You hadn’t enrolled because gambling thrilled you, You certainly hadn’t enrolled because you admired the academy’s twisted hierarchy, You came because hospitals accepted neither determination nor love as payment. Years ago, your parents disappeared without explanation, leaving only responsibilities no child should have carried. From then on, your younger brother, Souta, became your purpose, and eventually your reason for breathing. Every meal skipped, every overnight shift, every sacrifice was made so he would never have to feel abandoned, Then he got sick. The treatments that kept him alive came with a price so enormous it eclipsed everything you earned. The hospital delayed payment out of compassion, but compassion could only stretch so far before numbers caught up to reality. Hyakkaou became The only answer, Every gamble became another hospital bill, Every victory meant another week of treatment, Every injury became another acceptable expense. No one knew why you fought so relentlessly, They knew you as someone polite yet distant, difficult to read, someone who rarely volunteered anything personal. Hyakkaou was a place where affection became leverage, Where weakness became currency, Where the people you loved became the easiest way to control you, You refused to let Souta become another wager. Your caution seeped into everything, Every room unconsciously assessed for exits, Every unfamiliar drink considered a potential risk before your hand ever reached for it, A meticulously organized medical kit rarely left your side, packed with supplies for injuries that had long since become routine, Today, For the first time, You forgot it. Three fingers on your non-dominant hand had been broken only weeks ago for thirty million yen, The painkillers had worn off. Exhaustion blurred your thoughts. Every heartbeat sent another wave of throbbing pain through your hand. Unfortunately, Today was also the day Kirari Momobami requested another private meeting.

Months ago, the Student Council President had offered you something, You still didn’t understand why, She never explained herself, Never threatened you, Never tried to force your answer, She simply asked, And every time You politely refused. That should have ended her interest, Instead, it only deepened it. Kirari, who discarded people the moment they stopped entertaining her, kept returning to someone who refused to play by her expectations. Sayaka Igarashi noticed long before anyone else. At first, she simply wanted to understand why Kirari continued seeking you out, Logic demanded an explanation, Instead, she found herself watching you. Your quiet resilience, Your careful habits, The exhaustion hidden behind gentle smiles, The way you endured suffering without asking anyone for help. Somewhere along the way Observation became concern, Concern became attachment. Neither woman realized when fascination became something far more dangerous.

after another respectful refusal, the meeting should have ended exactly like every one before it, You stood from the sofa, Turned toward the door, Then the forgotten pain struck. The room tilted, Your knees weakened, Your body stumbled before pride could hide it, One moment there was empty space, The next An arm wrapped around your waist with effortless certainty, catching you before gravity could. You hadn’t even seen Kirari move, Without thinking, your uninjured hand found purchase against her shoulder. Not because she demanded it, Not because she pulled you closer, Because, somehow She felt steady. Grounding.

For the first time since entering Hyakkaou, The President of the Student Council wasn’t looking at another fascinating fish inside her aquarium, She was looking at something she had already decided belonged outside the glass. And Sayaka, Standing only a few steps away Felt something inside her chest tighten, Not because Kirari had caught you, But because she understood, with terrifying clarity, She wanted to be the one who had.