Classroom of the Elite: Liquid Inspiration

by StrongStyle777

In an alternative universe where Ayanokouji Atsuomi humored the desires of Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, the story changes in more ways than one—new companions, new philosophies, and new goals. Find out how ANHS would take the White Room masterpiece that had developed a sense of humanity. (Cross-posted on Wattpad)

24. Vol 1 Chapter 12 - Playing the Game

A Liquid Inspiration

Summary: (A re-telling of Classroom of the Elite sparked by a certain conversation between Masterpiece and Professor.)

One day, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka receives a surprising invitation from his father, Ayanokouji Atsuomi, to join him for a drink. It was unusual for Kiyotaka, who normally wouldn't be summoned by his father without a hidden agenda.

That's why even the emotionless Kiyotaka was surprised when his father began to open up about his own experiences with love and relationships.

For the emotionally distant "masterpiece," this conversation is a rare moment of connection with his father, and it sparked a curiosity within him to explore the world of human relationships, to be more specific: romance and intimacy.

It was that spark that pushed Kiyotaka to demand something from his father:

"Father, teach me everything about human relationships."

This then begins a ripple that changes how Ayanokouji Kiyotaka would approach the world in the foreseeable future.

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Do check out this fic on Wattpad. It has the same title and content, but we do have illustrations there to increase immersion for the fic. Thanks, and here's the chapter!

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Vol. 1 Chapter 12 - Playing the Game

Ayanokōji Kiyotaka

The next morning, I woke up early and put on my jogging clothes. As I stepped out of the dormitory, I was greeted by the fresh, chilly air of the morning. The sun was just starting to peek over the horizon, casting a warm orange glow across the campus.

After stretching my limbs, I started to jog around the campus, taking in the sights and sounds of the morning. While running, my mind wandered back to the previous night's events.

I couldn't help but let a shadow of a smile appear on my face. After all, I found myself pleased with what Yuki had concocted.

Heh, to think Chiaki was actually trained by Keiji-san in espionage. Well, that explains why Keiji-san looks at her like she is a daughter to him.

That said, while I could handle the Kushida problem myself, I had no interest in dealing with such a minor nuisance. There were bigger fish to catch and more information to dig for as I had found myself in the Student Council.

This disinterest was why I took a rather roundabout approach to this situation, where instead of focusing fully on Kushida, I shifted my eyes to another player: Horikita Suzune.

Kushida's odd fixation with Horikita from the start, as well as Horikita's wariness for Kushida, indicated that the two, at the very least, knew of each other before attending ANHS. This observation led me to corner Horikita and extract from her the reason for her wariness towards Kushida.

After successfully extracting that information, I saw an opportunity to test Horikita Suzune's usefulness and to determine if she were someone I would want to associate with. This led to me engineering a situation where Horikita Suzune would have to develop by using her wariness for Kushida and compelling her to push down her discomfort and attempt to act amiably toward her.

The test yielded positive results to some degree, as Horikita was able to steadily find herself able to fend for herself in situations that she found herself uncomfortable dealing with—an indicator of her growth, albeit it was a slow development.

However, her passive-aggressiveness towards Ken, which started when he insinuated that I was befriending her for charity, indicated that she still had room for improvement. But at least there was progress, so I'll take what I can take.

As for Kushida, I knew she was eventually going to be a threat to the class, thanks to what Horikita had revealed. But I believe that Kushida Kikyō was still useful despite her potential volatility, so I do not find a need to eliminate her from the school.

Instead, I was seeking a way to utilize her innate talent in social engineering as well as the network she had built to benefit the class.

To do this, we needed to extract a card that we could use to neutralize her threat while making her useful, something that would be manifested thanks to another layer of my plan, one that involved letting Yuki know about my discussion with Horikita pertaining to Kushida.

After gaining the information I wanted to extract from Horikita, I deliberately told Yuki about it, as I knew that she would be compelled to do something about it due to her nature of wanting to deal with a problem before it even became a problem.

Because, like me, Yuki had probably determined that it was simply a matter of time before Kushida's mask broke and decided to cause trouble for the class.

But I do have to give Kushida credit because if not for Yuki's decision to act against her, it would take quite some time for us to gain a card that would neutralize her possible threat to Class B. My plan was working perfectly, and the pieces were falling into place.

As I continued jogging, I let out a deep sigh as my mind shifted to the recording Chiaki had presented the previous night.

Kushida's true nature was unreasonably weird.

"Do you mind if I put Yamauchi and Ike in your study group? Of course, I mind, you dipshit! Your fake concern isn't going to fool me. Every girl, aside from me, who was assigned to lead a study group, is your close friend, so, of course, you decided to assign those useless fucks to me!"

Was Kushida a moron?

I had explicitly given her the option to refuse to have Yamauchi and Ike in her study group. However, her drive to portray herself as an angelic, nice girl had taken over, causing her to pretend to be willing to accept the task I had given her.

But what did she gain from pretending? Let me tell you: Nothing.

I didn't care about Yamauchi or Ike getting expelled, so she should have been honest from the start.

Well, Ike had his situational uses, but Yamauchi was hopeless. His only skill was to lie impulsively, which was rather useless, considering Yuki and Kushida were in the class and were much better liars than he could ever hope to be.

That being said, Yuki had mentioned wanting to get another card against Kushida, one that needed my assistance.

Wasn't all the recordings Chiaki took enough leverage to compel Kushida to obey Yuki?

And saying you'll be backing me up from the shadows... that just sounded suspicious, Yuki.

After letting out a deep sigh, I came to the resolution that I could allow Yuki to utilize me for whatever she had planned for tonight.

Given all the work I had indirectly done to set things in motion, it seemed like a fair exchange of favors, after all.

Give and take, right?

"Hoh! If it isn't Ayanokōji-boy! Ha Ha Ha!"

I turned my head in the direction of the distinctively familiar voice and was met by the smirking Kōenji, who was also jogging around the campus.

"You sure do seem energetic for someone who came from having a threesome," I replied in a dry tone, my mind drifting to the message the blonde narcissist sent at two in the morning.

It said "+2," which in the Kōenji language meant he had slept with two women at the same time.

Kōenji cackled and brushed his blonde locks with his left hand. "As a Perfect Existence, a basic exercise like that would not be enough to tire me out, Ayanokōji-boy. I'm sure you're already aware of that," he replied, smirking.

"A basic exercise?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "You sure do have weird metaphors in your arsenal, Kōenji."

"I simply call things as I see them," Kōenji replied before sending a wave to a cute indigo-haired girl.

"You know her?"

"Yes. She was conquest #20, a cute little thing if you ask me."

I had a deadpan look on my face at his words. "You refer to them by number? How cold, Kōenji."

To his credit, Kōenji did not react to my words, opting to simply chuckle. "None of them are worthy of my acknowledgment. They should consider themselves lucky that I bothered to remember their faces at all," he replied with a flick of his blonde hair.

I shook my head in amusement. After all, Kōenji and I had this conversation before. He said that he'd only refer to a woman by name if he deemed them worthy of him. This was basically Kōenji's weird way of saying he has standards.

"That being said, Ayanokōji-boy, have you changed your mind on the matter of polygamy?" Kōenji asked, a smirk creeping up on his face. "I notice that you have gotten noticeably closer to that abrasive seatmate of yours. Is there something you're not telling your mentor, Kōenji Rokusuke-sama?"

"Nothing like that. I simply find enjoyment in teasing Horikita. Besides, Yuki dislikes her, so I don't think anything would come out of that," I replied, sighing.

Yuki's dislike for Horikita was very unreasonable, after all. She simply disliked her because Horikita was sitting next to me, and Yuki suspected her of harboring feelings for me, which was just impossible.

"Hoh? It seems you're now more open to the fact that you're favoring Psycho-girl. While I personally don't approve of your choice, given the threat she poses to the eventual legalization of polygamy in Japan, I can see why you favor her."

"Legalization of polygamy? You're still harping on that?" I asked, shaking my head.

Kōenji let out a boisterous laugh. "Of course! As I had said before, I am a magnanimous existence. That simply means that I am willing to offer myself to as many worthy women as possible. I'm truly a gift to womankind, aren't I? Ha Ha Ha!"

"With how picky you are, I think you'll simply end up marrying yourself," I pointed out, grinning as I heard Kōenji clicking his tongue in annoyance. "So just enjoy your life as a bachelor and stop trying to convince me to legalize that absurd thing if I ever become prime minister."

"Feh! You can be so boring sometimes, Ayanokōji-boy. I fear for the future of Japan if you continue to be like this."

I shook my head in amusement at Kōenji's words. I knew very well that Kōenji was simply using this whole polygamy thing as a gag to ease up the mood in our conversations. It was his way of bonding with me, if you may, while also inserting some of his insights along the way.

What a weird boy.

"Well, Kōenji, I'm not as worried about the future of Japan as I am about the future of the Kōenji conglomerate once you take over," I teased, my lips curling into a smirk. "I mean, with all the child support payments you'll have to make, I can't imagine your company would be able to stay afloat for very long."

