Chapter 2

Two knocks sounded outside the door.

"Coming!" A jubilant voice inside shouted and the door swung open revealing Hirata who was still in his pajamas.

"Ayanokouji-kun, what brings you here?" Hirata asked with a surprised look.

"I have a favor to ask."

Receiving a nod from Hirata, Ayanokouji entered his room and the door closed behind him. Twenty minutes later the door opened again and Ayanokouji walked out as if nothing had happened.

"You can count on me, Ayanokouji-kun." Hirata said with a beaming smile as he waved farewell to Ayanokouji.

Sunday morning everyone from class 1-C saw a message show up on their phone.

Hey guys, I was thinking that you guys might be a little tired after these recent events, so I decided to plan a little Trial of Courage. Of course, you are free to decline, some of you might be busy. However, if you do want to foster bonds between one another please send me a message so that I can prepare accordingly.

Guys and girls alike felt a rush of excitement as they read the message. The majority of the girls and even some of the guys, Yamauchi and Ike, instantly replied saying they'd love to go.

From his room, Sudou quickly messaged Horikita.

Suzune, you coming to the trial? He asked eagerly.

No, the reply came instantly.

Come on, it'll be fun. He wasn't going to let this chance go.

No, there's no merit in me going. Don't ask again. Gray clouds loomed over his head. However, a mini date was with her was on the line, but before he could attempt to do anything a message came from Suzune.

If you ask again, I'll revoke your right to call me by my given name.

Sudou staggered back and fell to the floor. She'd dealt the final blow. Laying on the floor dejected, he decided texted Ike to come over to his room. Ike was good at helping Sudou vent even if it was often involuntary.

Any of you going? The notification appeared in the chat belonging to the Ayanokouji group.

One by one each member's avatar popped up in the chat. Each member looked at the question posed by Haruka with a different expression.

No. I have other things to do. Keisei's response came quickly and curtly.

I'll probably go. Are you going Haruka? Akito asked in turn.

Yeah, I only hope I get paired with someone that isn't the Yamauchi and Ike sort. They're kind of, you know. Haruka replied honestly.

Yeah, they're a little too open about their thirst. I hope we both get good partners. Akito agreed.

While Kiyotaka quietly read the incoming messages between Akito and Haruka, he received a private message from Airi.

Are you going Kiyotaka-kun?

Yeah, I've got nothing better to do. He replied honestly.

Then I guess I'll go as well. She responded.

If you feel uncomfortable about going, then you shouldn't force yourself to go. Kiyotaka warned.

I'll be fine as long as I get paired with the right person.

After she sent that, a yes from Airi came from the chat. It didn't take long until Kiyotaka did as well. A few minutes later he got a message from Hirata concerning further details.

Vibrations buzzed from Ayanokouji's phone. Quickly turning off the alarm he'd set earlier, he looked at the time that displayed on his phone. 7:40pm. Lifting himself from his bed, Kiyotaka began to get ready for the event.

8:00 pm-everyone had gathered at the meeting spot-a field beside a tall concrete building-and were eagerly chatting about the fun to come. Kiyotaka drifted to a corner of the field free of people and waited for the coordinator to come. As he scanned the room, his eyes happened to contact Kei's. Why are you here? Her large eyes and surprised expression seemed to ask. Just cuz, he replied back with a shrug. After the exchange which had only lasted a few moments, Kei looked away. Putting his back to a fence he looked around the crowd. Neither Sudou nor Horikita were in attendance. The former most likely due to the latter's absence. On the other hand, Yamauchi and Ike looked ecstatic, Haruka was right about their "needs". Over by another corner of the field, the aforementioned girl and Akito were casually chatting away. As he continued searching through the field a small voice called out to him.

"Kiyotaka-kun?" Kiyotaka looked over to his side to see Airi fidgeting nervously.

"Good to see you here." He replied.

"You too. There's a lot of people here huh?" Airi said as she looked over at what seemed to be nearly the whole class.

"Yeah, looks like Kouenji didn't attend huh?" Kiyotaka answered.

