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So, yeah, I am back, sorry for the delay, though before you jump into the story, I would like to say a few things.
First, I would like to begin with thanking all my supporters and followers for supporting me even though I have such bad writing. Thank you all.
Second, The Abyss series has been in fact permanently discontinued.
For that I apologise to all the supporters, I am very sorry, but I don't think I will be able to continue it, for several reasons.
Third, I am currently preparing for many back to back exams, Soooooo, sorry I will probably be uploading rarely.*bows down*
I welcome constructive criticism, but no flames.
And Finally, this is my tribute to all fans who have stuck with me until now, please enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own Classroom of the elite or Restraunt to another world, they are property of Shōgo Kinugasa and Junpei Inuzuka, respectively.
Curiosity.
From a certain perspective, it would not be a lie to say, that it is one of the defining feature of, not just the humans, but of any race with even a silver of 'intelligence'. It is, after all, curiosity that drives people to seek the unknown, the undiscovered, to learn and uncover the secrets of the world, and for some even beyond that.
If present in large enough 'quantity', it allows people to ignore their instincts, sometimes, even the ones directly stimulated by the primordial emotion of fear.
But, despite this , curiosity has a 'drawback' of sorts, that it shares with almost all the other features of intelligenct life.
It in essence requires freedom, to, in a way, awaken. Freewill, most primarily, is the core of any intelligent civilisation. Undeniably, freewill with itself brings countless problems. But it is also equally undeniable, that without freewill, nothing has even the slightest resemblance to, what could be considered, an actual meaning to itself.
Freewill brings conscious thoughts, thoughts shaped ideals, and ideals build personality.
Every person, has a natural curiosity to them, from the moment they are born, to when they take their last breadth.
For most, this curiosity is suppressed, maybe due to pressure from others during their life, maybe due to them just uable to see the fascinating aspects of life, or perhaps, due to some other reason.
The suppressing of curiosity could be due to many reasons, but it is, for sure, something that happens to many people during their lives. For some, it happens in their teen years. For some, it happens to them even before they hit puberty.
And, there are some unfortunate souls, for whom it happens right the moment gain some capacity to undestand their surroundings.
Kiyotaka Ayanokouji was one of those unfortunate souls.
As far as he can remember, he has always been surrounded by white walls, always eaten meals that prioritised development of body and mind above all else, and most of all, never even experienced what could be considered the basics of modern human life.
All the while, trapped within the facility, ironically called, "the white room". A facility run by the man who could be considered Kiyotaka's father, at least in blood.
The white room's goal, as designed by his father, was to prove that genius created by training are far beyond the natural born genius. Something he sought to accomplish, by creating the 'perfect human being', someone who will lead Japan to success in the near future, as its leader.
And ever since he gained some capacity to think, his father had place him in this facility for training.
Kiyotaka's parents were not geniuses, at a certain perspective it can even be said, that they were completely normal, not very gifted. Kiyotaka was the same, he was no genius, so in a way, he was perfect for the experiment of the white room.
But if there was one thing that him and his father shared, that gave the an overwhelming advantage over the others, was their indomitable will. The will to perserve, to win despite all odds.
And in the end, it was that very indomitable will that made Kiyotaka capable of being the sole survivior, of not just the white room, but also it's most dangerous course, named 'Demonic 4th generation' due to the sheer difficulty of it, and come out of it to become the 'Greatest Masterpiece of whiteroom'.
Almost effortlessly surpassing all other students, and even the best of instructors, he become the closest thing to a 'perfect human' that his father had sought to create.
And all this came at a price, the price of losing his emotions, the very thing that made him human, and even having his freewill suppressed. His curiosity, the urge to see things, also dimmed.
But Kiyotaka Ayanokoji was a boy of indomitable spirit and will, his craving for freedom thrived, even when suppressed, ready to be unleashed in full force the moment he gets the chance.
And at the end of it all, freewill and everything that comes with it, can never die out, regardless of how much it is beaten down or suppressed, it finds ways to thrive, always. Curiosity was no exception to that.
This was especially true for someone like Kiyotaka. All he needed, was an opportunity, to push out of his cage, with all his might, and fly away to freedom, even a temporary one.
The opportunity came, when he was 14 years old. Some people who, all for differing reasons, had wanted to shut down the whiteroom for long time, gained some ways of putting their plans into actions, causing the faculty to go out of commission, for at least an year.
During this time Kiyotaka's father had him taken from the white room and placed him under the care of his butler, Matsuo.
And that became, the first time within his entire reachable memories, that Kiyotaka gained a glimpse of the outside world. And alongside that gained an opportunity to push out towards his freedom.
Curiosity is a fickle thing, even suppressed, it thrives. And when stimulated, it flares. How strongly it will emerge depends on several factors. But what about someone who had not experienced the hellish, yet pleasing, feeling of curiosity their entire lives? How strong will it emerge?
