Chapter 245: Is This You?

Ding dong ding dong!

The long, resonant chime of the Big Ben clock echoed through the school building. With the subject teacher's dismissal, the entire Class A classroom was completely engulfed by a clamor of noisy voices.

Another day of classes had ended.

The warm afternoon sunlight streamed through the windows, casting long shadows across the desks.

Compared to his previous life, where finishing final exams meant directly going on break, here in Japan they had to attend nearly another month of classes. It wouldn't be until late December that winter break officially began.

"Hey hey hey, boyfriend-kun, let's go to Keyaki Mall together later?"

The moment class ended, Morishita Ai blinked her big eyes, shining as she sidled up to him, impatient.

"To do what?" Fuyuji Mikage lowered his head, stuffing a mystery novel with the name Shiina Katsumi in it into his bag. "Don't tell me the fish you're raising went into hibernation. You only bought them two weeks ago."

"No."

Morishita immediately puffed out her small chest, put on that delicate little face, and coolly stated with a deadpan expression.

"There are two left."

"..."

The long zipper sound of his bag suddenly paused. Fuyuji silently closed his mouth.

For the hundredth time, he gave thanks that when he'd asked her to feed his wild pigeon, he'd asked Miki to keep an eye on her. Otherwise, his Fat Pigeon would probably already be beyond saving.

"Then what are we going for? Food? Didn't we already decide to eat at home?"

Morishita tilted her chin up, giving him a look that said "you just don't get it." She solemnly raised her index finger and wiggled it gently.

"It's that thing, boyfriend. To be honest, I've always wanted to try it, but I've never had the chance."

"What thing?"

"It's that... like this." With that, Morishita pulled out the chair beside her and sat down. She turned her head to rest on the desk, stretched out her slender legs, and gestured animatedly at Fuyuji. "In winter, you put a blanket on top, along with mandarin oranges, and then you eat mandarins while watching TV."

"Oh!" Fuyuji's eyes lit up. He nodded as if a great realization had struck him. "It's the thing where you put a heating device under the table, and you can tuck your whole body inside. It shows up in anime all the time, right?"

"Heh heh. As expected of my boyfriend. You guessed what I meant right away. So what's it called?" Morishita immediately sat up straight, her face full of anticipation.

"I don't know either."

Fuyuji: "..."

Morishita: "..."

A cold wind blew past outside the window, stirring up the dead leaves on the ground. For a moment, the two stared at each other, wide eyes meeting wide eyes.

Morishita stepped back two paces, her face full of disbelief as she raised her voice. "Why doesn't boyfriend-kun know what it's called?"

"Why would I definitely know what that thing is called?" Fuyuji said irritably. "You don't know either, do you?"

"That thing... is called a kotatsu."

Beside them, Shiraishi Asuka interjected at just the right moment, wearing a gentle smile, her voice soft, like a warm breeze breaking the deadlock.

"But I haven't tried one either. I'm a little curious, actually. Let's invite Kamuro and the others along later."

"Then we'll need to buy a big one. Preferably one big enough for several people to lie inside." Fuyuji rubbed his chin, his gaze starting to drift.

Just thinking about several beautiful girls lying in the same bed as him, his heart stirred with restless excitement.

Unfortunately, before he could let his imagination run wild, a rigid voice yanked him straight back to reality.

"Fuyuji-kun, do you have a moment? Come with me for a bit."

Class A's famous demonic robot, Mashima Tomonari, stood ramrod straight at the classroom door, gazing toward him.

"Tch! Running over at a time like this," Fuyuji half-lidded his eyes. "If you have something to say, say it here. I'm busy."

"Sorry. There's a very important matter that requires you to come along."

Mashima rarely gave Fuyuji an apologetic look.

"What matter?"

"I'm not sure either. I only know it's a notice from the principal."

"The principal?"

Fuyuji thought of that balding middle-aged man who had spoken at the opening ceremony. Sakayanagi's chairman father was one thing, but the principal... he didn't think he'd ever had any contact with him, right?

"Anyway, come with me first."

"Fine."

Fuyuji shrugged helplessly and turned to look at the two of them.

"You two go ahead first. I'll come find you later."

"Hurry back." Morishita gave Mashima a disgusted pout, then waved goodbye.

"Okay!" Fuyuji turned and left together with Mashima.

At this moment, Shiraishi, who had been standing nearby the whole time, watched Fuyuji's figure gradually shrink. Her brows furrowed, and her violet eyes slowly lowered.

...

On the other side, after Fuyuji left the classroom with Mashima, they wound through a series of turns and exited the school building.

"Where are we going?"

"The reception room. It's generally the place the school uses to receive outside visitors. In fact, I find this strange too. Normally that place is only used for three-way meetings or when a student is withdrawing."

"The reception room? A parent?"

Fuyuji murmured in echo, and his heart suddenly lurched.

Holy crap!

Could it be that the System that ran off is acting up now?!

