There were some situations that once encountered, one could not help but constantly think about them, unable to stop. After the encounter with the great hiba arborvitae tree and the incredibly magical change in attitude, Kanon fell into contemplation. Although she didn't fully understand the power within her, her intuition told her that it was closely related to every event she had experienced. That hiba arborvitae tree was the key point repeatedly mentioned in the final part of the anime when Nokoru had to confront the destructive schemes of Idomu, his childhood friend whom Nokoru had no recollection of.

Although Yudaiji Idomu did exist in this world, everything related to him seemed utterly illogical. How could someone like Imonoyama Nokoru forget such a joyful and precious time with his friend? What exactly had happened? Could it be that using the fact that Idomu was not a character in the main storyline as a reason?

With these thoughts, her mind exhausted, Kanon slumped onto the desk, exhaling heavily. Writing ten volumes of a story would be less tiring than trying to connect the illogical elements in this narrative.

Noticing Kanon's unusual emotions since leaving that area, Seiji took the initiative to ask,

"Is something wrong?"

"Oh, it's nothing... I'm just trying to connect some things together, but the more I think, the more it feels like a dead end. By the way, do you know anyone who is good with computer technology, senpai? I need to look up some things."

Before Seiji could speak, Setsu beside him burst into laughter.

"Ha ha ha, don't you know that my cousin has a hobby of researching computers and high-tech gadgets? Whenever he has some free time, he locks himself in a room, disassembling and reassembling things. If someone didn't know, they would think he's a neet."

"Hehhh? Is that true? Why didn't you say earlier?"

Kanon was amazed. Seiji was truly a genius, capable of anything, but this would be so convenient for her.

"It's nothing, just a little hobby when I have free time," Seiji modestly replied, causing Setsu to pout beside him.

So Kanon asked Seiji to set up a firewall for her computer and another firewall for her email account, but it didn't need to be too difficult to break, just enough for her to know if there was an intrusion. At the same time, they investigated whether there had been any previous intrusions. Kanon suspected that the Kindergarten cultural fair incident was not as simple as it seemed. According to Seiji, the electronic network and internet of Clamp School were completely independent and separate from the outside. So even if a hacker was skilled, they would have to operate within the Clamp network, otherwise, it would be like two parallel lines that could never intersect, let alone infiltrate. Kanon furrowed her brows, that's right, otherwise a computer genius like Yudaiji Idomu wouldn't bother going all the way to Clamp for revenge. But it would still be a while before he appeared. Kanon furrowed her brows even tighter, thinking that there might be another possibility.

"Senpai, if one person is inside Clamp and another person is outside Clamp, can they cooperate to infiltrate?"

Seiji pondered for a while before responding,

"It's not impossible, although it's very difficult. It depends a lot on the hacker's skills. If someone inside connects the network with an outside hacker, it's highly possible, but the network security of Clamp School is extremely strict, so it won't be easy to bypass."

Kanon laughed, thinking that it might be possible. In this world, what was not lacking were geniuses. While she was contemplating, she heard Seiji hesitantly ask,

"If you have such doubts, why not talk to Imonoyama Kaichou? I believe that with his abilities, he can investigate it immediately."

Seiji waited for a moment but didn't receive a response from Kanon. Instead, he heard a soft sigh and turned to look at her suspiciously, only to find her looking at him with a strange smile before saying,

"Do you think someone like Imonoyama Nokoru would overlook such a serious matter?"

"You mean... he knew? But why is there no action? At first glance, it seems like he doesn't care about this anymore."

"Who knows, if I understood his twisted mind, I would be twisted too."

Kanon sighed at the question from her bodyguard. Sometimes, simple and understandable things become complicated when explaining them to others.

