CHAPTER XIII

…

…

Hikigaya Hachiman led his friend, Miura Yumiko out of the bar.

Was it a bad idea again? She was staggering, having downed way too many highballs at the hotel, but she was all smiles and laughing like a high-schooler now. Hachiman walked Yumiko along, her arm around his shoulder. It was dark outside already and the air was pleasantly cool.

Hachiman shook his head. "You're a handful to be taking out," he sighed.

"Is that so?" Yumiko nudged him playfully. "I didn't know you were this romantic. The Ritz-Carlton? How classy. What else are you hidin', Hachi~?"

Hachiman walked along impatiently. "Let's just go home."

"You're no fun," she moaned. "Why didn't you want to stay a bit and dance with me? It's still early."

"Because then it wouldn't be just 'going out', it'd be a full-fledged date."

"Ara ara~… I see, you still don't count this as a date because there's no sex? Hachi-kun, if that's it you could've just said so."

Hachiman broke out into a throaty chuckle. He smirked at her incredulously. "Right. That's kind of like right on the fucking bet, Yumiko."

"Hachi… why don't you maybe hold me closer? It's okay. I'm starting to like you, like… a lot, y'know."

"No. I don't take advantage of drunk girls."

Yumiko blushed. She snapped, "Oi! Who the hell do you think you're talkin' to?"

Hachiman pulled away but she clung onto his side. They continue down the street. His dark blue overcoat contrasted with her bright orange parka, so did their personality. This was one of those times when they got along fine. He had a feeling it was going to be a long summer break. The days started to feel longer and the nights shorter.

Though at the campus Hachiman was still subject to a not so high opinion by his fellow students. Outside of his class he was unremarkable at best, dangerously suspicious at worst. His classmate Mei-chan had gone back to school yesterday in good spirits; after classes let out at the end of the day, Hachiman was surprised to meet Mei-chan and her father at the campus gate, and the father thanked him. Somehow, even though Hachiman had not explicitly told anyone, his influence reached him. The father came with obvious respect and said, "you have done our family an enormous service and have delivered my daughter from dishonour. How could I ever repay you, son?"

Hachiman, level but in a polite tone said, "It's enough that I am able to help a little. Please, do not insist. Then I won't have to lie."

If he had managed to conceal every evidence of his involvement, his peers in the classroom were another thing. Although Hachiman only spoke of it to Albert, within the next day his peers soon learned of it. Ryuuen Kakeru, Daichi Ishizaki, Ken Sudo and Mio Ibuki regarded him with slight mistrust and wariness, and for a good reason. They noticed he was the only person Airi Sakura, their usually shy classmate, was truly warming up to, and they'd seen Mei-chan bow her head to him; it wasn't a coincidence. They could not prove it, but they were sure about the illicit nature of Hachiman. Fourth Class now enjoyed a period of respite after he had dealt with their problems, and the summer break would be when they'd move in a position to compete in the upcoming Cultural Festival and most importantly, the college sports competition.

Hachiman stopped his thoughts. Their walk led them to a flower shop, one that he instantly recognized. Yumiko also turned to look at the display of bouquets. She whispered, "look at them, they look so nice."

"They're peculiar," he said. "You buy them, take them home and watch them die."

Yumiko stared at him. "You're wicked!"

"If it were any other thing, you'd say, 'what the heck is this? The goddamned flowers just keeled over the cupboard last night!'"

"Well, I like 'em. Violets are kinda like my favourite."

"You want to get some?"

Without waiting for an answer Hachiman plucked out a bunch of violets from the bouquet.

"Bakatare! Hachiman, put those back!" Yumiko was startled, then broke into laughter seeing the smug, foolish look on him. They hear the florist inside give a yell. Hachiman grabbed Yumiko's hand and they ran off.

The old man Mr. Gio comes out of the shop, shaking a fist at the two troublemakers. But he smiles, realizing it was the same young man who had visited him that day, and who had helped his daughter Mei-chan.

