A dignified face, long black hair reaching past her shoulders, and, most striking of all, a face so exquisitely beautiful it seemed almost unreal. Around her was an icy aura that instinctively made people want to keep their distance—an unmistakable "do not approach" presence.
An iceberg-like beauty with straight black hair.
In the entire Sobu High, only one person fit that description—
Yukinoshita Yukino.
"Whoa, senpai, that looks like Yukinoshita-senpai. Her eyes and expression are so cold. Just like the rumors say, she really is an ice queen!"
This was Iroha's first time seeing Yukino.
An ice-cold, beautiful girl like her really did have a unique kind of charm. Even Iroha couldn't help but look a few more times.
If she were a boy, she would probably fall for her and take action immediately.
"She's like that with everyone. What are you worried about?" Haizaki said with a snort.
That girl wouldn't show much of a smile even to her own family. Rather than being natural, it was more like a way of protecting herself.
"Eh? Is that so?" Iroha subconsciously grabbed Haizaki's arm, tilting her small head and deliberately showing her cute side as she confirmed it.
Tsk…
She felt it again.
"Senpai, senpai, I feel like Yukinoshita-senpai just looked at me with really cold eyes again."
"That's your imagination…"
Haizaki glanced over at Yukino and saw that she looked perfectly normal, her gaze directed straight ahead, not paying any attention to Iroha at all.
There was no way Yukino would be focusing on Iroha. It was just her imagination.
"But—"
"Don't overthink it. She doesn't even know you."
If he remembered correctly, Iroha and Yukino only started having any contact during the student council election.
"That's so mean. I'm a cute girl too, you know."
"Then she'd be even less likely to know you. Yukinoshita-san's orientation is perfectly normal."
"You even know something that private? Senpai, you seem to know Yukinoshita-senpai pretty well!"
Iroha stared at Haizaki with a probing look, trying to see if there was some hidden relationship between him and Yukino.
As long as Yukino paid attention to their side, Iroha was sure she could hear their conversation.
High school life is great!
Just now she had treated the school heartthrob, Hayama Hayato, as a long-term "tool" for getting closer to Haizaki, and now she was directly facing another famous figure—Yukinoshita Yukino.
So exciting. It made her unable to stop.
Still, she needed to apologize.
Hayama-senpai, sorry for treating you like a "tool." Once I get Haizaki-senpai's secret, I'll treat you to sweets to make up for it.
"I've only been at Sobu High for less than five days. I don't even fully understand Isshiki-kouhai yet. How could I have the time to understand anyone else?"
Iroha blushed, then puffed out her cheeks and shot back, "Senpai, that's perverted."
Haizaki froze for a moment, then realized what his words had implied.
So Iroha was embarrassed about topics related to that kind of thing. Well, she was a girl, after all. That was understandable.
A glint appeared in Haizaki's eyes.
This was a good way to get rid of her.
If he let Iroha think he was just a high school boy with dirty thoughts, she would probably keep her distance on her own.
"You don't know my other side yet," he said with a teasing, playful smile.
Iroha's hands stiffened on his arm, her expression froze, and the corners of her mouth twitched as she didn't know how to respond.
Who would openly talk about that kind of topic with a girl in public?
A girl's reserve and shyness made her unwilling to go any deeper into such matters.
Her wandering gaze finally met Haizaki's eyes, driven by her own stubborn will.
In his eyes was clear amusement, delighting in her reaction.
He was doing it on purpose.
But how was she supposed to answer?
A stronger counterattack? That didn't seem right. If Haizaki became even more shameless and went straight in again, how would she respond?
"I have no interest in learning about your other side, senpai."
Iroha let go of his arm, slowed her pace, and walked side by side with him, matching his steps as they headed toward the school gate.
"That's really a shame. I thought that if you just tried a little harder—"
Haizaki deliberately began imitating Iroha's way of speaking.
"Ah! Don't use my own words against me!"
