"So you were the one who foiled my plan, huh?" Ryuuen eyed Ayanokoji.
"The other class watched the last scene?" Ike whispered to Horikita.
Horikita stared at the front, "It did say that the other classes will watch the scene. Excluding the last scene, so it was only the explanation part."
"Marvelous, Ayanokoji-kun." Sakayanagi clapped.
"You did sabotaged Katsuragi-kun." Yahiko glared at her.
"It's all for the sake of our class, Yahiko-kun. Please understand." Sakayanagi smiled at him.
"Sake—" Yahiko was cut off when Katsuragi gave him a pointed look.
Unlike the two class, Class B seemed to be having a serious conversation. Ichinose sent Ayanokoji a smile and a thumbs up.
"Now, now, please go to your seats and prepare for the viewing." Mashima clapped his hands. The students listened to him and went to their respective seats in each class corners.
Ping!
«Please refrain from spreading or accidentally blurting out the contents of the last viewing. If you wish to talk about it then I suggest you do it in private, or in our class group chat to avoid eavesdroppers from knowing.»
9:03 AM.
Horikita sent a text in the class group chat.
After I confirmed that Manabe and her friends were gone, I entered the room. Karuizawa should've heard the door open, but she continued to cower and cry on the ground. Perhaps she didn't notice me coming in because she was so overcome by fear. So this was how the leader of the girls, so arrogant and headstrong, really was?
Karuizawa froze. This scene. She shakily held her phone to type a message.
«What are we going to do, Ayanokoji-kun?! This scene is from the... Well, you know when it is!"
9:05 AM.
Ayanokoji took out his phone when he felt it vibrated. He read the text and glanced at Karuizawa's nervous state.
"Are you okay, Karuizawa-san?" Shinohara asked her worried.
"Huh?" Karuizawa snapped out of her thought and looked at Shinohara. "Yeah, I'm fine."
«Warn the class about this scene. Exploding around the other classes will not be good.»
9:06 AM.
Ayanokoji hit the word sent. Karuizawa looked at Ayanokoji her eyes conveyed, 'This will shake, or worst, ruin your standing and reputation in our class.'
'I'll take care of it. Calm down and warn the class.' Karuizawa nodded. She focused on her phone and type a long message.
«I'll warn you guys about this scene. Please don't say anything before watching it till the end. Ayanokoji-kun did what he thought was best for me, it was also because of my own arrogance that resulted in that situation so please don't blame him. The scene will get worst as it plays but it freed me from my shackles. I'm beyond thankful and grateful for Ayanokoji-kun's interference even if it looks harsh, disgusting, or repulsive to you.»
9:08 AM.
Karuizawa received confused looks around her. She paid it no mind and continued to watch the screen. Class D whispered to themselves but did Karuizawa's advice.
Perhaps thanks to the advice I'd given to Manabe and her friends, Karuizawa's uniform and the parts of her body that you could normally see appeared undamaged.
If her uniform had been ripped, or if they'd cut her hair, it would've been difficult for the Class C girls to go unpunished. While bullying is common, our school's unique setup made bullying much more difficult to get away with.
"What's happening?" Ike asked confused. Mixed with Karuizawa's text, his brain couldn't handle the information and went into overheat.
"Karuizawa-san!" Class D girls gasped in shock.
"What happened to you?!" Shinohara asked her angry.
Manabe and her friends froze when they recognized the scene. This action didn't go unnoticed by Ryuuen who paid extra attention.
If anything might have been a cause for concern, it was her cheeks, reddened from being slapped over and over. The marks would fade by tomorrow, though.
"Karuizawa."
When I called her, she finally noticed me. She lifted her head. "Wh-why are…" she stammered.
"Was she bullied?"
"Who would do such a thing?"
"I feel sorry for her."
"Why isn't Ayanokoji-kun helping her?"
Karuizawa held herself back and only gritted her teeth from the comments around her.
I wasn't supposed to be here. She panicked at being seen like that, but couldn't just stop crying and act as though nothing had happened.
She would eventually stop crying. She would eventually calm down. If I left right now, what I wanted to happen wouldn't take place. I continued to wait quietly, without trying to talk to her. After some time passed, Karuizawa gradually stopped bawling, and she started to calm down.