"That's pretty normal. Anyway, I wonder what we're going to be doing. I'm not too good with scary stuff but if it's you…I wouldn't...mind going." She replied back while trailing off near the end.

CLAP

The rather loud clap came from the front of the field. As soon as they recognized Hirata as its source and quickly quieted down the students.

"Thank you all for coming. I'm sure you've all been waiting so let's start."

In front of Hirata were two baskets much like those seen on picnics. One had a blue ribbon tied to it and the other had a red bow.

"Now then. Guys, please line up single file in front of the basket with the bow and girls do the same with the blue ribbon. You'll each grab a slip of paper but don't break the sticker seal until everyone has picked a paper"

Clothes rustled as everyone came together into two lines in front of Hirata. Seeing that nobody had been left behind, Hirata demonstrated what to do and chose a slip of paper as his own from the basket in front of the boys, then allowed the two lines to take slips all the while checking for any sort of gimmicks.

On Kiyotaka's turn, he reached for the basket but before he could grab a slip he was stopped.

"Ayanokouji-kun, I'm so glad you came. Thank you for helping me out earlier." Hirata said with a smile as he took Kiyotaka's hand just before it entered the basket and shook it as if he were an old friend. After Hirata's hand separated from his, something remained in Kiyotaka's palm. A slip of paper. Looking back at Hirata, Hirata responded with a slight nod. Placing the slip in his pocket he waited for the rest of the students to finish up.

Once the last person had gone, Hirata instructed everyone to break the seals on their slips and had everyone follow the directions on their papers. Their partners would be doing the same thing as them and that was how they were to meet. Kiyotaka opened up his slip with little effort and quickly read his instruction.

Good luck with Kei!

Reading the tease from Hirata, he pocketed the paper. Now he just needed to find his "random" partner. While he scanned the area for her a few things caught Kiyotaka's eye. Haruka and Akito were both walking very awkwardly. He couldn't tell at first but eventually he realized they were trying to walk like what should have been robots. They'd be a good pair, but beside them was a black to white contrast. Ike was rolling on the ground and Yamauchi was posing as if he was going to propose both letting their excitement show in the form of eyes that seemed starved and a smile that could be considered creepy at the very least. Kiyotaka let out a sigh as he prayed for their partners. A few feet from the disastrous duo was Airi who was frantically looking for her partner.

"Boo" A sweet voice whispered into his ear. It probably had the intention of scaring him unfortunately he'd been more than aware of the individual who now stood back to back with him.

"You're really no fun aren't you. You did this didn't you?" Kei asked, as she handed him her paper.

Have fun lover girl

Hirata must have had fun making their papers.

"Who knows." He answered.

"I see. Well, I'm not too good with scary things. Stuff tends to surface." She said somberly as she tugged the hem of his jacket. Kiyotaka knew exactly what she meant. "You better not leave me inside; I'll break your knees if you do." She said while pinching his back with her free hand.

"Noted. You might want to maintain some distance out here though. We shouldn't be seen so close together in public..." Kei's lips turned into a frown with a dark expression.

"At least not yet." He finished.

Her frown vanished and Kei's eyes lit up. "Not yet," he'd said.

"All right guys now that you've all found your partners, line up in pairs," Hirata said with a loud voice that spurred Kei to quickly move away from Kiyotaka's back.

"I'll be handing you guys a map. Make sure to follow it. I'll go with my partner once the last group enters." Hirata said as he handed the first group-Haruka and Akito-their map. Haruka teasingly poked Akito in the ribs before she headed inside the building first.

Several minutes later, their turn came, and Hirata handed them a map. Staring at his watch, Hirata held the two at bay for a minute.

"Okay, you guys should be good to go." Hirata said with a wink. Taking the lead Kiyotaka walked into building with Kei not too far behind.