The answer is, unbearbly strong.
"Kiyotaka, this is where you will be staying for some time."
14 year old Kiyotaka Ayanokoji just nodded silently to his father's words.
On inside he wished to look all around, studying all the new sights. But knowing he would be punished if his father saw him showing even the slightest bit of freewill, he controlled himself.
Looking up, he saw a gentle looking middle-aged man, wearing a butlers outfit (or atleast an outfit similar to what is represented as a butler outfit in the books he read) approaching them.
His father looked at the man, and said, "This is Matsuo, he will be taking care of you until the white room reopens."
The man, now named Matsuo, bowed down towards them with a smile, "It's a pleasure to meet you Kiyotaka-sama, as master said, I am Matsuo, your caretaker for some time."
"I will come pick you up after a year or so. Matsuo, keep me updated on his activities."
Having said that Kiyotaka's father turned back, without sparing either of them a single glance, and walked away, towards the car parked outside the gate.
Usually this would be taken as a very cold way of talking to your own child, but Kiyotaka, who was used to this behaviour of his father, ignored it.
Instead, when sure that his father had left, he looked around to register the world around himself.
A garden, with plants grown that he had only seen in books up until now. The sky was a clear blue, and the air smelled fresh, and easy to breath in, unlike the suffocating air of the white room.
'I... am free?'
Perhaps it was due to the new and alien environment, but Kiyotaka found himself unable to register the overwhelming feelings coursing through him, all he was able to do, was let himself feel the emotions he yet didn't understand.
"Kiyotaka-sama"
Matsuo's voice snapped him out of his thoughts, and caused him to look at his new caretaker, who still had the same smile on him.
Kiyotaka wondered, how would smiling feel like? Would it be like using any other muscle in his body? Or perhaps, something more abstract?
With all these thoughts, he felt a strange longing, longing to learn about the feelings called emotions, which were alien to him yet. To learn all that he should have known and to feel what he should have been able to feel before.
As he was going through these thoughts , Matsuo spoke "You must be tired from your journey, would you like to have lunch right now. Or maybe you want to rest?"
"I am fine with either." Kiyotaka expressionlessly answered, in his usual dead tone.
Matsuo look at him with what could be recognised by even Kiyotaka as sadness and pity passing through his eyes.
"Well, then, please allow me to serve you the lunch now. I apologise that right now I have only be made fried rice, but if you would like a specific dish, please don't hesitate to tell me."
"Thank you, but there would be no need for that. I can eat any dish as long as it provides sufficient nutrients."
Matsuo looked at him with sad eyes again, before regaining his smile, "Then I will do my best to make sure you know your favourite dish in a week."
Kiyotaka just nodded, looking around with his eyes, while still facing his new caretaker.
This was noticed by Matsuo, who asked him kindly, " Kiyotaka-sama, could I perhaps interests you in getting a tour of the house and then the city. After you had lunch and rest, of course."
Realizing that he was being too obvious about his craving for freedom Kiyotaka ahook his head, while looking at Matsuo directly, "Thank you, but I would like to pass on that."
"..Alright then." He seemed to hesitate while saying that, " Then, please forgive me for keeping you outside for so long let's go inside."
Kiyotaka nodded, this time keeping his gaze in front of him.
"Please sit here while I serve the fried rice."
Kiyotaka sat down on one of the chairs that seemed to be neatly arranged accross a moderately large dining table, situated in a room with red painted walls, a refreshing sight from the white colour he had grown tired of.
Matsuo soon placed a plate in front of him. The plate had been filled with light brown coloured rice, with several added vegetables and pieces of meat. It had quite a pleasant smell.
He felt his stomach growl softly, barely audible. He had not eaten anything for a few days ever since the WR had been thrown into chaos.
Having been taught ways to handle different cutlery, Kiyotaka picked up the spoon place next to the plate.
Taking some of the rice, with a few vegetables and one piece of brown cooked meat, he ate it.
As soon as he placed the spoon in his mouth, flavour overwhelmed him, a variety of flavours, of vegetables and meat, perfectly cooked, mixing with the soft texture and spicy taste of the rice, all mixing together to form a refreshing blend.
Even after gulping it down, a spicy aftertaste, blended with salt, still remained.
He used the spoon to pick up more of the fried rice and eat it again.
The scent of the dish had a strange nostalgic pinch to it, like he had smelled it before, in some parts of memory too blurry to remember.
That was something that should have been impossible, he had never been outside of the white room, as far as his memories go, even his father, the only person outside of the instructors and students he interacted with, only ate food for nutrients and not for taste.
The only way he could have been near a food like fried rice was...
?!!
Kiyotaka snapped out of his, and looked up, realising that he had gone too lost in the taste of the fried rice.
Matsuo, seeing him look up suddenly, smiled in a kind manner.
