Classroom of the Elite: Checkmate
Kiku

Published: 2023
Source: https/

Chapter 1 - Opening Move

April. The school entrance ceremony.

My gaze passed over the people in the bus. Most of them were high schoolers, wearing the same uniform I was, while others were commuting to work and looked quite stressed. An old woman boarded at the next stop. She seemed to have problems with her legs as she was wobbling around while clutching her cane. Our eyes met for a moment and the elderly individual smiled at me. The friendly expression didn't seem to hold any special meaning and was just meant as a kind gesture, but I didn't reciprocate it and instead closed my eyes in response.

"Excuse me, but shouldn't you offer your seat?"

My short rest was disturbed by one of the commuting passengers who uttered those words. At first I thought that the woman meant me, but she was addressing the blonde high schooler that was sitting on one of the priority seats.

"Can't you see that this elderly woman is having trouble standing? Isn't it only natural to give up your seat?"

The attention of the entire bus was now on said group. While the elderly woman tried to mediate with the office lady, the blonde man combed his hair and admired himself in his hand mirror. As the younger office worker kept bugging him, the man's voice rang through the otherwise peaceful bus.

"Natural? I don't think so. There is no reason for me to give up my seat for someone else. Since I am currently occupying this place, it is naturally my decision to move or not. The woman boarded the bus knowing full well that it is almost filled to the brim. Since she entered this fine vehicle in that situation, she should be fine with standing. No?"

The office lady seemed quite perplexed upon hearing that man's reasoning, but I had to admit that there was nothing wrong with what he said. There were multiple such busses driving in the same direction in short intervals. Even I was aware of this. If she wanted a seat, she could have just waited for the next bus to arrive, which was most likely not as stuffed as this one.

"Wh- what kind of attitude is that to take with your superiors?"

"Superiors?" The man broke away from his reflection to glance at the office lady and the woman before moving his attention back to his mirror. "I consent that you are with no doubt superior to me in age, but that is where your superiority over me ends."

The lady flushed red in anger. As if overheating, she burst out, "Wha — You're just a high schooler! You should be quiet and listen to what adults tell you!"

"... P-please, it's fine. I'm okay with standing."

The elderly passenger interjected, trying to mend the heated mood.

I found this situation to be quite ironic, as it seemed like the woman was fine. She was unsteady and depending on her cane, but she didn't look like she wanted to bother anyone so she could have a seat. Just like the man had claimed, she boarded the train even though it was full and there were alternatives available.

As the office worker kept trying to persuade the blonde man, he slid his earphones in and stored away his mirror, apparently done with this exchange. The lady turned around to apologize to the woman when a fourth party suddenly joined in.

"Uhm... I think the lady is right."

The helper was a young girl wearing the same uniform as the blonde man.

It was rather brave of her to speak out like that after witnessing what transpired just moments ago. This implied that she was a nice person, as she could have ignored this troublesome incident instead of lending the two women a hand. The remaining passengers did just that, since it was too burdensome for them.

"And the new challenger is a pretty girl, eh? It would seem that I'm rather lucky with the fairer sex."

He heard the girl talking to him even after sliding in his earphones. Did he listen to quiet music? No, maybe it was just a classical piece without vocals, which wouldn't impair his hearing to a degree where he wouldn't be able to understand the girl. Or the song might have changed at that exact time. Or maybe he can lip read...

I am overthinking this...

The girl, having the attention of all occupants on her, proceeded, "This poor woman seems to have been suffering for quite some time now. Won't you please offer your seat? While you might consider such courtesy unnecessary, I think it would contribute enormously to society."

The boy snapped his fingers, as if annoyed, and smirked at the youthful student in front of him.

"A contribution to society, you say? That is an interesting opinion. It's certainly true that offering one's seat to the elderly could be viewed in such a positive light. Unfortunately, I have no interest in contributing to society. I care only for my satisfaction. But let me ask you a question, pretty girl: If you truly cared for this elderly woman, couldn't you just have asked someone else to give up their seat after I continuously declined? Rather than trying to convince me to give up the seat, why wouldn't you ask if someone else were to give up theirs? Do you really want to help this elderly woman, or are you just trying to make yourself look better in front of the people here?"

Even though he was narcissistic, he was also oddly sharp. The girl had no reason to confront him directly. If she were truly concerned about the person in question, she could have just asked if someone else would give up their seat for her, which had a higher chance of success than arguing with him. This alone didn't make her a bad person, of course. Maybe she was just blinded by her passion while feeling sorry for the woman.

A normal person wouldn't have picked up on something like that, however. He was a rather interesting character. I still hoped that the two of us wouldn't share a class, as he appeared rather hard to handle.

The boy's attitude remained unchanged. Both the office lady and the elderly woman wore bitter smiles in response. But the girl receiving the harsh verbal beating didn't back down.

"I only kept asking you because I thought I could reason with you, but it looks like that is not possible..."

The teenager glanced around, visibly saddened, as she lowered her head. Contrary to everyone's expectations, she promptly recovered from this defeat and addressed the remaining passengers.

"Everyone, please listen for a moment. Won't someone give up their seat for this woman? It doesn't matter who. Please."

Her courage, determination and compassion for this stranger were impressive... or that was how it seemed. Hidden between her words was a massive red flag, one I and clear by his smile, the blonde boy had picked up on. He didn't seem to care much about this, however, and soon moved his attention to the nail file in his hands.

As I wondered how the others would react, I looked around and identified two kinds of people. Those who pretended they heard nothing, and those who were hesitant. As the girl's gentle eyes swayed through the bus, she would recognize mine as the latter — hesitant, but willing to sacrifice myself in order to restore peace. This stood in stark contrast to the black-haired girl sitting right beside me, as her face remained expressionless throughout this whole ordeal.

She must have noticed my unintentional peeks since our gazes entwined a moment later. Even without speaking, I could tell that we shared the same opinion. Neither of us considered it necessary to give up our seat.

As I averted my gaze, I couldn't help but notice the subtle movements of a working woman in front of me to my left. I moved around in my seat, giving the false impression of someone who had planned to hand over their spot.

"E-excuse me. You can have mine."

It seemed like she could no longer bear the guilt and stood up. The elderly person smiled and thanked that individual for standing up while hobbling towards the now empty spot. With this, the commotion was settled, and we soon arrived at our destination where the high school students, including myself, disembarked.

As I was running through my mental preparations to walk up the stairs and pass the school gate, a voice echoed through the area.

"Wait!"

I seized my movements and turned around to look for the adolescent responsible. My gaze once again met with the raven-haired girl who'd sat next to me on the bus. Her arms were interlaced in front of her chest and she presented herself to be rather angry with the way her eyes narrowed. A gust of wind blew through the entrance, whirling her hair around.

"You were looking at me. Why?"

"Sorry. I guess I was just interested, is all. I mean, you didn't think about giving up your seat to the old woman, did you?"

"That's right. I didn't consider giving it up. Is there something wrong with that?"

"Not at all. I didn't intend to give up my seat either. I dislike trouble, you see."

"You dislike trouble?" The scorn and ridicule in her voice were hard to miss. "I didn't give up my seat because I thought it would be pointless."

"Isn't that even worse?"

"Perhaps. I simply act according to my beliefs. I don't want to spend any time with people like you."

"Likewise." I turned around.

She was weird. My knowledge about her was next to null, and I already disliked her attitude. I could only hope that the other students in this school would be more approachable. Even though she was attractive, I didn't feel like getting to know her would be a good idea at all.

Due to the school's enormous size, signs were placed on the routes, which would help new students like me to find their respective classes. I followed the signs that read, 'First Years' and soon arrived at a fairly large building. Without dawdling around, I moved to the classroom I was assigned to: 1-D.

The room was already halfway filled when I walked inside. Some of them turned around to look at me while others were absorbed in their conversations. I paid them no mind and let my gaze sway around the room. The high security caught my eye, but I ignored it for now and refocused on the other students.

Did they already make friends? Or did they know each other from before? If it was the former, they were impressive.

I trudged towards the table that bore my nameplate, placed my bag nearby, and sat down. It was the best seat one could have. All the way in the back, right by the window. When I was bored in the future, I could glance outside and observe the birds, the sakura blossoms or the falling snow, depending on the season.

Well then, what should I do? Should I walk up to someone and talk with them, or would that be deemed as weird? Talking to a girl right off the bat was out of the question. I couldn't help but believe that I would be labeled 'creep' if I were to stroll up to them and start a conversation with no warning. Joining a group that was already talking would be bad as well. If they already knew each other beforehand, they would glance at each other and be like, 'Hey, you see that guy that just randomly talked to us? What do you think he wants? Wasn't that kind of creepy?', or such things.

With this reasoning, I eliminated most of the people present in the room, leaving only the ones who were alone, like me. The boy in front of me fit this description perfectly. Should I talk to him? But what if he was just waiting for someone he knew? Or isn't in the mood to talk? Shouldn't I wait for the right time to strike up a conversation? Like when he drops something and I pick it up? Or would that be weird as well?

As I kept spiraling down into the dark corners of my thoughts and ruminating about such scenarios, I noticed that making friends seemed to be incredibly difficult. While I was occupied debating the pros and cons of striking up a conversation with the youth in front of me, I noticed that he was already engaged in a conversation with someone else.

I failed. I'm miserable.

"What an unfortunate coincidence."

Hearing this voice, I lowered my head onto the table before heaving a massive sigh.

Of course it would be her, of all people. Why did it have to be this girl?

"So, we were placed in the same class, huh?"

Well, still... I should introduce myself properly. Maybe she wasn't as bad as my initial impression led me to believe. I mean, she started the conversation twice already, if I counted our little exchange near the bus stop. She couldn't be the worst person to get to know, right? Okay. Here goes nothing.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Ayanokouji Kiyotaka."

"You just went and introduced yourself?"

"Well, this is the second time we've spoken. Isn't it normal for me to do so?"

It seemed like my initial impression was right on the mark. I just hoped she behaved like this with everyone who tried talking to her and not just me. If she didn't, that would be bad for my non-existent reputation. My soul would slowly be crushed as well. Perhaps.

"Do you mind if I refuse?"

"Don't you think that it would be weird sitting next to someone without knowing their name?"

"No."

The girl refused flatly and placed her bag on the desk. She sat down and stared forward without moving, as if she were in a trance. Conversations popped up around us, but she appeared to be in her own world.

The way she glared towards the blackboard reminded me of the Queen's Guard. No matter what happened around them, they wouldn't move. Would she do something if I waved my hand in front of her? At least her irises should dart around, right? She shouldn't be specifically trained, so there was bound to be some sort of physical reaction.

As I was pondering over the matter, she sighed. The girl turned towards me, and her eyes once again met mine. I had to admit that they were rather pretty, even though I didn't like her attitude. I had to give credit where credit was due.

"I'm Horikita Suzune."

Wow, she was beautiful. This, coupled with her attitude, made her seem like the cold-beauty type of girl. And her voice sounded like a bell, so the name was quite fitting as well.

That aside... she introduced herself. Are we friends now? No. There should be more to 'being friends' than just that, right? Well, since she answered, it was now my turn to keep the conversation going. But how? Should I ask her something? Or would she be bothered by that? A safer option would be to talk about myself. This way, she wouldn't feel forced to share anything she didn't want to.

"Let me tell you about myself. I have no particular hobbies but I'm interested in just about anything. I don't need many friends, but it would be nice to have a few. Well, that's about it."

"Spoken like someone who avoids trouble. I don't think I could ever like such a person."

Ouch. That hurt.

My heart stung a little after receiving such a vicious attack. I couldn't help but think that her gaze was filled with venom while she stared me down as if I was an annoying dog.

She sighed while I was occupied licking my hemorrhaging wounds.

"Another unfortunate coincidence."

Following her gaze, I discovered yet another person from the bus.

"Seems like it." I said as I checked the nameplate that read 'Kouenji'.

The man in question put his feet on top of the desk and resumed his manicure, which got interrupted as he stepped off the bus. The students around him immediately became irritated by his attitude and backed up. Kouenji didn't seem to mind and even started humming a jazzy tune. My neighbor shook her head and started reading a book called 'Crime and Punishment'.

Well, so much for my first friend...

The bell rang a few moments later. At that exact moment, a woman with brown hair tied into a ponytail walked into the room. My initial impression was that she believed in discipline due to the way she presented herself. Looking at her like that, she could be Horikita from the future, or her mother if not for the differing hair color. She gave off a similar vibe to the girl beside me, as she wore a suit and radiated a cool impression, which would make anyone hesitant to address her.

"Good morning students. I'm the instructor for Class D. My name is Chabashira Sae. For the next three years, I will act as your homeroom teacher, so I hope to get to know all of you. It's a pleasure to meet you. The entrance ceremony will be in the gymnasium in one hour from now on, but first, I will distribute written materials with information about this school's special rules. I will also hand out the admissions guide."

After everyone received said documents which were passed back from the front rows, the teacher continued in a smoky voice. Her bedroom eyes didn't help my situation at all, as it was rather hard to listen to her without my mind drifting off-topic.

"I will now hand out your student ID cards, which acts like a credit card. By using them, you can access the facilities on the campus and purchase goods from the stores. At this school, you can use your points to buy anything. Anything located on the school premises is available for purchase."

Anything can be bought with points, huh? If everything on the premises could be bought, would it be possible to buy a whole store? Or parts of a building to restrict access for certain people? I should inquire about this later.

"Your student cards can be used by simply swiping them through the scanner. Points are automatically deposited into your account on the first day of every month. You should have already received 100.000 points. Keep in mind that one point is one yen. No further explanation should be necessary."

The whole classroom erupted into chaos after that statement from our teacher.

100.000 points per students equals 4.000.000 per class and 16.000.000 for all classes in the first year. For all three years, that would be 48.000.000 points per month and 576.000.000 per year. That was a little over 4.8 million US-Dollars. Even though the school was being funded by the government, this was too much to give to a bunch of teenagers.

"Shocked by the amount of points you've been given? This school evaluates its students' talents. Everyone here passed the entrance examination, which speaks to your value and potential. The amount you've received reflects the evaluation of your worth. You can use your points without restraint. Your leftover points will be returned to the school upon graduation. Since there is no way to exchange your points for cash, there is no advantage in saving them. Once points have been deposited into your account, it's up to you how to spend them. If you don't want to spend your points, you may transfer them to someone else. However, extorting money from your peers is not allowed. This school monitors bullying especially thorough."

The amount we've received reflects the evaluation of our worth... which means if our worth dwindles, so do our points. How would they calculate our worth then? Exams would be one way to measure our value, but would that be the only one? No... those cameras were not for security, but for observation. Even outside of the classrooms, they are rather small and inconspicuous. They weren't intended to spread a feeling of safety, but to observe the students as they are tackling their school life.

Chabashira-sensei looked over the room once again before dismissing class for today.

"Well, it appears no one has questions. I hope that you enjoy your time here as students."

Many of my classmates were surprised and still couldn't believe the amount of points they've had received. I checked my phone, which we got together with our student ID cards and confirmed the existence of 100.000 points in my account.

I glanced to my side and observed the girl named Horikita Suzune.

Unlike Kouenji, she wasn't a narcissist, but was still very proud of her intelligence and overall abilities. Or at least she appeared that way. I knew nothing about her, but it was impossible to miss how highly she thought of herself. Let's put her abilities to the test, shall we?

"This school doesn't seem as strict as I thought."

My neighbour had apparently noticed my soft mutterings and turned her head.

"This school is rather lenient, isn't it?"

She agreed with my statement, which was disappointing. Didn't she have anything more to say? Weren't there any doubts in her mind after the teacher's explanation?

"This is almost too much preferential treatment. It's frightening."

At least she noticed that something was off. Maybe she was actually smart, and just needed time to process all the information we had just taken in. There was no shame in needing time to convert all the data into usable chunks. As long as she thought about everything, it was good enough for me.

The room got louder and louder, especially the girls as they were already debating on which clothes to spend their points on and things like that. The boys deliberated which gaming console was the best. They were struggling to decide between a handheld and a stationary machine. Afterwards they bickered about which movie genre was their preferred one and things of that nature.

I didn't even know that we could buy clothes here. Why would we need them if there are uniforms? The boys also confused me and I felt left out after hearing terms I was wholly unfamiliar with. How did they already know all of this? Was I just clueless?

"Everyone, can you please listen for a moment?"

A student with blonde hair stood up, gaining the attention of everyone around him. Even though his hair was the same color as Kouenji's, he had a much darker tone than the latter. The youth seemed like an honor student like Horikita, just far more approachable because of the pleasant smile on his face.

"Starting today, we're all going to be classmates. Therefore, I think it would be good for us to introduce ourselves and become friends as soon as possible. We still have some time until the entrance ceremony. What do you say?"

Just like that, he spoke up in front of everyone, which was an incredible feat. No matter how much I racked my brain, I couldn't have done something like this. I doubted that I could ever stand tall and appeal to people in a forty person classroom.

"Agreed! We still don't know a thing about each other, not even our names."

Someone shouted, which prompted the hesitant students to agree as well. Leading with a good example, the boy who just addressed the whole class introduced himself first.

"My name is Hirata Yosuke. Back in junior high, lots of people called my Yosuke. Feel free to use my first name! I guess my hobby is playing sports, but soccer is my specialty. I'm planning on playing soccer here too. Nice to meet you."

With that, the boy named Hirata presented himself in front of the class with no effort while leaving a lasting first impression. He was not only outspoken but also quite handsome and played soccer. The girls next to him had heart-shaped eyes, which spoke for his newfound popularity.

"Well then, I'd like everyone to introduce themselves, starting from the front. Is that okay?"

Although the girl in question was bewildered to be called out of the blue, she promptly made up her mind and stood up.

"M-my n-name is Inogashira Ko-Ko..."

The girl froze. Her words halted, as if they were stuck in her throat and her skin paled somewhat. It was rare to see someone get this nervous over a simple introduction. Did she perhaps have some bad memories about a previous one?

Kind words came from the side of our classmates. They cheered her on and kept telling her to do her best, which seemed to have the opposite effect, as she completely suspended her operations following those proposals. Some girls started giggling. Even though it wasn't a malicious snicker, for someone who was receiving them, they could prove quite harmful. The words of encouragement she received were nice, but not what she needed to hear at this point in time. A better alternative would have been to —

"It's okay to go slow. Don't rush. Take all the time you need."

The girl who said this once again saved the day. This time for the young woman called Inogashira. Upon hearing the angel's voice, she took a deep breath and started anew.

"My name is Inogashira Kokoro. Um, my hobby is sewing and I'm pretty good at knitting. I-It's nice to meet you all."

Looking relieved, delighted and fairly embarrassed, the girl sat down while the boy next to her stood up.

"I'm Yamauchi Haruki. I competed in table tennis during elementary school, and in junior high, I was the ace player in our baseball team. I was number four. Unfortunately, I got hurt during the inter-high school championships, though, and I'm undergoing rehab now. Nice to meet you."

That... well. I'm not commenting on that. His introduction indicated multiple signs of lying behavior, which didn't need to be pointed out. Not to mention that his lies were some of the worst I had ever heard.

"Well then, I'm next, aren't I?"

The girl who stood up next was the one who saved Inogashira, as well as the one who confronted Kouenji in the bus. She still had the same positive energy around her as this morning.

"My name is Kushida Kikyou. None of my friends from junior high made it to this school, so I'm alone here. I'd like to get to know all of your names and faces right away and become friends as soon as possible!"

She didn't finish there, however, and supplemented her introduction with a dazzling smile, which made her as, if not more, approachable than Hirata. But I couldn't help but think that Horikita's name was a much better fit, as far as I could tell.

"My first goal is to become friends with everyone. So, after we're finished with introductions, I'd love for you to share your contact information with me!"

As she kept talking, I was once again reminded of the red flag I had picked up on this morning. There was something off about her, but I didn't know what just yet. Kouenji detected this as well, and even attacked her afterwards to probe her reaction, which just confirmed what both of us had expected. He is the most interesting of all the people in the classroom at this point in time.

Hirata then asked the next person to introduce himself. The boy with short red hair, however, just lashed out at him, which immediately called down the wrath of all the girls inside the classroom. He started cursing and left the room only leaving his loud steps without turning back.

After his abrupt exit, some other students stood up and left the room in silence. My neighbor took one last glance at me before disappearing as well. Hirata seemed somewhat lost and tried to justify their behavior in front of his other classmates.

"They're not a bad bunch. It's my fault. I was being selfish and made people do this."

Hirata didn't exhibit any red flags at all, unlike Kushida. He genuinely tried to be the scapegoat for the delinquents misbehavior as to not alienate the red-haired student and the ones that followed him from the rest of our class. Even though he did his best after this situation took place, some people, especially the girls, didn't feel like it was his fault at all.

"No way. You did nothing wrong Hirata-kun. Let's just leave them be."

They said things like that but still harbored ill will, especially towards the guy with fiery red hair. It seemed like they already decided that they wanted nothing to do with some hothead like him. After this short commotion, it didn't take long until everyone calmed down and the next person introduced himself.

"I'm Ike Kanji. I love girls and hate pretty boys. I'm currently looking for a new girlfriend, especially a cute or beautiful one. Nice to meet you."

His introduction was even worse than the delinquent's non-existent one as the girls all looked at him with revulsion. Studying the introductions until now, I was sure that it wouldn't take long for the boy called Yamauchi to connect with the one called Ike, since they both exhibited certain signals. Like two twin-brothers that were separated at birth and found themselves again.

"Wow. You are so cool, Ike-kun," one of the girls said, in a dispassionate voice. She was almost as good as I was in this kind of thing. This was what impressed me the most.

Ike thanked them while blushing in an unhealthy capacity. The girls kept throwing sarcastic remarks his way, but he didn't understand this at all. He started scratching his head in embarrassment because of all the compliments he received. As the girls kept entertaining Ike's fantasies, Hirata turned to the narcissist and asked him if he would introduce himself.

"Hm. Fine."

He smirked, displaying the same attitude he had back on the bus. It seemed like he didn't care what people thought of him, which was not a bad habit to have. Coupled with his arrogance and narcissistic nature, however, it would likely spill bad blood between him and some other students. For now, at least, the term I would use was arrogance, but depending on his performance, I might have to turn it into something like confidence. He had already proven that his observation skills were out of the ordinary and his physique was nothing to scoff at, either.

"My name is Kouenji Rokusuke. As the sole male heir of the Kouenji conglomerate group, I will soon be tasked with carrying Japan into the future. I sincerely look forward to making your acquaintance, ladies."

In line with my thoughts about him, he only introduced himself to the female population in the room, disregarding the boys. Some girls immediately reevaluated him after hearing that he was rich, while others thought that he was just weird.

After his introduction, if one could call it that, he refocused on his hair and comb, which he already did on the bus. This made me wonder about so many things, but now wasn't the time. Kouenji kept talking while I drifted into my own little world. I was so absorbed in their introductions and my thoughts about them that I failed to think over what I should say in mine.

I thought back to the ones I had heard until now and compared them. Some had pros and cons, while others were off the table altogether. Could I be like Hirata and state my interests with confidence before proposing to use my first name if they wanted? The answer was a definitive no. Leaving aside that I could never be able to speak with so much courage, it would be extremely uncomfortable if I told them to use my first name and none of them did. Only someone like Hirata, who was outspoken and popular, could do something like that... or idiots like Yamauchi and Ike.

Speaking of them, should I crack a joke? Since they failed terribly, I didn't think I should try something like this either. Since it would be my first time making a joke, it was a bad idea to do so in front of this many people. If it turned out to be a bad or tasteless one, and no one laughed, I would cry myself to sleep.

Inogashira Kokoro, she stumbled over her words and was anxious, which could have been considered kind of cute by certain individuals. If I were to do something like this, however, it would just seem weird. 'Wow, what's with him? He can't even introduce himself. Gross.' I already heard the girls say this with disgusted expressions.

Kushida's introduction was on the same level as Hirata's and something like Kouenji's was out of the question. I didn't want to stand out too much, but I also didn't want to end up like Horikita. The best course of action would be to take my time and properly formulate a —

"Excuse me? Could you please introduce yourself?"

Hirata threw me a strange, yet worried glance. Some girls were already staring daggers as well. Judging by his tone of voice and the death threats I received via eye contact, he already asked this question at least once.

I messed up.

Clack! The chair rattled as I stood.

"Um. Well... my name is Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. And uh... I don't really have any special skills or anything. I'll do my best to get along with you all. It's, uh, nice to meet you."

Yes. I messed up. What kind of lame presence was that? Even the small introduction I gave Horikita turned out better than this disaster.

I sat back down and buried my head in my hands. I hadn't had the time to construct a proper introduction because I was overthinking it. This was the worst possible opening I could have given. It didn't attract attention and absolutely no one would remember it. Well, maybe that was for the better after this dumpster fire.

"It's nice to meet you Ayanokouji-kun. I always want to be friends with everyone just like you. Let's both do our best together, okay?"

Hirata came to the rescue with a refreshing smile. He recognized my failure and noticed the internal mental breakdown I was currently going through. Thus, he took it upon himself to include me as to not stand out in a negative light or be forgotten in my entirety. It was unquestionable that he was a kind soul.

Everyone clapped. Their applause felt somewhat like pity and kind of forced by some of them, which pained me. Despite that, however, I felt kind of glad. At least they were trying, right?

The entrance ceremony was quite boring and, according to the faces of most of the students here, they would agree with me. The principal gave a long-winded speech, something about the school's history and miscellaneous information which took far too much time for everyone's taste. Few people listened attentively while most of them wished they could be some place else right about now. The ceremony finally ended at noon. After we received some general information about the campus, the crowd dispersed.

Most of the juniors headed to the dormitories, while others already went out with friends to visit the stores, cafes and karaoke place. I made my way over to one of the convenience stores to buy some things I would need during my day to day. As I was roaming through the campus on my own, I was quite amazed at how huge this school was. Aside from that, cameras were positioned almost everywhere. After I reached my destination and walked inside, a familiar voice entered my ears.

"My, yet another unpleasant coincidence."

I really wondered if I wronged anyone in my life, after once again running into the girl I didn't want to see the most. After checking my memories, however, I concluded that nothing noteworthy took place for which I would deserve such a cruel fate.

"There is no need to be so hostile. Did you need to buy something as well?"

"Yes, just a few things. I came to get some necessities."

She was like me in that regard. Coming here to buy shampoo, a toothbrush and things like that. As I watched Horikita put similar essentials into her basket, I wondered why she went for the cheapest option most of the time. Saving points would be the right course of action, but I always believed that girls would be picky with products that would affect their appearance and hygiene. Did the book I've read lie to me?

"I thought girls usually made a fuss over what kind of shampoo they bought."

"That depends on the person, doesn't it? I'm the sort who doesn't know when you might need money."

I see. This conduct didn't apply to every girl, apparently. From a practical standpoint, I had to agree with her. It was always handy to have money in case you needed it, especially in such a mysterious environment like this school.

A cold shudder traveled down my back as I caught Horikita's icy glare, which seemed to declare, 'Could you please not inspect other people's purchases without their permission?'

Well, no. Scratch that please from the sentence. She wouldn't be using a word like this while looking like a devil incarnate.

"At any rate. I was surprised that you stayed for the introductions. You didn't look like the type to hang out with a circle of classmates."

"I already told you that I don't like trouble, hence I took part as not to stand out negatively. Why didn't you introduce yourself, Horikita? You could have gotten to know several students, and it would have been a chance to make friends."

Most of the students exchanged numbers shortly after the introduction. One of those pairs was Yamauchi and Ike, just like I had expected. The girls scrambled around Hirata as if they had a competition about whoever got his number first, while the boys went to Kushida. Most of the females then turned to her to exchange numbers as well after they had sucked Hirata dry like a pack of vampires. While all of this was taking place I, well..., I observed them.

Alone.

If Horikita would have been there with me, maybe I wouldn't have been. Even Kouenji started exchanging numbers with some girls. My savior, Hirata, tried to include me, but he was drowned by girls before he could do anything at all, which was why I ended up alone while everyone else made friends.

"There are several reasons I objected. My introduction might have sown discord, depending on how things went. Thus, doing nothing avoided creating more problems. Am I wrong?"

Well, thinking about her debut, I could certainly see her choosing harsh and rather cold words. She might have been right in just leaving, even though it was quite a shame. If she weren't as headstrong and a little more approachable, she could be exceedingly popular.

"Statistically speaking, there was a high probability that you could have hit it off with everyone after introducing yourself."

"How did you conclude that? Let's say that the probability of making friends was high, like you said. How many people did you get to know?"

Ouch. That was a low blow, even for her. She should know that it was easier for a girl to make friends if she was cute. Even if these 'friends' were only male ones who wanted to get to know her better while having ulterior motives. Her chance to find a friend in class was much higher than mine. A similar rule applied to someone like Hirata, who was a handsome boy.

"Ugh..."

She gazed at me with a victorious smirk.

I couldn't argue with her reasoning, however. She would only hurt me more if I tried to defend myself since the fact that I failed miserably works in favor of the point she was trying to make as well.

I instinctively averted my eyes.

"In other terms, you have no evidence to support your claim, do you? Besides, I never intend to make any friends in the first place, thus there is no need to introduce myself, which also eliminates the reason for staying to hear the introductions. Have I convinced you?"

The only reply she received was a forlorn sigh, as I had no comeback. She turned around and kept shoving items into her basket, and so did I. We sometimes ended up walking with each other, but we neither exchanged words nor eye contact. Even though she was rather uptight and slightly rude, being with her didn't feel uncomfortable.

Was this the feeling called 'love'? I wondered.

The two of us stumbled upon a few rather noisy male students that stood in front of the instant noodles.

"Damn, look at that! The selection is huge! This school is amazing!"

So this is more than a normal convenience store would have in stock? Well, not that this information was useful to me in any significant way. I should get some to see how they taste, though.

"Do boys really like this kind of stuff? I can't imagine that it's healthy," Horikita said without turning towards me.

"I like them just fine, I guess."

I picked one of the noodle cups and examined the price tag. It said 156 yen, but I couldn't tell whether this was expensive. Since Horikita once again opened a conversation with me, she couldn't hate me as much as she tried to make me believe. Maybe I should ask her?

"Hey, what do you think? Is this price high or low?"

"Hmm, I'm not sure. Why, is there something curious about it?"

"No, I was just wondering."

I ignored her quizzical expression and dumped the G-Cup labeled noodles into my basket. On an unrelated note, Horikita's breasts were neither small nor huge. They exquisitely straddled the line between the two. The perfect size.

"Ayanokouji-kun. Were you thinking something stupid just now?"

"Er. No?"

Cold sweat gathered on my palms and forehead.

"I felt like you were acting strange."

Scary. How did she do that? Could it be...? Mind reading? Perfect size, perfect size, perfect size. I repeated like a chant.

"Ayanokouji-kun."

Her uncomfortable gaze drilled into me with the strength of a thousand frozen tundras.

"Yes?"

"Do you really think you should buy that? The school offers far healthier food options. Don't you think it's better to avoid eating junk?"

"I guess just once is fine. I never had one of these before, to be honest."

That wouldn't be a weird thing to say. I confirmed that before, since she basically said that she never had one either. Our reasons may differ, but the result wouldn't change.

"Suit yourself." Horikita said, before wandering off.

We moved away from the food and began looking for daily essentials. She still seemed quite distant. Would she look cuter with a smile? I thought about cracking a joke, since this was much easier to do in a one-on-one situation.

"If you're looking for something a cut above the rest, how about this razor with five blades?"

I grinned, proud of my accomplishment at cracking a joke. I've read that one in a book, and it applied perfectly as she was just browsing the area.

"Why in the world would I want to shave with that?"

I pretended to shave my imaginary beard to prove my point. But she didn't laugh. Far from it. Instead, she looked at me like I was dirt. I knew full well that she didn't have a beard, but shaving my imaginary hair in another place would be borderline sexual harassment.

"Look at me. I have nothing to shave. Not on my chin, not under my armpits, and not down there."

Unlike the information that this school's selection was huge, this one could be useful somewhere down the line.

"Ayanokouji-kun. Were you thinking something rude just now?"

"No." I replied and noted that Horikita Suzune doesn't need a razor.

"I have to say I'm a little envious of your ability to babble nonsense to someone you've just met."

So that was a weird thing to do. Hmm.

"Well, I feel you've been saying stupid crap too, and you only just met me."

I changed tactics. Just like a kid, I denied her fact and just turned it onto her with not a single piece of evidence to back me up. I felt proud of this, even though I knew that I shouldn't.

"Is that so? I merely stated facts. Unlike you."

I let it go this time as I had the feeling I was making her angry every time I talked with her. I would need to sleep a night over it and reevaluate my social skills that seem to be even lower than initially estimated.

We kept walking through the store while she continued picking up the cheapest of each product to save money. I went with a similar strategy since I didn't know how much we were going to be receiving next month. I was sure that the amount was going to change, but I didn't know the exact reasons, and whether the change would affect only the specific student or the entire class.

Horikita just sighed. It almost seemed like she was pitying me for my poor social skills. At that moment, I thought of a new plan to talk to her. Since she was serious all the time, I should try that. Luckily for me, I stumbled upon a rather interesting shelf which was perfect to pique her curiosity.

"Hey. What's up with this?"

I felt her presence draw closer as she peeked over some aisles.

"Free?" she wondered aloud.

Horikita seemed to find it strange as well and examined the daily necessities which were piled up on said shelf. Nearby was a clearance bin, which was labeled 'three items per month'. I wondered if Horikita finally picked up that something was terribly wrong with this school, as she examined the items with narrowed eyes.

"Those must be emergency relief supplies for students who used up all of their points. This school really is incredibly lenient," I said to prompt her into an answer after she revealed nothing herself.

I was curious what transpired in her head at this exact moment. But one thing was for certain: she found all of this weird as well. As I was looking forward to her reply, a sudden shout drowned the store's relaxing background music.

"Hey, shut it! Just wait a sec! I'm looking for it right now!"

"Come on, hurry. You have a line of people waiting on you!"

"Oh, yeah? Then how about they complain to me in person, huh?"

Unfortunately for me, our red-haired classmate stole Horikita's attention away from the strange items. She looked at him, apparently recognizing the boy as well, before shaking her head and leaving to browse through the rest of the store.

Wait! Could that be my chance to make a friend? He was a hothead, but maybe he wasn't that bad if I got to know him properly. I took the risk and made my way towards the counter.

"What's going on here?"

"Huh?! Who are you?"

He glared towards me with a fierce attitude. Intimidation, however, wouldn't work on me. Good for him, or else I might have stopped my attempt to help him right here out of fear of being beaten up.

"My name is Ayanokouji. I'm from your class. I just asked because it sounded like there was trouble."

The red-haired boy seemed to calm down after this. He lowered his voice to a normal level and explained the current situation to me.

"Oh. Yeah, I remember you. I forgot my student ID card. Forgot that it pretty much acts as our money from now on, too."

Just as he said this, he put the noodle cups away, probably heading back to his dorms where he left his card. As this would be a giant waste of time and the fact that I could use this situation to make a friend, I offered him a simple solution.

"I can pay for you. Wouldn't it be annoying if you had to head all the way back to the dorms? I don't really mind."

The boy stopped and turned back around to face me. He seemed thankful, yet kind of ashamed, likely because he lashed out at me in the beginning. This reaction confirmed that he wasn't a bad guy, just quick to anger.

"True. You're right. That would be hella annoying. Thanks. My name's Sudo. I really owe you one."

"Nice to meet you, Sudou." I said as he handed me his noodle cup.

We walked to the hot water dispenser where Horikita seemed to have watched our exchange.

"You're acting like a pushover right from the start. Are you really doing all of this to make friends?"

"I didn't do this to make friends. I just wanted to help."

I lied through my teeth and wondered if I was so easily seen through. I didn't understand what's so wrong with trying to make friends, but if I would have asked her answer would have been something like, 'Friends only drag you down. You are better off without them', or something along those lines. This was the feeling the girl to my right gave off.

"You don't seem to be afraid."

"Because he looks like a delinquent? You should rather be wary of the ones that don't seem dangerous at a glance."

I flashed her a smile. I wasn't used to moving my facial muscles like that, so it might have looked awkward. Her expression changed into a mixture of slight surprise and bewilderment.

"Did you make a joke just now?"

Ouch.

"I have to admit, it was better than the previous one. But yes, you are right. Normal people would try to keep someone like him at bay."

"That might be the case. Does that mean you are not a normal person yourself?"

"There is no reason for me to be afraid of him. If he acted violently, I could rebuff him."

I was agonizing if I should take a jab at her while speculating whether she could block it in time. The answer was most likely no, but I couldn't help craving to test where her confidence stemmed from. But right now was not the time to do so.

"Let's finish our shopping. We'll be a bother to the others if we dawdle."

Horikita, who seemed to have read my mind once again, said this before I could even open my mouth.

We presented our cards to the machine at the register and checked out with little trouble. The recipe on the phone showed the price of each item and the remaining amount of points. Since I didn't know how to use these cups, I observed Sudou. He skillfully opened the lid and poured water inside until it reached a red line, which seemed simple enough. I copied his actions as he walked outside. Alone with Horikita, I once again tried to get a reaction out of her regarding the school's point policy.

"Horikita, what do you think? How does the school benefit from giving us so much money?"

"I wonder. The campus has more than enough facilities for the number of students. Handing out this much money might prove detrimental to students who should be studying."

Yeah, that too. But that was not the point I was trying to make. Was she messing with me right now? She couldn't possibly be this ignorant.

"I won't tell you what to do, but I think it would be best to avoid wasting your money on useless products. Once a person gets used to the easy life, there is no easy way to fix them. When you suddenly lose the money, the shock can be great."

Did she perhaps pick up on everything but kept it to herself? She warned me, so that meant she should have doubts as well. But why not voice them? Was she trying to probe me while I was trying to probe her? Whatever the case, I wouldn't show my cards this soon.

"I'll keep that in mind."

After exiting the store, I found Sudou squatting outside, apparently waiting for me. When our eyes met, he beckoned me over. I returned the gesture, feeling slightly embarrassed, yet happy.

Did I make a friend just now? Was he my first friend? Wait... could Horikita be considered my friend as well? We talked a lot today. Did something like that make us friends? I didn't talk with Sudou as much, but he seemed to be strangely inviting. Could there be multiple correct ways to make friends?

"Are you really going to eat here?" I asked aloud, noticing the lack of tables or chairs.

"Of course. It's common sense."

His answer perplexed me to no end. Common sense dictated to eat at a table, preferably while sitting on a chair. He crouched on the ground while stirring through his cup noodles as if it was an everyday occurrence. While I was confused, yet intrigued about this new common sense I had just discovered, Horikita exhaled in exasperation.

"I'm going back. I'll be stripped of my dignity if I spend more time here."

"Dignity? We're just high school students. We're ordinary. Are you the high-born daughter of some noble or something, huh?"

Horikita had no physical reaction to Sudou's harsh tone. She kept walking without turning an eye, which made the already short-fused Sudou explode into a fit of rage.

"Hey, listen when people are talking to you."

Horikita spun around and focused on me before opening her mouth. "What's his problem? He just suddenly got angry."

I once again had to reevaluate the girl known as Horikita Suzune. She wasn't just cold. She was arctic. Thinking back on our conversation from before, I felt that it was the right decision to skip the introductions. With her harsh attitude, she would have pissed off the whole class.

"Hey! Get over here! I'll smack that smug look off your face," Sudou's strong voice reverberated through the campus.

My glance unconsciously moved towards the cameras that were placed all around here. It would be bad if a fight were to break out, even though I would love to see what she would do to 'rebuff' him. I would have to check that at a later date.

"Sudou, I admit that Horikita has a bad attitude. But I think you are taking things too far."

"Huh?" He turned towards me. His patience had finally run out, that much was obvious. If I did not diffuse the situation accordingly, he would let his fists do the talking. "What was that? She has a bratty, obnoxious attitude. That's bad, especially for a girl."

I was surprised at his level of vocabulary. While I formulated a response that wouldn't send him over the edge, Horikita's voice cut into our conversation, making things much worse.

"For a girl? That's rather outdated thinking, is it not? Ayanokouji, I would advise you not to become his friend."

With that bomb dropped on us, she turned tail and elegantly strode towards the dorms. There was no fear or hurry in her steps. She was as calm as a frozen lake.

"Hey! Wait, you shitty stuck-up bitch!"

His movements suggested that he wanted to go after her, and not because he wanted to hold a friendly chat. I grabbed him by the arm, rooting him in place.

"Calm down. You really don't want to get into a fight on the first day at your new school."

He seized his movements, so I let go of his arm. He stomped back to his noodle cup, ripped off the cover, which was already halfway open, and sat down. If he didn't feel like he owed me right now, he likely would have blown up into my face instead of Horikita's.

"The hell is her deal? Goddamn it!"

After a short round of cursing, he started squeezing the noodles into his mouth. As I was about to do the same, three students arrived in front of us. They were staring at Sudou with a peculiar glint in their eyes.

"Hey, you guys first years? This is our spot."

Sudou stopped slurping his noodles and glared at the three guys who had just left the store. They were holding onto their own noodle cups, proving that Sudou was correct and this was indeed 'common sense'. Since he was already agitated, my classmate barked at them like a ferocious beast without advanced warning. To be fair, he would have most likely snarled at them, without being in an unusually bad mood as well.

"Who are you? I was here first, so get lost."

"Get lost," one of them mimicked Sudou with a whiny voice.

"You believe this guy?"

"What a cocky little first-year punk."

The three of them laughed in Sudou's face. He shot up while slamming his cup against the ground. The warm broth and noodles splashed everywhere. I felt kind of bad for them. They did nothing wrong, yet they were smashed into the ground without a second thought.

"You tryin' to make fun of me?!"

As expected, this was going to end badly if I didn't do something. But maybe this was fine for the moment. I might gain some information from them while they were riling each other up. I resolved myself to step in once Sudou got violent.

"Fun of you? We would never. We were just here first. See?"

They plopped down their bags right in front of us and once again amused themselves with Sudou's reactions.

"Now beat it."

"You assholes got a lot of guts."

Sudou scowled at them. It wouldn't be long until his fists would burst into their faces. I briefly debated if I should let him run wild to check how far the rumoured 'anything' applied, but decided against it since there were better ways to check my hypothesis without endangering one of my classmates.

"Ohh scary. What class are you in? Wait, let me guess: it's D, isn't it?"

The three of them found this hilarious and once again roared aloud. I would do the same if I could, because they gave me some useful information with that single rash remark.

"Yeah. So what?"

"He really is! I knew it. He was a dead giveaway!"

"Huh?! What's that supposed to mean? Hey!"

Sudou took a step forward. While the boys stepped back with condescending grins on their faces.

"Aww, you poor thing. Since you are defective, we'll be nice senpai's and let you off the hook this time. Let's get going, guys."

"Hey! Don't run away! Dammit!"

"Yeah, yeah. Keep on shouting around like that. You'll be in hell soon enough."

Be in hell, huh? Did they have a White Room here as well?

Those people seemed similar to Sudou and, clear by their behavior towards us, they wouldn't be in class D themselves. Did this mean that classes A, B and C are deemed superior to ours? It looked that way. Or at least, the students in this school thought that way.

"Why the hell did these morons need to show up? I wouldn't have complained about nice second-year students or cute girls."

He thrust his hands into his pockets and walked away while grumbling about his bad luck. A sudden gust of wind blew through the campus, which made the cup roll around on the ground with a strange, yet satisfying sound.

I placed my own on the asphalt nearby and started cleaning up the mess Sudou had made. After I was done, I picked up my cup and took my first bite. It wasn't bad, maybe a bit too salty for my taste, but decent. If one wasn't concerned about healthy food, this would be a cheap alternative indeed.

On my way to the dorm, I walked by a store that was filled with games. I stepped inside and browsed through different board and computer games, just to get a feel for things like that. Ike and Yamauchi were standing at the register. Both bought some kind of portable gaming console and looked in my direction before leaving the store.

I guess they didn't see me. It was also possible that they didn't recognize me, but that would be horrible. Yes, I'm sure that they didn't see me because something was in the way. I only saw them because I have such exceptional eyesight. That must've been it.

I grabbed the board games I decided on and proceeded to the register to check out. Funnily enough, these items cost almost as much as anything else I had just bought from the convenience store.

A few minutes later, I arrived at the dorm, which would be my home from now on. The nice lady at the reception gave me a key for Room 401 as well as a handbook containing information about the dorm's rules and regulations. After boarding the elevator, I swiftly browsed through the handbook and made some mental notes about the policies and garbage disposal times. After scanning through it, I closed the guidebook just in time for the elevator to stop on the floor my room was on.

I opened the apartment to be greeted by a place that was about eight tatami mats wide. This was the first time I realized that I would live on my own from now on. Considering that, I cracked a smile.

Or did I? I wasn't entirely sure about that, but I believed that I was.

After everything I've been through, I was finally, for the first time in my life, free. I resolved myself to enjoy my time here to the fullest, without drawing attention to myself. After storing the necessities I had bought in the convenience store, I grabbed the board game I had purchased.

I placed it in one of the corners of my room, which would have been a perfect place for a vase with some flowers inside, or something like that. I opened the box, pulled the contents out, and set them on the table. The 64 pieces inside the box were neatly set up beside the board, waiting to be placed. Of these 64 pieces, 16 each were painted in a specific color: red, blue, yellow and green.

I took one of the red pieces and placed it on the white square k4. This was the equivalent to h4 on a normal two-player board.

Authors Note:

This is my first fanfic and seems like it started out with a pretty lengthy first chapter. English isn't my first language, so if you find any errors, have constructive criticism, or questions, please let me know.

The story is already planned out in its entirety, including the ending. If the original novel progresses further, I might end up extending and/or changing my ideas if I have enough plans for the exams and other scenes. I tried to be original with my solutions to the problems so far and I hope everything makes sense once we are at the juicy parts.

There will be a second chapter later today to kick things off. After that I will try my best to upload one chapter every Saturday, but I can't make any promises due to school and other obligations.

- Word Count: 10534 / 47701 Characters

Released 26.03.2022

Chapter 2 - Second Player

On the second day overall, which was technically the first day of school, we went through all the course objectives with our teachers. Sudou slept during most of the day and other students like Yamauchi, Ike and a girl called Karuizawa Kei were spending their time primarily on their phones.

I heard the two boys refer to her as 'gyaru', whatever that meant. It was a term I was not familiar with, so I figured that I should look it up later to broaden my horizon. Those four weren't the only ones who were disturbing the lessons, of course. But compared to the others, they were piling up their misbehavior count much quicker than anyone else.

Contrary to my expectations, the teachers didn't seem to mind. Not even the strict Chabashira-sensei, also dubbed Sae-chan-sensei by the likes of Ike and Yamauchi, showed any signs of being bothered by their total disregard of social norms and school rules. This struck me as odd, since she was the one who told us about our worth just yesterday. I already had a rough idea about what this was about, but I saw no reason to inform my classmates at that current point in time.

Our homeroom teacher bored us to death with Japanese history. I doubted that most of them would survive a quiz if she were to give us one, but that was just me. Since nothing of note had happened during our previous lessons, and I was growing tired, I took matters into my own hands.

"Yes, Ayanokouji?" Chabashira-sensei asked after I raised my hand.

My name rang nicely through her smoky tone, and I enjoyed listening to her quite a lot. She had one of those voices where one could listen forever without becoming annoyed of it. A tranquil, yet mysterious and strangely attractive one.

"Could I go to the restroom?"

Some people turned around upon hearing my question, while others were occupied with themselves or cared little about my situation. I should have chosen a good time, since I asked at the exact half-point through our lesson. Kouenji smirked, which irked me somewhat, but I had to let it go for now. My neighbor peeked at me and shook her head, as if disappointed by my inability to hold it in.

Did I do something wrong? Was there some sort of unwritten rule I was unaware of?

"Of course." Chabashira-sensei nodded before resuming her lecture in a soothing tone of voice.

Could she be able to read minds as well? Which question did she answer?

I made my way through the school building and went to the toilet. After taking care of my business inside, I strolled back toward our classroom. Due to our placement in Class D, it was on the far end of the corridor. The first room I passed was Class A's. The way I took to reach the toilet was rather roundabout. There would have been a much quicker one, but I took my time admiring the architecture and interior design of this unfamiliar place.

Due to my indifference about today's lessons, I placed an imaginary coin in my hand and flung it upwards. It spun around for a while until it landed back inside of my palm. Unfortunately, I didn't have a real one, but it was no problem to simulate the rise and fall of an average yen coin which was hurled with a certain force. With some lingering excitement, I peered into my hands, which held said theoretical object.

Heads, huh?

I took a deep breath to prepare myself. People did this kind of thing before resolving themselves, apparently. What I was about to do was borderline insane, at least for someone like me. After bracing myself, I grabbed the door and slid it open. Someone might say, 'Ayanokouji-kun, that's out of character for you,' but I'd have to disagree.

Besides the fact that no one would even notice, I didn't have a character I could be out of just yet. I was gradually forming the vessel I would inhabit during the time I would spend in this school. I wasn't sure how it would end up in the long run, but there were a few traits that I'd like to build up while I had the chance.

...

...

...

"Excuse me, can I help you?"

A teacher with chest length, light brown hair asked me with a charming smile. Her voice was sweet and gentle, like a fresh autumn breeze, altogether different to Chabashira-sensei's. Her clothes also reflected this as she was wearing a pink, comfortable looking top, a gray skirt and convenient sandals.

Her breasts seemed bigger than Chabashira-sensei's, but this could have been due to their difference in attire. One was showing herself off in casual clothes while the other donned a formal, business-oriented wardrobe. If I were to compare them side by side, I doubted there'd be much of a difference. Those thighs filling these black stockings, though. But I digress.

What was wrong with me? Did Ike and Yamauchi already rub off?

My gaze wandered through the classroom after I broke my gaze away from the teacher. There was not a single person who looked familiar to me, which didn't come as a surprise since I barged into the wrong room by accident.

Scratching my head, I apologized for my gaffe.

"Ahh. Wow, that's embarrassing. I'm sorry for the sudden intrusion. It seems like I misread the sign."

I tried to shrug it off and averted my gaze towards the students once again. A strawberry-blonde girl in the middle row caught my eye after my initial impressions of everyone concluded. Different from the others, who tried to suppress their snickers or giggled outright, she flashed me a bright smile as if to say, 'It's alright. That happens. Don't let this ruin your day'.

What a lovely expression she had.

"Which class do you belong to?"The teacher asked before I could bow and escape this unpleasant situation.

It was less the teacher's fault, but more so mine as I got distracted by all the stimuli my sensory organs picked up on.

"I'm in Class D. As much as I enjoy chatting with you sensei, I believe that I should go back to class, otherwise Chabashira-sensei is going to be mad at me for sure."

"Ohh. You are one of Sae-chan's students! Please tell her to stop looking so mean all the time."

I came back with a dry laugh. She was dead serious, according to her mesmerizing smile, which didn't waver in the slightest after uttering such cruel words. Since she was calling her Sae-chan, the two of them ought to be close.

Opposites attract, I guess.

"I don't think that's a good idea, sensei."

"Hmph. Despite that, I forgive you for your intrusion because you are cute. My name is Hoshinomiya Chie. You can call me Chie-chan."

She flashed a striking pose that could have been stolen from a commercial after her initial pout, which seemed somewhat playful in hindsight. My gut-feeling told me that she was like Kushida, but in what sense, I couldn't tell just yet. Their smiles and expressions didn't seem genuine from time to time, different from someone like Hirata or even Horikita.

I regretted throwing heads. Tails would have been the better option by a considerable margin. The instructor in charge of Class C couldn't have been as bad as this one. She was far too extroverted for me to handle. The atmosphere she gave off was sucking the energy out of me just by standing there while she examined me with those enticing violet eyes.

"Ahh. I'm Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. It was very nice to meet you. Once again, I'm terribly sorry for the intrusion, Hoshinomiya-sensei."

I bowed respectfully and withdrew from the classroom before closing the door behind me. It was of utmost importance that I fled as soon as possible, since I had the bad feeling that this teacher was more trouble than she was worth getting to know. I still had Chabashira-sensei to figure out, after all.

I wiped my non-existent sweat from my temple before making my way back to Class D. After I sat back down, the words that left our homeroom teacher's mouth went unnoticed by me as I once again drifted back into my daydreams.

Class B behaved exemplarily while Class D repeatedly disregarded the teachers and did whatever they wanted. 'Defective' was indeed an excellent way to describe them. It was now obvious that the classes were ranked from highest to lowest, seen from an overall ability standpoint. I had neither seen nor heard anything about the other classes, but the pattern should be something like defective products in Class D, adequate ones in C, good crops in Class B and the top dogs in A.

This, however, didn't mean that everyone in Class D was useless. Someone like Kouenji should excel in physical ability alone, which was apparent by his impressive physique. If his remark to Kushida was not just a fluke, he should be highly intelligent, or at least exceedingly observant as well. If I were to guess the reason, or rather his defect, that brought him here, it would be his narcissism and complete disregard for social norms, rules and other regulations. Being the sole heir to a large conglomerate could easily warp one's perception to such a degree that it was hard for him to see anyone as an equal.

Horikita was academically smart, but too arrogant and hellbent on being a lone wolf. I knew little about her physical abilities, but she was nowhere near the level of Kouenji. Hirata seemed almost too perfect from a first impressions point of view. There was no apparent lack in physical, academical or communicational ability from what I could gather until now, which meant that his defect was something different. It could be something that shone only under certain circumstances. I would have to wait and see.

All three of them could have been placed in higher classes, even with their deficiencies, but they weren't. This left only one viable conclusion: putting them anywhere else would create too much of an imbalance in the overall classes abilities. This, however, would only be important if the classes were competing for something, which meant that the 100% employment guarantee from the school likely only belonged to the students of the highest ranked class. Namely Class A.

Our lesson ended a while later, and lunchtime followed soon. My classmates left with their friends or went to meet people from other classes. It would be nice if someone would invite me. I really don't want to eat alone.

"Pathetic."

Huh? I almost forgot about her.

"What is?"

"It would be nice if someone would invite me. I really don't want to eat alone. Your thoughts are obvious."

How the hell did she do that?

I slid my chair away from the Esper without her noticing. Or at least, that's what I hoped. I couldn't be certain that she didn't read my mind at this current moment and realized that I had worked out the secret that she had kept for years.

"You are alone as well. Doesn't that make you just as pathetic?"

"Not at all. I'm perfectly fine with being alone, or rather, I prefer it."

She stated this matter-of-factly, there was not a single lie spoken. I believed that she didn't care if she were to be alone for the next three years. And I could not understand why. It was pretty sad, since I was sure that she could have been popular if she fixed that ruthless attitude of hers.

After our short conversation, almost half of the students were gone. There wasn't anyone I could join. I mean, how was I supposed to do that, anyway? While I was working through my existential crisis, a godly existence descended into the mortal world and blessed me with his grace.

"I was thinking of heading to the cafeteria. Would you like to join Ayanokouji-kun?"

Hiraataaaaa~

No, I had to calm down. How weird would it be if I just screamed his name? I was thankful, however. As expected of the most popular person in class who radiated genuine positive feelings. I couldn't be more happy to have him nearby. Hirata noticed my pathetic existence and lent a helping hand, unlike Horikita, who just kept kicking me while I was down.

"Ahh, yeah sure. I guess. It's not like I had anything planned, anyway."

"Really? That's great!"

He flashed a smile, which was almost blinding, as it emanated the heat of a thousand suns. I'd promised myself right there and then: if I ever were to find out his flaw, I would help him fix it in any way I could. A person like him deserved all the happiness available. He was such a wonderful guy.

While I wiped away my imaginary tears, my savior tried to address Horikita. Tried, because some girls squealed his name and surrounded him like a pack of hungry wolves before he could get a single word out. This prevented him from calling out to my neighbor, who watched this exchange with an annoyed expression.

"I'll go too!"

"Me too! Me too!"

"Yeah, come on let's go Hirata," the gyaru, Karuizawa Kei, said as she latched onto his arm.

Her eyes met mine since I had Hirata's attention before they came around. I felt somewhat uncomfortable, maybe even a little scared. Like a worried mother, she bared her fangs against the attacker, me, as if to say, 'He's mine. Stay away!'

I tried to avert my gaze, but she spoke with a questioning yet kind voice. "You comin' as well?"

"Ahh? Yeah. Thanks for having me."

I bowed lightly before standing up and following the group outside. In the meantime, Horikita packed up her materials without glancing at either of us. Calling her Ice-Queen wouldn't be off the mark. I wondered if she was angry that no one had asked her if she wanted to join?

I wasn't sure if Karuizawa just asked me to have a better hold over Hirata or if she just didn't care about whether I was with them. Whatever the case may have been, I felt like a third wheel.

From an outsider's perspective, our setup would look like five girls going to the cafeteria with Hirata, and one weird guy following them around with slight delay. This information alone should be enough to realize that I felt out of place in this high caliber group.

What was I even doing here?

Hirata tried to help me multiple times, but was always interrupted by one of the girls who latched onto him for whatever reason. They asked about his grades, favorite color, food, drinks and to play soccer with them. Hirata had his hands full dealing with these enthusiastic girls. If even he couldn't beat them, how was I supposed to deal with this strange life-form?

Should I just stealthily leave and tell them a friend called out to me afterwards? No... that would be too sad, even for me. Besides, what in the world would I tell them if they asked who called out to me? Not a single name came to mind while planning my escape. Maybe I should just run away and tell them that I forgot something important? But what could I have forgotten?

"Ayanokouji-kun. Were you thinking something stupid just now?"

Huh, Horikita?

As I turned to the voice, however, a brown-haired girl with tranquil, ocean blue eyes stood beside me. My first impression was that she felt genuinely curious about what thoughts were spinning through my mind due to the adorable way she tilted her head.

I remembered her from yesterday. She was one of the people who introduced themselves well. Her name was Matsushita Chiaki. This was the first time I noticed her presence, and I had to admit that she was quite the beauty. I wasn't ignorant about her being in our class, but all I did for now was glance over my classmates and note down their names and my thoughts about them.

Even compared to Kushida and Horikita, she didn't lose out by much, which meant a lot. Kushida had deadly measurements and a bubbly aura, while Horikita had this dignified and mysterious air around her, similar to Chabashira-sensei.

Why was I always ending up with her in my mind?

"Um, Matsushita, right? I didn't. How did you get that idea?"

"Women's intuition, I guess."

She smirked and narrowed her eyes slightly.I once again had to note down that women were scary. There was no other way to put it. Apparently, all of them were Espers of some sort.

"So, why are you talking to me? Do you need something?"

In my mind, that was a legitimate question. I couldn't understand why she, a cute girl, would start a conversation with me, aside from having an ulterior motive. I was bland and boring, insignificant, even. If I were in her shoes, I would try my hardest to chat up Hirata, just like the other girls were.

"Nothing like that. I just thought about getting to know you better. Why would you think that I'd have an ulterior motive?"

She wanted to get to know me better?

Oh, I got it. That sly little devil. If she managed to befriend me, Hirata would naturally be thankful to her, as he was doing his best to look out for me. If he noticed that she was assisting him in his endeavour, it would bring them closer together. Put another way, she was just using me to get what she wanted.

"Isn't it weird if a beautiful girl springs into a conversation with a boring character like me? Some might even think you lost a bet or something."

I glanced at her, wishing that it was neither of the two possibilities I had come up with. If she only talked to me because of a lost bet, I'd probably cry. And using me to get closer to Hirata was just as bad, even though she wouldn't be the only one, since I suspected that Karuizawa did the same when she asked me if I'd join them.

"Eh?"

What's that supposed to mean? Did I say something wrong? Wait, was she really talking to me because of a lost bet? Why was she blushing? Hey! Don't avert your eyes just because you are feeling guilty after I figured you out!

"Did I say something weird? I apologize if that was the case. I'm just not very good at human interactions since I was homeschooled before."

That was technically not even a lie. The White Room could be labeled as my home, after all. But human interaction? Come on, you can use words a normal person would actually use. Get a grip. This sounded like I was some kind of alien.

"Oh. Ah, no. I was just surprised that you would say something like that. I think if someone lost a bet, they would be instructed to talk to Yamauchi or Ike. You are just quiet. Maybe introverted? That is not a bad thing. It might just take you a bit of time to warm up to other people."

The girl peered at me while caressing her chin. Matsushita's supple lips formed a sympathetic smile, as if she remembered something from her past. Her eyes, also called window to a person's soul, were gentle and compassionate.

Girls were incredibly dangerous. A single, innocent move like this, and my heart skipped a beat.

It seemed like my standing in the class was higher than predicted. Just staying quiet was far better than being loud and obscene, like Yamauchi or Ike. I was pleased to discover that I wouldn't be the punishment in a lost bet. It made me somewhat happy even.

Wait, wasn't that a sad thing to be happy about?

Leaving these dark thoughts behind, I got to know Matsushita a little better on our way to the cafeteria. The other girls were occupied with Hirata and didn't even notice that I was chatting with her. The man in question, however, seemed reassured whenever he glanced back from time to time. He really was a kind person.

I still couldn't help but ruminate about why she would start a conversation with me, though. Hirata was dazzling, outgoing and handsome, while I was... well, me. There was nothing special about me at all. Did she talk to me because I seemed left out? Or out of pity? If the former were the case, I would be thankful to her as well, since I truly felt that way.

Her circle of friends was manageable, as it only contained the people currently with us, excluding me. From what I could see during today, she was closest with Karuizawa and Satou and had almost no contact with others outside of this group. But this was our first full day, so it wasn't weird that she still hadn't gotten to know some other girls.

We all gathered at a large table in the cafeteria's corner. Hirata sat opposite of me with Karuizawa and Satou on his left and right, respectively. Matsushita sat alone at the head of the table, which kind of suited her older sister vibe. The bench was occupied by Mori Nene, me and a girl called Mei-Yu Wang, who seemed rather sullen after sitting down. I knew nothing about them other than that Mori was part of a friends group with Karuizawa and Matsushita and that Mei-Yu Wang, also called Mii-chan, moved here from China, which didn't come of much as a surprise.

Any outsider would wonder why I was sandwiched between two girls. The answer was Hirata. I would have preferred to sit between him and the glass window, but my savior had other plans for me. Mei-Yu Wang was the first to sit down on the bench's corner. She tried to convince Hirata to join her, but that failed spectacularly, since Satou and Karuizawa didn't leave Hirata's side ever since we left the classroom.

Hirata seemed to have noticed this as well and sat down on the chairs as opposed to the bench to get a bit of breathing room for himself. Since he saw me talking with Matsushita before, he decided to 'place me' between two other girls with whom I had little contact with yet, while keeping Matsushita nearby to lend a hand in case something went awry.

I couldn't believe how he managed to handle all of this after realizing what he had done. In such a short time and without talking to anyone about specifics, no less. Hirata was the master of social interactions and I hadn't even seen Kushida in action. It wasn't an understatement that I could learn a lot from both of them.

The popular youth started the conversation and asked me a trivial question. After I answered, he pulled the other girls into our discussion as well. Just like that, we started chatting as if it were the most natural thing to do. They laughed and snickered. Overall, we all seemed to have a good time, including myself. Hirata was concerned at first, likely because I never changed my expressionless face, but he seemed to recognize that I had fun as we exchanged trivial information and funny stories.

"Hey, Ayanokouji-kun. Do you ever smile?"

There was another person who detected this as well and therefore asked what weighed on her mind. Hirata wanted to reprimand her in his usual gentle ways, but I beat him to the punch.

"I honestly can't remember if I ever did. Probably when I was a child? I have a hard time expressing myself, so I'm sorry if it seems like I'm not having fun or anything. This is my first time hanging out with people from school, so I'm still overwhelmed."

"Ahh. No, that's not what I meant. I was just wondering about that. Sorry if I sounded insensitive."

Matsushita, the girl who posed this question, bowed her head. I didn't mind, so I let her know that I wasn't irritated by her question. Satou wondered what I meant with this being my first time, so I explained to them that I was homeschooled before, which surprised them. They began asking me many questions about the process and experiences, which I had trouble answering due to obvious reasons. As luck would have it, an angelic voice cut through the busy cafeteria, saving me from certain doom.

"Oh! If it isn't Ayanokouji-kun. Did you manage to find your classroom?"

The girl with strawberry-blonde hair grinned from ear to ear while delightfully giggling. I glanced past the young woman and her heavenly expression and noticed a group of three sitting on a nearby bench. They were Class B students who waited for her to join them.

The entire table's attention once again focused on me. I would lie if I said that this wasn't uncomfortable. The beauty from Class B caught this and came to my rescue with a sweet smile.

"Ah. Silly me, I haven't even introduced myself properly. My name is Ichinose Honami. It's nice to meet you, Ayanokouji-kun!"

"Likewise. And sorry about before, I was completely zoned out."

I scratched my head while avoiding her captivating eyes. It was unquestionably dangerous to look at this girl for long. She was just that beautiful. It wasn't only her body that was aesthetically pleasing, either. Her smile was charming and simply irresistible. Her voice rang through my ear like a siren's song and the whole atmosphere she gave off was to make people feel comfortable with her around.

"No worries, no worries. That could have happened to the best of us," she responded with a vivid smile.

While my classmates were eyeing me with suspicion, Hirata detected that I was out of my element and took control of the conversation. He stood and turned around to the visitor before introducing himself and the others to lift this burden off my shoulder.

"My name is Hirata Yosuke. It's nice to meet you, Ichinose-san. I heard a lot of good things about you, but unfortunately didn't have the time to introduce myself yet. The girls are Karuizawa Kei, Satou Maya, Matsushita Chiaki, Mori Nene and Mei-Yu Wang."

He pointed at each of them during the introduction to make everyone feel as if they were part of the conversation. Karuizawa and Satou looked like they ran into a mortal enemy of sorts. Aside from those two, the rest replied with a positive attitude. The girls exchanged their greetings as well, before Ichinose acknowledged all of them with a delighted expression.

"It's nice to meet you, Hirata-kun, Karuizawa-san, Satou-san, Matsushita-san, Mori-san and Wang-san. I also heard about you from Kushida-san. She said you are stepping up the be the class leader?"

"If you could call it that. I just want everyone to enjoy school to their hearts' content. If I can help with that, I should."

That sounded like something Hirata would say. It seemed like he, Kushida and Ichinose were the social elites of the first-years from what I could gather through the conversation. Ichinose used class leader as term to describe Hirata instead of representative or something similar. Which might have betrayed some of her knowledge.

Did they also think that this school was weirdly lenient and suspected something? If so, they beat our class by a landslide. I was glad, however, that they were chatting among each other now. As luck would have it, no one asked why Ichinose greeted me and how we knew each other. I hoped that none of them would realize that —

"Ichinose-san, how do you know Ayanokouji-kun?" Matsushita asked while throwing me a sideway glance.