"Wanted to happen?" Hirata whispered to himself. He asked for Ayanokoji's help regarding Karuizawa's situation with the Class C girls because they're in the same group. But never he thought that this will happen.
"No. I shouldn't jump into conclusions." Hirata shook his head. "Something must have gone wrong." Knowing that his text message to Karuizawa sent her to this situation sicken him.
"What have they done to you?" Sato covered her mouth in shock. Karuizawa looks and acts different from the way she usually is.
If two people were alone together in a dark, closed room, a sort of natural intimacy occurred. Even if the people normally hated each other, the psychological distance between them would lessen.
"Have you calmed down a bit?"
"A little."
Karuizawa still didn't stand. She wiped the tears away with her uniform sleeve. I reached out to help her up, but she didn't move to take my hand.
"Where's Hirata-kun?" she asked.
"Sounds like he was supposed to meet you here. I would guess that a teacher called him away. I just happened to be with him when he mentioned you, so I came here in his place."
"Hirata-kun?" Shinohara called out to him softly.
Hirata looked at her blankly. "I was doing something when this happened. I sent Ayanokoji-kun to assist Karuizawa-san." He confirmed. Even knowing that Ayanokoji lied, he covered for him.
Ayanokoji looked over to him, 'Hirata, you're so useful.'
That explanation should have been enough to satisfy her and save me the trouble of further questions. There wasn't any need to tell her the truth right now. First, I needed to get her to relax, and then fill in the cracks of her heart.
"Why were you crying?" I asked.
"Manabe and her friends… I absolutely will not let them get away with that."
"Manabe?"
Shinohara and the girls glared at the culprit.
"What are you gawking out?!"Manabe barked.
"Manabe," Ryuuen called out. Manabe flinched. "Y-yes?"
"What did you do?" Ryuuen asked her.
Manabe steeled herself. "I only did what that bitch deserves."
"Huh?!" Shinohara stood up, "What did Karuizawa-san did to you?!"
"Shinohara-san, stop! I told you that it was my fault, didn't I?" Karuizawa stopped her.
Karuizawa started trembling as she recalled what they'd done to her. Even if she didn't want to reveal this pathetic side of herself, the trauma was buried so deep that her pain wasn't easily hidden.
"You have to keep this a secret. If anyone finds out, I'll never forgive you," she warned me.
Karuizawa's weakness was that she couldn't stand being seen as a victim by the rest of the school. If people found out that Manabe and her friends had used violence, then the school would inevitably expose the details of what had happened and why.
To protect her social standing, Karuizawa couldn't afford to let that happen. That was why she'd planned to use Hirata to stop Manabe and her friends.
"Karuizawa-san." Nene looked at her sadly.
"We would never make fun of you." Shinohara said firmly.
Sato nodded, "It may have been your fault, but what they did was far worst."
Horikita looked between the participants in the scene. It seems that she was not informed of this problem.
"Manabe and her friends from Class C, huh?" Hoshinomiya teasingly glanced at Sakagami.
"Don't look at me like that. I didn't know this either." Sakagami fixed his glasses. "But I can't tell the same for, Chabashira-san."
Chabashira scowled at him, "Don't Insinuate anything, Sakagami-san. Like you, I know nothing about this."
"You know, you could get back at Manabe and the others. Since they're girls, even someone like you could win," she suggested to me.
"That's an insane request," I answered flatly.
"What, are you scared of getting even with Manabe and her friends?And you're supposed to be a guy," she chided.
"Being a guy doesn't relate anything about being scared." Hashimoto said flatly.
Horikita sighed, "You remember, Sudo-kun's case?"
"This already happened." Karuizawa said suddenly tired. "Its no used telling me these now."
"Are you okay about that?" Ike climbed on his seat and looked behind him.
"What?" Ayanokoji asked confused.
"Being called a coward, I mean." Sudo clarified for Ike.
"I'm sure it was scared, not a coward though." Ayanokoji remarked. "But no, it doesn't affect me in anyway."
"If you attack them, it'll all be over. You should know from what happened with Sudou that this isn't a simple matter. Don't you get it? An eye for an eye won't solve anything. Things will only get further out of hand. The school will carry out an investigation and conduct interviews. You don't want that, right, Karuizawa?"
"Why won't she like that?" Yume whispered to Ichinose.
"Maybe she doesn't want the school knowing her past?" Amikura suggested.