"Kiyotaka-sama, almost all people are complex, they have more to them than any person can ever possible know or read, but there is one thing most have in common. They want to create their own path, to have their own thoughts, regardless of how much the world affects them, pressures them, or supresses them, they still want to decide on their own, what they will do, and how they will do it. And, there is nothing wrong with that."
Matsuo looked at him still smiling, "Though, I guess, this is just my openion. Different people think differently."
He stared at Kiyotaka directly in the eyes, and said, "Now, young master, its your choice, what do you want to think? What path do you want to follow? Which brings me back to my previous question, do you want to learn and know all things you have missed in your childhood?"
Kiyotaka sat there feeling half frozen, Countless thoughts went through his head at that.
Maybe telling him about what he wanted would be a mistake. Matsuo could report it to his father, who would then take strict actions to ensure that Kiyotaka did not get a chance of freedom.
Yet, somehow, perhaps due to the strange thing called emotion, he felt like he could trust Matsuo. Trust him to keep his secret.
So regardless of how foolish it sounded and regardless of how much the logical part of him was telling him not to, he nodded in agreement, confirming Matsuo's words, and, at the same time unknowingly setting up a series of actions that will change the life of not just himself, but also of almost everyone else connected to himself.
"Advance Nurturing Highschool?"
Kiyotaka asked half questioningly.
"Yes." Matsuo nodded.
"Perhaps the only place where your father's influence does not reach, at least as far as I know."
"What exactly makes AHNS so special?"
Kiyotaka stared at him unblinkingly.
Ever since he had 'expressed' his wish for learning about emotions and freedom, Matsuo had been trying to teach him all about emotions he can. Trying to get him to develop normal habits, like hobbies, favourite food and movies, and he had also brought some video games for Kiyotaka to play.
It was all certainly not easy for him to adapt to normal life, especially after spending all his life until now confined and training. In fact, the closest thing to hobby he had was his love for reading books, which he developed due to books being the only type of entertainment allowed in the WR.
But as an year passed, he was able to at least some what develop other normal hobbies and likes. He even watched several anime. And he also gained Matsuo as a sort of father figure and friend he could somewhat trust.
And then it was time. Matsuo received a message from Kiyotaka's father, that he would be coming to pick Kiyotaka up. The WR has finally been reopened.
Matsuo didn't like that Kiyotaka, who he had come to see as a son, was losing his freedom just when he had started to learn about a 'normal life'.
Even Kiyotaka himself, who usually suppressed his emotions, felt what could be considered anger and annoyance at his freedom being taken away again.
It was then that Matsuo came up with an idea for extending his(Kiyotaka's) freedom. That idea was a highschool. The Advance Nurturing Highschool or AHNS for short.
Which brings us to the current situation.
"Several things. Firstly, it is government run and completely isolated from the rest of the world, regardless of how much influence master Ayanokoji has, he can not affect it, at least not without revealing too much. This way, you will be free for the three years of your highschool life, and be able to experience a normal teenage growth." Matsuo paused there a little, as if hesitating. "And the chairman of that highschool Mr Sakayanagi, he is... one of the few people aware of your, circumstances."
Kiyotaka narrowed his eyes, just a little "How? I thought the WR facility was supposed to be a secret."
"It is a secret, but there a few people with close connections to your father, who know about it, at least a little. And Sakayanagi, he knows more than most."
"So then, will Chairman Sakayanagi agree to my wish of freedom?"
Matsuo nodded again, "He never liked the white room, and how it ruined children's lives. But he was unable to do anything about it due to your father. He will definitely help any child that wants to create their own path." He smiled like usual, "And most of all he would want to help you, who had his life take away by his own father."
Kiyotaka fell silent, deep in thought. And then the finally spoke, looking Matsuo in the eye "Then, how do I enter AHNS?"
Looking back at him like one would look at their son taking his first step into the outside world, Matso began, "First there is an intrance exam."
But of course it would not be that easy.
The entrance exam had gone smoothly, he had skipped a few questions to get just 50 marks and be placed in an average class.
But things started escalating a week from there. As it turned out, his father was not careless with his 'masterpiece', and had sent several of his men for gathering information about what Kiyotaka was doing.
This caused his father to be informed of his and Matsuo's rebellious actions. Leading to him sending trained people for retrieving Kiyotaka.
Matsuo had immediately told him to leave as quickly as possible and try to contact Chairman Sakayanagi, who had probably knew about Kiyotaka joining AHNS, due to his admission form.
He had to leave Matsuo behind in the mansion and run away. And then immediately after reaching east tokyo, having run several kilometers, call the chairman, using a number Matsuo had him memorize.
After using a phone he borrowed from a bystander, he spoke to the chairman, who, thankfully had not questioned him too much and was very cooperative, though he did sound worried. He told Kiyotaka to wait for him to receive him and they will talk at his home.