Are you kidding me?!

"Oh, he confused our classroom with yours and suddenly stood at the door in the middle of our lesson."

...

Silence descended onto the table — until.

"Hmpfhaaahahaha, I can't. I'm so sorry Ayanokouji-kun. But — hahaha," Satou Maya giggled.

"Seriously? He did, what?" Karuizawa Kei asked without being able to hold her laughter back.

"Hmph," Matsushita Chiaki snorted. Trying her hardest not to get louder.

"Hahahaha," Mori Nene chuckled into her sleeve.

"Calm down, calm down," Mei-Yu Wang chanted to herself while hiding her face.

"I'm so sorry Ayanokouji. But this..." even Hirata Yosuke caved in and couldn't help himself after seeing their expressions.

While all of that happened, the girl called Ichinose Honami flashed a brilliant smile and clasped her hands like an angel. She seemed to know that this was only light banter, and that they weren't laughing at me, or else she wouldn't have done this.

She wouldn't have, right?

"Well, yeah. That happened."

I said to no one in particular in my telltale emotionless voice.

"Your reaction makes this even better."

Karuizawa shrieked, unable to keep it in. It took a moment for everyone to calm down before they apologized for laughing about this. Hirata was most affected by his guilt. But I saw it like the girls around the table, just harmless fun.

"It's fine. You really don't need to apologize. I mean, it was funny after all."

Ichinose gave me a thumbs up and excused herself before leaving as promptly as she showed up. She was a nice girl. If this revelation would have harmed me, she wouldn't have told anyone. This was as much as I could gather from this girl. But —

This meant war. Ichinose Honami.

After finishing our meals, we exchanged numbers and were about to go back to the classroom, as an announcement rang through the building's speakers.

"At five PM Japan Standard Time today, we will hold a club fair in Gymnasium No 1. Students interested in joining a club, please gather in Gymnasium No 1. I repeat, at five PM —"

"Are you interested in joining a club, Ayanokouji-kun?"

According to his guilty expression, he still felt bad about laughing at me, which I couldn't understand. Wasn't it normal to laugh with or about a friend if he did something weird or funny? I believed this to be a part of friendship, but since I wasn't an expert in this field, I should learn from him.

"Mh, I don't think I will. But I might look at the clubs, at least. You are going to join the soccer club, right?"

"Yeah, since I've played for a long time already. What about everyone else?"

He asked around the group and everyone denied being interested in any clubs. Matsushita said she wouldn't be coming and rather relax in her room while the others decided that they would join Hirata.

I wouldn't be surprised if Hirata turned out to be the first guy in a relationship in our year in a few days. It was insane how popular he was. If anyone deserved this reputation, however, then it was undoubtedly him.

It felt weird walking among such a large group of people. I clutched the phone in my pocket, which now had six numbers saved. I never thought that it would be this easy to make friends. None of them seemed like bad people, so I was pretty happy with how today turned out. When we arrived at our classroom, I had a light smile on my face.

Horikita stared at me in amazement as I sat on my chair. I ignored her drilling stare and waited for the teacher to arrive. With a rather proud bearing, if I might add.'Ha! See, I showed you.' I cheered in my mind.

"Are you happy now?"

"Whatever would you be talking about?"

I tried to stay relaxed and not let her get under my skin. She was usually mean, so she probably wanted to corrupt my current happy-state. Horikita would likely enjoy every second my newfound confidence crumbled under her relentless assaults.

"It seemed you found some people to spend your break with. So I was wondering if you achieved what you sought to do."

"I'm not sure yet. But it was fun, I guess. What about you?"

"I had a productive lunch break. Thank you for asking."

She thanked me? Who are you and what did you do to Horikita? Since she was in a good mood or not Horikita at all, I tried to make some harmless small talk and find out more about the strange person beside me.

"Did you hear the announcement?"

"The one that was broadcasted throughout the whole school? No, I didn't notice at all."

Ah, yeah. She's back. Must've been a temporary lapse in judgment on her part.

"Are —"

"I'm not interested in joining a club."

"That's not even what I was going to ask."

"Really? What is it then?"

"Are you joining a club?"

She turned her face for the first time since the start of our conversation to send an icy glare at me. I could almost feel the cold breath seeping out of her mouth when she opened it, while her red eyes narrowed, scrutinizing my every move.

"Are you an idiot? Didn't I just tell you that I'm not interested in joining a club?"

"I didn't ask whether you were interested. I asked if you were going to join one, which is not mutually exclusive."

"Ayanokouji-kun. Just be quiet. You are making my head hurt."

"Should we call a doctor? It could be something serious. As a friend, I'm worried for you."

"We are certainly not friends. Please scratch that off your vocabulary."

"Really? I heard friends sometimes banter with each other. Thinking back to our arguments until now, we seem to be quite good buddies already."

She karate-chopped me in the side. The word 'buddies' was apparently too much to handle. It didn't hurt, but I acted as if it did to see if she felt guilty. Long story short: she didn't. Instead, she kept kicking me while I was down.

"I am not bantering. You seem incapable of even the simplest things, so I am educating you. I feel sorry for you, which is why I'm sacrificing my valuable time to talk with you. Be thankful."

"Wait... wouldn't that make you... friend-ly?"I backed up on my chair and moved it away from her before this icy girl could get in another hit."Who are you and what have you done with Horikita?"

She exhaled and held her head.

"Ayanokouji-kun, please come back."

"Why would I do something so dangerous?"

"If you come back, I'll go with you."

"Go with me where? Please specify before I commit to anything."

"I'll go with you to the club fair."

"Really?"

I began eyeing her with suspicion. Who, or whatever, this individual was, it sure as hell wasn't Horikita. Strange things were happening, and I somehow understood why that man wouldn't let me leave the White Room.

"Really." She nodded.

"Okay..."

I slid my chair back to its previous position.

"Ouch."

A pained, yet emotionless voice rang through the classroom.

"With so many people around, even you shouldn't be able to fail in making at least one friend."

"But I already have some. Like Hirata, for example."

"Debatable. He is everyone's friend."

"Then what about Karuizawa, Satou, Matsushita, Mori and Mii-chan?"

I was proud since I could call her Mii-chan. Well, anyone could, but still. This should count for something, right? Even without counting Hirata, I had five friends now and all of them were girls. I still wasn't sure about Sudou, though. Since I didn't have his number, we weren't friends, right?

"Did you ever hear the term 'friend of a friend'? And who is Mii-chan?"

"I haven't. She's Mei-Yu Wang from our class. But she likes to be called Mii-chan. I think it's fitting, too."

"You should look it up. It would open your eyes to a world of pain and suffering."

Like so often, Horikita and I were occupied arguing with each other while observing around two-hundred students throughout the gymnasium. We were both flapping through the pamphlets we had received when entering the locale while strolling around the venue. I found nothing interesting, and she seemed disinterested from the very beginning, so I had no hope in either of us finding something worthwhile.

"Are you still —"

"No."

"You don't even —"

"Please ask away then."

"Nevermind. I give up."

"Good for you, or else I would have hit you again."

After sliding away from her, I asked, "Have you been in a karate club or something similar before?"

She noticed the increased distance and moved a step towards me to stay in striking distance.

"No, I haven't. Do you have any more questions, Ayanokouji-kun?"

"Ehh... I don't think so?"

I kept glancing over the locale but couldn't find anything that piqued my interest aside from the music club, which wasn't taking part in this gathering with a piano. All their members walked around with convenient instruments like the violin or a guitar. Even if they had a piano, I wouldn't just walk up and play something, anyway.

"Thank you all for waiting. We will now begin the club fair. A representative of each club will explain their function. My name is Tachibana, the student council secretary and the club fairs' organizer. It's nice to meet you all."

After the girl named Tachibana delivered her speech, the club representatives walked up to the stage and introduced their clubs. There were physical ones like Judo, Basketball and Soccer as well as academical ones like Math or Literature clubs. The Music club also introduced themselves and listed some of the usable instruments. The piano was part of the line-up, of course, but I didn't want to attract unnecessary attention, which was why I just gazed at them from afar.

"'It's nice to meet you all,' she said. You might make a friend over there. Or what about the weight-lifting club? The representative looks friendly."

I followed her line of sight to a booth which was occupied by six burly men that could all be referred to as 'bear' or some similar animal which could kill you in a single swipe of its giant paw.

"I think he could crush my arm if we were to exchange greetings. I really shouldn't go there."

"He would probably bench you immediately. There is no need to worry... I think."

She sounded unsure, yet perfectly content in using me as a guinea pig to test her theory. What a heartless woman.

"That's pretty harsh. I'll have you know that I'm an expert martial artist. I could easily wipe the floor with everyone here without breaking a sweat."

I glanced over to Horikita, gauging her reaction.

"Are you copying one of those idiots now? That is stooping low, even for you."

"But aren't you still talking to me? Wouldn't that make you just as bad?"

I wondered how long I could get away with this without being hit again. It was quite fun, actually. I understood why some friends bantered with each other. A reply to my question, however, never came.

"Horikita?"I turned to her, wondering why she wouldn't react to my cheap provocation.

Her gaze was fixed on the stage. As I kept observing her, I noticed that she paled with every passing second. I wondered who or what could make someone like her act in such a way and followed her line of sight towards the stage.

To my surprise, I couldn't see anything noteworthy. The basketball club's representative had just finished the presentation about his club and left the stage in a heightened mood while the next delegate took the stage. There were a few students in the background, but none of them stood out either. The girl, Tachibana, talked to someone who stood behind the curtain, so I couldn't make out who it was.

As I've widened my search radius, I noticed Sudou fighting through the crowd in the basketball representative's direction. I also spotted Karuizawa and the other girls, who were following Hirata as he signed up with the soccer club. There was also one of the guys who was with Ichinose in the cafeteria, but I didn't know his name.

I was quite surprised that Sudou played basketball. Due to his personality, I had expected him in other physical sport disciplines that catered more to his inherit nature. I should ask him if he's any good when I meet him the next time.

The representatives kept introducing their clubs one after another. There were even a Tea and Calligraphy club. More and more first-year students moved to the tables on the sides and joined the clubs they were interested in. I heard Sudou yell something like 'Yoshaaaaa,' even through all the hustle and bustle that the students generated. The stage emptied as time passed until only one person kept standing. As he walked to the microphone, everyone's attention focused on him. Horikita, still pale-faced, stared at that exact student.

I couldn't find anything that would warrant such a reaction. He was rather small for a man, slender and had sleek black hair. His glasses framed his piercing, calculating gaze perfectly. Their eyes looked kind of similar, though, which could be one reason for her unnatural behavior. The man in question just stood there and kept silent. This fascinated me quite a lot since it was a common technique in public speaking which neither of the representatives before him had taken advantage of.

Silence commanded power. The words that would follow would have that much more impact due to this minor detail. It was an unconscious reaction by humans, but an undeniably effective one if you knew how to use it to your advantage.

Some of the first years cheered him on, others laughed at him as he just kept standing there, staring down at us. It was already clear to see that these individuals were disappointments in his eyes, as well as mine. I couldn't help but wonder what kind of club he was representing, but then everything clicked into place.

My gaze wandered towards Tachibana, the girl who held the opening speech for the club fair. She stood to the far side on the stairs to the stage and watched that man with admiration. He was not only commanding power through silence, he also drew a separation line from the previous clubs and the one he represented. A clear reminder that this was the main course, the most important and privileged club in the entire school.

The cheers and yells died down until only a heavy silence remained. Most of the students were confused, but still kept their mouth shut due to the intense atmosphere. The silence continued for a few more seconds after everyone had already stopped. Onlythen did the lone student on the stage start his speech.

"I'm the student council president. My name is Horikita Manabu."

That explained the similarities...

"The student council is looking to recruit potential candidates among the first-year students to replace the graduating third-years. Although no special qualifications are required for candidacy, we humbly ask that those considering application not be involved in other club activities. We customarily won't accept students involved elsewhere."

I wondered if Horikita wanted to join the student council now that she knew her brother was a part of it. I couldn't help but feel danger approaching if I were to ask her, which was why I decided against it. For the foreseeable future, at least.

"Furthermore, we in the student council do not wish to appoint anyone who possesses a naïve outlook. Not only would such a person not be elected, he or she would sully the sanctity of this school. It is the student council's right and duty to enforce and amend the rules, but the school expects more than that. We gladly welcome those of you who understand this."

After finishing his due diligence, he walked off the stage and left the gymnasium without another word. Even after he left, the gymnasium was eerie quiet. Tachibana re-entered the stage and ended the club fair with a few closing words.

"Horikita?"I asked once again.

Now that the president was gone, I thought she would be back to her old self. Contrary to my expectations, she wasn't. This revelation seemed to have shaken her up quite a lot. I wondered if I should stab her with my fingers. The physical stimulus would bring her back to her senses. I wasn't sure if my finger would suffice right now, but I might just start tickling her or something like this. She would definitely hit me afterwards, but it was worth teasing her like that. As I was about to snake my arms around her body, someone called out to me.

"Yo, Ayanokouji. You came as well?"

I froze before turning towards the trio that walked into our proximity.

"Hey. The three of you seem to get along well."

If not for the circumstance that I went out with Hirata and the girls before, I'd be pretty envious of their newfound friendship. Thinking back to Matsushita's words, however, I should be overjoyed to not be lumped in with them. Sudou wasn't that bad. He had a short fuse and was a light pervert, but who wasn't? Ike and Yamauchi were in a league of their own, though. They would even drag Sudou's already bad impression through the mud with their antics.

"You joined a club too?"

"Not really. I was just looking around. I saw you signing up for the basketball club, though. How long have you been playing?"

"Ever since elementary school. It was a given that I'd join here as well."

I still couldn't wrap my head around him being a basketball player. I mean, he was athletic. There was no reason to deny this, but I wondered if he wasn't too aggressive for a game like this. Apparently, I worried for nothing since his previous schools would have kicked him out in case of the club in case of continuous physical altercations.

"What about you two?"

This was the first time I was branching out a conversation at my volition. It was an intriguing feeling. Before, I only had one person to talk to or got strung along without wanting to. This time I attempted to include new people into the conversation consciously and with a goal in mind, just like Hirata usually did. I hoped this wouldn't spill my doom in the future, but only time would tell.

"We just came here on a whim. Besides, we thought we might have a fateful encounter," Ike responded for the two of them.

"A fateful encounter? With the alien kind?"

He shook his head as if I made some sort of rookie mistake.

Maybe I did, I wouldn't know. I'm a rookie, after all.

"A fateful encounter with a girl, obviously! Something like two hands grabbing onto something that fell down. And the girl is like 'Oh. Ike-kun!' Do you understand now?"

Where have I gone wrong? I started reconsidering my priorities. Hanging around with these people seemed dangerous. To my social standing and sanity. I mean, how would the girl in this story even know that his name was Ike just because their hands touched?

"That student council guy was scary, though, wasn't he?"

"Ah yeah. Everyone just went quiet suddenly."

"Like in an anime, right?"

What's an anime?

"... Yeah, like that."

"By the way, do you wanna join our group chat? I made one for the guys of Class D yesterday."

Ike pulled out his phone before I even said yes, which meant that he really wanted me to join.

Or did it? I wasn't sure.

"Sure." I said and took my phone out as well.

As we were about to exchange contact information, Horikita vanished into the crowd. I wondered if I should go after her, but ultimately left her be. It's Horikita after all. She would be fine.

"You okay?" Ike asked, looking in her direction.

"Yeah, no worries."

Thus I exchanged numbers with Sudou, Ike and Yamauchi, putting my contact total to nine.

Proud with my accomplishments for today, I left the gymnasium with Sudou while Ike and Yamauchi kept looking for their fated encounter. I couldn't bring myself to tell them that something like this would likely never happen. At least they still had hope now, even though it was almost impossible that their delusions took form.

On our way to the dorms, I parted with Sudou as I had some additional items to buy which I couldn't get around to yesterday. I briefly caught a glance of Kushida before running into Ichinose and two of her classmates. I wondered where the class angel was heading, but I had to keep my interest in check.

"If it isn't Ayanokouji-kun. I'm running into you quite often today, aren't I?"

"Oh. Hey Ichinose. I saw you at the club fair. Did you join a club?"

She nodded cheerfully. "Mhm. I was planning on joining the student council. I'm not sure if they are going to accept me, though."

"They would be quite foolish not to accept someone like you."

"Hm. You think?"

She flashed a bright smile upon hearing my response.

"I do. From what I've heard, you are smart and kind. You try your best to please the people around you and keep things fair for everyone. The student council would be lucky to have you."

Her genuine smile felt somewhat forced after the words I had spoken. It's clear that she knew more than she let on. I emphasized 'fair for everyone,' just to probe her reaction. There was no reason for her to help me or my class, and it seemed like she had no intention of doing so.

Maybe she thought that anyone would already know that the school felt somewhat weird, but then there was no reason to feel bad. I could extract more information from her, but now was not the time due to two watchful gazes that were hovering over me.

One of them was hostile, while the other... I wasn't sure. Girls were scary.

"I saw the two of you in the classroom this morning. Sorry again for the intrusion." I bowed slightly.

"No worries! Right, Kanzaki-kun? Kanzaki-kun?"

The girl beside him asked and stepped on his foot after he didn't reply to her.

"Augh. Damn it, Amikura. That hurt." He complained before turning to me. "I'm Kanzaki Ryuji, it's nice to meet you."

"And I'm Amikura Mako!" The girl stuck out her tongue and held her fingers in a peace sign in front of her eye.

"It's nice to meet you Kanzaki, Amikura. I should go though. It's already late, and I had a long day. This morning's fiasco didn't really help."

Ichinose and Amikura giggled before waving me goodbye. Kanzaki didn't seem to like me very much though, as he just glared at me with narrowed eyes.

After dragging my feet into the elevator and finally through the door of my dorm room, I dumped the bag of items on a chair and prepared a meal for supper. I resolved myself to cook from today onwards. I didn't know how to cook, but the internet was rather helpful in that regard. While I was waiting for the water to heat, I typed a few things I learned today in a search engine.

'Gyaru, a Japanese transliteration of the English slang word gal, is a Japanese fashion subculture.'

That confused me even more. What did Karuizawa have to do with gravimetry? And since when was gal a slang word? Would coulomb or lumen be slang words as well? I had to ask someone about that.

Even more confused than before, I typed in my second query.

Once again, I read the first sentence. This time, I even understood it. This, however, made things worse than I could have ever expected.

'In sociology, a friend of a friend is a human contact that exists because of a mutual friend. Person C is a friend of a friend of person A when there is a person B that is a friend of both A and C. Thus the human relation "friend of a friend" is a compound relation among friends, similar to the uncle and aunt relations of kinship. Though friendship is a reciprocal relation, the relation of a friend of a friend may not be a friendship, though it holds potential for coalition building and dissemination of information.'

The proud feeling I felt for everything I had thought I'd accomplished today vanished immediately. It seemed like making friends was much more complex than initially assumed. I couldn't believe I made such an oversight. And even worse...

"Did that mean I still had no friends?"

Looking at it objectively, Horikita was right. Having Hirata as a friend was insignificant, since he was everyone's friend, so he might as well be no ones. Karuizawa, Matsushita, Satou, Mori and Mei-Yu Wang can only be labelled as friends of a friend, meaning they are also not my friends. The same goes for Ike and Yamauchi, who are friends of Sudou. The question was whether Sudou can be categorized as a friend.

Once again, I typed something in the all-knowing search bar of the internet.

'a person with whom one has a bond of mutual affection, typically one exclusive of sexual or family relations.'

Did Sudou and I have a bond of mutual affection? I doubted that. We only met each other yesterday, and he wasn't in the best of moods. Could such a bond of mutual affection manifest this quickly? I didn't know.

I grabbed my phone and open a chat with Sudou.

[10:47:33 PM] Hey Sudou, you awake?

I waited for about thirty seconds without receiving an answer. Maybe he was already asleep. I decided to first take care of my supper since it was already late. Or would the term 'Midnight Snack' be more appropriate? If I were to round the times, then my meal would be closer to a Midnight Snack than supper.

Whatever the case may have been, I cooked Harusame Noodle Soup for my first test run. It was a rather light meal, which was perfect for a late snack. I prepared the ingredients I had bought today and took care of the cooking process. It didn't take long, because the recipe was clear and concise.

"Itadakimasu." I said to no one in particular, but I heard one was supposed to do this before eating.

I never had this in the White Room, so it was a new sensation for me. I blew in the soup so I wouldn't burn myself and took a few sips. For my first try, I'd say it was alright. Unfortunately, I couldn't compare it to anything. It might very well be the case that the taste was horrible for other people.

As I was taking my time eating my freshly made meal, my phone vibrated.

[10:59:12 PM[Sudou] Yeah, I'm awake. What's up?

I replied shortly after swallowing the contents of my spoon, since I wanted an answer to my question so that I could sleep in peace. If I knew that I had a friend, I could doze off happily. If not, well... we'll see when we get there.

[11:00:20 PM] Do we share a bond of mutual affection?

The message was read in an instant, which was a welcome surprise. This would mean I'd get an answer today. As I was swallowing the last bits of my soup, the phone vibrated once again.

[11:03:44 PM[Sudou] Are you drunk?

[11:03:59 PM] I drank soup just now. Why?

[11:05:01 PM[Sudou] What the hell does that even mean?

[11:05:12 PM] What?

[11:05.33 PM[Sudou] The hell is a bond of mutual affection?

[11:06:22 PM] I don't know. That's why I was asking you.

Once again, it was marked as read. I waited and waited, but no answer came. I wondered if he had fallen asleep.

[11:06:40 PM] Hey, what's a bond of mutual affection?

[11:06:42 PM[Ike] SUDOU, WHO TOLD YOU THAT? HOW DARE YOU HAVE A GIRLFRIEND BEFORE ME?

[11:07:18 PM] How the hell did you even type that in 2 seconds? Ayanokouji asked me if we had a bond of mutual affection.

[11:07:50 PM[Ike] The hell? Is he... you know... interested in guys?

[11:08:55 PM] Wait a second. You think he's interested in me or what? Ayanokouji? There is no way. Right?

[11:09:25 PM[Ike] Let's ask Yamauchi.

[11:10:13 PM[You were added into the Group Chat 'A fateful encounter' by the Group Administrator 'Ike']

[11:10:14 PM[Yamauchi] IKE! ARE YOU SERIOUS? HOW DARE YOU HAVE A GIRLFRIEND BEFORE ME!

[11:10:40 PM] What the fuck kind of group name is that?!

[11:10:45 PM[Ike] How the hell did you even type that in a second? And no, the chat is because of Sudou.

[11:10:47 PM[Yamauchi] SUDOU! DAMNIT WHO IS IT? IF IT IS KUSHIDA-CHAN I SWEAR I'M GOING TO KILL YOU.

[11:11:33 PM] How the hell did you even type that in 2 seconds?

[11:11:34 PM[Ike] How the hell did you even type that in 2 seconds?

[11:11:36 PM[Yamauchi] STOP DIVERTING THE ATTENTION FROM THE ISSUE AT HAND!

[11:11:59 PM] We're talking about Ayanokouji.

[11:12:00 PM[Yamauchi] ???

[11:12:32 PM] Ayanokouji asked me if we had a bond of mutual affection.

[11:12:42 PM[Yamauchi] What the hell is that supposed to mean?

[11:12:59 PM[Ike] That's what we were asking you.

[11:13:00 PM] That's what he was asking me.

[11:13:13 PM[Ike] What?

[11:13:13 PM[Yamauchi] What?

[11:13:16 PM] What?

[11:14:01 PM[Yamauchi] So let me get this straight. Ayanokouji asked Sudou if they shared a bond of mutual affection?

[11:14:12 PM] Yes.

[11:14:13 PM[Ike] Exactly.

[11:14:32 PM[Yamauchi] Is he gay?

[11:14:49 PM[Ike] That's what I thought as well.

[11:14:51 PM] So we are in an agreement that we think Ayanokouji is gay, yes?

[11:15:00 PM[Ike] Yes.

[11:15:04 PM[Yamauchi] I think so too.

[11:15:59 PM] Wait, we can't just decide this like that. We need to make sure, right? What if he isn't and we screw things up for him?

[11:16:12 PM[Ike] Swimming lessons are soon, right? We could check there if he has certain reactions, you know?

[11:16:21 PM[Yamauchi] I agree. We could also ask him what he thinks about the girls and stuff like that.

[11:16:49 PM] Alright, for now we'll treat him as straight and make sure how he feels about men. And I'll tell him no about the affection thingy.

[11:17:16 PM[Ike] Good plan.

[11:17:21 PM[Yamauchi] I agree.

After cleaning up my cooking utensils and dishes, my phone vibrated once again. I hoped it was Sudou. I genuinely wanted to know if I had already made a friend and he was the only one I could ask. Upon glancing at the message, I wished I had only seen it in the morning.

[11:18:46 PM[Sudou] Hey man, sorry for replying so late. I don't really understand that mutual affection thingy. But I don't think we have that kind of relationship.

It was rather disheartening to read. I didn't know if I should reply or not. Did he expect one? Or was that marking the end of our conversation?

[11:19:49 PM] Okay, thanks for your answer.

I left it at that. I wasn't sure if it was the correct decision, but I couldn't take it back now. Done with today, I walked towards the table in a corner of the room in a somewhat depressed mood.

This time I didn't take one of the red pieces, but two of the blue ones. I placed the king and the queen on their respective fields to the left side of the board.

Authors Note:

Huge shout-out and thanks to u/Iviera on Reddit for allowing me to use his amazing colorings in this story. If you haven't seen them before, you are seriously missing out on some talent and I highly recommend you to look at his other pictures as well!

The Chiaki coloring this chapter looked almost official and he even fixed her messed up ear, which makes the picture even better and not weird to look at like the uncolored version from the novel I used before.

- Word Count: 9983 / 45752 Characters

Released 26.03.2022

Chapter 3 - Harry's Gambit

"Good morning, Yamauchi!"

"Good morning, Ike!"

For some unknown reason, the two of them were in an extremely good mood. I wasn't sure why, but it couldn't be something important. Glancing at the clock, I noted that they arrived around 10 minutes earlier than they usually were in the morning, which was already plenty surprising.

"I barely slept last night. Today is going to be great!"

"This school is amazing. I can't believe it's already time for our swimming lessons. And when I say swimming, I mean girls. And when I say girls, I mean girls in swimsuits!"

Ohh, that's what they were on about. I had to admit that I was curious as well, but I would never scream my interest from the rooftops like they did. It's no wonder that none of the girls could stand their presence.

The two of them were rather loud, so most of the students that were occupying the classroom heard them. This, of course, included the girls, who were everything but happy after listening to their distinct fantasies, which they lived out in vivid detail.

These two dangerous individuals glanced at me without warning. My entire body shook, and I had a terrible feeling, even though I couldn't explain why. They were like rabid dogs, ready to pounce on the girls.

Then why would they be glancing at me? They were not confusing me with a girl, right? No. Not even Ike and Yamauchi would be this stupid.

"Hey Professor! Come here for a sec!"

The Professor, also known as Sotomura Hideo, trudged towards them. I made my way over as well. Since Sudou wasn't my friend, I could try making friends with them. If I had any alternatives, I would have used them, but desperate times called for desperate measures. I just needed to make at least some kind of progress in the friends' department or else I would be doomed.

"Can you record the girls wearing swimsuits for us?"

Ike asked the Professor, and I already regretted walking over. His voice wasn't lowered, so I was sure the girls heard him yet again. Since I was approaching the three at a rapid pace, I didn't want to turn around and see their disgusted gazes towards us. It wasn't hard to envision Karuizawa and the rest frowning in revulsion. I really couldn't have made my way over to them with worse timing.

"Leave it to me. I'll pretend to be sick to skip the class."

Sotomura, seemingly much smarter than Ike and Yamauchi, softened his voice. He knew that he'd fall from grace if the girls heard about their plan and acted according to these circumstances.

"What are you guys planning?"

Ike and Yamauchi both gawked at me before nodding towards each other with suspicious peeks in between. The Professor watched their exchange with interest, but didn't know what they were on about either, according to his quizzical look.

Should I turn around and go back to my seat? This would be my last chance. Once the three of us talked, I wouldn't have any shot to befriend even one of the girls, except maybe Kushida, who hadn't even talked to me ever since school had started. I was so intent on making friends, however, that I decided that Ike and Yamauchi would be good enough for me.

"The Professor is going to rank the girl's breast sizes. If we are lucky, we are even getting some pictures. Are you interested, Ayanokouji?"

Both of them stared at me with high expectations. Sudou, who just strolled into the room as Ike made his statement, drew back in response to the boy's plan. Even though he had a clear aversion towards his proposal, the delinquent's eyes were glued to my person.

Was he perhaps trying to warn me not to associate with them before it was too late? Since Sudou was close with them, he might have realized that his already low standing in class sunk even more due to their continued friendship the past few days.

If I was being honest, I was interested. I couldn't deny that. But I felt that saying 'yes' right now would lead to trouble in the future. Since the girls already overheard what Yamauchi, Ike and the Professor were talking about, they turned their murderous gazes towards me in anticipation of my social suicide.

Once I agreed with him or confirmed my interest in these things, I would forever be one of them in anyone's eyes. If only Horikita had mentioned that they were bad, I might have agreed with him now, but even Matsushita, who was outgoing and friendly towards most of our classmates, referred to talking to them as punishment.

"I'm not really, I think."

I took two steps back to widen the distance between them.

Even if the girls were not my friends, it should be possible to turn friends of friends into genuine friends if I spend enough time with them. How I would go about doing that, however, I didn't know. I just had a feeling that it would be bad to associate with Yamauchi and Ike after listening to their intentions. Sudou would be fine as he was just quick to lash out, but didn't seem like a bad person.

The three, excluding the Professor, stared at each other. Their faces paled somewhat upon hearing my reply. They were aware of something I wasn't and whispered to each other with strained expressions while peeking over.

Did I say something wrong? Had I broken some sacred code I was not informed of?

"Wait, Ayanokouji, let me get this straight. You are not interested in seeing the girl's beautiful assets in swimsuits?"

"Can you record the girls wearing swimsuits for us?"

One of the perverts asked the chubbier pervert with glistening eyes. I couldn't believe that they could just say something like this outright without a hint of shame. My face turned into a disgusted frown. Satou had an appalled expression as well and moved her chair away from them as far as she could.

"Those guys are the worst."

She nodded in agreement.

"They really are. This is just disturbing. I was looking forward to today... but I guess I'll pass as well. I feel sick only thinking about it."

"Well, most of the girls won't join the swimming classes, anyway. Even though I totally wanted to have a dip."

Matsushita inserted herself into the conversation and exhaled in disappointment upon thinking of the missed opportunity to have some fun in the water.

"Ah. Yeah, swimming would have been really nice..."

I enjoyed swimming, so it wasn't a lie. I just couldn't go, even if the girls had an area of their own. Which we didn't, so there was no use thinking about it. But swimming, huh... how long has it been?

"What are you guys planning?"

Ayanokouji's voice cut through the air. Satou, Matsushita and I turned around upon hearing him.

"Hey, shouldn't we like... do something?"

Satou asked while watching the boy who had just joined their group with a sympathetic expression.

"Isn't it fine? It's his decision with whom he hangs out with. It's not like he wouldn't know that they had bad reputations."

It was like impossible that he didn't. Even the most clueless person on this planet should know that those guys were a bad influence. I get that he was homeschooled, but even considering that...

"I wonder about that."

"What do you mean, Matsushita-san?"

Satou turned to Matsushita with a quizzical look.

"Well, he told us he was being homeschooled, right? He also said he's bad at social interactions. Maybe he really does not know that those guys are bad people for him to mix with. Or he might have just figured it out."

Her gaze changed subtly as she peered at Ayanokouji.

"I'm not really, I think."

The boy in question withdrew a few steps, widening the distance between him and those three disgusting perverts.

He may not have been as good looking or popular as Hirata, but objectively speaking, he wasn't that bad. His personality was kinda non-existent, but he wasn't a weirdo like those morons.

"Let's make sure that he's fine, at least, I guess."

Since both Matsushita and Satou were worried, I decided that it would be fine to help him out this time. I would not babysit him for three years, though. So he'll better be thankful to me in the future for doing him this favor now.

I was interested, but this wasn't a question I should answer in the middle of a classroom with twenty girls present. Even though I wasn't the lost bet in a punishment game just yet, I would definitely be just that once I agreed with them on this topic.

As I was about to deny once again, a pleasant voice rang through my ears.

"Ayanokouji, can you come over for a sec? Satou wanted to ask you something."

"Ehhh?! Karuizawa!" Satou yelped, surprised about the fact that she wanted to ask me something.

This was a weird thing to be surprised about, wasn't it?

All the attention turned towards me. Not only the four guys I was just speaking to, but even classmates I hadn't engaged with prior to today stared at me with widened eyes.

Wow, this was uncomfortable. Please stop staring at me? Was it this weird that she called out to me? Damn, was anyone aware that I had no friends? This school was getting worse by the minute.

In my attempt to flee this situation, my gaze swayed over to my seatmate. I didn't know why this was my first instinct, but even Horikita was surprised that Karuizawa had called out to me. The faces of Yamauchi, Ike and Sudou couldn't be explained. They contained nothing but deeply rooted shock.

"Ah. Sure, I guess."

"SEE? Isn't that proof enough for you? Sudou!"

Yamauchi grabbed me by my shoulder and pulled me close. He was screaming and whispering at the same time. It was a rather uncomfortable feeling.

"I agree, with Yamauchi. This behavior is more than just suspicious."

Ike joined in, eyeing Ayanokouji with a murderous gaze.

"What are you guys talking about?"

The Professor seemed confused, and I was as well.

"What do you mean, proof enough? They are just talking."

I was more surprised that he managed to become friends with Karuizawa, of all people. She was hella annoying to deal with.

"Damn it Sudou! Don't you get it? Which girl in their right mind would choose to talk to some boring guy like Ayanokouji instead of us?"

Those three, apparently. If I were one of them, I would rather talk to the quiet guy instead of the three perverted ones as well, so I didn't understand their point.

"Yeah, it's obvious. They are friends with him because they don't have to fear him going for them."

"Fear him going for them?"

The Professor was still confused.

"Shhh, Professor. I'll tell you a huge secret only the three of us know. But you can't tell anyone, alright? Are you ready?"

Ike nodded to Yamauchi question. I had my reservations but telling the Professor should be fine. He was trustworthy enough to keep this to himself.

"We think Ayanokouji is gay."

"AYANOKOUJI-DONO IS WHAT?"

The Professor screamed through the room. Sudou immediately hit him on the head while Ike and Yamauchi kept covering his mouth with pale faces. They kept whispering among each other while gawking at me.

What were they up to now? And what did I do to deserve their unwelcome attention?

"Yo, Karuizawa, Satou, Matsushita. What did you want?"

I turned my question to Satou, the one who wanted to ask me something but was, for whatever reason, surprised by said fact. She averted her eyes somewhat awkwardly, which was out of character for her. From what I could tell so far, she was popular with both boys and girls alike, yet somewhat hard to approach. She was on a first-name basis with Karuizawa after a few days, which showed how close they were.

"Ehh... Uhh... How are you?"

It sounded like a question. But not the sort you would ask someone else, since it seemed like she wasn't sure whether she was even asking the right one. Shouldn't she know best what she wanted to ask me? What's wrong with everyone today? Are they all excited because of the swimming lessons? Was this such a special occasion?

"I'm good. Thanks? Is that all you wanted to ask?"

"Ehh. Umm."

She exchanged glances with Karuizawa, as if she was at a loss. Matsushita's curious expression indicated that she was amused by the situation taking place before her, but she did nothing to help her friend, which fit into her character.

Since she was more mature than most of the girls in class, she gave off a heavy older sister vibe, which was rather attractive. She was cute overall, too. But maybe I was just easy to please? Matsushita always took great care of her appearance and the way she treated the people in our class, yet didn't have any close friends like Karuizawa or Satou were, despite hanging out with them fairly often. She kept her distance from people, but not to such an extensive degree as Horikita.

"We just wondered why you were wasting your time with those idiots."

Karuizawa was rather harsh. She didn't seem to mind if she ticked them off. Both Satou and Matsushita nodded to her question. All three of them agreed that they were jerks. I wasn't sure about the Professor, but I could see why Yamauchi and Ike would top such a list.

"Oh that. I just thought it would be nice to make some friends, you know?"

"Huh?"

Wow, that face was scary. Did I say something wrong? What did I do? Did I displease her somehow?

"Aren't we good enough for you or what?"

Even though I was talking to Karuizawa, the other two were also staring at me with a quizzical, almost angered expression. Matsushita narrowed her eyes, as if she was trying to read my mind, while Satou frowned.

Huh? Wait, wait, wait. Back up. Did she insinuate that we were friends? According to their reactions, all three of them think that way. I was confused.

"Wait. You mean we are friends?"

It seemed I said something weird again. And I might have messed up even worse than with my introduction.

They glanced at each other with vacant looks, before Karuizawa turned to me with an angry expression.

"Of course we are, you moron. Why did you think we weren't?"

We were friends... I was friends with them, or so it seemed. I hadn't known. What Horikita said, however, made perfect sense. But friends... huh? That made me kind of happy.

Why were they blushing now?

"Why are you smiling like that? Gross."

Karuizawa said, face flushed, and turned away. The gross part was whispered, but I still heard her and it kind of hurt. Satou and Matsushita also averted their eyes with unreadable expressions.

Did I just smile? Was it that bad? Horikita said nothing when I smiled at her on our first day. Was this time different, perhaps? Should I apologize? I guess I should. If it's so bad that they have to look away...

"I'm sorry about that."

"You, what? Huuuh." She heaved a loud sigh. "A-anyway. Why would you think we weren't friends?"

"Oh, about that. You know, Horikita said that you are only friends of a friend, which wouldn't make you my friends. Technically."

Matsushita lowered her head and facepalmed herself. I've never seen one and just read about them, but it looked quite amusing. Satou's eyes were wide open, as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing. And Karuizawa was fuming in irritation.

"Ayanokouji-kun. We are your friends. Please don't listen to Horikita. If you have questions, you can ask me instead of her."

As expected, Matsushita answered in a calm voice, like a perfect older sister would after her little brother did something stupid. She wore a pleasant smile while conveying her worry for me. Satou just nodded, unable to utter a single word, while Karuizawa... well. She clearly had it in for Horikita.

"What's wrong with that stuck-up, arrogant bitch, huh? Ayanokouji-kun, seriously. Stop listening to her. She's a bad influence."

The other two just nodded in response to her accusation.

According to their reactions, Horikita did not know what she was talking about. Should I have asked them instead of Sudou that night? I wasn't sure. There was still a question lingering on my mind, however. But I didn't know if it was the right one to ask them. Matsushita would be the best choice, since I had the feeling that she was the smartest out of the group. But Karuizawa was the subject in question.

"Okay, I'll keep it in mind then. Thank you. Matsushita, can I ask you something then?"

In the end, I went with the safest option and asked the older sister type. She'd surely not disappoint me.

"Of course! Leave it to me!"

Matsushita patted her chest. She was like Horikita, yet completely different. It was a strange sight.

"Alright then. Yamauchi and Ike called Karuizawa a gyaru, which seems to be a gal. But I don't understand what Karuizawa has to do with gravimetry. At first I thought it's because she's cute and is attractive in their eyes, but that seemed to have been wrong according to the two."

I shouldn't tell them that those three said that her breasts were too small, or else someone would probably die today. Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned the last part at all...

Karuizawa perked up upon hearing her name. Her eyes sparked with interest at first, but fell into total confusion just a moment later. At the end of her thought process, she averted her eyes once again.

"Gravi- what? Cute?"

Luckily, her brain shut down before hearing that the two denied this.

Satou was perplexed as well. She stared at me as if I was some kind of alien being. I guess it was the right decision to ask Matsushita, since neither of the others seemed to know. Contrary to my initial thoughts, however, she was baffled by my question. The adorable girl blinked twice before taking some notes on a slip of paper.

"I'll get back to you on that. Is that alright with you?"

"Ah, yeah. Sure."

It seemed it was quite a complex explanation if two of them were confused and the smartest of them needed some time to figure things out. Maybe I had a wrong impression of Ike and Yamauchi because they were plain stupid most of the time.

As the beginning of our first lesson drew nearer, I excused myself and went to my seat. They waved me goodbye, which made me happy. I thought they could be good friends. On my way back, I noticed the three perverts and Sudou hustle around some piece of paper. They seemed to make bets on something. I was kind of curious, so I craned my neck somewhat to read the headline.

'Class D's chest sizes. Who has the biggest?'

I was glad — no, elated that Karuizawa had called out to me. I dodged a bullet there.

From all the girls that were written, Hasebe was in the lead, with Kushida and Sakura coming in third and second, respectively.

As they were talking about tits and asses in an ever-increasing volume, I backed up. The other boys flew to them like moths to a flame and started betting and weighing in their own opinions. Not all of them did, of course, but a large majority.

My neighbor turned towards me and nodded towards them after I sat down beside her.

"Don't you want to join them? I think you could make some connections there."

"I don't think I should. I'm quite happy how it is now. Also, just so you know: Karuizawa, Satou, and Matsushita are my friends and not friends of a friend."

"Is that so? Did you ask them?"

"Something like that."

"Pathetic."

"Let's go! The pool!"

After lunch, it was time for swim class and Ike couldn't contain his excitement. He, Yamauchi, Sudou and the Professor kept whispering to each other. They turned to me as one, completely in sync.

"Come on Ayanokouji. We're going to be late!"

"Ah. Sure."

I trotted behind them until we reached the locker room. It was quite spacious, it seemed, as most of the guys were gazing around in amazement. Sudou promptly changed. This was the first time I could ascertain his physique without his uniform in the way. It was no surprise that I was pretty much on point with how I had evaluated him. Leaving aside Kouenji and myself, he should be in the best shape out of all the Class D guys, followed by Hirata.

"You are pretty athletic, Sudou. But aren't you nervous changing around other people?"

He stopped and covered his chest with a towel. Yamauchi, who was just about to wear his swim trunks, fell over. Ike turned around and gazed at Sudou and me while a loud crash informed us that Yamauchi struck the ground.

It couldn't be. Did I say something weird again?

Looking around, it seemed unlikely. The other guys, including Hirata, kept changing and talking among themselves as if nothing happened, which meant that I hadn't made a serious social blunder. Which begged the question: what did I do?

"O-oh, thanks. Ayanokouji."

Did he just stutter? Sudou?

"Why would I be nervous? It's just us guys, right? Not like anyone would be overly interested in me. Right?"

It's a fact that there was a rather small chance that one of the guys here was gay and into Sudou, so I got his reasoning. Besides, his physique was quite something, so it wasn't like he had anything to be ashamed of, even if girls were around or one of the guys was into him.

"Yeah. Guess you're right."

He nodded twice before leaving the locker room with quick steps. After his abrupt exit, I finished changing and noticed a slight problem with a certain persons swimwear.

"Uh, Yamauchi? I think you should get some new trunks."

"Huh? Why's that?"

"Doesn't it feel... cold? Breezy, perhaps?"

I averted my gaze.

"Mh. Now that you mention it, it's somewhat breezy, yeah."

He turned his head and kept touching the back of his swimwear, only to find that it had ripped during his previous fall.

"What the hell! What kind of cheap material is that?!"

He changed back into his school uniform with lightning speed and ran out of the locker room, likely to get a new swimsuit.

"Wait for me, girls in swimsuits!"

His raging voice grew quieter with every step he took. It was like a scene in those comics where the bad guy runs away, telling the hero that he'd be back only to mess up somewhere along the way.

Hirata chuckled wryly while scratching his chin. Some others shook their heads or just ignored him. I felt bad for the guy, but I couldn't do anything, even if I wanted to. Ike was still laughing about Yamauchi's misfortune as he walked out into the pool area.

Since I was done changing myself, I followed him inside.

"Wow, it's huge! It's even bigger than the one in the city!"

Ike sniffed the air like a crazed dog. Some guys, myself included, took a few steps back since we didn't want to have anything to do with him while he was behaving like this. Hirata glanced around the indoor pool, mouthing a surprised 'wow'.

"Where are the girls? Why aren't they here yet?"

"They take their time to change. They are probably not ready yet."

"Hey, what do you think would happen if I 'accidentally' walked into their locker room?"

"They'd gang up on you and beat the hell out of you before they'd beat the hell out of you again, and then file charges, probably."

"Don't be like that Ayanokouji! Wouldn't you want to do that as well?"

His eyes sparkled as he stared at me. He was interested in hearing my answer but had asked none of the other guys that were around, but I couldn't figure out why.

"I currently have no particular urge to get beaten, so no thanks."

"So you won't even take a good look at them if they walk out?"

I shouldn't do that or I'll end up like you, was what I'd liked to say. But I didn't want to alienate him too much. Since there were no girls around and the other boys were busy looking around, I could answer him truthfully.

"I might take a peek, but not stare like you probably would. They wouldn't like that very much."

He gave a thumb up to someone behind me. As I turned, I noticed Sudou, relieved.

What was that about? Must have been some kind of secret friend code which I couldn't understand just yet. I would though... someday. Maybe.

"I can't wait for Kushida and Hasebe! Damn it, what should I do if I get a boner?"

Would they notice? I doubted that. Even though girls seem to pick up the smallest changes for some unknown reason. They were scary sometimes.

"Run away as fast as possible, probably."

These were my true thoughts. I doubted anything else would help.

"Wow, it's so spacious! It's so much bigger than I thought."

A few minutes later, a girl's voice could be heard.

"T-they are here!"

Ike, full of vigor, stumbled over his own words.

To be completely transparent, I was curious as well. I didn't prefer any size in particular, but I just kept wondering how they'd look in their swimsuits. Since they are tight, their curves should be better to notice. I needed to make sure not to stare too much, however, as that could spill my downfall. A little peek wouldn't harm anyone, as long as it wasn't overly aggressive.

Unfortunately for the boys, their dreams were crushed in an instant.

"Hasebe isn't here! P-professor, what's going on?"

"I don't know. I can't see them anywhere."

Sotomura stood atop the observation deck. No matter how much he gazed around the giant pool, he couldn't find what he was looking for.

"Behind you, Professor!"

Ike screamed, as if danger was approaching. The Professor turned around while taking a few steps back. He muttered something with a look of horror etched into his face, but I couldn't make it out. It must've been something like —

"Impossible," Ike said, reading my mind.

The boy's knees weakened, and he slumped to the ground. His entire world was crushed right in front of his eyes. It couldn't have been easy to deal with such an unexpected shock. The broken youth paled, and his entire body quivered. Ike seemed to give into his depression and eventually lost it.

"NOOOOOOO! I wanted to see tits! Big tits! Where are my big tits?!"

All the girls, including Hasebe especially, had an air of contempt swirling around them as they were glaring down at the pervert in question from their elevated position. The Professor sneaked into an empty corner and ducked down in fear of their retaliation.

I could understand their thoughts, however. Similar to guys, they couldn't choose their size. For them, it was even worse, since their assets could be seen at all times. There was no easy way to hide their breasts after all. Even if they weren't big ones, there were bound to be certain contours which could excite the male population. Ike would feel the same way as them if they'd make such a fuss about his combat sting.

"Gross."

"Disgusting."

"Go die."

The girls muttered among themselves, and I couldn't even fault them for that.

"Ike-kun, what's wrong?"

While going through his very own cycle of hell, an angel's voice reached out to him. Her warm expression seemed to soothe his breaking heart. His eyes shot open, locating the source of his miracle worker.

"Kushida-chaaaaan."

She was clad in the school-issued swimwear, which looked, frankly, phenomenal. It accentuated her voluptuous figure, drawing the gazes of every boy present towards her. Her cup size must have been D or E. This was just an estimate, as I couldn't put a measuring tape around her. I expected much from Kushida's body, but she really hid a lot under her uniform. Her butt and thighs were even more appealing than I could have imagined. She was captivating.

Just like that, I failed to keep my eyes off the first girl that ran into the pool area in her swimsuit. If I didn't know any better, I would fault myself for being the same as Ike and Yamauchi. I was not, though. Definitely.

I averted my gaze as a second female voice reached my ears.

"Why the pained expression?"

"I'm currently in the midst of an internal battle."

Horikita examined my expression with interest. Little did she know that it was always the same. Her eyes moved away from my face and started checking me out all over. Since she was doing it, I deemed it fine to do the same.

Her breasts were smaller than Kushida's, but they looked superb. She looked fantastic. I couldn't help but think that. She was slimmer than Kushida and, just like her, dangerously captivating in her own way.

If her behavior was even a fraction of Kushida's, she would be popular as well. Both of them had their pros and cons. Certain people would choose one over the other, depending on their preferences. Since I didn't have any special inclinations, I was quite afflicted by both of them.

"Ayanokouji-kun, do you exercise?"

Her question snapped me out of my rude thoughts. I was lucky that she was occupied with studying me, or I would have earned another karate-chop due to her esper-senses.

"Not really. I must be blessed with good genes."

"I don't think a body could be this developed by genes alone."

Her eyes narrowed. She had a hard time believing me.

"What do you care, anyway? Do you have a muscle fetish?"

"Nothing like that."

She seemed rather dissatisfied, but that wasn't my problem. After I was done with the conversation, I checked the students that were here. Yamauchi was still missing, and so were over half of the girls. I was a little disappointed that Matsushita wasn't down here but watched over us from the observation deck. I was rather interested in how she would look in a swimsuit.

From what I could tell, she had a similar stature to Horikita, but her kind nature would give her bonus points. I compared the two from what I knew about them and Matsushita came out on top. Horikita was just too cold for her own good. They would be more evenly matched if her personality wasn't as twisted.

"Are you a good swimmer, Horikita-san?"

The ice queen seemed overly bothered being asked a question by Kushida. I wondered if she would make the same expression if I had inquired about this, but quickly denied that.

"I wouldn't say I'm particularly good or bad."

Hey, that's my line!

"Mh, I was terrible at swimming before. But I gave it my all and practiced really hard! Now I'm pretty good, I think!"

Kushida said with a bright smile. Her energy was similar to Ichinose's. Similar being the keyword here. I still couldn't help but think that something was off about her. Aside from the red flag from the bus, she didn't make a single move to get to know me, even though she was talking big about being everyone's friend.

Contrary to this, I had seen how she tried to talk to Horikita on multiple occasions. She's conversing fine with the likes of Ike and Yamauchi, but I believed the only reason she did so was because they went to her and not the other way around.

Even if I went out with Hirata and his group from time to time, she had enough chances to talk to me if she wanted to, which begged the question why she was so focused on Horikita, of all people.

"Oh! Ayanokouji-kun, right? Are you perhaps not feeling well? You seem pale."

Speaking of the devil, Kushida suddenly stood before me. She was bending forward, which didn't help to hide her generous assets at all. She seemed worried, however.

I averted my gaze. If I didn't, those mounds would trap me for eternity.

Did I really look pale, though? I knew I messed up the cake that I tried to bake yesterday, but it shouldn't have been this bad. I wasn't feeling unwell either, so maybe she was just imagining things.

Before I could answer, she turned around to the teacher, who just walked into the pool area.

"Sensei! My friend seems shaky. Would it be alright if I accompany him to get some fresh air?"

When did I become her friend? Was it this easy to make her my friend? It's not like I'm happy when you say that or anything. But wait, no! Don't say this out loud.

A cold shiver ran down my spine. Ike glared at me as if I was his mortal enemy. I was lucky that Yamauchi wasn't here as well, or they would have ganged up on me before Kushida finished her sentence.

"He isn't feeling well? Yeah, sure, he can get some fresh air, but you stay here." The teacher said before turning towards the observation deck. "Since you up there don't seem to do anything worthwhile anyway, could one of you accompany him?"

Wow, this was embarrassing. Please, just anyone say 'I'll go', or something like that. How sad would it be if none of them would go with me? Not that I need someone to accompany me, but Horikita wouldn't forget this in a thousand years. She'd be like 'Wow, Ayanokouji-kun. You have such great friends.' in her cold, monotone voice and mock me with a cruel expression.

"I'll go with him, sensei."

I was glad that someone volunteered, and even more so when I recognized her voice. The teacher told me to get some air, so I left the pool area and went back through the locker rooms. I threw a sports jacket over my body and made my way towards the door. Just on time, Matsushita stepped down the stairs, greeting me with a smile.

"Sorry for the trouble." I bowed slightly.

There was a high chance that she had better things to do than babysit me, so I felt sorry since she wasn't really needed. I didn't feel bad, but I also didn't have the heart to tell Kushida that I was fine while she was gazing at me with those worried eyes.

"It's no trouble. I volunteered, after all. You certainly seem pale, though. Are you feeling alright?"

Matsushita closed in on me and examined my face with a sympathetic expression. She was so close that I could smell the shampoo that she had used today. There was also a light hint of apple in the air, which must've been her perfume or something.

Too close, too close!

Her eyes moved from my face towards my neck and down to my chest, which was still visible since I hadn't zipped up the jacket.

Oh no.

"Do you work out?"

With no warning of any kind, she caressed over my body. Her small hands were incredibly soft as she traced along the lines my muscles drew. I felt the warmth of her palms on my chest and abdomen as she moved them downward, mesmerized by the firmness.

It didn't feel bad at all, but I wasn't ready for such an unexpected attack.

"Uhm. Good genes, I guess. Could you not do that, please?"

I gently grasped her fingers to make her let go. She was so soft that I couldn't help but trace mine over the back of her hand for a short moment. After realizing what I had done, I averted my eyes.

"S-sorry! I shouldn't have done that. Ah! You're feeling unwell. Let's get some fresh air."

She was faster and spun around in a hurry to open the door for me, trying to hide her beet-red face. There was no reason to do so, but it was a kind gesture. As expected, Matsushita Chiaki was a nice girl.

We sat on the stairs which led inside and talked about trivial things as I let the cool air blow into my face. Even though I was half-naked, it wasn't cold or anything. The sunrays were resting on my skin with a comfortable temperature. Thanks to my company, the atmosphere outside was pleasant as well. Due to our previous moment, there was a wider gap between us than usual and she still had a healthy, rosy blush on her cheeks.

"Why didn't you join the swim class?"

I already knew the answer, but I wanted to make sure. Additionally, I could loosen up this weird atmosphere with a casual question. It was a shame, though. Her rosy cheeks looked rather adorable.

"Ah, that. The boys would stare too much, especially Ike and Yamauchi. It's uncomfortable, or rather plain eerie. I'm surprised so many girls are taking part, to be honest. I figured Onodera would, since she loves swimming, but the others were unexpected."

Onodera Kayano, joined the swimming club during the fair a few days ago. I also heard that she competed in tournaments before coming here. She, similar to Sudou, was a valuable resource. Knowledge could be ingrained into a person quickly depending on the process, but physical abilities were more time-consuming. Students like them were worth a lot in such a strange school where I didn't know what to expect.

Matsushita leaned her head on her arms, which were wrapped around her knees. The sun was shining onto her face, emphasizing the dazzling smile she was wearing. My heart couldn't help but skip a few beats. The view was quite extraordinary. There was nothing overly sexual about the way she sat or the clothes she was wearing, but I couldn't help but feel moved by her beauty.

Was this one of those scenes where a sudden confession could take place? I banished those wishful thoughts from my mind and continued our conversation.

"I'm sorry that you have to deal with something like that. It just feels kind of sad, you know? That you can't join out of fear of being ogled at. You girls are really brave for putting up with this."

"Thank you. But it's not your fault. If it only were Hirata, you and maybe Miyake and Yukimura, I wouldn't even mind much. Most of the girls wouldn't, since the four of you seem rather mature. The rest is... well."

Yukimura Teruhiko and Miyake Akito. I knew little about them. They seemed rather low-key, just like me. Miyake joined the archery club, or at least I can remember seeing him walk towards their representative at the fair. Yukimura was more of the academical type. From what I had gathered during my observations, he was a light-version of Horikita. He looked down on most of the people in class, but wasn't hostile toward them.

What interested me more, however, was that she had realized this as well. Usually people like them and I wouldn't wind up on the radar of someone like Matsushita. If it weren't for Hirata, we likely wouldn't be talking. This supported my assumption that she was rather observational.

"I'm honored that you think of me that way. Thanks Matsushita. I'm feeling a lot better already. Should we head back inside?"

I stood and reached out my hand towards her.

"Mh."

She nodded with a cute hum, stretched her arms and took my hand. I gently pulled her up and walked up towards the entrance. This time, it was my turn to hold the door open for her. She thanked me with a rather gracious bow and giggled before walking up the stairs.

"You're back! Are you feeling better?"

"Yes. Thank you, sensei." I turned to the girl responsible for my absence. "And thank you, Kushida, for taking care of me."

"No worries! That's what friends are for, right?"

I nodded and went over to Horikita, who sat alone in a corner of the pool. I wasn't at all surprised by this sight, since I was the only one this girl talked to frequently.

"Did I miss anything?"

"Only Ike being overly disgusting. And the girls fawning over Hirata-kun."

Nothing then. Basically, just the usual. Why wasn't I surprised?

"Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, right?" The teacher walked towards me.

"Yes, sensei."

"You are going to swim with them. I want to make sure that you can swim at least. I don't want to be held responsible if you drown. The rules are simple: 5000 points if you win the race and extra tuition if your time is higher than one minute. Don't be the first one to win the supplementary lessons, you hear me?"

That's quite an overstatement. I didn't believe anyone could drown in the pool, even if they were trying to. Since I didn't want to stand out, I wondered what a good time would be.

After glancing at the teacher's notes from the exercises before, I decided to finish with something around 36 seconds to make sure that I wouldn't be one of the faster students.

The race ended with Koenji coming in first and Sudou getting second place. Third was Hirata, who got even more applause than the others, even though he was slower.

I would never understand popular people.

Kouenji, narcissistic as always, swept his hair back and started doing push-ups as if the race just now wasn't anything to him. Sudou and Ike started cursing the man. They didn't like being beaten by the likes of Koenji, apparently. When the lesson was about to come to a close, Yamauchi opened the pool area's door with a loud bang.

"TITS AND ASSES!"

I shook my head in disbelief. Ike immediately walked up to him as Yamauchi collapsed.

The teacher was on his way to the emergency patient as well, but when he heard him weeping, "Where are the tits and asses? Ike! Tell me! Where are they?" he just turned around and left.

Following this, Yamauchi had to swim. The self-proclaimed 'flying-fish', which he had just called himself, earned a full course of supplementary lessons because he was too slow.

The girls on the observation platform couldn't stop laughing, and even Kushida had to hold herself back with all her might. The teacher went to Kouenji and Onodera and handed out the prize money. It seemed like she was the winner on the girl's side. As expected of someone in the swimming club.

I wondered where Horikita placed, but I couldn't help but think asking would be a mistake. I resolved myself to ask Hirata later, since he was the safest bet to gather innocent information from.

It seemed important that we knew how to swim, which begged the question why the ones on the observational deck were not required to swim at least one lap.

Kushida closed in on me and asked once again if I was alright. I thanked her for her help and we kept talking about health and things of that nature, as she seemed to be impressed by my body as well. I once again put the blame on my good genes, but Kushida seemed rather disappointed by this.

Ike and Yamauchi threatened me from afar, but I didn't understand why. They wanted me to think about doing perverted things to the girls all day long, but when I was normally conversing with one, it was bad? My confusion grew. I might need to look that up as well. After thinking about it for a second, I decided to seek Matsushita's advice when I had the time.

After the lesson, we were heading back into the locker room to change back into our uniforms. We kept talking among each other, or rather, they kept talking and I listened in. As I was changing, I noticed Yamauchi acting weird. He opened his bag before all color left his face. The boy took a few glances around and stuffed a sports jacket inside before zipping the bag.

That was the calm before the storm. Because just a moment later, all hell broke loose.

The door to the locker room swung open with a loud thud.

"YOU DISGUSTING PERVERTS!"

This was not the only remark that was thrown at us by approximately eighteen girls that rushed inside the room. I couldn't tell who said what, as almost all of them screamed in anger. Even the cold Horikita seemed disgusted and agitated beyond words. Satou, Karuizawa and the others were furious. I couldn't see Kushida, however.

Hirata, being the hero he is, stepped up and tried to control the situation.

"Everyone, please calm down! Can one of you please calmly tell me what happened?"

The one who stepped forward was none other than the cold beauty.

"Alright. I will tell you what happened. When we got back to our bags, we noticed that our underwear was missing."

Hirata looked taken aback. My glance wandered to Yamauchi, quivering in freight while hiding behind a row of lockers.

He didn't, right? I didn't believe it, not even Yamauchi would be stupid enough to do something like this.

"I might overstep a line here, but may I know whose underwear went missing?"

Hirata stayed calm and polite. The girls behind Horikita seemed ready to tear each and every one of us apart. I believed that the only reason that they said nothing is that they were too angry to think.

"All of them." Horikita stared with a razor sharp gaze towards the boys.

Hirata's face paled at this revelation.

Even he wouldn't be able to maneuver the boys out of this situation, no matter how talented he was regarding social relations. We didn't know each other that well in the first place since school had barely started, which meant that the shallow bonds that formed broke apart in mere seconds.

He turned around with a complex expression.

"Guys, please listen. If anyone of —"

"What is going on here?"

The teacher, who must have heard the commotion, stepped inside the locker room with 38 teenagers present. Once again, a verbal war broke out.

"They stole..."

"They barged in here while..."

"Those perverts..."

"The girls just..."

There I stood, amidst the chaos and did nothing.

What was I supposed to do, anyway? This wasn't a scenario where someone like me could interfere, much less be of any help.

I glanced around and observed every single student in the room. Only three were as calm as I was, at least from an outward appearance. Kouenji, which wasn't weird at all. He was the guy who wouldn't care if a bomb exploded right next to him as long as he didn't get any dirt on himself. Horikita, who seemed calm but was seething in anger. And Matsushita, who, just like me, glanced around the room observing the reactions of our classmates.

Our eyes briefly met. She didn't seem at all appalled or angry. She either had a perfect poker face or cared little about this situation. I wondered what Horikita meant with 'all of them', as it would have been impossible to steal the underwear of the ones on the observation deck.

"Quiet!"

The teacher said in a calm, yet heavy and commanding voice. The whole room silenced in an instant.

"You." He turned to Horikita. "Explain what happened."

Our instructor was quite sharp. He must've realized that Horikita was a good person to ask, given the circumstances. She kept calm, even though she was likely one of the girls who had their underwear taken.

Horikita took a deep breath before replying in a calm, yet cold, voice.

"We went back to change to our school uniforms and noticed that every girl who went to the pool had her underwear stolen. Someone started to cry. Kushida-san is taking care of her right now. The rest came here to take the boys to task."

"I understand. So, who of you guys took their underwear?"

The teacher asked, turning towards us. His intimidating aura skyrocketed as he glanced behind me.

"You. Tits and asses, was it?"

The teacher seemed to seethe, while Yamauchi was sweating profoundly, pale like a corpse. He was already back in his school uniform. He must've found the underwear in his bag, which is why he paled before. From his point of view, the best course of action was likely to change as fast as possible and bolt out of the area to get rid of the female lingerie in his bag.

"S-sensei I... I s-swear I... I didn't... didn't do a-anything."

The girls turned towards Yamauchi. They concluded that he was the culprit, just from his behavior alone. Even the boys took one glance at him and knew that he was in big trouble. Hirata seemed to rack his brains. He clenched his fists and bit his lip until both started bleeding.

"If you did nothing, you wouldn't mind showing me your bag, would you?"

Yamauchi shook his head. "S-sensei I... this... I swear, I didn't..."

He couldn't even finish his sentence as the teacher drew closer to him step by step. He snatched the bag out of his arms, opened it, and dumped the contents on the ground. What lay there shocked everyone, even though all those present already knew what would be in his bag. Thus, a decent amount of bras, panties and a single jacket lay on the ground in the boys' locker room.

I doubted that they would ever be used again. What a shame.

The girls once again lashed out. This time, however, the brunt was aimed at one person: Yamauchi Haruki.

Frankly, I was feeling conflicted. On one hand, I was disappointed in my class, on the other I was relieved that they seemed to consist of idiots. He was being set up. This much should have been clear for everyone.

There was no way a person could be this stupid, even they should know that. But not a single one of them spoke up. I didn't know if the current situation clouded their judgment, or if they really believed that he did something he could never get away with.

Whatever the case may have been, I was glad. Not because Yamauchi would get into serious trouble or might even be expelled due to this, but that no one stopped to think. Because if they did, I could be the one in danger. The only people who had the chance to steal the underwear and dump them here were two people: Yamauchi Haruki and I, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.

Horikita and Matsushita both glanced at me as if they realized this as well.

I determined that the two of them were level-headed enough to see that something was wrong. But neither spoke up and I couldn't understand why. There were only two conclusions the two of them could reach: one, Yamauchi Haruki was an idiot, stole the girls' underwear and was caught red-handed. Two, I framed Yamauchi when I was outside the pool area.

Apart from that, there was no other conclusion they could reach at the current moment due to their narrow view and limited information. But aside from those two possibilities, there was another one which two students in this room and the teacher should be able to come up with: we were being attacked by another class.

"You are coming with me. We are going to have a little chat." Our instructor said to Yamauchi before turning towards the girls. "Rest assured that the school will take care of this. We are taking offenses like these very serious. Get your things and let the boys change. Your homeroom teacher will inform you about everything tomorrow."

With no complaints, the girls quieted down, gathered their belongings and left the boys' locker room. The teacher escorted Yamauchi outside as soon as he was done talking. The whole area was silent. None of the boys said anything, none of them moved a muscle. Everyone was shocked, confused, or angry.

"Guys, let's please just finish changing. We are going to talk to Chabashira-sensei and sort all of this out."

Hirata, as always, tried to keep anyone calm, but Sudou wouldn't have any of it.

"The fuck made you the boss here, huh? Fuck."

He punched into one of the lockers, creating a deep indentation on the door. The boy grabbed his bag and stomped outside since he was already done changing.

Hirata once again clenched his fists and lowered his head. One by one, the students left the room. Soon, only he and I were left.

"Sudou didn't mean what he said. He's just bad with words."

"I know... I know that. But Yamauchi-kun, he wouldn't do something like this."

"I agree. But we have no proof, we can't help him even if we wanted to."

This was the sad truth about the current situation. If no one else took the fall for him, he would be labeled as the responsible party.

"If this keeps going, the class will..."

He drifted off, not being able to finish his sentence.

Hirata Yosuke was good in everything he did. He didn't excel in anything specific, but he was a jack of all trades. This time, however, he couldn't do a thing to save his classmate from ostracization.

"You'll have to keep the class together then. We will need you."