They reached the street corner. Hachiman and Yumiko stop to catch their breath. They leaned against a lamppost. Hachiman coughs harshly, before taking her hand and putting the bunch of purple flowers in it. Yumiko smiles and giggles at his antics. "Hey… so this is the last week, and the Hanabi festival is coming up this Saturday," she said.

"I remember."

"Would you… will we go on a date then?"

Hachiman brushed himself off. "Well, do you want to?" He asked.

Yumiko peered at him impatiently. "What a way to turn it around on me!" She huffed. "Of course I'm up."

"Alright then."

"Don't forget, okay?" She pouted, waving a finger at him. "I'm looking forward to it." They go walking side by side. Yumiko held his hand, something that did not often happen when they hung out together.

Hachiman merely looked at the ground, his eyes half-closed as if he was tired.

…

Five hours before. All classes and clubs at the Minato Lyceum had let out at 4:00 PM, so at this time the library was empty. Tomorrow was the last day of the first semester and the start of the one-night summer break. Hachiman had one more thing to finish. He pushed the glass doors of the building and entered. He had agreed to meet with the First Class student Arisu Sakayanagi one more time at the same table they confronted each other the other day.

Arisu Sakayanagi was already at the table. Beside her was another student, presumably from First Class as well.

"Hello, Sakayanagi-san. Have you been waiting long?"

"Not quite."

"That's great."

Hachiman smiled and then turned to face the other student. He remembered the brown-haired fellow from the first time he set foot into the Lyceum and during the entrance exams. Those intelligent, golden-hued eyes were unmistakable.

Arisu began. "Hikigaya-san, this is- "

"Ayanokouji Kiyotaka-san." Hachiman held out his hand to the young man. "I know who you are."

Ayanokouji shook Hachiman's hand. Though polite, he did not smile back.

Hachiman sat down in front of them and spoke coolly. He said, "I must say that I'm even ashamed that I haven't recognized you seriously until now. I make an effort to learn about the important people in the upper classes. Shinomiya-san. Koenji-san. Yukinoshita-san. And Sakayanagi-san. Of all of them, in hindsight you are the most intriguing. It says here that you are the son of a certain Dr. Ayanokouji. It also happens that your family name has connections to everyone else, by proxy or another way."

"You're not wrong on that, Hikigaya-san."

Hachiman nodded. "I see."

Hachiman shrugged, now turning to face Arisu. "Well now, shall we get to it?"

Arisu Sakayanagi spoke up. "Beginning then," she started gently. "I understand that there have been tensions between our classes. We First Class students understand that we haven't been very receptive to the lower classes. If it means anything to you Hikigaya-san, I'd like to offer my apologies."

Hachiman listened closely. "Go on."

"Given that the upcoming Cultural Festival demands a competitive spirit from all, there's bound to be conflict - especially if we don't resolve long-standing grudges. Prejudice can make things quite ugly when allowed to fester. The sports competition will pit First Class and Second Class together, and Third Class against Fourth Class; it's to determine suitable candidates for the Lyceum varsity which will compete against the other university teams, in several sports, in the country. This brings us here. I think it would best serve us all if we can come to a truce.

"Our class has- my faction at least," Arisu corrected herself, "has agreed to terms with Second Class. I've spoken with Katsuragi-san, and he is willing to cooperate with me in peacefully selecting the candidates for the sports varsity. This is in case there are discrepancies during the preliminary competition, so that we can save ourselves the hassle. Not only that, but these terms will help all the classes to coordinate with each other."

"So basically… you're rigging the competitions, Sakayanagi-san."

"That's a crude way to put it. I'm proposing a peaceful term between us. Katsuragi-san, Fujiwara-san and Horikita-san from Second Class are willing to extend this courtesy to Third Class. I'm sure Ichinose-chan will be sweet enough to accept it. This leaves your class as the only one out of line."

Hachiman pinched his lower lip thoughtfully. He narrowed his eyes. "You seem to be employing leverage against me."