"That doesn't have anything to do with the bullying she experience though." Shibata butted in.
Kanzaki squashed Shibata's head. "The school will investigate both parties involved. That includes what and why it happened. By extension, their past will get roped in."
"So you'll just lie down and take it?" she asked.
I knew how to respond, but decided to stay silent.
"But they would… They'll continue to do awful things to me," muttered Karuizawa.
She started shaking again. In truth, there was no guarantee that Manabe and her friends would stop. Karuizawa could find many ways to escape back at school, but she couldn't continue playing hide-and-seek with Manabe forever.
Her classmates would eventually notice a change in Karuizawa's behavior.
"Why not just report it?" Ishizaki suggested. Manabe glared at him.
"You're siding with her, and not your classmates?"
"Well, you did go far." Ishizaki muttered.
"And Karuizawa will not report it, moron. Especially if she's hiding something." Ibuki said.
The three glanced at Ryuuen who didn't paid them any mind.
'Was he was there when Manabe tormented the girl?' Ryuuen look deep in thought. 'If he have evidence then Manabe and her friends could become a potential spy for him.' He looked at Manabe who's arguing with her friends and Ishizaki.
Karuizawa desperately wanted to fix this situation. I'd been waiting for that desperation.
"It would be terrible if things went back to how they were back in the old days. I understand that you want to prevent it," I told her.
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
Karuizawa should be putting things together by now. Even if it was clear how I knew that Manabe and her friends had bullied her, she should wonder how I knew about her past.
"Past?" Hiyori cocked her head.
"What does it mean, Karuizawa-san?" Shinohara asked her.
Karuizawa's eyes closed, she has been bracing herself about everyone knowing her past.
Hirata looked down. Perhaps him telling Ayanokoji about Karuizawa's past was not his place, but he can't stand by and let her past repeat ever again.
"What's the past of Class D girls leader, I wonder?" Sakayanagi asked curiously.
"Isn't this scene a bit private to be watch?" Katsuragi said uncomfortable.
Mashima sent a comforting look to Karuizawa before replying, "Unfortunately, we can't skip or rewind the arrangement of the scenes. Please bear with it, Karuizawa."
"I meant exactly what I said. You've managed to escape by getting into this prestigious school and rising through the ranks to reign supreme at the head of Class D. But in the end, you haven't really changed at all. You're still that bullied little girl."
"Bullied?" Hiyori asked.
"Karuizawa-san was bullied?" Ichinose furrowed her brows.
"Karuizawa-san...?"
"Wh-who are you talking about?!" she shouted.
"You, Karuizawa."
I grabbed her arm and forced her up.
"Ayanokoji-kun?!"
"What?!"
"Hey, what are you doing!"
Multiple students cried out in shock.
Horikita looked at Ayanokoji in disbelief. While the latter gave her nothing but a blank stare.
'It's starting. How will they react?'
"H-hey, what are you doing?!"
I pinned her up against the wall and forced her to look me in the eye.
"Manabe tormented you just now, yes? She and her friends pulled your hair and slapped your face. They kicked you in the chest, in your stomach, didn't they? That's why you ended up like this: miserable, pathetic, crying on the ground."
"Now that is just adding salt to the wound." Shibata muttered.
The teachers shift uncomfortably.
"Ho?" Nagumo stared at the screen interested.
"Why are you telling that to her, Ayanokoji-kun!" Shinohara yelled loudly, but remembered Karuizawa's text. She quiet down and glared icily at the boy.
"Wha—"
Our eyes met. We stared as if we were being sucked into one another. Of course, there wasn't any hint of love there. Only darkness.
"Darkness?" Katsuragi mumbled
Ryuuen grimaced, "What's with this cringe wording?"
"You're concern about that?" Ibuki stared at him in disbelief.
"I mean..." Hiyori sighed loudly. "It is cringe, the word darkness, I mean."
"You were bullied ever since you were little. You were a victim throughout elementary school and junior high. You wanted to act tough so you could stop being bullied. Am I right?"
"Karuizawa-san?"
"Was bullied?"
"What?"
The girls was astonished by the information. Kushida looked at the girl, even she didn't suspect her. She thought that the girl didn't experienced any harsh challenges.
Karuizawa looked away.
"D-did you hear this…from Hirata-kun?"