As Kōenji chuckled, I couldn't help but add, "I mean, imagine it, Kōenji, twenty different children from twenty different women, all vying for your attention and your fortune. Your lawyers will need lawyers just to keep up with your payments. Good luck explaining that to the shareholders. I suppose you're lucky that child support payments are tax-deductible in Japan, or else you'd be in deep trouble."

Kōenji raised an eyebrow, his smirk still plastered on his face. "Ah, Ayanokōji-boy, you underestimate my prowess. Twenty is too low of a number for an existence such as myself," Kōenji then paused, waving at a brown-haired girl. "That being said, I have it on good authority that my offspring will be as perfect as I am and thus will not require as much attention as normal children."

I couldn't help but pinch the bridge of my nose at his reply. "Ah, yes, perfect beings who will inevitably inherit your weird metaphors and narcissistic tendencies. I fear for whoever will have the misfortune of being their friends."

Kōenji chuckled. "You mean your future children? Bah! They will be fine. In fact, they'll be enlightened by the greatness of my future children. After all, they will inherit nothing but the greatness that is me," he replied confidently.

"Well, I wish your "lead wife" good luck dealing with your ego and your absurd dreams."

Kōenji's expression turned pensive for a moment before he grinned. "I will find a woman who can handle me, Ayanokōji-boy. One who is as magnanimous as I am and realizes that I am too perfect to simply be confined with one woman."

"Good luck with that," I replied, still amused. "I think the chances of you finding a woman who can handle you are as slim as Yamauchi's chances of passing the upcoming exams."

"Ha! I see you have jokes today, Ayanokōji-boy. But that being said, I will have to bid you farewell for now, as I still have pressing matters to deal with," Kōenji simply smirked before waving me goodbye and jogging off into the distance.

As I continued my jog, I couldn't help but think about how weird my conversations with Kōenji always ended up being.

It was like the God of oddity and eccentricity had written several scripts with the two of us as the protagonists.

I shook my head at the ridiculous thought.

12.1

After morning classes, Ken and I caught up with Hirata at the cafeteria for some much-needed guy talk. It had been a while since the three of us hung out together, so we decided to catch up on everything since our workload had lightened up since the formation of study groups ten days ago.

"I heard you guys calling Miyake-kun by his first name earlier," Hirata said with a playful pout. "What about me? We've been friends for a month, and you guys still call me by my last name. Man, you guys are traitors."

"You're seriously pouting? What are you, a girl?" I joked.

Ken guffawed at my joke, slapping my back.

Was it really that funny?

"You and your jokes," Hirata replied, shaking his head. "But yeah, what's up with calling Miyake-kun by his first name? You guys did the same for Hasebe-san and Sakura-san too."

With that, I explained to Hirata what happened yesterday, which led to the formation of the "Ayanokōji Group," where all of my study group members had agreed to call everyone by their first names.

"Seriously? That was all it took?" Hirata asked, looking as if he wanted to palm his face. "I guess I really was kind of walking on eggshells around you guys."

I took a bite of my sandwich and chewed thoughtfully before responding. "You know, Hirata, it's not like we were intentionally excluding you or anything. We just fell into the habit of calling each other by our last names, and it kind of stuck."

Hirata nodded, "I understand that. It's just that I thought we were closer than that, and well, people who are close typically refer to each other by their first names. I don't want to come off as pushy, but..." the dirty-blonde-haired boy trailed off, glancing at Ken and me.

Ken draped his arm over Hirata's shoulders. "Man, don't be a pussy and just say what you want to say," he encouraged.

"You can't tell what he wanted to ask?" I asked Ken, raising an eyebrow. "I guess you're still dumb as bricks, then."

"Fuck off, Kiyotaka! Of course, I knew what he wanted to talk about," Ken replied, glaring at me. "I just wanted him to say it himself, y'know?"

"You sure do enjoy picking on Sudo-kun, don't you?" Hirata rhetorically asked, chuckling as he did. "But it's not like he doesn't have a point, dude. It's better if I say it myself. That said, can we just drop the formalities and call each other by our first names too?"

"Sure thing, Yōsuke!" Ken replied, grinning. "But dude, you're too much of a polite prince. We're guys, y'know? Heck, we could have just called each other by our first names without asking, and the next day, we'd think that was how we called each other all along."

Ken was right. Friendships were a little easier with boys seeing as boys just go along with anything so long as they can feel the vibe with their company. I've read many stories on the internet where some people befriended other people for the most random of reasons and got closer without understanding why they got that close in the first place.

For example, I don't understand why and how Kōenji and I became close friends.

After we fought in the Christmas Gala a year and a half ago, we just started hanging out a lot, sparring with each other, talking over random stuff, and before I knew it, we were close friends.

It's really a simple world.

"What he said," I replied, shrugging. "You should really be embarrassed that Ken's better than you at this thing, Yōsuke."

"Oi, what's that supposed to mean?!"

I looked at Ken in amusement before taking another bite of my sandwich. "Exactly what I implied."

Yōsuke chuckled at our exchange. "Thank you, Kiyotaka, Ken. But I'll still hold a grudge at how it took this long, you traitors!" He joked.

Ken shook his head as he spoke, adding to the animated conversation that filled the cafeteria. "Dude, out of the three of us, it should have been you who initiated this shit weeks ago. I'm brash and hot-tempered, Kiyotaka here is reserved as hell, even though the guy's a massive troll, but you're a fuckin' social butterfly," he said, gesturing with his hands animatedly, making Hirata laugh.

"He's got a point there. Where's your common sense, Yōsuke," I chimed in jokingly.

"Kiyotaka, Ken, you guys can be such assholes sometimes," Yōsuke said with a chuckle.

"You curse?" Ken asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm a guy too, you know," Yōsuke replied dryly.

Ken grinned, "Well, excuse us for thinking you're too much of a girly prince to even curse," he said teasingly.

Yōsuke rolled his eyes, "I may be polite, but that doesn't mean I don't know how to curse. I just choose not to."

"Ah, I see," I said, nodding. "So, you're like a ticking time bomb, ready to explode with a flurry of curse words at any moment?"

Yōsuke laughed, "No, no, no. It's not like that. I just don't like using foul language in public or around certain people."

Ken leaned forward, "But you're okay with swearing in front of us, right?"

Yōsuke shrugged, "I mean, you guys bring out the worst in me, so it's only natural."

"Well, I'm glad we could be of service," I replied nonchalantly, taking another bite out of my sandwich.

Yōsuke grinned, "Don't get too full of yourselves. You guys are still assholes."

With that out of the way, I decided to change the topic. "So, what's up with you, Yōsuke? Aside from being whipped by Karuizawa, that is."

"Whi-whipped?! Did Kei say something to you?"

Ken's laughter echoed through the bustling cafeteria, drawing curious glances from nearby students, and upon noticing the gazes directed at him, the redhead sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

You're really not in any position to laugh at anyone's love life, Ken.

"She didn't say anything, but thanks for confirming it for us, Yōsuke," I replied, amused at Yōsuke's outburst.

Yōsuke's eyes narrowed at my teasing words, but he quickly shook his head and smiled. "Ha, you got me there. But seriously, things are going pretty well between Kei and me," he said, looking down at his tray of food.

While Yōsuke and Karuizawa were simply in a pretend relationship to protect Karuizawa from a repeat of her horrible experiences in Junior High, the two of them had actually been bonding to better know each other, just as I recommended. After all, if they're going to act like a couple, they better know how to treat the other like they're actually dating each other.

It's just common sense.

That being said, Yōsuke had noted how Karuizawa was the more assertive out of the two of them and ended up making almost all the decisions during their dates, which I found to be amusing.

It really was your cliche bossy girl and gentle boy relationship, now that I think about it, but with an added trope of them being in a pretend relationship.

Well, since they seemed to be doing well by themselves, I don't have to raise a finger just yet.

But I really do wonder how Yōsuke would react should he and Karuizawa face adversity in their relationship.

Would he keep his gregarious persona and attempt to save her at all costs? Or would his desire to keep the peaceful status quo hinder him from making the correct decision?

As I pondered on Yōsuke's potential reaction to adversity in his relationship with Karuizawa, Yōsuke's voice brought me back to reality.

"Speaking of relationships, how are things going with you and Tsubaki-san?" he asked with a grin.

The dirty-blonde-haired boy then coughed. "I mean, with you, Tsubaki-san, Matsushita-san, and Horikita-san," he corrected himself, a teasing grin on his face.

"Now, why did you just randomly add Chiaki and Horikita to the list?" I asked, sighing.

Hirata chuckled. "Well, I don't want to offend the Harem Emperor after all, so I have to list down all of your future wives," he joked.

"Yuki would kick your ass if she heard that. She's adamant about not sharing," I replied, shaking my head.

Ken turned to Yōsuke with a worried expression on his face. "Dude, if you value your life, don't piss off Tsubaki! I'll tell this story again, I pissed her off when I dozed off studying, and the girl just casually recited ways to boil a person alive," he said animatedly.

"That's just your fault for not studying well, Ken," Yōsuke replied, chuckling. "I don't think Kiyotaka would even tell on me."

I raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Who knows? I might remember this transgression and snitch on you. Let me warn you, Yuki was able to beat up Kōenji, and I doubt you're as strong as him," I replied in a joking tone.