"A proposal of a truce. Either you'll accept it or you won't. Either way, I'll personally promise you that you'll see no more hostile actions from our classmates, and I hope you'll reciprocate."

"Promises do not impress me, Sakayanagi-san. Actions do. Most of all, patterns. Regarding the sports competition, we'll cross the bridge when we get there," Hachiman answered blandly.

Hachiman looks at Ayanokouji. He asks, "how long have you been going to this school?"

"I've studied here since our first year."

"Then you're more experienced around these parts than I am. I'm a transfer student."

"I remember you from the day before the entrance exams."

"That's right. And you? I have not seen your father Dr. Ayanokouji come around."

"He is a very busy man."

"Are there any particular corporations he is associated with?"

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka shook his head to answer. "I cannot say."

Hachiman sat back, pausing momentarily. Ayanokouji looked at him.

"I prefer discretion when it comes to these matters. Something I suppose you're familiar with."

"That's right."

"Besides, I suppose you're already well informed. You seem like a person who has his own connections," Ayanokouji said.

Hachiman grinned jovially. "You're giving me too much credit for perusing basic knowledge. Anyhow, I don't suppose you rummy or shoot pool at a club..."

Arisu Sakayanagi had been observing this exchange between the two. She was attentive and watched Hachiman curiously. She could not help the underlying feeling of suspicion still. She spoke up. "We still have an unfinished, important matter. I want to discuss the incident last Saturday- "

"Oh, stop it." Hachiman looked at her, unamused. "We were already having a nice little conversation. We were getting to know more about each other. Who knows, this might even be the start of a beautiful friendship. Getting straight to the point, Arisu-chan... it's stupid and boring."

Arisu furrowed her eyebrows, "Well then," she huffed, unsure. To her right, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka slowly reaches for the chessboard beside them. He slides it smoothly between him and Hachiman. Arisu was skeptical for a moment. But Ayanokouji turns his attention towards Hikigaya Hachiman. He was silently offering to play.

Hachiman smiled softly. "Humor me with a match," he said.

Ayanokouji blinks, then nods. Quietly he said, "we should replace the pieces then."

"No. It's a good position. Play the endgame against me."

Ayanokouji glances at him. "Okay."

The position on the board was tactically complex. Chess endgames are by far the most difficult and therefore important phase of a battle. Assuming that the opening and the midgame were competently executed, it made the difference between a loss or win. Hachiman held the black pieces. Ayanokouji, with the white pieces, appeared to be in a dominant position.

Hachiman made his move. The game resumes with an attack on the center. Ayanokouji responds promptly. For the next minute, which felt like hours, they maneuvered their positions attempting to pin and skewer the opposition's pieces. No major captures occur until after a while, Ayanokouji moves his knight piece. Without warning Hachiman stops.

"You've blundered intentionally."

Ayanokouji remained expressionless, glancing at Hachiman. He shook his head. "No."

Hachiman glowered darkly. Arisu immediately noticed the shift in his demeanor, the sudden unpredicted hostility, and felt a chill. Hachiman took his king from the board and, burying it within his clenched fist, suddenly slammed the table. Arisu flinched, breaking cold sweat on her cheek.

He said ominously, "I did not come here for a mockery. You offered a match, I expected a game. You are holding back, Ayanokouji-san. I find that quite offensive as a fellow chess player."

Ayanokouji, for the first time, showed a glimpse of surprise. Just as quickly, that surprise disappeared, but his aloof eyes were now more open, and attentive. He said flatly, "I do not understand why you would think that."

"Ayanokouji-san, I know you are sharper than that," Hachiman smiled sardonically. "The obvious move was in front of you. I know you saw it. Yes, bishop takes knight, a good move. But it's a clumsy move. And for someone like you, a blunder."

"If you have foreseen that move from me, then why did you still expose your knight?"

Hachiman said, "Play the game properly, Ayanokouji. And no more comedy or I'll know."

Ayanokouji slowly doled out a small smile that attempted no menace. He said, "I should apologize, Hikigaya-san."