"Hirata-kun?" Matsushita muttered to herself. 'He revealed Karuizawa-sans's past to Ayanokoji-kun? Why? Does he know what Ayanokoji-kun was doing?'
"I only wanted to help Karuizawa-san." Hirata said curtly.
"And I never regretted it." He added. Despite this happening a few days ago, he already saw Karuizawa smile and action being more genuine. That's enough for him.
"Hirata is everyone's ally, for better or worse. He'll help you, like he'll help anyone. Even if you got your position in Class D by pretending to be Hirata's girlfriend, he won't be of any use to you in situations like this. He isn't a good enough host for a parasite like you."
"Pretend?!" Yamauchi exclaimed.
"The both of you are in a fake relationship?!" Ike pointed at the two.
Sato frowned, she didn't know what to feel about that information. It was not a secret between the girls that many, including her, have a crush at the boy. Knowing that she kept her feelings inside for the sake of her friendship with Karuizawa, she felt like crying.
Karuizawa came out, "Yes. I asked Hirata-kun to pretend to be my boyfriend."
"And Ayanokoji-kun knew this." Shinohara said.
"Just a week ago." Ayanokoji said.
"Do you have a popcorn?" Hashimoto leaned in and whispered to Nishikawa.
"What?" She looked at him weirdly.
"Popcorn. I want to eat it." Hashimoto repeated. He will not, never tell anyone that the princess, the leader of Class A was the one who requested (ordered) it.
"These gossips is making my heart race." Sakayanagi smiles giddy.
Karuizawa was much smarter than other people thought. She had taken care not to overdo it in the Rabbit group precisely because she understood Hirata's neutral stance.
That was probably why she was so reserved at first. However, as a display of her status, she'd started trouble with Rika, which led to this current predicament.
"What are you… Why are you doing this, huh?!"
"Why? It's obvious, isn't it? You need to understand your situation. Don't you know who's standing in front of you right now? It's not Hirata; it's me. I know everything. I know about your past. I know about your fake relationship with Hirata. I even know that Manabe and her friends tortured you to the point where you started bawling."
"Am I the only one who thinks that he desperately wanted Karuizawa-san to notice him?" Yume whispered to Amikura excitedly.
"What?" Amikura asked her weirded out.
«What exactly do you want her to do, Ayanokoji-kun?»
9:16 AM.
Class D's phone rang, signaling that someone texted in their group chat. It was Shinohara who texted.
Ayanokoji debated whether answering the question or not. In the end, he decided to answer.
«Isn't it clear what I wanted her to do?»
9:18 AM.
With that short answer, Ayanokoji hid his phone. Not minding the look of shock Class D sent him. In his text, he was hinting that he wanted Karuizawa to depend on him.
Did that affect him? No. It was better that way. For Class D to think that he likes Karuizawa.
I knew everything that Karuizawa Kei wanted to hide.
I had her heart in my hands. Right now, I would decide whether she lived or died.
"How cold." Ryuuen commented.
"I take it that you decided for her to live?" Sakayanagi said.
"I thought you were the only simp in our class." Yamauchi said to Sudo.
"Huh?! The hell that mean?!"
"If you don't do as I say, I can expose you," I added.
Karuizawa understood better than anyone how terrifying that was. "D-don't screw with me! Who the hell do you think you are?!" she shouted.
"Someone who knows the truth. Nothing more, nothing less."
Matsushita:
«For the guy that wanted Karuizawa-san to depend on him, isn't that a bit harsh?»
Sato:
«I'm still confused.»
Yukimura:
«What is exactly your goal, Ayanokoji-kun?»
"Hey." Komiya called out. "Why are they quiet?" He pointed over to Class D.
Almost all of them are holding their smartphone.
Ishizaki and Kondo shrugged.
I moved in so close to her that our faces almost touched. When she turned her face away and tried to avert her eyes, I grabbed her chin and forced her to look at me. She wanted to look away, but with a man's strength bearing down on her, she couldn't move. She closed her eyes, as if trying to escape my gaze.
"What, what do you want with me?!You're just after my body, aren't you?" she screamed.
"No." Ayanokoji said loudly. But loud enough so only Class D heard him.
"Your body, huh? You know, that doesn't sound too bad."
"I thought you said, no?!" Shinohara whispered harshly.
Karuizawa:
«He did nothing of the sort. He stopped me when I prepared to...»