As for family and the like, that was impossible. He had transmigrated with his body; it was just that the System had shrunk his age.

"It seems you don't know either. Don't worry. As your homeroom teacher, I'll be standing guard outside the whole time."

"Honestly, I'm curious too."

Amid their casual talk, the two had arrived at the door of the reception room in the administration building.

Mashima adjusted his collar, straightened his back, and lightly knocked on the dark brown wooden door. "Principal, Fuyuji Mikage has been brought."

"Please come in." A gentle voice sounded from within.

The door slowly opened. The nearly sixty-year-old, slightly balding principal from the opening ceremony was now sitting respectfully on the sofa, constantly wiping the sweat from his forehead. His gaze kept darting toward a middle-aged man sitting in the office chair, back turned to them, gazing out the window. The man looked somewhat stout.

Who's this?

Before Fuyuji could arrive at an answer, the principal was already the first to speak.

"Then, the two of you should have a talk now... is that alright?"

"Of course." A slightly deep voice rang out, giving off a sense of pressure.

"I'll take my leave first. Please take your time."

The principal, as if granted a great pardon, fled the reception room as if escaping, pulling the door shut behind him.

Running that fast? At least it's still your own turf, you know!

Next time, don't bother giving those long, stinking speeches at the opening ceremony. Staying like this now is actually not bad.

Fuyuji silently gave the direction the principal had fled a middle finger.

However, this actually made Fuyuji preliminarily rule out the possibility of the System.

The warm air from the heater blew humming into the room. For a moment, the reception room was somewhat quiet.

Fuyuji didn't speak.

The middle-aged man didn't speak either.

Fuyuji had no intention of engaging the man. He leisurely paced around the room, observing the decor with keen interest.

"You may sit. I came here specifically to find you." The middle-aged man's voice, unreadable in its pleasure or anger, carried a tone of command.

"Say what you have to say."

Fuyuji bent down and picked up a pack of hospitality tea leaves in the reception room, examining it carefully.

"Ayanokouji Kiyotaka." The middle-aged man turned his chair around, propped his fist against his face, and fixed Fuyuji with a sharp, hawk-like gaze. "Have you heard this name?"

"Oh." Fuyuji casually stuffed the tea leaves into his pocket. "That famous star player trained by that idiot institution called the White Room, right?"

"Yes." The middle-aged man didn't deny it. "Since you're clear on it, I'll get straight to the point."

Smack! With a light sound, a photograph was precisely flicked onto the table in front of the sofa.

"Is this you?" Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's father, Ayanokōji Atsuomi, locked his gaze tightly on Fuyuji's face.

Fuyuji lazily glanced at the photo and calmly puffed out his chest. "No..."

"I see. Back then, you were still very thin..."

"Um," Fuyuji's mouth twitched. He grabbed the photo and held it up for comparison. "I said that's not me..."

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's father waved his hand dismissively. "This is you!"

"Sir... uncle? Is there something wrong with your head?" Fuyuji's eyes filled with pity.

"Still pretending. What the White Room taught you isn't meant to be used here." The man chuckled lightly and continued talking to himself.

"Can you not understand human speech?" Fuyuji slapped the photo back onto the table and pointed at it. "How could I possibly be that gloomy guy in the picture?"

"Enough with these useless denials, Kiyotaka. You think that by changing your name and getting plastic surgery, you can escape my control?"

Fuyuji slowly produced a: "?"

"Your enrollment records are entirely fabricated. Not a single person can prove you ever existed. And the timing of your appearance matches perfectly with when and where Ayanokouji Kiyotaka disappeared. You still say you're not Ayanokouji Kiyotaka?"

Fuyuji: "..."

Holy crap. Dog System, running off is one thing, but you actually used fake records to screw me over?!

"I must say, you've exceeded my expectations this time." The man's tone revealed approval. "However, no matter how you disguise yourself, the aura the White Room etched into your bones won't change. Even if you tried your hardest to hide it, that genius-level performance still let me spot you in the vast crowd. Once my son, always my son for life."

"Heh..." As it turned out, when a person is speechless, they really do laugh.

"Now drop your boring acting and come back to the White Room with me. That's where you belong..."

"Damn it! Is every person your son? Why don't you go and claim your American daddy as Ayanokouji Kiyotaka too?" Fuyuji forcibly cut him off. "If you're looking for someone, take a left out the door and go to the police station. If your brain's not working, take a right and check yourself into a mental hospital. And also..."

He spread his hands helplessly. "The one you're looking for is Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. What does that have to do with me, Fuyuji Mikage?"

As if the situation differed somewhat from what he had anticipated, the confident expression on the man's face froze. The imposing aura he had deliberately cultivated gradually dissipated. His composure visibly grew disordered.

"Impossible!" He shot to his feet, both hands slamming heavily onto the table!

Bang!

The force was so great that the teacups on the table were sent flying into the air. Tea splashed out, spreading dark stains across the tabletop.

"If you're not Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, then where did the real Kiyotaka go?!"