Hachiman closed his eyelids, then replaced his black king on the board. They fought with their surviving pieces for several more turns, making sharp moves, until they stopped.

Arisu looked at them in wonder. It was the first time in she had seen Ayanokouji give such a smile. It was very different from when he was simply being polite, seemingly unlike he was inwardly plotting at all; one very cryptic semblance of interest.

The game appeared to reach a lull. The white pieces are in a winning position, but Hachiman is not over yet. Ayanokouji does not make his move immediately. "Give me a moment," he said.

Hachiman chuckled shortly. "Refused. I'm becoming impatient, Ayanokouji-san. I'm not interested in prolonging our game." He said, "You've seen the checkmate, there's no need to hide it."

"Do you think so, Hikigaya-san?"

This time, Hachiman reaches over to move one of Ayanokouji's pieces himself. The latter did not react - Ayanokouji watched him expectantly.

"Queen takes queen, bishop recaptures and checks my king. Pawn takes - only sensible answer from me - therefore exposing the h-file. From this point on, it's check in three from two avenues. It's obvious. You already saw the checkmate.

"Do not try to deceive me again, Ayanokouji-san. It was a lost position for black right from the beginning. Both you and I understand that."

Hachiman no longer had an amused look on his face. He glanced straight at Ayanokouji, as if unhappy to have lost the game. Ayanokouji glanced back, puzzled.

"If so, then what was the reason for you choosing to play such a position? We could've reset the pieces and made a fair game."

"Ayanokouji-san, chess isn't a fair game. Besides, I wouldn't win against you anyway, not in chess."

Ayanokouji remained silent for a while. He was locked in a tense stare with Hachiman, who stared back with dull, unamused eyes.

"This game was a set-up. You weren't trying to win at all, Hikigaya-san."

"I already knew you were the superior chess player, Ayanokouji-san."

"Is this meeting a set-up as well, just as our chess match is?"

Hachiman smiled curtly. He turned to face Arisu Sakayanagi this time. "No. I was considering agreeing to parley with her. Our little chess match was simply the aperitif."

Hachiman sat up in his seat, now leaning forward so he faced Arisu directly. Arisu suddenly found it difficult for her to maintain eye contact with Hachiman. She crossed her arms and threw a glance at Ayanokouji.

"So, are you a genius, Hikigaya-san?"

Hachiman looked at Arisu. Her flat-out question seemed to stump him.

"I'm not like you." He answered. Hachiman began. "To be honest, I've tried to avoid you Sakayanagi-san whenever possible because I wouldn't want to get in your way. I've avoided people for the most part of my life. I was a simple guy who wanted to live a quiet life. But if I have to fight now, I won't lose to anyone anymore."

"What happened last Saturday to those upper class students really drew blood, didn't it?" He remarked sardonically. "It seems the upper classes aren't so untouchable after all. I advise you not to mistake passivity for a sign of weakness. Don't get me wrong, it's harmed us both but First Class has exposed itself thanks to the incompetence of their individual students. And blood draws the sharks, Arisu-chan."

"I understand."

"If you're looking to get to the bottom of this case, that incident of assault last week, I'm afraid I won't be of much use to you. In the first place, your class should be the one to answer to that. But I will tell you something. Whoever did those brutal things to those three students have to either be insane or morally delusional. I'd look into the existence of a vigilante of sorts, like Batman or something along those lines," he remarked snidely.

Hachiman said finally, "You should reconsider your position in class, Sakayanagi-san. One bad leader is better than two good ones."

Arisu was now frowning. She brushed herself off, attempting to hide her dismay from his insults before she got up to leave, when Ayanokouji spoke up. He said, "I've seen how you look at your friends."

"What are you saying, Ayanokouji-san- ?" Arisu started.

Ayanokouji cut her off. He continued in a monotone voice. "That's what you'd like to pretend them to be. 'Friends'. Although deep inside, you simply see them as tools to be used to further your own interests."

Hachiman stared at Ayanokouji.

