"Suz, are you in a bad mood?"
Although it was phrased as a question, Kaede was certain of her guess: her sister's mood was definitely terrible. She didn't know the reason, which only made her more curious. In all these years, even after the terrible incident yesterday, Suz's emotions hadn't been this volatile...
"Suz is in a bad mood? Did something happen?" Hayato, as her childhood friend, also leaned in with concern, but Suz shook her head.
"No, my mood is fine."
"Don't lie to me," Kaede cupped her sister's face, identical to her own, and squeezed her cheeks into various funny expressions. "I'm your twin sister! Don't try to fool me. Come on, tell me the truth!"
"..."
"If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine, Suz. At least tell me where you went?" After staring at her sister for a long moment, Kaede finally conceded.
"I just went to Alex's place."
"Alex?"
Hayato looked shocked, as if recalling something. "Wait, Suz, do you mean Alex?"
Suz considered it, deciding there was no point hiding it from the Student Council members, and nodded in affirmation. "Yes. I joined Alex's club."
"WHAT?!"
Before Kaede could comment, Hayato yelled out in even greater astonishment. "The club you're talking about, is it, is it that... Erotic Instruction Club?"
"Suz! What have you done?" Kaede cried out in horror. "Your own sister is trying to disband that club, and you... you went and joined him instead?"
Her older sister was furious.
"Yeah, did that Alex force you to join that kind of low-class club? Is that why you're upset?" The heartbroken childhood friend jumped to his own conclusion, his face flushing red with various vivid imaginations.
"It's not a low-class club!" Hearing this, Suz's gaze sharpened. "He is different from that transfer student!"
For once, Suz's voice carried a clear tone of anger.
This left Hayato speechless, staring blankly at her. Kaede frowned. "Even so, Suz, why on earth would you join that club? What exactly happened?"
Suz didn't say much, only briefly mentioning her decision to join the club this morning. Nothing had happened with Alex, and she dismissed the notion of being upset or angry as Kaede's exaggeration.
But...
"Suz, that club is still too dangerous. Even if, even if that person saved you all, he still has that strange superpower, doesn't he? This..."
"What are you trying to say?"
The girl frowned.
"I'm just worried about your safety, Suz. You know how terrifying that ability is. Maybe you've already been..."
"IMPOSSIBLE!!!"
Being told this repeatedly made the silent, emotionless girl's voice crack. The unmistakable shout startled both of them. She shot a cold, terrifying glare at her childhood friend.
Then, she abruptly stood up and stormed out of the Student Council room.
Kaede only recovered after her sister had left. She couldn't hide the shock on her face. Could Suz possibly...? She looked at the embarrassed Hayato, sighed quietly, shook her head, and also left the room.
——————
The relationship between Kaede, Suz, and Hayato was close, but if one were to be honest, Hayato's romantic interest was only ever in Kaede. Her twin sister, Suz, had only ever followed Kaede's lead.
She had always viewed Hayato as merely a childhood friend, a normal playmate, and had never felt any affection or romantic love for him.
After what just happened, she suddenly felt dissatisfied with her childhood friend. Those ordinary bonds of friendship faded considerably, though she didn't know why.
Hayato's words were logically correct; she shouldn't have joined that club, and Alex did possess a terrifying superpower. She couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't try to hypnotize her...
Yet, hearing those words made her heart ache. She was annoyed, angry even, and that's why she stormed out.
It wasn't just Hayato. Earlier, too, when she saw Alex arrive at the clubroom, she had been happy, choosing to eat her bento there instead of the Student Council room, partly because of him.
But when she saw the girls who were with him, her mood instantly turned sour.
Walking down the hallway, Suz subconsciously realized she had returned to the club building entrance. She glanced at the embarrassing nameplate and heard the faint sounds of laughter and flirtatious remarks coming from inside.
Suz's brow furrowed even tighter.
She knew those girls likely had a deep relationship with Alex—after all, the entire reason he created the club was for them. She had no reason or standing to be angry.
Yet, she couldn't control the feeling... Why is this happening?
Creak—
While lost in thought, her hand involuntarily pushed the door open. The sight of Alex and the girls sitting around, eating snacks and drinking sodas, laughing together, came into view.
Makoto Himeyama, who had been snuggled up close to Alex, quickly recoiled, but the keen-eyed Suz still saw it.
"Why are you back again?" Alex, who was chewing on half a Pocky stick, turned around.
Suz walked to the desk behind him with an expressionless face. Her gaze swept the room, then returned to him. Her cold, clear voice broke the silence. "Alex."
"Hmm?"
"Did you hypnotize me?"
"..."
Alex was momentarily confused. He exchanged glances with Chiaki and the others, then looked into Suz's crystal-clear eyes, where he could see his own reflection.
After a few seconds of blank confusion, a mischievous grin spread across his face. "Of course, I didn't control you, but if you want to try it out, I can let you experience it."
Huh?
Before Suz could react, she realized her body was suddenly out of control. Her hands seemed to have a will of their own, rising to cover her face.
Wh-What's happening?
Then, her hands dropped, revealing a comical expression. She started making exaggerated goofy faces at Alex and the others: "Nyah, nyah, nyah—"
This ridiculous facial contortion, this ahegao, was something Kaede probably couldn't even manage, yet Suz presented the perfect, flawless ahegao to everyone. Although she didn't want to, she couldn't control her face, her nerves, or her facial muscles.
Quick as a flash, Alex captured the moment permanently with a "click" on his phone. He could no longer hold back and started slapping the desk while roaring with laughter.
"Pfft, HAHAHAHAHA—"
"I got the perfect shot! This expression is amazing! "If it were up to you, you probably couldn't have made that face yourself in a million years, hahaha!"
Forcing an emotionless, deadpan girl to make a ridiculous face—the contrast was incredibly potent.
The brazen laughter made the blue-haired girl, now free of the control, blush furiously. The visible shame and frenzy were absolutely the first time in Suz's life she had shown such an outburst. She leaped towards him fiercely.
"Give me the phone!"
"It's for memories, though~"
"No! Delete it!"
"Suz, don't be so stingy. I really like this picture—"
In the end, Suz failed to delete her black history photo. When she returned to the classroom for the next lesson, she was still indignant, but her usually unmoving lips were now curled up just a tiny bit.
Even after personally experiencing the terror of Alex's ability, the girl felt no fear.
"What an idiot..."