It still cracked me up that Yuki was actually able to beat up Kōenji. Granted, Kōenji did not expect Yuki to be that strong, which led to him underestimating her, but the fact that the narcissist was put down by Yuki was incredibly funny to me.

That was the news that made me laugh for the first time, after all.

"For real?" Yōsuke asked, his eyes widening.

"For real."

"That's actually pretty hot," Ken chimed in. "But since I'm not Kiyotaka, I'll say that that shit's scary as hell. I'll never piss off Tsubaki, ever."

I couldn't help but chuckle at Ken's response. "I don't blame you, man. Yuki is pretty terrifying when she's mad," I said, my amusement evident in my voice.

"You don't really sound like you're terrified of her," Ken replied dryly.

"She's his future wife, after all," Yōsuke replied, chuckling.

I don't know about that, Yōsuke.

Although, if that does end up being the case, I suppose I wouldn't complain. I just hope that Yuki will be able to sort herself out by then.

12.2

As the lunch break came to a close, Yōsuke, Ken, and I headed back to class, exchanging some immature jokes and bathroom humor along the way. Ken dismissed it as "just a guy thing," but I still couldn't quite grasp the appeal.

As we walked down the hallway towards our classroom, Yōsuke made a particularly crude joke that had Ken snorting with laughter and me shaking my head in disbelief.

"You guys are ridiculous," I said, resisting the urge to palm my face.

"What, you don't find fart jokes hilarious?" Ken replied, grinning at me.

"It's not that," I replied, looking at the two in amusement. "I just didn't expect Yōsuke to even have it in him to make jokes like that."

"That just makes me like him even more!" Ken replied, grinning. "The class prince acting like a regular guy makes him more relatable, y'know?"

"I try my best," Yōsuke replied, smiling.

Shaking my head at the two, I opened the door to our classroom. Inside, most of our classmates were already seated and chatting away. We headed to our seats, which meant we had to part ways since the three of us were seated far from each other.

As I settled into my seat, Horikita's familiar cold voice caught my attention.

"What an odd trio you guys make. I still don't understand how that friendship worked," she remarked, flipping a page out of her book. "The class leader, the goody-two-shoes, and the idiot."

I nodded, not really bothered by Horikita's blunt comment. After all, she wasn't wrong. Yōsuke was the class prince. Ken was the resident idiot-although he's improving. And I was the class leader. It was an unlikely friendship, but somehow it worked.

"Well, opposites do attract," I replied with a small smile.

Horikita raised an eyebrow at my response, and I could tell she was trying to gauge my sincerity.

Weird.

"I suppose," she finally said, turning back to her book.

"I meant my friendship with Ken and Yōsuke," I replied in a clear attempt to tease Horikita. "You better not be thinking of another way to interpret it."

Horikita's response was instantaneous. She slammed her book shut and looked at me, her face beet red. "What are you talking about, Ayanokōji-kun? I wasn't thinking of anything else at all," she said, glaring at me.

I raised an eyebrow, amused at her reaction. "Oh, really? You sure do seem pretty flustered for someone claiming innocence," I teased.

"I am not flustered," she shot back, maintaining her glare at me. "I was simply surprised that you were referring to your friendship with those two as opposites attracting. I didn't think you would consider yourself an 'opposite' to Sudo-kun and Hirata-kun."

"Well, I'm smart, and Ken's an idiot. Yōsuke's too kind, and I won't even hesitate to poke fun at people," I replied, shrugging. "I agree with you when you said we're an odd trio."

"That being said, I'm pretty sure you mistook my words as me thinking about me and you, Horikita," I added, noting the look Horikita was sending me.

Horikita's face turned even redder, and she averted her gaze. "I did not mistake anything. It's just your arrogance speaking again," she said, her tone cold.

I couldn't help but be amused at Horikita's response. It seemed like I had hit a nerve. "My arrogance? Really, Horikita? Didn't you admit that you've acknowledged my talents to be superior to yours? Hmm, that might even be the reason you like me," I replied, teasing her again.

Horikita's jaw tightened, but she still refused to meet my gaze. "I don't know what you're talking about," she replied, her voice devoid of any emotion.

"Sure you don't," I said teasingly. "But you know, Horikita, I wouldn't blame you if you were thinking of us in that way."

Horikita looked up at me, her eyes narrowed. "And why is that?" she asked, her voice laced with suspicion.

"Because your brother approves of me," I replied matter-of-factly.

"Don't even bring nii-san to this," Horikita replied, looking away from me. "I still don't understand why he would even say such things to you."

"I feel the same. I simply joked to him about being interested in you, and the guy seemed happy hearing about it to the point he immediately offered you up to me," I replied, sighing at the memory. "The guy said it in front of Yuki, no less."

"Nii-san said that in front of Tsubaki-san?" Horikita asked, a hint of surprise showing on her face.

I nodded my head. "It's one of the reasons why I admire him. He's got quite the balls to even say that," I replied.

Horikita Manabu didn't even flinch when Yuki shot him a glare when he gave me his "blessing" to pursue Horikita. It seemed like, for him, it was just another day in the office.

What a guy.

"You really shouldn't say something like that as a joke, Ayanokōji-kun," Horikita replied, shaking her head.

I couldn't help but notice the slight quiver in Horikita's voice, which seemed to hint at something more than just annoyance. Perhaps there was some truth to my teasing after all.

But I don't think Horikita knows anything about love and falling in love, so I think I'm safe from the dangerous possibility of her falling in love with me.

I let out a deep sigh, having realized that I couldn't be too sure about that.

Well, if she does admit to harboring feelings for me and confessing... I'll simply just do the right thing.

12.3

As soon as the classes ended, I approached Kushida, who was about to leave for the library.

Although she appeared innocent, kind, and naive, I knew better than to let her facade deceive me, especially after hearing the recording from last night that revealed Kushida's true nature.

"Hey, Kushida," I said, trying to keep my tone light and casual. "Do you think you and your group could reserve a table for us in the library later? I have some Student Council stuff to deal with, and since the library's starting to get filled up with students, I'm afraid we might not have a table for later."

Kushida looked up at me and smiled, her eyes bright with eagerness. "Of course, Ayanokōji-kun! I'd be happy to help out," she replied, her voice sweet and accommodating.

As expected of Kushida, who was still maintaining her facade, she willingly agreed to my favor.

"Thank you, Kushida. I appreciate it," I replied, returning her smile.

As she walked past me, I subtly slipped her room keycard from her pocket and into my own. I couldn't help but feel a small thrill of satisfaction as I watched her walk away, completely unaware of what I had just done.

Well, I didn't really need to go this far, but I was never one to do things without a plan in mind.

By setting up this scenario, I gave myself an excuse to keep an eye on Kushida later on, as well as provided myself with a reasonable story of why I followed her up to the rooftop door, one which I could explain as me simply giving her the keycard that she had dropped in the library.

As my mind began to anticipate what might occur later, a deep sigh escaped my lips.

"Quite sneaky of you, Kiyotaka."

I turned my head and saw Yuki approach me with a beaming smile on her face, her blonde hair cascading over her shoulders. The blonde's gaze drifted towards my left pocket, where I had stealthily stashed Kushida's keycard.

"I'd rather not jump in later without an alibi to protect myself," I replied dryly. "But I suppose I was just being too cautious."

Since Yuki was the mastermind of this scenario, I was pretty sure that the success rate was high, even without me moving to ensure my story added up.

Yuki chuckled. "Yep, you were being too cautious. Don't worry too much about what will happen later, Kiyotaka. I have it under control. Just play your role, okay?"

I pinched the blonde on the cheeks. "You're becoming quite cheeky these days," I remarked, releasing my hold on her cheeks.

"It's the least you could do for making me do this, you know?" Yuki replied, pouting. "Don't worry. I'll give you plenty of kisses after this!"

"That's... a reward?" I asked incredulously, arching an eyebrow. "Last time I checked, I'm not exactly dreaming of getting kissed by you."

"You're such a spoilsport!" Yuki huffed. "Well, anyways, see you later, Kiyotaka!"

Yuki pecked me on the cheeks before waving me goodbye. She sure does seem more confident these days, not that it was a bad thing.

After Yuki disappeared from my view, I set off for the Student Council office to finish the paperwork Horikita-senpai had assigned me. Along the way, I exchanged greetings with some students, which slowed me down a bit. Eventually, I reached the Student Council office and opened the door, only to find Nagumo-senpai inside.

Well, of course, Horikita-senpai did say he and Tachibana-senpai had to take care of other things... but I've been so used to seeing him inside that I'd always expect him to be in the office.

"Good afternoon, Nagumo-senpai," I greeted the blonde-haired boy, closing the door behind me.

Nagumo-senpai looked up from the stack of papers on his desk, the corners of his mouth curling into a grin. "Good afternoon, Ayanokōji. Horikita-senpai and Tachibana-senpai aren't here, so I'm afraid it's just the two of us for now."

I shrugged nonchalantly, my footsteps echoing softly as I moved toward him. "Nothing wrong about that, Nagumo-senpai. We haven't really gotten the opportunity to talk to each other with Horikita-senpai always being in the office when we're here," I said, meeting his piercing gaze. "Might as well do it now."