"Isn't that right?" Ayanokouji continued, his words gliding like precision darts, each hitting a nerve. He said, "You know they're not your family. You're not related to them by blood. These friendships are only superficial. In truth, you and I understand this, and more necessary obligations guide our decisions. I suppose you're already plotting to abandon Fourth Class and place yourself at a higher position in the Lyceum. It's only logical, isn't it? You've said before that you're here to obtain an accredited diploma. Making friendships might not factor in altogether. That's why you do not bother with anyone else. All that concerns you is your interests."

"Are you done with your little segue?"

Hachiman cuts him off coldly and impatiently. Arisu was surprised. She saw Hachiman now devoid of emotion, neither visibly enraged nor shocked; as if his façade of normalcy was torn off to reveal complete apathy, one not so different from Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.

"You are just like me. This is why I have a proposal. Do not betray your friends. Don't make the same mistakes I've fallen by. Otherwise… I'll see to it that you be expelled."

Arisu furrowed her eyes bewildered at the two. She notices the icy viciousness in Hachiman's eyes - like a provoked serpent. This unsettled her. Ayanokouji stands up from the table to leave, followed by Arisu. They leave abruptly without another word.

…

"Ayanokouji-kun, I thought you said there was no one else who could possibly match your acumen."

"I didn't say that."

"But you didn't seem to expect his intentions either."

Ayanokouji and Arisu walk together towards the exit gate of the campus. After thinking it over for a moment, he said, "Sakayanagi-san, I cannot possibly know his true intentions. I am no more a seer than anyone else."

Arisu asked anxiously, "Just how intelligent do you think he is? We both know he doesn't belong in fourth class."

"He is very perceptive. Possibly more so than any student from the other three classes. To confess, until now I am not certain of his true capabilities."

Arisu was exhausted. The whole sit-down left her drained, and her legs felt like jelly. She came to a bothersome conclusion. "He'll try to climb up to our class."

"That's possible."

Arisu slowly poses the question, "Is it possible Hikigaya-san is from the White Room program?"

"No. There are no other survivors of the fourth generation. I remember each and every one of my fellow White Room students, and they're all long dead." Ayanokouji states flatly.

"But are you sure of ruling out the possibility? You don't know if there are more secrets your father is hiding."

Ayanokouji remained confident. He said, "No, I am certain. I cannot describe precisely what is different with Hikigaya-san, but he is certainly not a White Room subject. Aside from his habit of keeping to himself and subtly avoiding other people whenever he doesn't require anything of them, he seems like a normal person. He's not stronger than Ryuuen and his gang. However, he is far more cunning than all of them combined."

"Does that mean you can defeat him?" Arisu asked, painfully curious.

Ayanokouji tilted his head. He stopped to face her. "Sakayanagi-san, I've said this before, I don't work to 'defeat' anyone at all. It's just that White Room students are supposed to be superior to ordinary people. Not everything is about outsmarting the other or who's better than who.

"But I will say this. Did you know, Sakayanagi-san, that this is the first time in years that anyone has actually succeeded in misleading me?"

"I never thought I'd hear those words come from your mouth again. Anyhow, why did you suddenly leave the table? You can't just be pulling that without cuing me in!"

"At that point I've heard everything he has to say of relevance. He was only belittling you, Sakayanagi-san."

Arisu held her chin up imperiously. "It didn't affect me," she muttered.

Ayanokouji looked away, meditating upon it carefully. "Hikigaya-san has devised a snare for us right from the beginning. It was already obvious he's not the kind to just simply accept sit-downs with rivals like that. Our meeting with him was carefully planned by him; that much was obvious though I think he counted on me offering to play him in chess. I suspected that he did set that up, but on my part I made the offer to play because I was curious to see if he was any good at the game. But most interesting is that he invited me to continue the unfinished position on the board. Only, I didn't realize that it was his trick."

Ayanokouji looked back at her. "Sakayanagi-san, he wasn't waiting for me to make a mistake. He was waiting for me to win the game."