"I couldn't even help one classmate that was in trouble. How am I supposed to keep a class together that will soon fracture? The girls won't take this lying down and the boys will be furious because of the girls. And Yamauchi... he will be completely alienated by the girls from this point onwards."

He held his head and stared towards the ground, denying the possibility that Yamauchi wouldn't be with us from tomorrow onwards, even though the probability for this happening was high. The boys and girls clashing was possible, but the chance was slim since he would most likely be expelled. Our classmates would be too shocked to get into a fight. But Hirata had rejected the prospect of this happening because he didn't want to realize that it was over.

"Hirata. You are good in what you do. If anyone can keep the class together, then it's you. Even if it will be hard, you won't be on your own. I'm sure Kushida would be on board with everything you try to do. That's just how she is. Giving up would be the wrong path. You might not be able to help Yamauchi right now, but you can help the class if you don't lose your focus. In this situation, you simply can't save everyone."

I believed that I glimpsed at the defect that Hirata Yosuke carried. One immediate flaw that sprung to mind was that he couldn't work under pressure. Even now he was probably trying to figure out what he could have done differently or how he could have protected Yamauchi, but at the decisive moment, he couldn't do anything but watch. I would need to observe him from now on, much closer than before. Especially after what will most likely happen to Yamauchi.

If Hirata caved in now, the class would be doomed.

"Ayanokouji-kun, what do you think will happen? To Yamauchi, I mean."

He wanted me to assure him that he would be fine, but I couldn't do him this favor. I didn't know who attacked us, but I could use the chance this person had given me to work on Hirata.

"He will most likely be expelled by tomorrow. Stealing girls' underwear is a serious offense, after all."

A loud bang echoed through the room as Hirata punched the wooden bench he was sitting on.

"Is there really nothing I could do to help him?"

This was a rhetorical question. He didn't expect an answer from me. He was talking to himself, trying to voice his thoughts. But I had other ideas.

"There is one way, probably."

A sliver of hope could be seen in his reddened eyes as he glanced at me. Unfortunately for him, it would crash down like the meteorite that annihilated the dinosaurs.

"How?"

I sat down beside him, leaned my head against the wall behind us, and said the words he didn't want to hear.

"You could go to Chabashira-sensei and tell her that you were the one who placed the underwear in Yamauchi's bag."

I peered towards him.

Shock covered his face, and his eyes lost all signs of life. They dimmed as if someone had turned off the light, or killed something inside of him. Deep inside his heart, he knew that Yamauchi was set up. His reasoning was flawed, but the result he arrived on was the correct one. But this knowledge made the situation so much worse.

"W-what?"

Hirata couldn't say anything other than this. The revelation that he could save Yamauchi by sacrificing himself or, in extension, someone else, caught him off guard. There was no perfect solution. Someone would need to shoulder the blame, as well as the associated consequences.

"I'm not sure, of course, but if you tell the school that you were the culprit, they probably wouldn't punish Yamauchi and expel you instead."

He was quiet for a rather long time. We sat there for five minutes, maybe more. His eyes darted around, trying to find a solution that would save everyone. It was almost painful to watch while knowing that no matter how hard he tried, his wish would never come true.

"Then I'll —"

"Are you really planning to do that?"

I cut him off without mercy. The picture of Hirata's flaw grew clearer. It didn't matter whether Yamauchi did this or was set up, Hirata was ready to bite the bullet for him. I didn't understand why. It must have been something that happened in his past, but I understood that he could not walk forward or even survive at this school, let alone the real world, with this mindset. A messiah wasn't needed in the current society. He would only hurt himself.

"I —"

"You can't save him, Hirata. This is not your burden to carry. Your burden, your priority, should be the people you will spend the next three years with from tomorrow onward. Be it with or without Yamauchi. You are the only one who can keep this class together right now. I truly believe that. You need to prioritize your classmates that will attend this school until graduation."

"You sure are cruel, Ayanokouji-kun." He forced a wry smile and glanced at me with eyes void of any emotion.

I sighed and tilted my head to look at him.

"I'm not cruel. I'm just being realistic. You can't save anyone when you're gone. Sure, you could just say, 'It wouldn't be my problem when I'm expelled', but you would only run away from the issue at hand. This class, these people. They need you, Hirata. You can still save them, but it's too late for Yamauchi. Are you going to leave them to their own devices?" ... to fulfill your own selfish desire?

Before he could say anything, I stood up and grabbed my bag.

"I don't need an answer from you. You should think things over for the rest of the day. There is no single good or bad solution. There is a bad, and an even worse one. You should choose wisely, because there are still people that need and depend on you here."

With this, I left Hirata alone in the boys' locker room.

I didn't know where everyone went after what had transpired after our lesson, but since I got out rather late due to my conversation with Hirata, I strolled back to the dorms where I met Horikita, who was just finishing up shopping.

"Yo."

"What kind of weird greeting is that?"

"Isn't it hip or something?"

"How old are you, 65?"

I wasn't even surprised that she was as cold as ever. More so relieved that she was behaving like the usual Horikita around me. I couldn't help but wonder what she was wearing underneath her uniform. I doubted that she put on the panties and bra that Yamauchi had in his hands.

"Horikita. Why —"

"Didn't I say anything about you being a potential culprit?"

I nodded.

"I had three reasons. First, you dislike trouble. This seemed like a lot of trouble to me, so you were out of the equation."

This was unexpected. Did she just readily believe what people told her without question? I denied that, however. Maybe her second reason was a valid one.

"Second, I objectively evaluated you and deemed you incapable of such an act."

Ouch... or was that supposed to be a compliment? Since it could have been both, I noted it down as one.

"Before you ask, that was not a compliment." She clarified without missing a beat.

...

"You are pretty mean, you know that?"

"Really? I'm only stating facts, though. Speaking of which, reason number three was your new friend, Matsushita-san. She went with you outside and mentioned nothing of you being a potential suspect, which is why I concluded that you didn't have enough time to pull something like this off, even if you wanted to."

Wasn't that the only reason that made sense? She just wanted to torture me with the other two, didn't she? That reminded me...

"One of the guys mentioned something in the group chat. Could you be what they call a tsundere?"

Horikita stopped dead in her tracks and glared at me.

"Which would mean you didn't tell sensei because you like me."

I followed up with that to annoy her a bit more.

"This is nonsense. How did you get that idea? I recommend that you leave this weird group chat at once. They don't know what they are talking about and keep planting weird thoughts in your head."

"Really? I was pretty sure you considered me your friend and are just too shy to admit it. It's okay, really. We can keep it a secret."

Upon hearing that, Horikita turned around without saying another word.

"Uh. Horikita? Where are you going?"

"To the teacher's office. I'll tell the instructor what I know."

"What? Wait, Horikita."

...

...

...

"Hey? Horikita?"

I ran after her.

In the end, she was just kidding. I knew that already; I was just playing along to amuse her. After the heart attack that I suffered, I bought myself a quick dinner and sat on one of the benches near a small park area.

[06:54:23 PM] Can we talk?

[06:56:10 PM[Matsushita] Ayanokouji-kun? Sure. Do you have another question?

[06:56:59 PM] Something like that. Can you come to the small park near the boutique?

[06:57:22 PM[Matsushita] Sure. Give me 10 minutes.

I put my phone away and finished my dinner just in time before Matsushita arrived.

"It feels pretty unusual to get an invitation from you, Ayanokouji-kun. I thought you would just ask me via chat."

She greeted me with a smile and sat down beside me. The gap from before had lessened again. Asking her via chat was indeed a possibility, but I didn't want parts of this conversation in her hands at all times. But I couldn't tell her that.

"I guess it's unusual. It's just that I'd like to see your face when we are talking."

"Huh?"

She made a cute noise while blushing. I wondered what I had said to warrant this. I wanted to see her facial reactions to my questions, which was not possible when texting.

"Did I say something weird again? I'm sorry about that."

"Ah, no. Not at all, just a little unexpected."

She laughed it off, but I felt that I unintentionally did something I didn't mean to do.

"A-anyway, what were you about to ask me, Ayanokouji-kun?"

"About that... Today was really scary, huh?"

"You mean swim class? Yeah, it was pretty heated. It was understandable, however."

"You were pretty calm, Matsushita, weren't you? Aside from Horikita, you seemed to be the only one who was cool-headed."

"Hmm. Guess I was. I mean my stuff wasn't stolen, so it's easier to keep calm, I think? I was still upset, though. Talking about cool-headed, however, you were also pretty calm back then."

She gave me a sideway glance, one that indicated playful suspicion.

"Did I seem calm to you? I was overwhelmed, honestly. As you know, I'm not very good in social situations. A large group makes this even worse. Additionally, everyone was aggressive, so I felt more like a deer staring at headlights. I couldn't think properly. Maybe that's why I seemed calm."

"So that's what it was, huh? I guess large groups can intimidate if you are not used to them." She nodded her head as if understanding my point.

Matsushita was easy to connect to, even if she didn't seem like it from an outsider's perspective. I was glad that I took Hirata's invitation that day. Otherwise, I wouldn't have gotten to know her this soon, or at all. If I could have helped him with his problem concerning Yamauchi, I would have. But there was nothing I could do outside of endangering myself, which I was not willing to do.

"What I really wanted to ask though," I pacified myself through playing with my fingers, "why didn't you mention that I could have been the culprit as well?"

My gestures revealed that I was nervous. From Matsushita's point of view, this was a stupid question which could get me in trouble. But it also showed that I trusted her enough to voice my doubts regarding her actions, which I couldn't understand.

From my standpoint, it was entirely safe to ask her, since she had mentioned nothing before. If she had planned to, she would have already done so, which meant that she saw my innocence due to the time constraints or a similar reason I wasn't aware of. No one aside from her knew that I wouldn't have had the time to execute such a strategy.

I could only have been the culprit if Matsushita and I had worked together to get rid of him.

"Because I didn't believe you were. Even if I did, the time you would have had to pull this off was miniscule since I was with you almost the entire time you weren't in the pool area. It's physically impossible that it was you, hence I mentioned nothing."

"Do you believe Yamauchi is the culprit?"

"Honestly? I don't think he would be this stupid. Someone must have set him up, but I don't know who or why."

"You think someone from our class would do something like that?"

I probed her with an innocent sounding question. I wanted to know just how much Matsushita knew or was suspicious about. Contrary to Horikita, she wasn't arrogant, which was her biggest advantage.

Had I asked Horikita if she believed Yamauchi was the culprit, she would have said yes ten out of ten times because she thought of him as nothing but an idiot. Matsushita was different. She noted that he was an idiot, but not to this degree. She could perceive that he was likely set up and she might grasp onto what was going on.

"I'm not sure. I wouldn't say anyone of the girls would pull this off, but..."

"But?"

"Maybe one of the other classes?"

She was unsure about her statement, even though she was on the right track. I pushed her a little further to see where her thoughts would end up.

"But why would the other classes care whether we lost someone?"

"They shouldn't. Unless..."

She went quiet after that. I could see her eyes light up from time to time, as if she had grasped onto something. I stayed silent and observed the thought process of the young woman beside me. I was optimistic that she began to piece the puzzle together and could soon gleam into the truth.

"Unless?" I asked, after she kept quiet for almost a minute.

"N-nothing. I was just zoning out. Sorry about that."

She laughed it off like that and asked me a question in return. Matsushita was unwilling to share her findings with me, but I couldn't tell why.

"How many points do you have at the moment?"

"Me? Around 90.000 I think, why?"

"Ahh, just wondering if you are a big spender like most of our other classmates, but that doesn't seem to be the case. You should probably keep it that way. It's a good habit to be more frugal."

A clear warning that I should be mindful of my points. But why won't you state your thoughts, Matsushita?

"Oh. Yeah, guess you're right. I'll bear it in mind."

She nodded before standing up and stretching.

"Uwaaah, so tired..." She made a cute yawn that made her eyes water a little. "I'll head back to the dorms. You coming?"

"Oh, no. I'll stay here for a moment longer."

"Alright. See you tomorrow, Ayanokouji-kun."

"Mh. See you Matsushita."

We waved each other goodbye before she vanished between the stores. She was quite intelligent, but hid herself for a still unfamiliar reason. I couldn't judge her academical knowledge, but she shouldn't have any problems to attain good grades from what I had gathered so far. Would she tell anyone in our class what she had surmised? I had an inkling that she wouldn't, but it was enough for me to know that she saw through some mysteries this school hid.

I kept savouring the fresh air for a couple of minutes before wandering towards the dorms as well. On my way to the elevator, I noticed Kouenji, who also made his way over.

"If it isn't Ayanokouji-boy."

"Good evening, Kouenji."

I wasn't sure how I was supposed to talk to him. He had a unique attitude, so I judged it was better to just keep quiet. He, however, had other plans.

"You were quite calm before Ayanokouji-boy." His eyes narrowed somewhat.

"Oh, that. I was just —"

"Overwhelmed, yes? I overheard your little talk with the Princess-girl. You might have fooled her, but don't think your little lies would work on me, ordinary-student-kun."

Yes, Kouenji Rokusuke was a pain to deal with. I couldn't get a good read on him other than that he excelled in almost everything he did. He should have the same problem, however. Due to his flippant attitude and his general disinterest in anything other than himself, he wasn't a threat or someone I should worry about just yet.

"You were quite calm yourself, Kouenji."

"Naturally, a perfect existence such as myself doesn't need to steal underwear of young maidens. They will throw them my way on their own volition."

I wasn't sure if I should believe what he said, but I hoped the elevator would move faster. Listening to him was rather exhausting. But I was curious...

"You don't seem to believe me that I was overwhelmed. Do you think that I had something to do with this as well?"

He glanced at me with disinterest. "I don't doubt your innocence due to the time constraints. But you are quite the mystery."

This somewhat confirmed my assumption that he also thought that another class could have set us up.

Ding!

Just as I'd hoped, the elevator stopped on the fourth floor.

"Goodbye. Ayanokouji-boy."

I said my farewells to Kouenji and went into my room. I checked my phone, but I didn't receive any messages. It was a rough day for sure, and tomorrow would be on the same level. Yamauchi's expulsion would leave a deep mark on the students who would remain. I was certain that Hirata wouldn't sacrifice himself. He and Kushida would need to keep the class together for the foreseeable future.

I moved over to the board on the table and gazed at the three pieces currently placed. I swapped the red pawn on h4 with a freshly placed green one before throwing the former into the trash can.

- Word Count: 12139 / 54680 Characters

Released 02.04.2022

Chapter 4 - Bare King

"Your classmate, Yamauchi Haruki, was expelled. He left the school's premises around an hour ago."

This bombshell was dropped on us during homeroom of the next day. The whole class was immediately silenced because of it. Some of the smarter students already assumed that he might have been expelled after he didn't show up before class started, but this was the final confirmation that the student named Yamauchi Haruki was no more. The most revealing fact was, however, that his desk was gone, which nobody seemed to have processed just yet.

Hirata shook visibly upon hearing those words. His hands clenched into fists and his face would surely look similar to yesterday. Every single student was affected by this news, except for Kouenji, who apparently couldn't care less. As expected of someone who only paid attention to himself, he admired his reflection in the mirror while the rest of the class kept quiet due to the overwhelming nature of this statement.

The lessons passed quickly.

It was the first time that my classmates were silent and listened to Chabashira-sensei and the other instructors during their lectures. At least they seemed as if they were listening. Most of them were still processing that they had just lost one of their companions. My pieces started taking this school more seriously, even if they weren't aware of it yet. Just like they noted that the teachers wouldn't care about phone usage or sleeping during classes, they realized that students will be expelled without mercy if the schools deemed this as proper punishment.

I wondered how long this 'self-reflection' would hold up.

Due to the shock, I'd say about a week until a few students would drift back into their usual behavioral pattern of sleeping and phone usage. This was enough time for most people to suppress this bad memory and realize that it was no use in behaving differently to before, since nothing had changed for them.

The closest friends of Yamauchi, Ike and Sudou were the most affected by this sudden announcement. During class, Sudou seemed in thought, probably reflecting about the way he had acted, the outbursts, and his violent behavior. He might try to change himself, but will without a doubt fail hundreds of times before finding the right path. Ike was as pale as a sheet of paper. 'This could have been me,' was the likeliest thought to twist and turn around in his head, as he was the one who behaved most similar to the classmate we had lost.

As our math lesson ended, I took a quick peek towards my neighbor. She was calm as expected, almost happy even. If I were to ask what cheered her up so much, she'd likely answer something like 'Yamauchi is gone, that makes one useless person less in class, so why wouldn't I be delighted?'

The girls surrounded Hirata and tried to invite him to the cafeteria, but he rejected all of their invitations and told them to leave him alone for a while. He wasn't rude in his wording, but every girl realized that he needed some time to figure things out for himself.

It was a good decision that I told him my thoughts about Yamauchi's punishment yesterday. Even if he had noticed the fact himself, he wasn't brave enough to voice or even think about it. Due to my words, he somehow managed to come to terms with the fact that we'd lose Yamauchi today, which lessened the impact to a considerable degree.

His fan club was understandably saddened, but they soon decided that they would leave him alone for today and cheer him up even more tomorrow. He was and would be an integral part of this class, since he was one of the few people who could ensure that Class D ran smoothly.

Those were some great friends, huh? I wondered if I would have this much luck with my future friends. I had some already, of course, but I didn't plan on stopping with them. I wanted to get to know as many people as I could and become friends with them, if possible.

"Ayanokouji-kun, you comin?"

Karuizawa's delicate voice woke me up from my trance. The usual suspects, meaning she, Matsushita and Satou, glanced at me with questioning expressions. They already had the bags in their hands and were ready to run off any time.

"Yeah, sure. Just give me a second."

I started packing up my stuff while they began to chat about clothes and stuff like that. Their conversation drifted into the hallway until I couldn't hear them anymore. After I was done grabbing my materials and stashing them inside my bag, I turned towards my lovely seatmate.

Once again, I was sure that I was going to regret what I was about to do.

"Horikita, do you want to join us for lunch as well?"

She glanced at me, completely taken aback, before rummaging through her bag. Her hand was wrapped around something sharp when it came back into view.

Was that a compass?!

"Who are you, and what did you do to Ayanokouji-kun?"

Was she seriously stealing my jokes now?

"Uh. I was just trying to be nice, you know?"

"If you wanted to be nice to me, you would leave me alone with such foolish questions. You are asking because you want to get on my nerves. Am I wrong?"

No, you are not.

"Yes, totally. I just feel bad every time I see you alone."

"There is no need to. As I've repeatedly stated, I'm perfectly happy on my own."

"Suit yourself then."

I shrugged, grabbed my bag and moved towards the door. Before I left the room, Kushida ran up to Horikita and asked her if she wanted to join their group for lunch. The ice queen, as expected, replied in a cold and apathetic voice. I felt that there was something going on between them, but I wasn't sure what it was.

Kushida was extremely fixated on Horikita to a degree where it almost bordered on obsession. For the latter, it was the total opposite. She was colder to Class D's sweetheart than anyone else who tried talking to her, even if that was mostly me. Sudou, whom she despised, didn't get this much of a cold shoulder from Horikita if they talked due to my presence.

Her blatant disregard for Kushida wasn't a gradual process either, but an immediate one. It was as if —

Wait... am I the friend to make Sudou and Horikita friends of friends? I wasn't friends with either of them, but they were sometimes talking because of me, which made me the middle-man, just like Person B in the friends of a friend analogy. I felt my horizon of social relations widen ever so slightly.

"You're late Ayanokouji-kun. Come on, hurry. We are hungry."

Satou's nagging voice reached my ears. As I turned my head, I could see a cute pout on her face while Karuizawa and Matsushita nodded in agreement.

I felt glad that Hirata asked me to join them that day. Thanks to him, I got to know people I could refer to as friends. The concept was still alien to me, but the more time I spent with these people, the more pleasant it felt to be around them.

"Sorry about that. How about you go first and save us a spot? I just remembered that I wanted to ask Chabashira-sensei something about our lesson."

"Boo. You could've told us that sooner."

"You serious?"

"We'll save you a seat, Ayanokouji-kun."

Matsushita threw me a charming smile before the three of them walked to the cafeteria. My gaze lingered for a few seconds before I went towards the faculty rooms to find Chabashira-sensei.

My eyes alternated between the cost of the cafeteria meals and my current balance. It took around thirty seconds before I decided on one of the cheaper meals, which brought my balance down to 56.969 private points. I swiftly took my tray and headed for the table with the empty seat that the others had saved for me. While we were eating and chatting about this and that, Satou started a rather serious topic.

"So what do you all think about Yamauchi's expulsion?"

"Well, he had it coming, didn't he? I'm honestly glad he's gone. The way he had ogled us was disgusting."

Karuizawa was the first to voice her opinion, and she held nothing back. Even though her words were harsh, they should be the consensus amidst most, if not all, of the girls. I was just glad that they said nothing during our lessons. It probably wasn't out of consideration, but shock that the school went through with such a harsh punishment. If either the girls or the boys expressed their conflicting opinions about the incident, a civil war would break out without a doubt.

"I agree. It's good that it happened now as well. The other boys will be far more careful before they do anything weird. It might even be possible to join everyone the next time we have swimming lessons."

Matsushita approached that topic from a practical standpoint, rather than the emotional one which Karuizawa's remark represented. The boys would be much more vigilant with their words and actions from now on, even though I doubted that one of them would have done something like this.

"Mhm. You're right. Attending swim classes would be super nice during the warm weather."

"Yeah, maybe..."

While Matsushita and Satou were genuinely looking forward to swimming lessons, Karuizawa wasn't as excited. I couldn't understand why, however, as her physical appearance was charming and her estimated sizes were nothing to scoff at either.

Maybe she disliked the attention when she was wearing swimwear? I could understand her sentiments after yesterday. It was a massive compliment to my appearance that Kushida, Horikita and Matsushita were all interested in how I had attained my physique. And those were only the ones I had talked to. Being stared and examined by other people felt weird, however, even if I was used to similar procedures from the White Room.

After their exchange, three gazes turned towards my direction. I finished chewing and swallowed my food before answering in my trademark monotone voice.

"It was the likeliest outcome considering the gravity of his offence, so I guess he got what he deserved, just like Karuizawa said."

My opinion was in line with their sentiments, even though I believed that only Matsushita understood that something was off about the whole ordeal. Since she hadn't voiced her opinion in front of them, I decided to follow her lead. I was kind of glad that she hadn't informed them about her findings either, since I wasn't the only one she kept out of the loop. This meant that she wasn't distrustful towards me in particular, but careful overall.

Which reminded me, Kouenji called her princess yesterday. What was that all about?

"How many points do you all have left? I'm curious if I am the only one with bad spending habits."

The other two laughed upon hearing Matsushita's question. The bracelet on Karuizawa's arm jingled as her fingers formed a peace sign. She had some cute straps hanging from her bag as well, which must've cost quite a lot. A bright, cheerful smile formed on her face, one that you would expect from a gyaru, as she winked at us.

"I have around 17.000 left."

"It's 28.302 for me."

Satou stuck out her tongue. She playfully teased Karuizawa, who had fewer points. Her grin was mischievous yet charming and radiated a youthful atmosphere.

"Well, I told you yesterday that I still have around 90.000, so there wasn't much change to that."

Since I had already lied to her yesterday, I should keep up appearances and stay true to the number I had given her. If there were huge fluctuations in my story, she'd only suspect me.

"What?"

"Ayanokouji-kun, you serious?"

Both Satou and Karuizawa looked aghast. Their smiles and the peace sign faded into obscurity as they revealed surprised expressions. Even their accessories stopped chinking as their momentum halted.

I didn't understand why, however. According to their points, I should be the shocked party at this table. Just what did they buy to spend almost all their points in around a week? Ike and cohorts weren't any better, so I guess I might be the oddity after all. I wondered how they'd fare next month since I didn't believe that we would get 100.000 points. Even half would be a generous estimate.

"Wow, you are horrible spenders! I thought I was bad, having spent around half my points already."

"Huh? You too Matsushita-san? What the hell?!"

The two of them seemed lost. They glanced at each other with worried expressions before falling into a fit of laughter.

"Well anyway, it like just a few more weeks, right? I have enough points to survive until we get our next 100.000!"

"Dayone?"

Karuizawa posed proudly, whereupon Satou nodded as well. The two slurped on their drinks and talked about what to spend their money on in the coming months. Matsushita forced a wry smile, but said nothing about their horrible spending habits.

Would she have warned them if they had more points? She advised me, so it wouldn't be weird if she cautioned her other friends as well. This behavior would also fit into the profile I had created for Matsushita.

I glanced at the vultures of bankruptcy and their cheerful faces and shook my head, a thin smile on my face.

They wouldn't have listened anyway, I guess.

"Hirata-kun looks kinda down. Don't you think?"

Our gazes followed Karuizawa's line of sight until we found him sitting alone at a nearby table. He poked into his meal without eating and just moved the food around on the tray with an exhausted expression. He seemed hopeless, tired, and desperate.

I felt horrible that I couldn't do anything to cheer him up, especially after he gifted me people I could call friends. But there wasn't anything I could do in the current situation other than cheer him on with my thoughts.

"Should we go talk to him?"

Karuizawa nodded upon hearing Satou's suggestion, ready to stand up. Matsushita held both of them back, however.

"Wait. We should leave him be for today. Ever since he heard that Yamauchi was expelled, he's been feeling down. Let's give him some time and talk to him tomorrow. You haven't forgotten that he asked us to be left alone today, right?"

With somewhat pained expressions, the two girls sat back down.

"Huuh. Fine. I guess you are right. He wouldn't have said this if he didn't mean it, I guess." Karuizawa switched the topic to something more uplifting after glancing at me. "Ayanokouji-kun, say. What's up with that Horikita? Are you guys close or something? You keep talking to her even though she keeps messing with you."

Close, huh? I wouldn't call us close, but compared to the rest of the class, I was certainly quite comfortable with her. She wasn't the easiest to deal with, but I enjoyed the time I spent with her.

Most of the time.

Karuizawa must've seen me talk to Horikita again, even though she told me to just ignore her yesterday. She wouldn't insist on avoiding her, but she'd be curious why I was still starting conversations with the ice queen after she kept hurting me with my non-existent friends.

"Not particularly. She prefers being alone. We just mess with each other for fun, I guess."

I shook my drink, which had been delicious but was now empty, and placed it on my tray with a disappointed look.

"Hmm. Really? You are the only one that's really talking to her. And quite a lot at that." Satou said, glancing at me with suspicion.

Somehow, I had a bad feeling about this conversation.

"Well, she talked to Sudou before, so I'm not the only one."

"Really? What did they talk about?"

"Uhh. Well.."

I averted my gaze, catching sight of Matsushita's drink, which had around one fourth left, according to the shade of the liquid inside. The three of them found this reaction funny, or so it seemed, as their laughs rang through the cafeteria soon after.

"See? You are basically the only one she talks to."

"I guess if you put it that way. But it's not like we are close or anything."

"We should head back to class. But Ayanokouji-kun..."

Satou's smirk scared me.

"...our interrogation is not over yet."

Matsushita sent me a look full of pity upon hearing Karuizawa's and Satou's combined announcement. The four of us stood and disposed of our meal trays. The two vultures in our group talked about the newest gossip and their plans for today, while Matsushita peeked at me.

"Do you want the rest?"

She shook her drink, which was the same flavor as mine, and threw me a questioning gaze. The liquid splashed around inside with a satisfying sound, and I couldn't help but acknowledge her goodwill with a thin smile.

"If you don't mind. Thanks, Matsushita."

Grateful for her generous offer, I took the drink and put the straw into my mouth before taking a sip.

"Eh... This..." Her cheeks turned into a light pink as she averted her eyes.

"Mh?" I glanced at her with the straw still in my mouth.

Did I do something wrong? Wasn't I supposed to take it? I didn't fail some weird test, did I? I thought she noticed that I wanted more and offered me the rest of hers because of it.

"No- nothing."

I tilted my head, confused by her weird yet adorable reactions.

"Oh! Ayanokouji-kun, I was looking for you."

Every boy would be happy to hear a sentence like this, especially if the one saying it was the angel of our class, Kushida Kikyou. Even if I had a hunch that something was wrong with her, I couldn't help but feel elated that she was waiting for me with such a lovely expression.

Her short, straight, dyed-brown hair framed her cute face perfectly. She was almost prettier in her school uniform than in the swimsuit, which was a testament to how incredible she looked. Her skirt was extremely short, though. One gust of wind and everyone could see what she was wearing underneath.

I wondered why the school thought it was a good idea to approve such short skirts. Did they want all the perverts to drop out in the first week? How cruel!

Matsushita, Karuizawa and Satou went ahead into the room as I strolled over to Kushida. They glanced at me and discussed something in hushed voices, but I couldn't understand them due to the distance between us.

"Do you need something from me?"

It was weird that she was talking to me, since she never really sought me out on her own volition. If I had to guess, then there was only one reason she would look for me. My ice cold neighbor, Horikita Suzune.

"Um." She nodded, while making a cute sound. Girls should really be prohibited from using this technique. "The thing is, I'm kind of worried about Horikita-san. You are a friend of hers, right?"

"I wouldn't say we are friends. According to her, she doesn't want any. We are casual acquaintances at most. Why?"

"Well, in our introductions on the first day, I said that I wanted to be friends with everyone. Now, with all that has happened with Yamauchi-kun, I feel like she shouldn't be alone. You know?"

"That's good and all, but isn't that her decision to make? If she wants to be alone, I think it's better to leave her be and respect her wishes."

"Hmm, maybe, but I won't give up in trying to befriend her! She just doesn't know how great it is to have lots of friends. Especially during sad times." A bright smile followed her words, which reinforced every single sound that had previously left her supple, red lips.

It was a fact that close relationships were helpful for people when they were going through a rough patch. Not only would the person in question have someone to lean on and talk to, but they would also be eternally grateful and remember such times fondly, even if they were brought on by something bad.

But I really doubted that Horikita, of all people, was having a hard time because of Yamauchi's expulsion.

"Still, you seem to be on rather good terms with her. Do you guys know each other from before, perhaps?"

Kushida kept the conversation that I had already finished in my mind alive. This question was rather out of the blue and left a weird aftertaste. It almost felt like she was fishing for information.

"Nothing like that. We just coincidentally met a few times after coming here. We are not really friends."

"Mhh. Can I have your number, Ayanokouji-kun?"

Stop beating so fast, heart. You are embarrassing me. What if she heard? Please stop!

I calmed my frenzied muscle and nodded as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

"Yeah, sure."

Since the bell was about to ring, we exchanged our contact information in a hurry and entered the class before the teacher walked in. Horikita wanted to say something upon noticing me, but left her questions for later, as the instructor in question arrived and began his lesson.

Even though the lecture was boring, the room was quiet, and everyone seemed more or less focused on the subject. It didn't take long until the bell rang once again, and the teacher left. The demon beside me spoke up without turning her head.

"I couldn't help but notice that you were talking with Kushida-san."

"Is there a deeper meaning behind that statement?"

"I had that uneasy feeling that she was talking about me."

Wow, she's good.

"She was, actually."

"Did she ask you something stupid, like helping her to make me a friend or something?"

"Uhm, no. How'd you get that idea?"

"Just a feeling. If she ever does, tell her no. I'll be taking my leave now. I have a book to finish. Goodbye, Ayanokouji-kun."

"Oh, sure. Bye Horikita."

She then packed up her things and left without another word. Our chats were always similar. Most of the time, she didn't even glance at me while we were talking. The people in this school I had the most conversations with would be her and Matsushita, without a doubt.

Oddly enough, I enjoyed conversing with both of them, even though Horikita was cold like the bleak midwinter. Compared to her, Matsushita was like a summer breeze that swept through the room. A nice fragrance, and a warm, welcoming attitude.

Speaking of Matsushita, she and the other two girls were going to visit the karaoke stalls with a few of our classmates. They invited me as well, but I declined, saying that I had something to take care of. It wasn't a lie, but I also didn't want to sing if I was being honest.

Aside from that, they mentioned that some Class B students would join as well. If it's them, Ichinose would likely be part of the group. I already had a revenge plan mapped out, but I could only implement it under specific circumstances. It wasn't the only one I came up with, but I'd like to try that specific one because I could learn a lot during its execution.

I gathered my materials and strolled out of the classroom with a clear goal in mind. To my surprise, Kushida stood near a window with her bag in hand, waiting for me.

Beautiful...

"Ayanokouji-kun!" She waved with a bright smile, which was strangely contagious.

It didn't take long for me to realize that she wanted to keep talking about Horikita. Her guilt-ridden face betrayed her thoughts without the need to voice them.

"So, about what we were discussing earlier..."

Her tone softened as her small hands flashed forward, grasping one of mine. I could have naturally dodged her attack, but I chose not to. Her palms were smaller than mine and incredibly warm. They weren't moist or anything, just very pleasant to hold, and I wished that she wouldn't let go.

"Won't you help me make friends with Horikita-san?"

She showed off the full might of her arsenal in quick succession. Her small, delicate hands caressed mine while slowly leading them towards her brea.. cough, heart. She looked like a puppy asking for forgiveness from her owner. Her sweet fragrance tingled my nose and her cute voice soothed my mind just by hearing it.

Those were two more attacks I couldn't dodge.

Or rather, I didn't want to.

These simple motions were used to perfection to accomplish her goal. If not for the reservations I had in my mind, I might have fallen captive for this angel before me. That is how much play the girl known as Kushida Kikyou had. Her forceful yet charming gestures, beautiful voice, innocent actions and positive words were nothing short of mesmerizing.

"Uh... I don't think I should."

"So that means... you can't help me?"

I couldn't deny that I was tempted to pat her head because of the adorable way she turned up her eyes at me. Her current attitude, however, threw me between a rock and a hard place. On one side, there was the sweet angelic Kushida that wanted to make Horikita her friend, no matter the cost. On the other was the cold and honestly quite scary Horikita, that wanted nothing but to be left alone.

That I disliked trouble wasn't a lie. But no matter what I decided, trouble would eventually brew. If I declined now and Kushida faced her friends in a saddened state, I would have committed social suicide. If I accepted and somehow tricked Horikita into giving Kushida another chance, I would likely be beaten to death at that point. In the end, everything considered, the choice was quite simple.

"I'll help you once. If Horikita still declines, then there is nothing I can do for you."

"Really? Thank you so much, Ayanokouji-kun."

She was so happy that she jumped up a few times. The bright expression on her face was overshadowed by certain other parts of her body. Her assets bounced around hypnotically, and I couldn't help but avert my eyes to keep myself in check.

I needed a distraction.

"So, how do you want to go about this?"

"Mhmmm."

The cute sound she made rang through the silent hallway. She put her index finger on her chin and glanced at me with upturned eyes while thinking about her next move. Kushida's lips throbbed ever so slightly when she finished the first step of her plan.

"You heard about Palate, right? I'm going there often with my friends, so it wouldn't be weird if we coincidentally met there. Do you think you could invite her?"

Palate was the name of one of the most popular cafes on campus. If I knew that, even Horikita should. It's a famous hotspot for girls after class. If a boy were to show up there alone, it would be extremely weird. Only the social elite gathered there. Someone like me, and in extension to this, someone like Horikita would be completely out of place in such a high traffic establishment.

"I can certainly try, but I'm not sure if she would meet up with me. We are not exactly friends after all. We met by coincidence and somehow ended up like this, so it wouldn't be weird if she just declined."

"I have faith in you, Ayanokouji-kun! Every first meeting is a coincidence, is it not? Those chance meetings might then evolve into friends, best friends or even lovers."

I wouldn't be going that far with your hopes. Horikita and I being lovers?

Before that happened, the sun would start orbiting around earth. But somehow she was right. It was a very positive outlook, of course, but there was a tiny chance that something like love would bloom from such a chance meeting. Horikita was, however, the girl with the lowest possible chance to end up with me, solely because of her cold, uncaring attitude.

I also doubted that she would change much, so our relationship as acquaintances was set in stone. For Kushida, it would be just as unlikely. A person who was friends with everyone had no chance to love someone. Taking Ike as an example, if Kushida were to go out with someone else, he would be furious. Kushida's goal of being friends with everyone would end at that point.

"I'll try. Would the day after tomorrow be alright with you? Classes already ended for today and I'm meeting with some friends tomorrow."

I had nothing arranged with friends tomorrow, but there were two reasons it would be a bad day. One: Horikita had just told me that I shouldn't help Kushida. If I immediately were to set her up tomorrow, she would never forgive me. And two: I wanted to monitor Hirata. If he kept spiraling downward further, I needed to catch him before he hit the ground and self-destructed.

Now that I thought about it, wasn't Horikita like damn scary? She already knew what Kushida was planning before she even talked to me. How could she be so insightful and yet so ignorant of the important issues?

"Mh, sure. That's alright. Thank you, Ayanokouji-kun."

After my talk with Kushida, I headed to the library. I wanted to visit this place sooner, but due to everything that had happened the past few days, I hadn't found the time. The school boasted about how large and complete their selection of books was and I really wanted to see for myself if those words were just empty promises or the real deal.

On my way over, a girl from my class, Sakura Airi, wandered past me. She clasped her camera in both hands and ran somewhere in a hurry. She hadn't noticed me, as she was habitually gazing at the ground, which was clear evidence of her insecurity.

I knew little about her, but she seemed to like photography. Besides that, she was the girl rumored to have the second largest breasts in class, falling short to Hasebe Haruka. On another note, her glasses were fake. There was no distortion, and the lenses were far too thin to help in any capacity. I didn't know why she wore them, but I assumed it was some kind of fashion trend that went past me.

I could pick Matsushita's brain about it, but she would wonder why I was asking such a weird question and I might have to explain myself. It was already plenty dangerous when she told me that Karuizawa had nothing to do with gravimetry. Like at all.

A moment later, I ran into yet another person. Her eyes lit up when she noticed me between the other students and she raised her arm to wave at me. It was always pleasant to see her, but she and I were on a path straight to war.

"Ayanokouji-kun~."

Ichinose Honami called out to me, which forced all the attention of the surrounding students towards us. She closed in with quick steps and bend forward before turning her head towards me.

"Where are you headed?"

"Just on my way to visit the library. Nothing too exciting."

I examined her gentle expression while taking a step forward.

"Mhm, studying it is, huh? Are you good in school?"

No reaction, huh?

"I wouldn't say I'm particularly good or bad. Just average."

"We are doing study groups with our class. Or rather, we are planning to hold a few next week. If you have problems understanding something, just ask me. You can always come over as well."

She patted her chest with a proud bearing and looked up at me. Her smile was vibrant and genuine, as always. I wondered if it was hard keeping such a lively attitude up day after day. Asking such a question would be rude, however. I had seen her multiple times in the cafeteria or stroll around with friends, and she always wore the same lovely expression.

"I think I would feel a little out of place barging into Class B's study session."

"Hmm, you might be right, but our class is really outgoing and friendly, so I don't think they would mistreat you or anything."

"That's probably due to your influence, Ichinose. You're always in a good mood and set a positive example for the other students in your class. With someone else at the forefront, this might be entirely different."

"You are talking about Class C, right? I heard Ryuuen-kun is a delinquent, and the class seems to behave quite bad as well. Most of them don't even want to talk to me." She scratched her chin with a shy laugh.

Class C and Ryuuen, huh?

I never heard about him or his class, since I hadn't branched out from mine yet. As expected, Ichinose was a good source for information. As long as she thought that I was harmless, her guard would be lowered. I could extract any relevant information and move on without revealing the fact that I was interrogating her.

"As expected of you. You know your way around the people in the first year."

She let out an adorable chuckle, which betrayed her embarrassment about the compliment.

"I just like getting to know people. I don't think they are a bad bunch per se. They just need some time to acclimate to the changes this school brings. Are you doing fine so far?"

"I'm managing. It is indeed different from what I was used to before. But I think it's a nice change of pace. What about you, Ichinose?"

She didn't know about Yamauchi yet, which was to be expected seeing how he was just expelled this morning. Ichinose should have been on her way to the karaoke parlor, which meant that she'll meet up with at least six Class D students.

Matsushita was sharp enough to keep this information to herself, but I wasn't sure about Karuizawa and Satou. Even less about the rest of them, since I didn't know who they were. If Karuizawa behaved the way she was in class, she'd definitely complain about him before mentioning that he got expelled. Satou was another wildcard, but wouldn't disclose such information without being prompted by someone first.

"I miss my mother and sister, but I'm overjoyed to be here." Ichinose was about to elaborate further, but her phone vibrated. "Ah, sorry. But I need to get this real quick."

I nodded, to which she bowed before turning around to take the call. Ichinose apologized about being late with a laugh, saying that she ran into a friend. The other side was understanding but told her to hurry, according to her answer.

This warmed my heart. It seemed rather easy to do so now that I thought about it. Whenever someone called me friend, I felt happy. Or maybe something more...? I couldn't quite put it into words. It was a nice and warm feeling that wouldn't let up.

Ichinose told the person on the other end that she was coming and ended the call before turning back to me with an apologetic expression.

"I'm so sorry Ayanokouji-kun, but I'll have to go. I was just reprimanded for being late." She faced me with a wry, yet bright smile. "Do you perhaps want to join us? We are meeting up with some Class D students at the karaoke parlor, so you wouldn't feel out of place."

What a sly girl. Not even mentioning that all the Class D 'students' were females. The same probably went for her classmates. Did she do that on purpose, by chance?

"No worries, sorry for holding you up. I still have my date with the school materials, unfortunately. See you later, Ichinose."

"Oh, you didn't hold me up or anything. Ahh, wait a second."

She said as I was about to turn. Ichinose held out her phone with a gaze full of expectation. All I could do was stare at it in confusion.

Did she want me to grab it? Was this some kind of test? I failed one already, but they just kept coming, huh? What should I do?

She seemed to have noticed my bewilderment as a brilliant smile spread over her face.

"Don't you want to exchange numbers?"

Oh, that.

Her actions made sense after receiving this crucial piece of information. We exchanged numbers before she once again apologized for having to leave and ran off while waving goodbye.

I reviewed the contact list in my phone and recognized a glaring flaw. The people saved in my phone... they were only girls. The sole exception to this was Hirata. I also had the numbers of a few other boys in class due to the group chat Ike invited me to, but I never got their numbers privately, so they didn't count.

I made my way over to the library while ruminating about this problem. Was it a problem, though? I should try to make some male friends since only being friends with girls could be interpreted in a wrong way from someone like Ike. I was agonizing over asking Matsushita, but I didn't want to rely on her all the time.

Sometimes I had to figure things out for myself. And after the Karuizawa fiasco, I wasn't sure if I could keep picking her brain without feeling bad about my stupidity with certain topics. There was still a long way to go for the so-called demon of the fourth generation, but I wouldn't give up to learn everything there is to learn about being a decent human being.

After a short trip, I reached the library building and stepped inside. Rows upon rows of books were stacked on the shelves ordered by genre. Most students in the library seemed to be second years, judging by their behavior. They knew their way around, quickly finding what they were looking for. Tables were placed all around the library to study in a group or read stories together. A considerable amount of people were studying here, likely second and third years, reviewing what they had learned so far.

I wasn't able to recognize anyone. The chance was pretty slim to begin with, but there was still a possibility that I'd run into someone I knew. I strolled over to the history section and grabbed a Japanese history book which contained more information about the lesson we had today. I quickly found myself a seat in the corner as well, which gave me a perfect view of the library.

While I was pretending to read the book, I observed the surrounding people. The students who walked in as well as the ones who walked out. The ones who learned, and the ones who read a novel to submerge themselves into a foreign, unfamiliar world. I evaluated all of them based on their body language, pose and conversations, if they had any.

A few moments later, my ears picked up a snide remark from the side.

"Everywhere I go, I see your face."

"You miss me that much, huh?"

I lifted my head to greet the ice queen, who had lowered herself to my level in order to speak with me. She once again rummaged through her bag and soon pulled out her trusty compass. It was weird how the two of us were running into each other all the time.

Was I cursed, perhaps?

"You give yourself too much credit. It's more like seeing one of those annoying movie posters on every corner, you know?"

"You don't like movies? I thought someone who doesn't need friends would have a lot of time enjoying such entertainment."

Her face contorted in what seemed to be disappointment.

"Movies might be entertainment for someone like you, but they aren't for me. I prefer books, which reminds me about my reason of being here."

She looked around the library, searching for something.

Horikita must have finished 'Crime and Punishment'. I could have given her a few recommendations. I might have even shown her the way to the genre she most likely wanted to read. But I chose not to. She wasn't very kind to me, so I didn't see any reason to help her if it didn't benefit me.

As I was thinking about that, her gaze turned towards the book in my hand.

"Why are you reading about something we have learned today? Didn't you listen?"

"I had trouble understanding some things, so I grabbed this book to clarify. Didn't you see me talk to Chabashira-sensei? I asked her about some recommendations and this is what she came up with."

I needed a suitable reason to sit here and observe the surrounding people, which is why I began to set everything into place before coming here. Even if someone investigated my movements for whatever reason, they would only conclude that I told them the truth and leave it at that.

"Hmph. At least you know that you are an idiot, which is much better than the likes of Ike and Sudou. I'd offer to help you, but you might think that I'm trying to befriend you or something ridiculous like that."

"I would never think something that scandalous. Am I right in my assumption that you would teach me now?"

She kept gazing around while we were bantering. Her eyes flickered for a moment.

"You wish. I found what I was looking for, so that's goodbye for now, Ayanokouji-kun."

"Goodbye Horikita. Have a nice day."

A short moment later, I saw her walk out of the library, book in hand. Unfortunately, I couldn't tell which one since she was grabbing it in a way that made it impossible to read the title or author. More time passed, and I roughly sorted every student to a specific class. I couldn't know for certain which year they were in, but the classes themselves were definitely doable.

There was a group of people being looked down upon by the surrounding ones, which should make them Class 2- or 3-D. The other classes were aware of the hierarchy in this school, so it was easy to sort them just by the glances and similar actions. Most of the students seemed to be in the C and D classes, while some A and B students were present as well.

Seeing them act all high and mighty, I wondered about Class 1-A.

Had they already figured out the truth about this school? Or were they on the same level as Ichinose? She realized that something was off and was careful for now. Would she change once everything was revealed?

What about Class 1-C? Ryuuen could be a run-of-the-mill delinquent without a clue what was happening around him. Or he might just test the waters to see what exactly he could get away with before our competition started.

Did he set up Yamauchi?

This was a possibility, but I couldn't be certain. There were simply too many unknown variables to reach a definite conclusion. Our seniors could also have an interest in the first-years, depending on the rules of this school. It was possible that one of them acted before the first-years could.

Maybe it was an introduction, a proof of concept, of sorts.

As I was about to return the book where it belonged, a silver-haired girl entered the area. It was beautifully tied with two black ribbons, one right and one left, respectively. She curiously gazed around the library, which immediately betrayed her as a first-year student. The newcomer ambled around and kept reading the labels until she stopped in front of the mystery section.

Wow...

The beauty started reading the book's title's one by one until she grabbed a novel with a slightly confused expression. She then moved further down the shelf, took another volume and placed the first book on the now vacant spot. This went on for around three minutes until she nodded to herself in a satisfied manner. After grabbing yet another three novels, the girl placed them all on a double table and began to read.

... she's gorgeous.

I stood and placed the history book back on the shelf from which I had grabbed it before and made my way outside.

With any luck, I found exactly what I was looking for. This girl was neither in Class B nor D, since I remembered every student in both classes, at least from their appearance. This lead me to the conclusion that she was a Class A or C student.

It would be great if she were in Class A, which would make her a perfect candidate to gather some information from. If she turned out to be in Class C, I needed to be careful about the person called Ryuuen who, at the moment, seemed to be the most fun to play with according to the tidbits I had gathered.

But if I was being honest with myself, I wanted to get to know her for the books she had decided on.

After reaching my room, I prepared something to eat and took a shower. It was refreshing to do these things whenever I wanted. Eat whenever I felt hungry, drink whenever I got thirsty... The list went on. It was different to the White Room. Almost like another life altogether. It seemed weird to appreciate such mundane, 'normal' things, but I couldn't help myself.

They were natural for everyone, but special for me. Even this new routine would only last for the next three years. Of course, I would try to keep my freedom for longer than that, but I was not sure if I would be able to, with him on my back. He was powerful, and I was nothing but a specimen. A successful one, according to the doctors and researchers, but in the end I was nothing more than a collection of numbers, statistics and data for that man to impress the investors with.

Heaving a small sigh, I made my way over to the board in the room's corner. My fingers slid over the green pieces one by one until they reached the king. I grabbed him and positioned the figure on the board in his initial spot on the right. This wasn't the final move of today, however.

The queens, rooks, bishops, knights and pawns of the different colors. There were so many pieces I knew nothing about. This thought alone made me excited. Like a fog of war, my unawareness of the key figures in this game kept me from moving my pieces.

No, even if I knew all their hands, I couldn't use my pieces as I pleased since I currently held only one that I could operate freely. And that was...

My fingers once again moved, once again stopped above a certain piece. This time, however, it was a red one. The single piece that I currently had full control over. I grabbed the figure and placed him on his initial spot on the chessboard. Just like I was standing all alone in this world, the red king stood alone while towering over the other pieces.

Different from the other players, I had already lost one piece. One simple pawn, which would be the sole reason that others would soon follow.

Authors Note:

Once again a huge shout-out and my thanks to u/Iviera on Reddit for the Kushida coloring I was allowed to use. His works look far better than the official black and white versions I used before and I'm happy that I could swap them out with some neat colored ones!

- Word Count: 7959 / 35983 Characters

Released 09.04.2022

Chapter 4.5 - Gravimetry

I arrived at the designated place punctually, 10 minutes after my message, just as promised. It looked like this was a wise decision as the brown-haired boy who contacted me just threw away what seemed to be the leftovers of his dinner. I had told him that I'd answer his questions, but I didn't expect him to ask me twice in one day while I wasn't even able to answer his first one.

"It feels pretty unusual to get an invitation from you, Ayanokouji-kun. I thought you would just ask me via chat."

I greeted him with a smile and sat down beside him. He seemed the type to ask in the classroom or by chat, so it was indeed out of the ordinary. He was usually quiet and behaved like an introvert would most of the time. He began to warm up to Karuizawa-san and the rest of us, but he was still uncomfortable around most people.

Did I perhaps assess him wrong?

"I guess it's unusual. It's just that I'd like to see your face when we are talking."

"Huh?"

I felt my face burn up after hearing that sentence. This wasn't something he could just say to a girl. Wasn't Ayanokouji-kun aware of this?! No, wait. It's Ayanokouji-kun, after all. He probably didn't know any better due to his upbringing.

"Did I say something weird again? I'm sorry about that."

His trademark monotone voice rang through the area. It was manly, and somehow mysterious. I couldn't help but enjoy listening to him for some strange reason.

Ayanokouji-kun mentioned that he had been homeschooled before, but I didn't expect his social abilities to be this bad. I wondered if I should warn him about the dangers of saying such things to a girl. The reactions would differ vastly, depending on the person. Some would dislike his open and honest approach, while others...

"Ah, no. Not at all, just a little unexpected." I waved my hand as if it was nothing, pushing those thoughts deeper in the back of my mind. "A-anyway, what were you about to ask me, Ayanokouji-kun?"

"About that. Today was really scary, huh?"

"You mean swim class? Yeah, it was pretty heated. It was understandable, however."

"You were pretty calm, Matsushita, weren't you? Aside from Horikita, you seemed to be the only one who was cool-headed."

Cool-headed, he said... Was he...? No...

I wasn't as affected since none of my underwear was stolen, but I was still upset for the other girls. Stealing underwear of either sex was just wrong and should not be excused, no matter who did the deed. Doing nothing or behaving differently because of the circumstances would send a bad precedent as well.

Ever since Hirata-kun invited him to our group, I had watched Ayanokouji-kun with interest. Hirata-kun was a good guy, so I understood why he had invited him. He wanted to help Ayanokouji-kun find a place in our class, since he seemed sad or was even apathetic to most of the things that had happened. He bantered with Horikita-san a lot, but aside from that, he was quiet. Inconspicuous even.

His social abilities were almost non-existent, and he seemed kind of dorky in a cute way, walking into the wrong classroom on the second day. He wasn't a bad person, or indifferent, even though his expression always implied such a state of mind. Ayanokouji-kun had trouble expressing himself, and that was alright.

Today, however, something felt different. He appeared different. When everyone started yelling at each other, he kept quiet and didn't move an inch. He simply listened and observed. I couldn't help but grow even more curious about him.

"Hmm. Guess I was. I mean my stuff wasn't stolen, so it's easier to keep calm, I think? I was still upset, though. Talking about cool-headed, however, you were also pretty calm back then."

I gave him a playful sideway glance, as if I trapped him in a lie. My expression wasn't serious at all, but I wanted to know how he'd react to this accusation.

"Did I seem calm to you? I was overwhelmed, honestly. As you know, I'm not very good in social situations. A large group makes this even worse. Additionally, everyone was aggressive, so I felt more like a deer staring at headlights. I couldn't really think properly. Maybe that's why I seemed calm."

His reasoning was sound and fit perfectly to the person I came to know the past few days.

Was I overthinking things?

Probably.

Most likely.

He wasn't standing out, so why did I believe that he was calm rather than scared? My hypothesis was completely off, but I didn't know why.

Why would I want him to be something he wasn't?

I was confident in my intelligence. If I were to try, I was sure that I could beat around 90% of students in our year. So why would I ponder over something that made little sense? He has proven time and time again that he is just a simple high-schooler that had little experience with social interactions.

Why did I try to force him into another role? Why did I want him to be special?

For some unknown reason, I thought back to our swimming lesson. The time we had spent outside, when I felt up his muscles. They were firm, yet soft. It was unbelievable.

I banished these thoughts from my mind.

"So that's what it was, huh? I guess large groups can intimidate if you are not used to them."

Ayanokouji-kun played around with his fingers, which exposed his nervousness upon revealing his next question.

"What I really wanted to ask, though. Why didn't you mention that I could have been the culprit as well?"

This was a dangerous one to ask. From his perspective, I could have simply forgotten that he was in the locker room alone, which would prompt me to inform the teacher now. The position he put himself in with those few words was rather unfavorable. Yet, despite all of that, he asked me.

Did he trust me that much? Because I was his friend?

Friendship seemed important to him, as he smiled for the first time after we had called him our friend back in the classroom. He was surprised and his reaction was adorable after he realized that we were thinking of him in such a way. Even though it pained me to see him this happy about something so trivial, I couldn't help but wish that he'd smile again like this.

Gosh, stop it Chiaki! What was wrong with me today?

"Because I didn't believe you were. Even if I did, the time you would have had to pull this off was miniscule since I was with you almost the entire time you weren't in the pool area. It's physically impossible that it was you, hence I mentioned nothing."

"Do you believe Yamauchi is the culprit?"

"Honestly? I don't think he would be this stupid. Someone must have set him up, but I don't know who or why."

Yamauchi was a fool, yes. But not to this degree. It wasn't too far-fetched that Ike and Yamauchi might have tried something like this, but they wouldn't have done it in a way that left them no chances of escape. They are perverts and morons, but not complete idiots.

If I wasn't completely off with my assumption, they would have at most tried to film the girls while they were changing. They would have used a camera or something like that, which would have been harder to find out and impossible to trace once it was out of the changing room.

Yamauchi must've been set up. But other than that, I hit a brick wall. There were too many things I didn't understand.

"You think someone from our class would do something like that?"

That was a good question, one I had thought about a lot after class ended. Even if someone would want to set him up, they needed time for that. It was impossible for us girls, since we were all on the observation deck or swimming. The same, however, went for the boys who were in the pool area.

Ayanokouji-kun and I were the only people with an opportunity, but even that was only a possibility if we had worked together. Either of us alone wouldn't have had enough time to pull this off.

But that could only mean...

"I'm not sure. I wouldn't say anyone of the girls would pull this off, but..."

If it couldn't be anyone from our class...

"But?"

"Maybe one of the other classes?"

Damn it, Chiaki. You weren't supposed to say this out loud.

I chided myself for my carelessness and kept thinking about the only theory I could come up with, even if this hypothesis had its flaws. A certain highschool detective once said, 'When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.'

This statement held true in his world as well as the real one. It was unthinkable that someone from our class had set Yamauchi up, therefore the conclusion was simple.

"But why would the other classes care whether we lost someone?"

School had started a week ago, so it made little sense that someone held a grudge against him outside of our class, since we only had limited contact with the others.

"They shouldn't. Unless..."

... they had something to gain from it. But what?

Chabashira-sensei's words echoed in my mind.

'This school evaluates its students' talents.'

'The amount you've received reflects the evaluation of your worth'.

Our talents... our worth...

What if she meant this literally?

What would happen if our worth dwindled? If the amount of points reflected our worth, it meant that if we were to be worth less than before, we would get fewer points. This, by extension, meant that if we lose a student, we would lose his 'worth' as well.

But why would the other classes care about our worth? They shouldn't. Unless... it was a competition? About what? Our worth... Evaluation of the students' talents...

Don't tell me... The 100% employment guarantee?

"Unless?" the boy beside me asked, ripping me out of my turbulent thoughts.

I was talking too much...

"N-nothing. I was just zoning out. Sorry about that."

A laugh escaped my lips, hiding my thoughts and jumbled up feelings.

My current point balance was around 50.000. Since I wasn't friends with a ton of people, I hadn't spent as much as the other girls, but I had set up my room with a lot of stuff to create a comfortable living space for myself. If my conclusion was right, then it would be a good idea to save as much as possible before it was too late.

Should I warn the class?

No... I wasn't certain about my theory. Additionally, it would be of no use to us either way. The class was a mess and I would only stand out if I were to tell someone about my findings. First, I should calm down and observe. I can still plan my course of action once I know more.

My gaze wandered to Ayanokouji-kun, who sat beside me. He was glancing at me with a questioning gaze and a lightly tilted head, which looked somewhat charming.

As a friend, I should at least give him a few pieces of advice. Right?

"How many points do you have at the moment?"

"Me? Around 90.000 I think, why?"

The number of points was at the same time surprising, and not surprising at all. It was quite a large amount, but we've only been here for a week. Ayanokouji-kun also didn't seem like a lavish spender if compared to someone like Karuizawa-san who also had a lot of friends.

"Ahh, just wondering if you are a big spender like most of our other classmates, but that doesn't seem to be the case. You should probably keep it that way. It's a good habit to be more frugal."

"Oh. Yeah, guess you're right. I'll bear it in mind."

I nodded in approval before standing up to stretch my arms.

"Uwaaah, so tired..."

My eyes watered a little after my fake yawn, so I quickly rubbed over them.

I wasn't that tired, but I needed some alone time to think. My mind was a mess, and I needed to reexamine what I knew, what the teachers said and how the students behaved. There's also still Ayanokouji-kun's other question which I wanted to look into.

"I'll head back to the dorms. You coming?"

I turned to the brown-haired boy beside me with a smile on my face. Talking to him made me feel calm and relaxed, even though I couldn't put my finger on why this was the case. His presence was soothing and not at all bothersome, like it was the case with some of the other guys.

"Oh, no. I'll stay here for a moment longer."

His answer came quick. Monotone, as always. He said that he had trouble expressing himself and this still held true. I hoped that this could change. His smile was cute...

"Alright. See you tomorrow, Ayanokouji-kun."

"Mh. See you Matsushita."

I waved him goodbye before walking back towards the dorms. On my way over, I still couldn't properly wrap my head around today. I went through everything I knew. Again and again, I reached the same conclusion.

The classes would need to fight each other for the 100% employment guarantee. This was the only outcome that made sense. We already lost one of our classmates without realizing that we were competing, which is why I didn't have high hopes for our future.

After opening the door to my dorm room, I dropped my bag and fell face first into my warm and endlessly comfortable bed. My uniform would wrinkle, but I had to change it either way, so I wasn't concerned. I still had to shower too...

"I'm so done."

I flapped around with my feet, frustrated about today.

Our class was doomed, and I was the only person who knew. And what was that just now? Why was I so weird? I must really be tired, huh?

Ding!

With a defeated groan, I grabbed my phone, unlocked it, and turned my face to the side to read the message I received.

[07:33:12 PM[Karuizawa] Karaoke with us tomorrow? ()

I crawled forward until I arrived at my beloved pillow and turned around before typing my answer.

[07:34:28 PM] Who's us?

[07:34:59 PM[Karuizawa] Me, Satou, Kushida and some girls from Class B.

Kushida-san, huh? She wasn't usually in our group, but knowing her, she was probably invited by someone in Class B as well. I didn't like to get too close to people, but this would give me a chance to see how much the students in their class knew about this school. Information was key in my situation!

[07:36:02 PM] Sure, I'm in. (ᵔᵔ)

[07:36:09 PM] Girls only?

[07:37:12 PM[Karuizawa] Why? Do you want to invite Ayanokouji-kun as well? (ღღ)

Ayanokouji-kun?

I tilted my head, which felt like it rose in temperature from one second to the next.

[07:37:48 PM] Where does that come from?

[07:38:19 PM[Karuizawa] Satou saw you guys talking. All cozy and stuff. (_~)

[07:38:39 PM] He just wanted to ask something...

... that was all.

[07:38:51 PM[Karuizawa] Hai-hai ~

I pouted and was about to type something else as another message from her arrived.

[07:39:10 PM[Karuizawa] Only girls from Class D for now. Both boys and girls from Class B.

[07:39:31 PM[Karuizawa] I wanted to ask Hirata-kun and Ayanokouji-kun as well though. He seemed kind of down today; you know? Maybe this'll cheer him up. \(٥⁀⁀ )/

[07:40:12 PM] Hirata-kun, huh? ( ͡ ͜ʖ

[07:40:21 PM[Karuizawa] AHH, MOU!

I decided to end my teasing here and left my phone on the bed as I made my way over to the bathroom with a light chuckle. After a nice, warm shower, I rubbed myself dry and slung the towel around my body before walking back into the living room. I grabbed my bag and prepared the materials I'd need tomorrow before placing it on a nearby chair.

As I was on my way towards the bed to take care of the question Ayanokouji-kun had asked me, I noticed the sheet of paper I had prepared, which had slipped out and dropped to the ground. I picked it up and skimmed over it.

Karuizawa, gyaru, gal and gravimetry.

I still couldn't wrap my head around his question, though. After putting on my nightwear, I snuggled back inside my bed in a sitting position before opening the browser on the school-issued phone. A few lone water droplets ran along my skin as I tried to put myself in Ayanokouji-kun's position.

'ギャル'

The very first hit was likely the same that Ayanokouji-kun had read, since it contained the two English words; girl and gal. With this information, I made my next inquiry.

'Gal'

Most of the text was, understandably, in English. Luckily, I had no problems reading through the hits one by one. After every line I passed, I grew more confused.

'Gal - definition: girl, woman'

'GAL - Get A Life'

'gal - written abbreviation of gallon'

'gal - a girl, woman'

I couldn't find a single clue on how he managed to end up with something like gravimetry. I didn't even know what that was except that it probably had something to do with gravity, which I inferred by the name. After checking the next three pages with hits, and making sure none of the contents had anything to do with gravimetry, I changed my search term.

'gal gravimetry'

The first hit read 'Gal (unit)'.

I clicked on the link and read through the beginning of the page. From what I could gather gal was a deprecated unit of acceleration which was sometimes used in gravimetry.

How in the world did he find this without specifically typing it into the search bar? And before the hundreds of hits, that gal meant girl at that!

I closed the browser and opened a chat before typing away.

[08:04:03 PM] Can we talk?

I slung my moderately wet hair over my shoulder, laid back and rested the phone on my belly. A few minutes later, it vibrated and a loud sound rang through the room.

[08:07:18 PM[Ayanokouji] Of course. Did you forget something?

[08:08:43 PM] No, I just thought it would be funny if I start the conversation just like you did earlier.

[08:09:10 PM[Ayanokouji] I see. So what do you want?

I somehow felt like pouting. I didn't have the slightest clue why, though.

[08:10:03 PM] Shouldn't you be like all happy that your friend decided to text you this late because she wanted to answer your question? Greet me properly, would you?

[08:10:55 PM[Ayanokouji] I'm thrilled that my friend is texting me this late because she wanted to answer my question. It really is a pleasure, Matsushita-sensei.

I laughed and sent him a cute smiley because he wasn't being serious at all.

[08:11:32 PM] (・'ω'・)

I waited for a while, but he never replied upon receiving that kaomoji. Since I felt he was being awfully mean to me, I paid him back in kind.

[08:20:27 PM] Are you sleeping?

[08:20:28 PM] Brr

[08:20:29 PM] Brr

[08:20:30 PM] Brr

[08:11:32 PM[Matsushita] (・'ω'・)

What... was that?

I racked my brain but couldn't determine anything.

Was she having a stroke, perhaps?

No, the chance was almost nonexistent under ordinary circumstances. It would be an insult to her health if I were to ask her now. This wouldn't do. I had to figure this one out of my own and I was sure that I could do so eventually.

The best thing in such a situation was to ask the all-knowing internet. It let me down a few times already, but I was sure that most of my questions could be answered with it. I quickly copied the row of symbols into the search bar and hit enter.

The first hit was 'Omega'.

...

...

...

Thanks for nothing.

Time passed, but I couldn't quite figure out the meaning, until I finally remembered something that I heard the other guys talking about.

Emoticons — some kind of smiley-language used in chats.

I immediately retyped my query and hit enter once again.

This time, I found what I was looking for. Rows upon rows of so-called 'Kaomojis'. They all seemed to have a meaning. Some of them had the same, while others were used to express something entirely different.

I went through all the emoticons, line by line. Symbol by symbol, I ingrained their meaning and pattern into my mind. After over two hundred of these so-called kaomojis, I finally found the one I was looking for.

It represented anger.

What did I do wrong? What should I answer? Sorry? Or another emoji? Was this a good idea or would she get more angry?

After a few minutes of ruminating about my answer, my phone repeatedly vibrated and rang all around the room.

[08:20:42 PM[Ayanokouji] I was. Sorry.

[08:20:45 PM[Ayanokouji] (μ_μ)

[08:21:22 PM] Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up. m(_ _)m

[08:21:39 PM[Ayanokouji] It's totally fine. I didn't mean to go to sleep yet, anyway.

I sighed heavily, feeling bad. Maybe he was tired because of everything that happened today, and I just woke him back up. But he said that it's fine, so it was alright. Right? I didn't need to feel bad, did I?

"Ahhh, mouuuu!"

It somehow felt wrong. This cute outburst of emotions was Karuizawa-san's trademark, after all. I couldn't just steal it.

I closed the chat, scrolled through my contacts until I reached a certain brown-haired classmate on my phone, and pressed the call button.

Tuut!

Tuut!

"Matsushita? What is it?"