Imonoyama Nokoru didn't just suddenly disappear for a week because he was embarrassed about not keeping his word. That would never happen. There was only one answer: Nokoru knew that she, more than anyone else, was aware that the warning information had been delivered right to the university's doorstep. Yet, despite the precautions, something bad still happened, indicating the presence of a saboteur certainly. If she delved deeper into investigating the cause, Nokoru feared that everyone would worry. Suoh, who was already concerned about Nagisa, would have even more to worry about. Akira and Utako were in the process of getting to know each other, and Nokoru was afraid that she would be in danger. The more she knew, the worse it would be. Everyone understood this principle. Nokoru's avoidance was just a diversion tactic, to ensure that no one, including her, would pay any further attention to this unfortunate incident.

Kanon returned to the Student Council room at the end of the day. Suoh and Akira were probably out delivering documents, so only the handsome and elegant Student Council President remained, suffering and frowning while holding a pile of neglected high-priority files, reading and stamping them at the same time.

"Kaichou! You are really hardworking today." Kanon greeted.

Kanon swore that she had no intention of mocking someone else's pain like she was doing now. Really.

Seeing Kanon enter the room, Nokoru didn't stop his hands, but he raised his head, wearing a distressed expression, and whispered,

"Is that you, Kanon-chan?"

Kanon was certain that Nokoru must have felt a great sense of guilt to be able to sit calmly without Suoh being present like that. She returned to her desk and prepared some documents for the next day, then opened her bag to take out a box of chestnut candies that her mother, Mrs. Hanazaki, had made the day before. Kanon stood up and went to make tea. Kanon's tea-making skills were quite good, although not as exquisite as Akira's, it was enough to make the person drinking it feel refreshed. Kanon brewed enough for four people, poured a cup, added a few candies to a plate, and placed it on a tray to bring it to Nokoru.

"Kaichou, take a break for a moment and enjoy the sweet candy. My mother specially made them from chestnuts last time," Kanon said.

Nokoru looked at the tray of tea and candies that Kanon brought up, his eyes welled up with tears. He was deeply touched by her words and immediately put aside his stamp, taking a candy and putting it in his mouth. The sweet taste of the candy and the fragrant aroma of the chestnuts blended harmoniously, making Nokoru's mood become extremely relaxed. He praised,

"Mrs. Hanazaki is truly amazing. Akira always talks about coming to your house to learn some dessert recipes from your mother."

"Haha, there's nothing in our house except for desserts. My mother's passion is spoiling me," Kanon replied.

While speaking, Kanon turned back to the tea table, placed the box of candies on it, poured herself a cup of tea, took a few candies, and casually covered the heat-preserving lid to keep the tea warm. But she didn't immediately return to her own desk. She stood there, watching Nokoru chewing the candy and reading the documents. It was hard to imagine a 12-year-old boy, who was playful and had a wrinkled face when working, could have such bright eyes when eating delicious candy, and yet had to face so many things alone just to protect his friends. Kanon sighed silently, it was indeed a fate.

Kanon stood there until Nokoru looked up and their eyes met. He was surprised for a moment. Today, Kanon's behavior seemed a bit unusual. Thinking so, he smiled gently and asked her,

"Is there something, Kanon-chan? You seem like you want to say something."

"There's nothing, please continue your work," Kanon replied.

Kanon decided to remain silent, as it was not her concern. She had a lot of work to do. She lifted her tea cup and took a sip before returning to her desk. She opened her computer, not to work for the student council, but for her personal projects. There had been a backlog of documents on the president's desk for a week, so except for him, no one seems to be busy. Kanon had already completed her tasks for the day since morning, and now she was just waiting for the president to finish reviewing and stamping them so she could deliver them.

Lately, creative ideas had been flooding Kanon's mind. She didn't want to miss out on any of them, so she made use of every available time to jot them down, even outlining entire plots and storylines. She didn't intend to become so busy, but she had never felt such a strong desire to dedicate herself wholeheartedly to something she loved, not to mention the nagging feeling that if she missed this opportunity, there might not be another one.

Kanon quickly finished the last chapter of "The Red-Haired Princess," an idea she had come up with the previous week. Tomorrow morning, she had to meet with Manami to discuss the illustrations, and then meet with the editor from the literary magazine to design the book. Perhaps due to her intense focus, Kanon was unaware that someone was approaching her.