This was not the first time I met with the First Vice President of the Student Council, Nagumo Miyabi.

We were acquainted with each other by Horikita-senpai a couple of days after I was inaugurated into the Student Council. As expected, Nagumo-senpai did not have a favorable opinion of me, given I was originally sorted into Class D. Still, the blonde was considerably wary of me despite his prejudice pertaining to my abilities.

After all, I was all but declared to be Horikita Manabu's spiritual successor, and that was something that did not sit well with the Machiavellian boy.

Nagumo-senpai chuckled, the sound echoing slightly off the room's walls. "You got that right, Ayanokōji. After all, we're both Vice Presidents of the Student Council. It'd be best if we got along." He glanced back down at the paperwork he was working on.

"I agree."

Our conversation temporarily ended there as Nagumo-senpai also began working on the papers on his desk.

He should be a little glad that his workload has been reduced since some of his work were offloaded to me.

That being said, I retrieved the paperwork assigned to me and proceeded to give each of them a thorough review, analyzing the details and expected actions required for each task. As I delved deeper into the paperwork, it became increasingly apparent just how detailed the administrative process of the ANHS Student Council truly was.

From the formatting of requests to the strict timeline for their processing, it was clear that every step of the process was carefully planned and executed. It was a testament to the professionalism and dedication set out by Horikita-senpai's administration, which ensured that the needs and concerns of the student body were met in a timely and efficient manner.

I shook my head in amusement.

All of these were just in character for an individual like Horikita Manabu, who prided himself in his excellence and efficiency in making things happen.

A few minutes later, Nagumo-senpai's voice rang out across the room, carrying an air of admiration tinged with curiosity. "You sure are impressive, Ayanokōji," he said, his eyes never leaving the paperwork he was meticulously working on.

"To think you were able to lead Class D and only trail Class A by 20 points all in the first month. It makes me wonder why someone like you was even placed there."

"Who knows?" I replied with a nonchalant shrug. "I might have asked the administration to sort me into the worst class for a challenge."

A chuckle escaped Nagumo-senpai's lips, the corners of his eyes crinkling in amusement. "I doubt that's the case, but it sure does seem that way, Ayanokōji."

"The way things are, I'm pretty certain that your class will have an insurmountable lead over the other three classes before the end of the year," he added, his voice smooth and self-assured. "Just like I did with my class."

"I sure hope that would be the case," I paused, exhaling a weary sigh. "But things are never going to be easy in a school like this. Who knows when someone might decide to attack you without warning."

"Smart, smart," Nagumo-senpai praised with a tone that bordered on mockery. "But if you're as good as advertised, you'll be crushing the other classes without much effort. Don't let your Nagumo-senpai down now, ne?"

The scent of stale air filled the room as I glanced at the blonde-haired boy, his eyes gleaming with a playful challenge. "I won't," I replied, my voice steady. "After all, it'd be a waste of everyone's time if I ended up being a massive letdown."

I intentionally framed my words that way to elicit a specific reaction from Nagumo-senpai, as the blonde-haired boy was known within his year for his penchant for looking at the rest of the student body as toys for him to play around with.

"You say the most interesting things, Ayanokōji. I like it," Nagumo-senpai replied, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

"I try."

With that, the two of us continued working on the paperwork assigned to both of us. The sound of pen scratching paper filled the silence, and after a few more minutes, we finished our tasks.

"Ah, before I forget, Ayanokōji. Let's exchange contact information," Nagumo-senpai suggested, strolling over to my desk.

"Sure thing, senpai."

I retrieved my phone and swapped contact information with Nagumo-senpai. With a nod, he turned to leave the room.

But just as he reached the doorway, he paused and left me with some parting words:

"By the way, it'd be best for you to be on the winning side, Ayanokōji. You're smart. You know what decision to make. Time, after all, is in your hands."

As the blonde-haired boy vanished from sight, I let out a deep sigh. He certainly exuded a peculiar aura, didn't he?

A wild, bulldozing aura that's a far cry from the calm and calculating aura of Horikita-senpai.

Well, let's see if you can excite me, Nagumo-senpai.

12.4

Not long after Nagumo-senpai departed the Student Council office, I wrapped up my work. With no tasks remaining, I decided to exit the office, the soft click of the lock signaling my departure.

Glancing at my watch, I noted the time: 3:50 PM. Given the distance between the Student Council office and the library, I estimated that I would reach my destination by around 4 PM.

Before setting off, I pulled out my phone, its screen casting a faint glow on my face, and checked our study group's group chat. I sent out a chat asking if they were already in the library.

A few seconds later, my phone vibrated with a notification from the same group chat. Upon checking it again, I saw a picture sent by Haruka, featuring her, Ken, Akito, and Airi. They were currently in the library, nestled into a table across from Kushida's study group.

The hum of air conditioning filled the background as I read Haruka's follow-up message: "Kyō-chan's really nice, isn't she? She saved us a table in the library! You better thank her when you get here, Kiyopon."

"I will, I will," I replied in the chat before turning off my phone and putting it back in my pocket.

With that out of the way, I began my walk to the library, the rhythmic tapping of my footsteps echoing through the empty halls.

A few minutes later, I made my way to the library and headed straight to where my study group was.

"Kiyopon, over here!" I heard Haruka call out, waving her hands around.

I shook my head in amusement before walking in their direction. That really was a ridiculous nickname.

"Boy, you sure do look tired," Akito pointed out, his eyes observing me. "How much paperwork did you have to finish anyway?"

"More than enough to fry Ken's brain ten times over," I replied jokingly, looking at the redhead sitting next to Akito.

"You're such an asshole, Kiyotaka," Ken grumbled. "You just watch! I'll get smarter in no time."

"I-I'm sure you can do it, Ken-kun," Airi said, her shy voice making itself known.

"What she said," I replied as I dropped my bag on the chair they left for me. "But before we start, I'll head down to Kushida's table to thank her."

"Okie-dokie!" Haruka replied enthusiastically. The rest of the group had more normal reactions as they simply nodded.

I then walked to the table across from us, where I saw Kushida talking with her study group, which consisted of herself, Ike, Yamauchi, Shinohara, and Inogashira.

"Hey, Kushida," I greeted the beige-haired girl, who immediately turned her head in my direction. "Thanks for saving us a table."

Kushida beamed. "No problem, Ayanokōji-kun! You've helped me out a lot already, so it's only proper if I help you back, right?" She said, smiling.

"Yo, Ayanokōji," Ike greeted me with a grin.

"Sup, Ike, Yamauchi? Are the two of you straight now?" I joked, making them remember the incident during swim class.

"Screw you, man!" Yamauchi replied, glaring at me. "If not for the fact you helped us get into Kushida-chan's study group, I would never have forgiven you."

Kushida chuckled at Yamauchi's words. "Don't be like that, Yamauchi-kun. From what you and Ike-kun told me, it was all in good-natured fun, right?"

Hearing Kushida's words, Yamauchi flushed. "O-of course, Kushida-chan! Ayanokōji and I are buddies, y'know? But he's just a massive troll."

"Yeah! What's up with that, Ayanokōji?" Ike chimed in.

"You said we're buddies, right?" I replied, shrugging. "Buddies make fun of each other all the time."

"Feh! I don't want to be your buddy anymore," Ike responded, although I could tell he was simply making a joke.

I shook my head in amusement. "I suppose I've bothered you guys enough. I'll be going now, Kushida, Shinohara, Inogashira, and you two idiots. Good luck with studying."

"Oi!"

As I made my way back to our table, I was met with an amused look from Haruka, who seemed to be listening in on the conversation I had with Kushida's study group.

"Ne, ne, Kiyopon," the blue-haired girl began, smiling. "What's the story behind you asking Yama-germs and Hickey if they were now straight?"

I turned my head to Akito, who was shaking his head in amusement.

"I called them out for being impressed about my physique," I replied, looking at the two perverts before turning my head back to Haruka. "And since they adamantly denied my accusations, the rest of the boys ganged up on them and joked about them being, you know... gay. Not that there's anything wrong with being one. It's just funny since it's the two of them."

Haruka giggled. "Well, they definitely deserved that."

"T-That was mean, K-Kiyotaka-kun," Airi chimed in, but she did have a small smile on her face. "But I think they also got what they deserved."

"Fwaaah! You're really growing up, Ai-chan!" Haruka gushed at the pink-haired girl, who, as usual, didn't know how to react to Haruka. "It makes me want to glomp you more! But that'll have to wait later since we're still... here," she finished, pouting.

"Enough about that. Let's begin our session today," I said, pausing after hearing the groans from Haruka and Ken. "Don't worry about the task I'm giving you today because it'll be easier than what we had in the previous days. But there would be a lot of them, so let us not waste time now, alright?"

After saying that, I took out stacks of paper from my bag and distributed them to the rest of the study group. I idly noted the shock on Ken's face as he saw just how many things I assigned for them to work on today.

"Easier, my ass," Ken grumbled. "But it multiplied by three times. What the hell, man?"

"I-I think I'm going to throw up," Haruka added dramatically. "Th-there's too many humanities questions!"