Now, he was waiting while leaning on a building at a moderately crowded place, keeping himself on guard.
While he doubted that his father could track him easily, preparing for worst never hurts.
Even if Chairman Sakayanakgi could not help him, he had several backup plans made in advance. Even at the worst case, he could make do with the money Matauo had give him at the last moment until he found a place that kept him hidden.
'He really was prepared, almost as if he feared father would try to stop me it.'
Deciding there was no point in pondering over these things, he looked in front of him, tensing up as a black car stopped in front of him.
A silver haired middle aged man, about same age as his father, came out of the car and looked directly at him, "Kiyotaka?"
"Chairman Sakanayagi." Kiyotaka nodded, relaxing, just a little, "Thank you for arriving at such a short notice."
He bowed his head just a little, to show his respect.
The chairman smiled, "Let's leave the pleasantries for when we a in a safe place. Besides, I am glad you haven't been completely taken over by that place." He turned serious, "For now let's go to my home, we can talk there."
"Thank you." Seeing no reason to refuse, Kiyotaka said his thanks once more and stepped inside the car.
The path to Chairman Sakayanagi's home was not very long, but even that appeared as forever to Kiyotaka who was tense the entire time.
But despite that, they were able to reach their destination without any problems.
Currently, Kiyotaka was sitting on a sofa, in what seemed to be the guest room.
The guest room was painted light yellow, with a moderate amount of light illuminating it, there were three sofas and one couch surrounding a glass table.
He turned his head towards the door on hearing it open, and Chairman Sakayanagi came in with two cups of coffee in his hands.
Placing one of the cups in front of him, he sat down opposite of Kiyotaka.
"Sorry, I was only able to make coffee right now, other than me, my daughter is the only one at home, and I rather not wake her up." The Chairman said taking a sip from his own cup and then putting it down.
"Its alright." Kiyotaka simply said. In the first place, allowing him to come here was already a favour in itself.
Though it was surprising, there were no servants in the house, at least as far he had observed, there were no hints to suggest there were.
Despite being rich and successful, the chairman seemed to be quite a simple and humble man.
"I get the gist of what could have happened." Chairman said facing him directly, "But can you explain in detail."
Kiyotaka nodded slowly, and starting from his freedom from whiteroom, told him everything.
After hearing that, the chairman leaned backwards and sighed, " I know sensei can go to any lengths for his goals, but it still never ceases to surprise me."
As the chairman seemed to have gone into thinking, Kiyotaka asked something he had been wanted confirmed for some time now, "Chairman."
Chairman Sakayanagi looked up at him.
"Did you know about me trying to enter AHNS."
He had no reason to suspect the Chairman of working with his father, in the end, the timing of WR enforcers arriving and him giving entrance exam were too far away, his father was not the patient kind of man, to wait for this long, especially if acting early was far more beneficial.
The reason he asked the question was due to simple curiousity.
"Yes." The chairman nodded, "Forms of all students wanting admission will have to go through me first."
"Then," Kiyotaka continued, "why allow me to attend, would it not be bad for you to get on my fathers bad side."
Chairman Sakayanagi smiled, "In Japan only education until middle school is compulsory, after that, it is the student's choice. If they decided that they want to continue learning, not even their parents have a right to stop them, if the student in question is not dependent on them for tution fees. AHNS is government run and requires no fee. I believed it was your right to study in highschool."
After a pause he continued, "That's half of the reason, the other reason is, I think it was also your right to be free. You should have been able to follow the path you chose for yourself."
"Besides..." He smiled again, "..it is not that easy, even for sensei himself to do me or my family any harm. I can not harm him, but it goes both ways, the best he could do, is hinder me temporarily. Are you satisfied now?"
"Yes, thank you." Kiyotaka responded, the Chairman's explanation had cleared a lot of his doubts, allowing him to formulate new scenarios and theories based on that, and learn more about the kind of person Sakayanagi was.
"Then, what would you like to do now?"
'I wonder about that too.' Kiyotaka thought.
There was no way for him to go to AHNS now, his father will leave no effort to get him expelled. But there was no other safe place he knew of.
As if sensing his worry, The Chairman said "There is another place you can be safe in, if you want to know."
That got his attention, looking up he asked, "What might that place be?"
Sakayanagi looked like he was about to answer, but a knock on the door interrupted him, causing him to look towards it.
Kiyotaka immediately tensed, but the chairman calmed him by saying, " Don't worry its probably my daughter." He then sighed and said, "Come in."
The door opened, and a pretty doll-like girl with silver hair, same as chairman's, and similar coloured eyes walked in, using a cane to balance herself, and bowed lightly.
"I apologise father." she said, "I saw the lights were on, so I thought I might check."
Kiyotaka noted that she spoke in quite a polite and mature way.
And there were no sign of external injuries on her, so she probably had a weakened organ from birth, considering she seemed to require a cane for walking.
