Even after the uninhabited island exam ended, Karuizawa Kei would still dream about that night—the deepest part of the island's darkness, when she and Kitagawa Ryo lay side by side under the stars.
The moonlight, like flowing water, created a weightless, floating atmosphere. The dense leaves between the trees swayed in the silvery light, growing softly and damply around them.
For the first time, Kei felt complete peace. Even though everything in her past had warned her that such ease would only melt her protective shell, stripping away all vigilance and defense, making her vulnerable and bloated—
She still couldn't bring herself to reject the feeling. These emotions, like a sponge soaked with water, swelled rapidly within her.
She thought that peace came from Ryo's understanding of her. He knew her past, which allowed him to skillfully avoid every potential sore spot. From this perspective, he was the most suitable person for her.
This kind of bond built trust quickly. But when Kei tried to move a step further, it became an obstacle.
She would find herself disheartened, realizing she didn't really know anything about him—his diet, his hobbies. Once aware of this, every conversation with him felt strange, as if she were speaking to a mystery wrapped in mist rather than a real person.
Logic told her not to dig deeper—she didn't have the energy. All she needed was to protect herself.
But Kei still stepped forward, piecing together fragments from Ryo's words.
Like a scar.
Or a cat.
"Meow!"
She reached out, and the little white cat nudged its head against her fingers familiarly. Its amber eyes were full of kindness and closeness, as if greeting an old friend.
"Kei really is loved by animals, huh."
The friends shopping with her—Matsushita Chiaki, Satou Maya, and Sakura Airi—gathered around curiously as the cat nestled tightly against Kei.
"It seems really attached to you, Kei."
"Is it the café's cat? For attracting customers?"
Girls are naturally defenseless against adorable creatures. Even the shy Sakura Airi couldn't resist reaching out to pet its little head.
But the cat firmly buried itself in Kei's arms. After all, this was its former secondary caretaker. A pet here and there was acceptable, but the others? No thanks.
"If pets weren't banned on campus, I'd think Kei should just take it home."
"It's totally glued to her."
Feeling a bit embarrassed under their gaze, Kei laughed awkwardly. "Haha... I don't really know what's going on either. Maybe we should ask the shop owner? Since the cat's lying at the door, the staff might know something."
Just as she was about to step inside, the café door swung open. Kiryuin Fuuka, gnawing noisily on a shaved ice dessert, casually glanced at Kei and said:
"Kitagawa Ryo's looking for you. Oh, and the cat's his too."
Without checking whether Kei understood, Fuuka turned with a flourish, her long silver hair arcing through the air, and swaggered back into the store.
"Kitagawa Ryo? That guy from Class C?"
Chiaki looked curious. "Why don't you go in and check? I just spotted a cute dress in the shop next door. Satou and Sakura can come with me."
"Come find us later, okay?"
Before Kei could respond, Chiaki dragged the others toward the clothing store.
Startled by the sudden move, Satou stumbled slightly, panting as she asked:
"What was that about?"
"You seriously haven't figured it out yet?"
Chiaki stared through the glass at Kei entering the café, her voice filled with meaning:
"Kei is obviously dating Kitagawa from Class C."
As her friends looked baffled, Chiaki sighed and explained:
"Starting from that Class C and D alliance on the island, to them being seen at the pool before the special exam—all signs point to a special relationship."
"But that doesn't mean they're dating."
Satou still looked confused. "And dating someone from another class feels... weird."
Chiaki rolled her eyes and pulled out her phone. On the school forum, a post from an hour ago by the student council read:
[Approval for Kitagawa Hotaru to possess all standard rights of a student within the school.]
"Huh? Who's Kitagawa Hotaru?"
"Wow, you actually check the student council posts, Chiaki! That's amazing."
Due to the overwhelming number of official posts, most first-years had muted the account. But Chiaki had always closely followed them for inside intel—a hidden ace of Class D, much like Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.
"Hotaru is the cat. According to the post, Kitagawa used points to buy it student status."
"Tch, and Class C still squeezes 400,000 points a month from us."
Maya scoffed before returning to the earlier topic:
"But how does that prove they're dating?"
Chiaki leaned against the wall, sighing at her friend's mental block.
"Didn't you see how the cat clung to Kei?"
"What kind of relationship must you have for a cat raised by a boy from another class to treat you like that?"
The two friends blinked, slowly catching on.
"Now that you mention it... makes sense."
"Maybe they're raising it together."
"But Kei acted like she didn't know the cat."
"Dating someone from another class is awkward, especially since Ryo doesn't have the best ties with Class D."
As the three speculated excitedly, Sakura Airi timidly raised her hand.
"So... what do we do?"
"Obviously, we keep it secret. If they haven't gone public, we can't say a word."
Chiaki peered at the café, frustrated that its glass only worked one way. They couldn't see inside.
"Actually, I'm more worried about something else."