Arisu sighed, touching her forehead. "It's true then, the both of you holding back. And you're saying that he now knows that?"

"He does. That's what he was looking to find out the whole time. Because if he had the superior position, I would immediately know that he was testing me. I would've lost the game intentionally so as not to expose myself, in such a way that he wouldn't be able to argue that I was blundering. Instead, I thought he was going to show me his skill by taking the losing position. I thought he was playing to win. I was mistaken."

"If he's the one holding back all along, then that means..."

"Hikigaya-san knows he can't fight all of us. He's aware that Fourth Class is outmatched by our class. Even if he's beyond Ryuuen's level, or on par with Junior White Room students such as Amasawa or Yagami-san, he understands that we're still impervious to defeat. I didn't deduce this from the chess match directly, but he knew I was going to try and hold back a bit. That means he is aware of my capabilities, and if so, he must also know about the capabilities of the rest of our classmates. But I suspect… Like he said, he doesn't want to go against us at all. He'll be evading us from this point on, planning his climb to First Class and moving at a far different angle."

Ayanokouji stopped. They had passed by the side gate of the campus and are now waiting for their private sedan to come by the curb. As they stood under the bus stop, he glanced at Arisu who was deep in her head. "You're thinking that he's responsible for what happened with Tamayo Maru, and Naomi Koenji and Hideki Housen," Ayanokouji said tonelessly.

"P-Pardon? I wasn't." Arisu squeezed her eyes shut. She allowed her frustration to seep out. She finally admitted, "Okay. Yes, I have my suspicions. Don't you, Ayanokouji-kun? He's the only one other than Ryuuen-san who could come up with such a savage plot of revenge."

"But you do not know that. Even I am certain Hikigaya-san knows and is involved far more than he lets us see, but that's the impasse: we have no evidence."

"Well, it's very interesting, isn't it? He could be completely clean for all we know. Do you think the whole fiasco would've still occurred if Hikigaya-san wasn't involved at all? For the past three years, my college life has never been as tumultuous as this final one. To think, all of this in a single week. Coincidentally, it's exactly when Hikigaya Hachiman appeared." Arisu's voice grew low and tentative. She said, "I fear that he is too risky to be allowed to remain in the Lyceum, and I think we'll have to expel him while he's still unprepared."

"Sakayanagi-san, you say that your school life has always been bland and monotonous, yet now that you're faced with someone who triggers your insecurity, you wish to eliminate him as soon as possible."

Arisu was flustered. "That is not the case!" She sighed. "Hikigaya-san may be another genius. But will he play honestly by the rules?"

…

Hachiman watched the two students leave the table.

He dawdles for a while, staring blankly at the chessboard he had played a few minutes ago. Out of habit, he begins to pick up the chess pieces with his fingers, replace them properly and rearrange the board. His left hand was shaking. Hachiman frowns. Had I forgotten to take my medicine this afternoon? His thoughts do not line up as he wished. He strolled out of the library and then reached into his overcoat to get his medicine case. How he hated needles. And what a cruel trick life has pulled on him.

There were no more students in the hallways, and the main complex seemed to be vacant. A few students who were on their turn were chatting to each other as they mopped the corridors. On the way out, Hachiman passes by the opening of the grand auditorium. He gazes at the stage with a long look. It was nice to imagine himself walking up those steps onto the stage, being congratulated by the Dean and awarded a diploma of the highest standards. He could almost see his parents alongside him, priding themselves with their son. It was not far on the horizon. As if he thought of it long enough, he could grab it.

And so he thought.

Genius. It's a word. What does it really mean?

I entered the prestigious Minato Lyceum with a very clear purpose in mind: to acquire a minted piece of cardboard they facetiously call a diploma. These things are humorous. A graduate who possesses one takes on an air of legitimacy in the eyes of his employer. They give the appearance of solidity to pure wind. One more year and I'll have it. But alas, life has played one of the weirdest and worst jokes on me - So I'm not sure if I'll be alive to enjoy the benefits of college education. I should be dead before the age of thirty, so that makes life far simpler. Is there a point to this? I don't know. Let's find a point. I feel that I have to.