She left her text hanging for her classmates to understand.
"Huh?!" Ike screamed. Class A, B, and C looked at their direction.
"Calm down, idiot!" Sudo pulled him down.
I ran my fingertips across Karuizawa's thighs. She felt so incredibly soft that I couldn't even imagine that she was a person like me. Her skin was silky smooth. The feel of it was incredibly different from my own.
Despite the situation, Karuizawa blushed. The girls was left agaped at the screen.
Shinohara:
«What the hell, Ayanokoji-kun!»
Sato:
«You pervert!»
Yamauchi:
«You bastard! I'm so jealous!»
Haruka:
«Are you trying to scare her?!»
«Yes.»
Sato:
«Huh?! What for?!»
Karuizawa:
«What are you telling them, you idiot!»
"Eek!"
She tried to escape my touch. I held her tighter and forced her to look straight at me. "Don't run. If you try it again, I'll tell everyone at school what I know about you."
Those words were like a magic spell. She stiffened.
"You… Grr…" She sputtered.
Rage, panic, fear, despair: How many negative feelings had Karuizawa been carrying? She now realized that I was completely different from the meek person she knew from school. She probably found it terrifying.
"Spread your legs," I commanded.
"Huh?!" Ryuuen spat out.
"S-spread your what?!" Ichinose gaped.
"What the hell?!" Shibata blurted.
"What is wrong with you?!" Ibuki glared at him.
Class D' jaw dropped.
Hoshinomiya who's flirting with Ayanokoji since the day she met him have her mouth open in shock. Beside her, Mashima and Sakagami sputtered in response. Chabashira on the other hand flushed red.
Ike was about to yell but remembered Karuizawa's text. He quickly grabbed his phone to type a new message.
Ike:
'What the hell do you mean spread your legs?!'
Hirata:
'Ayanokoji-kun! I asked for your help but not to this extent!'
Shinohara:
'Are trying to do horrible things to Karuizawa-san?! What the hell?!'
Matsushita:
'How can this help her?'
Sudo:
'This turned pretty wild.'
Yukimura:
'Not the time, Sudo-kun! Anyway! Back to the topic, Are you nuts?!'
Yamauchi:
'No, more importantly, how can a guy who doesn't know what dominating a teacher means ordered Karuizawa-san to spread her legs?!'
Matsushita:
'That's what you're concern about?!'
Karuizawa:
'Guys, it's okay! He didn't do anything to me. He was bluffing.'
Shinohara:
'But Karuizawa-san...'
Karuizawa:
'Stop, I mean it! Why are you all being affected more than me? I'm the victim here!'
Ayanokoji seen and read all their chats in the group chat. He sighed, knowing that he'll explain everything later.
Karuizawa slowly opened her legs, tears streaming down her face as she did so. Even if she knew that she was about to be violated, she still wanted to protect her position.
The pain she felt from her years of being bullied had won out. I placed my hand on my belt buckle and pretended to rattle it. Even so, Karuizawa didn't run. She was trying to accept this. She looked at me with empty eyes.
"Hey, hey, hey!" Shibata freaked out.
"How are they so calm?!" Hashimoto pointed out to class D who's holding their phone, brows furrowed.
"Shouldn't you stop this?" Chihiro said to the teachers, "This is a serious offense."
There was no doubt about it. Karuizawa Kei had become a perfect tool for me. I didn't actually care about her body; I just needed to threaten her to see how far she was willing to go, how much she would do. She probably understood that.
"See?!" Karuizawa said to them.
"That's beside the point." Matsushita said annoyed.
"All to obtain a tool?" Yukimura clenched his fists.
"At least he didn't care about her body...?" Yamauchi tried to tell something positive.
"He still threatened her." Sudo reminded him.
"And..." Yamauchi dragged out the word glaring at him, "He helped you many times."
"Well..." Sudo sputtered, "I'm supposed to stand up for him because he helped me in the past?!"
"What I think Yamauchi meant is that, give Ayanokoji the benefit of the doubt." Miyake butted in.
Revealing my true self to her was a big risk. If Karuizawa reported me to the school, I'd be in enormous trouble. However, she feared her past and losing her current social status more than anything else.
That was why she'd go so far as to offer up her body if someone requested it, if it would protect her secret.
The girls hugged Karuizawa. With the exception of Kushida and Horikita. The former, more like hesitant to approach them, while the latter is simply not in her personality.
