I didn't sleep that night.
I reread my notes, compared data, replayed everything I knew in my head. But one feeling remained: something was missing. Or someone.
The next morning, a new supervisor walked into our class.
Not the one we were used to. A young man in glasses, with an emotionless face.
"From now on, I'll be temporarily supervising Class 2-D," he said. "Your previous supervisor has been reassigned."
No one asked questions.
But I saw it — Aoi tensed. Tokizawa looked away.
Something had happened.
After class, Kise — the quiet one from my test team — stopped me.
"Takumi," he began hesitantly, "do you trust Aoi?"
"What about her?"
He hesitated, then exhaled:
"I think she's… manipulating more than just us. I think she's working with someone above."
I didn't answer. Just nodded.
But the doubt stuck with me.
Aoi always acted with grace. As if she knew the moves in advance. But was it all just a game?
That afternoon, a new message appeared in the system:
> "One student from Class 2-D will be temporarily suspended from classes.
Reason: interference with restricted data."
No name was mentioned.
Shock.
Whispers.
"Who?"
"Maybe Reiji?"
"Or… Aoi?"
I opened the list — and froze.
Yuki Kise.
I sat in silence when Aoi approached me.
"Don't ask," she said. "Just remember — every step deeper comes with a price."
I looked at her.
"You framed him?"
She didn't reply.
But the answer was already inside me.
I walked out of class.
The world outside was the same — blue sky, light breeze.
But something inside me had cracked.
Kise tried to warn me.
Now he was gone.
I wrote in my notebook:
"The parameter isn't just a score. It's a tool of control.
But who's holding the levers?"
The answer was closer than it seemed.
But before I could make my next move — someone else made theirs.
And someone fell.