As the other two turned to her, she hesitated, then shook her head:
"Forget it. I'm probably overthinking."
But she couldn't shake the fear:
[Will Karuizawa Kei use her 20 million points to transfer classes?]
Until today, the thought had never crossed her mind. But this encounter had shaken her confidence.
If Kitagawa Ryo and Kei really were dating...
Chiaki pursed her lips and pushed the thought aside. Because if it were true, there was nothing Class D could do to stop her.
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"Her name is Hotaru."
Kitagawa Ryo had expected to feel nervous facing Karuizawa Kei. After all, for the entire past semester, he had deliberately kept Hotaru and Karuizawa apart. Every time she visited his room, Hotaru would obediently hide inside the wardrobe, not making a sound.
Yet now, with the two finally meeting face-to-face, he found himself strangely calm. His voice, his actions—everything flowed so naturally that even he was a little surprised by it.
"That's a lovely name."
Perhaps it was because of Kiryuin-senpai sitting nearby that Karuizawa responded with a hint of distance.
"This is Kiryuin-senpai from the second year," Ryo said, noticing her stiffness and taking the initiative to introduce them.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Karuizawa Kei from the first year," she quickly greeted, a little tense. The overwhelming presence Kiryuin exuded made her heart race as those violet eyes glanced her way.
"Hello," Kiryuin replied simply. Then, with a nudge of her lips, she gestured, "Sit over there."
"Eh?"
Originally, Kei and Kiryuin had been seated on one side, facing Ryo across the table. Now, Kiryuin was motioning for Kei to sit next to him, leaving her momentarily flustered.
"Senpai just likes having more space to stretch her legs and arms," Ryo explained with a soft chuckle and shifted to the left slightly.
"Come on, sit here."
Kei nodded and, smoothing her skirt, sat beside him.
As if on cue, Kiryuin stretched out comfortably, crossing her legs and spreading her arms across the sofa. She turned toward Kei and asked directly, "Karuizawa... I'll just call you that. You're one of the winners of the Werewolf game, right?"
"Over twenty million points. Tch, I almost envy you."
Yawning, she openly flaunted her graceful curves as she casually sized Kei up with one eye shut.
"Are you planning to use it to switch classes? Or save it to offset a possible expulsion penalty?"
"Just curious, of course. You don't have to answer if you don't want to."
It was clear Kiryuin wasn't trying to put Kei on the spot.
"...I haven't decided yet," Kei said after a moment, brushing off the topic lightly. She had managed to regain her composure, her tone returning to normal.
"What about you, Ryo? How do you plan to use it?"
Sitting next to each other, she turned slightly to him as she spoke, her knee brushing against his.
"I've already used it. Otherwise, you wouldn't be seeing Hotaru here today," Ryo replied, sipping from his straw.
"I spent twenty million points to register Hotaru as a student. Technically, I could even take her to class."
Of course, he wasn't actually going to do that.
Kei hadn't expected him to be so nonchalant with such an enormous amount of points. After thinking it over, she finally said,
"That's very much like you."
"Looks like you really like... 'Hotaru'?"
"When I passed by earlier, that kitten jumped straight into my arms. I didn't even have time to react."
She was adept at social interactions, skillfully using shared topics to draw them closer.
"Now that I think about it, the name 'Hotaru' suits her really well."
"Did you come up with it yourself?"
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"I want to name it Hotaru."
"Sounds nice, doesn't it?"
"Is it because its eyes are firefly-colored?"
"That might be part of the reason."
The girl tilted her head slightly as she stroked the scrawny little kitten they had picked up just a few days ago. Its fur was patchy, making it look terribly ugly. In fact, because most of its fur had fallen off, neither of them could even tell what breed it was. The only distinctive feature was its firefly-colored eyes.
That's why she immediately decided to name it Hotaru.
"I think it's a beautiful name."
Kitagawa Ryo nodded. "Have you ever heard of the term 'decayed grass becomes fireflies'?"
"Huh? No, I haven't," Karuizawa Kei shook her head.
"It's an old saying from ancient China. People used to believe that fireflies were born from rotting grass. In reality, it's just that fireflies laid their eggs there."
"Even if it's a mistaken belief, I still think it's a beautiful one."
"Even decaying wild grass can give rise to the fireflies that light up the summer night."
"I hope this little one… no, I mean Hotaru, can at least make it through this summer."
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Fragments of past memories flashed through his mind.
Kitagawa Ryo turned to face Karuizawa Kei. The two of them found themselves once again looking directly at each other.
But this time, it wasn't like sitting across from each other at a table.
It was more like sitting side by side, turning toward one another — a posture that felt like the prelude to a kiss.
In Karuizawa Kei's eyes shone the most genuine curiosity.
"Yeah, I was the one who gave it that name."
"You like it, don't you?"
The past had no meaning — let it be reborn anew, like the fireflies born from withered grass.
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