"Oi, don't steal Airi's personality from her now," I joked, leading the aforementioned pink-haired girl to cover her face in embarrassment.

"T-That's mean, Kiyotaka-kun."

"Right? Right?" Haruka said, pouting. "This is a human rights abuse, Kiyopon! Reduce our workload!"

That wasn't even what Airi was complaining about, Haruka.

I shook my head in amusement. "Stop complaining, or I'll give you more to answer, Haruka."

"Fine!"

I shook my head at Haruka's childishness before finally settling into my chair. While this exchange had become a common occurrence ever since we began the study groups, I would still find myself amused at the reactions they'd have after finding out what I intended to make them do.

"Oh, this isn't actually too bad," Haruka muttered, her eyes glued to the stack given to her. "I thought these were all worksheets, y'know?"

"I'm not that cruel. Again, I'm simply making sure to cover all bases so you guys can get good scores," I answered.

"You're the best, Kiyopon!"

Are you some sort of a bipolar person, Haruka? I remember just a few minutes ago, you called me out for committing a human rights violation, which wasn't true, by the way.

As the minutes ticked by, the once lively study group fell into a quiet and focused state. The sound of idle chatter and friendly banter was replaced by the soft scratching of pencils against paper. The only thing that broke the silence was the occasional rustle of paper or the creak of a chair as someone shifted their weight.

That was until...

"Can the two of you stop being disgusting perverts for one moment?!"

Everyone looked up from their papers, their focus momentarily broken by Shinohara's outburst. The girl, who was sitting at a table across from us, stood up and pointed her index finger at Yamauchi and Ike.

"The fuck are you talking about, ugly?" Ike replied indignantly, standing up from his own seat and glaring at Shinohara.

"You perverts knew what you were doing," Shinohara accused before her nose scrunched up in disgust. "Or do you mean you two are doing it subconsciously? Ugh, that makes it even worse! You perverts are helpless."

"Kushida-chan is too nice to say anything against you guys, but I'm not as nice as her, so I'll call it as I see it. You guys are disgusting, and it'd be better if the two of you got expelled," Shinohara added to her rant.

She sure does have a venomous tongue, doesn't she?

"Fuck off," Yamauchi spoke up, glaring at Shinohara. "Who are you to tell us what to do? If Kushida-chan isn't saying anything, what gives you the right to do that for her? You think you're a hero?"

"Yeah, that's right!" Ike chimed in. "You're probably just jealous that nobody's looking at you, ugly!"

I personally think this was getting a little out of hand, so I decided to stand up from my chair and stroll in the direction of their table.

"Hey," I spoke up, my voice a little louder than I had intended. "We're inside a library. I have half the mind to drag the two of you to the guidance office and have you suspended. I do have that authority now, you know?"

My eyes stayed on Yamauchi and Ike, whose eyes were wide at my threat.

"Calm down, everyone," Kushida finally decided to speak up, a worried look marring her beautiful features. "Don't get carried away from a small argument, alright?"

"S-Sorry, Ayanokōji, Kushida-chan," Ike muttered, looking down.

Yamauchi, who tried to be defiant, was placated by Kushida's interference. "A-ah, sorry, Kushida-chan, Ayanokōji."

"Things just got to my head, you know?" Yamauchi added, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. "I didn't really mean the things that I said."

Kushida smiled at Yamauchi, who flushed at her attention. The beige-haired girl then turned her attention to Ike, who was surprisingly feeling remorseful.

"And you, Ike-kun. That was too far, you know? Shinohara-san is definitely not ugly. I hope you apologize to her as well."

I think you're... a little too nice there, Kushida.

Shinohara is, objectively speaking, the least attractive girl in the class. But I suppose that's only because the class is surrounded by plenty of beauties that a normal-looking girl like Shinohara would end up looking ugly by comparison.

Still, Ike should have held his tongue. Who knows? He might end up dating Shinohara in the future.

"S-Sorry, Shinohara-san," Ike muttered, bowing his head slightly at the blue-haired girl.

"And while I am thankful for you coming to my aid, Shinohara-san, I could have handled myself, you know?" Kushida sent Shinohara a wide smile. "I may be like this, but I also knew to fight when I couldn't take it anymore."

Judging from the recording Chiaki took, that was a huge understatement, Kushida.

"A-ah, I'm sorry guy, and to you too, Ayanokōji-kun. I did... end up disrupting your study group with my outburst, after all," Shinohara apologized, her head bowed low.

I could tell Shinohara didn't feel particularly bad, but chose to apologize as to not upset Kushida by escalating the issue. She meant every word she said about Ike and Yamauchi, and she's not taking it back.

I suppose that was it for this little scuffle, but there's still some unfinished business to address.

"Yamauchi, Ike, could you step outside with me for a moment?" I asked, turning to the two boys. "Is that alright with you, Kushida?"

Upon receiving a nod from the beige-haired girl, I led Yamauchi and Ike out of the library.

"What's up, Ayanokōji?" Yamauchi inquired, his brow furrowed.

For a few seconds, I remained silent, my gaze fixed on the pair, causing them to shift uneasily. "If you two ever pull something like that again, I won't hesitate to get rid of you two. Just because we're classmates doesn't mean I'll let you get away with acting foolishly."

"Y-You're not serious, right?" Yamauchi stammered, his face paling.

"Yamauchi... I don't think he's joking," Ike spoke up, the short boy's eyes focusing on Yamauchi.

"Do I look like I'm joking?" I asked, my voice firm and unwavering. "Get your act together before I do it for you."

"I-Isn't that going too far? It's not like we're hurting anyone," Yamauchi protested weakly.

"Are you willing to test me, Yamauchi?" I challenged, my eyes locked on his.

"N-no," he muttered, shaking his head.

"Good. Now, let's return to the library, and you two better focus on studying rather than ogling Kushida, alright? I'll be watching."

With that settled, the three of us made our way back to the library, and the rest of the study group session of my group and Kushida's group went by without any more hitches.

12.5

After the study session had concluded, the mentees of the "Ayanokōji Group" were feeling tired, and for good reason. After all, they were made to read through and answer a lot of material, something that I did just so that I could exit the library around the same time as Kushida's group.

"I'm sorry, friends, but this is just a little sacrifice for the greater good," I thought jokingly.

"You sure you're not gonna go with us, Kiyopon?"

Ah, that's right. Haruka came up to us with the idea of hanging out at Keyaki Mall to "re-energize" after the "torture" that they had endured. While I would normally go with them, I obviously can't because of what I'm planning for later.

"Yeah, I'll call a raincheck for this one, Haruka. I have some stuff to do."

"Boo! Stop being busy and just be fun," Haruka mock protested, sticking her tongue out.

"Stop being a pest, Haruka," Akito chided her, sighing.

"You're also on the same boat, Miyacchi," Haruka replied, pointing a finger at Akito. "You're also a member of the "No-Fun Squad!" I guess it'll just be Ai-chan and me then since Kenchin would rather shoot rings than hang out with two beautiful girls."

Shoot rings? I'm pretty sure they shoot balls in basketball, Haruka. Where did you even get that from?

"That's just because you're not the beautiful girl he wants to hang out with," I replied.

Haruka smirked. "Oh, that's right! Would you go if Yano-chan would go, Kenchin?"

Ken sighed. "Akito's right. You're a..." he trailed off after seeing Haruka pout.

"That's what I thought!"

I shook my head in amusement. "I'll go with you guys next time, I promise."

Haruka beamed. "You mean it? I'll take you up on that, Kiyopon!"

"Yeah, sure."

"Alright! Now, Ai-chan, it's time for us to have our first bonding together... just the two of us!" Haruka gushed and captured Airi in a hug before dragging her out of the library.

"She sure is a handful, isn't she, Akito?" I said to the magenta-haired boy in a dry tone.

Akito snorted. "You don't say?"

"Where are you headed?"

"I'll probably head back to the dorms. It's about six already, so I'd like to get some rest," Akito replied, stretching his arms.

"Feh, won't even go to his club," Ken teased. "You should be like me! Balancing studying and club."

"You're still a bigger dumbass than me, Ken, so I don't know where you're getting at," Akito quipped.

"Oi!"

Not long after, Akito and Ken bid me farewell, their footsteps fading into the distance as they left me alone in the library. Well... not entirely alone, as Kushida was just wrapping up her group's study session.

From my corner, I observed her, watching as she collected her belongings and exchanged goodbyes with her group members. Her eyes met mine across the room, and she offered me a small, warm smile before making her way toward me.

"Hey there, Ayanokōji-kun," she greeted me, her voice bright and cheerful. "Thanks for your help earlier."

"I didn't really do much, Kushida. If it weren't for you, I don't think Yamauchi would have backed down," I replied, my gaze drifting to Yamauchi, who boomed out a "Goodbye, Kushida-chan" before leaving the library.

Could he be any louder?

Kushida shook her head. "Not that. Ike-kun and Yamauchi-kun seemed more focused on studying after you took them out earlier. Whatever you told them must have really worked, so I'd like to thank you for that."

I inwardly let out a chuckle at her words. She'd have a field day if ever she found out that the reason the two got their act together was me threatening them.