"Its alright." The chairman calmly said, " We just have a guest. You know him, though it probably does not go both ways."
She looked up and it was probably the first time she entered the room that she got a good look at him.
Her reaction was immediate, as her eyes widened slightly, and she looked shocked.
'Does she know me?' Kiyotaka thought, ' Well considering she is the chairman's daughter, she might have seen me in the WR through the glass. That's probably what he meant by 'it probably does not go both ways' '
"Kiyotaka, this is my daughter..."
"It's alright father." The girl interrupted him, looking at Kiyotaka with a smile, that seemed to radiate...smugness of sorts?
'How can a smile even be smug?' He wondered.
Lightly grabbing the lower part of her night gown, she bowed in a polite manner, "Its a pleasure to finally meet you in person, Ayanokoji-kun, my name is Arisu Sakayanagi. Chairman Sakayanagi would be my father."
When she stopped bowing, he noted alongside the smug smile, he eyes had a strange twinkle to them, as if she had found something she was looking for from a long time, "It has been a long time since I last saw you, almost 8 years and 200 days, in fact."
"Have we met before?" He asked her calmly, keeping his theories about her knowing him to himself and pretending to be oblivious.
"Fufufufu." She laughed in a wierd way, " You are quite cruel Ayanokoji-kun. To pretend to not know a maiden after you snatched her heart and gaze on the very first day she saw you."
'What's that supposed to mean?' As Kiyotaka was wondering about that Chairman Sakayanagi intrupped with a cough.
He looked quite amused by their interaction, "As much I hate to interrupt you two, I think, we should finish our previous conversation."
"Ah, yes, I apologise again, for interrupting both of you." Arisu said with a smile, "But perhaps do you mind if I listened in to you conversation."
Chairman looke at Kiyotaka, leaving the decision to him.
"I have no problem with it." Kiyotaka responded with closed eyes. Even if he refused, he had a feeling Arisu was going to not give up that easily, and she already knew WR, so there was no problem.
"Then," Chairman Sakayanagi continued, "As I was saying, there is a place, if you work there, you can both get a stable jobs and be safe from your father. But..."
Seeing he was hesitating, Kiyotaka said, "I am ready to do almost anything for my freedom, now that I have come this far. Please don't worry, I can do most tasks easily."
The chairman smiled and said," I am already aware of that, but it's not the work or place itself that should be a problem."
"What do you mean?" Kiyotaka asked, and Arisu too looked interested.
"Well, I think it's better to tell you after we go there tomorrow." Sakayanagi said after some thinking, "For now, you should rest."
He wanted to ask more, but desided against it.
"Alright, then do you mind I stay here in the mean time."
"I don't mind, that was my intention all the time after all. There is a spare room three door away from here, please make yourself at home and do not hesitate to ask anything."
"Thank you."
The chairman turned to his daughter, "Arisu, you should go back to sleep too."
The girl in question stood up using her cane as a support, and facing her father, she asked, "Father, is there no way for Ayanokoji-kun to attend AHNS."
Chairman Sakayanagi sighed mentally, be knew that despite being just 15 years old, Arisu was very sharp, she probably has connected the dots, and figured out almost everything about the situation, and is just asking for confirmation.
Confirmation, so that she can make a certain decision.
Kiyotaka, who was initially about to leave, stopped after hearing her question.
He too, had realized some of Arisu's intentions, and was curious about what she would do after getting the answer to that.
"No, there is none." The chairman shook his head, "Even if he does attend, his school life will be filled with battling against WR people."
"I see." Arisu seemed to be thinking, before she said, " Then there is something I would like to request."
"What is it?" His daughter sometimes created plans that even he himself was unable to predict. But this time was different, maybe it was a feeling, just instincts of a father, but he knew what she was going to ask for.
"I would like to withdraw my admission from AHNS."
The next morning Kiyotaka found himself in the same black car he was in before, going to a place he would be put of reach of his father.
Arisu's decision of dropping out of AHNS had shocked him a little. When he asked her the reason she quoted, 'Fufufu, I have reunited with my childhood friend after so long, why would I ever separate myself from you now.'
He did not understand that logic, especially since it was just for three years, but Chairman Sakayanagi did not seem to be surprised at that, so he guessed it was normal for her.
"Were you surprised by Arisu's decisions.?" Chairman Sakayanagi asked him, while driving.
"A little." Kiyotaka responded calmly.
The chairman smiled, "She was always an unpredictable person, and a true genius. I was worried that she might be feeling lonely, being the only one who thinks so differently from others her age. But, it seemed like I was worried for nothing."
"How so?" Kiyotaka slightly raised his eyebrow.
"As it turned out, despite how otherworldly her thoughts seem most of the time, in the end even she can think and feel like a girl her age. Though I guess, the target of those thoughts and feelings is not normal, so the the feelings themselves cannot be normal too."