The boy on the other end of the line didn't sound tired, which made me feel more relieved than I expected. Everything else about his greeting was just as predicted, which led to a small smile on my face.

"I just thought I'd make sure that you won't fall asleep on me again. Is it a bad timing?"

"Ah, no. Not at all. I was just surprised, that's all."

"Sorry, sorry." I rolled towards the side of my bed, letting out a small giggle in the process. "So, about that question you asked me this morning? I have a question of my own."

"I'll answer it if I can."

"What's gravimetry?"

He was silent for a moment before he responded in his usual manner.

"Ah, something about gravity, I think? I'm not too sure, honestly, which is why I was confused. As I've already mentioned before, I first figured that it was because she was cute, which would make her attracting to the boys, thus being a gravitational force of sorts, which would somehow explain the gravimetry part. But that would make you a gal too, which Ike and Yamauchi denied. After all of this, I was at a loss and chose to ask you."

As expected, he also thought that Karuizawa-san was cute. I felt a light sting, but couldn't classify its meaning. As he kept going on, I noted that his reasoning made sense, at least the way he had spun it to fit his narrative. Afterwards, my mind blanked out.

I calmed my heartbeat and took a deep breath.

It was stupid to think so much into his words as he simply stated what he believed. He explained his reasoning, due to the things he felt, and said them out loud. He wasn't aware how a girl might take his compliments and possibly misunderstand the meaning.

How could he, when he was homeschooled for such a long time?

I still didn't figure out how he wound up at gravimetry, however, since I hadn't managed to find this exact topic without specifying it. There must've been a reason he found this meaning before the usual ones.

"What kind of search engine are you using, Ayanokouji-kun?"

He was once again silent, and I was sure I could hear him typing on a keyboard. It seemed like he had to check, which was kind of cute. A few seconds passed before he finally answered.

"It's called Bing."

"Mh, okay. Give me a second."

I removed the phone from my ear and opened the browser on it. I navigated towards Bing and once again typed in the English word 'gal'. To my surprise, the first hit was exactly what he asked about in class: gravimetry.

I heaved a deep sigh and put to phone back near my ear.

"Sorry, Ayanokouji-kun."

"Huh? For what?"

That I once again thought something was weird about you when you were just being clueless. What was wrong with me? Why do I always think that there was more to him than he let on?

Baka-Chiaki.

"What kind of search engine are you using, Ayanokouji-kun?"

That was a weird question to ask. Coupled with the one prior, a bad feeling began to spread through my body.

I opened my browser and quickly typed in gal. The first hit displayed was an explanation that gal was a slang word for girl, which, now that I was reading it, made total sense.

Karuizawa was a girl, after all. That was my mistake.

I hadn't typed gal into the search engine since I knew all its implications, or at least I thought I did. Gravimetry was just the one that made the most sense in my mind, due to Karuizawas good looks. I made a serious blunder, and I had little time to fix it.

My hands typed in another search term: 'top search engines japan'.

I clicked the first link, which displayed a graph of a few different search engines and their respective market shares. The first one was Google — the one I used as well. I navigated to the second displayed search engine and typed 'gal' into the search bar. Again, an explanation about gal meaning girl showed up on my screen. Closing the tab, I navigated to the third engine and repeated my query.

As luck would have it, the first hit was about gravimetry.

"It's called Bing."

"Mh, okay. Give me a second."

She went silent afterwards, likely crosschecking my results with hers.

That was too close. I decided that I needed to be more careful about the things I'd ask Matsushita and learn to use the internet properly. Even if I think I know what something meant, I should still make sure. If something like this happened again, I might not be able to get myself out of it like this time.

"Sorry, Ayanokouji-kun."

"Huh? For what?"

I played dumb. I had to. There would have been another way if I hadn't found a suitable search engine, but I would have needed to tell her something I was not yet planning to share.

Did she perhaps notice something?

She seemed quite suspicious of me, so I needed to be extra careful in how I was going to act around her from now on. She could not be allowed to catch on to me. Even if that meant eliminating her.

"Ahh, nothing. So, Ayanokouji-kun... you should really start using Google as your search engine."

"Oh, really? Okay."

"Yeah, if you had used that instead of the other one, you would have seen that a gal is an English slang word for girl."

"Oh... really? Now I feel kind of stupid."

I wanted to express my feelings upon realizing what I had done. I really wished to laugh, but I couldn't.

I giggled upon hearing his deadpan reply. This was just like Ayanokouji-kun.

"It's not that bad. You just seem to be even more clueless about social interactions than I initially thought."

"Thanks?"

Once again, I let out a hearty laugh. It really was relaxing talking to him.

"Don't worry, I'm going to help you from now on!" I patted my chest in reassurance, even though he wouldn't be able to see it. "Being homeschooled must have been tough for you, right?"

I really wondered about that. He seemed clumsy and dorky sometimes, but I didn't have the feeling that he was stupid. He didn't seem to be extraordinarily intelligent either, but in a range that it's acceptable as a normal human being, unlike other people I could think of.

"It was alright, I guess. Due to that, however, I didn't really have a normal school life like normal children, which is why I'm socially inept. This is my first time going to school and interacting with so many people. Oh, and please don't tell anyone about this. I don't want them to pity me or anything. I'm rambling on too much anyway, but I thought it would be fine telling you."

A light smile formed on my face, thinking about how uncomfortable it must have been to share this with me.

Even though he looked like he cared little, he trusted me with such a secret. Our small group knew that he was homeschooled, but we always thought that he must've had friends outside of this, which was apparently a wrong assumption on our part.

His parents must have been really strict. He was homeschooled and didn't have many social interactions. His life sounded like that of a rich family son who didn't have a choice in these matters. It was as if everything was decided for him the moment he was born.

I was similar, yet totally different.

Since I was also from a rather wealthy family, I felt some kind of familiarity with him. My parents, however, were kind and let me do whatever I wanted as long as I brought back results. But I met enough other people who had similar problems as he had, albeit not as extreme.

Due to my newfound understanding, I found myself even more interested in the boy called Ayanokouji Kiyotaka and we didn't stop talking until the day changed to the next one.

- Word Count: 5023 / 22519 Characters

Released 09.04.2022

Chapter 5 - Bad Bishop

Wednesday, April 10th. The day after Yamauchi's expulsion was made official.

Just like yesterday, the students kept quiet and listened to the teachers. Sudou seemed to struggle with staying awake, but he somehow managed due to the fear of being the next one who might get suspended.

My gaze wandered over to Hirata, who looked better than yesterday, but still depressed overall.

Matsushita had told me that Karuizawa and Mii-chan invited Hirata to visit the karaoke parlor with the Class B and D students, but he declined, saying that he didn't feel like celebrating that day. Both of them were frustrated after his rejection, but their moods were elevated by the many Class B students who had created a cheerful atmosphere by themselves.

Thanks to their efforts, everyone had a great time, even taking into consideration the tarnished moods from the Class D girls who longed for Hirata's presence. According to Matsushita, there were a lot of great guys in Class B who wouldn't lose out to Hirata by much. This encouraged most of the young maidens, except for Karuizawa and Mii-chan.

All of this hadn't changed one important fact, however.

Hirata was worthless.

He had shown some pleasant expressions today, which was a leap of progress from yesterday's point of view, but he was still an unacceptable piece for me if things were to stay this way. From here on out, I had multiple routes to choose from. For instance, I could act myself. But this would be my last resort in case Hirata was about to self-destruct due to the lingering regrets he held for Yamauchi.

At the moment, Hirata was troubled, but still stable, which led me to multiple other possibilities on how to handle him. Since I would only act myself if there was no other hope, I managed to narrow my options down to two final paths that were available to me.

One, leave Hirata alone for now and see where his thoughts took him.

This would be interesting from an emotional standpoint. How would Hirata handle this school from now on? Would he change the way he talked to people? Close himself off? Get violent, perhaps? It would fascinate me to dissect his psyche until nothing was left and build him from the ground up. But that was too much work for a little reward, since Hirata was excellent the way he was before our classmate was expelled.

Another negative point was that I wouldn't be able to use him for the foreseeable future. He might also derail much worse than assumed, which would render him worthless until I was done reeducating him. I ran multiple simulations which revealed that he might collapse due to the stress and anxiety, depending on the exact circumstances of his past that led him to develop his savior complex.

Possibility number two was to reintegrate him into the class and show him that not all was lost.

This was needed to be handled with skill. Another one of my future pieces would be a perfect candidate to fix my bad bishop and turn him into a viable one. I didn't have full control over said piece, but it would follow my pleas without thinking twice if it was to Hirata's benefit.

I was ready to sacrifice all of my pieces if it meant winning, so this game was bound to get ugly somewhere down the line. If my bishop lost his mind every time someone got expelled, I wouldn't be able to use him properly, which would render him useless in the long run. He might even become a hindrance, which was something I'd like to avoid since he was a very useful piece.

With my plans for Hirata decided upon, I delved deeper into the mysteries of this school.

The classes were in a competition with each other, so there would need to be some kind of special tests in store for us, which meant that fights between our classes would break out. It was impossible to know what sort of exams would be held, but I was sure that they would differ from the ones a normal school would take, or this whole system wouldn't make any sense.

Since the classes were already ranked as soon as we students got here, there was no way for a lower class to fight their way up without the use of other exams aside from written ones, which I will call special exams for now. For example, if the class standing was calculated by academics and behavior alone, then we wouldn't have any chance to overcome the hurdle called Class B.

Besides that, the placements in the classes seemed balanced. Meaning someone like Kouenji, no matter how big his narcissism was, shouldn't have been placed in Class D due to his other abilities. The same went for someone like Yamauchi, however. There was not a single good quality about him, yet he made it into an elite school for the students that will supposedly lead japan into the future.

If my guess was right, there should be a written mock exam rather soon. This would lead the class to remember that they were not on a holiday. Due to the way this school was structured, most of my classmates forgot that a school wasn't supposed to be fun and games.

This mock exam will presumably be held near the end of April.

Come May, the next bomb would be dropped on this class, or rather, the whole school year. Since it was impossible that we would receive all of our points, the students would have questions. This would be the case in all classes, no matter how hard they tried, so the teachers wouldn't have any excuse not to answer them. Because of this, the school's true colors would be revealed.

I wouldn't be surprised if they were to reveal the results of our mock exam around this time to increase the psychological impact on the students. We will probably be informed that the students who hadn't passed the exam would have been expelled if it were a real one, which would place even more emphasis on the gravity of their situation.

The mock exam would appear as a blessing from the heavens after all those bad news and prompt them to work harder for their place in this school, since the one who had failed would have one last chance to get a grip and better themselves. After these warnings, there was still enough time to fix their grades until the real exam, even in severe cases. Said exam would follow around the end of the semester, as per usual.

This was to weed out everyone who wasn't able to prove their worth. A preliminary round, so to speak.

At the same time as our points will be revealed, doubts are going to appear in the students' minds.

'How do we get to catch up to the other classes?', 'How are we earning points to buy food and necessities?'

The answer to those questions would be the special exams, which will probably reward large amounts of points for the winning classes. These events would close the circle that would repeat for our three years at this school, which was the only way that this school's system could be explained.

A competition between the four classes on who would come out on top.

So far, I was confident in my theory. This meant that I needed to make sure that all my pieces would stay intact until after the written exam near the end of the semester. At the moment, one of my pieces was weakened, and I had to get it back in line before anything big happened.

Our lesson ended, and most of my classmates left the room.

Ike glanced at the empty desk that had once belonged to Yamauchi with a depressed expression. For some strange reason, it was back in the classroom this morning.

I assumed that it was taken outside for the shock value that would follow such a discovery. After the initial impact, it was much better to place it back inside the classroom for the other students to see what they had lost day after day. A reminder that they might be the ones to leave behind the next empty seat.

This school sure was cruel...

Horikita stuffed the materials into her bag and stood before nodding in goodbye. I returned her kind gesture with a bored expression and supported my heavy head with my palm. Sudou said his farewell to Ike before leaving for his basketball training.

The lone idiot trudged out of the classroom with a sullen expression after having lost his best friend.

There was no reason to be concerned about Ike. He was almost as useless as Yamauchi, so even if he dropped out, it wouldn't be a problem I couldn't work with. I didn't know what the implications for the class were if students were expelled, but there shouldn't be problems this early on as I had enough time to remedy them.

Matsushita, Karuizawa and Satou walked over to Hirata and invited him to grab a bite. He agreed with a smile, but his poor act didn't go unnoticed by both me and a certain girl. After the boy was done packing up, the group strode outside. The three girls waved me goodbye before vanishing from my view.

I had already informed them that I was occupied and couldn't join them today, so they didn't go through the trouble of asking. Hirata hadn't even noticed me, as he was too distracted with his jumbled up feelings.

Sometimes, even heroes needed saving.

Kushida was still in the classroom, packing up her materials while talking to her friends. It seemed like they wanted to grab a bite together as well, which wasn't anything out of the ordinary for their group. Just like Karuizawa, she had a standard crowd which she hung out with but she also wormed her way into remaining groups to keep her social interactions with the others high.

As expected of our social butterfly.

I gathered up my stuff and waited outside of the room at a nearby window. The breeze felt nice as the wind caressed my neck, while I waited for the girl I wanted to have a chat with. She and her company soon arrived and our eyes met. The class angel seemed to have understood that I wanted to talk to her, as was to be expected of Kushida's top-notch social skills.

She apologized to the girls surrounding her before striding over to me.

"Ayanokouji-kun? Can I do something for you?"

She asked in a cute voice while resting her index finger on her chin. Her rather short hair waved in the fresh breeze as the smell of her shampoo drifted into my nostrils, which made this day already worth getting up for. Her enticing appearance was too much for me to handle, so I got to the gist of what I wanted to convey rather quick.

"Yeah, could we talk somewhere more private?"

Even though a sentence like this could be taken in hundreds if not thousands of different ways, Kushida didn't seem bothered by it and complied with a happy expression after signaling her friends that she'd spend some time with me. They frowned visibly, and I couldn't help but swallow after receiving their chilling glares.

"Yeah, sure. Let's take a walk."

My heartbeat sped up, and I nodded in thanks before she took the lead. We wandered through the school, which felt somewhat uncomfortable. Due to Kushida's company, tons of people glanced or peeked at us on their way. It almost felt like we were a couple.

After a few twists and turns, we settled down on a lone bench overlooking the sea. She sat with a bright smile and gasped at the beauty of this place, while tapping on the spot right next to her. According to her expression, this was also her first time at this place. After I sat down as well, she shot me a questioning look.

"So, Ayanokouji-kun, what do you want to talk about?"

"It's about Hirata."

"Hirata-kun, huh? Is it because he's been feeling down ever since Yamauchi-kun got expelled?"

As expected of someone at the top of the social hierarchy. She immediately assessed the most likely scenario and focused on the point I was trying to make. It was almost impossible that Kushida hadn't noticed his struggles after all.

I nodded. "Yeah. I've been worrying about him for a few days now, because... Can you keep a secret?"

Kushida perked up upon hearing this. She grabbed my hands and faced me with a brilliant smile. This comforting attitude made it easy to open up to her, even if the topic was a difficult one. It was undeniable that people wanted to share their thoughts and feelings with someone, and Kushida was the safest person to open up to due to the warm and pleasant atmosphere she gave off.

"Of course, Ayanokouji-kun! Leave it to me."

I took a deep breath and talked about what had happened when I spoke to Hirata in the locker room.

"On that day... you know, when Yamauchi was found with the underwear in his bag, Hirata stayed behind after everyone was done changing. He had to endure a verbal beatdown by Sudou who had lost his temper, so I tried to console him that it wasn't really his fault. Hirata kept saying that it was fine, that the problem wasn't Sudou, but Yamauchi's situation. Hirata... he didn't believe that Yamauchi stole the girl's underwear."

I was curious about her opinion and her other thoughts about all of this. For this reason, I stopped my narration for a moment to let everything sink in. Kushida was a smart and talented girl, but I needed to know the precise extent of her abilities.

"Mhm. To be honest, I also found it weird. Yamauchi-kun wouldn't do something like this, I thought. I tried talking to the teachers, but they said as long as I couldn't prove that it wasn't Yamauchi-kun who stole the underwear, their hands were tied. I reached out to a few friends, but no one could help since they were swimming or on the observation deck. In the end, I couldn't do anything for Yamauchi-kun..."

She lowered her head and clenched her little fists in frustration. Her touch felt strangely satisfying and even though she was grieving, she tried her best to cheer me up with a small smile.

Our angel was affected by this, just like everyone else. She even went out of her way to plead for Yamauchi's innocence and asked around for clues. Her actions from the bus hadn't changed at all. Even though the scale was smaller, she did the same for the elderly woman back then.

Kushida Kikyou was a genuinely kind and caring girl. She was wonderful to be around and would be one of the biggest reasons that our class would stay coherent in the future.

"Hirata was worried that the class would split apart if this kept going. His fears weren't ungrounded, as most of the girls don't even talk to the boys and vice versa. He then asked me what I thought would happen to Yamauchi. I answered him honestly, and ever since that time... I felt that I shouldn't have been honest."

Kushida looked down at my hands, gripping my palms tighter.

She was excellent at making people feel comfortable around her. It wasn't much, but a light, yet honest touch like this could fry a guy's brain in seconds. She had me firmly in her grasp. The girl peeked at me with an uneasy expression and turned her stunning eyes upwards.

"You told him that Yamauchi-kun is likely going to be expelled, right?"

I nodded while looking down, indicating that I felt horrible about what had happened.

Kushida had used the same method before to get me to agree with her plan, so it was bound to be effective. Hirata also stared downwards when Yamauchi was in trouble, so I figured that this would be a powerful move to show my concern for his current condition.

"Hirata thought the same, but couldn't accept it. He wanted to do something, anything in his power to help him..."

"But he couldn't, right?"

This time, I shook my head in denial.

"There was a way... he... I told him not to do anything stupid... and he didn't... but ever since then, he hasn't really been Hirata, if that makes any sense."

"Ayanokouji-kun..."

Her sweet voice reverberated in my ear. Her crimson eyes pleaded at me as she moved closer. I could almost feel Kushida's gentle breaths tickling my lips as she peered at me with worry.

"What did Hirata-kun plan on doing?"

I clenched my fists, just like Hirata did when he was in a difficult situation. Unlike him, I took care not to clutch too hard since it would hurt Kushida, who was still holding onto my hands. I put just enough pressure into my grip to convey the conflicting emotions I should have been going through, according to my research.

"He wanted to take the blame in Yamauchi's stead."

Kushida's eyes opened wide in surprise. She truly didn't expect an answer as shocking as this.

"Hirata-kun..." She lowered her gaze and closed her eyes.

I sensed a wet sensation as small tear droplets made their way onto my hands.

If anyone were to see this situation, I wouldn't survive the next few seconds. My school life would be over. I could already feel Ike's cold hands strangling me, while I wished he wouldn't touch me. Only god knew what he did with those hands after all.

A few moments later, just as expected, Kushida Kikyou reacted exactly as I had planned. Even though she wasn't one of the pieces, which I could use as I pleased, I only needed to twist everything in a way that made her think that she needed to save one of her friends.

Our angel wouldn't let them down, after all.

"Ayanokouji-kun, we have to help Hirata-kun!"

Her gaze met mine, tears still glittering on her cheek due to the sun's warm and comfortable rays.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about. I think Hirata needs your help. If anyone can save Hirata, then it's you, Kushida."

The girl let go of my hands and wiped the tears off her face. Her gaze changed into one of determination as she clenched her hands into fists to encourage me and herself.

"Leave it to me, Ayanokouji-kun. I'll do everything in my power to save Hirata-kun."

Yes.

There she was.

My queen.

The most powerful piece in my arsenal.

We kept talking for a bit more before Kushida excused herself to make a plan to save Hirata. She was dead set on doing anything she could to make him smile again so that everyone could be friends.

What a sweet, gullible child.

I heaved a heavy sigh and leaned my back against the bench I sat on.

"Beautiful."

Those words weren't meant for anyone in particular. I was simply gazing over the horizon with a relaxed expression. In the White Room, I hadn't seen such a scene after all. The fresh breeze, the clean, blue ocean which reflected the sun's lustrous rays and the light hint of salt in the air. The bright reflections on the ocean's surface were blinding, which is why I shut my eyes.

It was quite soothing to spend my time like this and I hoped to enjoy such peace for a while longer.

"I am. Thank you for noticing."

A girl's statement broke the calming silence. I almost thought that I heard Kouenji's voice, but this one was far more pleasant to the ears. Even though it was just as arrogant, it had a certain charm to it. One I couldn't deny.

I opened my eyes and gazed towards the left, where the voice originated from.

A beautiful, platinum blonde-haired girl sat on a nearby bench. I noticed her presence after my initial muttering, but I didn't expect her to pick up on my rumblings. Her crimson eyes gazed into mine, as if she was trying to extract information. I hadn't seen her before, but her overall posture and confidence made her seem like an upperclassman who spent her time here often.

"I didn't notice you there. Are you a first year as well? I'm Ayanokouji Kiyotaka from class 1-D. Nice to meet you."

This introduction was much better than the first time I tried to present myself. My voice had a much more natural flow opposed to when I talked to Horikita on our first day. I was almost a little proud of my accomplishments, but I still had a long way to go.

The girl's eyes narrowed, and her smile formed into a vicious sneer.

"Kiryuin Fuka, 2-B. Call me Fuka, Kouhai-kun."

My first impression of her was neither good nor bad. Kiryuin's attitude made her feel like a female Kouenji. Even though this was the case, she was charming and her looks were nothing short of bewitching. I wondered if some girls had the same thoughts about Kouenji, but I couldn't wrap my head around it and gave up.

"Nice to meet you, Kiryuin-senpai. What brings you here?"

I saw this as an opportunity to learn more about conversations with new people and tried to make some small talk to ease the weird atmosphere she had created. Due to my repeated conversations with other students, I felt comfortable that I could handle talking to one person and wouldn't fail outright.

To my dismay, however, Kiryuin had other plans.

"Fuka."

"Senpai?" I tilted my head.

"Fuka."

Was she a broken record or something?

"Fuka?"

"Yes, Kouhai-kun?"

I was confused. Women were scary creatures. Ever since I had arrived here, they troubled me more times than I could count.

It was respectful to call a senpai, senpai. Not only did she deny that immediately, she wanted me to call her by her first name. From what I had learned, this was a sign of intimacy between two people. How in the world did I manage to get intimate with this girl in a matter of thirty seconds?

"What brings you here?"

"Peace, quiet and a beautiful scenery."

Why is she looking at me like that? Was she teasing me?

"Ah, yes. Same for me."

"Is that so?" She asked with a smirk on her face.

I was sure that she hadn't seen Kushida. She came from another direction as well, so the possibility that they ran into each other with multiple buildings between them was non-existent.

"Yes, I found that place just now. It's really comforting."

"Mhh, agreed. So how's the school, Kouhai-kun?"

"It's different from before, that's for sure, but relaxing."

She scrutinized me while I responded to her question. It felt uncomfortable, as if I was being dissected and peered into until she found what she was looking for.

"Mhh, it is different, isn't it? Relaxing, yes, but also treacherous."

"Treacherous? What is?"

She smirked before shaking her head in denial.

I decided to leave this woman alone. Associating with her felt like jumping into a pool of magma; not only life threatening, but assured death. She gave me subtle hints about the school to check my reactions, but I wanted nothing more but to be left alone.

"Well, it was nice meeting you senp —"

"Fuka."

"Ehrm. Well, it was nice meeting you... Fuka, but I should go back now."

"Do you, now? Where are you going?"

"A friend of mine is in the basketball club. I wanted to see how he's doing."

"Mhh... alright. You may leave, Kouhai-kun."

Wait, what would have happened if she said that I couldn't leave?

"Thanks. I guess? I'll see you around Fuka-senp —"

"Just Fuka."

I knew little about this woman, but I experienced enough to realize that she would be a lot of trouble in the future. I stood and walked past her. As I did, she smirked before pulling out her phone. After unlocking it, she opened up a chat and typed some words. Since I was leaving the area, I couldn't make them out, but I felt that trouble was brewing.

After escaping from this lioness' entrapment, I wandered around campus toward the basketball club's training area. I was interested to see how capable Sudou was in his element. He said that he'd been playing since grade school, so it should be safe to assume that he was at least a half decent player. If we add his physique to that, he might be above just good.

From the initial trio, Sudou was the person whom I couldn't lose, no matter what. Even if he wasn't that gifted academically, his physical abilities should make up for these shortcomings in the long run. He also joined the basketball club, which might influence our points depending on his performance in real games or tournaments. I didn't believe for a second that this school would have competitive clubs such as this one just for fun.

Due to his hot-headed attitude, it was easy for him to screw up, which is why I decided to check on him and the people he was surrounding himself with. This included the people in the basketball club. I also needed to take care of his anger management issues, but I hadn't decided on how I would go about them. Just like Hirata, there were multiple ways to bind Sudou. I just had to determine the proper way for him individually.

Upon concluding my thoughts, I arrived at the basketball training hall and stepped inside. The sound of running and sports shoes squeaking over the floor was the first thing that my ears picked up on. The basketball, hitting the ground and loud cheers, rang out shortly after.

The voices and sounds increased in volume the closer I got to the court. The players yelled at their mates; the ball hit the backboard and a round of roars spread through the team like a wildfire after someone scored a three pointer.

I took a seat on one of the many benches near the court and began to observe the players on the field. I had seen none of them before, but most of the players seemed like second and third years, which was to be expected so early in the year.

"LET'S GO!"

Sudou was as loud as ever as he scored another three pointer. He celebrated with his team before the game continued, with little time in between. After a whistle, one of his teammates got hold of the ball and passed it onto him after a well-executed feint.

It was easy to study people, even strangers, in situations like this. For example, one could easily recognize who was used to playing with one another and who wasn't. As far as I could tell, each team was composed of two first years and three seniors. They were still feeling out the new students, but from what I had seen, Sudou seemed plenty promising, according to their wordless conversations.

There was also a second set of teams which rested on the benches beside the court. The players were drenched in sweat and gulped down water like it was the last thing left on earth. It wasn't as easy to pick the first years out in those groups, but definitely doable. I once again narrowed their presence down to two first years and three seniors per team. Since there were too many players for one lineup, it would be quite a fierce competition for the regular positions in future tournaments.

My classmate wiped the sweat off his face with his basketball jersey and stretched his arm while the enemy team was occupied with getting the ball back after a missed pass. His gaze drifted towards the spectator terraces where our eyes met. He seemed surprised before a grin overshadowed his exhausted expression. The boy shot me a quick wave before the game resumed.

Time passed, and the team featuring Sudou won the match. His teammates slapped him on the back and congratulated him for a job well done, so my initial impressions about him weren't off. This, however, lead to dismay between the other first years. I noticed some glances being exchanged before they were hidden behind a gentle facade. The students in question congratulated him and patted his back, just like the others did.

The nail that sticks out gets hammered down, huh?

I wasn't sure if anyone aside from me had noticed their discontent, but that wasn't important right now. There were two students from Class B, which narrowed the rest of them down to A and C. As a member of the club, Sudou should know more about them, so there was no use in mulling over this any longer.

According to the clock on the opposite side of the spectator seats, their training had ended around five minutes ago, which meant that they should get changed and leave the hall soon. I stood, put my hands in my pockets and strolled outside, where I waited for Sudou's arrival.

"Yo, Ayanokouji."

"You are pretty good Sudou. If even I can tell that, it has to mean something."

He scratched his nose with a proud smile.

"Thanks. I poured in a shit ton of work over the years, so it's always nice to hear that it paid off."

"Yeah, you really showed those upperclassmen. Was that a normal training session?"

"No, the seniors wanted to see how capable we were, so I went all-out on them."

"You've definitely done a good job with that."

"I know, right? They didn't know what hit them."

He jabbed the air before turning towards me with a grin.

"Let's grab something to eat. I'm hungry as hell."

I nodded and followed beside him as we made our way back to the shopping area. I was sure that he'd go for cup noodles again, but I didn't really mind. I could try another flavor this time.

"Are you the only first year in the basketball club?"

"No, one of eight, actually. Three of them are from Class C, but I forgot their names. And another two from Class A and B, respectively."

"You didn't forget their names?"

I asked with a smile, whereupon he scratched his neck and cleared his throat in embarrassment.

"A-anyway. What brought you to the court? Did you decide to join as well?"

"Me? No. Just had the urge to see how you were doing. That's all."

Sudou stopped dead in his tracks, face paling.

"Say, Ayanokouji."

"Mh?"

I turned to him with a quizzical look. He was completely serious about this.

"Do you have a crush on anyone in class?"

It seemed to be quite an important question, given the tense atmosphere. Did he have one and wanted to make sure that we wouldn't have the same? Wasn't this something friends would do? It should have been something like that. He could also swing the other way, of course, but he didn't seem like someone who did, so I quickly scratched that from my list of reasons.

Putting all of that aside, I decided to answer him honestly.

"Not really, no."

His face regained some of his color after my short but concise answer. He fell into deep contemplation before he once again glanced at me.

"I see. But if you had to choose anyone in class you could go out with, who would it be?"

At first, I thought this question would be more difficult to answer than the last, but before I could even start to think about the positive and negative points of each of our female classmates, a certain girl's face appeared in my field of view.

After this short but weird coincidence, I applied myself to the task at hand.

There were multiple girls I had contact with frequently. I also enjoyed all of their companies, which was one of the most important aspects to consider while brooding over such a question. The girls swirling around in my mind were Matsushita, Karuizawa, Kushida, Satou, and Horikita.

The latter's name could be scratched from that list with a clear conscience, however. Even though I enjoyed her company for some unknown reason, I would die by a thousand stabs if this conversation was leaked and her name came up as someone I'd considered.

Satou was nice, but other than that, I didn't really have much of an impression about her. She was basically one of Karuizawa's followers, nothing more, nothing less. She was cute and I probably wouldn't say no if she were to ask me out, but there was little hope of this happening.

What would we even talk about if she were my girlfriend?

Kushida was great and wanted to be friends with everyone. Since I didn't want to ruin her goal with my selfish desire, she could be scratched as well. Even though her hands felt pretty nice.

What a shame...

Karuizawa seemed to have her eyes on Hirata, so she was out of the picture as well, which would leave Matsushita. Aside from being the only person who was left, she was also kind and beautiful. I didn't have any problems to keep a conversation going when I was talking to her either, which I wasn't so sure about with the other girls on my list.

All of them were charming, really, but Matsushita had this grown-up aura, which couldn't be found on the others. Horikita was similar, but she was too cold to play in the same ballpark as her.

"Matsushita, I guess."

"Her? Hmm. You are hanging out with her quite a lot, aren't you?"

He threw me a suspicious glance.

"From time to time. But never alone, so stop thinking about weird things."

It was nice talking to a friend about such trivial topics. I wasn't sure if we were friends in an official capacity, but our chats felt similar to the ones I had with Karuizawa and her group, just somewhat different since we were both guys here.

"I wasn't. Just relieved by your answer."

"That so? Who do you have in mind then?"

"Eh?"

He seemed taken aback.

Wasn't it only natural to return such a question after answering it? I was pretty sure that conversations like these followed a certain pattern. I thought this was a good time to test out something I've learned over the past days: teasing.

"Come on, you can tell me. I won't judge even if it's a guy."

"Huh?! You... a damn. Forget it."

He exhaled in exasperation and fell into a deep contemplation.

I didn't know what he was thinking so deeply about, since he hadn't really spoken to any girl in class since school had begun. His choice should boil down to appearance and preference. I was rather interested in the answer, so it was good that he started the topic, which meant I could just play along with him.

"The only thing on my mind is basketball, so I haven't really thought about it much, to be honest."

"That's a cheap out, Sudou."

I faced him with the best 'disappointment-face' I could manage. I wasn't very good at it, but it seemed to be enough for Sudou.

"Damn you!"

His sudden outburst frightened some students who were roaming around the area. Upon noticing that a few of them ran off, he looked somewhat apologetic. He heaved another deep sigh before throwing the towel.

"I don't know, honestly. I mean, some of them look great, but I wouldn't be able to tell you who I'd want to date."

"So you are still not ready to share a name, huh? I wonder what Horikita would say if I told her you said hers."

I responded to his indecisiveness with a smug grin. Due to my dirty reaction, I was ready to receive a smack, but the answer I got differed from what I had expected.

"You what? Do you want me to get killed? That devil is ruthless!"

He massaged the back of his left hand and spaced out. It looked like as if he remembered a traumatic experience and was still dealing with the aftereffects.

Did something happen between them? I was interested, but I'd rather stay clear of that minefield. She was damn scary, after all.

"Haaa, fine. You want a name? I'll just say Kushida then. No wait, Ike is crazy for her, so I can't do that. I don't even know many of them. Uhh, how about that girl that won the swimming contest? Onodera or something? Yeah, I'll go with her."

Poor Kushida. I couldn't imagine what a nightmare this situation must be for her.

Sudou's choice, however, wasn't even that bad considering that he had just thought of someone. At least she was athletic, so they already had that in common. Their respective sports couldn't be further apart, but the connection still stood. I knew too little about her to run consistent simulations on the two of them. But the information I lacked could be supplemented in time.

I also wondered what other types of people could be helpful for Sudou.

For example, if he were to go out with Horikita, she would surely keep his demeanor in check. Looking at the other end of the spectrum would be someone like Sakura. How would they fare together? I couldn't help but let a few simulations play out in my head with the little knowledge I possessed about the both of them. I knew more about Horikita and Sakura than Onodera, which is why some preliminary ones were possible.

"Onodera, huh?"

"Well, I really didn't do too much thinking about my choice. It could turn out entirely different if I get to know some girls better. It's just that she's a sports girl, so I guess it kinda fits, you know?"

"Fair point."

Our conversation reached a low point as we arrived at the store. We went inside and Sudou went straight towards the cup noodles as expected. As per my previous decision, I took another flavor today, and was going to prepare a proper dinner later. Sudou bought the largest size while I went with a smaller option.

Did he prefer bigger ones, perhaps?

We both stood in line, waiting for our turn, when Sudou remembered something.

"Oi, Ayanokouji. Gimme that."

"You want my cup noodles?"

"Yeah."

He held out his empty palm.

"Why don't you get that flavor yourself? It's not like it's the last one. I'll keep your spot warm."

"Don't be an idiot and gimme your damn noodles."

A few guys turned around with annoyed faces. As soon as they noticed Sudou, they spun around as if nothing had ever happened. I didn't really know why Sudou wanted my cup, so I decided that I just wouldn't ask and get myself another one since we were still in the store. With a somewhat torn expression, I handed him noodles and turned around to get a fresh cup for me.

"Hey! Where are you going now?"

I stopped and tilted my head in confusion upon hearing his puzzled tone.

"Ehm, I'm getting myself another cup since you wanted mine."

He gazed at me with an empty look in his eyes. Sudou sighed and faced me with a serious expression.

"Ayanokouji. Are you a moron?"

"Huh? Where did that come from?"

He pinched his brow with his fingers while shaking his head in disappointment.

"Dude. You remember how you paid for me the last time? I owe you. So this is me paying you back."

Ohh. That made sense...

Why didn't he just say so? I thought he wanted to rob me due to his incredibly poor choice of words.

"I knew that. I was just messing with you."

"You..."

He didn't finish his sentence as we were next in line.

Sudou paid for us before handing me my cup back. We filled them with water and waited while chatting about basketball and other such things. As we were eating our meal, I couldn't help but marvel at the person called Sudou Ken.

Even though he had a temper, he was a good guy, all things considered. He could be pretty nice even, seen as he paid me back without me ever asking. His ways were clumsy, but he had a good heart, I was sure of that.

After our meal, we went back towards the dorms, where we met some of the Class D boys. Except Ike, all of them were filler characters I hadn't really paid much attention to. They invited us to join them to blow off some steam, so we did.

Hanging out with a bunch of guys felt different from spending time with the girls. The environment was strange, yet familiar. It seemed there wasn't really a goal in our venture as we just kept walking, talking and laughing. Some guys bought balloons and filled them with liquid before throwing them at each other, hoping they would rip and splash the receiving end full with water. I was sure their yells could be heard over half the campus, since they wouldn't shut up.

Nothing exciting happened, but I finally felt like your normal run-of-the-mill highschool student for the first time in my life. Just walking around, wasting my time doing nothing. It was pointless, but I couldn't help but feel happy at the thought of this new normal.

Near the end of our trip, as we were on our way back towards the dorms, my phone vibrated.

[07:49:22 PM[Kushida] I had a chat with Hirata-kun. I didn't tell him anything about what you told me, but he confided in me as well. It was good that you noticed that he was in trouble. I think I could help him a bit. \(٥⁀⁀ )/

[07:49:34 PM[Kushida] I'll still keep an eye on him to make sure he's getting better.

[07:50:21 PM] Thanks Kushida. I knew it was the right decision to reveal everything to you. ( ' ' )

It was a good thing that I learned what these emojis meant, since this knowledge had proven helpful rather quick. Kushida handled everything perfectly, just as expected. I thought our chat was over with that short info dump, but she seemed to have more to say as my phone once again vibrated.

[07:51:01 PM[Kushida] Do we still have our date tomorrow? (ᵔ.ᵔ)

[07:51:49 PM] Hey, don't write something like that out of context. If someone read that, I could have been stabbed to death. (/ω\)

[07:52:00 PM] But yes, I'll invite Horikita to the Palate tomorrow.

[07:51:01 PM[Kushida] Sorry, sorry. I just felt like teasing you. (シ. .)シ

[07:52:41 PM] It's fine as long as you protect me from Ike's wrath.

[07:52:59 PM[Kushida] Ike-kun wouldn't hurt you. I think...

[07:52:59 PM[Kushida] Well anyway, see you tomorrow, Ayanokouji-kun!

Since I kept glancing at my phone the whole time, Ike got curious and tried to wrestle my phone away. It ended as most would have probably expected — he failed.

[07:54:12 PM] See you tomorrow, Kushida.

Tomorrow would be a dangerous day. I needed to dodge Horikita's wrath as skillfully as possible. She wasn't stupid, after all. She will see through the ruse Kushida and I came up with since it wasn't a very good one. In the end, their dispute was none of my concern, but I really didn't want to know what Sudou went through.

Our group split after reaching the dorm and everyone went back to their rooms for the day, myself included. I prepared a light meal, showered, ate and cleaned the dishes before I was done for today.

As always, I visited the board in a corner of my room. I took two red pieces, a bishop and a rook, and placed them on their respective fields on the lower right side of the board. Afterwards, I grabbed two green pawns and placed them near the other green pawn, which was still waiting on k4.

I was quite intrigued about how Class C would act come next month. Would Ryuuen be a fun opponent? Or would he just be another moron who thought with his fists?

I was also curious about Class A, since I knew nothing about them. As of now, not a single yellow piece has made its way onto my board, which was exciting. Were they just careful? Were they running a defensive strategy for the first month to verify their thoughts and hypothesis about this school?

I couldn't help but anticipate a worthy adversary.

Class B was also in the race, but they were no threat from what I had seen so far because of Ichinose's influence. She was too kind for her own good and therefore not a risk that needed to be taken into consideration.

I decided that it was time to buy two more boards just to be on the safe side, since I already ran into a second year that seemed to take an interest in me for some unknown reason. I didn't know how or if the boards would interact with each other, but if I could control some second- or third-years, I could influence my year as well as the other ones. A small but discernable smile crept on my face as I was thinking about the next three years in this school.

- Word Count: 7621 / 33920 Characters

Released 16.04.2022

Chapter 5.5 - Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

After school had ended, I bought myself a drink in the cafe before making my way towards my secret spot. It wasn't at all hidden, but somehow, not a single student could see the beauty behind this place. It was especially nice because no one ever went there, so I had it all to myself. Like always, the crowds thinned as I moved further and further away from the popular places like the Palate, the shopping stores and the karaoke parlors.

The sun shone in my face, and I was ready to spend the rest of my day in peace. Nagumo's repeated ramblings were particularly exhausting today. I didn't know why he always wanted to chat with me, when I wanted nothing more but to relax.

Fate, however, had another plan in store for me.

"Beautiful."

A brown-haired boy said as he leaned back on the bench I usually sat on. I had seen him before, by pure chance, as he entered the gym to attend the entrance ceremony around a week ago. His eyes were shut and his face was expressionless, void of emotion, just like that time.

I sat on the bench beside him and turned my head. He hadn't noticed my presence, and I felt the sudden need to tease this calm poker face of off him. A grin formed on my charming face as I imagined his flustered reaction.

"I am. Thank you for noticing."

The default reaction to such a situation would be surprise or even a slight scare, depending on the person. This initial feeling would then evolve into nervousness or embarrassment. The boy in front of me, however, was different.

There was no change in expression, no surprise, and much less a scare.

He lazily opened his eyes and glanced in my direction with a deadpan face. Our gazes entwined as I tried to decipher what was going on in this person's head. His calm, apathetic, brown eyes shone golden in the sunlight.

They were mesmerizing, but there was simply no spark, no life in them.

As I kept gazing at this boy, I felt something change deep inside of me. It seemed like I was staring at a corpse that could move its pupils, which made the scene feel bizarre and eerie. I saw my reflection in his pupils, but he emitted nothing but indifference towards me.

My interest in this boring looking Kouhai rose.

"I didn't notice you there. Are you a first year as well? I'm Ayanokouji Kiyotaka from class 1-D. Nice to meet you."

Following his expression, his voice was just as flat, just as void of emotion as the rest of him. Even though he sounded human, his words felt cold and robotic. But maybe that's just me.

I was intrigued by him, similar to the two other people before him.

Would I be able to change this boy's emotional state if I were to tease him a bit? I wasn't sure, no. I doubted it. But if I brazenly commanded him to call me by my first name, he would react somehow, right? Any normal person would be surprised by something like this, especially if it's a beautiful senior like me.

"Kiryuin Fuka, 2-B. Call me Fuka, Kouhai-kun."

"Nice to meet you, Kiryuin-senpai. What brings you here?"

Once again, he answered without batting an eye.

This insolent Kouhai even ignored my gracious kindness, which enabled him to use my first name. My heart began to feel excitement after a long time. The more time I spent in his vicinity, the firmer my impression of him became. It wasn't obvious for normal people, but I had a feeling that he was a crouching tiger, a wolf hiding in the company of sheep while biding its time. His presence felt mystical, out of this world.

Others might play his nature off as insecurity, nervousness, or similar emotions, but I was convinced that he felt nothing of those. He was different. Someone interesting. Someone that might entertain me during my boring highschool life. I wasn't sure yet, but I sensed that he could be more refreshing than Manabu and Nagumo combined.

"Fuka." I said with a gentle, yet powerful and challenging voice.

"Senpai?"

"Fuka."

Again, I shot down his response, insisting that he'd call me Fuka. While this exchange took place, the grin on my face widened and widened. He was unique, unresponsive to my existence, indifferent to my attractive and elegant appearance. While the other students ran after me during our first year until I had put them in their place, he just watched me with a neutral expression.

I wondered how long he'd keep this up. If he wouldn't back down, this might take a while.

"Fuka?"

He seemed to have realized that we were not going anywhere and made a concession. He was calm and seemed to wonder about something, but there was still no evidence of any emotion on his poker face.

"Yes, Kouhai-kun?"

"What brings you here?"

"Peace, quiet and a beautiful scenery."

That wasn't a lie. It was the only reason I came here. The reason I stayed, however, was another one altogether.

"Ah, yes. Same for me."

I couldn't detect deceit in his words, but I felt that he didn't reveal the whole truth. I tried to prod him to get a better read on the person in front of me. Because as of right now, there was nothing but a white slate with a big question mark on it.

"Is that so?"

"Yes, I found that place just now. It's really comforting."

He let nothing slip regarding his reason for being here. Maybe it was just a coincidence, and all he wanted to do was to enjoy the view. But I couldn't believe it. I felt that it was useless to get something out of him and changed the topic towards a more interesting subject.

"Mhh, agreed. So how's the school, Kouhai-kun?"

"It's different from before, that's for sure, but relaxing."

His answer was one that was to be expected from a student in Class D. He didn't know what this school was really about.

Or that's what he wanted other people to think.

It was hard for even excellent students to notice the small nuances in the teacher's explanations, or discern that all those cameras wouldn't be here for security. It would take someone with high intellect and logical reasoning to find out about the school's special S-System in a short amount of time.

A smart student might be competent enough to scratch the surface. He might wonder why the students would get so many points per month, while realizing that the teachers mentioned nothing about the longevity of these 100.000 point payments. There were more than enough subtle hints, from the teachers' explanations to the stores and cafes, which featured free food and necessities.

An excellent student would be proficient enough to see beyond even that. He'd notice the intricate designs in the school system and dismantle their meaning until he found what he was looking for without needing to spend a monstrous amount of points to buy a teacher's explanation.

I wondered if he was such a student, someone outstanding who could entertain me.

"Mhh, it is different, isn't it? Relaxing, yes, but also treacherous."

Once again, I gave him a push in a certain direction. If a faculty member overheard our conversation, I might get a slap on my wrist for the wording, but nothing else would happen. My plan wasn't to inform him outright, but to deduce how far he had broken down the schools systems.

"Treacherous? What is?"

He sounded confused, which was most likely his intention. His expression hadn't changed a single time since I had arrived here, however. The question he posed felt almost comical, as if he wanted to say, 'do you dare to elaborate on that?' It was undeniable that he didn't plan on revealing anything to me.

How unfortunate...

I didn't understand why, but he wanted to stay inconspicuous. He wanted to belong to the flock he was associated with. What a shame that I wouldn't give up that easily if someone caught my eye. Even if he denied answering me today, I could drag him out tomorrow and the day after that. Somewhere down the line, he would need to confront me, or I would rip the sheep's clothing off the wolf's head without hesitation.

I smirked and shook my head.

He would take this as a sign to leave the conversation, since I made him feel uncomfortable with my prodding. That would be fine, though, as I would be back sooner than he wanted. If he left, I could use the time to gather some intel on him from a reliable senpai.

"Well, it was nice meeting you senp —"

"Fuka."

Again, I had to remind him how to address me properly. I was sure that he was trying to get my blessing in calling me senpai, but that wouldn't go. Such a cute and interesting Kouhai-kun shouldn't treat me like a stranger.

"Ehrm. Well, it was nice meeting you, Fuka, but I should go back now."

"Do you, now? Where are you going?"

"A friend of mine is in the basketball club. I wanted to see how he's doing."

I wondered if this so-called friend of his existed, or if he just made things up to get away from me, but I wasn't curious enough to find out for myself. It wouldn't be long until our paths crossed again and I would take my sweet time gathering information for this moment.

"Mhh... alright. You may leave, Kouhai-kun."

"Thanks. I guess. I'll see you around Fuka-senp —"

"Just Fuka."

Once again, I had to cut him off. His face hadn't changed at all, but I was sure that he found me quite troublesome. I met the most interesting Kouhai at my birthday.

Was that a sign?

I couldn't help but wonder.

Without knocking, I waltzed into the room and was immediately greeted by one of my favorite senpai's.

"Hey, it's you again! Didn't I tell you to be more respectful to your senpai? Gosh, how can a Kouhai be this rude?"

Two lilac buns wiggled up and down as the tiny student glared at me with a foul expression that showed how upset she was. The person beside her, the one she admired, only glanced at me before returning his focus towards the documents in front of him.

"It's okay Tachibana. What can I do for you, Kiryuin?"

The student council president kept taking notes and read through the files as his smooth voice rang through the room. Tachibana turned to me with a smug grin, since he didn't give me the time of the day, and only dealt with me in passing while his attention was somewhere entirely different.

He was one of the few people who had caught my eye when I entered this school, but that was all in the past. Manabu became boring and predictable, so I lost interest in him. His only redeeming feature was that he was an especially capable student who wielded the school rules to his advantage.

Nagumo wasn't in the room, meaning it was only him, Tachibana and I. There was no reason to beat around the bush with just the three of us around, since Tachibana would never betray her beloved president.

"I'd like to look at the entrance exam of a particular student."

He glanced up with a confused, yet knowing, gaze. Since he had the results, he obviously saw them, so there is no way Kouhai-kun would have escaped his discerning eye.

Had he approached him, perhaps?

"I take it that the favor I owe you will no longer be a concern, then. Name?"

I clicked my tongue in annoyance.

Manabu was my easiest way to get a hold of the results, but his demand was rather troublesome. The favor he owed me wasn't small and wouldn't be paid back in full for such a simple task. If I really wanted to see his documents, then this was the price I needed to pay. This was Manabu's way of getting even while determining how important this information was to me by setting such a ridiculous price.

"Ayanokouji Kiyotaka."

Tachibana peeked at me. Her eyes widened before they moved to a not at all surprised Horikita. He leaned back and stretched his fingers, which were stiff from all the writing.

"Tachibana, please hand her the file."

The girl took the key he handed her and walked towards a locked compartment near a window. After unlocking it, she browsed through the files and pulled out a certain folder. Tachibana double checked the label and the contents before nodding with a content smile.

"The documents stay inside this room." Tachibana handed me the documents with a stern warning.

Did she really think I would run out of here with documents I shouldn't be seeing in the first place? Should I ask her about her feelings for Manabu to anger her? Ahh~ there's something more important right now.

I took a seat on the empty chair of the vice principal. Tachibana was ready to complain, but Horikita waved her off. Leaning back, I put my legs on Nagumo's desk before opening the anticipated file.

My smile grew wide upon gazing at his scores, and I couldn't help but let out a chuckle. Manabu flashed a knowing smile while watching this scene unfold before him. His luggage let out a dry 'hmph' and turned away from me.

The president knew exactly why I was here since he had also deemed this student an interesting one. After reading through the entire file on the student named Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, I couldn't help but feel enthralled.

My amusement died down after I had absorbed everything I needed to know. I placed the folder back on the table and took two pictures of the results.

This would be a nice bargain to confront him with. I couldn't wait to see how he would react.

"If anyone sees these results, the two of us are going to have a serious talk. Is that understood?"

"Hai~ hai~..."

Tachibana flushed red in rage after my careless answer in front of the student council president. Whereas most of the students were afraid of him, I didn't care what he thought of me as long as he left me alone. Manabu as well, didn't seem to mind my casual reply, since he already knew what kind of person I was.

I glanced towards the secretary, who was occupied with holding herself back, as she didn't want to leave a bad impression in front of her love, since he had told her repeatedly to ignore my whims. I was about to tease her a bit, but it seemed like the president wanted to protect his little pet.

"Have you reconsidered joining the student council? The vice president's seat is yours if you want it."

I burst into laughter after hearing his rude remark. Tachibana glanced towards the door with a somewhat uncomfortable expression, hoping that Nagumo wouldn't walk in while Manabu was offering me his seat in the student council.

"I wonder what Mr Notice Me Senpai's expression would be if he heard you just now. That aside, aren't you growing bored with asking me all the time?"

He closed the folder in front of him and handed it to Tachibana before focusing back on me.

"It would be a waste not to invite someone with your abilities into the council, even if you said no once. Who knows, you might have had an epiphany since the last time we had a chat."

"Nothing remotely piques my interest in the student council. Aside from that, it's far too much work. I'd rather relax all day and do whatever I want. You should try it someday, prez."

Manabu corrected his glasses before heaving a sigh.

Tachibana returned the key to him after stashing the folders she was just handed back inside. I thought that she had forgotten Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's documents, but after a quick glance to where I had left them, I realized that they were gone. She must've picked them up while she was walking by.

Huh, maybe she wasn't a good-for-nothing after all.

"So, what do you think about that student?"

"He seems interesting. I'm not sure how interesting yet, but I'll know in due time."

"I bet you do. Should I feel sorry for him? Oh, and since you are already here, Happy Birthday."

"Oh my, thank you. To be congratulated by the almighty Horikita Manabu. I'm honored."

I bowed gracefully while he let out a heavy sigh and turned towards another stack of documents.

After the disappointments that were Manabu and Nagumo, I wondered if Kouhai-kun was a student that could bring color to my dull life. Some might think I was reading too much into him, but I was far too confident in my ability to read people as to underestimate someone.

Maybe he was the one. Not just a crouching tiger, but the hidden dragon I was looking for.

- Word Count: 2871 / 12812 Characters

Released 16.04.2022

Chapter 6 - Evaluation

The students poured into the room before class started. Hirata came later than usual, but his expression changed drastically. He greeted everyone as he strolled into the classroom, whereupon Kushida gave me a proud nod to show off how well her plan had worked out.

I didn't know what they talked about, and I didn't really care. All that mattered was that he was getting better, which would make my future moves easier to execute. Both Karuizawa and Mii-chan seemed more than delighted that their friend was back to his usual self.

Or that's what it seemed like, at least.

A simple talk with Kushida couldn't have filled the void in his heart, which he now possessed due to Yamauchi's expulsion. The more people got expelled, the harder it would be for him to keep going, which meant that I had to minimize my losses as much as possible before taking proper care of him and his mental state. It would be a shame if one of my bishops broke because he wasn't able to handle the pawns' sacrifices. I didn't need him to win since he wasn't a major piece, but controlling him would make this game so much easier.

All the pieces in this class had a role to play, and it was my task to use them to their fullest potential. Since I felt thankful to Hirata, I would try my best to protect him as long as possible. This, however, didn't mean I wouldn't sacrifice him if necessary.

Soon, almost every student was accounted for.

The ice queen on my right kept readying her materials for class in calm silence. She threw a quick glance at me as she noticed my gaze on her. I opened my mouth, but in the end nothing came out of it. She seemed somewhat perplexed and disappointed as she shook her head and sighed as if I was the most pitiful person in existence.

Sudou ran into the classroom around ten seconds before Chabashira-sensei strode in. He had dark circles under his eyes, which was clear evidence that he had slept little last night.

I briefly wondered what might have kept him up after our group split up yesterday, but this train of thought was overshadowed by Chabashira-sensei's long strides towards the teacher's desk. She was mesmerizing, as always, but that cold attitude of hers irked me somewhat and needed some adjusting.

Once again, her figure overlapped with a certain someone who sat beside me.

Without further ado, Chabashira-sensei began homeroom while Sudou grabbed his materials and dumped them on the table before yawning. It had been only two days since Yamauchi had officially left the school, and the first person showed signs of letting go of his newfound careful attitude. This was bound to happen, but Sudou regressed faster than I had anticipated, which wasn't a big problem in the grand scheme of things.

Since Yamauchi was expelled because of his 'misbehavior', the students in our class were a lot more careful with their actions. The survivors felt some sort of imminent threat towards their peaceful life for a time after the incident, which kept the class in check. Their current behavior, excluding Sudou, was comparable to Class B's performance on the second day of school. They might not be listening to the teachers, but at least they made it look like they were.

With time, however, this sentiment would change and the students would slip back to the sort of behavior they felt most comfortable with. My classmates would be more vigilant and might not react as extreme as before in fear of further expulsions, but every single one of them would revert to their selves on the first few days in this school.

With Sudou slipping this soon, the others would notice that his behavior had no immediate negative effects for him and follow his example due to their misconception about this place. Sudou was the first gear that would lead to a chain reaction which would send the whole class back to the beginning of April.

This was simple human psychology, which is why I couldn't do anything without standing out. I could have prepared countermeasures, of course, but this was some sort of experiment, so I didn't mind. Since I preferred to stay under the radar and have a peaceful highschool life, I kept biding my time.

At least for now. I didn't know what the future would bring, after all.

While I was spacing out, Chabashira-sensei's captivating voice went in one ear and out the other. There was no reason for me to listen to her words, but I enjoyed her soothing yet authoritative tone. I wondered why I was so attracted to her voice while I stayed vigilant in my attempt to disguise my boredom as an interest in the topic we were discussing.

My eyes fell upon a girl which the guys kept talking about yesterday, Hasebe Haruka.

They weren't talking about her, strictly speaking, but a certain part of her body, which was rumored to be gigantic. I couldn't see much from my position, but that I saw something was proof enough that she was indeed quite huge in that regard.

The girl in question was conscious of her rather large assets and the looks she received because of them. Due to this, she was uncomfortable around most of the boys in our class, since the majority couldn't help but take some time to peek at her breasts during a conversation.

I felt somewhat sorry for her, but there wasn't anything I could do to help.

In the end, Hasebe decided to act similar to the girl named Sakura Airi, who I had never heard talking before.

As my thoughts drifted towards her, I recalled the scene from a few days ago while I was on my way to the library. Since I needed to know as much as possible about my pieces, I decided to tail her once I was free.

Class ended after what felt like an eternity, and it was time to enact our plan. I didn't feel good about it, but it wasn't like I could run off and hope that everything would turn out well.

"Hey, Horikita. Are you free today by chance?"

Her head shifted into my direction, which made her lustrous black hair sway around.

The glare in her eyes was scary. Really, really, scary.

After staring at me for around five seconds, she averted her gaze back to the front and answered in a disinterested tone.

"Is that what you were trying to ask this morning? I have to prepare for class tomorrow."

What would she need to prepare for tomorrow? Did I miss an announcement while spacing out? I was pretty sure that we had regular lessons. But if I thought about it another way, she looked like a student who would do nothing but study, eat and sleep all day. This was probably the way she had spent her whole life until now, as she said herself that she needed no friends.

Wait! Didn't this make us kind of similar? Maybe I had figured out why I felt this strange relief when talking to her, even though she was always cold towards me.

"You don't seem like someone who would need to prepare that much. I just wanted to ask if you would go with me somewhere for a bit."

"False flattery will bring you nowhere, you know? But it is indeed correct that I am smart enough to absorb Chabashira-sensei's teachings without proper preparation. Unlike someone else, that is also a part of this conversation."

Horikita gave me a sideways glance, which bordered on hostility.

She was fronting me, knowing that I needed to review the materials in the library. It wasn't like I could inform her that this was just a ruse, so I wasn't able to disagree with her assessment, even though it was based on nothing but misconceptions.

How troublesome.

"What are you after?" She asked with a suspicious glint in her eyes.

"To be honest, Kushida wanted to run into us by accident because she wanted to befriend you."

Was what I wanted to say, but both of them would probably double-team me into the ground if I were to do that, which wouldn't be a bad outcome at all, now that I thought about it. Her question, however, was strange. Just by inviting her out, she determined that I'd have an ulterior motive. I hadn't been aware that my standing with her was this low. Maybe I was the only one having a good time due to our usual bantering?

"Do I have to be after something if I just wanted to invite you out?"

"Of course I would have my doubts. However, if there is a specific matter you wish to discuss, I wouldn't mind listening."

My impressions were off. This sentence alone was a tremendous step for Horikita. It was almost as if she had already confessed to me. Maybe Kushida was right after all, and love might bloom from our chance meeting. I doubted that she would have agreed if someone else in class asked her out, even if it was in such a roundabout way.

"There is indeed something I'd like to discuss, but there is another reason as well. You probably know about the cafe on campus. That with a ton of girls. I wanted to check it out but don't have the guts to go there by myself. Since I had something to talk to you about, I thought I could catch two birds with one stone, so to speak."

"So you were after something in the end, weren't you?"

Well, if you put it like that...

"Couldn't you have asked your so-called friends to go there with you?"

Once again, a snide remark came from her side.

She didn't even want an answer for this question. Her only goal was to scar me mentally. I had an answer prepared on how they would be too high profile for me to handle, but she continued before I could say anything.

"Since you invited me, you will pay, correct?"

"Naturally."

"Well then. I have little time, however. Let us proceed, Ayanokouji-kun."

"It won't take long."

Probably.

After our departure, we soon reached the Palate.

The building was already filled to the brim with young and beautiful highschool girls, which was too much for me to handle if I was being honest. It wasn't like their presence was uncomfortable, but I couldn't stop processing the information I received every time I glanced at someone. There were some boys as well, but to find them, one really needed to observe every nook and cranny of this fine establishment as they were being drowned by the sheer amount of women in there.

There are so many people here...

"There are so many people here..."

Once again, it was as if she had read my mind. She even had the same complaining tone I had thought of.

"This is your first time seeing so many people, right? Since it's your first time doing something social."

I let my gaze wander around the cafe as I was feeling victorious for responding to her snide remark from before with one of my own, but my heightened mood soon plummeted, as I couldn't find any empty seats.

"How childish. What would you do if I just turned around and left?"

"Who's childish now? I merely stated facts. Unlike you." I grinned.

"Could you stop using my words against me? It's unbecoming. You may not do that."

I was actually surprised upon hearing her response. I used her words with clear intent, but I didn't think that she would still remember that she said the same thing to me on our very first day here. Maybe I wasn't the only one enjoying our bantering after all.

"You still remember our conversation? Should I feel flattered or be surprised by your memory?"

"Again, you are giving yourself too much credit. I'm vastly superior to you in terms of intellect. In fact, I should be the surprised party. Or do you perhaps remember our chit-chat because of your interest in me?"

"Objection. The question is irrelevant."

"A lawyer now, are we? Quite suspicious if you ask me."

Both Horikita and I knew that we were merely joking around, as neither of us held any romantic interest towards the other person. As always, our exchange was fun, and I felt a small smile spreading over my face.

We placed our orders after another round of senseless bantering where no one came out on top. Even though Horikita was rather cold, I could tell that she also enjoyed our chat. I paid for the both of us as we received our food and drinks before aimlessly wandering through Palate, looking for a free seat.

"Do you like sweets?"

Once again, I was quite surprised about the Horikita of that day. This was the first time she had asked a personal question that wasn't aiming on hurting me or otherwise leading towards something sinister. Her voice felt different as well, not as harsh as it normally was, but sweet even. I talked myself into believing that I was just being delusional.

There was no way that Horikita had a sweet voice.

"I guess."

This was a lie, of course. It wasn't like I could tell her that I didn't know how a pancake tasted. If I was being honest, there were a lot of things I wanted to try here. From sweets to cake and ice cream, there was nothing I wasn't interested in. I was excited, like a small child, as I thought about all the firsts I might get to experience in these short three years.

"What about you?" I pointed towards a seat that was about to free up.

Horikita and I secured the table that the two girls had just left as they were about to head outside. I put my bag down, took my seat, and started to look around, hoping that someone else chose to order the same I did, since I didn't know how to eat a pancake. As luck would have it, a group of girls right next to us had purchased the same meal, which meant that I could mimic their behavior.

"I guess they are nice once in a while. But I'm not a friend of too much."

"Well, to be fair, you aren't really anyone's friend."

"Excuse me?" Horikita called out to one of the servers.

"Yes, how may I help you?"

"I'd like to order two dozen pancakes, one serving of ice cream and a drink of their choosing for anyone in the cafe right now."

"Eh?" the waitress 'asked' with a complex expression while my face paled. "Are you sure?"

Horikita — no, the devil turned towards me with the most fascinating smile I had seen in my entire life.

"Am I sure? What do you think, Ayanokouji-kun?"

"I think you are joking... right? Right?"

Cold sweat gathered on my palms as I was calculating the price that was about to hit me if she went through with her insane purchase.

"I wonder if it was just a joke." She hummed with a sweet expression.

"It was, it definitely was." I gulped while shooing away the service lady.

Note to myself: Horikita Suzune was dangerous.

After preventing the imminent disaster, I heaved a deep sigh of relief.

"You're too cold, Horikita. What am I supposed to do without points for the rest of the month?"

"Hm? You'll be fine. There are free meal sets in the cafeteria, after all."

"You would really let me eat those things?"

"Why not? Seeing you suffer might lift my mood a bit after such harsh words. Maybe I should go through with the order after all..."

Her words drifted off, and she raised her hand to get the servers' attention. Without thinking, I snatched her hand and buried it under mine. It only occurred to me after the fact that I did something that presented a danger to my life. At least that's what Matsushita said, and I was inclined to believe her since she hadn't let me down until now.

"Uh, sorry about that."

I averted my gaze as Horikita kept staring on the hand I pulled back onto the table without saying another word. I had the bad feeling that she was fuming, but I wasn't able to read her expression at all. While gazing around the cafe, I tried my best to come up with some witty counter to leave the weird atmosphere behind.

Matsushita's warning was spot on as always. Since I hadn't stopped analyzing my surroundings ever since we got here, I couldn't help but notice that there were only groups of girls or couples in the cafe.

"I wonder if we seem like a couple to the other people around here."

As those words left my mouth, I realized that those words really had left my mouth. Horikita's calm voice interrupted my mental, tearful farewell to every single point I had.

"Probably. It looks like there are only girls and couples around at the moment. How about you buy me a drink for every person who thinks we're a couple?"

"You really want to ruin me, don't you?"

I was glad that the usual Horikita was still around. She acted weird, and I didn't know what happened just now, but I was sure that I should take more of Matsushita's advice into consideration after this life or death experience.

"No such thing. I just enjoy seeing you struggle." She took a sip from her drink with a delighted expression. "Anyway, what did you want to discuss with me?"

There were, in fact, multiple things I wanted to make sure of, so I swiftly opened my mouth as another pair of customers next to us left their table.

"About that. I was wondering —"

"Ah, Horikita-san, Ayanokouji-kun! What a coincidence."

A smiling Kushida cut into the conversation without hesitation. She had taken the spot beside us, which had just freed up and radiated her usual happy aura.

Oh... I forgot about that.

"Kushida? Hey..."

My surprise sounded rather genuine, because I had neglected the reason I was here with Horikita. I was so enthralled by our previous conversation and the question I had wanted to ask that Kushida's plan slipped my mind.

"Did you two come here together?"

"Yeah, we just happened to. Did you come by yourself? That sure is a strange sight."

I got back into character to make up for my lack of professionalism from before. Kushida was about to speak, but got cut short by Horikita.

"I'm leaving."

She stood up without hesitation, ready to leave the cafe.

"H-hey, we just got here."

"You don't need me anymore now that Kushida-san is here. Right?"

It was weird, almost shocking, that such a sentence left her supple lips. There was something else, however... I wasn't sure if I was imagining things, but she sounded hurt. I didn't understand why.

"I wanted to discuss something with you, though. Did you already forget that?"

"We'll talk some other time, then."

"Horikita-san, I..."

As Kushida opened her mouth, Horikita shot her an ice cold glare. "I'm not interested in anything you have to say. Especially after the two of you set me up like this." The raven-haired girl glanced at me while I looked back at her.

Kushida wanted to retaliate, but Horikita left her no choice but to listen in silence.

"Or are you telling me it was a coincidence that two Class D girls left when we were looking for a spot? Was it also a coincidence that the two girls on the table next to us were from Class D as well? We came immediately after classes ended, and neither of those girls had ordered anything, which means they were only here because you asked them to. Am I wrong? Kushida-san?"

Upon this verbal barrage, Kushida looked down in shame and sadness. Horikita had seen through her ruse with ease, and everything she just said was proof of this. There was no way to come back from such a beatdown.