Simply because that's what her true self would have wanted to do but can't due to her weird fixation with being liked by everyone.

"It's just guy talk. We reach each other that way," I replied nonchalantly, shrugging.

Kushida let out a tinkling giggle. "You should teach me some of that 'guy talk,' then! I think it'll come in handy," she teased.

"Oh, it will. But I'd rather not corrupt you, Kushida."

"That's rather ominous!"

"Because it is."

Kushida shook her head, amusement flickering in her eyes, before glancing at the wall clock. "I'd better get going, Ayanokōji-kun! Goodbye, and thanks again for earlier!"

She waved and quickly departed, likely on her way to vent her true feelings once again.

Well then, let's start the game, shall we?

I waited for a few moments after Kushida had left, ensuring she had gone far enough before I rose from my seat and quietly followed her. I maintained a safe distance, close enough to observe her movements but far enough to avoid arousing suspicion.

Kushida navigated the deserted corridors of the school, and I trailed her, my heart racing with a strange thrill. This must be why Chiaki enjoys this so much.

But I don't think I'd want to be labeled a stalker like her, so this will just be a one-time thing.

A few minutes later, Kushida finally stopped in her tracks, halting just outside the rooftop door. I concealed myself from view while still keeping an eye on her actions.

Kushida let out a deep, weary sigh and slowly dropped her bag to the floor.

And then...

"Ahhhhh, so disgusting!"

Had I not heard the recording Chiaki captured, I would have been caught off-guard by the sudden change in Kushida's voice. It was low and heavy, a stark contrast to her usual sweet and bubbly tone.

"They're just so disgusting! So irritating... I wish Ayanokōji-kun had actually dragged them out and gotten them suspended, even expelled!"

"In fact, he should have just killed them, and I wouldn't care! I'd even cheer him on."

Hey, I'd rather not go to jail, Kushida. If you want them to die, kill them yourself.

"Getting so full of yourselves just because I'm trying to be nice. If I had my way, I would have strangled both of you pathetic losers!" Kushida spat, her voice venomous.

She then kicked the handrail repeatedly, each kick deliberate and slow to emphasize the force behind them. The sound of metal rattling echoed through the air.

"This just sucks! And there's that bitch Shinohara, too, who's trying to play hero for some reason. Don't let my kindness get to your head. I'm capable of fending off for myself, you ugly shit!"

If there was one thing I appreciated about Kushida's true nature, it was her brutal honesty.

I silently sighed as I witnessed Kushida cuss out more of our classmates who had irritated her throughout the day.

If not for Horikita's warnings and Chiaki's recording, I'd probably have been stunned at what I was witnessing.

Sure, I expected Kushida to have a hidden side to her, but I never anticipated that Kushida Kikyō's true nature would be this volatile and aggressive.

That said, it was time to put an end to this.

"Kushida, you dropped your keycard earlier."

Upon hearing my words, Kushida immediately stiffened up and held her breath, her eyes widening.

The beige-haired girl swiftly turned around and saw me, my expression impassive as I held her keycard.

"Wha... what are you... doing here?"

After what felt like an eternity, Kushida finally spoke up, her voice icy and distant.

"You dropped your keycard, and I simply wanted to return it to you." I climbed the stairs and extended my arm to her, offering her the keycard.

I inwardly sighed, realizing that no matter what cover story I concocted, it wouldn't matter to Kushida, given her cold stare.

It seemed like all she cared about was not being discovered, the context for following her be damned.

I wonder if I should have just kept the keycard to myself.

Iie...iie... those are bad thoughts, Kiyotaka.

"Did you... hear me?"

"Yep, and I agree. Now, can you please just take your keycard, Kushida?" I replied dismissively, seeing no reason to lie.

Kushida seized my hand but did not take her keycard. Instead, she pulled me up to where she was, her eyes locked onto mine.

We stared at each other for a few seconds, neither daring to look away. Soon, Kushida averted her gaze, exhaling a heavy sigh.

"Ayanokōji-kun..." Kushida's voice faltered as she caught her breath. "I hope you'll find it in yourself to forgive me for this."

To my surprise, a remorseful look made its way to Kushida's face, which also rang alarm bells in my mind.

What was she planning to do?

As my thoughts drifted back to Yuki's words last night, I wondered if this was precisely why she needed me for this task. Had Yuki foreseen Kushida's actions and intended to catch her in the act?

Although I couldn't pinpoint Kushida's exact plan, I sensed the beige-haired girl was plotting something troublesome.

Kushida deftly grabbed her keycard, slipping it back into her pocket. Then, she took my right hand and opened my palm.

Without warning, Kushida pressed my hand to her chest, forcing me to feel the soft, squishy sensation.

"What is this about?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I... I'm going to have you expelled."

"Is that so? How would that even work?"

"Do you not understand the gravity of the situation? Your fingerprints are deeply imprinted on me, and I'll use this as evidence that you tried to rape me."

No, Kushida, that's not how it works. All you've done is just provide me with a feel of your breasts, and I don't think that's something you should have done...

My thoughts drifted back to Yuki's parting words last night, the memory tinted with a sense of foreboding:

"Don't worry, Kiyotaka. I'll be backing you up from the shadows."

And as if on cue...

"Ara, what is this am I hearing about you trying to frame my Kiyotaka for raping you, you bitch?"

Kushida's eyes widened at the sound of Yuki's saccharine voice, and I turned to see Yuki sporting a wicked grin as she slowly approached from the stairway.

Each step Yuki took reverberated ominously through the hallway, and even though her fury was not directed at me, I couldn't help but feel a little uneasy in her presence.

This... was something that I had never seen in Yuki.

True, she was perpetually jealous and had often voiced her grievances against others, but this time was different.

Yuki moved with no wasted movement, her outward expression betraying nothing of the rage simmering beneath. To an outsider, she appeared as a calm girl ascending the stairs, but to those present, the feeling of unease was palpable.

"Y-Yuki-chan..."

WHAM

Yuki's backhand struck Kushida, sending her crashing to the ground.

The blonde turned her head in my direction, her gaze conveying a clear message: "I'll handle this."

With that, I descended the stairs and opted to watch Yuki and Kushida from the sidelines.

As I witnessed Yuki repeatedly pummel Kushida in spots that would not easily be reflected, like the chest and pelvic area, my eyes shone in realization.

So this was why Yuki wanted me to do this.

She wanted to have an actual reason to channel her aggression toward Kushida.

I knew Yuki wouldn't let Kushida's slander pass without consequence, but I hadn't expected her to use this situation as justifying fuel for her rage.

Personally, I do not mind Yuki going for this route, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't surprised at the reason why this had to happen.

Initially, I'd thought Yuki simply wanted more evidence to tighten her grip on Kushida, but all along, she'd just wanted to hurt her.

"What did you say last night again, Kikyō-chan?" Yuki's voice dripped with venom, each word slicing through the air like a dagger. "You have half a mind to take Kiyotaka for yourself?"

Even as she lay on the ground, I noticed the shock in Kushida's eyes upon hearing Yuki's words.

"Ho... how? H... how did you even know that!"

"You're not in any position to make demands, so you might as well be quiet," Yuki retorted, her foot connecting with Kushida's side more forcefully than before.

Yuki then circled around the fallen Kushida, who was struggling to get up after Yuki's last kick.

"I wonder who our class would believe... two-faced bitch Kikyō-chan... or friendly neighborhood Yuki-chan," Yuki taunted, tracing her fingers across Kushida's face, ignoring the girl's defiant glare.

Friendly neighborhood Yuki-chan? What the hell is up with that, Yuki? Come up with a better nickname.

Yuki pulled out her phone, and after a few seconds, a recording played, which was a compilation of everything Kushida had said while venting out in the rooftop door.

Yuki tauntingly recited the dates of when each of the recordings was taken, a clear attempt to make Kushida realize that she was simply playing in Yuki's palms all this time, and any semblance of resistance was futile.

That said, Kushida should definitely just angrily yell in her room or something if she did not want to be found out by anyone.

"N-no..."

Kushida made a feeble attempt to strike Yuki, but her effort was instantly thwarted as Yuki's foot made contact with her face.

"T...This was planned all along, wasn't it?" Kushida asked, her voice hollow and defeated.

"Yup!" Yuki admitted cheerfully, her eyes shining with an unsettling gleam. "And the best part? There are no CCTVs around here, so I'm free to do whatever I want!"

That's a little unnerving, Yuki.

"You know, Kikyō-chan," Yuki spoke again, her tone just as venomous as before. "I was fully intent on letting you just lash out, you know?"

"But then you made a mistake by cursing my existence and proving that you never treated me as a friend," she continued, her face twisted into a scowl. "Worst of all... you're attracted to my Kiyotaka."

Wait... she was? I don't think that's the case, Yuki. You just wanted a reason to attack her.

That said, I couldn't even bring myself to be disappointed in Yuki for acting this way. In fact, I condoned it.

After all, Kushida was trying to play in a league where she didn't belong, and she needed to be put in her place.

Was this line of thinking too cold for me?... Probably not.

After all, I'm only concerned about the people I care about... and Kushida's not on that list.

"What in-insanity are you talking about?!" Kushida protested, her voice strained from Yuki's assault. "I'm not interested in Ayanokōji-kun at all!"