' Was any of that supposed to make sense?'
Deciding to change the topic, he asked, "So, how far is the place you were talking about."
The chairman stopped the car and said, "We are already here."
Stepping outside, Kiyotaka saw a building in front of him, Sakayanagi walked forward and knocked twice on a door with a cat's portrait on it, carrying a plate in its mouth.
On the plate, "Western Restraunt Nekoya" was written.
Without waiting for a realise, the chairman opened the door and walked inside, with Kiyotaka walking in after him.
"Sorry, we are not yet opened, - Oh! Sakayanagi-San." A middle aged man with a beard and chef's cloths walked out from the inner sections of the place.
"Its been a long time , old friend." Chairman Sakayanagi greeted the other man with a smile.
"Of course it would be after a long time, you barely visit with how busy you are now." The man smiled back. Then noticing Kiyotaka, he looked a little surprised, "Is this..."
"Yes, this is Kyoko-San and sensei's son. Kiyotaka, this is the master of this restraunt and an acquaintance of your mother."
"I see." the man smiled at Kiyotaka and greeted him, "Good morning young man."
"Good morning." Kiyotaka greeted back.
The man then turned back to the chairman, "So why are you here now, the restraint opens after a few more hours you know."
"I know." The Chairman nodded, "While I would love to taste your cooking, I had another thing I wanted to talk to you about."
"Then come in and sit." The master motioned them to come in.
Soon, they were sitting in the restraunt one of the tables.
"Sorry, this is the closest thing I have to a guest room." Master apologised
"Its alright. Now, let's talk about why we are here." the chairman turned serious, "I would like you to employ Ayanokoji here, in Nekoya."
"Hmmm!?" He looked a little surprised, but calmed down, "I guess, I am a little short on staff for 6 days of week and I could use a hand for assistance in cooking. Considering he is her son, he probably has a natural talent for it."
"But..." he continued, "..why exactly do you want him to work here?"
"After Kyoko-San's death, sensei changed, I recently found out, that he had been abusive to Kiyotaka.."
"Abusive!, to do that to his own son."
Unfazed by the interruption, the chairman continued "...so I brought him here, away from sensei, so he can live a normal life, freely."
"I guess, death of a loved one tends to do that to you." Master said with a sad smile, "But that does not justify being violent with your own son. How could he..."
"Then do you mind hiring him."
Master shook his head, "No I don't, I would have hired him anyway, but if his father is abusive, Kiyotaka should stay away from him."
"Thank you, but be careful, I am sure he won't try anything extreme, but sensei would probably come here, demanding you kick him out."
"You can count on me, and grandma too, if worse come to worst." He responded with a smile, causing Chairman to nod.
Master then looks at Kiyotaka, "Then young man, you will be working here from Monday to Friday as a waiter and as my assistant chef on Saturdays and Sundays. I needed someone to pass on my skills to anyway."
"Of course you did." Sakayanagi said in a joking tone, "You are still single and you niece doesn't seem to want to inherit you cooking skills as well."
Master looked annoyed at the chairman for the friendly teasing and then after sighing, turned to Kiyotaka again, "Then do you have any changes you want to make. If not, we can move of to other things, including your salary."
Though he had several questions, he refrained from asking for now and just said, "I am alright with that, sir"
"Good then..." He was interrupted by The Chairman.
"Before you guys go on," He said, "There are some things I would like to tell Kiyotaka."
"Oh," Master looked like he understood something, "You haven't yet told him about his mother's home?"
"Not yet, but I am going to now."
"Alright I will be in the kitchen preparing for opening, call me when you guys are done with the Q/A session." He then headed off to prepare for the day.
"Now," the chairman turned to Kiyotaka, " You probably have many questions, ask them."
'Finally.' Kiyotaka thought, but did not show any expression.
He asked, "Firstly, why do you think I will be safe here?"
"This place." The chairman answered, " is very special to sensei."
That caught Kiyotaka off guard, 'Special, to that man.'
As if sensing his confusion, Chairman continued, "Sensei, was not always like he is today. When your mother was alive, he was different, a happy man. But, he changed when she died."
Sighing with a reminiscent look in him eyes, he continued, "Though there was one thing about him that did not change, the times he spent with he still remained precious memories to him. Most specifically, memories of the place be met her." He smiled," That place was, this restraunt."
Kiyotaka did not say anything.
"Its quite hard to believe, but his emotions prevent him from directly attacking this place. The only way he can get to you, is by getting you kocked out, which will not work, as you have seen with master, or to attack you directly."
Looking directly at him, the chairman said, " But that also wouldn't work, partially due to you not being so easy to defeat and partially due to another reason."
"Another reason?"
"I was getting to that." He smiled calmly, "You should relax, because this will take quite some time to explain."