"I'll never bow to you. I won't be bullied by the likes of you. You just want to mess with me! You think you can do whatever you want, you pervert?!" she shouted.
"You're so strong, Karuizawa-san." Ichinose smiled softly at her.
"Yeah," Kanzaki agreed. "Not many have the courage to move forward after experiencing the things you went through."
Karuizawa smiled at them weakly. Strong or not, she didn't think that she will be relieving her past again after her encounter with Ayanokoji.
Speaking of Ayanokoji, she glanced at the boy. Ayanokoji is currently in a conversation with Horikita. It seemed to be serious based on their expression, well, their expressions is always serious. But, she's thankful. Someday she hope that she'll be able to pay him back.
Karuizawa roared with anger, as if it was welling up from deep within her heart.
"Well, whatever. It's not like this is the first time someone's used force against me. So. Did you know about that, too? How do you think I should act in an impossible situation?" she asked. Still trembling, she gave a thin smile and looked at me with an intense darkness in her eyes.
"After a while, I gave up trying to resist. That's right; I was everyone's victim. I became cold, robotic. I could cry, scream, or thrash around, but it didn't matter. I couldn't do anything. All I could do was take it."
"Sounds like a shitty school." Hashimoto commented.
"With equal shitty students and teachers." Yume huffed.
"Seriously, why didn't the teachers stopped them?" Haruka asked.
Kushida spoke up, "For the sake of the school's reputation, I bet."
Surprised, Haruka grinned at her, "Japan looks like have many shitty schools despite being advanced than most countries."
Karuizawa, as if accepting it all, lifted her skirt and touched her panties. I grabbed her slender arm and pushed her up against the wall.
"Oh, thank God." Shinohara sighed in relief.
Karuizawa gave her a look that said 'I told you so.'
"Yeah, yeah." Shinohara grumbled.
Hirata smiled. He knew that Ayanokoji was not that kind of person. Despite his rather... Inhuman methods. He's glad that he asked for his help.
"What happened to you?" I asked.
"What happened? All sorts of things. Everything and anything. They'd put tacks in my shoes or stuff my desk full of roadkill. When I went to the bathroom, I'd get splashed with dirty water. They wrote words like 'whore' on my uniform. They pulled my hair and punched and kicked me. Anything you could imagine, basically. I was bullied in every way. Countless times. What I've just told you was just a fraction of what I've experienced. Those were the 'gentler' ways I've been bullied, too. It makes me want to laugh. So, why aren't you laughing? Why don't you laugh at the pitiful loser who's been bullied all her life?"
"No one would laughed at you, Karuizawa-san." Ichinose looked at her softly.
"How horrible." Airi covered her mouth with her hand.
"Who said you're a loser? More like strong." Sato grinned at her.
"Can we check with the school's rules regarding bullying?" Mashima asked his fellow teachers. The student council members heard him and paid attention.
"Mashima, there's already multiple punishment if someone bullied another student." Chabashira said.
Mashima frowned, "It wouldn't hurt to check. It's better to be safe than sorry."
Manabu looked deep in thought. Tachibana and Nagumo noticed this.
"What are you thinking about, president?" Nagumo asked him, but he have an idea what.
"Nothing." Manabu dismissed him. He's still thinking about what other rules or punishment he can create to avoid bullying in the school as much as possible. But he knows that's impossible.
With Nagumo the next President, he will likely turn the school into a meritocracy, meaning that all regulations protecting the weak will be abolished.
Even after everything she'd suffered, she still got back up. She seemed ready to fight again. Her resilience had motivated her to enroll in this school. Still…the experiences she'd recounted weren't enough to explain everything.
"What else have you suffered?" I asked.
"Huh?"
"Have you told me the whole truth?"
I believed that something critical had shattered her spirit before this. There had to be some other reason behind her abnormal fearfulness, something that Karuizawa wanted to hide so much that it was worth giving up her body.
"What are you hiding?"
"Wh-what?"
Karuizawa turned her head from me and lowered her eyes to look down at her left side. I noticed that, of course. I reached over and touched that part of her body, over her uniform.
"S-stop!" she shouted.
Her shouts echoed within the enclosed walls of the room. I grabbed her uniform and pulled it up. There, on her beautiful skin, was an ugly scar. A deep scar, one that had been created by a sharp blade.
