Inside the sports storage room, seductive sounds echoed faintly.
Leaning against the wall, Yukino's hands instinctively clutched Toru's shoulders. Her heart trembled from the kiss, even a trail of saliva slipping from the corner of her mouth.
Her first kiss was shy and tender, but under the guidance of the experienced Toru, it quickly deepened and became entangled.
But compared to the kiss, what made Yukino feel even more ashamed and unable to face herself was the sound of trickling water.
After a long while, she finally regained her senses. She pushed Toru away in a panic and ran out of the storage room, her legs clamped together.
Her ponytail swayed gently behind her, like a breeze full of youthful charm.
With her head lowered, Yukino didn't notice the petite girl hiding behind some equipment near the warehouse entrance.
Watching Yukino's retreating figure, Toru didn't chase after her.
He raised his left hand, examining the faint stickiness between his fingers, recalling the shape he had traced just now.
"Nice shape, quite sparse, very smooth."
Taking out a tissue to wipe his fingers, the sound of a cane tapping the ground echoed through the now-empty warehouse.
A slender girl with silver hair, dressed in a beret, walked in.
She looked at Toru with a face full of disdain. Her tone was composed but held a cold, queenly sharpness.
"You called me here just to show me how you bully girls?"
As she spoke, Arisu's expression shifted slightly. The muscles in her legs, wrapped in white stockings, tensed up. A wave of regret surged in her heart.
She had made another miscalculation. This wasn't Advanced Nurturing High School. In front of someone who solved problems with brute force, someone like her with inconvenient legs had no means of resistance.
Toru, who dared to reenact the prequel of an adult anime in a school sports warehouse, was this a trap she had walked into?
"I know what you're thinking. But you don't have to worry. I'm not the kind of person you're imagining."
That was hard to believe. She had seen everything just now. Wasn't this exactly what he had called her here for?
"Believe it or not, it was just a coincidence. I didn't expect Yukino to show up to log the racket damage."
"You expect me to believe such a ridiculous lie?"
"Whatever. Believe it or not, it doesn't affect me."
Toru shrugged casually.
He wasn't the type to chase validation. He had no reason to care how others saw him.
"Well then, since I've seen enough, can I leave now?"
Arisu took a few cautious steps back, leaning on her cane.
"Your legs are yours. You can leave whenever you want. But I think you'll choose to stay."
"You're more confident than I imagined, Fujiwara-kun. My opinion of you is dropping. You may be a genius, but your behavior is completely improper."
Arisu narrowed her eyes.
"You can just say I lack morals. I won't deny it. But I don't care about that, Sakayanagi-san. You can go, but if you do, I'm afraid you'll miss your chance to turn things around for the Sakanayagi family."
Toru's words made Arisu freeze mid-turn.
"What do you mean?"
"Sakayanagi-san, you've always prided yourself on being a genius. You consider yourself smart. Then tell me, do you know why Advanced Nurturing High is facing its current situation?"
"Because the politicians, business leaders, and conglomerates backing it haven't seen the results they expected."
"That's part of it. But if they truly wanted to cultivate top-tier talent, the White Room would be a better fit. No public oversight, no ethical concerns, and far more efficient than a school."
"You know about the White Room? Ah, right. Your surname is Fujiwara. That makes sense. The Fujiwara were involved in the project."
Arisu looked surprised, but then muttered the answer to herself.
Toru's evaluation of her dropped slightly. Her deduction was inferior to Ayanokoji's.
Kiyotaka had immediately denied Toru's connection to the Fujiwara and correctly deduced the real source of his information. His mind was sharper and more careful.
But Arisu hadn't grasped the true link between him and the Fujiwara.
Toru didn't explain. He continued speaking.
"If that's your understanding, then I can only say you're still naïve. Do you really not know the real reason?"
Arisu hesitated slightly, then whispered, "It's the land."
"The Sakanayagi family has been in education for over a century. Back then, they acquired a massive piece of land to build what would later become Advanced Nurturing High School."
"During Japan's rapid economic growth, your family thrived with support from the education sector."
"In the beginning, Advanced Nurturing High was no different from any regular school."
"But about ten years ago, when the White Room initiative was launched, government officials and corporate leaders approached your family. They wanted Advanced Nurturing High to serve as a pilot for a new education philosophy. They promised full support."
"They poured capital into the school. Even helped create an artificial island. But while the Sakanayagi have influence in education, they're nothing in politics or finance."
Arisu closed her eyes, pain visible on her face.
"My father was deceived. Those politicians and executives had a dual plan. If the new philosophy succeeded, they'd profit. If it failed, their real target was the land."
"My father focused on the interest from their investments. But they were after our family's foundation!"
"It seems you understand well. The school's failure was only a surface-level excuse. What people truly want are resources."
"Japan is small. Everything here is on a smaller scale."
"Same goes for schools. Tokyo University, the nation's top school, only occupies 40 hectares. In other countries, top universities sit on 400 hectares."
"And yet, your high school occupies prime land in Tokyo. Even has its own coastline. Do you think others wouldn't covet that?"
"Governments, corporations, banks... They've all had their eyes on this from the start. They made the school special with investment, knowing that if the capital chain broke, it would be doomed."
"Now the school's reputation is ruined. Your family has probably received countless lawyer letters already."
Toru sighed.
"...Even banks won't lend to your family anymore. Banks are in the hands of those same conglomerates. The debts from failed investments can only be cleared by selling off the land."
"First-class companies sell buildings. First-class schools sell land. Makes perfect sense."
Arisu's face turned pale, and her grip on the cane tightened until her knuckles went white.
Her family had tried to keep this from her, but she had figured it out on her own.
The Sakanayagi were the official chairmen of Advanced Nurturing High, but there was a board of directors filled with representatives from corporations, conglomerates, and government agencies.
They had gained power over the years through massive capital injections.
Now, they were using their influence to pressure her father into stepping down.
Her father was resisting because he knew that once he lost control, those wolves would devour the school.
Advanced Nurturing High might still exist, but only as a fraction of its current size.
The remaining land? Office buildings. Condos. Shopping malls. Even a casino. That would be far more profitable.
As for raising geniuses? That could be done quietly in a hidden facility. There was no need to open a school subject to public scrutiny.
A school that holds land it shouldn't will inevitably be destroyed.
"On the surface, it's all about educational values. But behind the scenes, it's about profit. They make it look like the philosophy failed."
"But philosophies can be changed. What can't be changed is that your school has something everyone else wants."
"Sakayanagi-san, you might be a genius. Smarter than most. But in the face of this society's greed and power, your intelligence means nothing."
Toru's words pierced straight into Arisu's heart.
"The White Room involved your family too. You should know Ayanokoji Kiyotaka. Even as the greatest success of the White Room, someone like him still can't escape his father's control."
Toru didn't add what he was really thinking.
Haibara was a genius too. Even greater than Ayanokoji. But she couldn't escape the Black Organization either.
"You wouldn't tell me all this without a reason."
Arisu clenched her teeth.
"That's right. Everything I said was leading up to this."
"I can help you. I can help the Sakanayagi family."
"You?"
Arisu looked doubtful.
"You're just a university student. Even if you're from the Fujiwara, you're not their head. How can you possibly help us?"
"Those people are bloodthirsty wolves. What makes you think you can stop them? Are you some kind of tiger?"
Toru smiled.
"The Sakanayagi family doesn't have a choice anymore. So why not try using a tiger to swallow the wolves?"
(To be continued.)
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