' What the… What's going on? Who is this guy? Tatsuya felt a chill down his spine, his eyes locked on the knife right next to his throat.
His heartbeat began to rise to the point to was the only thing he could hear. ' One wrong move and he's going to slice my throat… am I, going to die here? '
He side glanced only to find the boy with the blonde and blue hair staring intensely at his face.
The boy's eyes were wide open, and dark circles almost seemed to spin in his brown pupils.
Immediately, Tatsuya's hands began visibly shaking, but he held onto the sleeves of his shirt to hide it.
Tatsuya tried to lift his hand but failed, ' this guy is insane. I have to do something, but… what can I do? I can't fight at all… '
His hand was still shaking. ' Damn it, I can't move at all. '
As Tatsuya was stuck in his thoughts, the boy shifted his gaze toward the front, still holding the knife at Tatsuya's neck.
Upon looking ahead, his eyes slowly changed from wide and intense to narrowed and serious as he slowly dragged the knife back by its handle.
Tatsuya remained frozen until he felt a light push on his back, which made him take a step forward.
" Relax, why so serious, man? I was hoping you'd get the joke, " the boy said in a slightly playful tone.
As Tatsuya turned to face the boy, he noticed something very familiar, the headless spider tattoo on the boy's neck.
Immediately, he wanted to ask a question. "Wait, are you…"
Before he could finish, the boy continued Tatsuya's sentence with an answer. " Yes, I'm your friend. So, what did you think of my pen? "
' Pen? What could he be talking about? The only thing he showed me was his knife. '
" Um… what are you talking about? " Tatsuya asked hesitantly.
" I'm talking about this little fella in my hand, " the boy said as he slid the knife from its handle. "What do you think? This one's very humane. "
Tatsuya didn't move.
The boy slide his finger over the tip of one of the small spikes the knife had. " Anyways, we'll talk another time... Let's play then. "
The boy turned around and walked away, spinning the knife between his fingers.
Tatsuya watched him go. As soon as he was out of sight, he let out a deep breath and continued walking.
In the far distance, he saw a black gasmask and immediately recognized Kurumi leaning against a wall looking down.
Meanwhile, back in Class B, Rick was still lying on a table. The class was mostly empty, with only a few students remaining.
Among them was Kaide, She walked toward him, her green eyes locked on his form, and when she reached him, she gave him a gentle push.
Rick lifted his upper body slowly, stretching and slightly rubbing his eyes.
" What are you doing? " she asked gently but impatiently.
" Is this how you say, ' How are you in this classroom?' " he replied in a exaggerated sleepy voice.
" Oh, that was rude of me, " she gasped, placing a hand over her mouth, her voice gentle. "Top of the afternoon, Rick Akihito. And what are you doing in my classroom? "
Rick's sky blue eyes shifted toward her. " Learning. I mean, isn't that what classes are for? "
She just looked at his face calmly, then was a short pause.
"Just answer the question. I don't have time to waste, " she added, her tone was flat.
" Well, you're no fun, " Rick stated in a cheerful tone with mock disappointment as he got up from the desk.
She didn't respond, just watching his face calmly.
' Now that I've got her attention, how do I approach this? ' he thought, making eye contact with her as a smirk began to creep in.
They hadn't been looking at each other for long when a voice cut between them.
" Kaide! " the voice called out.
They both turned to look. It was a girl with short dark purple hair carrying a couple of books.
" Hey, Shiori. Where are you taking all those books? " Kaide asked in a soft tone.
Shiori's black eyes glared at Rick for a small, nearly unnoticeable moment before she replied, " I thought you would help me take them back to the library. I'm late for an important meeting. "
Rick didn't say anything. He just observed, his sky blue eyes carefully analyzing everything. ' What just happened? And this girl… do I know her? '
" These books are due to be checked in today. I'll owe you one pleaaase help me out, " Shiori added in a playful tone as she placed the books on the table, raising one arm in a pleading stance.
Letting out a sigh, Kaide answered, " Huuuuh, you're always saying that. " She moved the books closer.
" Thanks very much. I promise I'll pay you back in full ," Shiori said as she quickly walked out of the room.
' Well, it doesn't matter, ' Rick thought as he lifted the books.
"So, let's go," he said, looking at Kaide's face.
Her eyes were slightly widened as she stood still, watching him. Then she looked down, her expression becoming unreadable.
Soon after, the two were walking through the hallways, both with backpacks strapped to their shoulders while Rick carried the books.
" Hey, you know, this is the first time I'll be entering the library, " Rick stated as they walked.
Giving her a side glance, scanning for anything wrong
' She doesn't look to have a scratch on her, for someone who's supposed to be in danger she looks surprising fine. I'll just stick close to her for now. '
Kaide's eyes widened momentarily before returning to normal. " Why is that? The library is probably my favorite place in the whole school, " she replied, her voice very casual.
" Well, books and I don't really get along. I'd say our relationship is very complicated, so I tend to avoid them, " he answered, his voice slightly playful.
" Hehee, "An amused huff escaped Kaide before she covered her mouth. " That's strange. Aren't you among the honor students? "
" Well, yeah, I am. But my grades didn't get me that honor. Besides, that would also be an insult to the really smart people, " he explained calmly.
' Why did Tatsuya suddenly pop up in my head? That weirdo… ' he thought to himself.
" There are a lot of ways to become an honor student. I mean, some are just really good at sports, " Rick shifted the mountain of books in his hands.
" I suppose you're right, " she added, her voice still casual.
As they talked, they finally arrived at the library. Just as they were about to enter, Rick saw Ren and Horikita pass by, and he just smiled.
When they entered, Rick turned around and looked the place over. This place is surprisingly huge, but nothing really special. I'll give them a little credit, though it looks comfortable.
The inside of the library was vast, filled with many long shelves of books and plenty of tables for studying.
The two walked to the receptionist area, where a girl with two long ponytails lay on the table, sleeping.
" Wait, is that the librarian? " Rick raised an eyebrow as he looked at her sleeping peacefully.
"Yeah, she's in charge. She tends to sleep all the time, but… she always gets the job done," Kaide explained as they reached her.
On the table was a big note. Rick read it as he placed the books down:
" Time 4:30 PM,
Kaide and the thing carrying the books for her,
You've brought the books on time.
Just leave the books on the table and I'll sort them out when I wake up. "
Rick quickly grabbed his phone and checked the time. It read: 4:30 PM. His eyes narrowed slightly before he shifted his gaze to Kaide.
" Hey, what's going on? " he asked, his voice filled with curiosity.
" Chie here is a genius of probability. She uses it to calculate the most likely outcomes down to the smallest details with terrifying accuracy, then narrows it down to one result. As a result, she can sort of predict the future, " Kaide explained slowly.
Rick opened one of the books they'd brought and looked at it as he processed what he'd just been told.
' Interesting. Depending on how I use this info, this girl could be the key to my quest.' He maintained a calm look.
" That is very interesting, " he added calmly as he closed the book.
" That's all? I thought you'd show more than that. You don't even sound very interested. You should at the very least freak out, " she stated, carefully analyzing his face.
" Oh, I am freaking out. And I'm not very interested in things that aren't money, " a smirk appeared of his face as his sky blues brightened. " But I can assure you I am. "