"And your way of changing the subject is way too obvious. Totally unqualified. So…"
Her gaze moved back and forth between Haizaki and Yukino as she spoke slowly with a mischievous smile.
"Could it be that, senpai, you like… Yukinoshita-senpai?"
Part of Iroha's attention was on Yukino in the distance. At the moment she spoke, the corner of her eye caught an unusual reaction from Yukino.
Instantly, her heart was filled with intense curiosity and a strong desire to know more about the relationship between Haizaki and Yukino.
It felt like being scratched by a cat's paw—irresistibly itchy.
"How heartbreaking. Just three days ago, I was still—"
"I already told you, don't imitate my way of talking."
The moment she heard his opening, Iroha knew what he was about to say.
This senpai of hers was harder to deal with than she had imagined.
"You're changing the subject again, senpai. So you really do like Yukinoshita-senpai, don't you? How about this—if you admit it, I'll help you. What do you think?"
A faint smile played on her lips.
"In return for you helping me, I'll help you pursue Yukinoshita-senpai… That way, I won't have to sell out my cute female classmates, and I can help you escape your lonely single life."
She lowered her voice so that only the two of them could hear.
"As a girl, I can get a lot of inside information that others can't."
She leaned closer, her small head drawing near, red lips moving as she whispered tempting words, like a demon from the abyss luring someone to fall, delighting in the pleasure of seduction.
"As long as you admit it, I promise I'll—ow!"
The sudden pain on her head made Iroha recoil. She covered the spot with both hands and looked at Haizaki with teary eyes, a pitiful, heart-melting expression.
"Good. Now you know it hurts. Don't pry into other people's private matters."
"How is your business a private matter? What kind of relationship do we have?" she argued stubbornly.
"We're just senpai and kouhai, Isshiki Iroha."
Haizaki's tone was a little cold, but Iroha wasn't discouraged or angry.
"Senpai, you're so heartless. We clearly share a secret that belongs only to the two of us."
"I remember there's a blonde classmate around Hayama. Wouldn't it be better if I told her that a cute junior is thinking about him?"
"No, don't! Senpai, can you really bear to see me being bullied by Miura-senpai?"
If she had to face Yumiko now, her plan would be over before it even began. Hayama was the key factor in maintaining her continued contact with Haizaki.
Iroha understood that she needed to control the line carefully. Otherwise, she would only provoke Haizaki's displeasure and distance.
Her words and actions toward Haizaki today were like walking on thin ice, afraid of crossing a line and making him uncomfortable.
"Senpai, you're so mean. Fine, I won't ask about you and Yukinoshita-senpai anymore. But do you really not need my help? With me, the chances of successfully winning over senpai would increase a lot, you know!"
"If I really intended to pursue her, your behavior just now would have been a deduction of points."
"That's not true at all! My closeness just now was completely to test whether Yukinoshita-senpai has any interest in you."
Haizaki's gaze shifted slightly. Iroha froze, then realized she had let something slip.
"I'm really sorry. I won't do it again."
She immediately lowered her head and apologized. This really was her fault.
"Remember what you said. If you do it again, I'll terminate my promise and stop giving you any help."
"How can you… be like that… But it's fine! Actually, I think senpai can't really help me that much anyway."
After all, her true target was the senpai in front of her—or rather, the secret about the student ID that he held.
"If you think I can't help, then don't come bother me. I actually have a lot of things to do."
"Then let me help you instead! As your closest kouhai, when you run into trouble, I should step in and help too."
"No, that's not necessary. You can't help me."
Unless Iroha became the next helper. But Haizaki absolutely did not want the next helper to be someone he knew.
"You won't tell me, so how do you know I can't help?"
"But, senpai, not that kind of help," Iroha added with a flushed face.
"???"
He hadn't even said anything. But as expected, Iroha really wasn't good at dealing with that kind of topic.