Taking a deep breadth, he began, "Firstly, if I say parallel worlds exist, will you believe me? "
"Depends if you give a good enough proof." Despite saying that, it would not be surprising that other worlds could exist, after all, quantum physics was one of his favourite subjects.
"Proof, eh?" the Chairman looked amused, "You yourself are the greatest proof I can show right now."
"What do you-" He had a feeling he knew what the chairman was getting to, and it alighted well with all other hints too, but before he could ask, Kiyotaka was interrupted.
"By the time my explaination is done, everything will be clear, though, you probably have an idea already."
"Then please continue." Kiyotaka said calmly.
"Alongside our worlds many others exist, but I can only confirm existance of one. A world quite close ours, so close, that it is possible to travel between them. I know two means of that, one is by what some acquaintance of mine call a space time turbulence, there are two people I know of who have arrived in this world."
Pointing at the kitchen, he said, "One of them is Master's grandmother Yomi"
'Interesting' Kiyotaka mused.
"And the other one is..." He paused as if for dramatic effect, "...your mother Kyoko Ayanokoji."
'Wha..' Kiyotaka had never been actually surprised in his life, but hearing that made him as close to speechless as possible. Though, he did not show in his face.
"You are a hybrid, between humans of two worlds."
'A hybrid...'Ayanokoji calmed down from his surprise, and motioned for the Chairman to continue.
"The other world, I have never been there, of course. But I have heard, that it contains something called magic, made out of a person's life force, the power of their very existance." He looked at Kiyotaka, "You probably also can use magic too, and probably have quite a talent for it, considering your immense willpower and intense training."
"Magic would be useful." Like for defending himself, in case his father did have his soldiers attack him.
Sakayanagi smiled and said, "That's why I brought topic of you being able to use magic up. You would probably have a lot of chances for that, now that you work here."
Seeing kiyotaka's questioning look he continued, "The other way of travelling between the two worlds, is this restraunt." Pointing at a door at the back of the room, he continued, "For unknown reasons, every saturday, that door connects to several different parts of the other world."
'A restraunt that connects to another world' , it sounded absurd, but considering all the absurd things he had learnt today, and gone through his entire life, it was quite believable now.
"This brings me to the final reason why sensei cannot risk trying to force you back to WR." He continued, "This restraunt has several powerful customers from the other world, some of whom, can even travel between worlds without any outside help. Some of those customers are a part of the Six Pillar Gods, six dragons worshiped as gods in the other world, one of them, even views the restraunt and its workers her treasures. If you work here, their protection will extend to you as well. Sensei is one of the few people who knows about this restraunt's secrets and as strong as he is, he will not risk angering a god-like dragon."
Kiyotaka registered all he had heard, sorting out information, in a speed impossible for any human other than him.
Then in just a second, he nodded, informing the chairman that he understood the explanation.
"Do you have anymore questions?"
Logically, there was not something he wanted to ask, yet, there was something biting at him inside. A question, while perfectly normal for a normal person, seemed alien to him.
"How was she? My... mother?" He finally asked slowly.
Sakayanagi smiled as if reminising about past, with a faraway look in his eyes, "She, was a normal women, by both world's standards, but she had a gmail of iron and she was as stubborn as it gets. Her cooking was so great, it became a hit in this restraunt whenever she visited to help. She was a lot like you, in terms of appearance, in fact, you have inherited your face from her. And she loved fried rice a lot. You should try this restraunt's fried rice, you might like it too."
His smile turned sad, "It was a perfectly normal day, and she was walking outside, sometime after being retired from hospital, with you in her arms, when a truck slammed into her. We retrieved her body later. She... was clenching you tightly in her arms, even after death, she had used her own body to protect you, at the cost of her own life. "
His eyes turned misty, "Your father was never the same again"
Kiyotaka had no words left to say, feeling a turmoil if emotions within himself.
His eyes burned like they had been poured with gasoline, but no tears came out. He felt like various emotions were flowing inside him like water, trying to break out, yet staying trapped inside, making him feel like his body was being torn apart.
The emotions painfully flowed within him, until they finally stopped, leaving an empty feeling of longing.
'Is that why he hates me... Maybe in a very round abound way, but I am to partially blame for her death.' He thought to himself.
Kiyotaka knew he should cry, scream, feel something, but nothing came except emptiness. It felt as if his emotions rose like water trying to overflow from a container, but the said container was too tightly packed, causing the water to simply flow back towards its source.
"Kiyotaka"
He looked at Chairman Sakayanagi after hearing his voice.
"Don't go on blaming yourself, it was not your fault." He said, "Your mother... she had a smile on her face, even in death. She was more happy than anyone that you were being born in this world by her. And I may have no right to say this, but I think, she was happy that you were able to live."
He didn't know how he felt after hearing that, but it felt like his shoulders were a little lighter. So maybe the words had helped, even if just a little.
It will take time, for him to sort out all he had felt alongside the things he had no idea about before.
