Chabashira Sae collapsed.
Unable to say anything. Unable to voice any rebuttal.
Under the pressure of her own students, in her own classroom, she fainted.
…If it had only been Hoshinomiya saying those things to her, she probably wouldn't have cared much. After all, she had long been used to it.
But standing in Class D's classroom, listening to this generation of D Class students questioning her one sentence after another, feeling the atmosphere gradually becoming exactly like it had been back then—
In her daze, it felt as if she had returned to the past.
As if she had gone back to that special exam where she had faced her entire class alone.
And so—
Her vision went black.
Her breathing stalled.
The tightly stretched string in her mind snapped.
Her consciousness could no longer control her body.
With a thud, she collapsed onto the floor.
"Thump—"
The dull sound echoed through the classroom, cushioned slightly by her body. The students who had been pressuring Chabashira just moments ago instantly panicked.
"C-Chabashira-sensei?!"
"...I-It's not our fault, right?"
"She just suddenly fainted, didn't she?!"
"I was just telling the truth!"
"The cameras, the cameras recorded everything, right?!"
"Stop pushing responsibility around! Go get help!!!"
Shouting loudly, Hirata Yōsuke rushed onto the podium.
...
Chabashira Sae had fainted in class.
Under Hirata's leadership, she was quickly sent to the infirmary, but there was obviously no way the class could continue.
On one side was their collapsed homeroom teacher.
On the other was a classroom whose atmosphere had become increasingly strange.
Even though Hirata kept saying it wasn't anyone's fault and had no intention of blaming anyone—
Every student who had just questioned Chabashira was panicking.
If something really happened to her—
No, no, she'd be fine. She just fainted. Probably low blood sugar or something. She'd recover soon.
A-And besides, they were only telling the truth. It wasn't a big deal. The cameras were watching, right?
Nervousness.
Unease.
Anxiety.
Restlessness.
Irritation spread throughout Class D.
Even when Hirata announced that this period would become self-study, no one could calm down.
It wasn't until Kōenji swaggered out of the classroom that the others suddenly realized—
They didn't actually need to stay here and obediently study.
After all, they were Class D with zero points.
No need to worry about losing more points for bad behavior.
No need to fear penalties for being late, leaving early, or skipping class.
Honestly, they had only been behaving recently because they hoped not to get another zero next month, hoping the midterms might give their empty wallets a tiny bit of relief.
But after this incident…
So, students who couldn't stand the oppressive atmosphere began "escaping" one after another, following Kōenji out.
Kushida Kikyo was one of them.
"...Yeah, I just want some fresh air."
"I'm fine, really. Thanks."
"I just want to find a place to sit alone for a bit."
After brushing off her classmates' concerned questions, she kept changing directions and distancing herself from them.
Soon, Kushida Kikyo reached her destination.
Up the stairs.
Up again.
Higher still.
Before long, she stopped in front of the door leading to the rooftop at the top of the stairwell.
The brand-new electronic lock should have sealed the door shut with strong magnetic force.
Yet the door in front of her showed no intention of blocking her at all.
Just like she had discovered days ago, this rooftop door allowed her to pass freely.
This magnetically sealed electronic door had no power.
Maybe it was a staff member's oversight.
Or maybe it was simply for convenience.
Either way, it couldn't stop any student.
In theory, absolute freedom should bring complete insecurity.
But when Kushida carefully pushed the door open and stepped onto the rooftop, she noticed something.
A circuit breaker.
A breaker labeled "Rooftop Door," which could restore power to the electronic lock at any time.
If she entered and turned the power back on, then aside from staff with ID cards, no one else would be able to open the door.
And the only time staff ever came to the rooftop was for monthly water tank inspections.
As long as she avoided that period, this place would become her personal space.
The moment she realized this, an idea flooded her mind.
If it's here…
Could this become an absolutely safe confession hole?
A place to vent her heart.
Release her emotions.
Shout.
Feel the wind.
Do anything she wanted.
No one would know.
No one would see.
And since it was right above the school building, it even had a thrilling edge.
The most tempting part—
So-called "safe exposure"…
No, wait. She wasn't exposing anything.
Anyway, once that thought appeared, she couldn't stop herself.
She observed carefully for several days.
Confirmed that neither teachers nor students came up here.
Confirmed that once inside, she could lock the door, and without a staff ID, no one could enter.
Only then did she finally believe this would be her perfect new secret refuge.
"..."
Glancing at the water tank inspection schedule posted on the door, she confirmed the next check was still far away.
She walked to the breaker and carefully restored power to the rooftop door.
Click.
The magnetic lock engaged, sealing the door firmly.
That still wasn't enough to reassure her.
She thoroughly searched every corner of the rooftop as if digging three feet into the ground, checking for any place someone could hide.
Then she leaned over the railing to see if anyone outside could observe her.
Since class had just ended, there were still a few people moving around below, but it seemed fine.
Only after confirming everything did she finally let out a relieved sigh.
Even though no one should ever come to this place, after what had happened with the diary forcibly sending messages, she couldn't help being suspicious of even a perfect spot like this.
The diary had once seemed perfect too.
"..."
The wind brushed against her pretty face, lifting her hair.
She took a deep breath—so deep it felt like she was trying to swallow all the wind into her body.
Then, she dropped her mask.
"Die, die, die, can you all just die already?! What kind of people are you?! How can there be people that stupid?! So disgusting, so disgusting, so disgusting—!"
She suddenly lifted her long leg and kicked hard at the railing.
Kushida Kikyo finally let herself speak freely.
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