I was excited, however.

Horikita was far more observant than I anticipated. Since she failed to deduce anything about the school on the first day, I thought she was just book smart. But this was different. She seemed disinterested in the class, but still remembered that those four girls belonged to ours. She found it suspicious and correctly deduced what had gone down behind the scenes in a short amount of time while emotions clouded her judgement.

"As I thought. I'm leaving."

"Horikita-san, please be my friend."

"I have no intention of becoming anyone's friend. Not yours and not his."

After hearing such a harsh wake-up call, I took a small hit to my confidence. I enjoyed talking to her, after all. This nonchalant statement that she would never become my friends saddened me more than I wanted to admit.

"Horikita-san, I really want to be friends with you. When I saw you in the bus, I felt it wasn't the first time we've met. I wondered if you felt the same way."

That's an oddly specific choice of words...

"I didn't. And I couldn't care less that you want to be friends with me. Just leave me alone. You are being unpleasant."

With that, Horikita grabbed her bag and walked out of the cafe without turning back.

"Sorry, Kushida."

I stood up and ran after Horikita without waiting for a response. After checking the surrounding area, I found the tips of her hair vanishing behind a nearby building. I raced after her and followed the girl until there weren't that many people around, which fortunately didn't take too long.

"Horikita wait."

She turned around with an annoyed expression, but she stopped walking.

That was a good sign.

"I'm sorry, really. I did not know that Kushida would do something like that."

She stayed quiet and observed me as if to probe if I was being sincere with her. Since she didn't react, I moved closer towards her current position. I had taken her glare from before head on, without avoiding it. Thus, she must have concluded that a certain part of her theory was wrong, or else I would have averted my eyes due to my guilty conscience.

"As dumb as it sounds... I like what we are."

I honestly felt that way.

This was once again something out of character for the person known as Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. But that was the beauty about him. There was nothing that could be out of character for someone that didn't possess one to begin with. I was slowly changing, day by day, forming what I believed to be a decent human being. Honesty was important. That was what I had gathered from my talks with the girls and Hirata.

Horikita stared at me, unmoving and silent. I chose to push forward, out of my comfort zone. Out of our comfort zone. If I didn't do so now, it would only get harder to get close to her in a short time span.

"I know you don't want any friends. But I enjoy the time we spend bantering or getting on each other's nerves. Honestly, I do. So I'd like to keep spending time with you like that, even if you think that I had something to do with this ambush just now. We don't have to be friends. An acquaintance, or even just another classmate, is enough of a label for me. As long as we don't change how we act around each other because of such a stupid misunderstanding."

Even Horikita, who was usually stoic and cold beyond belief, seemed taken aback upon hearing those words. This was really, really out of character for the person I had built until now. But I couldn't care less. I needed her to know my honest thoughts, and I demanded her decision upon hearing them.

The ball was in her corner. She might pass it back to me, or fling it into the ocean where the waves would get rid of it in time. How she wanted to proceed was entirely her decision, just like it should be.

There was no use in running after her like Kushida did.

I prepared for this day, and everything would turn out as predicted. I was sure of that. The stage I had set up for Horikita was the exact one she had wanted, the one she felt most comfortable in. As I was thinking more about this, I noticed that this situation was like one of those corny confession scenes Karuizawa and Satou always talked about, and I couldn't help but get somewhat embarrassed.

The decision that would follow would decide the future of Horikita Suzune at this school.

The girl touched her forehead as if a headache was coming.

"You really are a moron, Ayanokouji-kun."

Steps rang out through the surrounding area. Her steps, to be exact. They got louder as she closed in on me.

"I also enjoy it... when I verbally beat you down." A vicious smirk formed on her face.

Of course, she would word it as if she were winning all the time. I didn't expect any less, honestly.

"So we'll stay casual acquaintances and classmates just like always. I believe you, that you didn't know about Kushida-san's plan, I mean."

"Casual acquaintances sounds good to me."

"I'll kill you if you ever tell anyone what I just told you. Is that understood, Ayanokouji-kun?"

"Yes, Mam."

I saluted her, cracking a small smile. Again, I imagined her having a small smile on her face as well, but that couldn't be possible. Not even in a thousand years. I didn't even know if my muscles were working properly, after all.

"Here." She held out her phone towards me. "My number."

"What an honor. How did I deserve such a luxury product?"

I stored her information while cracking such a bad joke.

"I figured that Kushida-san must have heard us when we were talking about going to the Palate. So this is a countermeasure. Don't think you are special or anything."

"I wouldn't dare."

"Well then. See you tomorrow, Ayanokouji-kun."

She turned around and left just like that.

"See you tomorrow Horikita."

I watched her receding back until she turned a corner, before leaning against a nearby wall.

This move was a dangerous gamble, but it seemed as if I my evaluation of her was correct so far. There was no need to label our relationship, but it was important for her to not have any friends. I didn't know why or how this thought process stuck with her, but she saw friends as a distraction, or some kind of danger to stay clear of. From my point of view, our relationship didn't change from what we previously had.

But it had changed for her.

In her view, our relationship took a huge step forward, because I was being honest about my feelings regarding her. I knew that I enjoyed spending time with her, but she didn't. She also denied the mere thought that she was enjoying it until I spelled it out for her.

Because, unbeknownst to Horikita herself, she felt the same way.

It was clear after comparing her reactions when talking to me versus other people that tried talking to her. While she was mean and snarly most of the time, she always kept the conversation going with her remarks and didn't shut down to leave like she did with Sudou and Kushida. Well, she did from time to time, but that seemed to be more for comedic purposes and not in pursuit of exiting the conversation.

I didn't know why she, unperceived by herself, had a favorable opinion about me, even though we clashed just as much as she and Sudou at the beginning. But I was glad that I wasn't the only one who found our exchanges pleasant.

Kushida's problem was her fixation on being friends with her, but Horikita was weird as well. As soon as she heard the word friend or something remotely similar, she shut down and began to deny anything that came her way. I didn't know if she had any bad memories when thinking of friendship, or if she had any other reasons, but I would find out in time.

Our private angel once again gave off certain signals that she had an ulterior motive by befriending Horikita. She claimed time and time again that she wished to be friends with everyone, but she was too hung up on our ice queen. I've never seen her talk to Sakura, the Professor, or Kouenji and she only started a conversation with me because she needed my help to get closer to Horikita.

I wasn't shadowing her every day, but someone like Sakura who seemed to be shy and low-key would certainly progress through her problems faster with someone like Kushida lending her a helping hand in finding like-minded people she could open up to. Just like she tried to help the woman from the bus and Yamauchi, she should have tried her best for Sakura.

But she didn't. Why was that?

Because doing so wouldn't benefit her.

Her remark to Horikita back in the cafe was out of place as well. She didn't care about being friends with Horikita. Kushida only wanted to confirm whether Horikita knew her from before. This would only be important if she was worried, if she had something to hide, which Horikita could be mindful of. This would explain her obsession and her blatant disregard for other individuals in our class.

I was a little sad because of the pancake that was now getting cold, but maybe Kushida would eat it?

I took out my phone and shot Kushida a quick message.

[04:04:12 PM] Sorry for leaving suddenly. I tried to bring her back, but failed spectacularly. (シ. .)シ If you are still at the Palate, you can have my pancake since I won't be coming back.

With that taken care of and more than enough free time at hand, I decided to see if I could find out where and how Sakura decided to spend her time after classes. After around half an hour of searching, I concluded that I wouldn't be able to find her anytime soon and better take care of something else.

The school was too large, and I had no reference points on where she could be. For all I knew, she might relax in her room.

As I was ruminating about what to do next, someone decided for me.

"If it isn't Kouhai-kun."

A cold shudder crept over my whole body as I heard those words.

I glanced around, hoping that she was the only person around, but that seemed to be a wish that wouldn't be granted. She was walking nearby with a large group of other students, which I deemed to be her classmates. They were surprised upon hearing her call out to me, which bought me some time that I used to vanish behind one of the adjacent buildings.

Yesterday's gut feeling was correct. This woman was trouble, and even more annoying than expected.

"Kiryuin-san, who was that?"

I heard one of her classmates.

"Huh? It was Kouhai-kun, of course."

She played dumb, but no one would believe her. I couldn't see her expression, but her tone alone clarified that she was grinning from ear to ear. If she dropped my name, I would get rid of her immediately.

"Since when are you interested in other people besides yourself? And a Kouhai at that? Who is he?"

Another clearly puzzled voice added to the confusion of the surrounding people.

If she was interested in me while she wasn't in most other people, there had to be a reason. What that reason was, however, I couldn't say.

"Who knows? I'll be going, bye."

She excused herself before walking towards my direction.

I used the reflection of a nearby store window to make sure that her classmates didn't follow and backed up further into the alley. As Kiryuin was about to turn the corner, I vanished behind another building. She should have barely seen me walk in that direction, which would prompt her to follow.

While I was leading her away from prying eyes, I wondered whether I should try to talk it out or force her to stop messing with my life. Both were valid options, and each of them had different pros and cons. Since I didn't know what she learned or why she was so interested in me, I decided to hide my cards for the time being.

I made my way over into one of the school buildings and climbed the stairs until I reached the roof. There was no reason that anyone should be up here during that time except for some kind of secret meeting, which is why I took the risk. If I ran into someone, they had something to hide, just like I did.

All these thoughts were for naught, however, because the roof was completely empty.

I checked my surroundings and found a single camera that was overseeing most of the roof. Judging by its position, there were multiple blind spots which I could utilize if I had to act. My phone vibrated, informing me about a message, but I ignored it and prepared for my visitor. I shut the door and sat down at the wall to wait for Kiryuin's arrival.

She arrived some time after me, since I had quickened my pace as soon as I had reached the building to buy myself some valuable time. The door opened, and a beautiful face slipped through the crack.

"Mitsu~keta, Ko~hai~kun."

Once again, an icy shiver crawled up my spine. This woman came straight out of a slasher movie.

I turned towards her agile figure, which was still resting near the door. Even though she felt like an evil spirit hunting me, I couldn't deny that she truly looked devilish.

In a good way.

"Oh, senpai. What a coincidence. What are you doing up here?"

"Don't be like that, Kouhai-kun. Weren't you luring the poor Fuka-chan here on purpose?"

She smirked, closed the door, and sat down right beside me.

"I don't know what you are talking about, honestly. I was just trying to get away from you because I don't like large crowds. Then you suddenly came after me."

The lioness kept silent and grinned while observing every reaction.

"How did you find me, anyway? I started running when I noticed you were still following me, so I thought I would have escaped."

"Just had a feeling that Kouhai-kun would wait for me on the roof."

She wasn't buying my act at all. It's obvious, however, since my facial expressions were too stiff to handle such a mechanically complex scene.

"And why would I do that?"

"Because it's romantic, isn't it?"

Her figure moved closer towards me, whereupon I backed up and moved as far away from her as possible.

"I don't bite."

She pouted playfully while her index finger kept hovering in front of her lips. Her figure, gestures, and words were alluring, but I doubted that this was just a coincidence. Kiryuin attacked me with a strategy in mind that would work on most guys our age.

"I really think you do."

A giggle escaped her perfect lips. As if hunting down her prey, she narrowed her eyes with a wide grin.

"Look Fuka-senpai, I'm flattered that you are interested in me for some unknown reason, but I'm really just an average first-year student that wants to live a peaceful life. You calling out to me in front of your classmates or other students is really throwing me off, you know? I don't want any trouble. Just silently bide my time and enjoy the next three years without worrying about such things."

"Average, yes?"

Her smile grew wider.

"Yes, average."

"Well, since you are just average, it wouldn't be weird at all if your entrance exam scores were all average as well, correct?"

Upon saying this, she showed me a photo on her phone. The picture depicted a student's entrance exam scores. To be more specific, it showed my scores. The shot was taken in a manner that wouldn't reveal my name, but she saw my scores and maybe even the answers I had given that time.

"Why are you showing me your exam scores, senpai? How did you get them, anyway?"

This would be a fair assumption if one was shown you such a picture. The results weren't told to the students, so it wasn't weird that I wouldn't know about my own scores. Asking anything aside from this could reveal that I recognized that it was possible to get certain services if you paid someone who had the resources or connections to get what you wanted.

Since the student himself wouldn't learn about their scores, it was safe to assume that only the faculty members were aware. But would all teachers have access to my entrance exam?

The chances were high that Chabashira-sensei was informed about her students' scores, but the other homeroom teachers shouldn't be aware of all our results, since that would rig the competition between classes.

It was also fair to assume that the teachers had a similar worth-system as the students.

If our class did good, Chabashira-sensei would be worth more in the school's opinion as well. If all faculty members knew about the excellent students, they would identify the people to keep an eye on from the beginning, which would favor the higher ranked Classes like A and B who had usually more points to spare.

Another potential seller could have been the chairman.

Even if he didn't see the scores for himself, he had enough access to get hold of whatever information he wanted because of his position. And everyone who paid for that information would get it, be it a faculty member or a student.

"You disappoint me, Kouhai-kun."

She swiped right on her phone, which revealed a second picture. This time, my name was visible on top of the score sheet.

"Those were mine? Wow, I suck... why do you have them, though? They wouldn't show them to me."

"I was interested, so I nicely asked someone to show me. He was very helpful."

She tilted her head with an alluring smile.

"Well, the scores are completely average, as you can see yourself, so why are you so interested in me? I really don't want to have any trouble, and you senpai, seem more than just a handful."

I mostly referred to her breast size, but she was trouble anyway and the meaning was the same. I couldn't let her know that I was being distracted by them, after all. Well, not distracted, but fascinated? I wasn't sure. It was a weird feeling.

Since she kept moving closer, I stood up and turned towards the railing where I could see most of the school grounds and beyond. The ocean was calm and Tokyo seemed busy as always. I wasn't able to make out a lot because of the distance, but the city was always packed with people running around.

This was a perfect distraction from those two devilish mounds.

She moved beside me. Her platinum blonde hair was swaying in the wind like a beautiful butterfly. Kiryuin turned her face towards me, as she as well leaned on the railing.

"I don't want to cause you any trouble. You just caught my eye, so I wanted to learn more about you."

After everything was said and done, there was no use in hiding. She not only had the score sheet but also the answers I had given to the different questions. I saw a glimpse of one of them on the second picture, which meant she knew that I got the 50 points on purpose since I answered questions which a normal high-schooler shouldn't be able to.

I didn't know how she found out about me, but if she didn't want to cause any trouble, there should be no reason for her not to answer my questions first. But there was something else. Something that had to be taken care of before Kiryuin and I could discuss where our new acquaintanceship would lead.

"Fuka."

My voice hadn't changed from before as I turned to look at her. That's what I had thought, at least.

Her eyes gleamed as if she found what she had been looking forward to for quite a while. They sparkled in anticipation of what would follow this single word. Her enchanting lips formed the most seductive grin a person could witness as she waited for me to continue.

My eyes grew cold, and my voice followed. I stared right through her two almond windows and gazed deep into the person known as Kiryuin Fuka. There was no fear, only a deep-seated interest towards the unknown. My face drew closer to hers. My pupils didn't dart around. They didn't quiver or displayed any sign of discomfort. All they did was drill deep into her being and claw their way into her core.

Fuka's heartbeat sped up as she swallowed her saliva. Her eyes trembled for a moment, but soon returned to their usual beauty. For her to take a peek behind the curtain, I partially released the darkness I was hiding inside of me and let my mask slip.

"Be careful what you wish for."

Her body trembled, and goosebumps formed on her perfect skin. Her steady eyes faltered, just for a single moment, as her breathing came to a sudden halt. The smile on her face vanished for a split second before she returned to her usual composed and confident attitude.

She slung her arms around my head and kept staring into my eyes.

"I see you, Kiyotaka."

Her voice shook. Not in fear, but pure excitement. Her heart pounded even harder, even faster than before, and I could feel her hands trembling behind my back as she tightened her grip on me.

With that short excursion, the two of us properly evaluated each other.

She learned that I had something to hide and glimpsed at my true self, which she could uncover from now on. It wouldn't be easy, if not impossible, which is why I had no qualms about showing her this much.

I found someone truly interesting as well, someone who might be useful. The proud lioness in front of me wasn't afraid or taken aback by the sight I had shown her, but even more eager to learn about me.

Her grip loosened as she caressed past my neck, which felt strangely comfortable. She turned back towards the railing and stared at the far horizon with a bewitching smile on her face. I leaned on the rail as well and faced her with my usual emotionless expression.

"Who sold you my exam results?"

"The student council president."

To my surprise, she had stopped playing around. Without beating around the bush, she answered my question, which showed that she was happy with what she had achieved today. I was sure that the seniors were instructed not to reveal anything about the schools system and it seemed like that was correct so far. Even though no one could prove it, she kept being vague until she was sure that I knew certain things.

"Horikita Manabu, huh? Do you know where he got them?"

If I'm able to narrow down his source, it might be possible to prevent others from finding out about me. From what I had learned, it didn't seem very hard to buy information about certain students; myself included. I had to secure myself against any potential threat that might come my way in the future.

"No idea. He, his secretary, and I are the only ones who are aware of your interesting results, as far as I know."

Tachibana as well? It seemed like the president trusted her to a certain degree, so she wasn't only his secretary because she's good at her job, but also because she's trustworthy.

"Did he already have them when you asked?"

"Yes, he is in possession of every student's results."

It wouldn't make much sense to buy the results of all students for one lucky find in between them. I'd understand if he had bought the entrance examination results for the first-years who decided to apply to the student council, but buying all of them wouldn't make much sense. He must have gotten them some other way.

"How much?"

"I don't know. He owed me a favor, so I didn't have to pay a dime. Aside from that, I was never interested enough in anyone to ask about their documents. I'm not sure if he would readily sell them to anyone either. It could have been that I was a special case since he wanted to get rid of his debt."

Fuka was compliant, which I hadn't expected at all. Was this her way of thanking me for opening up to her? Or did she answer my questions without telling me that I needed to do the same later?

"The student council president is in the third year, meaning he'll graduate soon. Do you know who will be his successor?"

"That would be his vice-president, Nagumo Miyabi. He's a Class A student who was previously in Class B. He's also the reason this beautiful senpai here isn't in the top class anymore. Not that I really care about any of that. If I did, it wouldn't be a problem buying my way up anyway."

This was an extremely valuable piece of information. I hadn't even asked her about it either. She just added this herself, since it would prove useful. According to her expression, she assumed that I was already aware of such a feature, which was half true. I suspected that something like this would be possible since it applied to 'anything in this school', but I hadn't pursued this option further since I wasn't interested in changing classes.

"You are awfully compliant. I didn't expect that."

She moved closer towards me and flashed a playful and toothy smile.

"If you keep me company, a lot of things you didn't expect will happen."

"That so?"

"Mhm."

She hummed as she turned towards me. Her arms once again wrapped around my neck while her face closed in on mine until our noses almost touched. Aside from this, another type of contact took place at my chest area, which felt interesting. The sensation was both warm and incredibly soft, yet supple enough to entice me.

I propped myself up, which lead to our bodies pressing against each other even more than before. Her breaths were warm and moist, but I was far too distracted by her two mounds, which threatened to devour me if I wasn't careful.

Once again, I found myself in an interesting and unique situation. A normal high-schooler would surely panic, lean backwards or start to blush. I, however, felt entertained upon adapting to these new experiences. I enjoyed this kind of contact and there was no need to play innocent in front of her, since she had already seen that I was hiding my true self.

"Nagumo. What kind of person is he?"

"Are you seriously thinking about some guy while I'm right in front of you?"

She pouted in disappointment.

I wasn't sure if this was a play on her part or if she felt bothered because I was more interested in our business than I was in her body. If I had to guess, however, I'd say the latter was the case.

"Nothing special. But if he becomes student council president next year and takes an interest in you, he'd likely be an annoying fly."

"Two more questions since I don't want to ask my homeroom-teacher. How many points does it cost to change classes as an individual? And how many would I need to cancel an expulsion?"

Since she was already here and seemed content with answering my questions, I inquired about the information I didn't want to gather from Chabashira-sensei. As a second-year student, she should already know the specifics in both cases.

"20 million private points to change classes and 20 million private points and 300 class points to cancel an expulsion."

Class points was a term I hadn't heard before, but it made sense that such a system existed to rank the classes according to their worth. I figured that an expulsion would also cost the affected class some points, which will also be the case for us since we had lost Yamauchi. I'd even say that the expulsion would cost the class significantly fewer points than rescuing a student. This would lead to discussions in the group as they would have to deliberate about that persons's worth and if they wanted to lend them a hand.

"Twenty questions over now?"

As always, she had a captivating smile on her face. Every time she opened her mouth to speak, her warm and moist breath tingled my nose and lips, which was a strangely pleasant feeling.

"It was only nine, though."

Fuka let out a delightful laugh before narrowing her eyes.

"Then it's my turn?"

"I never said I would answer any of your questions."

Her smirk sent a shiver down my spine. She had already expected such an answer. The vixen moved her lips away from mine, closer towards my ear. I felt a sharp sting a short moment later.

"You will answer soon enough."

With her warm breath still lingering on my ear, I could only hope that her bite wouldn't leave any mark. Once again, I had to say that all these women were dangerous.

She even said that she wouldn't bite before!

"Can I get my phone back now?"

Fuka wore a playful smile on her face while her sharp eyes pierced through mine.

I sighed and handed her the device back after achieving what I had sought to do.

"When did you notice?"

"Too late, unfortunately. I was surprised when you took the initiative and propped yourself up to lean into me. But in the end it was only to mask your hand which slipped inside my pocket. I really hate when someone uses my tactics against me, you know? Did you do anything else besides deleting those two pictures?"

"Nothing. What about you? What did you plan to do with mine if you had found it?"

I recovered my phone, which I had pinned between my trousers and back as soon as I realized what she had been up to.

"Who knows?"

She stretched her arms and awarded my ears with a playful giggle.

"I was serious about not wanting to stand out, though. So I would prefer it if you would ignore my existence if we were to run into each other."

"What do I get?"

"My contact information."

"Isn't that a win-win for you?" She held out her bare palm while letting out a loud laugh. "Deal."

If I were playing dumb, I'd shake her hand now. But since I knew what she wanted, I unlocked the phone for her and left it in her smooth hands. After typing in her number, she gave me my phone back with a teasing grin.

"That's what I wanted to do, actually."

A moment later, my phone vibrated. I ignored the one Kushida had sent me before and was slightly taken aback as I read the name of the person who just texted me. My first instinct was to change it, but she seemed to have anticipated such a move.

[05:32:26 PM[Fuka ] You better not change the name or I'll have to go out of my way to look for you, Kiyotaka.

[05:32:31 PM[Fuka ] There will be unannounced inspections, so you better be ready to face the consequences if you dare to change it.

I wordlessly stared at her in utter defeat as she stuck out her tongue with a victorious aura around her. I knew the moment I met her that this girl would be trouble, but I couldn't even imagine how much.

After surviving this hellish encounter, I stealthily made my way back towards the dorms. On my way there, I had to take more than just one detour as I was dodging people left and right. I was already feeling the warmth and fluffiness of my bed as I caught sight of Hirata and the girls following him. Even Kushida was with them, likely making sure that everything turned out well and that he kept looking forward.

With such a large group right in front of me, I had no chance but to turn tail and wait until they went elsewhere. After my aimless wandering, I stumbled upon the store I had bought the chessboards from. Since I was in the vicinity and now was as good as a time as ever, I took a quick peek inside to make sure that no one would see me before buying two four-player chessboards.

The store clerk eyed me with a confused expression while I turned up my collar, but said nothing more. With two fresh boards in hand, I returned to the dorms, praying that no one would be there around this time.

Luck was on my side for the first time today as I reached the living quarters. Only Ike and Okitani were in sight, which gave me more than enough room to maneuver around them. The two boys sat in front of the elevators and played on their handhelds, which was a perfect position to be in.

"Damn Okitani! This game is great. It almost feels like I'm really out camping and hunting monsters. That reminds me..."

"Reminds you of hunting monsters?"

"Shut up! Not that... yosha! Level up! Haha, get this."

While the two of them kept talking, I took the stairs. Since I couldn't escape if someone boarded the elevator, this was the most sensible solution. I made my way towards Room 401 with quick steps. After checking left and right, I unlocked the apartment, went inside and closed the door before heaving a deep sigh.

Leaving my purchase near the door, I loosened the tie and threw it in the basket inside the bathroom before removing the rest of my uniform. I took a quick but refreshing shower and prepared the attire I would wear tomorrow. With a towel bound around my lower area, I left the bathroom and prepared something to eat.

Today I decided to try out a recipe which would take longer than usual, so I began to prepare the ingredients and used the time I had to wait to change into something more comfortable. Around one and a half hours later, I sat in front of my first freshly prepared Yakitori.

The savory meat was perfect after such an exhausting day and I couldn't help but congratulate myself for a job well done. After stuffing myself, I cleaned the dishes and moved the garbage outside for tomorrow morning when it would be collected. On my way back inside, I grabbed the two boards and set them up on the table in the corner, which was now cramped and unable to hold all three boards.

I cleared off another table that was pre-installed in the room and put it beside the one in the corner. With enough space, I set up the three boards, each representing a different grade level.

As I was about to place a few pieces, my phone vibrated concurrently.

It was not a message this time, but a call. I decided to hit ignore if it was Fuka, but to my surprise, it was someone else.

"Good evening, Ayanokouji-kun. Do you have time to talk?"

"Hey, Kushida. Yes, I'm free right now. I just finished dinner."

Now that I heard her voice, I remembered that I never checked the message I had received from her.

"Oh, good. I just wanted to apologize because I made things awkward with Horikita-san and you. I feel terrible about asking you to help me with my plan now."

Her voice turned quiet towards the end, as if she was deeply sorry about today. I couldn't really believe it, however. Someone like her should have known that there would be certain risks for me, but she didn't care in the slightest as long as she got what she wanted. Here, a shot at Horikita.

They must have gone to the same school before and Kushida seemed to have something to hide, or else her erratic behavior concerning Horikita wouldn't make any sense. I wouldn't even be surprised if Horikita didn't know that they were in the same school once, since she looked and sounded like she couldn't care less about Kushida or anyone, really.

"It's no problem. I just tried to help a friend in need, right?"

"Mhm. Ayanokouji-kun gave me a chance, but I still messed it up, tehe. Do you think it's impossible to make friends with her?"

I doubted that it was easy, but it wasn't impossible. She despised the word 'friend' and thought that she didn't need any, but she was treating me like someone akin to a friend, at least according to my interpretation of the word. If she were any normal highschool girl, she would have labeled our relationship a friendship. I had no probable cause to doubt this. There were multiple occasions where she was the one to initiate the conversation between us, which just prove my point.

"Wouldn't it be fine to be friends with anyone in class except her if she is so adamantly against it? You are only hurting yourself by going after her time and time again."

"Ayanokouji-kun really is kind, huh? I really wanted to be friends with everyone. Not just Class D, but the whole school. If I can't even become friends with a girl in my class, how am I supposed to achieve my goal?"

This was a rather contradictory ambition to have. It was unthinkable for a single person to be friends with everyone, no matter how cute or nice you are. In a school like this especially, it would be impossible. Not even Kushida could navigate the minefield of different students hating each other while she was trying to be friends with both of them. It just couldn't work. And that was not even including the people who just wouldn't like Kushida's personality.

"You could leave her for last and try again once you befriended everyone else. Maybe she is just slow to open up to people and needs some more time."

"Hmm, maybe you are right. But what if she doesn't?"

If I could see her now, she would likely gaze at the ground in sadness while small tears gathered in her puppy eyes. What a lovely sight this would be.

"Well, you can't force her to be your friend if she really doesn't want to. But since we are talking about you here, I am sure you are going to make friends with her. Eventually."

"Mh. You are right, Ayanokouji-kun. I'll just have to give it my best to befriend Horikita-san! You really helped me. Thank you so much!"

"There is no need. I'm glad that I could be helpful to you in some capacity."

Ding! Dong!

"Oh, I'm sorry Ayanokouji-kun but I'll have to hang up now, Kokoro-chan just arrived. I'll see you tomorrow at school. Good night!"

"No worries. Have a nice evening and a good night as well. Bye Kushida."

"Byeeee!"

With that, our short conversation ended. I opened up her chat to mark the last message as read and threw the phone onto my bed. Done with any distractions for today, I shifted my focus back towards the three chess boards. The first-year version would stay untouched for today, but I could already fill some of the other ones.

While the first-year board revolved around Class D, which I was a part of, the second-year revolved around Kiryuin and her class. I took the red queen and placed her on the default tile she belonged to. Afterwards, I grabbed the yellow king and set him up on the second-year board as well.

Since I knew little about the other years, the boards had to be filled slowly but steadily.

Similar to the other two boards, the third-year one had another anchor point: Class A. I once again took the red king and queen before placing them on the board.

On my way to the bathroom, I heard my phone vibrating. Since I was in the proximity, I checked who it was.

[07:59:13 PM[Fuka ] I've taken the liberty and unlocked the GPS feature on my phone for you, so you can always check where your favorite senpai is.

[08:00:22 PM] I didn't even know it was possible to activate only for certain people.

[08:00:49 PM[Fuka ] Of course it is. So how about it? Do you want to unlock it for me as well?

[08:01:04 PM] That's a bad idea. Probably. I have a feeling you would miraculously run into me at least five times a day.

[08:01:19 PM[Fuka ] I'll get you to soften up to me, Kiyotaka. Just you wait...

[08:01:24 PM[Fuka ] How about you check where I am right now?

I had an inexplicably bad feeling about this. I couldn't help but glance towards the door with worry.

[08:01:39 PM] You are not standing in front of my door are you?

[08:01:43 PM[Fuka ] What if I am? You should open up. I hear someone coming.

I calmed myself and bounced to her profile, where the GPS function was located. As I had already expected, she seemed to be in her room and likely had all the fun in the world thinking about how I was just running towards the door in fear of her standing there.

[08:01:55 PM] You almost got me there.

[08:02:02 PM[Fuka ] You didn't even check the door, did you?

[08:02:06 PM] Who knows?

[08:02:24 PM] Oh, late Happy Birthday, Fuka.

We didn't know each other for very long, but I saw her birthday while checking her location, which seemed to have been yesterday, the day we met for the first time. It was custom to congratulate and buy a gift for said person, but I could only do the former since it was too late to buy a present. Even if I wanted to buy one, I did not know what would be appropriate. I didn't even know if I should have congratulated her in the first place, since we've only known each other for a day, but I assumed that she created this whole charade so I'd see her birthday.

[08:02:32 PM[Fuka ] Thank you, Kiyotaka. You forgot something very important, though.

I knew it...

[08:02:36 PM] Your gift, I assume?

[08:02:47 PM[Fuka ] I'm expecting something special from you, so don't disappoint me.

I sighed deeply, knowing full well that I could never escape this woman while I was bound to this school. She was an extremely troublesome, yet interesting senpai. I strolled back into the bathroom and stared at my reflection in the mirror. After I adjusted my head to get a better view of my neck area, I heaved another deep sigh.

How was I supposed to go out like this tomorrow?

- Word Count: 10644 / 47047 Characters

Released 23.04.2022

Chapter 7 - Automaton

Closing the door of my dorm room, I made my way towards the elevator after finishing up my morning routine.

I didn't train as much as in the White Room, but I still made a habit of staying in shape, even if I didn't feel like it. Keeping healthy was a wise future investment, since I would probably go back to that place after my time here was over. I didn't know how that man would react when I returned and couldn't even physically overpower one of the tutors there.

Today would be very good weather. This much was a given after glancing up. The sky was clear, and the clouds were drifting over the horizon, partially covering the blazing sun. I drew a deep breath and inhaled the clean air, which had a hint of salt in its scent due to the school's location near the ocean.

After this comfortable sequence of actions, I coughed.

I took the elevator down and mixed with the students that were walking towards their respective classrooms. To my surprise, I didn't notice a single Class D student despite this huge crowd. Instead, I caught sight of Ichinose who was walking to school with Amikura and a few other classmates, who I had seen in their classroom. Aside from the students I recognized were many from Class A and C, which I couldn't allocate to their respective classes due to my lack of knowledge.

What took me by the most surprise, however, were the three words spoken to me from behind.

"Good morning, Ayanokouji-kun."

The young girl's voice was as static and aloof as ever, but I believed that something had changed compared to yesterday. It might have been my imagination, but I concluded that the reason for these thoughts was her pleasant tone.

"Good morning, Horikita."

I turned to the acquaintance who had slowed down beside me.

Her expression changed into one of confusion before turning into a questioning, deeply puzzled stare. It was almost as if I could follow the chemical and electrical signals that her neurons were emitting through the different synapses as she was trying to make sense of my current getup.

"You know what? I'm not even going to ask."

"You aren't?"

I was genuinely surprised, since I wouldn't have been able to help myself.

"I... why would you think that it was a good idea to wear a scarf when it's this warm?"

"So you still asked in the end?"

"Because this is just too out of place, even for you."

She heaved an exasperated sigh while shaking her head in disbelief.

Well, sorry? It's not like I had a choice. I'm dying underneath this, you know?

I forced out a few coughs before replying to her inquiry with a hoarse voice.

"I caught a slight cold, but I don't want to miss school because of something minor. Since my throat feels quite sore, I wrapped that scarf around my neck to protect it from the cold breeze."

"If you infect me, I will beat you. Stay away, Ayanokouji-kun."

She shooed me away, as if I was some sort of annoying fly, but didn't make any movements to widen the gap between us herself. While we ambled along the marked paths towards our classroom, I steered the topic away from our usual banter to a rather important topic that was weighing on my mind.

"Say Horikita, about what I wanted to discuss yesterday. Could we talk today?"

My classmate turned around a few times while looking through the crowd of students. After she made sure that there was no sign of Kushida or any of her friends in the vicinity, she nodded in satisfaction.

"Let's talk in the cafeteria this time. I don't want to run into her again."

"You really don't like her, do you?"

"I don't. And I don't want to talk about her anymore."

She clarified that she had no interest in conversing about Kushida any longer, which was an understandable wish after all the stunts she had pulled during our time here. Everyone would have felt put off when someone got on their nerves every day. I had no problems with her arrangement, since I didn't want to talk about her either.

But I wondered if she would leave me behind if I chose to pursue the topic any further.

"Fine by me. Let's talk about Sudou then?"

Her eyes widened in curiosity for a moment upon hearing a name she hadn't expected. Horikita shot me a quizzical look while tilting her head to the side.

"Him? Did he come crawling to you with tears in his eyes? What a wimp..."

Tears? What in the world did she do to this poor soul?

"Your name just came up as we were talking about some stuff and he said something about you being the devil but didn't elaborate any further. I got curious, so I decided to ask you."

"Oh? That's good. He learned his lesson then. I initially doubted the effectiveness of my punishment since he's an airhead, but it seems like my worries were unfounded. Why were the two of you talking about me, by the way? Is there something I should know?"

Her slim fingers reached for something in her bag. She took hold of the object in question and hid it inside her hand before I could make out the shape of the item she had pulled out.

Was this the reason for Sudo's traumatic experience? I knew that I should have stayed clear of the minefield that was Horikita, but in the end, I couldn't help my endless curiosity.

While hoping that I wouldn't end up like the cat, I took a few steps out of her reach.

"Where are you going, Ayanokouji-kun? Please come back."

"After thinking it through, I determined that I should stay away from you due to my sickness. I'm looking out for your health, you know? Be thankful."

Another dry cough followed my cheap excuse, and I hoped that it didn't sound as fake for her as it did for me.

Her cold glare froze further, the more time I kept this space between us. I had a feeling that she didn't believe me at all, which would make the following punishment that much worse.

Like two model students who were worried for each other's health, we kept a good distance between us due to my illness. I coughed from time to time to sell the lie until I noticed my phone vibrating in my pocket.

My heart almost stopped after I had pulled it out and checked the message.

[07:39:22 AM[Fuka ] Behind you.

If I turned around now, I would give her the satisfaction she sought, which is why I navigated to her contact information and checked her location before doing anything else. The GPS pin showed that she was close enough to observe me, but still so far away that no one would notice that she was following me in particular.

[07:39:42 AM[Fuka ] You are boring. Why didn't you go all 'Oh no please don't be behind me,' in your head and turned around with a frightened expression?

[07:39:56 AM] The answer is to this question is pretty self-explanatory, don't you think?

I was about to type something else but slipped the phone back into my pocket after I noticed that Horikita was closing in on me. A sudden and unexpected stinging sensation assaulted my left hand after she had attacked me with something sharp and metallic.

"Ouch, what was that for?"

"Being impolite, talking about me with that idiot and getting on my nerves."

Her punishment wasn't as severe as I had expected after Sudou's description. Even though physical violence shouldn't be condoned, I felt that I somewhat deserved this, since I had used my phone while I was walking with her, which could have been viewed as inappropriate behavior.

Another stabbing attack snapped me out of my thoughts.

The girl beside me rewarded my eyes with a charming yet unsettling smile, which didn't reach her eyes.

I figured that this was why Sudou had called her 'devil'.

"Did you think that was it already?"

My arm looked like an addict's, full of puncture wounds, as we reached our classroom.

That I drew the attention of everyone because of the scarf that I had wrapped around my neck didn't help either. There was nothing else I could have done, though, since the alternative would have been far worse.

I didn't even want to imagine Ike's face if he saw my neck...

"Ayanokouji-kun, are you feeling sick again?"

Class D's angel bounced towards me, mere moments after our arrival.

Horikita didn't spare her another glance and split up from me before strolling towards her desk. She sat down and began to prepare the materials for our upcoming lesson without worrying about the sinister glares that were thrown her way from some students after she hadn't greeted Kushida.

"Ah, yes. My throat feels kind of sore. I guess I caught something."

A few fake coughs rang through the classroom to establish that my sickness was progressing.

Kushida inspected me with an apologetic and worried expression, while Ike was furious that I held a conversation with her. The heartbroken boy clenched his fists in anger, and it looked like he wanted to have a word with me as he made his way over to my desk with an irritated frown.

"You should go see the doctor if it gets worse, alright?"

It warmed my heart how Kushida cared about me and her surroundings. I didn't stand out much, yet here I stood, garnering her attention as if I was someone popular. Almost two weeks had passed since our first day here, and she seemed to be friends with most people in school. Leaving people like Horikita and Kouenji aside, it was an impressive feat that she had managed to make friends with even the upperclassmen.

Someone bland and boring like me had no chance to copy her success, no matter how hard I tried.

"Yes, I will. Thank you, Kushida."

She nodded and spun around before she walked back to her friends. Like the sweet girl she was, she glimpsed at me with worry a few times as I strode over to my table, where Ike already waited for my arrival.

"Kushida-chan is mine, you hear me?"

His voice was rather loud, so I wouldn't be surprised if the whole classroom, including Kushida, had heard him. The girl in question ignored his nonsense and spent her time chatting with her friends as if she hadn't heard a thing. Some other girls glared at the boy before me in apparent disgust, while gifting me with their pity.

It looked like my standing in the class had increased substantially, but I didn't know why. Was it because I was friends with Karuizawa, Hirata and Kushida? Or was there something I hadn't noticed?

"I hear you. Can you move, please?"

"If you understand, then that's good."

Ike regarded me with a satisfied grin before walking off towards the Professor and his other friends, Hondou and Okitani. Sudou wasn't with them, or anywhere else in the room, which meant that he was cutting it close again.

I prepared my materials and started to observe the class with a bored expression. The clock kept ticking, and I coughed in random intervals to keep up my cover.

Hirata turned around with a smile, offering me a cough drop from his bag.

"Thank you, Hirata."

"I hope you'll get better soon. Tell me if you need anything."

His expression was dazzling, almost blinding even, as if the sun itself shone into my face. People could say whatever they wanted about him, but Hirata always had your back if you needed him. As long as no one got inconvenienced during the process, that was.

Did he have cough drops with him in case someone caught a cold?

This behavior would fit someone like him, who always looked out for his surroundings. Our saint seemed a lot better than the past few days, which was only possible thanks to Kushida's intervention and additional efforts to keep my bishop afloat.

Our personal angel was exceedingly helpful with things that I could never accomplish thanks to her bubbly, feel-good attitude. In the situation we had found ourselves in, she was the only girl I could have used for the job, and I was happy with the outcome she achieved.

This alone affirmed my assumption that Kushida Kikyou was an essential piece for me to acquire during this game.

My thoughts were cut short as Sudou dashed through the door, almost ripping out the frame in the process.

Chabashira-sensei entered the room two stride lengths after him, which meant that he had barely made it in time. Our homeroom teacher didn't care about his current state in the slightest and began the lesson as per usual while Sudou panted like a dying dog as he pulled out his materials.

I was honestly surprised that he had them with him.

While I kept pretending to listen to our instructor, I began to observe the other students. Especially the ones that decided that they would gradually let their behavior slide again.

Karuizawa, for example, tapped around on her phone when Chabashira-sensei faced towards the blackboard and hid it under her arm when she turned back towards us. Since she was a popular figure in class, multiple girls followed her example and did the same, unaware about the cameras which were observing their every action.

Sudou rested on his arms after calming down, momentarily nodding off from time to time and Ike used the boy in front of him as cover to play games on his phone with a strained expression. There were few students that behaved like they should, mainly Horikita, Kushida, Sakura, Matsushita and a few boys, including Yukimura and Hirata. Even someone like Mii-chan, who was usually serious during the lessons, peeked at her phone from time to time.

Horikita was behaving this way because a good student was supposed to act in a certain manner during school hours. She was the sort of student who followed the rules strictly and would consume every piece of information the teachers fed her.

This was the attitude that every student at this school should strive for, and likely most students in Class B and upwards possessed. Since the students in Class C were known for their delinquent behavior, I doubted that they were all acting according to social norms.

My classmates were unperturbed about their wrong conduct after realizing that Sudou wasn't reprimanded for his actions and remembering that they weren't called out either. The misconception about Yamauchi's expulsion vanished and so did their inhibition threshold.

Even Kushida's interest in Chabashira-sensei's words didn't stem from her own wish to learn. She was doing this to prepare herself for the classmates who might need her help later because they hadn't understood the topics, or didn't bother to listen to the teacher's explanations at all.

At least it felt like something Kushida would do to push her popularity further.

Sakura was always serious and concentrated during the lessons. Even if she had trouble understanding things, she tried her best to compensate for this by taking extensive notes. She didn't stand out and had trouble talking to people, so I would be surprised if even half of the girls knew that she was in this class. Meanwhile, the boys had only noticed Sakura because of her breasts.

This was a pretty sad place to be in, and I felt somewhat bad for her.

Last but not least was Matsushita. The girl who I believed had a rough idea about the true system behind this school. Just from observing the students close to her, it was undeniable that she hadn't shared her worries with anyone, nor did she intend to do so.

Why didn't she voice her concerns, though?

Even if she was wrong, the connections she must have made were conclusive, otherwise, she wouldn't have reacted the way she did. This, combined with other weird regulations of this school, should have at least cast a shadow of doubt over the students. Even if some of them would scream nonsense, a few would be more careful, especially if Matsushita mentioned the cameras in the rooms, which she had also discovered a few days ago.

There weren't many reasons that someone would act this way in her situation. The likeliest scenario was that she had the same attitude as me and didn't want to stand out. She could also have given up on reaching Class A after evaluating her classmates, as well as her own ability, and concluding that most of them were useless and that she wouldn't make a dent even if she tried.

Matsushita might be smart, but she didn't seem to have the heart to use what was given to her, regardless of the consequences. If she had played her hands right, she could have used Yamauchi's expulsion as an example that another class must've attacked us. This would have given her a chance to explain what bothered her about this school's system.

Kushida's social network would have come in handy at that moment, since there was a high chance that she knew that Class C was filled with delinquents, just like Ichinose. The two of them were so popular that they knew most of the gossip going around, so they wouldn't have any trouble gathering information. Ichinose's biggest flaw was that she was too naïve, which didn't apply to Kushida.

As far as I was aware, Class B and C had clear leaders. Class A was most likely in a similar situation, in the sense that they had designated one representative to lead their class and keep them on top. If things kept going the way they were now, Hirata was the most reasonable candidate to take the reins for Class D.

But that wouldn't work.

He was too soft for his own good and needed to replaced by a proper figurehead.

If push came to shove, he wouldn't be able to make the hard decisions. The same went for Kushida, who wanted to be friends with everyone. She could never take such a place in our class. Even if I could make her act the way I wanted and use her to lead the class, I'd be wasting her potential as an information gathering tool.

With all of this in mind, there were only two people I could use to fill the role of class leader.

The melodious bell signaled the end of class, as yet another day of school ended.

Satou slid towards my desk and asked me to join their group for a meal. Since I had made plans with Horikita, I declined. The girls were surprised, as this was the second day in a row that I accompanied Horikita, but Hirata seemed to have (mis)understood my intentions and gave me a thumbs up.

He must've thought that I was helping Horikita just like he had helped me before, and supported the decision wholeheartedly. Karuizawa seemed annoyed that I wasted my time with her, while Matsushita and Satou wished me a good time. The group of four was joined by Mii-chan before they left the classroom.

The ice queen had already stashed all her materials and waited at her desk. The wind from the open window blew through her raven-colored hair as she typed away on her phone. This scene emphasized her cold beauty exterior, and I couldn't help myself but stare at her for a moment.

Did she have anyone to text, or was she just writing up her shopping list?

"You ready?"

"Yes, however, you've already wasted around three minutes of the time I previously allocated for you."

I tilted my head after hearing about this unexpected restriction.

"Really? How much time did you allocate for me?"

"Exactly three minutes. Goodbye Ayanokouji-kun."

The arctic beauty stood up and left the room without turning back, leaving me behind in a rather dumbfounded state.

Well, I suppose that's that.

I wondered if Matsushita and the others had already started, or if I should even join them. I didn't know how to explain my current situation, after all. It would be rather embarrassing if I ran after them because my plans with Horikita fell through.

Guess I'll just go buy whatever the internet told me and be done with it...

I grabbed my bag and heaved a heavy sigh. After closing the window, I glanced through the empty classroom to make sure everything was in order before walking out.

To my surprise, Horikita waited for me in front of a nearby window.

"Wow, it took you almost an entire minute to walk out after me. Were you that shocked?"

"No, I still had to close the window and had another coughing fit."

"Really? I could've sworn that I heard nothing. Not the slightest peep."

Horikita eyed me with suspicion before I changed the topic away from my feigned sickness.

"So, are we going now?"

"Yes, let's. You'll pay since you invited me again."

Of course I was paying...

"Sure."

We talked about trivial topics as we strolled towards the cafeteria. Most of the time, we were bantering and teasing each other with snide remarks. When I changed the topic to our previous history lesson, I was surprised when she answered me without biting back.

"I'll take the cheap set. What about you?"

Horikita gave me a quick glance before she decided to take one of the cheap sets as well.

Most people would unconsciously take something at a similar price range, while others would do the same because it would be bad manners to take the most expensive item. I saw Horikita in the second category, since she wouldn't fall for a cheap trick like the first one. Her good manners were the only reason that would discourage her from ordering the expensive meal option.

Her behavior clarified that she didn't think that this was a setup but thought that I was running low on points. This consideration also underlined the growth of our relationship, as she saw me in a more favorable light than anyone else in our class.

If she were with Sudou, she wouldn't have hesitated before ordering the most expensive option to cripple him financially.

Horikita herself didn't know that she ran into my trap as soon as she agreed to meet up with me yesterday, and that was her first mistake. She didn't lie when she claimed that she didn't want or need any friends. Those were her true thoughts, the ones I needed to break through in order to use her in the future.

I only told Kushida that I would work with her to befriend Horikita because it was beneficial to me since I could get in her good graces while working on Horikita's mental state, which showed slight cracks after yesterday's events.

'He that has once done you a kindness will be more ready to do you another, than he whom you yourself have obliged.'

If one knew how the mind worked, it was easy to manipulate people into doing what you needed them to.

Horikita had performed an act of kindness towards me by accompanying me, which she explained to herself by subliminally constructing the most plausible story; she liked me, or at least enjoyed my company.

Because why else would a person do another one a favor?

After we were interrupted by Kushida, she left the cafe and had some time to think about me. About us, to be more specific. She was confused and somewhat hurt, since she thought that I had betrayed her for Kushida, hence her strange statement.

Horikita needed some time to think about potential implications, which is why I ran after her with a short delay. When I confronted her with my feelings, she understood them, since they were similar to hers.

Because they just evolved into her feelings.

During our past interactions, I had repeatedly anchored a certain word in the back of her mind, which would have occupied her for the rest of each day, even if she wasn't aware of it. Additionally, I changed my behavior whenever we met.

Sometimes I was nice and pulled her towards me, while I pushed her away at other times.

This achieved a rather interesting psychological effect, which I had used to my advantage during yesterday's conversation. She kept thinking about my behavior, and about me, during our time here, which her brain had also noticed.

The human mind would act upon these recurring memories in the illusion that the host liked the person in question due to the frequency and nature of these thoughts. It would then begin to release the correlating chemical substances in the brain to support the theory, which it had figured out for itself, thus distorting the hosts perception to a certain degree.

As long as the target didn't abhor you, it was easy for the brain to follow through with these connections, which would lead to a more favorable opinion and other positive effects. Now that I had Horikita dancing in my palm, I could keep working on her with a steadfast support and reveal my true problem to her. The one I had faced since yesterday.

After we both sat down at an empty table and began to eat, Horikita broke the silence.

"So, Ayanokouji-kun, what is it that you want to talk about?"

I coughed a few times for good measure before swallowing my food.

"Well, I have this friend..."

Horikita started clapping.

"Congratulations, Ayanokouji-kun. I am truly proud of you."

"Uh... thanks, I guess? Anyway... this friend is a girl, and it's her birthday, so I was wondering if you had any idea about an appropriate present."

"If that's the case, why didn't you ask one of your other friends, like Matsushita-san or that Karuizawa girl?"

"Well, I figured you were the safest option."

She shot me a quizzical look before nodding in understanding.

"I see. Since I have no friends to speak of, you wouldn't risk that I might tell people about this, which is different for the other girls in your friend group."

"Correct. If it's Matsushita and the others, they would never leave me alone or ask if I am seeing someone or whatever, which would be troublesome. I figured that you are the superior alternative because I can trust you with this."

She nodded with a light smile and finished the rest of her meal before dedicating her full attention to the problem at hand.

"That being said. What did you come up with until now? You ought to have thought of something, right?"

"Ah, yes. I was thinking about a necklace? Something cute, like a heart-shaped one, maybe?"

I didn't think of this myself, of course, but the internet recommended such a present for highschool girls. Since I found myself in some unpleasant situations before, I decided that I should ask a girl for her opinion on the present. Horikita was the safest option while still being discreet, thanks to her nonexistent friends. Asking the other girls was a no-go, because they would never stop teasing me if the idea was a weird one.

My acquaintance stared at me with widened eyes. She leaned forward and supported her forehead with her hand before her fingers slid down, pinching her nose as she shut her eyes. This series of actions was followed up with a heavy sigh while she shook her head as if she was deeply disappointed by my suggestion.

Wow... I did something incredibly stupid again, didn't I?

"Ayanokouji-kun, let's get something straight. This friend of yours, she is not your girlfriend, yes?"

"No, she's just a normal friend."

"Then forget gifting her a heart-shaped necklace, or rather, forget everything that has to do with hearts."

"Yes?"

"If you gift her something like a heart-shaped necklace, you might make the wrong impression on her. Do you understand?"

What kind of wrong impression would a heart-shaped necklace on a birthday make if the internet recommended it multiple times? Wasn't it just a cute necklace? Since girls liked cute things, I hadn't seen a problem.

After listening to Horikita's serious tone, however, a horrifying idea popped into my mind.

I dodged a bullet there. This disaster of a present would have been a feast for Fuka.

"Now that you mention it. I guess such a present could be taken the wrong way."

"I don't think a necklace is a particularly bad idea as far as presents go, just not a heart-shaped one."

Her bell-like voice had me come up with an idea for a present. I didn't know if it was any good, but I hoped that Fuka would like it, or at least not complain outright. I had feelings too, after all.

"You are the best, Horikita. Thanks to you, I have an idea what I can buy her."

"Already? Hm, very well. I'm glad that I could be of help, Ayanokouji-kun."

I almost felt bad for screwing her over with the meal now that she had helped me so much.

"Does this mean we are done here?"

"Oh, yeah. You can go back to the dorms if you prefer. I still need to kill a bit of time until evening. I don't really want to be seen by one of our classmates."

"It should be fine if you hurry. Most of the students should be in the cafeteria or cafes directly after school, which would give you ample time to go shopping in the other stores."

"You are probably right. I might as well walk by and see if I can make my purchase without being seen. That would save me some time."

"Very well then. Since we are done here, I'll be taking my leave. See you tomorrow, Ayanokouji-kun."

"Yeah, thanks again. See you tomorrow, Horikita."

After we said our farewells, Horikita stood and disposed of her empty meal tablet before strolling out of the cafeteria on her own. I swept the area and confirmed that most of our classmates that came to the cafeteria were still eating, which gave me some leeway.

With that in mind, I quickly headed towards my destination.

The small doorbell rang for a second time as I stepped out of the shop.

I sat down on a nearby bench and contemplated on how I should spend the rest of my time until evening. Since the clerk said that the necklace would be finished by around 7PM, I decided to come back at around 7:30PM to make sure that everything was done in case he got held up by other orders or ran into problems along the way.

I browsed through my phone, wondering if I should ask someone to meet up.

Even though I had made some friends, I only reached out to them if I wanted to achieve something, be it gathering information or manipulating them into questioning the surrounding events. Not once did I invite any of them without an ulterior motive.

One could say that I still didn't know what friends would do together, or if I could see those people as friends in the future.

"Oh, Ayanokouji-kun. What are you moping around here for?"

A familiar voice reached my ear canal from the side. She was pleasant to listen to, as always, but I couldn't forget the small war we were waging.

"Hey Ichinose. I'm not moping... just zoned out again, that's all."

"You seem to do that a lot."

A cute giggle rang through the tranquil area as the beauty sat down beside me.

"What brings you here, Ichinose? It's strange seeing you alone."

"Me? I was on my way to the karaoke parlor. My classmates really love that place. We've been at least five times already."

The aura she gave off was sweet and charming, as usual. I couldn't find a single negative emotion in this girl, which is why I felt the urge to stay close to her.

Maybe then I could understand how a good person behaved and carried himself.

I was curious — no, intrigued even.

Would she still be so full of life and energy if she knew the darkness that lurked in everyday life? Would she still perceive this world through her eyes of goodwill?

"Well, since you are alone and don't seem occupied with anything, wanna come?"

She flashed a bright smile, one that put even the sun to shame.

"Huh? Me? I think I would feel somewhat out of place."

"Oh, come on, it's gonna be fun. I won't accept no for an answer."

Without warning, she grabbed my hand and pulled me up.

There was no need to mention that I could've dodged or slapped her arm away. But that would have been rather rude. She didn't have any ill intentions after all. Ichinose merely wanted people to be happy together and get along with each other. She was truly one of the most altruistic people I had seen.

Her warm palm lingered on mine and I was pulled out of my surprise about how soft her skin was when she suddenly began to walk. With not much of a choice, I followed her, having been defeated thoroughly.

"Could you let go of my hand?"

She spun around with a suspicious yet sympathetic gaze.

"Will you run off if I do?"

Yes, that was the plan.

"No."

"Fine, then."

Just like that, she took my word for granted and let go. It didn't take another second until she began to move again. I, however, stopped for a moment and weighed my options.

There was nothing she could do if I left, but I felt a sudden sharp pain travel through my body as I thought about taking off after telling her that I wouldn't run away. Additionally, I would meet her classmates again and could observe them in their natural habitat. There was a 100% guarantee that I would walk out of the karaoke room with more information than I had before.

Which brought me back to my previous thoughts.

I never did something without an ulterior motive behind ever since I had entered this school. There was always an angle, a move to play, an advantage to gain. The girl in front of me was the total opposite.

She got nothing by inviting me or dragging me along. Nothing would have changed for her if she had left me there... if she hadn't called out to me. Her actions were performed out of the kindness of her heart and genuine concern for other people's well-being.

Maybe... just this once. Could I allow myself to shut my brain off and just have fun?

Was I even capable of doing that?

I took a step forward and followed it up with another... and another.

In a few seconds, I had caught up to the girl known as Ichinose Honami, one of the most outgoing personalities I had the pleasure of meeting. I got nervous, as I thought about walking into a gathering hosted by a foreign class, but I felt that there wouldn't be any problems if I let Ichinose handle everything.

We both continued onwards, towards the place her class was scheduled to meet. She, humming a happy tune and greeting people left and right and me, following her.

The two of us ran into multiple students I didn't know. Some were from Class A, others from Class C or even the second- and third-year. Due to these facts, I had already failed in what I set out to do before we even reached our destination as I began to analyze everything I saw and heard.

As this was my first time seeing Class A students, I was rather curious about them.

They weren't overly athletic and didn't seem inordinately smart, but I couldn't come to a definitive conclusion with just a simple greeting and shallow small talk. I was just basing these assumptions on their general posture and behavior, which led me to the conclusion that they were not that different from someone like Horikita, with the exception that they were much more outgoing than her.

Ichinose and I kept chatting about useless things until we met up with her classmates in karaoke room number four.

None of them were surprised, as if they expected someone to tag along, which confirmed that Ichinose must have informed them when she checked her phone. Almost everyone recognized me, which was proven by the way their eyes lit up for a brief but noticeable moment.

Amikura waved with a pleasant smile, while Kanzaki gave me a silent nod. His glare wasn't as harsh as it was back then, but he still didn't like me very much, according to his body language.

After we entered the room, the entirety of Class B introduced themselves to me.

It was overwhelming for someone like me, who didn't like to stand out and had little experience with such large groups.

Against the wishes I had just moments ago, my mind started working on the surrounding people.

Everything I saw, smelled or heard, I absorbed it like a sponge in water.

The distance between certain people, the way their feet pointed when they talked to someone, their expressions, where their pupils flickered during a conversation, what they did with their hands, and how they conveyed themselves.

Even though I tried to have a normal day out with these people, my brain failed to adapt.

The group decided to make some sort of singing contest with singles, duets and even quartets. Everyone had their fun, especially the girls, who started dancing and goofing around while others were singing. The boys were more restraint, but they all enjoyed the time we spent together.

Ichinose shined in a peculiar aura of positivity, which couldn't be explained with words alone. Her voice, laughs and bearing — the positive atmosphere she emitted was nothing short of contagious and put a light smile on my face.

Even someone like me saw the semblance of fun in this class.

They were a decent, entirely happy bunch of teenagers, which was, in case of this school, the worst they could have been. If they didn't change in the future, they would be stomped into the ground and squashed like insects by the other classes.

I didn't care what happened to them, but it was impossible to stay like this if they wanted to reach Class A.

Their cohesion was top-notch, and none of the other classes could beat them in that regard, which was without a doubt due to Ichinose's influence. But they were also too naïve because of her. Ichinose wasn't a suitable pick for the class leader position in this kind of school.

Kanzaki was the superior choice in this special environment. Even though I knew little about him, he didn't trust me very much, which was a good instinct to have. He had an inherent distrust of people, which would only benefit their class.

I was glad that I wasn't the only guy who didn't want to sing, and occupied myself by chatting with Ichinose, Kanzaki, Amikura, Shibata, Shiranami, Himeno, Kobashi and a ton of other people. Just like she had said, her class was incredibly welcoming.

The problem, however, was that this exact attitude turned into a dangerous situation.

"Say, Ayanokouji-kun. Why are you wearing a scarf in the middle of April? And in here as well. Aren't you feeling hot?"

Amikura had a sly grin plastered on her face as most of the attention turned towards me.

That little...

Trapped in the lion's den, with no way out, I was confronted about the most suspicious object on my body. Since I was too occupied with my ongoing analysis, I had forgotten to cough for good measure.

"My throat felt kind of sore this morning, so I kept it warm since I didn't want to catch a cold."

I grabbed the hem of my scarf and pulled it towards my chin, smoothing over it.

"Mhm." Amikura nodded in understanding and wore a big, bright smile, just moments before this backstabbing monster renewed her assault. "Because of the cold wind, right? Mh, but there is no wind in here is there? So it should be fine if you take it off. We don't want you getting uncomfortable with your neck. Right, everyone?"

The whole class unanimously agreed that it would be beneficial for my health to take off the scarf. While half of the girls resembled Ichinose, radiating pure kindness, worry and unawareness, the other half mirrored Amikura, emanating nothing but mischief and suspicion.

"Well, I really like this scarf, and it's so warm right now. It could be bad if it suddenly gets colder, right?"

One faction nodded in understanding as they worried about my condition, while the other side couldn't care less, as they were only interested in the reason I was hiding my neck.

I turned towards the guys, mainly Kanzaki and Shibata, since they were the most important of the bunch, and pleaded for help with my eyes. Aside from placing my faith in their capable hands, there was nothing I could do against the barrage of attacks that were coming from the girls' side.

Different from Class D, they weren't dense to such a degree that they wouldn't have noticed that this scarf probably hid something interesting from view. Amikura realized this and used her chance to get a glimpse of this secret while Ichinose believed me due to her naivety.

Shibata understood my call for help and lent me a helping hand.

"I think it's fine if he wants to keep it on, right? I mean, if it gets uncomfortable, he would be the first to take it off."

Could it be that all the guys from the soccer club were sent by the heavens to protect me?

"I also believe that we should let him decide. He knows best, after all."

Amikura narrowed her eyes upon hearing Ichinose support Shibata's suggestion. She pulled her to the side before whispering something into her ear. My bad feeling about this whole ordeal was immediately confirmed by Ichinose's flushed face and the cute squeal that escaped her charming lips.

"Ehh? Umm... Ayanokouji-kun, maybe you should really take off that scarf. You know, because um, it's not good keeping it too warm... right everyone?"

Ichinose's betrayal stung deep.

She didn't even sound sure about what she was saying anymore.

Now that Amikura had infected her with these impure thoughts, even Ichinose wanted to see the skin below my scarf due to the gossip it might spark. With the class leader herself turning against me, the other girls who were on her side switched over without a second delay.

Once again, my eyes met with Shibata and Kanzaki.

'Please! Help!' they screamed, and I knew that they had understood my despair.

"Oh, the drinks are empty. Ayanokouji-kun, come help us get some."

This time, Kanzaki lent me a hand.

I couldn't believe that he, of all people, supported me. I thought Shibata would get him to help, but not that he would cooperate on his own volition.

"Sure, I'm coming."

The three of us rushed outside, and I heaved a sigh of relief after we closed the door behind us. I could still hear the girls complaining, but the three of us distanced ourselves from the door as fast as possible.

"Thank you. This would have been a disaster..."

"You owe us. Big time. They will kill us after we come back without you."

Shibata nodded with a pale face.

I had to agree with them. They saved me back there, and I had to repay them someday.

"Just say the word. It would have been troublesome without your help."

"So you really have a hickey under that scarf, huh?"

I chose to divulge some information as they were on my side.

"Uh, that. It's more like a bite?"

"Way to go, man. Not even half a month here and you already got yourself a girl."

Shibata's far too strong voice echoed through the corridor as we walked towards the machine to refill our drinks.

"It's not like that. It was more of an accident, which is why I really want nothing weird to spread."

"Did some girl stumble into you like in those rom-com manga?"

Shibata gave a light chuckle after Kanzaki shared his ridiculous theory.

"Something along those lines."

""Huh?""

Both of them let out a dumbfounded gasp.

Thanks to them, the worst-case scenario was prevented. My quiet life would have been over if Amikura and the other girls had seen that bite. I shuddered at the mere thought.

"Well, the two of us will go back. You better stay clear of Amikura until that... situation... is handled."

"Will do. Once again, thank you guys. You really saved my life back there."

"No worries. What are buddies for?"

Shibata patted my back with a comforting smile. Even Kanzaki seemed less hostile towards me, now that I had trusted him with my secret.

"We would give you our contact information, but our phones are still inside. Ichinose already has yours right? We'll ask her about it later."

"Oh, sure. See you guys later."

""Later.""

"And be careful out there." Shibata said with a grin before the two of them went back to the karaoke room.

I pulled out my phone and wrote up a quick apology before returning to the jewellery shop where I bought Fuka's necklace.

[07:17:59 PM] Sorry to just leave like that without saying goodbye, but something came up. Thanks for today. I had fun. ٩(‿。)۶

Upon reaching my destination, I sat down on the bench where Ichinose had found me. There were a few students inside, so I decided to wait since I didn't want them to see me. My phone vibrated with perfect timing, as I had some time to kill.

[07:27:12 PM[Ichinose] No, we should be sorry for teasing you like that. I gave Mako-chan a good beating for you. ヾ( O)ツ

[07:27:23 PM[Ichinose] But I'm glad you had fun. Since you didn't smile, I was worried that I had forced you there. I felt kind of bad, but didn't know what to do. I'm truly sorry. (_\)

[07:28:42 PM] There is no need to be sorry. I'm just bad at expressing myself. That doesn't mean that I didn't have fun.

[07:29:04 PM[Ichinose] If that's the case, I'm glad. You can hang out with us anytime, Ayanokouji-kun.

[07:29:31 PM] I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for having me.

After the last students left the shop, I kept waiting for around five more minutes to make sure that no one was in the vicinity and headed inside. I completed my purchase and pocketed the necklace before strolling towards my room.

Today was exhausting, since I wasn't used to hanging out with people. It was the first time that I went somewhere that was supposed to be fun with another class. I enjoyed my time with them, but I still couldn't grasp the concept that was 'fun'.

Maybe I just needed some more time to feel such complex emotional states.

I boarded the elevator after arriving at the dorm and made my way over to my room. I unlocked the door and shuffled inside before closing it again behind me.

"You are late, Kiyotaka."

I hadn't even dropped my bag, or let out a relieved sigh, when a sweet voice stopped me in my tracks. The source of said statement lay on top of my bed, had two long legs which were crossed over each other and smiled at me with the most alluring grin.

"How did you get in here?"

"With a spare key." The girl said, probing my reaction.

"How did you get a spare key if I don't even have one?"

"I wonder."

The vixen, Kiryuin Fuka, beamed as she pocketed her phone. She must've played with it to escape her boredom while waiting for me.

"You were careful, I presume?"

"Of course. I made sure no one else saw me. I don't want Kiyotaka-kun to get mad at me after all."

She revealed these puppy eyes, which were already dangerous on Kushida, but this was on another level altogether.

"Fine, then."

I took off the scarf, which gave my neck some well-deserved ventilation after it was trapped underneath the fabric for the entire day.

"Wow, that looks uncomfortable."

"And whose fault is that?"

She reached into her pocket and threw something in my direction.

