The classroom was louder than usual after lunch.
Mr. Tsuda stood at the front with his usual bored expression and a pile of paper in one hand. "Alright, listen up. Your project sections are due by Friday. But to make sure you're actually working together—" He dropped the papers dramatically on his desk. "—I'm assigning pairs for the joint analysis component. Two students, one section. You'll co-write it, co-present it, and yes, co-suffer through it."
A collective groan rippled across the room.
Keon felt a chill run down his spine.
He already knew. He knew what was coming.
"Keon and Fuyu."
Called it.
"Daiki and Kira."
The disaster duo. Great.
"Hina and Reina."
The air shifted.
Keon slowly turned his head. Reina looked like she'd just been slapped with a fish. Hina froze with her pen halfway to her notebook.
Even Mr. Tsuda paused for dramatic effect, scanning the room like he wanted the chaos. "Got a problem? Too bad. Grow up."
After class, the group gathered at their usual table in the library. The energy was weird.
Kira was whistling. Daiki was eating chips.
Fuyu was flipping through the rubric like it personally offended him.
Reina sat at the far end of the table, legs crossed, arms folded, and absolutely not looking at Hina.
Hina sat across from her, tapping her pen nervously, not looking at her either.
Keon tried to pretend this was fine. "So… the joint analysis section is on population flow and infrastructure. You two should—"
"I know what it's about," Reina snapped. She didn't raise her voice, but it sliced cleanly through the space.
Hina said nothing.
Reina stood. "We'll work in the empty conference room. I'm not doing this out here like it's amateur hour."
She didn't wait. Just turned and walked off.
Hina stood up slowly, collecting her things.
"Hey," Keon said gently.
She paused.
"You okay?"
Hina glanced at him. "I'm not afraid of her," she said quietly.
Then she left, following Reina into the smaller room near the back of the library.
Ten minutes passed.
Then twenty.
Then thirty.
No shouting.
No crashing.
No dramatic exits.
Keon resisted the urge to press his ear against the glass.
Kira leaned across the table. "What do you think they're doing? Silent eye combat?"
Daiki grinned. "Reina's probably trying to murder her with passive-aggression. That or she's having a breakdown."
Fuyu didn't look up. "Either way, it's progress."
Inside the room…
It was cold. Not physically, but emotionally. Like someone had turned the temperature down to awkward.
Reina sat stiffly, scrolling through her laptop. "I already drafted the first two paragraphs. If you must contribute, don't touch my formatting."
Hina looked at the screen, then calmly opened her notebook. "Your second argument is weak. It contradicts the data in the appendix."
Reina blinked.
Then narrowed her eyes. "Excuse me?"
"You're arguing that infrastructure fails because of population surges," Hina said evenly, "but the chart shows the system failing before the surge. So the cause might be mismanagement, not numbers."
Reina stared at her for a long moment.
Then clicked her tongue and turned back to the screen. "Fine. Fix it."
Silence again. This time… less frozen.
Fifteen more minutes passed.
Reina sighed.
Hina glanced up. "What?"
Reina looked tired. Not angry. Just… exhausted.
"Why do you always look like you're scared of everything?" Reina asked suddenly.
Hina's pen stopped moving.
"I'm not trying to insult you," Reina added quickly. "I just don't get it. You're not dumb. You're better at this than half the class. So why do you act like you're not even here?"
Hina looked down for a moment. Then said quietly, "Because people like you always notice me last. Or worst."
Reina flinched.
Hina met her eyes. "You only looked at me when I was a threat."
"…And now?"
"I'm still a threat. Just quieter."
Reina stared. Then—against all logic—she laughed. It was short, surprised, and real.
"This is the worst partnership," she muttered.
Hina smirked faintly. "You're the worst partner."
"…Touché."
Outside the room…
Keon blinked as Reina and Hina re-emerged together.
Alive.
Not bleeding.
Reina dropped a USB drive on the table. "Joint draft's done. Needs formatting."
Hina sat down beside Keon without a word.
Reina didn't look at him.
But for the first time, she didn't look at Hina like she hated her either.
Keon glanced at Nova, who watched the two girls like a sniper waiting for orders.
He held up a hand. "Still no need to eliminate anyone."
Nova slowly lowered her phone. "…For now."