After finishing his candy and tea, Nokoru didn't immediately return to work. Since Suoh hadn't come back yet, he stood up and stretched, his eyes involuntarily glancing at Kanon's desk. Kanon's desk was placed near Suoh's for the convenience of her assistant duties, so Nokoru could easily see what she was doing just by looking up from his own desk. He was quite curious, as Kanon always efficiently and promptly handled her tasks for the student council. Yet, at this moment, he saw her deeply engrossed in her work. Intrigued, he quietly walked behind her. The computer screen displayed multiple text files, indicating that she was simultaneously writing different things. She was currently finishing a chapter, then jumping to another file to write something else before returning again.

Sometimes Nokoru wondered why Kanon was so busy. She was no longer an anonymous author; her works were sought after by magazines and publishers nationwide, even internationally. Yet Kanon never fell behind schedule, which greatly impressed Nokoru.

After finishing the last chapter, Kanon would quickly proofread it and send an email to the magazine's editor. As she closed a file and took a sigh of relief, she noticed a figure looming over her and her computer. She turned around and saw Nokoru's smiling face.

"Kaichou? What are you doing here?" Kanon asked.

Kanon glanced at the towering stack of documents behind his seat but that didn't make him feel guilty at all. He still remained unfazed and even cheerfully admitted,

"I took a short break. The backlog was only half done, and Suoh hadn't returned yet."

Half done? Why did she feel the stack was still the same as before? And why was he only concerned about Suoh not being back yet?

"I've wondered why you were always so busy and in a rush," Nokoru suddenly asked.

"I just wanted to get things done. I felt like if I missed something, I wouldn't have time to come back to it," Kanon replied without much thought, still focused on the computer screen.

"But working with paperwork and computers all day wasn't good for your health. You should have taken some time to relax. Like me, for example."

Nokoru appeared genuinely and gave Kanon some advice. This time, Kanon truly stopped and turned, giving the Student Council President a skeptical look.

"I feel very healthy, exercise moderately, get enough sleep, and eat well. What else do you think I need to do?" Kanon replied, his eyes filled with suspicion.

Nokoru tilted his head in thought, then his eyes lit up. He playfully waved a fan with the words "Rule the World" on it and grinned mischievously.

"If you trust me, just leave it to me," he said.

Seeing Nokoru happily return to his desk, Kanon's inner voice screamed, "No, I don't trust you at all. Please leave me alone and let me live a peaceful life, please don't care about me, really."

The next day, before Kanon could even open the Student Council room, a gust of wind with blue hair rushed in, pushing the door open with a bang. The scene inside the room unfolded before her eyes, with Suoh and the piles of high-quality documents swaying back and forth, almost reaching the ceiling due to the impact of the door opening. Nokoru was sitting there, but instead of stamping documents as expected, he was reading a book. If Kanon wasn't mistaken, the title was "The Rules of Baseball."

"Oh my, Suoh, you startled me," Nokoru exclaimed.

"I was the one who was startled, Kaichou," Suoh replied.

With the increasingly uneasy feeling since yesterday, Kanon was about to approach Akira, who was brewing tea nearby, to ask what happenned when Suoh rushed up to Nokoru and questioned him.

"Kaichou, you promised before I returned..."

"Takamura-senpai, here's your tea," Akira interrupted.

Akira calmly served the tea, and Suoh sipped it while praising its taste. Then he turned back to continue questioning:

"You promised that when I returned, you would complete all these documents," Suoh said, slamming his hand on Nokoru's desk, causing the stacks of papers to shake and fall onto all three of them. Suoh quickly brushed the papers away and anxiously asked,

"Kaichou, are you okay?"

But seeing Nokoru still engrossed in his book, despite being covered in papers, left Suoh speechless. Just then, Akira perked up and excitedly exclaimed,

"Great! The cake is fine. Oh, Hanazaki is here, too. Come in and have tea and cake."

