Sneaking into Honnouji Academy was no easy task for an average human. For a Grand Couturier, however, it was about as easy as finding a nexus thread in one of Satsuki's shoddily made Goku uniforms. And boy, were there a lot of them around.

"You, I don't remember your face," called out some random one-star nobody. "State your name and position."

"My name is Shinjiro Nagita! I'm a full-time member of the newspaper club. Would you like a copy?"

From his coat, he pulled out a newspaper.

"N-no thanks. Carry on."

"Are you sure? It's fresh! You won't get better news anywhere other than the Honnou Tribune. That I can assure you!"

As the one-star scurried off, the student known as "Shinjiro" allowed his face to relax into a somewhat laid-back smile. It was always a hassle dealing with these one-star idiots. Even so, the opportunity to test whether or not his disguise could convince anyone was always a welcome one.

Nothing was impossible for the Grand Couturier, but playing as the opposite gender did have its drawbacks (the girls who frequent the bathroom could attest to that). Oh, but the perks far outweighed the cons. And being a member of the Newspaper Club put him in a favorable position for gathering information that might've otherwise gone under the radar—what with Satsuki's lackluster reports.

Now then, what scoops were there for Shinjiro Nagita to capture?

"Did you hear?" whispered one of the students. "About that guy in Mr. Mikisugi's class."

"You mean that recent transfer?" replied the other student. "The one who's been stirring up all that trouble as of late?"

"Yeah, that one. I hear he's making a club."

"Seriously? I can't imagine what kind of club that'd be. But even more so, did Lady Satsuki even allow it?"

As the students conversed, Shinjiro leaned in right between them. He didn't need to. He could hear their whispers from all the way on the other side of the academy if he so wanted. But the reactions they'd make when he made his presence known would be funny.

"Excuse me."

The two students jumped.

"You were talking about something interesting just now. As a member of the Newspaper Club, it is my job to gather reports on interesting things. You mentioned a troublemaker, right?"

"Yeah. You said you were a member of the newspaper club, right? Your guys published a story all about it yesterday."

"Ah, of course. Sorry, but I have a lot of things going on in my mind right now. Would you two please care to jog my memory?"

The two students nodded and described the contents of the article. It was a back page sort of story. It didn't provide the name of the person or go too into detail about what exactly happened, according to them. All that was made public was the seemingly sudden enmity between Satsuki Kiryuin's regime and this out-of-nowhere transfer student. The witnesses to the incident were quite tight-lipped also—as if they were being threatened into an oath of silence. Knowing Satsuki, that kind of censorship was to be expected.

However, the more he failed to learn about this story in detail, the further Shinjiro's interest grew. Because he didn't have a name, the most logical solution was to visit the subject's classroom. Upon entering, he saw a room that wasn't quite how he pictured a normal classroom would be like.

All the chairs were scattered away from a single desk that sat in the back near the windows. From the corner of his eye, he could spot several students having their lunch near the wall.

"Excuse me," Shinjiro greeted. "My name is Shinjiro Nagita. I'm with the newspaper club. I would like to ask you three some questions pertaining to that desk over there." He pointed to the empty desk sitting near the windows.

The three students looked at each other, then at the desk, and then back at each other, and finally at Shinjiro. One of them then spoke.

"Oh—that." The student held a dejected expression. "What do you want to know?"

Throughout the interview, the students described their encounter with the man called Kumagawa Misogi. Suffice to say, it was not a positive one.

"Long story short," one of the students finished, "that guy's bad news. He rarely shows up for class, and when he does, no one feels comfortable. Even our ol' homeroom teacher, Mr. Mikisugi, has a hard time teaching while he's in the room."

"And all he does all day is read manga. He's a bigger slacker than that coconut head he hangs around with."

"A friend of his?" Shinjiro feigned writing into his notepad.

"Hm? Ah, yes, the Mankansho-whatever chick. She's the only one that's like somehow able to put up with him. Guess birds of a feather flock together, eh? Anyway, if you're looking for him, I'd kindly suggest you don't. Guy's bad news. I still feel the wounds from when he first came in."

"Wounds?"

"Uh, it's something stupid. When he first came in, we all felt like we get stabbed by something. I personally felt like I died. But that's obviously not the case, considering we're still alive and all."

"…yes, that is true. You're all very much alive. Thank you."

As Shinjiro left the classroom, he couldn't help but catch the backtalk of the students.

"What a weirdo."

"There seem to be plenty of those lately."

However, the insults were but an afterthought to his current focus. Uncovering the secrets of the one known as Kumagawa Misogi was paramount to Shinjiro, the journalist. To Nui Harime, on the other hand, it was just a way to kill time—and to kill him, if he turned out to be yet another boring human.