"W-what?" Horikita let out a sharp intake of breath.
"Who would even...?" Ibuki mumbled.
"Are they even human?" Haruka bit her lip hard.
Karuizawa looked away from all of them, but coincidentally or not, she met Ayanokoji's eye.
"Is it self inflicted or...?" Shibata muttered to himself.
He groaned when Kanzaki hit him in the head.
"What?"
"Moron, why would she do that to herself?"
"That's serious." Katsuragi narrowed his eyes at the screen.
"This is it? This is your darkness?"
"U-ugh!"
This wasn't the result of simple bullying. A serious scar like this had come from a life-threatening attack. Even though she was burdened with that horrible past, she remained tough. She got back on her feet.
Over the past few days, I'd keenly observed Karuizawa Kei. To protect herself, she forced people to become her allies. She protected her status, even
if that meant being disliked.
"Even going as far as to manipulate certain idiot people, huh?" Sakayanagi hummed.
"But being disliked back fired at her." Hashimoto winced.
Hiyori stared at her classmates, Manabe and her friends sharply.
"W-what?" Manabe asked her bravely.
Instead of answering, Hiyori turned around and ignored her.
"Despair comes in many forms. And you've experienced despair. Haven't you?" I asked.
Karuizawa's dark eyes met with mine. People who carry darkness within are attracted to one another. Slowly, they erode each other. Those who conceal a deep darkness will readily embrace the darkness of others.
"Wh-what are you…you…" she stammered.
If her past held her captive, then I had to forcefully free her from her shackles. Even if we weren't close, I could feel the darkness from her, through her skin. Yes. There were profoundly dark things left in this world that even Karuizawa didn't yet know about.
'Like that place?' Sakayanagi thought. How many children died in that place? For the sake of making a perfect human? How many children have they discarded after their usefulness ran out?
Sakayanagi didn't know. How the government still can't shot down or closed it is beyond her. It must mean that that man have connections even to the government.
"I promise you one thing. From now on, I will protect you from bullying. I will be much more reliable than Hirata or Machida," I told her.
"Am I the only one that found that sweet?"
"Yes, you're the only one."
"Really? You guys have no imagination."
"Wait. You meant that you can stop Manabe and her friends?" she asked.
"Right now, you should understand what I'm saying. If the wind blows, a tiny flame goes out. However, a larger flame only grows bigger. It becomes so strong that it won't go out, not even in the face of wild winds or pouring rain. You will help me, and I will help you. Kindness has nothing to do with it. Do you have any problems with this arrangement?"
"I didn't understand the first half." Ike muttered.
"Yeah, what's that about?" Yamauchi asked confused.
The two was ignored.
"So you're helping Ayanokoji help the class in the shadows?" Shinohara asked.
Karuizawa shook her head, "Right now? No, except the time we exchanged phones to mislead people in the rabbit group."
"First things first. I'll get rid of your anxieties for you," I added.
I pulled out my phone.
"I have a way to stop Manabe and her friends."
I showed her phone. On the screen was a photo of Karuizawa being bullied in the emergency stairway.
Ryuuen glared at the screen. Yeah, that is going to cause trouble for him later on. He's sure of it.
Manabe, catching Ryuuen's expression winced. She doesn't want to be in the end of his wrath. Her emotion got the best of her, and now she slipped.
'I'm so dead.'
"That's—" she began.
"If I send this picture to them, they won't get carried away anymore. If they still decide to harass you, perhaps by spreading rumors, then I will step in and put a stop to it. With this."
As far as Manabe and her friends were concerned, this incident should have been enough to satisfy them. If they got carried away and tried to hurt Karuizawa further, they would end up causing trouble for Ryuuen. Then they would be in jeopardy themselves. I let go of Karuizawa's chin, and spoke in a flat, emotionless tone.
"Oh she better know her limit." Ryuuen glared darkly at Manabe's direction. "My class knows how I hate disobedient classmates, especially the ones who likes to cause trouble."
"All I want is for people to cooperate with me. I want you to assist me in the future, doing whatever I need."
"What? Assist? What do you want me to do?"
"If things continue as they are, Class D will never overtake Class A. While the individual students within Class D certainly aren't incapable, we lack a sense of unity. Our class is scattered. However, if you control the girls for me, the situation will gradually improve."
