NOVPUBSaionji was currently under siege.
She was surrounded by a buzzing crowd of curious female classmates whose eyes sparkled with excitement and gossip-hungry energy.
"Hey~, hey~, Saionji-san, is it true? Are you and Okumura-kun really dating?" one of them leaned in, voice tinged with playful teasing and disbelief.
Hina's lips curled into a slightly amused smile. "Well, it's... pretty complicated," she said, twirling a lock of her hair around her finger, her tone dancing between honesty and mystery.
"Ehhh~~?" another girl gasped, her eyes widening like she'd just heard the juiciest piece of gossip all week. "But like, seriously, what's your actual relationship with him, Saionji-san?"
Hina tilted her head slightly, her crimson eyes narrowing in contemplation. "Hmm? I'd say... we're more than friends, but less than lovers?" she mused, humming thoughtfully, like she was describing a puzzle she hadn't quite figured out herself.
"Hehhhh~" several girls echoed, clearly intrigued by the ambiguity.
They edged closer, their voices overlapping, their eagerness showing no signs of stopping.
"Then~, then~, when exactly did this start?"
Hina's expression softened as she replied, "Kouhei and I… we bumped into each other, and… kissed. Accidentally." Her voice didn't waver, and she delivered it with a straight face. "It was my first kiss, so I got mad, naturally. But… he didn't seem bothered at all. That kind of reaction got me curious about him."
There was a ripple of gasps among the girls.
The tension in the air thickened.
But well...
That part of her story? Completely true.
The accidental kiss had happened exactly as she'd said with their lips crashing in an unexpected moment of chaos.
But what she didn't mention was the part that sounded like it belonged in a fantasy novel.
Hina, a succubus by blood and nature, wasn't supposed to be able to touch anyone.
Her very touch was lethal as it was capable of drowning mortals in overwhelming pleasure and killing them instantly. Her kiss should have spelled death for Kouhei.
And yet, he didn't die.
Instead, he stood there, but very much alive.
They would later uncover that Kouhei was the "Child of Anti-Prophecy" who was a destined existence born to defy the divine decree that the entity Yesh wanted to impose upon demonkind.
That single, fateful kiss had changed everything.
Looking back now, that day was a turning point.
So many steps, so many slopes had followed since then.
Some painful, some strange, and others… strangely beautiful.
And yet, while Hina quietly reminisced, Kouhei didn't have the luxury to do the same.
Not when he was being grilled just as intensely on the other side of the classroom.
"Okumura-kun," one girl began with an almost accusatory tone, "how long have you been close with Saionji-san? I knew you two were tight, but I didn't think you were close enough that she'd kiss you like that. And with tongues, too?! I swear, if I hadn't seen it myself…"
"That kiss was seriously hot," another added, fanning herself dramatically. "Like, hot-hot. Tongues and everything."
"Right?! Right?! I thought I was watching an R-rated drama, not homeroom!"
A small crowd of gyaru girls had formed around him, eyes gleaming, lips curled into amused smirks. They weren't letting him off the hook.
"Okumura-kun," one of them pressed forward with a cheeky grin, "what's stopping you from officially dating Saionji-san? Huh? Spill it."
That one hit a little too close.
Kouhei blinked, caught off guard, then scratched his cheek with an awkward laugh. "Ah… Eh, I can't really answer that," he said, giving a small, wry smile that couldn't mask his hesitation.
It wasn't a dodge. He actually genuinely didn't know how to answer.
"Hmmm? I knew it," a girl said with narrowed eyes, as if she were trying to read his soul. "Something's definitely going on. I mean, Saionji-san clearly loves you. Maybe you're not interested? Do you like someone else?"
"I heard from earlier that Okumura-kun and the President were seen walking out of an apartment building together," another girl chimed in, her voice sharp with speculation. "Is that rumor true? About him and the President?"
"Ohhh~ that does explain things," someone else added, snapping her fingers. "If his heart's already taken by the President, then it makes sense why he can't accept Saionji-san."
"Ahhh~! So typical of a harem protagonist," one of the gyaru sighed, placing a hand dramatically on her forehead. "If it were me, I'd just say fuck it and take all the girls at once."
"…But you're a girl."
"Exactly," she smirked.
Their laughter rang out casually—as if they weren't poking directly into his love life.