Rei Hououmura knew better than to waste Lady Ragyo's time. Unlike Nui, who was a master of chaos, Rei possessed the kind of analytical, organized mind that made her perfect for the role of a personal secretary. In fact, it was this exact kind of mind that was able to induce Satsuki's motives for summoning the Grand Couturier to Honnou—far-fetched as they may seem.

"You say that my daughter is having problems with someone?"

"Yes, ma'am." Rei took a knee and bowed. "Whoever this person or group is, they're enough of a threat to inspire such desperate measures."

Ragyo stood up and looked out the window, where Honnou was in full-view. She was rarely the kind of person to think much about the activities of her subordinates. That's what she had Rei for, after all.

It was this willingness to indulge her subordinates that let her give Nui leave from her missions. Her cute step-daughter would enjoy spending quality time with her step-sister, after all.

But if it turned out that her daughter was hiding something from her, well…

"Continue to monitor the situation. And get me the names of these rebels. If they turn out to just be yet more Nudist Beach rats, have Nui exterminate them with extreme prejudice."

Rei bowed her head. "By your will, ma'am."

Rei recalled the two articles that were posted by the Honnou Tribune. The one about the attack during Satsuki's return and the incident that took place in the slums. Neither of them had names or details about the culprit. They heavily censored all of that information.

If that was Satsuki's doing, on its face, it would make sense. But when she thought about it more deeply, it didn't make any sense at all. Why would she not want the academy to know about these events in detail, such that she may mobilize her clubs to assault these interlopers?

Something didn't feel right. Rei could feel it in her gut. There was something wrong with this whole setup.

As she made her way through the corridor, the thought struck her.

Sending Nui to Honnou might've been a massive mistake.

"Hello, are you the one they call 'Mankansho-whatever'?"

Shinjiro leaned over Mako.

"No, I don't know someone like that? But you can call me Mankanshoku Mako, Mister…?"

"Nagita. Shinjiro Nagita. I assume you come here alone to eat."

"Eh? Ah, yeah. What else is there to do in a library? Croquette?"

As Mako offered Shinjiro a bite, the latter swiftly shook his head. "No, thank you." He then sat down. "So you don't have any friends to hang out with? That's sad."

"Yeah, it is. Wait, no! I do have one friend. But he hasn't come here a lot lately. He's gotten busy with his club. Of which I'm a part of. What was it called again?" Mako put her hand on her chin and got the gears in her noggin whirling. "Aha! The Going Home Club. He's club president, and I'm the vice-president—I think. We never really decided on club positions. Well, since we aren't official yet, I-"

"I'll have to stop you there. First, let me formally introduce myself. I'm a member of the newspaper club, and I'm currently doing an exclusive scoop. This friend of yours. Is his name Kumagawa Misogi, by any chance?"

"Yeah. He's a no-star like me."

The three students weren't joking about this one's eccentricity. She put the character of Shinjiro Nagita to shame with her antics.

"The time for autographs is not yet upon us. But fret not! I have come here to request a personal interview with your club president. If you would be so inclined as to lead me to him."

"Really!? I mean, Kumagawa's really busy right now, so I don't know."

"Please." Shinjiro grabbed the other's hand. "I implore you. It is of vital importance I conduct this interview. My job is on the line. If I don't make this interview, my whole family may end up on the streets!"

For a full minute, Mako stared up at the ceiling and put serious thought into Shinjiro's request.

"Okay," she finally said. "I'll text him and let him know you're coming. He should be staying on the fifth floor of the club building if I'm not mistaken." Mako fiddled with her pocket for a few seconds before saying, "Aha! I forgot I don't have a phone. But no worries, I'll lead you straight to him. Follow me."

Too easy, he thought. They say you could tell a lot about a man by the company he keeps. Shinjiro felt no pressure from Mako whatsoever, so how big of a deal could this friend of hers be?

What a serious disappointment this was turning into. Shinjiro continued following Mako to their destination, the other ignorant as to the malicious smile forming across his face. If it turned out she wasted her time, Nui might just have to erase both the coconut head and this newly minted club president big shot in one fell swoop.

Tsumugu Kinagase was not a man who very much enjoyed being the spectator to a disaster. If anything, he'd rather be in the middle of one if that meant having a chance to stop it dead in its tracks.

Every day on this hellish island was a disaster waiting to happen. Such was the machinations of its owner and her beneficiaries. He knew this information very well, as protecting humanity from the tyranny of REVOCS was a lifelong goal of his. But now, a new kind of wicked ended up crawling into this island, and this whole place would be host to a war between an old evil and a new one.