Her social pull made her an even more valuable ally than Horikita.
'His queen?' the Sakayanagi raised a brow. 'It is true that Horikita-san might have the brains to lead the class for him, but she doesn't have the social network and charisma to motivate or to pull the class. Karuizawa-san, for Ayanokoji-kun must be a indisputable pawn.'
Karuizawa watched Ayanokoji's in her peripheral vision. While Horikita frowned at Ayanokoji's words.
"Horikita's personality will hinder her from making any friends," Katsuragi noted. "Her blunt attitude and the constant insult will make students stay away from her."
"What are you trying to…"
Up until now, she'd only ever seen as me as a lowly, unobtrusive guy. Seeing my true self must've terrified her. But I was done explaining. Besides,the less I talked, the more terrifying I would appear. The less she would resist.
"Now, the first thing I need. We must guide our group to victory in this exam."
"How am I supposed to help lead them to—"
"You can, because you're… Right?"
"You almost fooled me." Ichinose giggled.
"Huh? What does that mean?" Yukimura asked confused. "You're the VIP, Karuizawa-san?!"
Machida, and the rest of Class A student in their group grumbled. They entered Ayanokoji's name and were wrong.
But in the end, they did proved their suspicious about them turning traitor.
Though I didn't articulate the key word in that sentence, Karuizawa seemed to know what it was. She looked me in the eyes. The truth resonated deep within her, in her heart.
She tried to look puzzled, but that was just an act. After all, a parasite couldn't live without a host. By finding a new host, Karuizawa only had one way to go on living: with me.
Chabashira stood up, "Class D, please make your way in one of the corners of the gymnasium. All classes can also separate to discuss the viewing with their class privately. The teachers will stand in the middle to avoid eavesdroppers."
Students moved in their areas. Class D in particular moved fast to discuss the scene quickly.
Sudo put an arm around Ayanokoji's shoulders. "What the hell man? If you want to ask Karuizawa's help then ask her. No need to threaten her and stuff."
"Yeah, the threatening is a bit over the top." Yamauchi agreed.
Ike looked deep in thought. "But Karuizawa is stubborn, right? Of course, she'll snap and refuse him adamantly."
"But threatening her and ordering her to spread her legs are not necessary." Matsushita said.
"You know that I'm here, right?" Ayanokoji looked at them deadpanned.
"Can you explain yourself, Ayanokoji-kun?" Horikita asked him. On normal circumstances, Horikita would have defended him herself. But in this situation, it's better that Ayanokoji explain himself.
Ayanokoji sighed, "Karuizawa and I are in the rabbit group in the last exam. I noticed that she was acting not like her usual self and that made me curious and ask Hirata. It lead him explaining to me about their fake relationship and her past. He asked for my help since everyone here knows that Hirata will never take someone's side." He slowly explained. Class D listened to him attentively.
"Karuizawa and Manabe and her friends have trouble, in other to stop that and save Karuizawa while freeing her from her past, I did what was necessary. For you it may not be, but I know it is. By satisfying Manabe's rage on Karuizawa, I obtained an evidence and a way to control Manabe in the future should the need arise. I made Karuizawa moved on from her past and embraced her flaws, thus freeing her and helping her take on a new identity." Ayanokoji finished.
Karuizawa's eyes met Ayanokoji's brown ones. A silent message passed between the two of them.
'Thank you.'
"But I can't understand why you had her spread her legs" Shinohara said.
"I only did that to determine how serious she is to protect her past and to know how deep it is." Ayanokoji answered.
"Anymore questions?" He added.
Class D exchanged looks. They shook their head and quietly disperse to their groups.
Yukimura and a few others stayed behind.
"Why go such length to know about her? You don't need to go that far, you know." Matsushita broke the silence.
Ayanokoji glanced at her, "Not all problems can be solve in a peaceful and gentle way. Sometimes, the best way to end it is to be a questionable human. And that path will never be accepted, nor people will be. Which is why our society is the way it is."
"I'm not telling you to give me your lives, or to trust me. What I need you to do is to trust my abilities." Ayanokoji said.
Yukimura bit his lip in thought, he looked at the other classes.
"I'm not the one benefiting with my help in our class, I can always retreat back and let you all do the work." Ayanokoji added.
-x-
Previous Chapter: The Curtain Rises
Word Count: 6418