A Moment Of Serenity

. . .

"Sighting's of what could possibly be the last human male in existence has been spotted leaving Gehenna University Campus. Valkyrie police has brought the young man into custody; GSC is now acting on the matter as we speak..."

The chairwoman of the prefect team stared at the recorded video with a surprised look on her face. The fact that a man was on school grounds right underneath her nose and had managed to slip past her undetected was shocking to say the least.

Yet, it still didn't excuse the fact that there had been a male right here on campus. With a shaky breath, she noticed Iori's odd behavior the moment she saw the video, narrowing her eyes at the assault captain. She turned on her seat and questioned the latter: "Iori... Did you know anything about this matter?"

She was met with an immediate denial that she had seen any guy on campus, but didn't buy it for a second. Iori was acting rather suspicious, even for someone who was usually composed half the time.

And now that she thought about it, there was that one guest they had when Iori had mistaken them to be an accomplice of the masked swimsuit gang. At the time, she had just assumed they were an innocent bystander caught up in the wrong crowd, yet now she realized that person had been wearing a mask. How naive she had been not to see the signs sooner...

With a frustrated sigh, she rubbed at her temples, her shoulders slumping as she leaned slightly in her seat. She blew a strand of hair from her eye, thinking that if Iori had already met him, then other students had as well. This made her feel a bit left out.

She turned to her second in command and secretary, Amau Ako. "Ako... Run me a quick analysis of every student on campus and who had interacted with him for the past couple of months."

Her orders were direct and straight to the point. While waiting for the results, she raised her coffee to her lips, her mouth barely touching the rim before she abruptly sputtered out in surprise at the names mentioned.

"Th-Three...!?" While the number wasn't large, it was the fact that three students had already met this guy within just a few months—even that girl from the Pandemonium Society. To think she had been left out for this long, especially since she had only returned today from personal business, just a week after the announcement was made.

She needed to see him herself. Sorasaki Hina needed to understand what made him so special and why so many people were infatuated with him.

"Ako... Send an invitation to him and have him meet me at my office tomorrow at noon. I wish to speak with him..."

. . .

Tomorrow At Noon

Adjusting the stacks of finished papers on her desk, Hina thought about how the Pandemonium Society—moreover, Makoto—had been making her work her ass off all night with useless papers: approval for a "Makoto Pride Day," a "Gift Makoto Something Special Day"—it was absurd.

She was well aware the society's president was only trying to push her over the edge. Instead of retaliating, Hina had accepted the endless workload with a tired and reluctant sigh. Her purple eye shifted to the clock on the wall, watching the hands move second by second.

"Just a few hours... I'll finish the rest of these reports and... have that talk with him..."

Her eyelids had begun to feel heavy as exhaustion caught up with her. She'd been working since 10am that morning, and despite breaks, nothing quelled her need for sleep. Her head lulled forward as she fell into a deep slumber.

"Mmh... Mmm! Five more... five more minutes Ako..." she murmured, feeling someone poke her cheek. Her expression turned to one of annoyance and hesitation as her eyelids fluttered open. Her vision was blurry at first, but when she came to her senses, she saw not Ako but—

"...!? Y-You?! I uhh-!" She quickly sat up, fixing her hair and peeling the piece of paper stuck to her cheek. She adjusted her uniform, hiding her flustered look by turning her head away.

"When did... when did you get here? And why did...- Oh..." Staring at the clock, she noticed two hours had passed. Had it really been that long when it felt like she'd just fallen asleep a minute ago? Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she gestured for him to sit down.

"Please sit... I apologize for making you see me in such an unprofessional state. I'm usually more prepared than this..."