The concrete building was as dull as the gray matter that made up its foundations. It's inner and outer walls were colored with about as much color as a state prison, and there wasn't so much as a chair in any of the rooms. In the past this was probably going to a new residence hall but apparently the architect who designed it hadn't accounted for the lack of talent in the construction team which led to numerous complications in the construction. After a certain point so much money had been spent correcting safety violations that there was no point in completing the building. For this reason, there were no windows or even a roof on the third floor. However, this did make it a good location for tests of courage. It was utterly decrepit, and the placement of the openings for the windows that were never installed made creepy sounds.

All of this, however, didn't seem to bother Ayanokouji. Following the map, he turned right at the second hallway while Kei trailed behind him. As they made a turn, Kei tried taking the lead and cut off Ayanokouji. Her false bravery was quickly shattered as the first thing she saw was a rat with fur as dark as the night sky and a figure the size of a softball.

KYAAAAAAA

Her shrill scream alerted the rat and it ran towards Kei with hostile intent. Baring its teeth, the gap between the two was quickly closed. The rat leaped towards Kei's exposed legs. Just before the rat contacted her, an immense force flung it to the wall headfirst. It yelped in pain then scurried away behind the two.

"You really saved me there" She said looking at him with awe.

"Do you want to stop here?" He asked.

"I'll be fine, but can you do me favor?" Staring into her eyes, her fear was evident but even, so her resolve was far more impressive.

"Sure" As soon as he said that, her hand made its way into his.

She beamed him a cute smile "Much better."

"Let's get going then" with those words, the two continued their journey within the building.

The premise of the challenge was to essentially go to a room that would have things to scare you with from which you would move to the next room. The first room contained a jump scare with cutouts, but it only made Kei flinch while Kiyotaka was unfazed. The second door had the same response from the two.

AAAAAAAAAH

The final room spooked the daylights out of Kei. She quickly walked out and breathed a sigh of relief that it was over. She was still gripping onto his hand tightly, but Kei had remained calm through the bulk of it.

After allotting a few minutes to allow Kei to recover from the last room, the two began to make their way back. In front of them was a staircase that led to a dimly lit exit. Unfortunately, it was only big enough for only one person to go down at a time. Slowly Kei removed her hand from his and eagerly went down the stairs first. Blinded by her desire to leave she didn't notice what laid below her.

On the second step from the top three cockroaches were scuttling around. She only realized this mid-step. Immediately she changed the trajectory of her foot but unable to get a secure foothold, her foot slipped, and she fell down the staircase. The whole process had taken only a few seconds, Kiyotaka wasn't able to react in time to prevent it.

Rushing down the staircase he saw Kei laying on her back gasping for air. After going through the entire trial of courage, this was the only thing that had come close to bringing him fear. Kei's eyes looked over to Kiyotaka's and she tried saying something but despite her lips moving, nothing came out. Her right foot, the one she'd taken the first step with had was red near where the ankle region, she wouldn't be able to walk back to the exit. Judging from the length of staircase, she was having trouble breathing because the impact knocked the wind out of her. Kneeling by her side he looked for other injuries and was glad to see there was nothing else. Going closer to Kei, he lifted her in the arms making sure to support her back. Despite the cold, she felt warm, comfortably so. Her hair smelled like citrus and her blue eyes sparkled like diamonds as they gazed into his.

Carrying her like a princess, he walked to the exit careful not to bump into anything. As he stepped out of the building, moonlight blinded him. Once his eye readjusted to the light, he saw the gazes of his classmates on him. Darting her eyes around at all of the people, Kei's face turned red out of embarrassment, but even so, she enjoyed the warmth of being cradled by him. As if the countless eyes meant nothing to him, Kiyotaka carried her to Hirata who had come running as soon as they'd exited.

"I think she twisted her ankle," Kiyotaka said to Hirata once he'd arrived.

"That's terrible, how could this have happened? Karuizawa-san, are you in any pain?" Hirata asked with a concerned look.

"N-" Before she could deny it, Kiyotaka poked the swollen area eliciting a whimper of pain from her.

"I'll take her to the nurse in the dorm." Kiyotaka said, turning to the dorms.