The students in the Lyceum, especially those in the top class, will never accept me. Figures like Kaguya Shinomiya, heiress of a massive industrial conglomerate, are nothing short of pragmatic and ruthlessly self-servient. A motivation I'm far too familiar with. She counted on Class IV fighting amongst themselves, deposing Ryuuen Kakeru and in the process throwing ourselves further into disarray. That effectively weakens Class IV and prevents us from challenging the upper classes. Shinomiya-san already knows my interest in climbing up to the top class. As expected, she will not easily allow that.

Preventing my classmate Airi Sakura from committing suicide was to preserve the integrity and what little reputation Class IV has. Losing her would utterly demoralize our class; it would've forced me to abandon them sooner. That was a necessary move. Ordering the attack on the three students from Class II and Class I is a far riskier move, one that wasn't necessary. Attacking the sons of wealthy, influential families was a perilous gambit to be taking. It's not over yet. But it accomplished exactly the result I was aiming for. It sent a clear message. It destroyed the illusion of imperviousness that the upper classes had. This was the first time something like this had happened, so the shock would throw off and demoralize all the other classes, allowing me brief respite and to begin to consolidate my position.

This brings me to Arisu Sakayanagi and Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. One is the prodigious daughter of a highly esteemed and renowned family in Japan. The other is different; in that I have discovered from my connections that this Ayanokouji Kiyotaka is the son of an ex-politician, whose family has ties to a multi-billion dollar corporation with offshore operations extending beyond Japan. This family has political might. They have national influence. In the economic sphere they likely have control enough to match the Shinomiyas. The Sakayanagis are close to the Ayanokoujis which explains the proximity between the two students. Beyond that is where things become unclear.

Who is Ayanokouji Kiyotaka? This guy has graduated from the Advanced Nurturing High School, a state-sponsored institution, with A-grade marks. Though it's obvious that he has also been holding back his true nature in the past; his marks during the first year were all painfully doctored to a square 50% passing mark. There's no record of his childhood. What little information I have been able to collect is unsubstantiated. His mother is dead. His father does not appear anywhere near the school though there have been a few media appearances from him. It's possible that Ayanokouji Kiyotaka is an adopted child. This is mere speculation. But it's unmistakable - If I have been concealing secrets of my own, this person has his own sinister story.

He stands out from the rest of Class I in that he is severely apathetic. People flock around him and he does not repel them, but this is not quite a normal individual. Just the same dull, detached look in his eyes. He'd do an almost good of a job as my shadow. All this time I've paid little attention to this person as he has not posed a threat to me whatsoever. It did not faze me that Ayanokouji Kiyotaka had the makings of a psychopath. Though I am stumped by his last statement. He asks me to not betray my friends. He said that those were the same mistakes he had committed. Otherwise, he would move against me in order to expel me from the Lyceum.

Well, what the fuck does he mean by that?

Let me tell you something about friendship. It's a beautiful thing. It's almost the equivalent of family. But the horrific thing about friendship is that the worst betrayals come from them. You'll hold these people so close and feed them at your table. Then one day, they're like strangers in your kitchen. Yukinoshita-san. Miura-san. Zaimokuza-kun. Even Hanzo-kun.

Everyone becomes a problem eventually. Source: me.

Do you think I'm a hypocrite? Well, you're not wrong. I wouldn't disagree with you.

There are only a few things that concern me now. Given all these people in my way, it won't be that simple. They will try to block me, antagonize me and try to usurp me. Here we already have people attempting to tell me what to do. But I will not be stopped.

For those of us who refuse to compromise what we have left in life, who are determined to live on their terms, there can be no backing down.

So, genius. It's a word. What did Arisu Sakayanagi and Ayanokouji Kiyotaka mean by that?

If I get what I want, I'm a genius. If I don't, then I'm not.

.

.

- End of Arc I of The Tokyo City Story -