But now, time was something he had a lot of, and something he will need a lot of, too. With all the new things he had to do.
Starting with mastering his new job, and learning emotions, at the same time.
He snapped out of his thoughts after hearing a cough.
"Well" Sakayanagi said, having coughed to get his attention, "Unless you have more questions , I should go."
He got up when Kiyotaka shook his head in negative, not having anymore questions.
"You should go talk to master about your payment, and contact me if you need any housing, you are always welcome to live with us." Chairman said with a smile.
"Thank you." Kiyotaka had already thanked him more than he had expected to anyone during his life.
The chairman smiled again and before leaving said, "Oh, and Arisu will probably come visit you a lot, so be ready for that, take care of her."
'Ok..?' , not knowing how to respond, Kiyotaka just nodded.
Kiyotaka found his new job an interesting experience. While he had yet to meet the customers from the 'other world', having worked for just a few days yet, he still found it a new experience to interact with many different people.
Arisu, as he found out, had taken admission at a nearby highschool. She had been visiting him quite a lot too, every day infact, like Chairman Sakayanagi had told him.
Chairman Sakayanagi had told him that he would also admit Kiyotaka in that school if he didn't mind. That was something he was still deciding on about.
He was satisfied with what he
finally had, freedom, to decide for himself, to live his own life and make his own choices. 'Create his own path' as Matso had told him.
He was also able to realized that freedom was not completely wonderful, he now had many more things to worry about, normal worries. And on a more extreme scale, his own future.
He certainly had experienced alot after finally being free from the chains of the WR, but the experience he cherished most, was learning the fact that...
"May I take your order?" Kiyotaka asked the customer in front of him. A girl about his age, with white hair, and purple eyes. She was reading a book, but looked up after he spoke.
'"The Name of the Rose". It was quite intersesting, when I read it, I wonder how she thinks of it.'
"Umm." She stared at the menu, after picking it up. "Can I have this, 'Chocolate chip icecream'"
The girl pointed at a certain picture.
'
Cute.' He(Kiyotaka) thought to himself.
On outside, he nodded calmly, "Thank you. Your order will be brought shortly."
Before going, after a little mental hesitation, he spoke to her, "That book is 'The Name of the Rose' by Umberto Eco right? I won't spoil much, but it has quite an interesting ending."
She looked up at him quickly, causing him to mentally flinch in surprise, her eyes shining, " You have read it?"
Kiyotaka nodded," Yes, a combination of historical and mystery is mostly good for me, so I try to read it as much as I can. If you like this book, I would suggest reading, 'Foucault's Pendulum' by the same author."
"I have heard of it." she nodded excitedly, "I was confused whether to read it later or now. But now I will definetly read it after that."
He felt his lips twitch into a ghost of a smile barely visible, as he simple nodded again, silently.
"And do you read other novels mystery novels..." The girl was about to go one talking excitedly, which Kiyotaka found cute, despite himself.
But alas, he had to interrupt her, "Sorry I am currently on duty, so can't talk much."
"Oh.." She looked saddened, causing him to feel like a sharp stone had been stabbed in his heart.
So he quickly added, "But, if you don't mind I would like to talk to you after my shift ends, in about 2 hours. It is quite rare to find a fellow reader of mystery novels."
She quickly brightened up, smiling at him she said, "Yes I would love to."
Then as if realizing something, she said," I am Hiyori Shinna, it is nice to meet you."
Kiyotaka smiled back, just a little, barely visible, " I am Kiyotaka Ayanokouji."
...despite its many drawbacks, freedom was truely wonderful.
Hope you liked it..
As you have probably guessed, I have changed some things from the original novel( Eg Matsuo knowing more about WR than implied in canon, etc.).
Though I like to believe I have improved alot after my previous works, I know that this is still not that good.
There were a lot of things I wanted to do with this, including being able to write Kiyotaka's interaction with the dragons and their reaction to him(and his absurd amount of mana, for a human), I realized that would make the writing even worse and refrained.
Cote: Classroom of the elite.
WR: White room.
AHNS: Advanced Nurturing Highschool.
Anyway, this is just a oneshot, and I don't intend on continuing it.
For Those Who Wish to See This Continued, It Is Very Important To Read The Words Below :
If anyone wants, they can continue it. But, I have certain conditions, please,
1. keep the plot points introduced by me unchanged.
2. also keep the cote characters I introduced in the series, and
3. Keep the ship Kiyotaka x Arisu x Hiyori.(if you want, you can add more girls too(Eg, Kuro), but Arisu and Hiyori being shipped together with Kiyotaka is a must.)
Those are my conditions if you want to adopt/continue this fic.
I am really sorry if this feels constricting for the writers who would like to continue it, but these conditions are needed since there are certain routes I'd rather not see an idea of mine go.
Finally, Thank you for reading this.