"Just rub a bit of that onto the mark. It will look like normal skin. Provided that you don't get intimate with someone, because it's noticeable up close."

"That should not be a problem, thanks. I got you a present as well."

Mirroring her actions, I pulled an object out of my pocket and threw it towards her. In my case, it was a small box, which was wrapped with red and blue striped gift paper. I didn't know what to get, so I went with the cheapest packaging option since the necklace had already cost a small fortune.

It wasn't like the gift wrap was important or anything.

"Isn't that the cheapest gift wrap?" She smirked with a teasing grin.

While I cried internally, Fuka opened up the wrapping with the utmost care.

I wondered why she didn't just rip it open, since that would have been faster, but I chose not to ask since she would probably mock me for it. It wouldn't be weird if this was common knowledge or something along those lines.

Inside the wrapping paper was a dark blue box. On said box was a two-lined engraving.

The first line read 鬼龍院 (Kiryuin), while the second read 楓花 (Fuka), spelling out her name.

The inscription was the cheaper one of the two, but I could already see the happiness in her eyes, so I figured that this much was good enough. She opened the box, revealing a necklace with a pendant that resembled a maple leaf, which was a pun on her name, Fuka, which comprised the Kanji for 楓 (Maple) and 花 (Flower).

Research on the internet told me that the best gifts come from the heart. Since I couldn't do anything with that information, I had specified my search and found that a necklace would be a suitable gift for any highschool girl. Since Horikita told me a heart was a no-go, it had hit me, just like on the first day of school.

Her name, 鈴音 (Suzune), contained the Kanji for 鈴 (Bell) and 音 (Sound). I was reminded of that fact since I thought that her name was fitting due to her beautiful, bell-like voice. Fuka's name was similar, containing Kanji's for something I could make a pun with, which is why I gifted her a necklace that would fit her, and only her.

I wasn't sure if this was a so-called 'gift from the heart', but I felt that I made a satisfactory decision after examining her face, which beamed in delight.

The maple leaf itself was silver, and each line was intricately designed. On the back of the pendant was another small engraving for her first name, Fuka. Since there wasn't much space on such a small necklace, the engraving was equally narrow, but if one looked closely, they'd be able to read it without a problem.

The receiver of my first ever present stared at the necklace for a while. Her eyes were trembling ever so slightly and I didn't know whether this was good or bad. She removed the jewelry from the box and slid her finger over the pendant, feeling the sophisticated design with her own hands.

Upon turning it around and reading the previously mentioned inscription, her eyes gleamed once again. She had tried hard to keep up her poker face, but ultimately failed and let out the most enchanting smile.

"Thank you."

Her tone was quiet and uneven, different from her usual proud demeanor. She kept staring at the necklace with a dreamy gaze for some time before recovering her voice.

"Put it on me?"

Once again, I was surprised.

I expected a teasing command, but received a shy-sounding question instead. Since she was behaving out of character, I must have done something right, at least. My present caught her so off guard that she wasn't able to get back into her usual cocky and overbearing persona.

I inched closer and sat down on the bed before grasping the necklace from her smooth and warm fingers. As I was about to ask her to turn around for me, she showed me her neck and grabbed her hair before slipping it out of my way. Afterwards, she closed her eyes, as if to say 'do it from the front'.

With not much of a choice, I complied in silence and tried putting on the necklace without seeing the two ends, which was quite difficult. Due to my bad position, I had to approach her in order to see what I was doing behind her neck.

The closer I got, the more intense her intoxicating scent became. It was overwhelming, since I had never inhaled something this sweet and fragrant in my entire life.

Her warm breath tickled the skin on my neck as we were pulling closer to each other. Her eyelashes fluttered, as if she was trying her best to keep her eyes shut. Fuka's two soft mounds touched my chest, which is why I decided that it would be dangerous to let this moment play out any longer.

I finished up with the necklace in a few swift motions and pulled back. As I was about to escape her intimate zone, she embraced me, which prevented me from escaping her captivating grasp.

"I love it, your present..."

My whole body tingled upon hearing her soft voice and feeling the warm breath caress my ear. She moved ever so slightly up and down the side, while caressing the hair on the back of my head.

I deemed that this situation was getting more and more dangerous and searched for a way to escape.

"You are too warm."

"I know. Don't you like it? My lips and breath nuzzling your skin. My hands petting your hair..."

"It feels alright, I guess."

I steered the conversation towards my emotional state, in the slight hope that her interest in me would prevail over whatever she was doing now. I couldn't let this progress for much longer.

"That poker face of yours. Why do you hide behind it? You are handsome, there's no doubt. If you behaved like back then on the roof, you would be incredibly popular with the ladies. You know that, right?"

"I'm not particularly interested in standing out."

Aside from that, I doubted that I would be popular with normal people and only attract the crazy ones like her.

Her lips, which had hovered beside my ear just moments ago, moved closer towards my own. I could almost feel them pressing into mine, even though she kept a small but noticeable gap of a few millimeters between us.

Our foreheads touched as she leaned against me.

"Why is that? What else are you hiding under that emotionless facade of yours?"

That was the question I was waiting for. I could have ended her advances sooner, but the risk would be worth the reward.

She drew me in using everything in her arsenal, just like yesterday. I complied, making her think that I was not entirely opposed to her seduction, which would prompt her to dig deeper into the things she was so intrigued about.

Yes, everything went according to plan.

A woman like Fuka needed clear boundaries, otherwise she was too erratic and could become a loose cannon, which wasn't something I needed. The other alternative was to take her out, which could prove troublesome without resources, since she was in another grade level. Aside from that, I believed that Fuka would be useful to me in the future, which was why I wanted to avoid expelling her if possible.

I immediately disengaged, stopping any further advances, while my eyes turned cold.

As if she was reliving the scene from yesterday, goosebumps appeared all over her body. Kiryuin's instincts overtook as her hands let go of my back. She tried to leave my zone of influence with fluid steps backwards after realizing that she had asked something that she wasn't supposed to.

But it was already too late for her.

My right hand flashed forward, grasping her neck and pulling her towards me. The necklace I had gifted her just moments ago cut into her flesh as I put more pressure into my grip while I stared into her eyes. My bone-chilling gaze entwined with hers. Fuka's crimson orbs tremored as they were forced to stare deep into my never-ending abyss. The darkness inside threatened to devour her whole as I opened my mouth.

"Don't pry into my life."

My words and tone were as arctic as my glare, thus creating a clear boundary. This was a border that no one was allowed to cross, under any circumstances. I had to make this more than crystal clear if our relationship was supposed to continue beyond this point.

She opened her mouth to speak, but I cut her off without hesitation. None of the 'feelings' I had previously shown her were left. Only darkness remained.

"Out."

I loosened my grip on her as my voice resounded through the otherwise silent room.

Kiryuin was smart enough to realize that she had stuck her nose into something she was not supposed to, which was why she left my room without another word. She even gave up on the spare key she had prepared for my room, with no indication from me that she needed to do so.

This second-year vixen wasn't as weak of a person as being taken aback by something like this. She was simply showing me that she had accepted the boundary I set, because she knew that if she were to push any further, that everything she had built until now would crumble and plummet into her face.

Fuka was too interested in me to let something like this happen, thus her reaction.

Her sweet scent lingered in my room for a moment until it slowly faded away through molecular diffusion, according to Avogadro's law and the Brownian movement.

After this incident, around two weeks passed in the blink of an eye.

Fuka had returned the next day and apologized while assuring me that she wouldn't ask any further questions which would trespass the boundary I had set. She would still try to find out more about me, but she had to do this on her own, without bothering me, which was my plan from the very beginning.

Since this whole charade worked out as I had expected, I gave her the key back, which she had left with me, in case she wanted to come over and I wasn't in my room. Afterwards we texted most of the time, rarely meeting up, since it was too dangerous to be seen with her.

If we met up, it was in the evenings and in my room, which was the most reasonable spot because she had a key. It also became a habit to prepare dinner for her if she planned to come over, since it wouldn't be that much additional work for me.

The second time she visited my place, she had asked about the chess boards I had lined up near the entrance. I explained their meaning, to which she pouted and complained that Nagumo wasn't good enough to be a king. Even though she protested against the choice of his piece, she was delighted after figuring out that she was the queen.

Fuka began interrogating me about the first-year board, but I didn't tell her anything since this wasn't something she needed to know. The second-year queen managed to guess a few herself, but I never confirmed nor denied any of her assumptions.

Aside from her, I had met up with Ichinose and her class from time to time. Amikura apologized for her rude behavior the day after our first meeting, since she thought that she had jumped to the wrong conclusions after I used the concealer that Fuka had given me.

Kanzaki and Shibata kept my secret as promised, and the three of us became quite close during the following days.

My special acquaintanceship with Horikita was the same as always.

It wasn't smart to push her into a direction she didn't want to go, which is why I decided to work on her in a slow but steady pace. Our companionship would evolve on its own from this point onward, and I could still intervene if something seemed to go wrong.

Most of my time during these one and a half weeks were spent with Matsushita, Karuizawa, Satou, Hirata and the others, while I kept some leeway to check in on Sudou from time to time.

After two weeks at this school, Hirata and Karuizawa started going out with each other.

From what I could tell, nothing had changed in their relationship, which confused me somewhat. I kept this to myself, however, as I had no first-hand experience and figured that this might have been normal behavior for new couples.

Sudou and Ike came to be known as the two idiots. If Yamauchi were still here, he would probably be a part of 'the idiot trio', or something like that.

After Kushida's failed attempt at making friends with Horikita, the two of us interacted rarely except for the usual small talk. Since neither of us had anything to gain by chatting with the other, we kept our talks brief and superficial without revealing our intentions.

These events continued until today as the periods went by. Before I knew it, it was time for Chabashira-sensei's history lesson.

The classroom was as noisy as it had been in the beginning of April. Every single ounce of careful behavior that followed our classmate's expulsion was thrown out the window and forgotten.

I had told Fuka about this, and she couldn't help but laugh about the idiocy of my classmates.

No one in this class knew about the school's true system aside from Matsushita, Kouenji and me. Out of the three of us, I believed that Matsushita knew the least amount because of my help, while Kouenji had noticed a bit more, but not as much as I did.

Horikita would have been a great addition to this lineup if she weren't as arrogant and overconfident in her own intelligence. She was not stupid, but not as smart as she thought she was, or else she wouldn't have been in the dark for a whole month.

"Quiet down a little, please. Today's lesson will be a little serious."

Chabashira-sensei's stern but charming voice brought me back to the world of the living, where I was sitting at my desk with a bored complexion.

"What's wrong, Sae-chan-sensei?"

Ahh... this happened as well, didn't it?

Ike and a few of the other boys had dubbed her Sae-chan-sensei, apparently. She didn't seem to mind her new pet name, but I wouldn't be brave enough to call her that, not even if she explicitly told me to.

Brain, stop. Don't go there...

As I was having yet another internal battle, Chabashira-sensei mentioned the exams I had been waiting for.

"It's the end of the month, so we're going to have a short test. Please pass the papers to the back."

The single sheet tests she gave out were handed back by the students in the front row. After skimming over the single page I received, it seemed to be a test about the five main subjects.

Calling it short might even exaggerate the length of this miniature test.

"Hey, that's unfair!"

"I didn't even pay attention!"

"You mentioned nothing about a test, Sae-chan-sensei!"

Some of my classmates complained while I bumped my head against my memory palace in disbelief of their stupidity. I knew that this class was filled with morons, but those were some of the most laughable things those people had said since I've known them.

How would any sane person get the idea of complaining about having to write a test in school?

"Stop complaining. This test is just for future reference. It won't be reflected in your report card. There is no risk involved, so don't worry. Cheating is still prohibited, of course."

I was disappointed at that revelation. The effect of this sudden exam would have been much stronger if they had to tremble in fear for a day or two because they messed up their test.

What a waste of potential...

Chabashira-sensei began the pop quiz and observed us students in silence. As I was gazing around to examine my classmates' reactions, our gazes overlapped for a split second. I immediately disengaged and scanned the questions on the sheet.

Twenty questions, four per subjects, 100 points. A standard school exam, so to speak, just in miniature.

Most of the questions were so easy that even middle schoolers should have been able to answer them. As I reached the end of the questionnaire , three of them stood out between the bunch. The last math problem in specific, was a college level question one couldn't solve without the use of complex formulae.

No matter whether the student was in Class A or D, this question was almost impossible to be solved by students on the highschool level. If I had to guess, only a handful of students in the whole school should be able to solve such a question, Kouenji and myself included. I knew little about our upperclassmen, but I assumed that they would at least have one or two capable students in their midst.

With a small sigh, I decided that I was going to solve the questions as I did in the entrance exam. Chabashira-sensei might wonder about the results due to my previous talk with her, but I didn't mind. I wasn't sure if she was a usable piece in this game or if the faculty staff was off-limits. If push came to shove, I might even have to get rid of her.

Even teachers shouldn't be safe at a school like this.

"If you tell me the truth, I'll forgive you, okay?"

"Tell you the truth about what?"

Today, I was on Sudou duty. Since he was a wildcard, I had to make sure that he wouldn't do anything overly stupid until I could tie him down to someone. I had multiple girls to choose from, but I have yet to narrow it down to a specific one in particular.

Sudou wasn't someone who would change his ways easily, just like Horikita. He would do so in extraordinary circumstances, however, which is why I asked him about the sort of person he'd like to go out with. If I tie him to a girl that could handle him, I wouldn't need to be mindful of his outbursts and temperamental decision making as long as I had a firm grasp on her.

Sudou duty not only entailed hanging out with him but also Ike and anyone else in his specific group of friends. For this instance, the three of us were standing next to a vending machine in the hall.

"We are friends, right? Comrades that stick together through thick and thin, right?"

I'd love to say no, but he might still be useful in the future, as weird as this sounded. Since I didn't know what kind of special examinations this school would employ to let the students compete, even someone like Ike might come in handy down the line.

Probably not, but there was a chance.

"I guess."

"Right. So you would tell us if you got yourself a girlfriend, right?"

"Ah, sure. If that happens, I will."

Ike put his arm over my shoulder and moved closer towards my ear. This was a situation I was in previously, but it felt much better when Fuka was the one doing it. Ike's moist breath was ravaging my mental state.

"Come on, tell the truth. You are going out with Horikita, right? I will not forgive you if you get ahead of us!"

"Huh?"

Both Ike and Sudou eyed me with suspicious glares while the former lay bare his reasoning.

"So it's like this. We've observed you, Ayanokouji. And we made a few interesting discoveries along the way."

Ike let go of me and backed up before holding his index finger in front of my face.

Should I be worried?

"One, you have contact with a ton of girls in class. Most of them, to be exact."

So far, his 'observation' was correct. But even a blind man would have noticed this.

He held up his middle finger as well, posing with a peace sign.

"Two, every time you have contact with these girls, there are other girls with you, which makes these interactions safe."

Sudou nodded towards Ike's 'reasoning'. The latter held up his ring finger and finished up his detective work.

"Three, the only exception to this rule is Horikita, which means you have a special relationship with her. Hence, the two of you must be dating."

If he examined everything as carefully as my interactions with the girls and reached the correct conclusion even one out of ten times, he might not even be the most useless student that was currently attending this school.

"You idiot. We are not dating. Absolutely not. Seriously. Never, ever, say something like this again. You are playing with all of our lives here. Sudou? Say something!"

The delinquent's body shuddered in fear upon remembering his most traumatic experience to this day. He turned towards Ike with a pair of pleading and fearful eyes.

"He's right, Ike. I allowed you to ask this once because it seemed plausible, but we can never, ever talk about this again. Do you understand me?"

Wait, hold up a minute. Nothing he said was plausible.

"Fine, Sudou. I'll trust your judgement."

He turned back to me with yet another skeptical gaze.

"But if the two of you aren't dating, then what are you? You are the only one that talks to her."

Sudou beside him nodded again and again, sweat running down his temple.

Just what had this poor man gone through?

"We are just seatmates. I mean, even someone like Horikita would feel uncomfortable without talking to their seatmate for three years, right?"

"Mhm."

Their doubtful glares were replaced with something akin to enlightenment.

"I guess that makes sense. Without Kushida-chan, we wouldn't even know her name after all. If she doesn't want to talk with us, there is no way she would want to talk to someone like you if she wasn't practically forced to because you are seatmates."

Ike was a rather... unique person.

It was... interesting... to talk to him, since he was different to other people I had encountered. Whenever I was talking to friends or other students, I learned new things. Most of the time, it was common knowledge that anyone aside from me would know, which has proven to be helpful in avoiding certain disasters until now.

In Ike's case, I felt like that I was losing brain cells the more I talked to him. If I were to sit him in a room full of Class A students, would he be able to dumb them down to a degree that would make it possible for Class D to overtake them in academics?

"She has a cute face, though, don't you think?"

Another classmate, Okitani, inserted himself into the conversation with such words. Ike and Sudou both nodded in agreement, even though Sudou had more to say about her.

"I mean, yeah, she's cute, I guess. But her personality is the worst. Seriously."

He threw his empty coffee can into the bin and cracked his neck.

Sudou was the worst person to talk about bad personalities, but I got the point. Horikita was difficult to handle to where it wouldn't be worth the trouble for most people. In the end, it was her decision to live like that, but I was sure that she would come to regret her actions sooner rather than later.

"Yeah, I know. She's always so high and mighty, thinking that she's better than us. I'd rather go out with a cheerful girl like Kushida-chan. Just thinking about her calling me Kanji-kun or doing lewd things with her gets me going."

Nobody wanted to know what gets you going...

"Or fantasizing about her wearing revealing cosplays like swimsuits, maid outfits, or bunny ears, or..."

The Professor butted in and kept listing cosplays until even my mind drifted off.

"What about you Sudou? Seen any cute girls in the basketball club?"

That was the first question which interested me, since I wondered if anything had changed from the last time the two of us had talked about this. If this were the case, I might change some of my plans going forward. Nothing was set in stone, but if I could accommodate to his own wants and needs, it would be easier to tie him down. Otherwise, I had to create those feelings for him artificially, which would be a pain to do.

"No, not really. There aren't any girls in our club."

I was disappointed that he only focused the second part of Okitani's question, which led me to the conclusion that his thoughts hadn't changed from our last chat. Since we were at the subject, I threw Hirata and Karuizawa into the mix, since I was missing some crucial insights into how relationships like theirs worked because of my special upbringing.

"Now that we are on topic, what do you guys think about Hirata and Karuizawa?"

"Hondou and I saw them walking to school holding hands and things like that. We were shocked beyond words."

"So Okitani and Hondou noticed first, huh? I kind of expected them to end up eventually since she was always staring at him with those lovey-dovey eyes." Ike moved closer into the group and checked his surroundings. "Do you guys think they already did naughty stuff?"

I had seriously underestimated the people I was associating with. How did I even expect to get something useful out of them? I apologized to Hirata and Karuizawa in my mind, as this topic was bound to get disrespectful.

"Of course they have. Karuizawa's personality is kinda off as well, but she's hot. If I were Hirata, I would have done it immediately." Ike said in a proud tone while patting his chest.

"Probably, right? I mean, what else would you do?"

"Dunno about that. Maybe they haven't gone that far just yet?"

"2D supremacy."

Sudou, of all people, took the most logical approach, and I had to agree with him.

There was a chance that they already had sex, of course, but from what I had learned about relationships, this only happened after some time has passed as a couple. While spending time as boyfriend and girlfriend, people would explore their feelings first before they would start to explore their bodies.

Meanwhile, Sotomura said something I didn't understand, so I kept this in mind until I could consult the internet about this so-called supremacy I had never heard of before.

"Let's just ask Hirata."

Once again, Ike demonstrated to everyone that he was an idiot.

"Do you honestly think Hirata would give us the details? If we asked him about her breasts or if she was a virgin, we would be skinned alive by Karuizawa on the next day."

"Wait! Can't you ask them?" Ike said, whereupon Okitani and the Professor turned their heads towards me.

"What now?"

"I mean, you are hanging out with them all the time, right? Ask Satou to ask Karuizawa for all I care. Just get us the information! We are brothers, aren't we? We need to band together in times like this!"

This is bad, I should —

"Yeah, Ike's right."

"It's a deal then."

Apparently, I had no say in this matter.

Sudou surprised me once again, as he didn't pursue the conversation while they were talking about stuff like this. I had already mentioned it before, but I was sure that Sudou wasn't a bad guy.

If I could find someone who could help him grow in the places he lacked in, it would be a worthy endeavour.

[03:12:27 PM[Ike] Hey, we are going to hang out with Kushida-chan and some other people in around 20 minutes. You wanna come?

My heart sped up after reading this message.

Not because it was from Ike, or about its contents, but that he had thought of me.

I already knew about their plans from Matsushita, Karuizawa and the others who had invited me yesterday. Satou and Mii-chan wouldn't come, since the former had something to do, and the latter mentioned that she needed to study.

Mii-chan's excuse was a lie, but a rather good one.

Her overall behavior had changed when Hirata and Karuizawa made their relationship public, so she likely tried to stay away from them for the time being to sort out her own feelings. Even if I wanted, there was nothing I could do to help her at this point.

That aside, she wasn't one of the important pieces, so it was no problem if her behavior dipped for a bit.

The rest of our group, namely Hirata, Karuizawa, Matsushita and Mori, confirmed that they would be coming. Hirata was the one who invited Kushida, and I presume he also called Ike as well, since he was the sort of person who didn't want anyone to feel left out.

[03:12:34 PM] Sure, I'll join.

[03:12:39 PM[Ike] Just so you know, Kushida-chan is mine, you hear me?

I ignored the flood of messages that Ike had sent me and browsed to another chat that pleaded for my attention. Sometimes I felt overwhelmed having so many conversations going on, since I felt obliged to answer as soon as I read them.

[03:14:38 PM[Hirata] Hey, Ayanokouji-kun. Do you Have Horikita-san's number, perhaps?

I knew what he was going for, but I let the conversation play out naturally to hide my conclusions.

[03:14:47 PM] I do. Why?

[03:15:01 PM[Hirata] Would you mind asking her if she wants to join us today? I tried talking to her this morning, but she blocked me off.

Wow, even Hirata had a tough time dealing with Horikita.

[03:15:09 PM] Of course, I'll ask her.

After switching over to her profile, I stared at the empty chat window. This was the first time I would text her after receiving her number, and I felt nervous.

[03:17:03 PM] Hey, I already know your answer, but I felt obliged to ask. Hirata asked me if you wanted to join us later. We are going to meet up with some people from our class.

[03:17:12 PM[Horikita] If you already know the answer, then that's fine. You've fulfilled your obligation. Is that all?

Her answer came shortly after my initial message, which surprised me, since I didn't expect her to be someone who replied fast. I figured that she was one of those people who'd leave someone on 'read' for hours or even days until they decided to lower themselves to one's level and reply to the message that already lost all meaning.

[03:17:15 PM] Perfect, I'll tell him you're looking forward to later.

[03:17:20 PM[Horikita] Hey. Ayanokouji-kun.

I closed the chat, ignoring the barrage of incoming messages from Horikita. If she used her head, she'd realize that I was only messing with her. I'd probably get stabbed to death by her tomorrow, but I couldn't help but tease her a bit whenever I had the chance.

[03:17:29 PM] She declined, as expected.

[03:17:35 PM[Hirata] Still. Thank you for asking, Ayanokouji-kun.

After I was done dealing with all those obligations, yet another notification appeared on my screen.

[03:17:59 PM[Fuka ] Are you free later?

[03:18:23 PM] I'm going out with some friends in a few minutes, but I should be free this evening. I'll let you know before I come back.

[03:18:31 PM[Fuka ] Mh, maybe I'll go visit my cute Kouhai-kun's. I wonder if I'll be able to find you~.

[03:18:42 PM] You know how to act if you do.

[03:18:57 PM[Fuka ] Buuuhhh! You're such a bore Kiyotaka. How are you not smitten by my beautiful existence and perfect assets?

I was...

[03:19:04 PM] Who knows?

[03:19:20 PM[Fuka ] And that's why you are so interesting. Are we having dinner or are you eating out?

Eating out, huh... damn it, Ike. Get out of my head.

[03:19:32 PM] Don't know yet. You could observe my classmates and make the call on your own. I'm interested in your take on them.

[03:19:51 PM[Fuka ] When will you guys be meeting?

[03:20:12 PM] 3:30PM in front of the first-year dorms.

[03:20:23 PM[Fuka ] See you soon then.

[03:20:35 PM] I sure hope not.

After dealing with my most troublesome friend, I changed into more comfortable clothes and headed downstairs. On my way to the elevator, I ran into Ike and Okitani, one of which was hopping around in excitement while chanting Kushida's name over and over.

His happiness, however, didn't last very long as he caught sight of the ones waiting downstairs.

"Hey! What is Hirata doing down there with Kushida-chan? Hey, hey, Ayanokouji. Tell me I'm seeing things."

"You are seeing things."

My assumption that Hirata had invited them was wrong, apparently. Since Matsushita and the others would never have called them, it must've been Kushida's doing.

I hadn't revealed my lie to Horikita yet, so I glanced upwards through the elevator window. Her door remained shut for the entire duration of the ride, or at least, as long as I could see it. I just hoped that she understood that I was messing with her before she came down and gave me a beating.

Ike, who was occupied with his own personal hell, rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

"I STILL SEE HIM. AYANOKOUJI YOU BASTARD!"

How was that my fault?

The deeply wounded boy calmed himself down before we reached the ground floor. As we walked out, Okitani said his farewells and went somewhere else.

I was wrong again? Something felt off today...

Fuka dawdled around near the first-year dorms and observed our group with utmost discretion.

"Ike-kun, Ayanokouji-kun. Heeey!"

"Kushida-chaaaaaan."

Those were the first exchanges in our group and I couldn't help but shake my head.

"He sure seems energetic." Matsushita, who strolled to my side, let a cute giggle escape her rosy lips.

I inched my head closer to hers since I didn't want Ike to hear what I was saying.

"This guy is absolutely hopeless. I'm really glad you girls saved me back then."

"You should thank Satou for that. She was the one who asked if we shouldn't help you as you were fumbling around for friends even though you already had some."

Once again, her cute chuckle tickled my eardrums.

"Well, I made some fantastic ones, I believe."

She seemed surprised upon hearing those words, but broke out into a smile just seconds later.

"Hey, what are the two of you flirting around for? Get a room."

Karuizawa called out to us while whistling, which turned the whole group's attention. Since we were whispering to each other, we were indeed quite close. Matsushita flushed and began stuttering, which didn't help with anything she said.

"W-what are you t-talking about, you dummy?"

Our usual group began to snicker upon listening to her almost comical reply. Since they were familiar with us, everyone knew that Karuizawa was just joking around. Most of my one-on-one conversations were with Matsushita, so creating a joke with that fact in mind was not a bad move.

Different from the usual suspects, Matsushita and Ike had trouble treating this as a joke. The former was a surprise, while the latter turned around with a pale face, as if he had frozen to death in a blizzard. He couldn't believe what he had just heard and glared at me before mouthing, 'Not before me'.

Kushida was also surprised for a short moment before she realized that Karuizawa cracked a joke at our expense and began to giggle as well.

After this 'shock', we made our way around campus while joking around and chatting with each other.

Hirata and Karuizawa walked arm in arm, chuckling and flirting around in their own world for some time. Ike orbited Kushida and asked her a multitude of questions, most of which with indecent thoughts in mind.

"Hey, Kushida-chan, do you have a boyfriend?"

"Me? No, unfortunately not."

With a bright smile that could rival even the sun itself, Ike shed a few tears of joy upon hearing her response. For him, this was the best news he could have heard today aside from something impossible, like Kushida asking him to go out with her.

The other girls shook their heads in shame, and I couldn't help but agree with them.

Kushida buzzed around like a worker bee and organized us in a large group where everyone could talk with each other without feeling left out. This was one of those things she excelled at, and nobody in our class would even come close to her in that regard. If we were talking about all the first-years, only Ichinose might rival her in terms of popularity and social abilities.

While I was chatting with Mori about some trivial topic, I typed a message in my pocket and sent it off. Kushida also joined our conversation as we were steering towards our favorite parfaits. The information itself was pointless, but this was what friends would talk about when they were out together.

My eyes focused on Matsushita as she turned around with a cautious gaze for the third time since I had sent the message.

Pleased with my yield, I typed another message before turning my focus back on the whole group.

There was something else that struck me as odd, namely Hirata and Karuizawa's relationship.

I was but an amateur, but I assumed that certain steps were involved until two people would become a couple. One of which was the use of the partner's first name. I didn't know what's special about using someone's first name, but common knowledge dictated that it was quite a big deal, especially in highschool. Hence my surprise when Hirata and Karuizawa still referred to each other by their family names.

Since I didn't know if this behaviour would be classified as normal or abnormal, I was in a bind. I could only note down other people's reactions and compare them to reach a consensus which would apply to the majority. In this specific case, nobody minded that they weren't using their first names when talking to each other, which is why I ignored the constant nagging in my mind.

Somewhere along our journey, we reached a boutique.

Karuizawa and Ike were the two loudest voices that wanted to go inside and browse the shops merchandise. Hirata lent his girlfriend around 20.000 points to purchase some new clothes, confirming that he was the best boyfriend in existence.

I, however, still couldn't believe that Karuizawa and Ike actually agreed with each other on something, as well as the fact that she had managed to empty her balance on our first week.

Kushida was a careful spender, just like Hirata, Matsushita and Horikita. She only bought one new piece of clothing to finish up one of her outfits. Mori vanished somewhere in-between the trousers, while Matsushita stood in front of a full body mirror and kept holding dresses, skirts and other clothes in front of herself.

"They would all suit you, you know?"

Upon hearing my voice, she turned around with a surprised expression. As her eyes caught sight of my figure, her smile turned gentle and even more charming than before.

"If I buy all of them, I'll be broke for the next week, though. How many points do you have left?"

"Around 60.000, why? Do you need any?"

"No, I was just curious. I have around 35.000 left. I'll hope that will be enough."

"Enough for what? Are you also planning to buy half the store like Karuizawa?"

She let out a cute laugh and denied this possibility by shaking her hands.

"Ahh, no. Nothing in particular. I just hope my points are enough for the next few days at least. We get our 100.000 points rather soon, though, so I'm not overly concerned."

She still hadn't mentioned her true thoughts to me, which hurt somewhat.

"Say Ayanokouji, you wanna tease Karuizawa back for before?"

She still kept holding dresses and skirts in front of herself, but her eyes were focused on me instead of them. She didn't notice how unnatural her current behavior was, and that Fuka was glaring daggers at her from three rows down.

Different from before, she wasn't as focused on her surroundings. Back then, she had noticed the suspicious senpai, who had purposely slipped up and revealed herself a few times by my request.

Now, however, the ever-observant Matsushita was nowhere to be seen.

"You mean when she told us to get a room? What do you have in mind?"

"Well, we could call each other by our first names. That would catch her off guard for sure..."

She glanced towards the ground with a light rosy tint on her cheeks, which slowly extended towards her ears.

"Really? If you think so, then let's do that, Chiaki."

"Huh?!"

Testing out her plan had a clear adverse effect towards Chiaki, whose cheeks and ears turned crimson. It also didn't help that she kept stammering unintelligible nonsense afterwards.

"Chiaki?"

She squealed as I wanted to inquire further about her well-being. It took her some time to recover from this state, but aside from Fuka, no one seemed to have noticed her troubles, as they were all occupied with their own agenda.

"Y-yeah, we'll show her. Ay- ehm... K-kiyo..ka."

Was my name that hard to pronounce?

I didn't think so.

That we were calling each other by our first name now confused me somewhat. Using first names, especially as a man and a woman, seemed to say a lot about their relationship with each other. I didn't feel that anything had changed to before, however. I was just using another part of her name.

Where she was nervous and fidgety, I couldn't even find a reason to be.

Fuka was the first friend I called by her first name, but she was weird either way, so I thought little of it. Chiaki was different as we have been warming up to each other.

Yet, nothing had changed, even though I hoped that it would.

I knew that I was defective, but I didn't expect to be broken to such a degree. This was why I kept wondering if anyone, myself included, could fix these deficiencies of mine.

It wasn't uncommon that I was stumped when someone asked me if I had fun. Most of the time, I would answer yes, because I felt like, if I could feel 'fun', then I would probably feel it at that moment. I never registered this as a lie, but more like a cheap out, since I was unable to put my feelings into words.

Would I ever be able to understand fun, love, happiness and such things?

Would I ever experience them in these fleeting three years before I would be locked up in an all too familiar white world?

All the memories I would have made in those three years... would they just... vanish just like my emotions?

I couldn't help but think about such noxious thoughts as our group exited the boutique before we continued our journey through the schools many establishments.

- Word Count: 15416 / 69624 Characters

Released 30.04.2022

Chapter 8 - Cheap Shot

Wednesday, May 1st.

The classroom was louder and more chaotic than usual.

There were three people, however, that weren't as surprised.

One of them was Kouenji Rokusuke.

Just like any other day, he admired his own reflection in his trusty white hand mirror. His pearly whites sparkled as the morning sun shone through the transparent windows. He grinned, practically laughing at the surrounding students, which were losing their heads like chickens that were being hunted down by a sly fox.

The man in question glanced towards me before narrowing his eyes. After observing me for a moment, his gaze wandered towards the last person who was rather relaxed, since she had also expected what was about to unfold: Matsushita Chiaki.

The girl bit her lip in frustration as a hint of regret flashed across her charming face.

This was an understandable reaction after taking into consideration that Chiaki had only found out about the schools system because a curious classmate had prodded her until she realized that something was off. I wouldn't be surprised if she was cursing herself for not having thought of this sooner. She might even have been able to prevent this altogether if she had informed everyone of her suspicions.

Unlike her friends Karuizawa and Satou, she kept a clear head. Neither of them noticed this, however, as they were too busy freaking out over the lack of points.

Had she prepared questions for our homeroom teacher to verify the accuracy of her own assumptions? Was she interested in learning what she had missed out on? Or had she determined that the best course of action was to act like she usually did and hide her knowledge from everyone?

A few minutes passed and Chabashira-sensei strode into the room as the bell rang, holding a rolled-up poster in her hand. The expression she wore today was even worse than usual, which showed that even though she had expected us to fail, it was much worse than she wanted to imagine.

That or menopause had set in.

I had a sudden, inexplicable urge to ask her, but I felt that she would beat me to death with her bare fists if I were to do so. Not only did I value my life very much, but I also needed my place at this school, which is why I decided to desist from sexually harassing my teacher for the foreseeable future.

"Hey, sensei, did you start menopause or something?"

Once again, I had to remind myself to keep as far away as possible from Ike. His deranged thought pattern had already eroded mine, which was the only explanation that the two of us had the same obscene thought. Even though he was Class D's most dangerous secret weapon, I was opposed on using him, since I felt bad for my enemies.

Chabashira-sensei ignored his disrespectful remark, which could also have been interpreted as sexual harassment, before placing the materials and poster on the teacher's desk.

Her gaze flew over all thirty-nine students present in the room.

"Your morning homeroom is about to begin. Before we get started, are there questions? Now is the time to ask."

It was a given that she, as our homeroom teacher, was aware about Class D's terrible situation. Even students as dense as my classmates should have questions after they hadn't received their 'promised' points on the appointed day.

"Sensei, I checked my point balance this morning, but I didn't receive any additional deposits. Points are given on the first day of every month, aren't they?"

"Correct. Points are deposited on the first day of the month. I have confirmed that the points for this month were wired with no issues."

Most of the students pulled out their phones and rechecked their current balance in the naïve hope that they had looked at their points before the new ones were deposited this morning. This alone was more than enough evidence to emphasize the fact that they had understood nothing about the way this school worked.

"Uhm, okay... but nothing was deposited in my account, though."

Hondou looked down at his desk with a saddened expression.

Usually, he could be seen slurping on a pack of orange juice, which would be placed on the right corner of his desk as soon as it was empty. The absence of this specific beverage made it obvious that the boy had burned through all his points before today, and didn't even have enough left to buy a juice, costing 250 yen.

"Are you kids really that dumb?"

Her usual fascinating tone was worlds apart with the one I had just listened to. The woman in front of us wasn't angry or disappointed. She was livid. According to her darkened expression, she couldn't comprehend that students could be this stupid.

"Dumb? What?"

"S-sae-chan-sensei?"

Hondou's shaking voice was followed by a low stutter from Ike.

The two of them weren't the only ones surprised by her change of attitude, but the other students were too shocked by her previous words and couldn't react at all.

"The points were deposited as promised. There is absolutely no chance that we forgot anyone in this class. Is that understood?"

"Even if we understand that. How come we have received no points then?"

Hondou grew dissatisfied, since this conversation did nothing but move in circles. The problem was that he just wasn't astute enough to realize that the discussion had already reached its expected destination.

He, just like everyone else in this class, had all the information that he would need to draw a sound conclusion from the facts that he had received until this point in time.

If all points were deposited without fail and we had received none, then what did this imply?

Aside from Chiaki and Kouenji, not a single student understood what Chabashira-sensei had been hinting at throughout this conversation alone. The class was at an impasse, unable to fathom why they hadn't received their promised points, and why our teacher was unwilling to spell it out for them.

"Hahaha, I see. So it's like that then, teacher? I think I've solved the mystery."

Kouenji's rather reserved attempt to show the class up surprised me somewhat. Since he held himself in high regard, and dubbed himself as a perfect existence whenever he had the chance, I had expected something more flashy.

"It's simple. We're in Class D, so we didn't receive a single point."

Did I overestimate his abilities?

No... I was fair in my evaluation from what I had seen from him, but his weak statement confirmed that he wasn't sure about his deduction. He was both right and wrong, and this was his way of fishing for more information. He had noticed that something was off, and he had proven that even Kushida wasn't able to deceive him with her angel-act.

Could it be something like Cold Reading?

This would explain why he had picked up on the inconsistencies in Kushida and me, but not on the true systems behind this school. If he was proficient in Cold Reading, then he would have recognized that Chabashira-sensei's explanation at the beginning of the year was misleading, which was why he knew that something was off from the start.

The problem was that he was unable to narrow it down any further.

After acquiring this single, missing piece, I solved a part of the puzzle named Kouenji Rokusuke.

He cared little about this school, which was proven after his half-hearted introduction that was only meant for the girls and him not bothering to find out more about this school after his initial hunch. He excelled in physical abilities and was smart enough to realize that this school was weird, even without his Cold Reading. After adding this speciality to the list, he would have an edge over most people he would be confronted with in his lifetime.

He was indeed a competent heir for the Kouenji group, even though his narcissism might become a hindrance to him in the future. Kouenji would know if he was being set-up or lied to by a business partner before the latter could finish his sentence, which was an invaluable advantage to have in a corporate environment.

While I was focused on analyzing one of my most interesting classmates with the new information I had received, the conversation between Chabashira-sensei and the students continued. The last question my subconscious skimmed came from Hirata, as he asked her to explain the reason we hadn't received our points this month.

"Seventy-six absences and late arrivals. Three hundred and seven incidences of talking or using cellphones in class. And last but not least, one expulsion. Those are quite a few infractions over one month. In this school, your class's results are reflected in the points that you receive. Your behavior resulted in a loss of all 100.000 points that you should have received. That's what happened."

The entire class fell silent, and all color drained from their faces.

Chabashira-sensei kept hammering the cold hard truth into us without a single shred of mercy.

"I already mentioned it on the very first day, did I not? The amount you receive reflects the evaluation of your worth. In other terms, throughout this month you were evaluated to be worth nothing. That's all."

My classmate and seat neighbor, Horikita, noted down everything she said, including the number of absences, late arrivals, talking, cellphone usage and the expulsion. From what I had gathered from her, she tried to make sense out of the new information that was now available to her.

I was curious what she would come up with on her own, but curbed my enthusiasm and watched everything unfold with my never-changing bored expression before turning my attention back to the rest of my classmates.

They were shocked, unable to do anything but sit in front of their desks with their mouths agape. Thus, the important task of gathering as much information as possible in the limited time we had left fell into Hirata's capable hands. If he did his job well, the class could then try to find a solution to their current predicament.

"Chabashira-sensei. I do not recall hearing you explain to us that —"

"What? Are you incapable of understanding something unless it's explained in vivid detail? Should I draw you a picture next time? Maybe sing a song?"

I'd love to hear her sing. Could we take an anonymous vote?

"It was never mentioned that our points would be reduced due to misbehavior and —"

Hirata stopped talking at once after he realized how stupid his argument was.

Even grade-schoolers knew that they should be punctual, quiet, and that cellphone usage or disrupting the class was strictly prohibited. It was simple, fundamental behavior which every school and workplace would require without the need to mention it. There was no reason to explain this to a bunch of high schoolers, since they should have acted according to their prior education without having to be reprimanded first.

"You seem to realize that your argument is flawed beyond words. If you had simply acted properly, like it was taught to you before, then your points wouldn't have dropped all the way to zero. Did you really think that you'd just receive 100.000 yen a month without strings attached? At a school established by the Japanese government for the express purpose of training gifted people, no less? That's unthinkable."

Hirata clenched his fists in frustration, but he wasn't as volatile as before.

None of his classmates were at an immediate risk of expulsion, which is why his mind still worked properly. His thoughts should spin around in his head, trying to salvage this situation. This behavior stood in stark contrast to the conduct he displayed during the incident with Yamauchi.

One could learn a lot about another person while observing them in a crisis.

Would they stay calm? Lash out at someone? If yes, who? Would they scream or get physical? Stay level-headed, perhaps? When would the different changes in their behavior take place? Did a certain phrase trigger the transition? Was it some sort of stress threshold that was crossed? Was the change tied to a specific person, or a group of people?

It was interesting, refreshing even, to see most of these people crumble down, unable to utter a single word in their despair. They stared at each other with a blank look on their faces like a flock of headless chickens, before glancing at our teacher with baffled expressions.

Chabashira-sensei was the perfect villain in this scenario, and I couldn't have wished for anyone else to stomp on this class in such an enthralling way. The school had arranged this whole situation to perfection.

The harder they fell, the more I could learn about and exploit them in the future. This whole performance was a goldmine of knowledge which the school had created without realizing it. All I needed to do was to sit around and observe their reactions to her taunts and process any further movements from their side.

"Well then, could you at least explain how points are added or deducted for future reference?"

Even Horikita stopped writing upon hearing this question and raised her head.

"I cannot tell you. We cannot disclose the methods behind our students' evaluation. It's the same as any other organization. However, I'm not cruel, and I'm not trying to be cold..."

Well, that's a lie...

"... In fact, this situation is so pathetic that I will give you one bit of guidance."

The faint, yet cruel smile on her face told me everything I needed to know.

This wasn't the sweet and charming kind that would guide you through trouble, but a cold and evil one, that a devil might flash while he tied a rope around your soul before dragging you down to the pits of hell.

"Let's say that you stop being late to class and have no more absences. Even though zero points will be deducted from this month, your points won't increase either. That means next month you will still receive zero points, no matter how often you are late or using your phone. In that specific sense, you are not really at a loss, are you?"

I began to like this woman more, the better I got to know her.

Ever since I spent some of my free time with Ike due to my Sudou-observation-days, I noted a stark increase in some weird tendencies which I had awakened during our companionship.

I should tone down my exposure to him before I forget how to play chess...

The expressions of my classmates sank by a considerable degree, while I was struggling with the fact that my secret weapon was also effective against me. Even Chiaki couldn't help but despair at this situation, which must have been far worse than she could have ever imagined.

Kouenji didn't mind the current state of our class one bit, which affirmed my assumption that he planned to buy himself into Class A at the end of the third year.

The anxious students had little time to deal with Chabashira-sensei's harsh words, as the bell rang, which informed us that our second homeroom period just began.

"It looks like we spent too much time on this topic already. I hope you understood the gist of it. Because now it's time to switch to the main topic."

Our homeroom teacher spread out the poster she had brought with her this morning and stuck it to the blackboard with four magnets. The still confused and fearful students stared at the banner with wide eyes.

"Are these the results for each class?"

My seatmate was right.

Class A through D were listed on the poster in the following manner:

Class A 0940

Class B 0650

Class C 0490

Class D 0000

Since we were given 100.000 private points last month, it was safe to assume that we had started out with 1000 class points. This meant that the classes lost 60, 350, 510 and 1000 class points respectively due to misconduct on the students part.

The distance towards the top was massive, and I couldn't have been happier with this outcome.

First, I needed to climb up at least 950 points until we would ascend to Class A if the points stayed as they were. This, however, wouldn't be the case, which meant that I would need to make up for at least a 1000 points, and likely more. The good news was that we couldn't lose any points this month since we were already at zero. This would give the class some time to get a grip and come up with a better game plan for their future.

Class B took a rather large hit as well. Their behavior wasn't always perfect, apparently.

I still knew too little about Class C, but I assumed their results stemmed from the shenanigans they had pulled throughout this month, which was a fair assumption to make after taking into consideration the information I had gathered from Ichinose and some of her classmates.

But the difference in ability between Class A and B was absurd.

If I converted the lost points into percentages, Class A only lost 6% of their total points, and would have received a whopping 94.000 yen this month. Meanwhile, Class B's loss was already at 35%. Even if Class A kept their losses steady through the next months while Class B managed to stay at the same level, it would take them another five months to overtake Class A's tremendous lead.

"Isn't there something odd?"

I prodded my seatmate to give her something to think while we were being bullied by Chabashira-sensei's brutal remarks.

"Yeah, the numbers look too even."

Even Horikita noticed that the point allocation with the same starting conditions was rather weird.

It was almost as if it had already been decided beforehand.

"You've all been doing whatever you pleased this past month and the school has no intention of preventing you from such behavior. Your actions affect the points you receive. It is as simple as that. The same goes for how you use your points, how you choose to spend them is entirely up to you."

"This isn't fair, though. We can't enjoy our time like this!"

Ike, like most of the other students in this classroom, hadn't seen the bigger picture. They were too hung up on the points they had lost and wouldn't regain due to their stupidity throughout the past month.

"Look here, morons." Chabashira-sensei knocked on the poster which displayed the class points. "Every other class got points. The amount of points we gave you for the first month should be plenty for you to live on."

"W-wait! How do the other classes still have points? Isn't that weird?"

"All the classes were evaluated and scored using the same rules. Despite that, they didn't lose as many as you. That's the truth."

"But how come that there is such a large difference in our points?"

It took a while, but Hirata had also noticed the insane difference in point values between our classes. It was painful to watch that only a handful out of these thirty-eight students were in the right state of mind to talk and think more or less objectively.

"Do you finally understand why you were placed in Class D?"

Once again, Chabashira-sensei brought down the hammer without batting an eye. It was nothing but a senseless slaughter of hens, which were devoured by the vile fox, with no chance to escape. Every time the predator opened its maw, another inkling of hope vanished in its dark abysm.

"Why we were placed in Class D?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Isn't it normal to be divided up like this?"

"What are you saying, Sae-chan-sensei?"

Most of my classmates were even more puzzled than before after this sudden, yet expected, revelation.

It was nothing short of horrifying to know that these people were my pieces.

I was glad that some of them were usable, or else I would have had to play a match with only pawns. There was no way to win such a game if your opponent didn't assist you under normal circumstances.

But it might have been possible in this game due to the difference in rules.

Chabashira-sensei's faint smile turned into a vicious sneer. Upon realizing this, Ike and the other pawns swallowed their saliva in fear about what was to happen.

"In this school, students are sorted by their level of excellence. The superior students are sorted into Class A, while the least capable are dumped in Class D. In other terms, you are trash. The worst of the worst. Defective products that don't amount to anything." She knocked on the poster once again. "Simply put, you as a class and individuals are worth nothing. Even the air you breathe is wasted, much less the space we had to free up in your dorm rooms."

Horikita dropped the pen that had been dancing over the paper until now.

Listening to such harsh words must have been a tremendous shock to her ego.

She was smart, yes, but also narrow-minded and too full of herself. Her condescending attitude and lack of friends or any social contacts pushed her even more down in the realm of uselessness.

If she didn't change her ways, I had no use for her.

If she kept walking this path, I would rid myself from this nuisance sooner rather than later.

People needed time to change, which is why I allowed her a small grace period. If she stayed useless and arrogant after this period was over, her life at this school would end.

I had no qualms about sacrificing my pieces in order to win.

"However, I have to say this year's Class D was phenomenal. You not only managed to spend all your points in the first month. You even accomplished something the entire faculty found impossible: you lost a student after merely five proper school days. That's just wonderful. I've never heard about such an incompetent class in the entire history of this school. You kids can be proud of yourselves for setting such a record."

Chabashira-sensei's false and hostile applause echoed through the classroom. Her sneer couldn't have been any more wicked and condescending as she figuratively spat into our faces.

This was the breaking point for Sudou. He snapped out of his stupor and kicked the desk in front of him with such force that it tumbled over and crashed into the ground, almost hitting the student in front of him.

"Are you shitting me? How are we supposed to live here with zero points until we graduate? We're a damn laughingstock to the other classes."

As expected of a ticking time-bomb, his temper once again roamed free after he had recovered from his initial shock.

At least in basketball, Sudou was used to being favored, relied upon, and maybe even looked up to, due to the stellar performance he had delivered every time he entered the court. But the other first-years would view him in a different light from today onwards. It didn't matter how good he was in basketball.

They would use this opportunity to look down on him, since they couldn't do so during the game.

Even if this wasn't the case, Sudou would begin to deteriorate, since the free meal sets weren't enough to provide him with the correct nutrients he needed for his training and future tournaments. Everything he had built up would crumble, and he was also aware of this.

"The dorm rooms don't cost you anything and there are free meals, as well as free necessities, in the stores around campus. Your life will suck, true, but you won't die. If you want to change that, then work to advance your class into the best one."

"Huh?"

"Your class points aren't just linked to the amount of points you will receive. They also indicate your class rank."

"I don't understand a fucking thing."

Sudou, as well as a few others, knitted their brows. They were unable to understand her words, contrary to some other students who had understood at least that much.

If we were to gain points, we would not only receive our monthly allowance, but might also overtake the other classes, thus reaching for Class A. The reason we would want this, however, wasn't mentioned by Chabashira-sensei.

I could only cheer for these idiots in my mind, hoping that someone would ask the important questions.

In the end, it came as it had to come...

I was disappointed.

"Now, there is more bad news I'd like to share with you."

She stuck another sheet up on the blackboard as Ike and the faction of morons bumped their heads on the table in despair. Hirata's whole body trembled due to the cruel and malicious words Chabashira-sensei had thrown into his classmates' faces.

It had been a while since he was part of the conversation, likely because he tried to calm himself down before he exploded.

If anyone other than a teacher had said those words to his comrades, I was positive that they would have already received a straight punch from him.

That's how furious Hirata was.

But this made me even more curious. It was indisputable that he had a dark history. Something that molded him into the person called Hirata Yosuke. But what had this boy gone through to become the person he was?

I gathered and compared everything I knew about him and began to analyze the clues I had received so far.

He was overprotective towards his classmates to the extent where he would rather sacrifice himself than to see one of his classmates expelled or hurt, which is why he reacted strongly as soon as Yamauchi was found guilty in front of the whole class.

Even if he could have stayed at school, he would have been ostracized by the girls after what he had supposedly done. The boys as well, would have remained distant towards him in fear of the girls retaliation if they were to associate with him any further.

This would have created an outsider inside his own class.

Hirata knew all of this and still thought about sacrificing himself to save Yamauchi. If he had taken the blame, Yamauchi wouldn't have ended up this way, at least in his naïve way of thinking. I was sure that he would have gone through with his plan if I hadn't told him that thirty-eight people that needed his help would outweigh one person.

Right now, Chabashira-sensei acted like a bully that kept beating and spitting onto her victims. She drove them deeper and further into helplessness and despair, without a single shred of hesitation. She didn't care if she hurt one or all of Hirata's classmates, because it was simply none of her business if they felt bad.

Ostracism and bullying.

Both facts angered Hirata to such a degree that he had to hurt himself to keep him from acting rash. I didn't believe for a second that someone like him was bullied, as he was far too capable in the social sphere to have been an outcast before.

A bullying victim would have reacted differently as well. Not with anger, but angst. When Chabashira-sensei spat at us, called us trash and laughed about our misfortune, a victim would have winced as their memories of these sinister times flooded back into their reality...

... just like Karuizawa.

Hirata, however, was a person who would get angry at someone else's behalf, and not on his own. This meant that there must have been someone else that was being bullied in his class or somewhere in his proximity. I didn't know if he felt guilty because he didn't or couldn't help the person in question, but the why and how was irrelevant.

The important part in all of this was that something must have happened to this individual. Something so terrible that it had transformed Hirata into the one I knew today. It didn't matter if the victim left the school, got drowned by bullies in a toilet, attempted suicide or even succeeded in killing themselves.

Hirata Yosuke must have experienced a scenario similar to this, which explained his actions and behavior, as well as the emergence of his savior complex. There was something inexplicably dark in his past, something I could uncover in time.

This newfound information also explained the weird feeling I had whenever I watched Hirata and Karuizawa. These two weren't in love. They weren't a couple or anything close to it.

They were protector and protectee.

While I was dissecting both Hirata and Karuizawa, the heated conversation between Chabashira-sensei and my classmates went on. Aside from making fun of us and our low scores, she informed the class that six students would have been expelled if the mock test had been a real one.

My classmates were anything but pleased by her continuous assaults, so they got angry. They cursed and bombarded her with questions until the conversation suddenly panned towards Kouenji, who had done nothing during his time here but stare into his hand mirror, yet managed to tie for the top spot with 90 points.

For them, it meant that he must have been using underhanded tactics to achieve such a score. For me, it proved that he had solved at least one of the difficult problems, which supported my assumption about his high intelligence.

After this excursion, Chabashira-sensei revealed the fact that threw the students into chaos yet again: the 100% employment rate was only reserved for Class A graduates. The other classes would gain nothing of that sort upon their successful graduation, no matter how good their grades were.

This was when another student, Yukimura Teruhiko, complained about not having known about this.

He was brave enough to drag Kouenji into his argument, as they were tied on the top spot, which had played out as expected. The blonde boy didn't care about anything Yukimura said. Even if he dropped out, he would still be the heir of the Kouenji conglomerate group.

As the bell rang a third time, Chabashira-sensei packed up her materials and left us with one final nail in the coffin.

"Your midterm exams are in three weeks. Please think things over and be careful not to drop out."

The class erupted into pure pandemonium as soon as Chabashira-sensei left the room.

Some were discussing what she had meant with all of this and how they were supposed to handle the situation going forward, while others threw a tantrum, and cursed the school as well as 'Sae-chan-sensei' for being so cold and heartless.

Yukimura was one of the loudest voices, who kept complaining about his placement in Class D.

He reminded me of a certain, raven-haired neighbor I had, and I wondered if the two could become friends.

As I turned towards my acquaintance to check her reaction to these stimuli, I noted that she was taken aback, like the rest.

This sort of pleasant commotion went on for a bit until Hirata managed to calm down sufficiently to rein everyone back in. He took a deep breath, stood and turned towards the class with his familiar, amicable smile.

"I understand that you are all confused right now, but everyone needs to calm down. Let's try to find a reliable way to get our points back and make sure that we don't lose anyone else."

Kushida was about to chime in as well, likely to support Hirata's proposal, as a furious Yukimura eclipsed her soft voice.

"How are we supposed to calm down? In her words, we're a bunch of failures. I don't agree with how we were sorted. I don't belong with people like them." He pointed towards Sudou, Ike and the others that could have certainly been dubbed failures.

"I understand that you feel angry, however —"

"What the fuck did you just say? You think you are better than me? Huh?"

Sudou grabbed Yukimura by the collar and bared his fangs at him. Hirata tried to appease them, but was held back by both Sudou's and Yukimura's cold stares as they were about to smash their heads in.

Contrary to his appearance, the boy wearing glasses didn't seem at all scared by Sudou, which was rather impressive considering their difference in build.

Sudou could wipe the floor with him with little effort, if he wanted to.

"Please everyone, can't we just calm down first? I'm sure she only said those harsh things to inspire us to do better. I'm sure, Yukimura-kun and Sudou-kun as well, didn't mean it like that. Right? Yukimura-kun? Sudou-kun?"

This was Kushida's stage, since she could handle the boys far easier than Hirata could. Not because she was superior in terms of social abilities, but simply because she was a cute girl.

The power of cute girls was terrifying...

Her tiny hands pushed both Yukimura and Sudou away from each other. She wasn't strong enough to accomplish such a feat, of course, but both men took steps back on their own due to her involvement.

"This is only our first month here. Shouldn't we all try to do better together? Do you guys think I'm wrong about that?"

Kushida's words were calculated to a shocking degree. If anyone were to say 'yes' to answer her question, they wouldn't deny the idea, but her beliefs. It didn't matter whether the idea was flawed. Boys like them would never tell a cute and popular girl like Kushida that she was wrong.

"Eh, no. I mean... Of course you're not... but..."

"You're r-right. I guess... yeah... maybe I overreacted..."

Both men were dancing in our angels palm, not realizing how powerful and determined her move had been. Together with Hirata, she pacified any ongoing arguments and gathered everyone's opinions on various topics about our current predicament. She then began to discuss with each of them how we could best handle the situation going forward.

Hirata threw me a quick glance, which wasn't hard to understand.

I nodded in agreement and turned to Horikita while the two of them were taking care of the rest of our classmates.

"Did you arrive at a conclusion?"

"Huh? Oh, no. Not yet. Not really. There's just not enough information."

I let out a disappointed sigh and tilted my head to the side.

"Well, if even you won't get any smarter staring at these numbers, then it would be a waste for me to try."

"About how many points did you spend last month, Ayanokouji-kun?"

I expected a snide remark. Something like, 'at least you are aware of your flaws'. But nothing like that came back, which was undeniable proof that her current state of mind was in turmoil. The revelation about this school's system must have shaken her to the core.

Similar to Yukimura, she was dissatisfied to be placed in Class D and labeled defective.

"I still have around 60.000. So I should be fine for now."

Most of our classmates weren't this lucky, however.

Ike, the Professor, Okitani and a few other guys had wasted their points on handheld consoles and games. Karuizawa, Satou, Mori and probably most of the girls had wasted theirs on clothing or beauty products they had deemed necessary.

The worst part was that even I was low on points thanks to the ridiculous, expensive necklace I had gifted Fuka and the other present I had given Chiaki on her birthday.

"That's pretty decent, considering what the others have left."

"Attention, everyone. Before class begins, I'd like you to listen for a moment. As you all know, we didn't get any points this month, so we are all in the same boat if we like it or not." Hirata turned to Sudou, who clicked his tongue. "Since it's impossible for us to make it to graduation with zero points, I'd like to make sure that we are all trying our best to eliminate the loss of points as much as possible. This means we should try being punctual and attentive during lectures, like Chabashira-sensei mentioned. In addition, we should limit our cellphone usage to the breaks. The fewer penalties we gather, the easier it will be to get points next month."

"We don't even know how to increase our points, so why should we care? We can't get below zero points, so it should be fine behaving like we want until you actually know how to increase them. Come talk to me once you have found a way and don't involve me before. Understood?"

Sudou grabbed his bag and left the room with those parting words.

The rest of the class, especially the girls, were furious about his behavior. I doubted that they cared about his attitude as much as the fact that he had been hostile to Hirata, which should have been the primary reason for their dissatisfaction.

"Is Sudou-kun serious? He's the one who was late to class the most. Couldn't we still get some points even without Sudou-kun? What do you think?"

"Yeah, he's the worst. Why is he in our class?"

"He's always angry as well. Why the hell do we have to put up with him?"

Hirata clenched his fists and tried to calm the angered girls, who were badmouthing Sudou. During that time, Chiaki walked over to my desk and gifted me a kind smile as she played with her bracelet.

I was very imaginative about presents, which is why I also tried punning her name. This didn't work out too well, since she didn't seem like someone who enjoyed reading much. In the end, she was happy with the tree of life bracelet I had gifted her, and that's all I wanted.

"Hirata wants to talk about ways to increase our points after class. Are you coming too, Kiyotaka?"

Horikita looked up in surprise, her gaze alternatively wandered between the two of us with a mysterious expression.

"Oh, sure. Whatever helps. This situation isn't very favorable for us, after all."

She nodded before turning to Horikita.

"What about you, Horikita-san? He'd like you there as well."

"Me? Ask someone else. I'm not particularly good at discussing things with others."

Chiaki flashed a wry smile and left it at that.

She finally understood how taxing it was to have a conversation with that block of ice beside me. Hirata would have probably pushed her a bit more into joining, but Chiaki couldn't care less about her after she was done with her errand.

It wasn't like she was very outgoing either, so I expected as much.

"See you later, then. I still have to ask a few others. Bye Kiyotaka."

"See you later, Chiaki."

After she was out of earshot and occupied with some other classmates, Horikita turned to me, impressed.

"Wow. I'm speechless, Ayanokouji-kun."

"Right?" I smirked.

"Don't get ahead of yourself."

So snappy... Maybe she's just jealous. Yeah, that had to be it.

"Huh, fine. So what do you plan on doing now?"

"I'll have a talk with Chabashira-sensei, or even the Chairman if I have to. I don't belong here after all."

That's where you were wrong, Horikita.

This was exactly the place for someone like you. In fact, right now, you are on the same level as Sudou.

Most of the students weren't aware of this just yet since they hadn't received the corresponding information about the special exams that will soon follow, but it was the truth. Both you and him were refusing to take part in class discussions. Sudou excelled in physical abilities while you were good in academics and had a moderate physique.

There was not much difference in your usefulness from the schools point of view.

And from mine...

Well...

Hirata began to prepare the blackboard for our upcoming discussion after the last lesson of the day had concluded.

Thanks to his and Kushida's influence over our classmates, almost everyone decided to stay and figure things out together. For every rule was an exception, which is where Horikita, Sudou and Kouenji came in. The three fled the classroom as usual and left us to our own devices.

Ike stayed, which came as somewhat of a surprise after the angry glare Sudou had shot him before he took off. The only reason he was rebelling against one of his best friends was, of course, a woman. Ike was hellbent on impressing Kushida with his thirst for action and the great ideas he was going to pitch to us.

I was more afraid that he would dumb down the whole room in the process, but I digress.

Speaking of Kushida, she walked over to me with a captivating smile and sat down on Horikita's desk. I didn't know if she showed up to talk to me or if she wanted to mark her territory.

"Things must be really though for the students who spent all their points, huh?"

She sounded rather sullen as she observed Ike, Okitani and the Professor with a worried expression, while the three of them tried to dump their electronics on some of the other students who still had points left. They kept undercutting each other, hoping that one of their friends would pay even a few points since they had basically emptied their balance before today.

"It seems so. What about you, Kushida? How are you running on points?"

"Mhh, I used up around halfway. So I'll be fine for now. I need to hold myself back on casual spending, however, since our points won't be increasing anytime soon. It might be quite hard for some of them to make it through this month..."

If we receive any points in June, that is...

"Hey, Kushida-san, Ayanokouji-kun, do you guys have a minute?" Karuizawa charged at us with a pleading expression. "Honestly, I've spent way too many points. I'm seriously running low. Some of the other girls lent me a few points, and I was wondering if you could help me out too. We're friends right? I only need like 2000 points from each of you."

I was certain that she didn't even need our points anymore, and just wanted to stock up on anything she could get her hands on as long as this was still possible. We'd all lose our points day by day, so if she were to gather some from everyone now, she'd have a bigger buffer for herself in the coming days.

It was a fact that she had emptied her balance, but since she was quite popular, she had managed to gather up around 20.000 points from our other classmates during the time it had taken her to visit us if she had borrowed 2000 points from everyone she had previously talked to.

While I tried to find a way out of this unfortunate situation, Kushida had opposing plans.

"Sure!"

I was doomed.

"I... guess..."

My heart received hundreds of stab wounds while I was squeezing out the two most difficult words I had ever spoken. If she were at least earnestly working to fix her spending habits, I wouldn't have hesitated to lend her some points.

But this was just shoving money down the drain.

"Thank you! This is what friends are for, huh?"

No, I don't think that's the case Karuizawa.

"By the way, here's my number, Kushida-san. See you later." She waved us goodbye before stalking her next prey. "Ah, Inogashira-san! You know, I've used up too many of my points, so would you mind..."

"We'll probably never see those points again, huh?"

Kushida let out a cute giggle and nodded in agreement.

"Most likely, yes. But I can't just ignore a friend in need, you know. Karuizawa-san has a lot of friends as well, so it's hard not to spend points."

If she had said this to me before, I would have thought that she wanted to tease me because I had no friends, but it was different now, thanks to Hirata and the girls. Even Kushida herself could be considered a friend of sorts.

"Well, burning through 100.000 points in a month seems pretty irresponsible to me. But while we are at it, I need 48.000 points. Would you mind lending me some?"

Kushida almost dropped her phone upon listening to my request. The shock on her face turned into understanding and then a bewitching laugh. She tapped my shoulder once... twice... until I felt Ike's cold gaze drilling a hole into my head.

"You really had me for a moment, Ayanokouji-kun. I thought you were serious."

I was pleased that my joke seemed to have been a success. This was my first time cracking a joke for her, so I was glad that it worked out so well. Kushida's laugh made me happy for some strange reason, but it was the same for the other girls as well, so I didn't think too much about this.

"Ayanokouji-kun, how do you transfer points, anyway?"

"It's not that hard. Karuizawa gave you her number. You can wire them to her through that."

"Ohh. That sure is convenient. As if they expected something like this to happen."

Another adorable chuckle followed her soothing words as she happily sent the 2000 points to Karuizawa's account. My heart stung a little as I did the same, since I was sure that these points could have been used better, even if I had to give them to Ike.

For the second time since coming to this school, the loudspeakers came alive and issued another robotic announcement.

"Ayanokouji-kun from first-year Class D. Please come see Chabashira-sensei in the faculty office."

A few of my friends turned around in surprise.

Hirata nodded, as I wordlessly excused myself from the upcoming discussion. Chiaki could fill me in later, or tomorrow, when we planned to meet up. Even though I doubted that something useful would come of this conference, I was looking forward to my meeting with her.

"Seems like the teacher wants to see you."

"Yeah, sorry. See you later, Kushida."

I was rather surprised that Chabashira-sensei wanted to speak to me, since I had done nothing that would warrant such a situation. If she wanted to talk to me about my scores during the exam, she could have done so discreetly.

My classmate's uncomfortable stares kept piercing through the back of my head until I left the room and vanished from their line of sight. Some girls began whispering as I strolled past them, since a new opportunity to gossip opened up for them.

A moment later, my phone vibrated.

Even without checking the sender, I had a hunch that it was a certain senpai.

[03:03:03 PM[Fuka ] Oya, oya. What did you do Kiyotaka?

