In Yoru's apartment living room.
"Hu... hu... hu..."
Wearing a sweat-wicking workout shirt, shorts, and shock-absorbing running shoes, Yoru collapsed breathlessly onto a yoga mat after finishing a set of mountain climbers.
"Meow meow~"
The fat cat San-san stared at him curiously with large amber eyes and walked over.
"I'll feed you in a bit. Don't be so impatient," Yoru said with a chuckle as he stroked the cat that had come over on its own.
San-san immediately showed an expression of enjoyment, squinting its eyes, stretching its body with its back arched.
Yesterday afternoon, after Gabriel left, Yoru remembered feeding San-san a bit of fish.
This chubby gluttonous cat no longer seemed afraid of him. It acted very friendly and even initiated contact.
Maybe it was tempted by food?
Yoru withdrew his hand and muttered to himself as he climbed up from the floor.
Seeing it wasn't too late and that Gabriel hadn't come to find him, he decided to do one more set of planks.
For someone with his body weight, the most important thing was to control his diet and avoid high-impact aerobic exercise.
Being so heavy, running and jumping rope were hard on the knees and could cause permanent, irreversible damage.
Actually, Yoru wasn't lacking in weight loss experience—he had lost weight several times before.
His most successful attempt saw him lose over 20 kilograms. But even then, he was still considered fat.
No matter how hard he tried after that, he couldn't lose more.
That feeling of going to bed hungry every night was too unbearable. Eventually, he gave up and gained it all back.
He forced himself to hold a plank for two minutes before collapsing to the floor again. After resting for a while, he got up and tidied up.
His weight loss plan was strict. Full dietary control. Thirty minutes of cardio in the morning, an hour of cardio and strength training in the evening.
Strength training was essential. If someone like him lost weight without building muscle, the loose skin would end up sagging horribly.
After finishing his morning workout, Yoru showered and made himself breakfast.
A bowl of high-fiber oatmeal, low-fat milk, one egg, and some fresh fruit.
After eating, he gave San-san a bit of chicken breast and gave the round cat a thorough petting before heading out.
He planned to take San-san to a pet clinic for vaccinations and deworming later if he had time.
After checking that the door was locked, Yoru knocked on Gabriel's door so they could head to school together.
Since their place was close to school—just two train stations away—they weren't in a rush.
"Such nice weather..."
On the train, Gabriel looked through the carriage window, feeling the warm sunlight on her body.
Yoru sat nearby, two fist-widths away from her, browsing Shuchiin Academy's campus network on his phone.
"I got placed in second-year Class C. And the homeroom teacher is Hiratsuka-sensei?" Yoru was a little surprised and secretly pleased.
He resented the unknown culprit, Utaha, Kaguya, and Kirisu so much that he was all the more grateful to Hiratsuka.
Hiratsuka had not only stopped Kirisu from calling the police, but also spoke up for him in the principal's office.
Yoru was someone who remembered kindness.
He would never forget Hiratsuka's help and would find a way to repay her.
He wondered to himself—what might she need or want?
"Gabriel, you're in first-year Class A."
Snapping back to the present, Yoru turned to Gabriel.
"Thanks."
Gabriel nodded and thought curiously, 'Class A, huh? I wonder what human schools are like~'
The next second.
This angel, top of her class from the Angel School, sensed that Yoru's mood had suddenly dropped to rock bottom.
She turned her head and saw Yoru staring at his phone, brows deeply furrowed, his legs twitching with agitation.
'Damn it. Damn it all!'
Yoru's good mood for the day was ruined.
Just as he expected, the school forum was full of comments under multiple posts accusing him of stealing Kasumigaoka's stockings and panties.
"Um... Kitakami-kun, what's wrong? Did something happen?" Gabriel asked gently.
Hearing that, Yoru looked at the cute girl beside him, hesitating slightly.
If he told her, would she hate him—this friend he had finally made?
"During the spring trip a few days ago, I was falsely accused of stealing a girl's stockings and panties. They had no evidence, but no one believed me!"
"Now everyone at school is saying I'm the culprit!"
Clenching his teeth, Yoru decided to tell Gabriel while watching her reaction carefully.
He hadn't planned to lie. Gabriel would find out sooner or later—it wasn't something he could hide.
"Are you the culprit?" Gabriel stretched lazily.
"No!" Yoru said firmly, recalling the faces of several girls who had shown him thinly veiled disgust.
"Then what's the problem?" Gabriel yawned casually.
As an angel capable of destroying the world if she wanted, discerning whether someone was telling the truth was simple for her.
"But..."
Yoru was a bit touched but then changed the subject.
"Gabriel, at school just pretend you don't know me, okay? Otherwise, you'll get dragged into this."
"Huh? It's fine, I don't mind," Gabriel waved it off like it was nothing, thinking humans could be such a pain sometimes.
"..."
Yoru didn't know what to say.
Just then, the train arrived. The two got off together.
Shuchiin was only a street away from the station.
Most of the people on the street were students from Shuchiin and nearby schools, plus a few passersby.
After a few minutes, they reached the high school division of Shuchiin.
Different years had separate buildings. Yoru naturally parted ways with Gabriel to go report to his class.
He tried to avoid people as much as possible.
But no matter what, he couldn't avoid being seen.
Everyone already knew.
Almost every person who passed him stared hard, and once he walked away, whispers and gossip began.
Arriving at Class 2-C's door, Yoru peeked inside and saw no students.
Only Shizuka Hiratsuka was there, in a lab coat, smoking by the window.
After checking in and collecting books, students were free to go. No one stayed in class until the opening ceremony.
Knock knock
Yoru knocked on the door and walked in nervously.
"Oh, it's you?" Hiratsuka turned, saw him, put out her cigarette, and returned to the podium.
"Sensei, thank you for what you did before. I really appreciate it." Yoru bowed sincerely.
"Mm. Well, I'm your homeroom teacher this year. If you want to thank me, behave yourself and study hard so the school won't expel you," Hiratsuka said nonchalantly.
"Got it, Sensei."
Yoru nodded blankly, taking in the mature, intellectual beauty known for being tough on students.
Then he quickly filled out his personal details—name, height, weight—for the custom school uniform.
Tuition had already been wired directly to the school's account.
With time to spare before the opening ceremony, Yoru didn't want to stay in the classroom and left.
Coincidentally, Eriri was in Class 2-B.
Their classrooms were on the same floor—right next door.