"Sorry Ayanokouji-kun for making you do all this. I'll be right over once I'm finished here," Hirata said while looking over at the last groups who had yet to enter the building.

Nodding, Kiyotaka left for the dorm with Kei in his arms. While he walked Kei kept quiet. At first, she felt incredibly embarrassed but then she began to wonder how he'd been carrying her all this time without even readjusting once. Normally people readjusted their arms when carrying something heavy, but he'd been walking dead ahead without so much as breaking a sweat. Where did all this strength come from. Halfway through the walk, Kiyotaka broke the silence.

"How're you holding up?" Kiyotaka asked while facing forward.

"My back and right foot hurt, a lot." She said softly.

"Sorry. I couldn't catch you in time." He said.

"No, that was my bad. I got ahead of myself and didn't look where I was going." She quickly said trying to redirect the blame to her.

"True, I didn't expect you to take the lead after you were clinging to me for the entirety of the trial." Kiyotaka teased.

Kei punched him in the chest.

"Ow"

"Hmph, like you know anything about taking the lead." She said with a pout.

"Yeah, yeah. Anyways we're nearing the dorm so I'm going to need to let you down to get my keycard." He said looking at the dorm that was only a few meters away.

"Nope! You have to get in while carrying me. That's what you get for teasing." Kei stated fully aware of the heat flushing her face.

Kiyotaka let out a sigh. Juggling her body with an arm and his knee, he pulled out his keycard from his back pocket and then went back to the original position. Swiping his card, he walked to the elevator.

"Hey, wrong way. You're going to take the stairs." Even Kei was surprised at the words she was saying.

"Hey, hey. Give me a break, I'm sorry." He said while gazing at the staircase.

"No!" Kei knew she was being unreasonable but if even for only a second longer, she wanted to be in the arms that made her pain feel like a memory. This moment gave her an excuse to be able to exactly that.

PANT PANT

Kiyotaka turned around to see Keisei drenched in sweat and breathing for dear life. His physical inability. Noticing the oddity in front of him Keisei tried to catch his breath.

"Kiyotaka...what... why" He said in between breaths.

"She got hurt at the event, so Hirata told me to take her back." He replied honestly.

Keisei being either satisfied or tired, didn't ask further, despite his fatigue he stood up straight and jogged to the stairs while breathing heavily. Seeing his resolve, Kei felt a bit ashamed at her reason for taking the stairs.

"Let's just take the elevator." She finally decided.

"Agreed'

The nurse who took care of the students in the dorm was on the second floor in the room directly to the right of the elevator. Placing her onto a bed, he told the nurse what had happened, and she began to get the necessary items while he waited at Kei's bedside. Soon after, the nurse came and patched her up. Kei would be spending the night in the infirmary so as to not worsen the injury. Taking that as his cue to leave, Kiyotaka got up from his seat.

"Thank you..." Like nectar to his ears, those genuine words nested themselves in his eardrums, stopping him in his tracks. Immediately after a soft sensation placed itself on his hand and nestled itself in-between his fingers.

"...would it be possible for you to stay with me?" The words along with her puppy dog eyes and her hand in his made a great temptation.

"Sorry. I can't." This was too soon; someone would notice something.

"No, don't worry about it. I was being selfish. Thanks again."

"Anytime." With that word, the long night came to an end and gave birth to a new step in their relationship but not without a cost.

"Hey what happened in there?" It was the tenth time someone had asked him that.

As if he were a criminal, countless students had him interrogated. Denying them of the answers they wanted, Kiyotaka spent the following week dodging questions. Kei, just like him had her fair share of trouble with the girls' questioning.

"Spill it, what happened afterward?" Matsushita asked, getting close to Kei.

"Nothing, he just took me back to the infirmary," Kei said, getting red.

"Why're you blushing? I knew something happened." Shinohara questioned.

"Nothing happened I swear."

"Don't lie, we all saw how he was holding you. How did it feel being carried like a princess?" Matsushita asked with a smirk.