With a sigh, I ignored the message and hid the phone in my pocket.

After trudging through the building for a while, I found the faculty offices and peeked inside. I couldn't find Chabashira-sensei, no matter where I looked, so I called out to another teacher who was inspecting her appearance in the mirror.

"Excuse me, is Chabashira-sensei here?"

My mistake in this specific instance was that I had called out too hastily. As the first few words left my mouth, regret covered my otherwise emotionless expression as I realized that I had stirred up a hornet's nest.

"Hmm ~ nooo ~. Sae-chan just left. But she was here a moment ago, Ki~yo~ta~ka-kun."

Ugh. I messed up...

"Nene, Kiyotaka-kun. Why didn't you visit me again after barging into the room so ravenously the first time?"

The beautiful, adult woman with chest-length light-brown hair hopped towards my direction while watching me with a curious smile. The two mounds on her well-endowed body jiggled, and I couldn't help but avert my gaze.

"H-hey, Hoshinomiya-sensei, that's a really terrible thing to say out loud. Not only is it misleading but also —"

"Also what? True? Hmm, why did Sae-chan call you? Hmmm? Hmm? I'll let you off the hook if you answer one of those."

She stuck out her tongue in a teasing manner and crept over to my location. I backed away from her as far as possible until the back of my head hit the corridor's wall.

"No idea why she called me."

"Huuuuh? That's suspicious, don't you think? But you're cute as expected. My memory didn't mislead me. Do you have a girlfriend?"

"No..."

"Really? That's unexpected. If we were in the same class, I'd never leave you alone. Are you perhaps innocent? Or playing hard to get? I don't mind putting in the work, you know?"

"That's... flattering?"

Hoshinomiya-sensei caressed my cheeks with her smooth and incredibly warm hands.

She was as ferocious as a certain irritating senpai, but not someone I could deal with in my current situation.

Back when Fuka cornered me, I had enough time to set up a stage that was favorable to me. I prepared a way out before I revealed myself to her, in case she turned out to be an enemy, which was the reason I had lured her onto the roof.

The situation right now, however, was different.

She'd probably stop if I did something unexpected, but nothing except perverted thoughts surfaced in my mind when I looked at the intoxicating contours her clothes drew due to her curvaceous figure.

Curse you, Ike!

A loud thud rang through the corridor, whereupon Hoshinomiya-sensei let go of me. Apparently, at least according to the sound and the leftover motion of her right hand, Chabashira-sensei had hit her on the head with a clipboard.

The cute but somewhat troublesome homeroom teacher of Class B crouched down and gripped her head in pain.

"Owowowowow. What was that for Sae-chan?"

Her reaction stood in stark contrast to what I had expected from her. Instead of a ferocious beast, a small and scared cat that wanted to be caressed kneeled in front of me.

My arm moved forward on its own, but I barely managed to hold myself back from doing something inexcusable.

"For getting involved with one of my students."

"I wasn't involved with him. But I'm glad you would only hit me with a clipboard if that were to happen."

The cheeky instructor, whose behavior reminded me of everything but a woman nearing her thirties, stuck out and twisted her tongue while throwing me an adorable wink, as if to say, 'Let's keep this a secret from her'.

Thud!

"Owowowowow. I'm just kidding!"

She winked yet again, which made me doubt her qualifications as a teacher.

Women were troublesome. All of them. Without exception.

"Thanks for waiting, Ayanokouji. Let's head to the guidance office."

"Did I do something wrong? I've been trying to keep a low profile."

"A good answer. Come."

She didn't seem too eager to respond to my question, but this much was fine.

Due to the course of our first interaction, where I had asked her on reference material for her lessons, she already suspected that something was off about me. Even though she must have been aware of my entrance examination scores back then, she had left me alone.

Until now.

Something must have changed, or she wouldn't have made the first step. She must have been worried about today's revelation of our class points in particular, which was why she decided to call me to the guidance office to take me to task.

I had a hunch that she would want to meet eventually, but I didn't plan on this eventuality to be today.

With a somewhat sour taste in my mouth, I followed Chabashira-sensei. Class B's tutor followed me with a sparkling smile while ignoring her colleagues cold glares.

"You. Stay." My homeroom teacher gazed at her like a manager would at one of their subordinates, who had just messed up the treatment of an important VIP client.

"Come on, don't be so cold. You are not the type to give one-on-one guidance. Pulling a new student like Kiyotaka-kun into the guidance room out of nowhere... Are you after something I wonder?"

Hoshinomiya-sensei scooted behind me and placed her soft hands on my shoulder. I wasn't able to see her face without looking back, but I was sure that she was wearing the most beautiful smile, since Chabashira-sensei frowned in return.

Was this how a child felt when their mother was proud?

Banishing those irrelevant thoughts, I focused back on the troublesome teacher behind me.

She smelled incredible and was eerie similar to Fuka, as she was also using her charms to get what she wanted. Since she was suspicious about the reason Chabashira-sensei had summoned me, I had involuntarily entered her radar as well.

Her citation had screwed me over, which meant that I had to convince Hoshinomiya-sensei that I wasn't a threat to her.

"Sae-chan. Are you perhaps looking to be dominated by a younger man?"

I noted this down as one of the things I should look up before the end of today.

"Don't say such stupid things. That wouldn't be possible."

I was at a loss. Truly.

"Heeh, you're right. It wouldn't be possible for you, Sae-chan."

The two of them kept taking shots at each other until a third party intervened. At first, I was delighted that someone would separate these two feral cats, but after I recognized the girl's voice, my expression sank even further.

She couldn't have arrived with worse timing.

"Hoshinomiya-sensei, do you have a moment? The student council wishes to discuss something with you."

This almost sounded as if she had managed to join, which didn't come as much of a surprise. I was happy for her, since Ichinose was perfect for the jobs that a student council member handled.

But why did she have to show up here now?

The girl's happy gaze wandered between Chabashira- and Hoshinomiya-sensei until she caught sight of a poor boy who stood between the two bickering women like a lost child.

"Ayanokouji-kun! I hope you did nothing bad."

She bent forward and waved her index finger in front of me in a scolding manner while charming us with an adorable chuckle.

"Heeeeeh?"

I ignored the glares from both teachers, who had now unanimously decided to be suspicious of me.

"No such thing. I'm as confused as you are."

"See? You have someone who needs you. Move on."

Chabashira-sensei smacked Hoshinomiya-sensei's butt with her clipboard. The sound that followed was vague, yet for some peculiar reason, absolutely satisfying. I couldn't help but be amazed by the harmony this clipboard managed to produce.

"Aw, she'll get mad if I hang around any longer. See you later, Kiyotaka-kun. Let's go Honami-chan."

"Uh, huh? Ah... yes. Uhm... good luck Ayanokouji-kun."

"Thanks, Ichinose. You too."

The troublesome teacher turned and winked at me one last time with a knowing smile on her delicate face as the two outsiders left. Ichinose watched this whole 'exchange' with a curious expression.

These women had way too much energy...

After they had left our line of sight, Chabashira-sensei and I entered the guidance room, which was located right beside the faculty office. I shut the door and turned towards the woman who had called me.

"What am I doing here?"

Cutting straight to the chase was the quickest way out of here, so I didn't feel the need to beat around the bush. Horikita would probably arrive soon, and I wanted to be gone before this occurred. I also needed some time to figure out how to deal with Hoshinomiya-sensei going forward, depending on what she'd do.

"Well, about that... Before we begin, please come here."

She glanced at the round clock, which ticked away at the wall, and placed a kettle on a nearby stove. I used this time to familiarize myself with the layout of the room and began to study the surroundings.

It was my first time in here, which is why I wanted to get to know this foreign environment.

"I'm going to make tea. Is roasted green okay?"

She opened the cabinet door without waiting for an answer and turned around with a serious expression that could send shivers down a person's spine.

What in the world is wrong with the women in this school?

"Don't make any unnecessary moves. Shut up and get in there. Understand? Don't make a sound and stay until I tell you it's okay to come out. If you don't do as I say, you'll be expelled."

My eyes met with hers.

I didn't like it when people tried to intimidate me. I would even claim that no one enjoyed being coerced against their will, especially not when the threat was to take away a person's quiet and peaceful life.

Something they had longed for.

"Unnecessary?"

The tone and the impression of my voice changed drastically. The woman before me noticed this as well. Before she could open her supple lips again, I grabbed her by the collar and pushed her into the cabinet in one swift motion. Her two thin, brown almonds trembled in surprise as I forced her against the back. I pushed my legs against the wall, spreading and separating hers.

"Shut up and listen carefully now, Sae-chan-sensei."

My usual carefree and bored demeanor was nowhere to be found. Instead, she glimpsed at nothing but darkness as she stared into my eyes with a terrified expression. Her pupils began to dart away, clearly uncomfortable by the pressure my gaze exerted onto her mental state.

While she was intimidated by this sudden and unexpected turn of events, I let my free hand roam over every nook and cranny of her body. Starting with her shoulders, I made my way down her arm. Done with that, I focused my attention towards her chest area.

My hands closed in on her breasts and she tried to push me off with every bit of force she could muster. The restrictive way I held and pressed her against the wall didn't allow for much, however, which is why she soon opened her mouth.

"Ayanokouji st —"

I released my grip on her for a moment and shoved her into the back wall with my right arm before pulling the sleeve of my uniform over my left hand. Afterwards, I spread my fingers into an arc and pushed them into Sae's mouth, increasing the pressure further.

Due to the fabric and special grip I had used, her sounds were muffled. She wasn't able to bite me or get rid of my control in any other similar way either, since she couldn't exert enough force with her jaw without hurting herself in the process.

"I told you to shut up." Continuing where I left off, my right hand roamed around and in between her breasts and left arm before making its way towards her lower area. During the whole time, my homeroom teacher kept struggling to break free. "The one who shouldn't do anything unnecessary is you, Sae. I don't know what you are planning, but I believe that Horikita was looking for you."

Her fear-stricken eyes widened for a split second, which betrayed her thoughts.

I kept scanning her body's curves without a shred of hesitation or excitement. After a few more centimeters, my hands reached low enough to arrive at the pockets of her blazer. I slipped my fingers inside to check her phone for any signs that she was recording this meeting.

Chabashira kept wriggling around, but she was simply too weak to do anything in her current situation.

"If you were planning on revealing my scores to Horikita, then I'd advise you to overthink that decision carefully. Remember the last time we talked? The questions you asked me? The answer is yes, as you could see from my score this time around as well. If you reveal my existence to anyone in this school, I will rip this class apart before the month ends. That is a promise."

Two knocks echoed through the otherwise eerily silent room. Someone, most likely Horikita, stood in front of the outer door of the guidance room, seeking entrance.

I pulled my hand out of Sae's mouth and dragged her figure out of the cabinet before rearranging the collar to look all prim and proper again. Her unusual expression betrayed the unease and wonder she felt every time our eyes met. She swallowed her saliva and calmed her frenzied heart while I straightened out her business-oriented attire.

"Almost as good as new." I patted her shoulders twice. "You should get the door. I'll be waiting inside then, just as promised. We will talk as soon as Horikita is gone."

Sae stared at me in surprise as I slid into the cabinet like a shadow.

I wasn't overly shocked that she was taken aback by my behavior, as I had returned to my usual self as if nothing had happened before. After making sure that my teacher had processed and understood my demands and the problems she would face if she dared to disobey me, I shut the door and readied my phone to take an audio recording in case she got another dumb idea.

"Ah, Horikita. Come in. So what did you want to talk to me about?"

Her voice was still shaky in the beginning, but she soon adjusted her cadence and tone and got a hold of herself.

"I will be frank. Why was I sorted in Class D?"

She had mentioned it before, but I was surprised that she was dissatisfied enough with her placement to bother a teacher about her misgivings. What a troublesome student indeed...

She just couldn't understand that she wasn't as excellent as she believed herself to be. Academics aside, she didn't present herself as smart, because she hadn't even noticed a single hint that had been thrown at our faces during the last month.

Aside from her book-smarts, there was nothing special about her.

She hadn't taken my repeated hints towards the weird rules and regulations serious either, even though they were right in front of her the whole time. This, as well as her crappy attitude, made Chiaki a far more promising piece. Compared to Horikita, she was superior in every single way, except for her physique, which wasn't as developed.

It was also a fact that Chiaki had only received average scores during this exam, but I had no reason to believe that she went all out after she had hidden her knowledge from everyone for almost an entire month. Even if this were all she was capable of, academics could be supplemented in time. Perception and instinct could not.

"Today, you told us that the school sorted superior students into Class A. You said that Class D was filled with leftovers, that they are trash. I can't accept being lumped in with them."

"So you consider yourself a superior person then, correct?"

"I solved nearly every problem on the entrance examination and I made no substantial mistakes on the interview either. At the very least, I should not have been sorted into Class D."

"I just so happen to have your answer sheet right here. You are indeed correct. Just as you said, you did well on the entrance examination. You even had the third highest score among the first-year students, close to the highest and second-highest scoring. Your interview was evaluated highly as well."

"Then why am I in Class D?"

"Why are you dissatisfied with your placement?"

"Who would be happy with an incorrect evaluation? Furthermore, the class rankings impact our future prospects. Of course I'm dissatisfied."

"Incorrect evaluation? Your self-evaluation is the only incorrect one I can see." Chabashira-sensei let out a laugh to ridicule her. I could only imagine Horikita's sour mood, and the frigid glare that would pierce through Chabashira-sensei's head. "Your academic ability is excellent. I can acknowledge that, and the school did so as well. However, who decided that academically excellent students are categorically superior? We never said that."

"But... that's just common sense."

"Do you still not see that this is not a common school? You speak of yourself as a superior person but can't even properly wrap your head around something that simple? You might be academically gifted, but what did that do for you in the last month? A truly superior student would have found out about the system in the past weeks, even if their classmates didn't. What did you accomplish in that timeframe, Horikita? You still don't realize that students are not solely admitted because of their academic abilities. Or how did you think Sudou and Ike managed to attend this school in the first place?"

"Tch..."

Horikita clicked her tongue after yet another verbal beatdown. There was not much she could retort, since Chabashira-sensei was correct. Even Horikita should have realized this by now.

I was gradually losing hope in her ability to change after everything that happened today, as she still had trouble understanding her own flaws and shortcomings.

"It is a fact that you weren't sorted by mistake. You definitely belong in Class D. You are at that level."

"Is that so? Then I will ask the school again, at another time."

"You'll get the same answer from anyone in a higher position. So please, go on ahead and ridicule yourself even further. If you are not pleased with your placement and want to change it, then work for it and overtake Class A."

"How in the world could those immature Class D misfits gain more points? I can't see how that's possible."

"You still don't seem to grasp that you are also an immature Class D misfit. You do not differ from them, even if you yourself believe to be."

For some strange reason, I enjoyed Chabashira-sensei bullying students.

"Well, I suppose that's enough for now. However, I am still not convinced that I was sorted correctly."

"I'll keep that in mind."

A chair squeaked against the floor, signaling that the discussion was over. My classmate took a few steps towards the door and stopped for a second as Chabashira-sensei poured herself a tea.

"Do you also want one?"

I could practically see the sneer on her face through the cabinet door.

"No, thank you. I'll be taking my leave."

With that, the door opened and shut. A moment later, the door of the outer room did the same.

I waited for around ten seconds after her departure before opening the cabinet door. Chabashira-sensei glanced towards me with a mystified expression as she set two cups of tea on the table and sat down on one of the empty chairs.

"If you gave her some kind of signal and she happens to 'coincidentally' run into me when I walk out of this room, then we will have a serious problem."

"Noted. Please sit."

Following her request, I sat and began to stir the tea in front of me. After blowing into the liquid a few times, I took a small sip. The tea was still hot, but the aroma was pretty good and the taste was satisfying as well. I only needed to be careful to not burn myself by accident.

This was my first time drinking tea, but I enjoyed it quite a lot, which is why I decided that I should make a habit out of trying the different flavors if I had the chance. I remembered that I saw a lot of them back in the convenience store and began to generate a preliminary list with the styles I was most interested in.

"You really are an interesting student, Ayanokouji."

Oh, right... business first.

"Not at all. I'm certainly not as interesting as a teacher with a strange surname like Chabashira."

"Would you speak like that to every Chabashira in the nation? Hmm?"

This was a weird question, but an easy one to answer since I was usually nice to the people I met. There was no reason to believe that I would behave any differently in front of another Chabashira who hadn't threatened me.

"If I were to find one, which I honestly doubt, then no. I'd probably be quite nice to her."

"Is that the real you?"

The real me, huh?

What a stupid question. What even was real?

Every person's behavior changes in front of different people. There wasn't just one 'real' person. Every single human had multiple facades for every situation and person they'd come across. Their behavior would change according to the conditions, place, time and even if they were hungry or not.

Some differences were just nuanced, while others were more extreme.

This question perfectly reflected her true feelings behind the stern exterior she had put up to protect herself. Sae was confused, surprised, shocked and even somewhat scared of me, which was exactly what I had intended from the beginning.

"So, what was your great plan? Showing her my test scores to make her aware of my hidden abilities? Hoping that she could manage to win me over in helping her achieve what she sought to do?" I took yet another sip from the freshly brewed tea. "What kind of idiot would fall for such a cheap shot?"

Her calm smile vanished, replaced by a grimace.

"I'm pretty disappointed. You were planning to force me into the open. Why?"

"I wanted to help you, of course." She said, as if this was a matter of fact.

"In other words, you wanted to help yourself. Alright."

I leaned back into the chair and raised my head to meet her eye-level.

"How does revealing my abilities help you? Let's see. If the students get advantages for being in a higher class, it's a fair assumption that the teacher would benefit similarly. Assuming that much is correct, you wanted to use me to overtake Class A. But you didn't know what I was capable of. Even with our past interaction in mind, it could have just been a lucky shot by an unusual thinking student, which is why you stopped acting and just observed from afar until today. Did you really think I'd solve the quiz in that way if I didn't want to stand out to you? The class needed a beating, which is why I hadn't acted until now. The first month was needed, and you did great to educate them sensei, so thank you. I'll let your unprofessionalism in trying to sell me out slide this time for a job well done."

I took another sip of tea, giving Sae some time to take in all the information.

It was indisputable that the teachers would have an interest in making their own class reach or stay in the top spot. A school like this wouldn't just randomly assign teachers to certain classes by rolling dice, they would also have to work for their position in the hierarchy.

I didn't know how long Chabashira had been working here, but it was a fact that she was Class D's homeroom teacher at this point in time. Even if it were her first year as a homeroom teacher, she would be dissatisfied with her current position and was hoping to reach greater heights.

"There is an especially simple solution to your problem, however. I'll get this bunch of misfits, as Horikita called them, to overtake Class A. All you have to do is play nice and leave me alone. If I ask you for your assistance, you will gladly oblige without questions. If I don't, then you'll treat me like any other student in the class."

Chabashira kept quiet for a moment, evaluating me, as well as the pros and cons of the offer I had presented her with. She must have calmed down enough by now to realize that my behavior, even if physical, wasn't rash or executed without careful consideration of my surroundings.

When I first entered the room, I skimmed it for cameras and listening devices. While I assaulted Sae, I checked her person for any object that could be used for surveillance.

If she still had doubts now, then...

"How can I trust you to keep your word? How can I trust that you alone could overtake Class A? Since you already know what I was planning, I'll tell you the reason: I concluded that Horikita and you might bring the class forward if you were working together."

Her initial plan was quite sloppy, but turned out as expected.

Even if I had declined Horikita's advances, she wasn't someone who would go down without a fight if it meant reaching Class A, which was clear by the way she behaved herself in class today. She would have bothered me throughout our time here, which would prompt me to lend her a helping hand in the best case.

At least that's what's should have gone through Sae's head.

"Observe me and decide after the first special exam is over."

Even though she usually wore a straight and serious poker face, her mask cracked for the third time today, due to the pressure the two words 'special exam' conveyed. Her eyes shot open in astonishment and confusion, while her mouth gaped ever so slightly, which demonstrated how surprising the knowledge I possessed was.

Thanks to Fuka, I knew that these examinations were really labeled 'special exam' by the school. At first, I simply generated this name because the exams couldn't be normal ones, and were thus special.

After the initial impact, it was now the perfect time to enact part two of the deal: the icing on the cake.

"If my assumptions are correct, the first should take place at the beginning of August. To make it a safer option for you, I promise you right now that none of your students will be expelled during that time, or you may reveal my grades to the entire class if you wish to."

Revealing parts of myself to Fuka was more beneficial than initially anticipated. She informed me that the first special exams would be held shortly after the final exams, after I had inquired about how the school addressed them and notified her of my observations regarding these special tests.

Since they followed the same blueprint the last two years, this year shouldn't have been any different.

Class D's survival during the midterms was already set in stone as well, since I had received last year's questions and solutions from Fuka, who assured me with proof that they would be the same this time as well. The final exams in July wouldn't be a problem either due to the extra tuition that Kushida, Hirata and the others will give in the coming weeks.

"Alright. It's a deal, if we sign a contract stating that you'd prove your abilities in the next special exam and not a single Class D student gets expelled in the midterms or the finals. In case you cannot accomplish even one of these tasks, then I'll be allowed to share your grades and you will actively work with the class to overtake Class A. Breaking the contract will lead to your expulsion."

I picked up the teacup and swiveled it around.

"In extension to this, you may not share or mention the contract itself or its contents with anyone during my time at this school. This also applies to my scores and exam results until now and in the future, as well as the favors I might need from you. If any of these conditions were to be broken, then you would be the one to leave this school."

I took a sip of tea, which was now much more enjoyable due to the lowered temperature.

"What favors are we talking about here? I cannot agree to this term in particular, as long as I am uncertain about their scope. Even if I agree to comply with your favors, I cannot break any school rules while doing so or help you in any way that isn't allowed."

"That's not a problem. I don't need your help to get you into Class A. Everything that has to do with the class competitions will be done by abiding the rules and regulations this school has set. The favors will be for other matters regarding possible future developments which I can't influence right now. These favors won't be of sexual nature or anything that would get you in trouble with the school."

Sae eyed me with a bewildered expression.

"It's a fair assumption that you might lean into thinking that I was sexually attracted to you due to the actions I had taken before Horikita showed up. I added this simply to give you peace of mind that I wasn't looking for indecent services in exchange for my help."

This didn't mean that I wasn't sexually attracted to her, though, but I should keep this to myself.

After our discussion, Sae began to set up the contract. This soon evolved into both of us setting up the contract, as I was telling her which specific words and phrases to adopt for the details she needed to respect. I couldn't leave in any loopholes to exploit, after all.

The two of us signed the contract and made a copy. This way, either of us had a document to fall back to if our deal were to go awry. The binding agreement between us was beneficial to her, since she knew to count on me, and myself, because it would keep her off my back, which would allow me to continue my normal life here.

"With that out of the way, what are you planning to do now?"

It was a given that she was intrigued after talking to me, due to the appalling difference in behavior between this 'me' and the one I presented to anyone else. Each word was chosen with care, and I was much more confident in my appearance and overall bearing, which stood to a stark contrast to my usual demeanor, which was on the quiet side.

"That's none of your concern. Just sit back and relax. I will take care of everything from here on out. You will know what you need to know. That's it."

"Why so tight-lipped? Wouldn't it be better if I was assured of your abilities?"

"It's simple, really. I cannot trust you. You already did something unnecessary in playing games with me until Horikita came by. If you hadn't done that, Hoshinomiya wouldn't have become suspicious of me. Even more so after she noticed that I was acquainted with Ichinose from her class. Because of you, I'll already have more work since I need to think of a way to get Hoshinomiya off my back. The less I involve you, the less of a hindrance you will be to me."

I drank the last remains of my tea and exhaled loudly in satisfaction.

"Your words are pretty harsh, Ayanokouji. Talking like that, to a teacher no less, is rather unbecoming."

She leaned back in her chair, satisfied with the conclusion of our discussion.

"Then expel me. Good luck getting those morons to not die from hunger for the next three years."

This was a bluff, of course, because there was no way she would expel her best chance to reach Class A. I had left her more than enough clues to come to this conclusion herself. The only doubt in her mind should have been the question on how I planned to handle staying low-profile while catapulting this class up the food chain.

But that was none of her concern.

I stood and began to clean the empty teacup at the sink while glancing around the room. Chabashira finished her cup as well and strode over a few seconds later. I slipped to the left, making some room for her, and began to rummage through each cabinet and drawer to make sure that no one had planted a recording device inside.

"What are you looking for?"

"Just checking if you or someone else did something unnecessary."

She seemed quite dissatisfied with my answer, but didn't let it show on her face, which was almost as expressionless as mine after she had calmed herself. Seeing her bewildered like before was quite a sight to behold.

"Hm. Next time, just ask for my phone if you want to check if I'm recording."

"I did no such thing. I just felt the sudden urge to touch you all over. Locating the phone was a total accident."

She got rather agitated after my disrespectful remark and glared at me like a certain classmate of mine. A sudden urge overcame me, so I took the clipboard that she had placed on the nearby table and slapped her butt with it.

Thud!

What a beautiful sound...

"What the hell are you doing, Ayanokouji?"

"Just wanted to check how it feels, I guess." Still conflicted over the pleasure I just felt, I ambled over towards the door. "It was interesting, seeing Sae-chan-sensei flustered for once. Usually you are wearing this cold, almost callous expression."

The woman I had just sexually harassed frowned, proving the point I just made.

"I'll be taking my leave then, Chabashira-sensei. Thank you for your guidance."

After my chat with our beloved homeroom teacher, I used the rest of the day to catch up with Chiaki and the others.

She told me how the discussion went and that everyone, except Sudou, Kouenji and Horikita, who didn't take part, agreed on toning down on all the points Chabashira-sensei raised during homeroom. To acquire points, it was decided that we should try to get good grades in the midterms, since that might lead to a point increase across the board.

Hirata wanted to create study groups for the weaker students, but chose to discuss this at a later date, since the previous discussion took quite a long time. It seemed it wasn't easy to convince the boys and girls to tone down on using their phones and such, even after what happened today.

[06:38:12 PM] Are you in my room?

[06:39:17 PM[Fuka ] No, do you want me to come over?

[06:39:59 PM] Yes, I have something to discuss. I'm making Tempura, if you are hungry.

[06:40:05 PM[Fuka ] Count me in!

Upon reading through her reply, I bought a few additional ingredients and made my way back towards my room. It was dark when I opened the door, meaning Fuka hadn't arrived yet. I noticed many students who were meeting up in front of the dorm, so she was likely waiting until she could sneak in unnoticed.

I took off my blazer and began to prepare some ingredients while booting up my PC.

After I was done with the manual labor, the food still needed some time to cook. Since I had nothing to do at the moment, I began to browse the internet for the question I had due to Chabashira- and Hoshinomiya-sensei's talk.

While the savory aroma traveled through the room, I checked the pictures, texts and videos while thinking to myself that this was totally normal behavior, aside from the sexual implications. Whipping was a normal punishment for a minor deficiency in the White Room, that as well as other kinds of beatings, choking, electric shocks, etcetera. The only new experience I learned through these educational videos was the usage of wax to inflict pain, or pleasure, in their case.

We didn't have something like this in the White Room...

It was probably too colorful, huh?

Immersed in my reading and the video footage, I barely noticed the door opening and closing. The female intruder strode over with large, gentle strides before resting her head on top of mine.

"Oya, oya, Kiyotaka. I didn't know that you were into that sort of thing. I wouldn't mind trying it out if it's you, you know?"

"This is purely for research purposes."

Fuka began to snicker.

"Research purposes, huh? You sure?"

What kind of question was that? And why was she giggling? I was researching. What's so weird about that?

"How was your day?"

My guest heaved a disappointed sigh, disheartened that I wouldn't endure her weird interrogation any further. She tilted her head to the side, as if lying down.

"Boring. But yours wasn't, I bet. Why were you called to the faculty office?"

"The mock exam."

"Heh? Your teacher is interesting, isn't she?"

"I don't know about interesting, but she has a strong desire to reach Class A, which makes her usable under the right circumstances."

She moved her head away from mine and closed in on my ear.

"You know I'm getting all tingly hearing you talk like that."

"Gross."

She let out a laugh while taking a few steps back towards the Tempura to check on the progress. Fuka seemed to be comfortable in the kitchen, since she was helping me most of the time. I had a pretty good grasp on her overall abilities thanks to all the time we had spent together.

"So, what did you want to discuss with me?"

"How hard would it be to get rid of a teacher?"

She dropped whatever she was holding at the moment and glanced at me before she began to howl.

"I knew it. You're the best Kiyotaka."

Come on, tone down, would you? People could hear.

"That's not the answer I was looking for."

I closed the browser and shut down the PC before turning the chair around to her.

"Well, the teachers also get paid monthly. Since they are living here, their entire paycheck should turn into points. I guess there's some kind of stable salary as well as bonus pay. Likely..."

"... depending on the class they are teaching. Since our worth is the teacher's, chances are high that the bonus pay is an accumulation of their respective class's worth. Which would explain Chabashira's attitude this morning since the bonus pay was precisely zero."

I concluded the explanation she began, whereupon she nodded as well.

All of this was only just conjecture on our part. Clear by her words, she knew nothing for certain except for the stable salary, which was a given. The teachers likely had an extra rule that allowed them to cash out their points once they retired, which would make the most sense.

"So you want to get rid of Chabashira if she becomes a hindrance? I'd be careful with that. I don't know what would happen to a class that lost their teacher. As far as I know, this has never happened before. For obvious reasons."

"My target isn't Chabashira but Hoshinomiya. Do you know how long they've been at this school?"

"I'll ask around and come back to you on that. Some of the third-years might know."

"You are acquainted with third-years?"

She made a dumbfounded expression, which looked kind of cute.

"I'll have you know that I am highly popular with the opposite sex. The whole grade and a plethora of upperclassmen ran after me last year until I shot all of them down at least once. It shouldn't be hard to get such trivial information from either of them. But..."

She crept closer and bend over.

I could see everything, as she deliberately loosened her uniform for me to take a quick glance at the black bra, which was utterly failing at hiding her voluptuous twin peaks. After breaking away from this breathtaking sight, my vision drifted over her necklace before I locked eyes with her.

"You are the only one who doesn't seem fazed at all, no matter what I do."

"Well. If you do that to everyone, then it really isn't special, you know?"

Her grin grew wide as she edged her way towards my ear.

"How insolent. I never did something like this before. You are my first Kiyotaka."

Her breath tickled my ear again and again until I managed to break away from this pleasant feeling.

"The food should be ready soon. You need to get off me."

All I could hear was a deep, disappointed sigh, but I didn't understand why she felt so interested in me. If it were the missing reactions to her body, she was bound to be disappointed. Of course, my body would react upon seeing such perfection right in front of me.

I just didn't show it. That was all there was to it.

She wasn't the only girl this happened with either, just the most aggressive, which made her troublesome.

Fuka prepared the tableware while I finished up with the meal. We both sat down and ate.

It almost felt like living together, as she came over often.

Would married life feel like this?

"Can I borrow some points?"

"How much do you need?"

All of them would be nice, but I didn't want to ask her for too much. The problem was that I had barely 4000 points left after my expenses increased exponentially due to a certain girl which kept me company right now.

"I'll be able to get by with 10.000 for a while, so that should do. I'll pay you back as soon as I can."

"You don't need to pay me back. I assume you are in trouble because of the necklace you gifted me." She grabbed and carefully caressed it. "Aside from that, you've been buying food for two people almost every day for the past two weeks, so those 10.000 points should barely reimburse you for that."

Fuka threw me a toothy smile before placing her phone in front of me. She leaned her head on top of her hand and prompted me to give me the points myself.

With a sigh, I grabbed the phone and typed the four-digit code which had previously unlocked the device. Since she hadn't asked about it, she must have realized that I saw it when she typed it in during our first meeting.

I was quite surprised, however, that the code didn't work anymore.

"The code's wrong."

"Yes. I changed it."

Her smile grew even more radiant.

If I was that weird vampire Mii-chan told me about, I would have sparkled right about now.

"To what?"

"Guess."

She stuck out her tongue and held out three fingers.

The first code was 9264, which didn't work anymore. I also couldn't find a connection between those numbers and her, which is why I figured that they were randomly typed in. Every phone came with the student's birthday as standard password, which she likely changed to the one I saw.

Thinking that she may have reversed her change, I typed 0410 into the password field.

One finger vanished, leaving only two.

I had nothing to go on except that she was overly interested in me. Since she should know that as well, it should have something to do with me. Fuka was a girl, meaning she would likely remember every 'first' we had, from our first meeting to our first meal together. I was sure she knew any date by heart. I typed in 0411, which was the day I revealed myself to her. This should be the most important first, as our relationship began developing on that day.

Reality was cruel, however.

The next finger vanished, leaving the last.

Since it was impossible to know which other first she could have meant, and I only had one try left, I took another route.

Fuka was highly intelligent. She started this game, and I believed she discerned how it would play out. She'd knew that I'd go simple first, and then branch out to our relationship once her birthday didn't work. After taking the most obvious date, I would realize that randomly trying another one wouldn't result in the phone being unlocked, which is why I would change my pattern yet again. The only safe number that was left came from my side, more precisely from my birthday.

Just like I knew her birthday through the contacts, she knew mine as well.

Before I even punched in the first number, Fuka's voice rang through the room.

"Ding, ding. Congratulations."

As her voice halted, so did my movement as I sat in front of the unlocked phone after typing 1020. She had a rather hefty amount of eight million points, which didn't surprise me in the least. I quickly transferred the 10.000 points I needed and handed Fuka her phone back.

"Buh, you didn't even react."

"You should have known that already, no? You also knew that I'd solve your little puzzle."

"Yeah, as expected. Hanging out with you is fun."

She stretched herself and gifted me one of her signatures smiles.

After solving her riddle, I walked over to the chess boards in the corner of my room. Fuka followed me with a curious glint in her eyes. Like a child that was about to see something for the first time, she trembled in anticipation.

Yes, this would be yet another first for us.

The first time I would move the chess pieces around with her by my side.

Since it was a special day, I started with Fuka's class and placed every single piece on the board. This wasn't anything new for her, since she knew all the pieces by heart.

Afterwards, I focused on the first-year board. The red rook moved forward two tiles. Besides that, I also placed the first knight for Class D on the right side of the board on its default position.

"Hmm, that rook... You didn't take the pawn, meaning it's currently not possible or advisable. That move basically did nothing but bring him closer to danger. Is he in trouble?"

"He will be soon."

At least according to the scores I had seen this morning and the fact that he wouldn't go out of his way to study. I was pretty sure that he'd be in trouble.

"Who's the knight?"

"She's currently on the sidelines, but might come in handy in the future. I only placed her because she is a fixed component of my offense going forward."

Fuka studied the board, trying to decipher the people behind the pieces. Some would be easy to figure out for her, while others would be impossible, since I had never mentioned their names. The genders I had used should have given her enough hints, however.

"What about Hoshinomiya-sensei?"

"A good question. Previously, I thought that the teachers would remain on the sidelines during the class conflicts. But after what Chabashira tried to do today, I cannot be sure. Depending on what Hoshinomiya would do for her class, she might promote to a queen, which is why I'd like to get rid of her before that happens. If our theory is right, however, this could prove quite difficult, if not impossible, depending on whether they may cancel their own expulsion, so to speak. I figured that they weren't allowed to do certain things like helping the students in the special exams, but that's not something I should count on. It is a fact that, as long as the teacher didn't leave any evidence, nothing would happen to them. Some might even go as far as lying for their students if it meant overtaking Class A, which is why I need to prepare for any eventuality that might come to pass."

Of course, there was still the possibility of expelling her over and over until all her points were drained, but that would be everything but a walk in the park. The teachers should have far more points than we students could ever have, meaning with similar rules, they could buy much more information and favors.

If I were to attack Hoshinomiya, or any other teacher, and wasn't able to get them expelled in one swift strike, I could say goodbye to my place in this school.

Authors Note:

I wanted to take some time to thank everyone of my readers for over 1k reads and 100 votes, which is simply insane.

It might not be much in the grand scheme of things, but it's a lot for me and I never thought that I'd get this many reads when I started this fanfiction. I appreciate every single one of you, especially since the chapters are quite long, which is an additional barrier of entry for most people.

Long story short:

Thank you, and I hope you'll enjoy reading the upcoming chapters as much as I enjoy writing them.

Have a wonderful day!

- Word Count: 16006 / 73267 Characters

Released 07.05.2022

Chapter 9 - Queen (Part 1)

Authors Note:

Just a quick reminder that this story is tagged as 'Mature' and thus contains content that might not be suitable for some people. If you feel triggered or uncomfortable reading about mature themes, then I'dadviseyou to stop now.

You have been warned.

For everyone else: Enjoy the show.

Before we knew it, yet another week had passed in the blink of an eye.

Hirata and Kushida convinced everyone that abiding by the rules would be the best course of action for the class. Since Horikita had followed these regulations since the beginning, only two people didn't adhere to the proposals of our interim leadership: Sudou Ken and Kouenji Rokusuke.

Since we had made no progress in uncovering a way to receive more points yet, Sudou kept his previous promise and did whatever he wanted during classes. He was late eight out of ten times, used his cellphone during lessons to play games, or slept because he was tired from training until late the day before.

Even his few friends, Ike, Hondou and Okitani, weren't able to change his behavior for the better. Whenever they tried to convince him to follow the rules, he began to lash out at them, which led to the current situation where the three just left him alone to not cause any further discord in their group.

Sudou wasn't willing to comply, and all they could do was hope that this wouldn't affect their points this month, in case we managed to gain any. The rest of my classmates were understandably angered because of Sudou's antics. The girls in particular could be heard badmouthing him whenever he left the room, and I doubted that they had forgiven him for offending Hirata the week prior.

The boy in question wasn't swift enough to put out these fires, but he tried to excuse Sudou's irresponsible, and outright damaging behavior as much as he could, while thinking of a way to make him follow their lead.

Why wasn't I doing anything then?

The answer to this was simple.

Sudou kept shoveling his own grave. The deeper this hole got, the harder he would have to work to climb back out later. I just had to make sure that the tunnel didn't cave in on him while he happily shoveled downwards, towards his inevitable turning point.

The second troublesome student, Kouenji, behaved rather well, as he was not using his phone during lessons and always arrived in the classroom on time. He sometimes found it more important to comb his hair than to listen, which would still cost us points if we had any, but other than that, he was acting rather amicably.

To my disappointment, Horikita hadn't changed at all after her discussion with Chabashira-sensei.

It was astounding to me that an individual could be this dense about their own abilities. Even after multiple people had told her that she was placed in Class D for a reason, she couldn't accept it and blamed anyone but herself for her current situation.

Aside from the problematic students, there was also Chabashira-sensei, who had acted exemplarily after our fruitful exchange on May 1st.

Just as promised, there wasn't a single indication that she treated me differently than anyone else. Even Kouenji would have trouble to detect anything about our discussion, as long as he didn't ask her about me in particular. Every time I glanced at her serious and confident appearance, I couldn't help but relive the sound that the clipboard made after hitting her butt.

Something was seriously wrong with me...

The lesson ended soon and everyone was about to meet up with their friends to get lunch when Hirata stood up. He began to gather everyone's attention, likely to inform us about his plans concerning the study groups.

"As you all surely remember, Chabashira-sensei mentioned that midterms are coming up soon. Remember that if you fail, you'll be expelled. Therefore, I think it would be a good idea to start a few studying groups, so everyone could work together even if you are not comfortable in large groups."

After this short introduction, he moved to the main point while looking towards Sudou's direction in particular.

"I want to avoid anyone getting a failing grade and being expelled. This would not only keep us from losing points, but I believe if we score high marks on the exams, we should improve our points as well. I asked some students who scored high on the previous exam to help prepare a study plan. So everyone is free to join any of the groups if they feel anxious."

His planning took longer than he initially anticipated, as he needed to make sure that even outsiders like Sakura and Sudou would feel welcome. It was more difficult for the latter, but he had spent a lot of time trying to find people that even shy students like Sakura would feel comfortable with, who were also decent enough to teach them at the same time.

"Tch." Again, Sudou only clicked his tongue.

"Starting today at five o'clock, we plan to study in this classroom for two hours a day until the test. If you'd like to join us, please come whenever you like. It's not mandatory to attend or stay the full two hours if you don't want, but I am sure that we'll be able to improve everyone's grades if we tackle this together."

Upon the conclusion of his speech, most of the students went over to him.

He greeted his classmates with his usual charming smile and elaborated on the plans he had with the study groups. Hirata informed everyone about the tutors and how many people were in each group so that they could better decide which one to join.

Ike hesitated, afraid that Sudou would beat him if he joined the group Kushida was part of. His final decision surprised me somewhat, as he took off with Sudou, leaving the girl of his fantasies behind.

"Ayanokouji-kun. Are you free for lunch? Do you want to eat together?"

I couldn't help but turn around and stare at my neighbor with wide eyes.

"Who are you, and what did you do to Horikita?"

...

"Ouch. What was that for?"

She retracted her compass, which had just pierced into my hand like a venomous snake.

"Because you are talking nonsense. I'd like to discuss something with you."

"If it's about a birthday gift, I'm the last person to ask. Oh wait, who would you buy a gift for, anyway?"

...

"Ouch! What is wrong with you? Fine, I'll come with you if you stop stabbing me with that thing."

"Good. Let's go then, Ayanokouji-kun."

And that's how I went to my second date with Horikita.

No, stop...

I shouldn't even joke about this.

We ambled towards the cafeteria while bantering with each other, as always. Upon reaching our destination, she allowed me to choose a meal set and even took the most expensive option herself, meaning that I was allowed to indulge myself today.

Did she want to trap me as well? How curious...

The two of us scanned the cafeteria for a free spot after we received our meals, and made our way over to the empty table in the corner, which was the favoured position for both of us since few students walked by that area. Horikita and I sat down and started eating and chatting whenever our mouths were empty.

"Well, Ayanokouji-kun. We have a problem."

"Which is?"

I took a mouthful of salad and glanced at her in silent anticipation.

"Twofold, to be exact. Their names are Sudou and Ike."

Wow, that was unexpected.

"I don't see any problems with them, though."

"I figured that might be the case. Listen and learn, Ayanokouji-kun. When Chabashira-sensei recounted how we lost our points, she mentioned absences, being late to class, using the phone, talking in class and Yamauchi's expulsion. What does that tell you?"

"Uhm. That all those things are bad?"

I grabbed a piece of meat and enjoyed the savory aroma which spread through my mouth upon taking a bite.

"Ayanokouji-kun. Please... You have a brain. Use it, for at least once."

A strained expression surfaced on my otherwise emotionless face, as I thought about the potential reason that Horikita could have been hinting at. Or that's what I'd like to think at least, since, as always, not much should have happened due to my lack of experience on how to control my facial muscles.

"Did we lose points because Yamauchi got expelled?"

"Exactly. Very good. What does that tell you about our current problem?"

"Ohhhhh, you think Sudou and Ike might get expelled?"

"Yes. Most likely. They will disqualify themselves from this school by not learning for the upcoming midterms. Since I am stuck with these morons, I decided to lend a helping hand. Losing those two would seriously damage our class as well, as seen by Yamauchi. That is what I believe."

At least she had realized that Yamauchi had cost us points. She also didn't mind lending Sudou and Ike a hand as long as this helped her reach her own goal. In the end, Horikita didn't care if they, or half the class, were to be expelled, as long as she would reach Class A in the end.

What a cruel person...

"So what's your plan?"

"You will tell them to come study with me."

The sound of my cutlery dropping onto the meal tray could be heard throughout the busy cafeteria.

"I'm what now?"

The task she had entrusted me with was in the realm of possibilities, yet still struck me by surprise. Even if I pleaded the two of them to join, without enough of an incentive, they wouldn't even think twice about it before declining. Especially Sudou, after taking into consideration what Horikita had done to him.

"Since you are friends with them, you will ask them to come study with me in the library. Your scores were nothing to be proud of either, so you will join us as well."

She took a bite and studied my reaction with interest.

"I'd hate to disappoint you, Horikita. I really do. But it's impossible. They'll say no, no matter what I tell them."

"I don't care what you do to get them in the library. For all I care, pay them, but get them there after class tomorrow."

That was all I needed to hear.

Since she gave me the okay to use everything in my power to get them to listen, there might even be a way of killing two birds with one stone.

If everything would work out, however, would need to be seen.

"Fine. I'll try my best."

"Very good. I knew I could count on you, Ayanokouji-kun. Let's finish our meal, then."

I nodded in silence before we ate our lunch.

We kept chatting, and I glanced at her from time to time, which she had also noticed. From her point of view, it should look like I wanted to ask her something, but felt uncomfortable expressing it.

After a few minutes, she was fed up by my repeated peeks at her delicate face and sighed in exasperation.

"What is it, Ayanokouji-kun?"

"Ah it's nothing..."

"Speak, or I'll stab you with my compass."

"Hey! You said you would stop doing that if I went with you."

"I never said such a thing. I merely answered 'good', which doesn't state in the slightest that I would agree to your terms. You just interpreted my words to your wishes without knowing the whole truth, that's all."

Sudou was right; she was the devil.

"Well, since that is the case, I won't ask them to study with you until you agree to my previous terms."

"Not going to happen."

"Then get them to attend your study group by yourself, Hori —"

After my 'negotiations' with Horikita, I split up with her and sent a message to Kushida.

[03:18:47 PM] Hey, are you free by chance? I could really use your help. My life is in danger. Seriously. Please. You are the only one I can count on.

The angelic, almost divine Kushida would immediately agree to a meeting upon reading such a message, even if she had already made plans with someone. Helping a friend in need was of utmost priority to her, after all.

My fears weren't entirely unfounded either, which she would soon come to know.

[03:19:31 PM[Kushida] Eh? Uhm, I had something planned with my friends, but if it's really that important, of course I'll make time for you, Ayanokouji-kun. Is it okay to meet where we talked about your previous problem?

[03:19:54 PM] Yes, that's perfect. You are a lifesaver, Kushida. Thank you so much! ( ' ' )

With the second step of this plan out of the way, I sent another message to Fuka.

[03:20:06 PM] Could you stay clear of your usual spot today? I have something to take care of.

I put my phone away, since there was no need to wait for an answer.

She would agree and stay clear of the area for today, or hide somewhere in the vicinity and listen in. I assumed that outcome number two would come to pass, but either way was fine with me. This sort of leeway assured her that our relationship was progressing, which would keep her interested.

It didn't take too long until I arrived at our meeting spot.

Kushida sat on the bench with a worried expression as she caught sight of my figure which was trudging towards her. The girl's eyes gleamed upon noticing me, happy that I seemed to be alright despite my fears.

"Ayanokouji-kun, what happened to your hand?"

As I got closer, however, she saw the two or three dozen puncture wounds, which were distinctly visible on the back of my right hand and gasped with a horrified look. Our private angel grabbed my fingers and caressed over my injured hand with her soft and careful touch after I sat down beside her.

A moment later, she detected even more wounds on my arm, which I had hidden away under the uniform.

"Who did this to you, Ayanokouji-kun?"

Her big, round eyes, which were filled with worry and compassion, gazed into mine.

They were gorgeous.

She was as well, but now wasn't the time to think about such a minor detail.

"Horikita..."

"What? Why would Horikita-san do something like this?"

I described what had transpired between us just moments ago, while leaving out the parts where I forced Horikita to stab me, since I was unwilling to cooperate with her. This behavior was expected, of course, which meant that everything went according to plan so far.

The stage was set up to convince Kushida to help me and confuse another person in the process. In addition, it might even lead to another positive outcome if everything worked out as expected, which would turn my two birds into three depending on the actions Kushida would take during this conversation.

All thanks to my lovely neighbor.

If I ever had to expel her, I'd make it quick and painless.

Maybe...

"So basically, she wants to help Sudou-kun and Ike-kun in the midterms but couldn't invite them herself. But instead of asking you for help like a normal person, she threatened and hurt you?"

The kind and caring girl shielded her mouth as if she was appalled by this violent act that one of her classmates committed against one of her friends. She kept caressing over my hands to soothe my chaotic mind.

"Yes. Kushida... I'm done for. Sudou and Ike will never agree to join if I ask them. You've seen how mad Sudou gets whenever someone talks to him... When I come back empty-handed, Horikita will kill me for sure. I need your help. Please."

I gripped her two warm and smooth hands before squeezing them with the same amount of pressure that she had used on me when she needed me to open up about Hirata. Even though this was just an act, I felt comfortable when our hands entwined, which made me wonder if this was a normal human reaction.

Since this move always worked for her, I decided to adopt it, at least when I was dealing with certain people that would be affected by this and wouldn't feel weirded out by the sudden contact. Kushida was safe in that regard, others not so much.

I'd hate to be labeled a pervert and stared at as if I was dirt...

"Leave it to me, Ayanokouji-kun. I'll be in the library with Sudou-kun and Ike-kun tomorrow. I promise."

"You are coming as well?"

I feigned surprise, but I was counting on it.

"Mhm. First, Horikita-san might hold back on her physical assaults on everyone when I'm with you. Second, even if her way is totally wrong, I believe that her heart is in the right place. She also didn't want to lose Sudou-kun and Ike-kun in the upcoming midterms. I cannot just sit by and do nothing. It's like Hirata-kun said, if we all work together, we are going to pass the midterms with ease!"

As expected of Kushida Kikyou, everyone's friend and Class D's personal angel.

Even though Horikita was wrong and did something horrible to one of her classmates, she tried to defend her while also taking care of my worries in the process. The fact that she was coming with us to protect me from any further assaults was also just a clever pretext to spend more time with us, which would enable Kushida to get closer to her mark for a prolonged period in which Horikita could slip up and reveal to her what she wanted to know all along.

In actuality, I cared little what her obsession with Horikita was all about, as long as I could use it to my advantage. If I can keep them together for long enough, Kushida might even slip up and confirm what I had been suspecting for a while now.

"Kushida! You're such an angel! I wouldn't know what I'd do without you. Thank you so much."

"You don't need to thank me, Ayanokouji-kun. Friends should stick together, right? I'll be going now and convince Sudou-kun and Ike-kun to join. Everything will work out, I promise."

The beauty in front of me beamed, and it almost looked like a halo was hovering over her head. If I observed her close enough, I believed that I might see sparks of divinity flying off her.

After Kushida reassured me one last time, we said our farewells to each other before she stood up. She walked off towards the dorms and turned around one last time with the brightest smile a human could produce. I waved back at her before she pulled out her phone and made the necessary preparations to save my life.

Now that Kushida was on the job, there was no need to worry about anything.

What a magnificent queen she was.

"You are cruel. You know that, right? Kouhai-kun?"

Fuka stepped out of her hiding place after Kushida's figure vanished from sight and looked at the corner where she had turned with a conflicted expression.

"No idea what you are talking about, Kiryuin-senpai."

Her eyes flashed in a peculiar glint as she glanced at the wounds on my hand.

"That Horikita, if I ever meet her alone... Can I beat her up?"

"I never figured you to be an avenger, senpai."

She studied me with a puzzled face.

"She hurt you. Of course I'd be angry. I'm not unreasonable and know that all of this was part of your plan, but still. I don't like you being hurt. It makes me kind of angry, honestly."

"You don't need to worry about me that much. Just like you, I can handle myself."

Even though I doubted that Fuka would act rashly because of a simple human emotion like anger or worry, I decided to make some preparations on the off-chance that something might happen. She should know I could defend myself after what I did to her, so I hoped that she wouldn't interfere in my matters when she wasn't asked to.

If she did, however, then some education was in order.

I stood up, planning to leave the small park area, as her beautiful, gentle voice reached my ears.

"Where are you going?"

"The faculty office."

She grinned, as if she had already surmised what I was planning to do. The troublesome senpai waved me goodbye before she sat on the bench and crossed her legs while enjoying the blazing midday sun.

I glanced around the area and searched for Chabashira-sensei's presence, which was nowhere to be found. This, of course, was expected, as I knew that she was on the roof smoking right about now. I was also aware about the approximate time at which she would return. Thus, I enacted step three of my plan.

"Excuse me, is Chabashira-sensei here?"

The attention of five teachers who were on break turned toward me. I knew only one of them by name, and she was the target that I was attracting attention for. In line with her personality and interest in me, she was the first to close in on my position.

"Ohh, it's Kiyotaka-kun again. What do you want from Sae-chan?"

The wonderful smile on her face didn't reach her eyes.

This once again confirmed that she suspected me because of Chabashira-sensei's actions a week ago, and the unfortunate coincidence thereafter. I couldn't get rid of her in a short amount of time, which is why I decided to confuse her for the moment.

"Oh, uhm. Nothing. It's not that important."

I hid my hands and trudged backwards, out of the door.

Class B's teacher found this behavior to be rather suspicious, which was why her eyes gleamed in delight. The woman inched closer and clapped her hands, a bright smile on her face.

"Let's chat until Sae-chan comes back."

The other teachers had already turned away and committed themselves to their own tasks, since Hoshinomiya-sensei voluntarily took care of me. These circumstances were foreseen as well, and made it easy for her to pull me aside.

"What are you hiding from your favorite sensei, Kiyotaka-kun?" She pouted, as if disappointed.

"Nothing... I should go now. Than —"

"Na, na, na, don't be so hasty now. You can trust me. I'm Sae-chan's friend after all. She's not very good with her students. Maybe I'll be more helpful than her."

"But Chabashira-sensei told me not to tell anyone and to keep a low profile..."

"Heeeh? That's what you said the last time, right? 'Did I do something wrong? I've been trying to keep a low profile.' Well, since you won't tell me, I guess I can only ask around if anyone knows what's on your mind."

She turned, threatening to walk away.

My hands covered by the sleeves of my uniform flashed forward, grasping onto her arm and rooting her in place.

"Wait. No. Please. I'll tell you, okay? Please... just don't make a scene. I..."

My eyes turned downwards, staring at the ground as if I was struggling, just like Hirata back then. Contrary to my pitiful appearance, her smile reached an all-time high. She turned me around and nudged me towards the door of the guidance room while supporting my back with a gentle yet forceful hands.

Her way of dealing with the opposite sex was a mixture of Fuka, Kushida and Ichinose. She combined the best of these three girls, which molded her into a rather dangerous weapon if one wasn't prepared or immune to her advances.

We soon reached our destination, where Hoshinomiya-sensei opened the door for us. She glanced left and right to make sure no one was watching and hushed inside after me, which was a clear sign that she was overstepping her obligations as a teacher.

"Please sit."

Just like that faithful day a week ago, I sat down on the chair. This time, however, Class B's homeroom teacher sat across from me, as opposed to Class D's. The woman smiled and made herself comfortable on her own chair.

"So, what's on your mind, Kiyotaka-kun?"

After an unhealthy amount of interest in my affairs, she forced me to submit to her by threatening to ask around about me, which was a massive inconvenience for someone that wanted to keep a low profile. Now that I surrendered to her, she became gentle and easy to open up to.

Those two really were total opposites.

Sae was cold and stoic most of the time. Even if one tried, it was hard to warm up to her because she seemed like the sort of person to keep everyone at a distance. Her behavior differed from Hoshinomiya, who used her insane range of emotions to her advantage while fishing for information for her class.

This was proven multiple times during the occasions the two of us had met.

The first time I ran into her, she wasn't too suspicious and tried to charm me with her playful and flirtatious attitude. After she learned that I was just a Class D student, she decided that the accident on this day was just a mishap, at most.

Just like Ichinose and her classmates.

When we had met around a week ago because of Chabashira-sensei's announcement, she became doubtful of me, as she remembered our first interaction. This strange coincidence, coupled with the fact that Sae was acting out of character, made her reevaluate the impression she had of me, which is why her interrogation became more dynamic.

Until this point in time, she was unaware of my connection to Class B's leader.

This changed, however, as we ran into Ichinose because of Sae's carelessness in this matter. If she hadn't dawdled around with us in the corridor, nothing of this would have happened.

Chie's distrust peaked after the naive girl had greeted me, which informed her about a relationship she hadn't known about and was closely related to Class B's affairs.

These actions and chance meetings led the two of us inside this room, where I kept quiet and hesitated for the first thirty seconds after receiving her question. It was only after a long and painful deliberation period that I slid my hands on top of the table.

Her captivating face overlapped with Kushida's, as she made the same expression upon detecting the wounds on my limbs. She began to caress over my arm, just like my adorable classmate, which supported my initial assumption.

"Ayanokouji-kun, are you being bull —"

"No!"

There was a single, massive flaw when I was playing the part of a vulnerable character in a scene like this: I could not express my emotions freely, since there were none.

Or not much of them, at least.

The sentiments I had before were forcefully taken from me during my time in the White Room. The doctors and researches systematically depraved me of everything that wasn't needed according to that man's will, which was why I had turned out the way I was now.

After arriving at this school, however, I discerned something peculiar while I kept expanding my repertoire of knowledge during conversations and meetings with my friends, classmates and other people.

Emotions weren't as useless as that man had deemed them.

At least not in a certain sense.

Right now, for example, the usage of emotions to confuse Hoshinomiya-sensei was desirable, because normal people operated under the assumption that the other person also acted with consideration to their own sentiments. In short, I could influence my opponent by executing certain motoric sequences which would emulate the various feelings a person would have under specific circumstances.

Since I had trouble expressing these emotions, I decided to take inspirations from my surroundings. I studied them, like blueprints and followed their example to create an artificial duplicate for the feeling I was supposed to have during a particular point in time.

This one was Karuizawa Kei.

Back on May 1st, she winced subtly as Chabashira-sensei had her fun toying with us due to something that must have taken place in her past.

Now, I had used this knowledge to imitate and amplify her reaction in front of Hoshinomiya-sensei.

It was not a perfect impression, but with the additional information my enemy believed she had, it was good enough. The flinching and the raised voice contained clear denial as I was confronted with the word 'bullied'. Even with a face as emotionless as mine, it was an effective move to confuse my current adversary.

No... maybe it was even more effective in this case because of that lifeless expression.

Since Hoshinomiya-sensei tried to discern what Chabashira-sensei and I were hiding, it was easy to mix the truth with some lies and make her believe that my big secret was something unrelated to the class competitions.

The most important detail in this whole scene was that I couldn't tell her anything directly. She needed to find the clues and piece them together for herself. People would doubt others, but they would never distrust their own abilities and the conclusions they had arrived at.

This was simple human psychology.

In her mind, she was putting together the different pieces of the puzzle called Ayanokouji Kiyotaka:

Chabashira-sensei's wish to talk to me.

Me mentioning that I had kept a low profile before I should have been aware of her suspicions.

The puncture wounds on my hand.

My idiocy, which went far enough that I ran into the wrong classroom on my second day here.

The questionable relationship I had with Ichinose.

And the irrefutable fact that I was a Class D student.

Together, these facts formed a certain picture, which had a higher chance of being correct than the one she previously believed in. This, coupled with Ichinose's statement that I had been hanging out with her and the rest of their class from time to time, made her work out the story I wanted her to arrive at:

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka was bullied and wanted to get away from someone in his own class. Because of this, he kept close to Ichinose and Class B, who were known for their warm and welcoming attitude.

This was the big secret I was so afraid of, which would turn her entire thoughts and feelings about me upside down.

I wasn't a spy who was trying to exploit Ichinose's kindness, but a fugitive from someone who tormented me in Class D.

Every single piece of evidence she had found until now would fit this new narrative, which she had come up with herself.

Hoshinomiya-sensei was trapped in the illusion I had created specifically for her.

If I had told her all of this myself, she would have doubted every single word that left my mouth. But since she had established this assumption on her own using the clues she had picked up on, there was not a single uncertainty in her mind that her theory could be incorrect.

"May I leave? I don't want Chabashira-sensei to —"

"You don't want me to what, Ayanokouji?"

A frigid voice echoed through the room as the door to the guidance office opened without a warning.

Hoshinomiya-sensei's face contorted in dissatisfaction as she glared at my homeroom teacher.

"Sae-chan! What are you going to do about this?"

She grabbed my hand and yanked it upwards, displaying my state for both of them to see. The sleeve slipped down due to gravity's influence and revealed even more puncture wounds along my arm.

Chabashira-sensei took a quick, disinterested peek at them before turning back to Hoshinomiya-sensei.

"That's none of your concern, is it? Ayanokouji and I can take care of this problem on our own."

"What are you even talking about? Can't you see that —"

"You are overstepping, Chie." Chabashira-sensei crossed her arms and glared at her colleague. "Leave."

The enemy queen clicked her tongue, dissatisfied with the way our talk had turned out.

If my assessment of the school rules was correct, then physical violence was alright, as long as no one could prove that a certain individual did anything to hurt another.

Hoshinomiya-sensei, as a teacher, knew this all too well, which is why she appeared frustrated with Sae.

In her mind, I must have confided in Chabashira-sensei with my problem. She, however, did nothing because the perpetrator was a Class D student. If she were to expel the culprit, she would damage her own class, which she didn't want to do.

The woman stood up and left the room while glaring at my homeroom teacher.

The door shut with a loud thud before the new arrival sat down opposite of me.

"What did you tell her?"

"Nothing. Hoshinomiya is a very smart woman. She worked everything out on her own."

"And what would that be?"

"That I am being bullied by someone in Class D."

She stared at me as she began to piece the puzzle together herself. She had all the fragments, so it didn't take long either. Upon completing the artwork I had created, she let out a light chuckle.

"So I'm guessing this bullying problem is solved now?"

"Yes, we made it work somehow, thanks to your excellent guidance."

Her smile didn't vanish, apparently content with the way I had dealt with our most recent problem.

"How long do you plan on staying?"

I pulled the sleeve back up over my arm and leaned into the chair.

"Maybe half an hour. There's lots to discuss, after all."

"I guess. Do you want tea?"

"If you're preparing one anyway, then yes, but there is no need to go out of your way for me."

Chabashira-sensei nodded and stood back up to prepare tea for the two of us. The scent differed from last time, so I was quite curious about the taste. After she was done brewing our beverage, she carried over two cups and placed them on the table.

We sat and drank in silence.

I enjoyed such reticence, and she seemed to be satisfied as well.

"Since I'm already here, you might as well give me your number. It might come in handy if I have to contact you in the future."

She pulled out her phone and gave me her contact information.

"I assume that I'll handle the questions Chie will have after figuring out our big secret?"

"Yes, I'll trust you'll deal with it in a way that'll produce a satisfactory result. If you ever need to reach me again, do it over the phone and delete the conversation afterwards. Hoshinomiya won't be as easily swayed the next time, which is why we should make this opportunity count."

After I finished my tea, I stood and began to clean the cup, just like the last time the two of us had met in here. As if rehearsed, Chabashira-sensei stood up a few moments later and went to the sink as well.

I slid to the left to make some space and glanced at her in surprise.

"You don't want to be slapped again, right?"

She shot me a cold glare.

"You wouldn't dare."

"That's what you thought the last time, as well."

She shook her head as if disappointed and helped me check for recording devices that someone might have planted. I trusted her this time, since she would also be in trouble if any part of our conversation would leak.

After confirming that the room was clear, I thanked Chabashira-sensei for her wonderful guidance and left the room as an inconspicuous Class D student.

After I had taken care of everything on my agenda for today, I was lazing around with Fuka in my room.

Moments like this, as well as hanging out with Chiaki and the others, were the most pleasant ones I got to experience in this school. Thanks to my friends and Class B in particular, I had learned a lot about friendships and social activities in my age range. We were often roaming around in large groups, which was exhausting, yet comfortable at the same time.

I believed that I made steady progress in my venture to find the meaning of the word 'fun'.

Aside from this, I had gathered enough information from Class B to place every blue piece on the board. At the moment, however, there was no need to set up their figures, as they wouldn't pose any danger to either class as long as Ichinose held the reins. Even though she was sweet and caring, she was also too innocent for this kind of school, which would eventually cost her class their current position in the hierarchy.

While thinking about such things, I spent my time competing in some sort of small tournament with Fuka. Apparently, she had decided to confirm my abilities for herself after I had told her that she didn't need to worry about me.

We didn't spar, but she said that she was content with verifying my claims by playing multiple games such as arm wrestling, twister, and a few others where I could only question the usefulness towards her overall evaluation.

Rather than checking if I was telling the truth, it felt more like an excuse to have some fun with me.

My guest became rather frustrated after we had played a few rounds, since she had realized that I kept my win rate around 50% through all of our competitions. She complained in a somewhat pouting manner and told me to take this seriously, whereupon I crushed her in the word-chain game she had proposed.

As she was still wondering how she had lost in such a miserable way, my phone vibrated. I unlocked it and was about to navigate to the chat in question as Fuka snatched it away from me and moved her legs up on my stomach while snuggling into the bed.

"Both Sudou and Ike have promised to come. I didn't have time to tell you until now, sorry. Cute smiley that's bowing down." She read the message aloud. "I still don't like her. Something's wrong with this girl."

Fuka had also noted the inconsistencies in Kushida's behavior. This wasn't strange either, as she often lingered around whenever I met up with my classmates. She never ran into us, but always hovered around to learn more about the people I was socializing with.

"Agreed, but it's fine as long she's useful."

"Oh, that reminds me... Both Chabashira- and Hoshinomiya-sensei started four years ago, meaning they are currently in charge of their second classes. Neither of them changed their spot in the ranking, either."

This meant that Hoshinomiya, in particular, had ample time to stock up on points. Sae should have less than her colleague, but still more than enough to make it difficult to get rid of her. The only surefire way I could think of was to make it seem like they did something so unforgivable, that the school had no chance but to dismiss them.

"In that case, it's not worth the risk. I handled her for now, but that won't last forever. Speaking of not lasting forever, what did you think about Hirata and Karuizawa? You've observed them a lot the past week. Any insights?"

I glanced at the girl, who kept browsing through my phone with great interest.

"I think you are right in your assumption that they are not really going out and just pretend to be a couple. But I couldn't figure out why. Do you have any ideas? You know them a lot better than me."

"No clue. But I'll figure it out in time." I shrugged and turned away from her.

There was no reason to tell Fuka about everything I had deduced.

If she figured this mystery out herself, I could learn more about her abilities and the processes she used to gather and evaluate intel. If she didn't, it wasn't a loss either, since I could see in which cases she had issues.

"Give me my phone?"

"No, just tell me who to text. I'll do it for you."

Wasn't that like a total breach of privacy?

"Horikita. Text her that I managed to convince them with Kushida's help and that the three of them will join us tomorrow."

She tapped around on my phone for a few moments before the two of us proceeded with our conversation.

A few seconds later, my phone rang.

"It's Horikita. Should I accept?" She grinned, her finger hovering over the button.

"God no. Are you crazy? Give me the phone."

A light chuckle escaped her irresistible lips as she threw the phone towards me.

"Hello?"

"I don't quite understand the message you just sent me."