"Oh yeah," Yuki replied dismissively. "But I still don't take kindly to threats of someone claiming Kiyotaka, so that already sealed your fate."

With that, Yuki hauled Kushida to her feet and shoved her down the stairway. I watched as Kushida's body tumbled and twisted down the steps, finally coming to rest at the bottom, directly in front of me.

I let out a deep sigh and glanced at Yuki, who was grinning.

"I'm not kicking her," I said flatly.

Yuki chuckled. "I know you won't. I just want you to carry her. C'mon, c'mon! We're running out of time."

"Where are we even going?"

"Your room, of course!"

"Are you crazy? Why would I carry around an unconscious person in my room?"

"Because you love me?"

I sighed. This was just too much.

"You didn't really have to beat her up if you simply wanted to have her as your main pawn," I said to Yuki, who was humming a tune.

The blonde-haired girl smiled at me, a devious glint in her eyes. "Well, how else would I be able to justifiably hit her? I could just claim self-defense if she ever presses charges, you know? Given that I witnessed a crime where she admitted to wanting to frame you for rape."

"Did you know she was going to do this?"

"Nope!" Yuki replied with a pop on the last syllable, grinning. "But I had a feeling she was going to do something that would make me really mad, and I was right."

"I see."

"For all your complaining, you sure don't seem to mind, Kiyotaka," Yuki pointed out, looking at me carrying a prone Kushida.

"That's because I didn't really mind you going nuts on her," I paused, sighing for what felt like the thousandth time that day. "I don't particularly care about Kushida, you know?"

"The more things change, the more they stay the same, huh?" Yuki cryptically said.

"Something like that, yes."

Yuki chuckled at my words. Then, we continued on with our mission of stealthily sneaking out of campus carrying an unconscious student.

As we walked through the empty corridors, I couldn't help but feel a bit tired from what I had just witnessed. Yuki's scheme, while not something I particularly disapproved of, caught me off-guard, and I was pretty sure this was not the end of her plan to get back at Kushida for slighting her.

Glancing at the blonde-haired girl, she just looked completely unfazed by what she had just done, humming a tune as we walked.

"Was your plan just to attack her?" I asked, arching an eyebrow.

Yuki faced me and shook her head. "Oh, not at all! It's just a preliminary step to the next part of my plan, fufu! I had Chiaki help me out on this one, you know? So praise me for working with her!"

"Ah, good job, I guess? But if we're using this part of your plan as a benchmark for the rest of your plan, I don't think I'm exactly going to be assured of your safety," I replied dryly.

"I'm not usually this crude in planning, you know? I just hate that bitch." Yuki replied, shrugging. "The next steps are more specific and calculated than this. I just wanted to vent."

"Fair enough."

As we navigated the dimly lit halls, the weight of Kushida's body began to grow heavier. Thankfully, Yuki was able to guide me to walk through a route where we would be hidden from plain sight.

When asked how she knew about these routes, she simply said "Chiaki," as if that explained everything... well, it did.

Finally, we reached my room, and upon my instructions, Yuki fished out a keycard from my left pocket, unlocking the door. We entered, and I carefully placed Kushida on the floor.

"Now what?" I asked, feeling exhausted and apprehensive about the next part of Yuki's plan.

Yuki's eyes gleamed with mischief as she stared down at the unconscious Kushida. "Now, Kiyotaka, we start the real game," she said, giving the prone body one more kick.

12.6

As I assisted Yuki in setting up her "master plan," a wave of fatigue washed over me. Sure, I wasn't morally opposed to the act, but the meticulous nature of Yuki's plan drained me. Aside from that, Yuki's description of the targets of this specific plan stirred up some aggressive feelings within me, which was out of character for me.

The four individuals in Yuki's crosshairs were second-year students who not only met the criteria to be targeted but also openly expressed their desire for her.

Yuki had visual and audio evidence to back this up, and hearing them talk in detail about the things they wanted to do to Yuki and the things they wanted her to do to them... infuriated me, much to my surprise.

It seemed that as much as I denied harboring feelings for Yuki, I couldn't stand people lusting after her— a fact that I only discovered tonight.

But, of course, expelling four idiots simply because they lusted after her wasn't the main rationale for her attack.

The reason why we had concocted an attack against some second-year students was to send a message to Nagumo Miyabi— a move that was in the works once I had decided to take up Horikita-senpai's unspoken offer and become his successor.

And it was just now that Yuki had found the perfect timing to launch this attack, or perhaps a warning shot would be a more appropriate term.

But to think she'd be able to layer her plan against Kushida alongside another plan that we had developed...

You're truly dangerous, Yuki.

That being said, this was honestly the last thing that I had expected out of everything that had transpired, but since I no longer had the energy to complain or even debate, I just helped Yuki out, along with Chiaki, who popped in the room with added ammunition to further cinch in Yuki's plan.

I didn't even ask why there were pieces of girl's underwear locked inside a plastic ziplock or some strands of hair in another ziplock or why my bed was designed differently than what it used to be.

Once we finished, I decided to immediately leave the first-year dorms. I needed to clear my head and gather my thoughts, as I felt like tonight was just too overwhelming.

As I walked outside, the cool evening air brushed against my face, but it did little to still my racing thoughts.

This day had taken an unexpected turn, and I was exhausted. I just wanted it to be over with.

To my surprise, I saw Horikita darting out of the dorms, still wearing her school uniform. The dark-haired girl strode past me, seemingly not even bothering to acknowledge me. But upon a brief glimpse of her eyes, I could infer that she didn't ignore me, but rather...

There was something Horikita Suzune needed to settle.

With nothing else to do and the desire to clear my head nudging me, I decided to follow Horikita and see what she was up to.

I blame Chiaki for this.

Just like with Kushida earlier, I maintained a safe distance, far enough not to raise suspicion but close enough to keep an eye on Horikita's movements.

A few minutes later, Horikita stopped in her tracks, and I also sensed another presence with her, one veiled by the shadows of the night.

Curiosity piqued, I stepped closer to see what exactly Horikita was doing, and well, I suppose I should have expected this...

In front of Horikita Suzune stood a man looking at her with a cold, scrutinizing gaze.

Horikita Manabu.

I still couldn't see him clearly, but the eyeglasses and Horikita's intent to meet this person hinted that this was Horikita-senpai.

"Suzune. I didn't think you'd follow me this far," Horikita-senpai said, his voice measured and calm.

"Hmph. I'm far different from the useless girl you once knew, nii-san. I came here to catch up to you."

Well, that was true in a way. But I didn't think Horikita was at a level of challenging her brother just yet.

"Catch up to me, huh?" A shadow of a smile flickered across Horikita-senpai's face. I couldn't exactly tell because of the darkness, but at least I imagined him doing that.

"I suppose you have indeed made progress, being part of the first Class D to climb up the ranks," Horikita-senpai said, probably locking eyes with his little sister.

I wonder how Horikita-senpai would have reacted to Horikita's brazenness had he not heard about his sister's progress from me.

Would he simply write this off as a ridiculous claim?

That said, Horikita-senpai was indeed aware of his sister's development. Sure, it wasn't as fast as Ken's progress, but Horikita's small strides were still worth noting, considering her initial abrasive nature.

"Yes, nii-san, and it's only a matter of time before we reach Class A."

"I'm sure you will," Horikita-senpai replied matter-of-factly, which surprised the younger Horikita as she took a step backward.

"Huh?"

"But not because of you," Horikita-senpai paused. "But because of Ayanokōji Kiyotaka."

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Horikita-senpai. But shouldn't you be more sensitive to your little sister?

"I..." Horikita trailed off, but judging from what I knew about her, her confidence probably took a hit with how much she looked up to her older brother.

"Even you know it, don't you, Suzune?"

Horikita-senpai stepped closer to the subdued Horikita. While the younger Horikita took a step back, Horikita-senpai was assertive and seized her wrist, which then led to her being pushed against a wall, with Horikita-senpai's piercing gaze directed at her.

"Which makes me even more disappointed to see how slow you've progressed," Horikita-senpai said, sighing.

"I-I'll show you that I'll eventually reach your level, nii-san! A-and... I'll be a major contributor in leading my class to be Class A. I-I'll prove it to you!"

Unfortunately for Horikita, those were the wrong choice of words as Horikita-senpai's grip on her tightened.

"Reach my level?" Horikita-senpai asked almost mockingly. "You truly are foolish, Suzune. It seems to me like you need to be taught a lesson."

That's what ticked him off?

But from what I knew about Horikita-senpai, he didn't seem to be the type to care if someone ended up better than him or on his level. This... was odd, to say the least.

After a few seconds, my eyes shined in realization. That was it, wasn't it?

Horikita-senpai didn't dislike Horikita's goal because he thought she was being arrogant, but rather, he disliked the fact that his little sister had been limiting herself by only wanting to be his equal.

It's just speculation, but with this guy, I'm pretty sure that's closer to the truth.

You know, senpai... you could just be honest with her and tell her what you really want from her.

"Nii...nii-san."

"Do you want to relive the pain of the past?"