Upon hearing this, Nokoru happily looked up from his book and said,

"Kanon-chan, come in and choose the baseball team's uniforms."

Kanon stood rooted to the spot at the door, eyes wide and mouth agape. Oh my, how did she not realize that since yesterday, the Student Council President has been emphasizing the words "relaxation" with her? She had no intention of participating in this meaningless game, really. But plans don't always go as expected, as Suoh challenged Nokoru and Nokoru excitedly pulled her into the game.

"Kanon-chan, join my team! We'll play a great match and defeat Suoh,"

Kanon maintained a blank expression as she looked at Nokoru, who was displaying a team spirit with her, and spoke up,

"Can I choose Takamura-senpai's team?"

"Whattt?"

The whole room was surprised. It seemed like in the plot's setup, Suoh was supposed to face Nokoru's entire team alone, but she didn't like that. She wanted to quickly end this situation.

"Why do you suddenly want to play sports, Kaichou?"

Kanon hit Nokoru right at his weak point and asked, causing his limbs to stiffen but his mouth still smiled as he spoke:

"Oh, well, I suddenly find sports quite interesting."

"Suddenly? So you're just playing for fun, right? In that case, winning or losing doesn't matter, anyone can join any team, right?"

Kanon expressed a very clear viewpoint, 'I'm sure you'll lose.' Nokoru frowned, this girl always managed to pinpoint the crux of the matter, but the more she did, the more he had to bring her to his team. Thus, the Student Council room was once again flooded with Nokoru's crocodile tears. Finally, the charismatic Student Council President came up with a very legitimate reason to recruit Kanon into his team:

"Don't you find it weird, Kanon-chan? Ohkawa Kaichou and Miss Nagisa are also on my team. If you join Suoh's team, how will you explain with Miss Nagisa?"

'Hey, are you threatening me? Your point is that if I'm on Suoh's team, Nagisa will think this and that, right? That's quite cunning, but well, you win.' Kanon thought and acceptef her defeat.

"Alright, I agree to join your team, but then Ichikawa senpai should join Takamura senpai's team, no more negotiation. Do you want to be forever known as someone who bullies the weak?"

Kanon demanded fairness for Suoh, making it impossible for Nokoru to refuse.

"Hanazaki, you don't have to do this, I can play alone. After all, I challenged him first."

Suoh didn't care about those problems, he was ready to play an unfair match in terms of numbers with his friends just to make Nokoru do the work. Kanon strongly objected, and as a result, the most peculiar duo of the year, Takamura Suoh and Ichikawa Seiji, teamed up to compete against Imonoyama Nokoru Kaichou, Kanon, and the Kindergarten Student Council, with Akira as the catcher for both sides.

During the training period, Nokoru pushed everyone quite hard, unlike the "playing for fun" mindset that Kanon imposed on him. Seeing everyone training so hard, Kanon reluctantly spent some time training with them. After all, she didn't really want to play, but she felt guilty if she didn't train with everyone, as it would be irresponsible.

Throughout the training process, Kanon only saw Nokoru standing there, waving his fan and giving instructions without breaking a sweat. But his instructions were incredibly accurate. Kanon marveled at his precision and thought to herself, 'What a weirdo!'

"Kanon-chan, try hitting this ball!"

Nokoru noticed Kanon staring at him and smiled, making a request.

Kanon gave him a side-eye but didn't refuse. Yesterday, when she had brought a towel for Seiji, she had seen Nagisa bringing a towel for Suoh, who then had been taught by Suoh how to hold and swing the bat effectively. Oh, they were so adorable! Nagisa had been blushed just by small touching Suoh's hand.

She looked over at her poker faced bodyguard and thought 'You had already lost from the inside out, senpai. Your rival already has a girlfriend.' Seiji responded to her disdainful gaze by making her swing the bat dozens of times, causing her hands to still hurt today. So now she was confident that she could swing the bat correctly and hit at least 1 out of 10 balls.

"Here comes the ball, Kanon-chan!"