Kouhei shifted his gaze and looked toward Hina.
She was still surrounded by her own crowd, her presence like gravity pulling everyone in. Questions were still flying at her like arrows, and she fielded them all with grace and ease. She wasn't flustered in the slightest.
Then, for just a brief moment, her eyes flicked to his.
And that's when it came.
A smile.
But not just any smile.
It was a wicked, mischievous grin.
One laced with satisfaction, the look of someone who had pulled off a perfect prank and was now basking in the aftermath.
He didn't need words to know exactly what that look meant.
Meanwhile… on the other side of the room, the boys?
The boys were suffering.
"Okumura… Why him…? Of all people…?"
"I… I can't believe this. I really can't. This is a nightmare. Please, someone wake me up…"
"I'm dreaming, right? I have to be dreaming. There's just no way our Ice Princess—the Saionji Hina, who hates touching anyone—just kissed him out of the blue like that!"
"…This is the end. Goodbye, everyone. Don't cry for me."
"IDIOT! Don't jump out the damn window! We're on the second floor! You won't die, you'll just end up with broken legs!"
The chaos was… loud, dramatic, and absolutely ridiculous.
And yet, somehow, amidst all the pandemonium, two people stood out—quietly watching from the sidelines.
Sotomura and Takahashi hadn't said a word.
Kouhei had honestly expected the two of them to be the first to confront him—to interrogate him, maybe even scold him.
But to his surprise, they didn't.
They just looked at him.
That was all.
There was no words.
No accusations and judgment.
Just silence.
And in that silence, Kouhei couldn't tell whether it was mercy... or something else entirely.
While all of that was happening, someone suddenly burst into the room.
"Hinaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!"
A voice screamed as the door slammed open with a loud crash that echoed through the classroom, making everyone snap their heads toward the entrance.
"It's… Kiyohara-senpai," someone muttered.
It was Nagisa.
Judging from her disheveled hair, the sweat glistening on her forehead, and the way she was panting heavily, it was obvious that she had run all the way from the third-year building to the second-year floor.
But what exactly made her rush over like this remained unclear to everyone.
"It seems like my assumption was right, Nagisa," Hina said with a knowing smile. "So? When and how did you hear the news?"
"Just now," Nagisa replied, still trying to catch her breath. "Some second-years came by our building and started talking. I heard it from them." Then she added with a slight smirk, "You really didn't hold back, huh? Just straight-up declared it like that."
"I was the first, Nagisa. So, of course it was only natural," Hina responded smoothly, still smiling.
The rest of the class, already confused and overwhelmed by earlier events, was now even more lost. Their conversation made no sense to anyone listening.
But then Nagisa started walking forward, and made her way up to Kouhei.
Kouhei looked up at her, completely baffled.
"Kou-kun," she said softly.
Unlike Hina, who had grabbed him by the tie, Nagisa leaned in gently... and kissed him.
Right on the lips.
Just like Hina, she went straight for tongue.
Everyone in the classroom froze, stunned into complete silence. Mouths hung open. Eyes widened.
"I'm not just gonna back down and accept this quietly!" she declared, her voice loud. "I love Kou-kun with all of my heart!"
She shouted it loud enough that even people outside the classroom could probably hear her.
Kouhei sat there, stunned, unable to process what just happened. His eyes were wide with shock.
"Be prepared, Kou-kun," Nagisa added with a confident wink.
"Oh my, you two have really gone and done it now."
Another voice joined in.
And from the hallway, yet another person walked in.
It was Yuki Misuzu.
She entered gracefully, eyes scanning the classroom with a quiet presence. She looked at both Nagisa and Hina—one after the other. Her lips carried a soft, almost serene smile… but her eyes?
Her eyes were untouched by that smile.
"D-Don't tell me… Yuki-senpai too…?" one of the boys muttered in disbelief.
Apparently, the surprises for today weren't over yet.
"Oh, right," Misuzu said, almost like she'd remembered something. "Looks like it's already been posted."
"Posted?" one of the gyarus echoed, raising a brow.
Quickly, the gyarus pulled out their phones and opened up their social media apps.
And there it was—right at the top of the feed.
A post.
Freshly uploaded just seconds ago, so it hadn't gained many views yet. But the number was ticking up quickly.
It was a video—an interview.
And just like that, the chaos wasn't even close to being over.