Horikita-senpai then raised an arm, prepared to strike Horikita. Somehow, someway, my body compelled itself to move, and before I knew it, I grabbed Horikita-senpai's right arm as if on instinct.

"What? You..."

But before Horikita-senpai could fully register what had just happened, I had already slammed him on the ground, leading the younger Horikita to widen her eyes in shock.

"Oh, sorry, Horikita-senpai. I thought some pervert was trying to assault her. Since it is you, I suppose you're free to strike her if you want," I said, bowing at Horikita-senpai.

The younger Horikita blinked her eyes and, upon registering my words in her mind, glared at me.

"Ayanokōji-kun!"

What? It's your fault for confronting him in the first place.

Horikita-senpai stood up and dusted himself off. The bespectacled boy pushed up his glasses and looked at me.

"Ayanokōji-kun," he acknowledged, nodding his head. "I approve."

Iie... iie... what the hell, Horikita-senpai?

"Approve of what? You misunderstood something again," I said, sighing. "I don't want your little sister."

"You did not hesitate to save her, did you not?" He asked, smirking. "That simply tells me that you do care for her."

"Do I? No, I'm pretty sure I just wanted to kick some pervert's ass," I paused, looking at Horikita-senpai. "Are you a pervert, senpai?"

"What? No, of course not," Horikita-senpai coughed. "But that said, eavesdropping is not an admirable quality, Ayanokōji-kun."

The dim evening light cast eerie shadows on the walls as I rhetorically asked, "Just like how this isn't an admirable quality, Horikita-senpai?" I held up my phone, which began to play a video.

"Reach my level?"

"You truly are foolish, Suzune. It seems to me like you need to be taught a lesson."

"Do you want to relive the pain of the past?"

Upon seeing and hearing the video I took, Horikita-senpai merely smirked. "You're good. What do you wish to do with your card?"

"It doesn't have to come to that, you know?" I asked. "I'm just surprised you actually tried to hit her, and I simply wanted to catch her shocked face on camera."

Horikita glared at me, pinching my arm.

"Horikita-senpai and I are friends," I said to the dark-haired girl, gently removing her hand from my arm. "We tease each other like this all the time."

"You guys are talking as if I'm not here," she complained, her voice tinged with annoyance.

Because quite frankly, you've turned into a side character once I intervened, Horikita. That's just how it is sometimes.

But I suppose I shouldn't mock you that much since you do look cute like that. Haah, why can't you be like this all the time, Horikita? Yuki might not even dislike you anymore if you're like this.

"Oh, right. But on that note, couldn't you be more gentle with her, senpai?" I asked, locking eyes with the elder Horikita.

"I suppose you're right. But I still believe she deserved to be taught a lesson," Horikita-senpai replied, sighing. "Anyway, do you have any plans this evening, Ayanokōji-kun?"

"Not really, my schedule is open," I replied.

"Good. Follow me. Let's head to my dorm," Horikita-senpai then turned his head to his little sister. "Suzune, come as well. We need you to cook our food."

I think you're in the top 10 Tsundere big brothers list just for that line, Horikita-senpai.

But... calling a girl over just to cook food? That's a little misogynistic, senpai. I would never do that personally.

"Wha?"

I turned my head to the younger Horikita, who seemed to have been forgotten in the middle of my conversation with her older brother.

I gently pinched her on the cheek to bring her back to reality. Horikita appeared shocked at everything that had just transpired.

"You want to reconnect with him, right?" I asked her. "Then what are you waiting for?"

"A-ah. Alright."

Horikita-senpai shook his head in amusement at Horikita's continued shock.

"I think we broke her, senpai."

"It would seem so," he replied, chuckling as we began walking toward his dorm, the sounds of our footsteps echoing in the quiet evening.

End of Chapter

---

A/N: When I said Chapter 11 was hard to write, I think I was being ignorant there, as this chapter definitely took the cake, and I'm pretty sure it'll only get harder from here.

That said, I'll need to brush up on my reading of canon COTE to think of ingenious ways of pulling off the canon divergence stuff that I've been doing in the past couple of chapters.

So, before we address the rest of the chapter, let's now tackle the two key plot points in this chapter.

1. The Kushida Problem

I tried my best not to make it as edgy as possible and make the conclusion in line with Yuki's character and Kiyotaka's indifference towards Kushida. So to confirm, yes, Kiyotaka mapped out how to deal with Kushida, but with bigger fishes to deal with, Kiyotaka had decided that he didn't have time to deal with Kushida and instead delegated it to Yuki.

Yuki then surprised Kiyotaka by concocting a plan that not only served to keep Kushida in line, but also eliminated certain people from the school (Nagumo's not going to be happy once she finds out.) I hope you guys liked how I reimagined YandeYuki as a person who, on her own, is capable of making intricate schemes near the level of Kiyotaka.

This plotline also serves to further explore Kiyotaka's feelings towards Yuki. It's going to be a slow burn at this point, but Kiyotaka's pretty happy that Yuki is developing and has steadily begun to acknowledge her. I hope you guys didn't find it weird that I hinted at Kiyotaka being slightly possessive himself—it was something that I interpreted from canon with how he approached Kei, so I kept it here too.

And yes, Chiaki's pretty much a ninja at this point.

Keep in mind though that they're not Deus Ex Machima, and they could still have moments where they'd be caught off-guard, like with Nagumo down the line.

I don't like how COTE Wattpad, most of the time, just writes him off as an incompetent pervert when he's arguably better than Manabu as a leader.

Haha, I hope I'd be able to make Nagumo enjoyable for everyone.

2. The Horikita Confrontation

Clear canon divergence here, as Kiyotaka actually attacked Manabu and threw him down when he least expected it.

That said, I had decided that due to Kiyotaka's positive relationship with Manabu and the overall relationship between the three, it would be reasonable to have that kind of ending.

Manabu likes Kiyotaka, and well... he never really hated Suzune, so if he saw a glimmer of hope in her, I think he wouldn't be as cold to her, but of course, he'll be stern.

This is Manabu, after all.

From this scene, I hope you guys got the implication that Kiyotaka and Manabu had talked about Suzune from time to time, which was the reason why Manabu had acknowledged that Suzune had made some progress but still not enough to impress him.

Kiyotaka, through his knowledge of Manabu, was able to determine that Manabu simply wanted Suzune to stop keeping herself chained and to be herself, which I think is reasonable for someone like Kiyotaka to infer.

I wonder how Suzune would feel after finally getting a chance to share dinner with her nii-san simply because of Kiyotaka...

Haaah, the progress of Suzune here makes me sad thinking about her future rejection. (Or will she?)

Now onto the more filler but still important parts of the chapter.

What do you guys think about the bromance between Kiyo and Koenji? I thought it was a little funny, so I added that. I also figured that it was a nice transition from Kiyo's opening monologue too.

I also developed the relationships between Ken, Yosuke, and Kiyotaka, simply because Hirata would be jealous if he got left out of the whole first name thing.

I'm kind of on the fence about the scene where Kiyo threatened Yamauchi and Ike, but I decided to do it so I could set up the next scene. I hope you guys didn't mind that part.

That's... pretty much it!

If you guys have any recommendations, just send me a message. My lines are open, alright?

See you in the next chapter!

Cropped Scene (Which I took out from the story because it made no sense and I was drunk, but I thought it was funny)

We finally arrived at my room, and Yuki gestured for me to open the door. I hesitated for a moment before finally unlocking it and stepping inside.

Once inside, she gestured towards the bed. "Put her there."

My eyes darted to my bed, noting how it had different bedsheets, a different set of pillows, and even odd markings on it.

"Those markings aren't permanent," Yuki said, noticing where my eyes were.

"What are you planning, Yuki?" I spoke a little more sternly than usual, making the blonde-haired girl realize that I meant business.

"This," Yuki pointed to the bed. "Is similar to the set-up of the bed of Yamauchi Haruki."

"Now, put Kushida on the bed."

I gently laid Kushida down on the bed and stepped back, sighing at the implications of Yuki's words.

She was planning the expulsion of Yamauchi, but how exactly... I don't know.

Yuki turned to me with a smile. "Good job, Kiyotaka. Now, let's get to work."

I raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, 'let's get to work'?"

Yuki's smile widened. "We need to make it look like Yamauchi brought Kushida to his room and had his way with her."

Yuki then took out her phone and played a recording.

"Aaaaah! Kushida-chan was so hot earlier! I want to do dirty things to her, man! I'm dreaming of tying her up and having her scream out my name."

"I'm not even going to ask if that's real or fake."

"It's real!"

"So, how are you planning your master plan of expelling Yamauchi?" I asked, arching an eyebrow.

With a wide grin on her face, Yuki began telling me all the intricate steps, precautions, conditions, and the potential aftermath of her plans.

I found myself shocked at just how well-thought-out her plan was.

"Why would you go this far just to expel some useless guy?"

"He's going to be trouble for the class, and besides, we can afford an expulsion, right?"

That's true. With Yamauchi's inevitable expulsion, we'd be down 300 points, but it's not a big loss, as we could easily regain it within the next couple of months, should my theory of a special exam prove to be true.

But seriously, Yuki? Expelling a guy simply because he said Chiaki's hotter than you?