"If I had to describe it in a word, I guess I'd say reassuring. He didn't get scared at all. He was like a guard. Whenever I got scared, he was right there next to me. He didn't judge me at all for being scared or anything he just accepted me for who I was. I guess I felt safe. And then when I got hurt, he, you know, did that." She said with a happy but bashful smile.

Looking back up at her friends, none of them had anything to say. She'd said too much, even Satou was looking a bit red.

"Wow," Shinohara said.

"Do you like him?" Satou asked.

"What are you talking about? I-" Kei began.

"I'm serious Kei. You know how I feel about him. Do you like him?" She asked again.

The atmosphere of the conversation had chilled. The group knew that Satou had already been rejected, however none of them had seen this coming. They had all assumed she'd gotten over it. This wasn't the case. Taking all of this into consideration Kei decided to answer her honestly.

"Yeah." Looking back at Satou with an expression that rivaled hers, Kei stated her interest.

"I'm just telling you this because we're friends but he's mine. Lay off." Satou said, with a cold gaze.

Matsushita and Shinohara could feel the tension in the air.

"Don't be ridiculous Satou, Ayanokouji-kun isn't yours. He's going to be mine." Words coated with venom were thrown right back at Satou. Kei was serious.

"Well, it seems like you've made your choice, don't regret it," spat Satou.

Seeing the daggers each glared at the other, Matsushita and Shinohara pulled the friends turned enemies apart and would spend the rest of the day making sure they wouldn't come into contact again for the rest of the day.

At the same time a soft wail, barely audible, came from Airi. There was another girl gunning for Kiyotaka? Why hadn't she confessed on the ship? She'd had so much time but since she waited the competition exploded. Now the top of the girls-Karuizawa Kei, and the girl who'd had the first date with Kiyotaka-Satou Maya had entered the stage. Everything was falling apart. Just when she'd gotten on a first name basis with him, he had suddenly shot far away from her.

"What do I do?!" She screamed internally.

The following day Kiyotaka came to class only to see Airi fidgeting around the door. She looked like she had something to say but before she said it, she turned tail and ran back to her desk.

"Baka Baka Baka Baka!" Face down at her desk she silently cursed at herself for her ineptitude.

Lunchtime. Kiyotaka went to the cafeteria and bought food as usual and sat down by himself.

"Ayanokouji-kun, can I sit here?"

Kiyotaka looked up and to his right stood Satou. While he felt a little bad for Kei, he sat with Satou partially due to guilt for rejecting her.

Placing her food beside his, she sat right by him and gave a wink to a certain golden-haired girl across the room. Seeing this the golden-haired girl gripped her lunch tray with more force than necessary, nearly breaking it in the process. Sensing this Satou initiated conversation, she couldn't afford to pull out here.

"The last exam was pretty strange huh? The physical portion was pretty rough but I'm sure it went well for you right?"

"Yeah, it was rough though, especially for Keisei. He had a lot of trouble, but he pulled through in the end."

Remembering how Keisei had changed so much from the exam to the point where he had now started training, Kiyotaka felt proud of his friend and unknowingly let out a smile.

Satou saw her chance.

"Right! It was so hard! Especially in the first few days. The Zen portion and even the test portion weren't that bad compared to that marathon."

Happy that Ayanokouji was conversing with her Satou chirped away until lunch was over. Standing up she made sure she'd get this opportunity again.

"This was a lot of fun, I can come by again, tomorrow, can't I?"

This seemingly simple question was by no means simple. By puffing out her cheeks a bit and looking at him with puppy dog eyes in addition to the wording of the question, she'd given Ayanokouji no choice but to say yes.

"Y-yeah."

"Then see I'll see you here tomorrow as well!" She said energetically.

Unable to sit by Kiyotaka, Kei had sat with the other members of her group. As she was cleaning up, Kei felt a tap on her shoulder and looked up to see Satou walking with a smirk that was clearly meant for Kei. Rage boiled up inside Kei. Mad couldn't even begin to describe it. Satou wouldn't get away with this. Kiyotaka was Kei's and Kei's alone.