entire ordeal gives off a bad vibe with Ayanokōji concurring, stating that there is no room for error.

On the way back to their dormitories, Karuizawa and Ayanokōji began talking about the Nagumo situation. She inquires for the reason as to why he arbitrarily declared her his partner which he asked if he should take it back. Karuizawa then jokingly told him that he should show her appreciation through monetary values. Due to the outcome of the test on the cruise ship, she had more points than him at the moment. Ayanokōji then explains why Horikita was not chosen as his partner and that she was just an existence who sat next to him in class. Ayanokōji envisions her in a more leadership type of role with pillars supporting her, potentially making Class D formidable. Karuizawa was elated after being affirmed by Ayanokōji that she was capable and helpful to him. She then asked if he would be able to handle Nagumo which he confirms as long as it is pertaining to academics or physicality but if Nagumo was willing to do whatever it takes, they might be the ones to get expelled.

Karuizawa then asked Ayanokōji of what he was like in Junior High with him saying that he was just an ordinary student. She then immediately rejected such a notion since the world would have gone 'totally nuts' if he was normal, gesticulating wildly to bring her point across. She then gave her impression of how he was smart, good at fighting yet taciturn. Sometimes he is naive of the world, and sometimes also do 'really messed-up things'. Unbeknownst to Karuizawa, she was able to accurately guess what Ayanokōji's past was like whereby he was like someone who was raised in an intense facility since childhood akin to a manga. He was surprised yet neither confirm nor deny her guess. Karuizawa vows to make him reveal his past to her someday.

It then began snowing. Karuizawa decides to give him a Christmas present since things didn’t work out with Satou. Karuizawa then made some teasing comments and reveal that the gift was an insurance in case she had to give it to Yousuke in public. They then talk about Karuizawa breaking up with Hirata, which Ayanokōji agrees with since she was no longer the same Karuizawa as when they first joined. She was uneasy as to whether she would still be useful to him, with his reply being that if her only value was her relationship with Hirata, he would have told her to never break up. Being Hirata's girlfriend gave her power and much pressure, though she eventually decides to choose one of them rather than lose both due to carelessness.

Ayanokōji states that he'll call Karuizawa by her given name too so as to make it fair as she always subconsciously calls him by his first name despite reverting to calling Yousuke as Hirata. This stupefied Kei who stuttered as a response. Kiyotaka confess that he was aware of the how she created the double-date plan with Satou being slightly off at a few places. Upon reaching into his pocket, he brush onto something and decided to give the item to Kei. She asked if he wants a beating after seeing it was a drugstore bag filled with medicines and a receipt. As Kei checked the content of the receipt, Kiyotaka reveals that when he was heading to the dorms on the 23rd, he coincidentally saw them concocting their plans in the mall, hence, he inferred that she wasn’t sick from the prior events. He knew that calling her would be redundant since she would had acted tough and decided to use this as a roundabout way to show as an apology. As they head back, Kiyotaka asks for her assistance once again especially during covert operation which she accepts as long as he protects her if her relationship with Hirata went south.

Kiyotaka reflects on how Kei was the person she grown closest to during the year which she probably also felt the same. Apparently she has become someone indispensable even before he realised it. He then wonders if they can actually become genuine friends if he aimed for Class A and settle the drama with the student council.

◄ Previous Volume Next Volume ►