That's at least one of the narratives he had cooked up in his head as he was loading his pistol and arming himself for the battle to come.

According to Aikuro, Ragyo's little psychotic helper was about to pay everyone a visit. That didn't change the fact that Kumagawa Misogi could've been said helper or, in the very least, allied with her.

Tsumugu Kinagase was not a man who very much enjoyed uncertainty in the midst of a disaster. He very much liked to be in the know of what was coming, even if it wasn't good.

Unlike his friend, Tsumugu couldn't leave anything up to chance. This Kumagawa, grand couturier or not, would need to be expunged if there was any hope for Nudist Beach. There couldn't be any room for hesitation—not with humanity's fate on the line.

Then he thought more deeply about those two and the possibility of them being separate individuals. If that's the case, then God forbid they meet. And if they did, and they just so happened to team up, then…

Tsumugu momentarily shuddered.

It would be like a match made in Hell.

"Mr. Kumagawa. Mr. Kumagawa. I have a friend here who wants to see you."

Shinjiro waited patiently as Mako knocked on the door rather loudly.

"He says he's a journalist who wants to talk to you. Something about a big scoop and his family becoming homeless."

There was silence for a brief moment before…

"『You may enter.』"

Shinjiro's ears perked up at the sound of the other's voice. Mako opened the door. As she did, Shinjiro peeked in and scanned the entirety of the room and its contents.

The first thing he noticed was that It was chock-full of origami pieces lying on shelves and desks. At the back of the room, a young blue-eyed man sat at an office desk. In his hands was a piece of paper, in which he was attempting to make another origami—and poorly, in that regard. The origami pieces on his desk couldn't even hope to match the quality of the others.

As soon as his eyes made contact with Shinjiro's, the young man casually tore the origami attempt in his hands in half and made his way over to the other student. After a few seconds of eying him, the young man spoke.

"『You must be the journalist Mako told me about. Come, have a seat. I would offer tea, but there is none. Don't mind the origami. Here, let me slide that off. Please.』"

Those three weren't kidding about his eccentricity. However, barring the sudden destruction of his origami, he seemed just about as tame as his friend.

Nodding, Shinjiro took a seat.

Sitting at the chair opposite to him, Kumagawa crossed his legs and politely asked, "『So, what do you got for me?』"

Clearing his throat, Shinjiro began. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Kumagawa. I am Shinjiro Nagita with the newspaper club. I just wanted to ask you a few questions about your personal life and your time at this academy."

"『Ah. Let me begin. I'm 17 years old. I'm a Capricorn. My political stances are varied. I'm a Scorpio. My two favorite things are the weekly shounen jump and reading the weekly shounen jump.』"

"I-I see." Shinjiro stared at his mostly empty notepad. "Is it true that you made quite a ruckus at this academy on your first day? According to the rest of the students, you're on Lady Satsuki's to-expel list. Is that true?"

Putting a hand to his chin, Kumagawa stared up at the ceiling and replied with, "『I don't understand what the big deal is? All I did was ask her some harmless questions, and she just had to get all uppity. Even went so far as to send her goons after me.』"

"Wait, you mean you faced students wearing Goku uniforms?"

"『Oh, is that what they call them? A bit of a stretch, if you ask me. But yeah. They're all quite a handful.』"

"You'll have to forgive me, but somehow, I have a hard time believing that."

"『Eh?』"

"Goku uniforms enhance a human's physical abilities tremendously. And you don't seem to be wearing one, so I don't understand how you could've fought them off without sustaining so much as a scratch."

True, there were humans who were exceptionally good at fighting those enhanced with life fibers, but this one was just a student. What exactly could he do to rebel against the strength endowed to those who yield themselves to life fibers?

"『You're free to believe me or not, but it's not something I really feel like explaining right now.』"

For whatever reason, this roundabout answer irked Shinjiro. Kumagawa continued.

"『I'm fairly infamous around these parts. For a journalist, you seem fairly out of the loop.』"

"Yes, that's true. That's because I had to take a vacation for a few days before coming back. I only got so much time to prep myself before getting this assignment. You'll have to forgive me."

"『I see, I see…』"

Kumagawa's smile relaxed somewhat. Shinjiro noted how persistent it was as if affixed to his face like an ornament.

He could relate. After all, frowning all the time would only produce wrinkles.

"『Then I have one other question.』"

As Kumagawa leaned in, Shinjiro did the same.

"『I destroyed the newspaper club yesterday, so who are you really?』"