"Missing, I guess. Maybe dead." Fuyuji pouted. "Life or death unknown, which most likely means dead. Have you checked the concrete pillars in Tokyo Bay? He might be there."

"Absolutely impossible!" The man's eyes instantly turned bloodshot, disbelief in his voice. "He is the White Room's greatest masterpiece. You must be Ayanokouji Kiyotaka in disguise. This excuse, you must have made it up to deceive me. Kiyotaka, withdraw from school right now and come home with me!"

"Just do a DNA test. Didn't you say he's your son?" Fuyuji said calmly.

"With Kiyotaka's methods, forging DNA isn't impossible. You must have guessed long ago that I would come looking, and prepared an escape plan well in advance. If we do a DNA test, you'll definitely find some way to slip past it!"

"..." Fuyuji's gaze shifted from pity to looking at an incurable idiot.

This guy had probably been unable to find his son and was on the verge of going mad, to be spouting such infantile nonsense.

"Honestly... Advanced Nurturing is getting more and more pathetic, letting a half-crazy lunatic like this in."

Shaking his head helplessly, Fuyuji sighed and turned to walk out of the reception room.

"Wait, Kiyotaka, I'm not finished!"

"Say whatever you want in here for as long as you like." Fuyuji didn't turn his head.

"Who gave you the guts to refuse my order..."

Bang!

Fuyuji slammed the door and left, leaving behind one word.

"Dumbass!"

...

Half an hour later, the sun began to set, sinking toward the sea's horizon. The dim yellow sunlight, like molten gold, slanted through the enormous floor-to-ceiling window of the chairman's office.

"Yes... correct..."

A white-haired, refined, gentle middle-aged man stood respectfully before the floor-to-ceiling window, watching the black sedan carrying Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's father slowly drive away from Advanced Nurturing.

"Ayanokouji... Kiyotaka's father," he bent slightly, listening to the instructions on the other end of the phone, "has already left the school, and his goal was not achieved. Is there anything you need done?"

"No need to bother. Both sides." A faint voice came through.

"Understood."

Sakayanagi Narumori instinctively lowered his head while gazing out the window.

Under the setting sun, the specially modified black sedan drove smoothly out of Advanced Nurturing's stone school gate, moving at a steady speed along the bridge connecting the school to the outside world.

Below the bridge was the glittering sea. A few seagulls circled overhead, letting out cawing cries.

At this moment, the man had recovered from his earlier loss of composure.

He closed his eyes, his chest rising and falling slightly. When he opened them again a moment later, that composed, everything-under-control posture had returned to his face. Only a trace of violent anger lingered in the depths of his eyes.

Calmly, he took out his phone and pressed a speed-dial key.

"Hello, Tsukishiro..."

"You're coming back? That child... have you dealt with him?"

"Of course." The man sat in the back seat of the sedan and coldly issued his order. "Proceed with the original plan. Expel him, then bring him back."

"Understood." The other side tactfully hung up.

Putting the phone back in his pocket, the man closed his eyes in thought once more, a contemptuous smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

Did it matter whether the other party was Ayanokouji Kiyotaka?

If it was Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, best. If not, it didn't matter either.

No identity, no background, appearing at the same time Ayanokouji Kiyotaka disappeared. Judging by the potential he'd shown so far, as long as he was expelled and brought back to the White Room, and the two sets of records were merged...

If he wasn't, he would be! I say he is, so he is!

The same effect could be achieved either way. And all that would be sacrificed was a mere nobody from who-knows-where...

Screech!

The sharp sound of tires scraping against the road suddenly rang out, accompanied by the screech of twisting metal and a dull, heavy crash. Before the man could even register what had happened, a tremendous force violently flung him to one side. The side of the car scraped fiercely against the guardrail, sending out blinding sparks!

The entire sedan instantly lost balance and flipped over violently, rotating one hundred and eighty degrees.

The next second, with a loud bang, the car slammed heavily onto the ground. The sturdy body was severely deformed. The windows shattered like exploding ice flowers, scattering across the entire road. Dark red blood wound its way out along the edges of the shattered windows.

In the distance, atop the roof of Advanced Nurturing's administration building.

The biting cold wind howled across the empty rooftop platform. Fuyuji stood there quietly, gazing at everything happening in the distance.

"Didn't manage a one-hit kill..." He shook his head regretfully and sighed. "Sure enough, it's hard to control at this distance. I was originally thinking of being kind and sending you to see the son you've been longing for."

If the time and distance gap were too close, even if it looked like an accident, if this kind of thing happened too many times in the future, there would still be suspicion.

"Next time. Next time I see you, I'll definitely send you to see your son. No need to thank me."

With that, Fuyuji turned around decisively and quickly pulled out his phone, dialing a number in a few seconds.

"Hello, hello, dear girlfriend, where are you now?"

"Huh? Why are you at the pet store again?"

"A turtle? Or maybe a pleco. That one might live longer under your care."

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50 [Power Stones] = Bonus Chapter!