"Forget it. Just focus on your own things. If I really need to trouble you, I won't hold back."
"Mhm! That's good. When the time comes, just look for the Iroha Encyclopedia. I'll definitely help senpai solve whatever problems you run into."
Iroha clenched her fist, signaling a deal.
"Alright. If I get any information, I'll let you know."
She quickened her pace, stood in front of Haizaki, then turned around, hands behind her back, a bright smile on her face.
"Then I'll be counting on you, senpai. And my happiness will be in your hands too…"
The biggest reactions came from the surrounding students, their eyes wide as they looked back and forth between Haizaki and Iroha.
Haizaki was sure it wouldn't take long before the whole of Sobu High was buzzing with rumors about him and Iroha Ayano.
They might not know the details, but at least the story would spread widely.
Wasn't Iroha afraid Hayama would misunderstand?
"I can't bear that responsibility. Go find someone else!"
At once, Haizaki received several looks that clearly said, "You damn scumbag."
In their eyes, he was obviously the kind of guy who took advantage of a girl and then walked away without a second thought.
But what concerned Haizaki most was the icy gaze cast from Yukino's direction.
Why did Yukino react?
Hadn't she always been indifferent to everything around her? Even if she were interested, she would never show it on the surface, let alone direct such a cold look at him.
"Senpai, senpai, I told you Yukinoshita-senpai was looking at me with a really scary gaze. You saw it too just now, right?!"
Iroha, who had somehow appeared beside Haizaki again, nudged him lightly with her elbow and whispered.
"This proves what I said was true, right? Senpai, you can believe me now, right?"
"And then?"
"Then, of course, I'll tell you my most important discovery… Yukinoshita-senpai… really cares about you! So, you should thank me, senpai…"
She looked as if she had done a great deed and was proudly showing off to him.
Thank you? Thank you for what? There was nothing to thank her for.
He felt that running into Iroha this morning was a mistake. No, it was a mistake to help her on the morning of the second. He should have ignored her back then.
But there was no medicine for regret in this world.
And the only "medicine for regret" had already been taken by him.
"Yukinoshita-senpai has a special attitude toward you. So, senpai, can you tell me what kind of relationship you have, or what happened between you?"
Iroha smiled brightly, as if everything were under her control.
"Isshiki-san…"
He had to warn her. If this continued, Haizaki felt his future days would only become more troublesome.
"What is it, senpai…?"
Haizaki's suddenly serious expression caught Iroha off guard. She had no idea what he was about to say.
"Come to my place tonight."
"Ha… what? No way I'd agree to such an unreasonable request!"
Inviting her to his place at night on only their second meeting—
That was way too much.
She wasn't that kind of easy girl.
"So you know my answer now, right?"
Iroha froze, then understood what Haizaki was trying to say.
"That's so underhanded, senpai. I was clearly doing it for your sake, to help you better. But what you just said wasn't for my sake at all."
"How do you know it wasn't for your sake? What a pity, though."
"No, it wasn't! I'm not talking to you anymore, senpai. I'm leaving… Anyway, about us, senpai… forget it, I'll tell you next time."
With her face red, Iroha finally fled in embarrassment.
She wasn't sure she could withstand even more direct attacks from Haizaki if she stayed any longer.
Were men from the Eastern Alliance really this formidable? Were high school boys really this dangerous?
No, this was definitely Haizaki doing it on purpose, trying to make her back off.
But she wouldn't give up.
She had already gone this far. She couldn't give up now. If she did, everything would have been for nothing.
Iroha silently made up her mind.
Watching her retreating figure, the smile on Haizaki's face gradually faded.
Iroha's actions had sounded an alarm bell for him.
He had thought that all of his relationships would remain the same as in his previous two years of high school. Even if there were changes, they wouldn't deviate too much.
But now, at least in Iroha's case, the degree of change had already far exceeded the range of what could be considered normal.
He had to be careful.
…