Hearing Nokoru's call, Kanon focused and raised the bat.

POONG!

A crisp sound echoed.

"HOMERUN!"

Upon hearing Nokoru's joyful shout, Kanon thought she misheard. What? A homerun? That kind of hit that only professional players rarely achieve? But before she could gather her thoughts, Kanon heard Nokoru shout again:

"Next ball, Kanon-chan!"

Another homerun, and it continued, one after another. Everyone's eyes widened in astonishment. Kanon-sensei was so skilled?

At the end of that training session, Kanon received admiring glances from the kindergarten kids, filling her with a sense of pride.

"You are my secret weapon, Kanon-chan!" exclaimed the weird Kaichou, placing his hands on her shoulders to encourage her. Kanon truly felt like banging her head against the wall. What on earth was happening?

The whole match felt like a joke. Nokoru stood with his arms crossed, directing from the field while Suoh and Seiji cooperated exceptionally well, running back and forth. Somehow, the score remained tied. Kanon was left gaping in amazement.

In the middle of the game, a romantic incident unfolded. After hitting the ball, Nagisa accidentally fell, and Suoh, without bothering to catch the ball, rushed to help her up. They looked at each other shyly. Kanon glanced at the other side, where Seiji stood patiently waiting for Suoh to finish, showing no signs of annoyance or impatience. Then she looked to the side, where Nokoru was casually chatting with everyone, waiting happily for the game to continue. It seemed that this match was not meaningless at all. It helped everyone understand each other better and become more united.

"Kanon-chan, it's your turn to hit the ball!"

And it was Seiji who pitched the ball. Suddenly, standing face to face like this, Kanon felt an overwhelming excitement. It turned out playing this game wasn't so bad after all. It turned out this was the feeling Nokoru had. 'Well then, bring it on, senpai!' Kanon signaled to Seiji with her eyes, and Seiji lowered himself, preparing to pitch. Under the brim of his baseball cap, his half-smile filled with enthusiasm was hidden, only he knew his true emotions.

A strong, accurate, and fast pitch flew past Kanon's face before she could even prepare herself mentally.

"Excellent, senpai!"

But it didn't matter. Kanon felt even more challenged.

"Come on!"

She shouted, making Nokoru smile from outside the baseline. Everyone's happiness was a good sign.

Another missed hit by Kanon, but this time she lowered her body, preparing for the final swing. Her eyes focused on Seiji across from her. Seiji adjusted his cap and his feet firmly planted on the ground as he leaned forward to pitch.

POONG!

HOMERUN!

The entire stadium erupted in cheers! After Suoh's homerun, thanks to Kanon, the two teams were now tied.

Kanon stood up straight, straightening her tired back, and saw her usually cold-faced bodyguard with a rare smile, giving her a thumbs up. She smiled back, radiating pure joy.

However, the result couldn't be changed. In the final round, Nokoru faced Suoh and was defeated miserably. But that didn't matter. Nokoru hit the ball straight into Suoh's glove. Kanon smiled as she watched the two of them shake hands. She had a feeling that Nokoru had given it his all and was extremely satisfied. But there was also a conflicting feeling that Nokoru did it intentionally, as a friendly gesture towards Suoh. Whether intentional or not, Kanon had to admit, today's game was really fun!

In a corner of the stands, a handsome and clean-cut face typical of a Clamp student but his eyes were filled with annoyance and anger that was looking at the cheering crowd in the stadium when Nokoru shook hands with Suoh. Then, he turned around and left, not forgetting to leave behind a disdainful remark:

"A bunch of idle troublemakers!"

Kanon caught a glimpse of that unfriendly and negative gaze, and looked up to the corner of the stands where the boy had been standing earlier, but there was no one there anymore. Seiji noticed Kanon's unusual behavior and approached her, asking:

"What's wrong, Lady?"

"I feel like someone was just looking at us, with a very negative and unpleasant feeling."

Seiji followed Kanon's gaze, but there was no one there. However, he believed her. It seemed that peace wouldn't last for long.