Just what did that girl write?

I glared at Fuka for a moment before focusing on my conversation with Horikita.

"What's not to understand about the message?"

I had no clue what she wrote, so there wasn't anything I could do besides ask Horikita for more information.

My guest stood up and walked away from the bed.

"Why does Kushida need to attend?"

"I'll go take a shower."

"What?"

"What?"

"What?"

I sounded confused. Fuka's voice was a mixture of mischief and enjoyment, while Horikita was just as puzzled as I was. The only saving grace in this situation was that my classmate hadn't heard Fuka's rumblings, as she was talking in a rather modest volume.

"Ah, I meant, what's wrong with that?"

"I don't like her. And I don't remember giving you permission to do that. Her grades aren't even failing."

"I don't care what you do to get them in the library. For all I care, pay them, but get them there after class tomorrow." I parroted her like that. "You gave me permission to do anything. Kushida was the easiest option to get them to join."

The shower turned on as I finished my sentence.

The splashing water was suspiciously loud, which is why I turned my head towards the sound and caught sight of a wide-open door. If this had been the only problem she had created, I wouldn't have been startled, but Fuka's clothes were also strewn over the floor, forming a road that led straight into the bathroom.

Was this woman serious? This wasn't something a girl should do in a boy's room, right?

"You did this just to mess with me, did you not? Because I stabbed you?"

"No idea what you are talking about."

I decided that I couldn't leave her wardrobe on my floor and stood up. The dripping water got progressively louder the closer I advanced to the room while I gathered Fuka's clothes, which is why I covered the phone's microphone with my free hand.

The first clothing items I picked up were rather innocent, since they were pieces of her uniform anyone could see when they looked at her. The problem were the undergarments that followed.

Upon making up my mind, I grabbed the black-red lace bra and was immediately taken aback by how pleasant the material felt as it rubbed against my skin. Even though I knew that my following actions were wrong and improper, I stroked over her lingerie to get a better feel for the material.

"I don't like it. Shouldn't you have sought my approval first?"

Horikita's cold voice tore me out of my indecent thoughts as I progressed towards the bathroom while steeling my resolve for what was to come. I turned sideways and shielded the microphone to the best of my ability.

"No, since you've already given me free rein, there was no reason to ask for approval. If you don't like it, then tell her yourself and try to convince Ike and Sudou to join without her."

After saying my piece, I blocked the microphone once again and picked up the last and most dangerous item on my clean-up list: Fuka's panties.

How was this enough material? Where did she even get something like this around here? That's illegal, right?

My heart sped up after holding her whole wardrobe in my left hand. I used Fuka's uniform and wrapped it around the underwear before throwing the whole bundle into the bathroom.

"I won't budge on this. Kushida may not join the study group. She didn't even fail the test. There is not a single reason for her to be there."

Since Horikita had kept quiet for a rather long time, I had almost forgotten about her in my trance. I assumed that she had fought an intense battle because of Kushida's involvement, but concluded that she didn't want to see her.

The rest of my thought process was interrupted by the mesmerizing sight I gazed upon when I was about to shut the door.

Fuka stood in the shower, rinsed her hair and brushed her smooth palms over her gorgeous frame. I saw nothing but contours since the shower's glass panels had steamed up, but this much was already bad enough.

I noticed a teasing peek in my direction before she raised her hand and wiped over the condensation with an enchanting gesture. This provocative act revealed nothing I hadn't already seen, but was sensual enough to be dangerous.

The hot shower was running while I walked over, so it had enough time to warm up the air inside the room.

Kinetic energy depended on temperature, so the water molecules had enough time to break the bonds that held them together during the moment it took me to reach my current position. The molecules then entered the air as water vapor, also known as steam, and came into contact with the cold surface of the glass panels, which caused them to condense as water droplets.

Condensation of a vapor occurs when it comes into contact with a surface. The temperature of this surface is maintained at a lower value than the saturation temperature of the vapor for the pressure at which it exists. The removal of thermal energy from the vapor causes it to release its latent heat of vaporization and condenses on the —

"Ayanokouji-kun?"

Once again, Horikita's cold and somewhat annoyed voice snapped me out of my trance.

After regaining control of my thoughts and motoric functions, I immediately shut the door that led into the bathroom and made my way back towards the bed to lie down.

"Ah, sorry. My door was stuck. Where were we? Right... Kushida. Isn't it better having her there, then? She could be a second set of eyes or take one of them off your back. You don't even have to talk to her. You are being rather unreasonable now. I really don't understand what your problem with her is."

"Wouldn't you be uncomfortable next to someone you hate?"

Hate was a strong word, especially for someone like Horikita, who always spoke her mind. She didn't understate her feelings towards Kushida in the slightest, which meant that there was seriously bad blood between the two of them for some unknown reason.

"I honestly don't understand you. You are cold and distant but always honest with what's on your mind, so you really hate Kushida. Is it only because she ambushed us in the Palate on that day? I haven't taken you for someone who would overreact to such a degree."

"I'm not overreacting, and it isn't because of something as petty as that. I just don't like her and I'm done talking about it."

Unfortunately, Horikita hadn't given me anything to work with, except for the information I had already surmised. The two of them knew each other before meeting again at this school, or at least one of them knew the other.

If my conjecture was right and they had attended the same middle school before enrolling here, there was a chance that Kushida did something out of character for her current persona, which she wanted to hide. Since her outgoing attitude wasn't something one could grow into in a short amount of time, it was safe to assume that she was the same in her previous school as well.

Someone like Horikita wouldn't have gone through such a drastic change during that timeframe either, which meant that she must have behaved similar or identical in middle school as well.

If I take these theories as fact, it was possible to infer that Kushida must have done something that left such a huge impact on the school that even a loner like Horikita, who must have attended a different class during that time, might have heard about it.

"Alright. I trust you. I'll talk to her, but I can't promise anything. Is that alright?"

Horikita fell silent once again.

The next words were hard to understand because of the speed in which they were spoken.

"T-thank you. I have to study. Goodnight."

After this peculiar act, a continuous beeping noise resounded from the phones speakers.

She hung up...

What was that about?

Around the same time, the water in the bathroom stopped trickling into the shower. Fuka walked out a few moments later, only wearing my towel, which barely covered the important parts.

"I trust you, huh?"

I ignored the fact that her uniform decorated the bathroom floor in the same way I had left them there and glanced at the charming expression which improved her already beautiful face.

"What? For some people, simple words like these work wonders."

Fuka closed in on me as I noticed some wet stains on the floor.

"Hey! Stop walking around on the carpet while you are soaking wet."

She ignored my pleas and placed her head on my chest. The wet sensation of her hair moistened the uniform I was wearing, as the remaining droplets on her skin made their way onto my bed.

"Oh, come on, Fuka."

She closed her eyes and snuggled into me as if I was a pillow.

"It'll be dry once you are out of the shower, so it's fine."

"I still have to call someone."

"Really? I thought I missed all the fun. Set it to speaker."

She clapped like a small child that was looking forward to the carnival and wore the most seductive smile I had ever seen.

Without dawdling around any longer, I called Kushida to occupy my mind.

"Hello, Ayanokouji-kun. Give me a second. I just came out of the bath."

Are you kidding me?

"What kind of bit—mhmmhm..."

I covered Fuka's hypocritical mouth with my left hand before she could say more, in fear that Kushida might pick up on it. To my surprise, a strange moisture spread over my palm after just a few seconds.

"Are you kidding me?"

After moving away my hand, I could see her endearing tongue still turning around in circles, before she broke out in her trademark smile. In such a situation, it was hard to not think back to her seductive silhouette in the bathroom.

While I was struggling with Fuka's mischief, I decided to turn my focus back to Kushida to keep my sanity.

"Uhm, I don't know how to tell you this... but we have a problem."

"Let me guess, Horikita-san doesn't want me there?"

I had implied nothing of that sort, but she seemed to have understood that this would be a problem from the beginning. She must have noticed Horikita's aversion against her more than anyone.

"Something like that. I'm really sorry. I figured that it would be fine, but I didn't expect that she would dislike you to such a degree. I tried to convince her to let you join us, but I failed."

"It's okay. I already somewhat expected this."

"Still, I feel bad because I asked you for help and you immediately agreed. Having to tell you that you can't come leaves a sour taste in my mouth."

"No, no. Please don't feel bad, it's totally alright. I'm just wondering if Sudou-kun and Ike-kun will even go when I'm not coming."

"I'm wondering the same, honestly."

"And I'm wondering why mhmmpff."

"Did you say something, Ayanokouji-kun?"

"No, it's just the TV in the background. Sorry, I'll turn the volume down."

I hit Fuka's head three times as a punishment. To my regret, she only giggled in response to my attempt at educating her. This girl seemed to enjoy our current situation, as she couldn't help but grin and make herself comfortable on me while getting all my sheets wet.

"Mhh. Don't worry. I'll bring everyone over tomorrow and deal with Horikita-san. Since you already came to me for help, it means that the two of you wouldn't be able to gather them yourselves, right? I'll think of something. Leave it to me!"

"I'm sorry, really. And I wish you the best of luck... you'll need it. I'll back you up if I find an opportunity. But if someone can manage to convince Horikita, then it's you, Kushida."

"Yeah. I'm sure she'll open up to me someday. I just have to keep giving my best. Ayanokouji-kun, I'll see you tomorrow then. Goodnight."

"Goodnight Kushida."

With that, the call ended, and I turned to Fuka, who wore a mischievous smile, which I removed by hitting her head again.

"Interrupting. Peoples. Calls. Is. Impolite."

Her charming laugh reverberated through the room, while I was left wondering what in the world I did to deserve such a punishment. After heaving a deep sigh, I moved her head from my chest and stood up.

"I'll be taking a shower now. Behave yourself while I'm gone."

"Haii~haii."

I ambled into the bathroom and locked the door.

Since I needed to confirm how dangerous she was, I executed this action as covert as possible. Afterwards, I undressed and turned on the water. Fuka's smell was still lingering, which is why I occupied myself with calculations and advanced thermodynamics.

As my body and hair were drenched by the warm water, Fuka's frustrated voice rang through the bathroom from outside.

"Oh, come on! You really locked it?"

On the next day, the classroom was chaotic, just like every other morning.

Some of my classmates chatted with each other, while others yelled through the room or played games in some far-away corner until our teacher arrived. When Chiaki, Karuizawa and the others walked in, they greeted me before sitting down at their desks.

It was nice when friends did something like this, especially when they rewarded you with a cute smile.

"You have this dumb happy face on you, you know? It looks creepy."

"Really? I thought it was quite nice."

"Did you tell Kushida that she is not welcome in the study group?"

Back to business, huh? What a shame... I had so much prepared for today.

'Hey Horikita, why were you so hush-hush before you hung up on me? Were you embarrassed, perhaps?'

Well, I was probably doing my hand a favor by not mentioning anything about this...

"I did. But I'm not sure if she's going to listen."

Her eyes narrowed. "Hm. I believe you."

"What? You actually do?"

"Of course. You offered to tell her yourself, after all. I tr... — believe in your honesty that much, at least."

Hm, I couldn't really believe it, but Horikita was all dere-dere today.

If I were to tell her that, I'd be beaten to death, but it seemed like the chat was right about Horikita being a tsundere, even though she had vehemently denied it and told me to leave the group.

"Sorry that I involved her. But she was the only one I could think of to get these two to join a study session. Especially Sudou after what you did with him. Kushida has a good connection to most of the guys, after all."

"Fair point. If you promise you won't do again, I'll forgive you. We'll just think of something to get rid of her later."

This sounded rather drastic. If she planned to attack her with the compass, I would jump between them without hesitation. My weak heart wouldn't survive the sight of a crying Kushida.

"Yeah, I promise. Next time, I'll discuss things with you prior to acting."

"S-sure. Let's do t-that."

One could say a lot of things about Horikita, but she was damn cute when she felt embarrassed.

Was that a blush on her face?

No, I must have been imagining things again.

Our teacher walked in a few moments later and began his lesson. The rest of the day breezed by as well, and it was soon time for our study session. Horikita glimpsed at Kushida for a second before she turned towards me.

"Let's go, Ayanokouji-kun."

I nodded in response and followed her to the library.

Kushida threw me a cute wink as we left and I couldn't help but look forward to her plan. The wink itself was one of those performances that would look great on a cute girl like Kushida, but horrible if someone like Horikita tried to replicate it.

The thought alone prompted my body to send shivers down my spine.

My raven-haired neighbor and I secured a long table at the far end of the library, where we waited for the others.

The two of us spent our time like usual and annoyed each other while I kept observing the girl that had been sorting the misplaced books. She was here every time I visited, which meant that she came her rather frequently. It almost felt like as if she went from the classroom to the library and then back to her dorm room in the evening.

I was interested in getting to know her, not only to gather more information about her class but also because she had a fantastic taste in books. Since we shared a passion, I wondered if we could become good friends.

Something like book-buddies, perhaps?

"If I cared about you, I would ask why you keep staring at this poor girl."

I glanced towards Horikita, who was sketching something in her notepad.

"Just interested in her taste of books. It's quite refined."

"I said if I cared about you. I didn't ask, so why did you answer?"

She's so snappy today...

Before I could retaliate, Kushida, Sudou, Ike and Okitani ambled over to us.

I was rather surprised by this line-up, since I hadn't expected Okitani to join us as well.

"I've brought everyone!"

"Kushida-chan said there aren't that many people in the study group, so it's much more comfy."

That wasn't really important for studying. Most of the time, I didn't even have a chair to sit on. Ike should be thankful that he was allowed to talk without being beaten up by someone.

"I'm sitting here." Sudou sat down on the other end of the table.

"Hey, Okitani. I didn't know you'd join as well."

"Oh, yeah." He scratched his chin in an embarrassed manner. "I don't really mix with any of these groups in the classroom, so I thought it would be fine with Kushida-san and the others. I didn't fail, but it was rather close, so I felt kind of nervous."

"As long as you are serious about your studies, I don't mind having one more."

After Okitani found himself a spot, Kushida sat down between him and Ike. It was comical how everyone sat close to one another except for Sudou, who sat so far away that one could mistake him for someone entirely unrelated to our group.

While Kushida and Horikita began to discuss something with each other, I slid over to Sudou.

"Come on, take a seat closer to the group."

"No way, dude. You know she's the devil! How are you so calm around her?"

His usual rowdy attitude was nowhere to be seen. My classmate was sweating buckets as he mentioned her, as if he was scared that she might overhear him and take revenge.

"It's fine. Horikita wouldn't turn violent with Kushida around..." ... I think.

Since I hid the last part of my opinion from him, he nodded and moved closer to the group with an expression that illustrated his unwillingness to take part in our gathering.

Kushida won the argument against Horikita using rather underhanded tactics while I was negotiating with Sudou. Our angel smiled at me for a moment before turning her focus back to the materials in front of her.

She had used Okitani as an entry ticket into this study group, and turned the tables on Horikita in a skillful display of her abilities, or lack thereof, which she used as her reason to join us. It was a cunning move to persuade Okitani and use him to her advantage later on. Since he had also achieved a passing grade and was allowed to join because he felt insecure, Horikita couldn't refuse Kushida, who wanted to partake for the same reason.

"So the failing grade is thirty-two, right? Meaning as long as we reach that, we should be fine."

"Seems like it, yeah."

No one is going to mention that thirty-two is a weird point for a failing grade? No? Okay... never mind, then. Let's just ignore that thirty-two was coincidentally the class average divided by two, for our previous mock exam as well.

Since my classmates were studying now, the average for the midterms would be even higher.

Aside from my disappointment in their lack of abilities, which was immeasurable, my day was not totally ruined.

"The passing score doesn't really matter. My goal is for everyone to score 50, just to be on the safe side."

Fifty? That's perfect!

"Isn't that going to be super hard?"

"Aiming for a score that is barely passing is incredibly dangerous. One slip up and you are out, Sudou-kun. The safe way would be to target 50, in which case you pass even if you mess up somewhere."

Three deep sighs and one cute giggle rang through the library before Horikita proceeded with her arrangements.

"I included most of what will be covered in this test. We have about two weeks left, but I plan to walk you through everything thoroughly. If you have trouble or don't understand something, please ask."

The five of us began to work on the first problem, which was maths. Kushida started writing up the formula while the others were still thinking about the best way to go about solving their assignment.

Or so I thought...

"I don't understand the first question at all."

Before we had properly started, Sudou stuck out like a sore thumb, even though the question was absurdly easy.

Any high-schooler should have been able to solve it with ease, but he had trouble with something as trivial as that. It would be quite a feat if Horikita managed to raise his scores up to fifty points in the next two weeks...

"Try thinking about it. If you give up immediately, you'll learn nothing."

... especially if she's teaching like that.

"Look, I don't know, seriously."

"I don't get it either." Ike said.

This was shaping up to be a disaster.

"What about you, Okitani-kun?"

Horikita turned to the last remaining idiot with a somewhat sorrowful gaze.

"Let's see... A B C = 2.150 yen. So A = B 120. Then..."

Okitani wrote out a series of equations. He took his time, but at least he understood the question and could work with the pieces of information that were given to him. Kushida leaned over his shoulder and gave him small hints every time he was stuck. In the end, he solved the problem after receiving a few pointers, whenever he strayed from the correct path.

With this performance, Kushida's reason for staying here was gone, as she demonstrated that she knew everything by heart. Horikita seemed somewhat agitated, but Class D's angel wasn't fazed at all as she congratulated Okitani.

"Honestly, first- and second-year junior high school students should be able to solve these without a problem. If you are already having trouble here, then it'll be impossible to continue."

Even though this was the truth, she might have wanted to keep this to herself. It wouldn't take long until Sudou threw a tantrum if she continued this, since he'd treat her harsh remarks as an attack against him. Horikita wasn't one to pull her punches either, so this could only end in a disaster.

"So what? We're like elementary school kids?"

Case in point, he was already getting aggressive.

"Alright, you two. This question can be easily solved using a system of simultaneous equations."

Horikita picked up her pen and got to work. She outlined every step she made, why she made it, and how it would help her solve the problem at hand by using different colors.

She was a rather good teacher in that regard.

Since both Ike and Sudou seemed unable to comprehend the question, she started at the beginning, explained everything in rich detail and solved the equations for them to follow along in a pace they should be able to follow.

She tucked her hair behind the back of her ear, which reminded me of Chabashira-sensei for some strange reason.

Would she have looked similar to Horikita back when she was in high school?

Unfortunately for everyone involved, this study session wouldn't end as peacefully as my thoughts were.

Even though Horikita did her best to dumb everything down for them, their faces grew more confused by the second. Ike tried to follow her explanations at least, while Sudou's string threatened to snap with every word Horikita spoke.

"Stop. I'm done. This will not work. I don't even understand the words you are using."

He threw his pen on the table and leaned back in resignation. Horikita was seething, but held back in lashing out as she knew it would only bring more trouble, which was a huge step for her.

Before the situation could escalate any further, Class D's angel took the center stage.

"Wait everyone. Let's all give it another shot, alright? If you learn how to solve these problems, you'll have taken a big step for the test. Let's try again? Okay?"

Kushida took the pen and paper and tried to solve the problem once again. She used a different approach, explaining it with easy-to-understand examples even they could make sense of.

Kushida wasn't a bad teacher either. She was just as excellent as Horikita and both of them would probably be good instructors if they tried to. In this situation, Kushida's way was the superior one, at least for people on the level of Sudou and Ike. Horikita's manner of explaining these materials would be better suited for people who had some knowledge.

"So, as you can see, the answer in this example is 710 yen. What did you get?"

"Um, so you used this to get the answer? But how?" Ike scratched his head.

"Uh..." Kushida was out of words and didn't know how to explain the correct approach in simpler terms.

After listening to their exchange, Horikita had enough.

"Alright. I'm sorry to say this, but you are absolutely incompetent. If you can't even solve this problem, I seriously shiver at the thought of what the future will bring."

"Shut up. This has nothing to do with you."

Sudou apparently heeded my words and forgot his fear of Horikita in Kushida's presence.

I hoped that she wouldn't stab him...

For his sake.

"You are right. Your suffering won't influence me at all. I merely pity you. You must have spent your whole life running away from anything that represented a challenge."

"Screw academics. They'll be useless, anyway."

"That's an interesting argument. How do you justify that?"

"So what if I can't solve this problem? I'm aiming to be a pro basketball player. There is no need for studying."

This was the perfect moment to reason with Sudou. Horikita only needed to make him realize that becoming a pro basketball player required more than just basketball skills.

But unfortunately, Horikita was trapped in her own superiority complex and rained hellfire down on the poor boy.

"Incorrect. Studying is the most important aspect in this school and in any other. When you struggle in basketball, do you also run away from the problem? I doubt you take basketball training seriously. You are a troublemaker, someone who always causes a disruption. If I were your adviser, I wouldn't even let you in the team."

With no warning or any prior indication, Sudou's body bolted forward before he grabbed Horikita by the collar. To my surprise, the girl that had just received such an attack didn't even flinch, and just glared back at him with her usual chilly attitude.

"Sudou-kun!" Kushida grabbed his arm to pacify his boiling emotions.

"You don't interest me in the slightest. But I can tell what kind of person you are by looking at you. You want to be a professional basketball player? Do you honestly believe you can make such a childish dream come true? A simpleton like you could never go pro. You are nothing but a fool."

"I'm done with you." He shoved her backward and grabbed his bag. "I took a day off from club activities for this shit. In the end, it was just a waste of time, as expected. Later!"

Horikita opened her mouth to renew her assault, but I grabbed her arm. She glanced at me in surprise, but I only shook my head in response.

I couldn't have my pieces self-destruct now. This experiment was quite insightful, but this is as far as I would let it escalate. Any more might lead to serious damage.

"I'm quitting too. You might be smart, Horikita, but that doesn't mean you can act like you are better than us."

Ike was the second one to throw in the towel.

Before Horikita could say something, I put some pressure on her arm. I might get stabbed for this later, but right now there was nothing else I could do to detain her. Thanks to my previous preparations, I would get away with something like this, even if she didn't like it.

The three of us watched as Sudou, Ike and Okitani left the library. Only after their figures had vanished from view did I let go of Horikita's arm.

It was obvious from the beginning how this study group would turn out.

Horikita was so outspoken and apathetic that she would refute anything that went against her own beliefs. It was a given that she and Sudou would get into a fight, and that Sudou would be decimated without a chance to retaliate. He just wasn't as calm or quick-witted as Horikita, so there was no way for him to win an argument against her.

All he could do was throw a tantrum and walk off. Ike, his best friend, wouldn't stand by after Sudou left, so he would give up as well. As the last remaining member, Okitani would naturally follow.

Horikita single-handedly destroyed her own study group, just as it was planned from the very beginning.

But why?

Because even Kushida wouldn't be able to stay still after such harsh and cruel words from Horikita.

She still wanted to save everyone and would turn to Horikita for help once again. And this was when the cruel ice queen would live up to her name and reveal her honest thoughts in front of our selfless angel.

"Horikita-san, we won't be able to continue studying like this. What are we going to do?"

"Nothing. Even if we avoided failure this time, they would be in the same dilemma in the next exam. I was wrong from the beginning. Those people are not worth saving. Even if we are losing points, it's better to get rid of dead weight sooner rather than later."

The kind and gentle Kushida couldn't believe her ears as Horikita straightened out her uniform, which Sudou had wrinkled during his assault at her.

Pain, disappointment, sorrow, and so many other emotions flashed through her eyes as she stared at the snow goddess in disbelief. Because, for our angel, it was never an option to leave anyone behind.

"So that's what you really think... H-hey, Ayanokouji-kun. Can you say something?"

"No matter what I say, I can't change Horikita's answer. I'm not qualified enough to teach them myself, so even if I wanted to help them, my hands are tied. I'm sorry, Kushida."

"Okay. I see..." the lone girl grabbed her bag with a dispirited expression. "I'm going to do something. Anything I can. I don't want everything to fall apart so quickly."

"Kushida-san, do you really feel that way?"

So there was indeed something...

"Is it wrong? I don't want to abandon them."

"Even if that was how you truly felt, I wouldn't particularly care. But I don't think you actually want to save them."

As expected, Horikita Suzune had her doubts, because she was aware of something that the rest of us weren't.

"What? I don't understand. Why do you say things like that, Horikita-san? Why do you try to antagonize people? That's... very sad." Kushida hung her head and trudged a few steps before stopping. "Well then, see you tomorrow." Her whisper barely reached our ears as the sound of her footsteps gradually dwindled.

Even after being confronted like this, Kushida didn't show her true face.

Because I was here, someone who didn't know about her.

It was clear as day that Horikita perceived something, and Kushida should have picked up on this for certain.

"Why did you hold me back?"

Horikita didn't sound as angry as I had expected, but genuinely curious.

"It seemed like Sudou was about to burst. I didn't want you to get hurt."

She turned and gazed into my eyes.

"There was no need for you to intervene. I could have handled everything that happened."

"But I didn't know that, did I?"

"I suppose. You do now, however, so please refrain from protecting me in the future."

"Yes, mam."

I saluted and flashed a light smile to increase the mood.

"I suppose you were the only one that understood me, Ayanokouji-kun. If there is a subject you are struggling with, I could teach you. History, for example? You had trouble before, right?"

"It's alright at the moment. But I'll keep it in mind for the future. Thank you Horikita."

"Are you going back to your dorm?"

"No, I guess I'll check in with Chiaki and the others to see how they are doing so far. If they are still studying, that is. What about you? Are you going back to your room?"

"No, since I've already started, I'll finish my studying here. See you tomorrow then, Ayanokouji-kun."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow, Horikita."

After rushing out of the library, I informed Fuka that she needed to keep an eye out for Kushida and went to search for her myself as well.

I called her multiple times, but she didn't answer.

Was she busy? Or did she ignore me because I took Horikita's side just now?

I also checked her GPS location, but she must have turned it off, which was to be expected. It was unlikely that anyone aside from Fuka had the function enabled for at least one person.

But I had to find her.

If Kushida's mask slipped, then it would be now, or at least today.

Somewhere... Far away from the other students, she would reveal the devil to her angel.

It should frustrate her to no end, that Horikita could say such awful things out loud, but she couldn't. If Horikita's words had even just a hint of truth in them, then Kushida should be furious.

She needed an outlet, especially after an exhausting day like this one.

The angel couldn't go anywhere with people around. This limited possible locations to her dorm room, or one of the more or less deserted places on the school grounds. But the dorm was dangerous, because the walls would be too thin when she was this angry.

What kind of action would serve as an outlet after such a day?

Screaming? Shouting? Cursing? Punching? Kicking?

After checking every single spot that was even remotely worth considering, I caught sight of her figure as she walked into the school building. I was unsure if I should have checked this place because I was uncertain if the clubs would still be present around this time, but I was glad that I did.

I prowled into the building and up the stairs. I kept following her footsteps, like a predator stalking its prey. There wasn't a single sound, aside from the ones this lone girl made, so it wasn't hard to follow her.

A few moments later, I noticed someone behind me — Fuka.

She had seen her as well and followed me. Now, she made herself known as if asking for permission.

'Hey, Kiyotaka? Can I see?' Her delicate, charming voice rang through my ears even though she hadn't opened her mouth.

I didn't reply, because I wasn't sure.

Did I want her to see me? Or not?

It didn't matter.

The school was empty.

I could deal with both of them if I needed to.

But... I always wondered if there was someone who would accept me.

... If they saw what kind of monster I truly was.

It wasn't long until I reached the door towards the roof, the location where Kushida's footsteps had led me. I pulled out my phone and started recording. Afterwards, I moved up and peeked through the crack of the rooftop door.

"Ahhh, so annoying!"

Thud!

Thud!

Thud!

Kushida's foot stomped the ground, before she kicked the railing and trampled over her bag.

"Why can't she just die?"

Thud!

Again, a heavy blow against the railing.

"That stuck-up, snobby bitch. Fuck, I want to punch her damn face in. Who does she think she is?"

If I were to reveal what I saw, no one would ever believe me.

Class D's angel, Kushida Kikyou, had fallen from grace somewhere along the line.

"And those fucking perverts sniffing around me all the time. Disgusting pieces of shit. Fucking die! Die! Die! Die!"

With every single repetition of the word 'die', her foot stomped the railing, harder and more vicious. Her voice grew dissatisfied and even more wicked as time went by.

She wasn't only frustrated with Horikita, but also with the likes of Ike. If that was the case, she must have been frustrated with other individuals as well. It was impossible to know what she thought about the people around her after discovering such a brilliant display of hatred and disgust.

If she could suppress such strong emotions with ease, and fake the total opposite, there was no telling if she felt the same, or similar to even the closest friends around her.

After I was done with my observations, I decided that it would be a good time to head back down and leave this place. As I turned, I accidentally hit the lower part of the door with my foot.

Fuka ducked away from her position at the beginning of the stairs, while Kushida's temper came to a sudden halt.

I quickly hid the phone in my uniforms pocket before she glared at me with the most terrifying expression I had seen.

"What ... are you doing here?"

Her tone resembled a blizzard. The friendly eyes which rewarded everyone she talked to were nowhere to be found as they were replaced by the sharp orbs of a carnivorous predator.

Yet, for some strange reason, I found them to be inexplicably beautiful.

"Ahh. I got lost. My bad. I'll be leaving."

It wasn't difficult to see through my lie, which is why her glare became even more intense.

"Did you hear?"

"Hear what?"

I moved through the door and stopped near the outside wall. I couldn't have her walk inside, since Fuka was still downstairs. She could probably handle herself, but there were more reasons that the roof was a better place for this confrontation.

Kushida crept towards me. Her steps firm, her gait threatening. She placed her left forearm against my throat and shoved me against the wall.

She wasn't particularly strong, but scary as hell...

"If you tell anyone what you've just heard, I'll end you."

This demon in front of me was dead serious. I didn't have a single doubt in my mind that Kushida would go through with everything she deemed necessary to shut me up.

Yet, I was curious. How did she plan on ending me?

"And if I did tell?"

"Then I'd tell everyone you raped me."

Her reply was quick and concise.

In a school like this, they wouldn't expel me without proof of said rape. So even if she were to say something, I would be fine. My social life, however, would be over. People would naturally believe a cute, outgoing girl and would be wary in front of a silent, expressionless boy.

"That's a false charge, you know?"

"That's okay. It wouldn't be false."

Wait, what? Am I going to get raped now? Was this the so-called reverse-rape that the Professor was gushing about once? His tastes were weird, no questions asked, but he seemed to possess an extensive amount of knowledge in the fields he was interested in.

Kushida grabbed my right wrist and pried my hand open, before pushing my palm against her soft breast.

Even though I was only touching her through the school's uniform, it was an enchanting feeling. The softness differed from anything I've felt before, yet they held a certain firmness that couldn't be neglected.

Would it be fine to squeeze?

I wondered about such things...

"What are you doing?"

She pressed my palm deeper into her breast, as if to indicate that it was fine to squeeze. If I weren't being framed for rape at the moment, I might have enjoyed this situation more than I did. I also couldn't help but question her motives, as there were better ways to keep me silent.

Maybe she liked it as well? Women were truly a mystery...

"Your prints are on my clothes. That's evidence of my claim. I'm being serious. Is that understood?"

"Oh, yeah, sure."

It seemed like Kushida didn't know how prints worked, but I wasn't one to notify her that the texture of the fabric would make the retrieval of my fingerprints rather difficult, especially if I knew what she had planned.

I made my point by pinching her bosom, which she didn't seem to enjoy at all. Her eyes turned even darker than before as she glared at me like I was dirt.

"What the fuck is wrong with you? Disgusting pervert."

"So you'd expel me and ruin my life, just like that? So Horikita was right, after all. Did you really expel Yamauchi?"

Her eyes narrowed to a terrifying degree.

"So what? That disgusting pervert didn't deserve any better for always drooling after my ass whenever the fuck he saw me. If you don't want to end up like him, you'll do exactly as I say. Is that understood?"

"Yes."

"What did that bitch tell you?"

The bitch she was referring to was, without a doubt, Horikita.

I was rather confident in my theories until this point, and I needed to extract some additional information from her with vague yet specific wording. It was a certainty that they attended the same school and that Horikita was in a different class than her or she wouldn't have forgotten about Kushida.

"Just about that incident back in middle school. The rumors reached even Horikita, apparently, even though she was in a different class."

Kushida increased the pressure on my throat and forced me against the wall with every bit of strength she could muster. I was still holding onto her breast, but she seemed too occupied with the words that had left my mouth and didn't even notice this simple fact on a conscious level.

"That fucking bitch! Tch. What rumors?"

"About what you did in your class."

"Fuck!"

Her flat palm crushed into the wall right beside me. Kushida was furious, beyond a reasonable doubt.

Emotions were dangerous, however.

As soon as you let them get too close to you, you were opening yourself up for an attack. Your reasoning will get blurred, and you might say things you didn't intend to, or reveal information you weren't supposed to.

"Listen to me, you piece of shit!" She grabbed me with both of her hands and glared into my eyes. "Did she tell anyone else that I destroyed my class? Or are you the only one?"

"Since she pretty much only talks with me, I doubt that she told anyone aside from me. But I can't say for certain."

With this, I had achieved what I came for. The rest was easily discernable with the information I had.

Who was Kushida Kikyou?

An angel. Loved by everyone, trusted by everyone. People like Hirata, me, and so many others came to her with our problems. We confided in her, and she kept our deepest, darkest secrets.

But what if that suddenly changed?

What if she someday decided to reveal the secrets she had been aware of, for the entire world to see?

Discord would ensue, and a peaceful class would plummet into chaos before self-destructing.

Her reasons for acting the way she did were beyond what I could work out with the current amount of information in my possession. Maybe it was an accident, or maybe she wanted to destroy her class to take revenge on someone.

In the end, none of this mattered.

As long as I could control her.

"Can you let go of me now?"

She relaxed the pressure that she was putting on my throat and backed up a step. This was also when she noticed that my hand was still embracing her breast. She yanked my arm away with a disgusted expression and spit in front of my shoes as if I was an insect, or something on the same level.

"Fucking creep. Did you enjoy touching my tits, you damn imbecile?"

My hand slit into my pocket, where I pressed a few buttons and...

"Ahhh, so annoying!"

Thud!

Thud!

Thud!

"Why can't she just die?"

Kushida's face turned ashen, and I fast forwarded the recording some time.

"... did in your class."

"Fuck!"

Thud!

"Listen to me, you piece of shit! Did she tell anyone else that I destroyed my class? Or are you the only one?"

After revealing this much for her, I stopped the recording and established eye contact with the girl that stared at me as if I was some kind of ghost.

"Really convenient, right? These smartphones, I mean. They have everything. From our points, recording functions and contacts, to a messenger a student could use to send files around. There's even a school board if I remember correctly..."

Kushida's face morphed into a grimace that was humanly impossible. Her ashen face soon turned red in anger as her fists and legs began to tremble from the seething rage she tried to hold back.

"Give me... the phone."

"Ahh, no can do. Sorry."

I shrugged and slid the phone into my back pocket.

Kushida growled and rushed towards me. Her right fist flew towards my face, which left her other side exposed.

She seemed to think that she was superior to me in terms of physical strength. Or did she perhaps think that I wouldn't hit a woman? Was this the reason for her half-assed attack?

My right blocked the fist that was coming for me, while my left pulled back and snapped forward into her face.

A dull sound rippled through the air.

"Eh?"

Kushida held her cheek with a shocked expression on her face, unable to believe that she had just received a backhand slap. It wasn't a very strong hit, so her jowl was only slightly reddened.

There would be no proof left after I was done with breaking Kushida like a toy doll.

I stepped forward and grabbed the collar of her uniform.

Reversing our positions, I shoved her up against the wall before my palm embraced her throat. Her own attire, which she wanted to utilize to accuse me of rape, was now shielding my hand from touching her skin, where I would have left fingerprints if I had touched her.

Due to the grip and pressure I exerted onto her esophagus, she began to struggle, which led to her uniform slipping up, exposing her smooth, silky belly.

Nothing to get excited about, really, but still a welcome sight.

I put more strength into my arm and lifted her until she was hovering over the floor. Even if she tried to tiptoe, she wouldn't be able to reach the ground anymore.

The girl opened her mouth to scream, which is why I put even more pressure into my grip.

Air escaped her lungs as she desperately struggled, gasped and pleaded.

"Ay...ouji..."

She was kicking and lashing out with her arms, but neither of these pitiful attempts could stop me from pinning her against the wall and cutting off her air supply.

"... Air... lease... ouji... eathe..."

I tilted my head to the side and closed in on her, since I had difficulties understanding her words.

"What are you saying, Kushida? I can't hear you." I tapped my ear with my free hand. "Do you have trouble breathing?"

She nodded while tears streamed out of her gorgeous, terror-stricken eyes. Her desperate attempts to free herself had long since stopped as she was getting weaker under the constant pressure.

"...ji-ku... dyi..."

"What is it, Kushida? Do you think you are dying?"

She nodded again as her face began to lose color.

"And why should I care?"

Her pleading gaze changed into something akin to horror, as she stared into my eyes, which were void of emotion.

Dread, fright, terror and panic.

All these words described the feelings that went through Kushida's magnificent appearance at that current moment. Because after looking into my abyss, she had seen my disinterest and apathy about her situation.

"Whether you live or die has nothing to do with me."

This wasn't a lie.

I didn't care whether she lived or died.

I saw it more often than I could count. The exact moment when the warmth was extinguished out of a child.

That spark of life, which had gleamed in their eyes before, had gone extinct and only darkness remained.

I had countless lives on my conscience.

Not because I went around killing people like a madman, no...

Simply because I intended to survive the White Room.

My success sealed the fate of the other children in my generation.

They died because I lived.

Even now, after I had escaped this white hell, I was the reason that Matsuo died, or will soon draw his last breath. If I had to guess, it would likely be the former, since his enemy was that man.

There was no way he could escape him for over a month. Not with a family he needed to protect.

Tears streamed down Kushida's eyes and soaked her uniform, which absorbed the liquid and moistened my hand.

The life in her eyes, that bright light that sparkled in her two irises, became weaker and weaker.

If I kept this pressure up, she would faint and ultimately die from suffocation.

She gazed straight into my abyssal void and understood that this could be the point where her story ended.

My cold, apathetic expression and my calm demeanor told her that I was not joking around.

If I wanted to let Kushida Kikyou die, then she would.

- Word Count: 15285 / 69209 Characters

Released 14.05.2022

Chapter 10 - Queen (Part 2)

Kushida collapsed onto the floor with a loud thud, coughing and gasping for air. She remained on the ground on all fours and caressed her throat, as if to check if everything was still behaving the way it was supposed to. The teardrops dripped down her cheeks before splashing onto the cold concrete and gathering in the small grooves of the roof.

She panted and wheezed while stealing fearful glances at me. The mortified girl peeked at the door as well, but she seemed to have realized that running for it would have been one of the worst things she could do.

I squatted and gazed down at the pitiful figure in front of me.

"Look at me."

Goosebumps formed on her smooth, almost perfect skin as she picked up on my apathetic, veritable arctic voice. Like a marionette, whose strings I held in my palms, her gaze fixated on my eyes. The terror of almost dying was still fresh in her memory, which is why her whole body trembled upon realizing that I could still finish the job.

My classmate shivered and crawled back as far as she could. She reached the wall and backed up further the other way until she was cornered by the railing on her back and the cold, rough brickwork to her right.

"Do you understand how foolish it was to threaten me?"

Kushida nodded like a terrified animal as she squeezed herself into the corner as far as humanly possible.

This would be anyone's reaction after almost dying.

Probably...

I had no first-hand experience with such a feeling, so I wasn't sure. I could only assume that it was unpleasant when your life was in someone else's hands.

"From now on, you will do as I tell you. Is that understood?"

If we kept running around in circles like we used to during the past month, we would never reach Class A.

Once again, she nodded, not daring to make eye contact with me.

"You have a mouth. Use it."

She winced and swallowed her saliva.

"Y-yes. I... I w-will w-ork with y-you."

Her words were raspy and hesitant, and her body trembled with every syllable she spoke. Even though I hadn't explicitly stated for what I needed her, the girl's subconscious had immediately denied anything she didn't want to think about.

Those words left a lot of room for interpretation, after all.

Kushida was terrified of what I could do to her. This much was obvious. But there still seemed to be a misconception which I should take care of as soon as possible.

"With me?" I glared down at her pathetic, downright miserable existence. "In which of your fantasies are we on equal footing, Kushida? You belong to me now. You will do as I say, or you will regret it."

I reached out to her and caressed over her smooth, tender chin. She turned her face away to escape my grasp, but couldn't back up further since she had maneuvered herself into a corner.

Her teardrops ran across my fingers, which grazed over her soft cheek, and slid towards the ground.

She lowered her head to the floor to evade my touch and covered the back of her head with her two small hands. Her following words were conveyed with a shaky, barely audible voice.

"I u-understand. I w-will work f-for y-you."

Kushida wasn't the sort of girl that would obediently listen without being crushed thoroughly.

The shock and angst made her temporarily submissive, but this would end as soon as she had the chance to retaliate. After seeing the extent of her other side for myself, I was sure of that fact. If even one ember of her spirit was left alight, no matter how dimly it smoldered, a fire would eventually break out.

I needed to break her. Body and spirit alike.

Only then would this girl truly be subservient to me.

"Stand up."

She stood, as instructed, and gazed toward the ground.

That cheeky, impertinent girl from before was nowhere to be seen, as her whole body trembled in pure terror. If she stayed like this from hereon out, she would become utterly useless to me, which is why I needed to create an incentive to improve herself.

"Move. Over there."

I nodded towards the railing, around two meters from her current position, away from the wall.

The girl clasped her hands as if praying and moved forward while pinching and caressing her palm. After reaching the designated spot, her pacifying gestures stopped as she turned towards me with a frightened expression.

"Undress."

Her face paled, and her pupils contorted in shock upon hearing this single bone-chilling word.

Tears began to stream down her beautiful eyes, which were reflecting nothing but despair and dread. She shook her head, spraying her teardrops over the desolate rooftop.

"N-no... lease... Ayano..ji-ku... I... Everyth... but..."

Half of her words were swallowed by her continuous sobbing.

"I won't repeat myself." I stared into her eyes. "Strip."

Kushida burst into tears as she began to unbutton the shirt beneath her uniform's blazer. She bit her lip and fumbled around, shivering and sniveling but eventually managed to undo one button.

Then a second.

And a third.

There were a few more, of course, but the third button was the first to reveal the bra which she wore underneath her uniform in all its glory. The fabric was dark-bluish, with a light blue stripe pattern spanning around it.

Her underwear wasn't nearly as luscious as Fuka's but pretty cute, which looked quite good on her and fit into the persona she had created for herself.

"Now do a stance. Something cute but provocative, you know? Smile and make a peace sign or whatever. And get rid of those tear streaks on your face. They are killing the mood."

I pulled out my phone and tapped around on it while she followed my commands to the letter.

Kushida covered her palms with her blazers sleeves and wiped the tears off her face. It didn't take long until new ones followed and had to be mopped away yet again. She needed a moment, but soon got into character and forced a smile for the camera.

Click!

A bright light, followed by the sound of the shutter.

Click!

Again...

Click!

... and again...

Click!

... and again.

Every time the intense white light flashed into her face, Kushida closed her eyes and shed some tears. Every time the shutter reverberated through the area, she winced and sobbed as her body shivered.

"Take your bra off and cover your breasts with your arm."

Once again, the girl in front of me broke out into tears.

Even though she wanted nothing more than to leave this place, she couldn't do anything but comply with my commands time and time again. She realized that there was no escape.

If she hadn't listened, I would have forced her.

If she had screamed, I would have silenced her by force.

I ordered her to bite into her bra while she was covering her breasts in some alluring poses. These postures got more specific and daring as time went on, as she had to flash her nipples or lay her breasts bare in front of me.

After each new arrangement, the light flashed, and the shutter's cold mechanical sounds rippled through the fresh evening breeze and were carried away by the wind.

"You are almost done. Great work, Kushida. Now, pull up your skirt."

Tears still streamed down her charming, whimpering face and soaked her uniform. She clenched her fists and reached towards her skirt before pulling it up in a slow and unsteady motion.

Click!

Click!

Click!

Just like before, her body reacted to the visual and auditory stimuli, as they burned themselves into her shattering mind.

Without mercy, I kept shredding and tearing away at everything she held dear.

Her freedom, her dignity, and her sanity.

"Touch yourself."

Her eyes opened wide, quivering, deforming in fear as she experienced the purest form of dread in her entire life.

And there it was.

That short moment, when the light in her eyes dimmed. When she began to lose all hope and abandoned the foolish thought that she might somehow escape this place with her mentality and sense of self intact.

As she began to rub her finger against her panties, the light on the phone's camera lit up like a floodlight that was following her every move. There was no repeated shutter sound rippling through the air, just the awareness that all she did at that moment was captured on video.

Some time passed, and the floodlights dimmed after they had caught sight of her juices oozing through her previously light blue panties. As the sticky substance coated her fingers, she whimpered due to the embarrassment and horror she must have felt during the whole process.

This wet sensation didn't mean that she was aroused or enjoying this situation, of course. It was nothing but a simple physiological reaction to her stimulation for the last few minutes, which she couldn't do anything against.

"You can get dressed again. Remember that I have the pictures, this wonderful performance and the recording from before. Any of these would ruin you. If you try anything funny, you will be punished. Is that understood?"

A weak, pitiful nod followed my question as the broken girl pulled her hand out of her panties. The transparent, syrupy substance drew strings as she spread her trembling fingers before they mixed with the tears that dropped onto her palm.

Kushida grimaced and wiped her hands clean on the inside of her uniform before she began to button up her shirt again.

"Do you still have plans with anyone today?"

"No..."

She shook her head and folded her arms in front of her in a defensive posture after finishing up with her attire.

"Good. You will go home now. Once inside your room, you will take a nice hot bath and return to your jolly and happy Kushida persona for school tomorrow. If you get any stupid ideas, keep them to yourself or you will face the consequences."

"Yes, I understand..."

She didn't stammer anymore, but her voice felt hollow, as if she had lost the will to care. It seemed like she had isolated herself from her physical surroundings and tried to create a safe space in her mind.

I inched closer, which her subconscious immediately noticed.

Kushida jumped back in fear, shivering, crying and bumped into the railing behind her.

"Don't be like that. Your uniform looks horrible right now. Let me take care of it before you leave."

The tremors that were traveling through her body increased in intensity as I kept tidying up the uniform around her neck area, where my hand had rested for a prolonged amount of time to strangle her.

I was being gentle this time around, as I straightened her clothes and obscured the partial prints that might have been on her uniform just to be on the safe side.

Her body flinched as my hands slid down her waist and hips to make sure everything was in order.

"Good as new."

I nodded, happy with my work.

"Thank you..."

Kushida stared at me, but her eyes were focusing on something different. She disconnected herself as much as possible to protect her frail and severely fragmented state of mind.

"You may leave now."

"Okay... See you tomorrow."

Her voice was soft and concise.

She grabbed her bag from the ground and trudged towards the door before descending the stairs with slow but steady steps. The almost inaudible teardrops, however, kept making their way towards the ground on her way off the rooftop.

I waited for a few moments before I ambled down the flight of stairs as well. I walked into Fuka on the next floor, who had been waiting for me. She seemed different from before, reserved and somewhat anxious.

"Are you okay?"

"Oh, yeah. It was just so sudden and unexpected."

She didn't lie, but she also wasn't completely straightforward with me. The fact that she had waited for me was enough for the moment, which is why I turned my focus to a different topic.

"Are you afraid of me?"

I made eye contact with her and she stared right back at me through the two abyssal orbs that attempted to devour her.

"I was."

"What about now?"

"I'm feeling unease. But I don't think that I am afraid anymore."

It was a good sign that she was still honest with me.

Even after taking a peek behind the curtain, she hadn't abandoned me or tried to run away. She waited for me, knowing that I would be curious about her feelings towards me.

Maybe she was worthy of using after all.

I wasn't sure until now, but I felt the need to ascertain her more until I could arrive at a definitive conclusion.

"You recorded as well?"

"Yes, until I received a call which stopped the recording. Just seconds before you took action, apparently."

The girl threw a knowing smirk my way.

"Wow, coincidences can be freaky."

I held out my hand in front of her and Fuka placed her phone inside my palm just a moment later.

She recognized that this was an essential step in getting me to trust her further. If she had vanished or denied giving me the phone, I would have realized that I needed to act against her.

She had made the first move in unmasking me, which began our relationship. Today, I made the first attempt at putting my trust in her. I was prepared for any eventuality and wouldn't depend on her unconditionally, of course, but baby steps were still steps.

I was learning and growing day by day.

After unlocking her phone with my birthday, I scrutinized everything before giving her the device back.

"What's for dinner?"

She wore a thin, genuine smile.

"I already ate at the study group. I'm not hungry either, so you should go home for today."

"Mhh. Fine. Goodnight, Kiyotaka."

"Goodnight, Fuka."

She spun around and descended the stairs in her usual pace.

There was no sign that anything was amiss.

After a light supper to sate my hunger, I relaxed on my bed and began browsing through some messages on my phone.

Time passed until someone knocked on my door.

I checked a certain object that was fixed in every students dorm room and found that the clock hands reported the time as 10:03 PM.

It was rather late, but I wasn't tired.

My curiosity was piqued as well, since it was strange to receive a visitor this late.

I pocketed my phone and dragged my heavy feet over the floor until I reached the door. I unlocked the key-operated door chain and glanced through the crack as I pulled it open.

"Chabashira-sensei? What might I do for you at such a late hour?"

Aside from my homeroom teacher, there were two other people with her. According to their getup, these individuals belonged to the school's security personnel. Their gazes were impassive, which differed to Sae, who seemed annoyed with the whole situation.

"Get dressed and grab your phone. You are coming with me."

I threw her a quizzical look before stumbling back towards my wardrobe, where I slipped into my school uniform. My three guests observed me without moving until I arrived at the door.

My homeroom teacher spun around and walked off, prompting me to follow. One of the security guards waited in front of the still opened dorm room, while the other joined the two of us.

"Did something happen Chabashira-sensei?"

She peeked at me for a split second, but kept her mouth shut and ignored my question.

Our group of three wandered through the dimly lit school grounds until we reached the main building. We ascended the stairs and strode through the bright corridors, which felt a lot longer than usual.

I glanced around with interest, as this was the first time I visited the school after curfew.

The halls and passages that were frequently filled with students were empty now, which made this whole trip feel somewhat eerie. Chabashira-sensei's high-heels clacked against the ground and produced a sound that reverberated through the hallway with every step she took.

After a walk that felt much lengthier than it was in reality, we stopped in front of the faculty offices.

"Go ahead."

Chabashira-sensei opened the door for me, for which I thanked her with a light bow before wandering inside. She and our new entourage escorted me into the room that was situated right next to the guidance room.

It wasn't labeled, so I had always assumed that it was a second staff room of sorts.

A man in his forties sat on a chair in front of his laptop. This individual glanced at me with a stern look as the door opened.

"Sit."

There wasn't much equipment in the room, aside from a table, three chairs and a few dusty cabinets.

Chabashira-sensei and I strode into the room to take our seats while the security guard stood back and closed the door for us. It seemed like he remained on standby outside in case something happened.

But still... no one had mentioned what this was all about.

"Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. Student-ID: S01T004651. Class 1-D. Homeroom teacher: Chabashira Sae." He peered at me with a disinterested expression. "Is that information correct so far?"

I peeked at Chabashira-sensei, whose poker face was as impressive as always.

"I'm not sure about the Student-ID, Sir. But the rest is correct."

My homeroom teacher shook her head in exasperation, as if she was disappointed in me.

"Your phone, please."

His voice felt heavy and somewhat grumpy, but not entirely unpleasant as he put forth his hand. I complied with his demands, pulled the phone out of my pocket and placed it inside the man's palm.

"May I ask why I am here, Sir? Chabashira-sensei?"

I turned my question to both of them, since I wasn't sure if either was restricted from responding due to certain school rules I was unfamiliar with, in case they only applied to staff members and other employees.

"The school received an anonymous complaint, which claimed that you blackmailed a female student and forced her to take off her clothes and similar sexually explicit behavior. The person insisted that they saw you taking pictures and videos with your phone of said girl's private areas as well."

Wow, that's a horrible thing to say about someone...

The man's voice was calm and unbiased. It wasn't as if he didn't believe the report, but he simply chose to withhold his subjective view on this matter until he could confirm the claims for himself, proving that he was indeed a professional.

"What? That's nonsense. I would never do something so horrible and inhuman."

In the best-case scenario, I would have acted taken aback and lashed out somewhat after hearing such a scandalous accusation. It would be more than understandable to react with anger or frustration in such a high-pressure situation. But that simply wasn't part of my skill set, which was why I couldn't do anything but reply to him in my usual monotone voice.

I needed some guidance on that front, but even with help, it would take quite a while until I could manage to emulate such difficult human emotions. It wasn't hard to grasp their meaning and pick up on them, but to replicate these sentiments was a whole other matter.

The man connected my phone to his laptop and began typing and clicking away, likely starting a program or something that would go through my phone's files. I also assumed that the security guard that was left behind at my dorm room oversaw the raid in my apartment.

I hoped that they would leave my chessboards alone, since it would be bothersome to set them up again.

"And we are here to verify just that. As we speak, a second group of investigators is searching your dorm computer for copies of said pictures and videos. We will also check the outgoing and incoming messages on your computer and the phone in the specified timeframe. If there are even remnants of said files found, you will be expelled effective immediately and the police will initiate a more thorough investigation into your crime. In case you did nothing, you will be free to attend school tomorrow, as usual."

"What if anyone were to see the commotion in my room? I don't want such serious accusations hanging over me. Even though they are wrong, my quality of life would be impaired due to the bad rumours that would without a doubt spread around."

If someone discovered the current situation in front of my room, it was a fair assumption that they might start to gossip about what they observed. Even if I tried, I wouldn't be able to explain all those people rummaging through my apartment in the middle of the night.

"Rest assured that the school already prepared paperwork that will explain the commotion with a leaking pipe in your room, in case of your innocence. Chabashira-sensei and the other teachers will then explain the circumstances to their respective classes first thing in the morning, which would leave no room for speculation."

The school had apparently figured everything out before they began their move on me, which was to be expected. It would have been a disaster if an innocent student was expelled or discriminated against because of such a serious denunciation.

"What about the person who reported me? Will the perpetrator be held responsible in any way?"

The man nodded as the clicking sounds of the keyboard rang through the room.

"Yes, if the accusations are proven to be false, a second investigation into the anonymous student will start according to our schools standard procedures in such a case."

"That's reassuring, thank you. I'd also like to know which faculty members are aware of this incident. It's fine for Chabashira-sensei since she is with me now and probably receiving updates throughout the investigation, but I would be troubled if other teachers thought about me as a perverted, potentially dangerous deviant."

I needed to make sure what sort of information teachers like Hoshinomiya would receive. In case the teachers were made aware about the allegations and the examination, I needed to keep a closer eye on her and prepare a surefire defense for any attack that might come my way.

"Only Chabashira-sensei, a second technician, and I will know of these accusations. If they turn out to be false, there won't be any blowback on you. The school takes these matters seriously due to the special procedures our school employs to ensure a fair competition between the classes."

The school had thought about every little detail which could turn into a problem during such an operation. Even though I had already expected something like this, it was reassuring to know for certain.

The man was rather open about his explanation, likely because we had already been told what made this school special. He kept typing and clicking away on his laptop to complete his examination of my phone, while I leaned back in the chair, satisfied with the answers I had received.

Chabashira-sensei, who sat beside me, yawned and was apparently sleepy. Her charming eyelids closed momentarily before opening back up. This situation must have inconvenienced her quite a lot, which was why she gave off this sour feeling.

She was probably bored in her bed anyway. At least, this was fairly exciting.

The time kept ticking away until I eventually got my phone back, which had turned out to be clean.

He desisted from asking me a lot of questions, since nothing had been found here or in my room for quite some time, so we just went over my day while we waited for the investigation on the other side to conclude.

Our conversation came to a halt somewhere down the line as we had gone over everything he wanted to know, which is why I spent the rest of my time idling in the group chat.

Satou seemed to have joined while my phone was being investigated.

Ike, Sudou, Okitani and our new member seemed intent on taking revenge on Horikita, according to the latest chat history. They forced me into the conversation as well, saying that I was on Horikita's side all the time, but I swiftly denied that allegation.

In the end, the four of them still decided to bully her.

Since I couldn't have that right now, I shot Ike a quick personal message and asked him how Kushida would feel about something like this. Not even ten seconds later, the love-struck boy reasoned that they shouldn't bully her, as this was a cruel and nasty thing to do.

Satou complained about him just moments later because he had changed his mind in a matter of seconds. They bickered for a bit, but the group chat calmed down eventually, as the conversation drifted into another topic.

I wasn't interested in their new argument, so I messaged one of the group members in a private chat.

[11:44:19 PM] What are you doing in this group, anyway? Didn't you hate their guts?

[11:44:49 PM[Satou] Oh, I do! I was planted as a spy by Karuizawa. This way, we always know what those idiots are up to, and they won't run their mouths about us. We are pretty ingenious, aren't we? You can admit it, I won't brag.

That plan was so full of holes that I wondered how they managed to keep it afloat for this long...

[11:44:57 PM] Smart indeed. I can't believe you girls could be this crafty.

[11:45:12 PM[Satou] Heeheeeee ~ (_-)

Around ten minutes later, the aforementioned second technician walked into the room and confirmed that my computer was free of any illegal pictures, videos and other files. They both apologized for the inconvenience this had caused me, even though it was their job to make sure that such dangerous predators were locked up.

I told them that it was fine, since the truth was more important than my missing sleep or the time I had lost.

We said our farewells before the two men departed, leaving Chabashira-sensei and me alone in the room.

"Say, how anonymous can an anonymous complaint at this school be?"

"It depends. There is always a trace. The perpetrator will be found eventually." Sae shrugged, not bothering to elaborate any further.

"What are the potential repercussions for said perpetrator?"

"Since the accusation this time was quite serious, expulsion will be on the table. But you have the final say in the matter."

"Huh? Me?"

That really surprised me. If this was the case, then there was no need to help Kushida, who had likely filed the complaint against me. I had made some plans in case she might be in danger of expulsion, but I only wasted my time.

Well, I had little to do in here, anyway...

"Yes. The school attaches great importance to the autonomy of the students. Since someone tried to frame you with a crime in order to get you expelled, you may make the final decision after the perpetrator was found and processed by the schools superintendents. You will decide whether they get expelled, suspended for a certain amount of time, or if they only get a slight hit on the wrist for their wrongdoings."

I would prefer to hit her somewhere else, but I couldn't say such a thing out loud after doing those terrible things to her.

"Will the two from just now be handling that investigation as well?"

"No, someone else will. They won't know anything except that they have to find a person who submitted the false complaint. What kind of complaint it was is none of their concern until the responsible party is found."

It was quite impressive how they had thought of every little detail in such a hypothetical scenario. But I shouldn't have expected anything less by a government funded school.

"Do you know who reported you?"

"Yes, I do. Probably... It depends on how she did it. If she met up with someone and used their phone for the complaint, I might be in for a nice surprise."

She peered at me with her usual poker face.

"You are walking on very thin ice, Ayanokouji."

Wow, that was rude... She wasn't even asking if I really did those things to her and jumped to the worst possible conclusion she could have gone for.

Talk about heartless...

"There is no need for you to worry, Chabashira-sensei."

On my journey back to my cozy room, I caught sight of a girl that I hadn't expected to see at this time of the night. She was still donning her school uniform and sneaked away from the dorms while gazing left and right, making sure she wasn't being followed.

I decided to accompany her in the shadows as she vanished behind a building. This behavior was out of character for a serious person like her, which is why I wondered if I might get a glimpse of her weakness, or a secret she wanted to keep hidden.

A few meters away stood a man — another student, to be specific.

She walked towards him without being spooked or slowing down, meaning that he was the boy she was meeting. I pulled out my phone and started another recording, just in case it might come in handy. As I wondered whether this man might be her secret boyfriend, I recognized the person who was waiting for Horikita.

"Suzune. I didn't think you would follow me this far."

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

"Catch up to me? Weren't you placed in Class D? I suppose nothing has changed in the last three years. You've always been fixated on following me, and as a result, you don't notice your own flaws. You being placed in Class D is proof of that. Choosing to come to this school was a mistake."

His eyes were cold, bordering on apathy as he looked at his sister. He also knew that Horikita wasted her potential because she was unable to realize her own shortcomings, which supported Fuka's words.

Horikita Manabu was a highly capable and intelligent student.

"That's... no. You're wrong. I'll reach Class A and then —"

"It's pointless. You'll never reach Class A. Your class will fall apart soon enough. This school isn't as simple as you think."

The lone girl stretched out her arm towards her brother as he cut her off. Just like her words, which were filled with longing, her arm sank before she could reach him.

Horikita came to this school for the sole reason of showing her brother that she wasn't as useless as he had thought. The truth of this matter, however, was that she was even more incompetent than he could have anticipated.

According to Fuka, the student council president was one of the most powerful individuals at this school. He knew the rules and how to bend them to his advantage. Someone like the current Horikita Suzune could never hope to replicate just a fraction of his abilities.

She would fail before she even began, as seen in any of her actions until now.

"I will definitely reach —"

"I told you it's pointless. You really are a disobedient little sister."

Once again, the elder Horikita cut her off. He didn't show a single positive emotion towards his little sister.

Even for him, her own brother, she was nothing but an uninteresting object that had failed to bloom. A defective product that was difficult, maybe impossible, to refurbish.

I still held high hopes for her eventual change, but that may just be because I had gotten to know her only recently. Her brother should have a much better read on her than I did, so his statement should be considered as a fact. Horikita hadn't changed in the last three years, which meant that my attempts might be fruitless as well.

'Might be', being the keywords here.

He grabbed Horikita by the wrist and shoved her against the wall. She seemed caught off-guard, but even afterwards, there was no indication that she wanted to put up any kind of resistance. Her quivering, clouded eyes also stopped emanating her usual cold and confident aura.

"No matter how hard I try to avoid you, that troubling fact that you are my little sister remains. Do you realize how humiliating it would be if other students learned about you, the failure of the Horikita name? Leave this school. Immediately."

"I... I can't... do that... I'll show you what I'm capa—"

A shallow sound rippled through the air as the student council president shoved her down on the ground.

Horikita, who hit her head on the building behind her, winced in pain.

"You aren't capable enough to leave Class D. That is an irrefutable fact. You possess neither the abilities nor the qualities to even reach Class C."

He stared down at his sister with a distant and uncaring attitude.

There was not a single hint of remorse after raising his hand against his own flesh and blood. His sibling, no less.

"That's w-wrong. N-Nii-san. I will — argh."

A painful shout reverberated through the vicinity as her brother punched her straight into the abdomen. From my current position, I couldn't see where exactly he had hit her, but from her reaction alone, it shouldn't have been anything too serious.

"You are not welcome here, Suzune. There was a reason you were allotted to Class D, but you still cannot see it. I assume that your homeroom teacher told you by now that you are part of the worst Class D in the entire history of this school. Do you know how embarrassing it was for me when my assistant learned about my useless sister? I never felt so ashamed in my entire life."

He grabbed her face and pulled her up, forcing her to stare into his eyes.

"I don't want you here. All you do is soil our good name. My good name. Leave, before you ridicule yourself even more."

Once again, he shoved her backwards against the wall.

The back of her head hit the building with such force that she bounced forward and hit the concrete pavement with her forehead. She groaned and wallowed in the dirt while her brother walked away without granting her a second glance.

"N-Nii-san..."

Horikita's voice was weak. Pitiful even.

She was miserable and heartbroken that her brother thought so little of her after she had attempted to reach this school in order to show him how worthy she was. Yet all she did was disappoint and displease him. She must have felt this painful truth more than anyone else.

The truth that her cherished and respected elder brother thought nothing of her.

After the student council president vanished into the darkness, I stopped the recording.

I hadn't seen a reason to help Horikita, since she had done all of this to herself. There was no use in picking up the incompetent and telling them that everything would get better with time.

Because it wouldn't.

If you were weak, you would stop existing somewhere down the line.

This held true for both the White Room and this school.

The only upside to her situation now was that she got to keep her life and could try again tomorrow or in a few years. If she had failed in the White Room, she would have been deemed a failure and a liability before being disposed of.

This world was an endlessly cruel place.

Most people lived in the light, but that didn't change the fact that others were born and raised in pitch black darkness.

I glanced upwards at the moon, which gifted us all with a glimpse of its luminous ambience.

It was already late, but today was the most interesting date in my new school life yet.

I shot a certain someone a quick message and walked out of my hiding spot, as there was no reason to observe Horikita's pitiful ramblings any longer.

Since I was still wide awake and already outside, I might as well grasp this opportunity and take care of a few additional arrangements for the upcoming days.

"Good morning Kushida-chan!"

"Kushida-san, good morning."

"Kushida-san..."

"Kushida-chan..."

I took a deep breath and approached everyone with a bright smile.

While these expressions were fake most of the time, today in particular, I wanted them to be genuine. After everything that had happened yesterday, that disgusting piece of shit would be no more. That sick, perverted bastard was violent, evil, cold and ruthless, but as dumb and perverted as they came.

My mood took a sharp nosedive as the memories of yesterday's events began to wash up in my mind.

With what that disgusting piece of human trash did to me, there was no way that I would take this abuse without retaliating. That sick psycho fucker. Fuck!

But it was alright now...

As soon as our homeroom lesson would start in a few minutes, Chabashira-sensei will tell anyone that this nauseating fuck was expelled. Hopefully, even the reason for his timely goodbye. Then I can dance on his fucking desk while thinking about a way to get rid of that bitch Horikita, who had told him about me.

I glanced towards the black-haired girl near the window.

Urgh. Just the way she sat made me want to puke my guts out.

And this stupid fucking imbecile that used to sit beside her. Did he really think that he could take perverted pictures of me and get off of my pain without me reciprocating this suffering?

Fucking dumb idiot piece of shit! It didn't even matter that he had the recording, since it would have been taken away from him immediately after my complaint. And that was bye-bye, you sickening bastard.

I kept chatting with my friends in class while waiting for the good news to arrive. They all loved and cared deeply about me, and that was all I ever wanted. Their trust. This indescribable feeling of power over them.

It was intoxicating.

"Mh, Kiyotaka is late today, isn't he?"

Matsushita's somewhat annoying voice echoed through the classroom.

Kiyotaka, urgh fuck.

That damn slut didn't even know half of it and was so damn buddy-buddy with that disgusting imbecile. Fuck, I'm seriously gonna puke if I hear his fucking name again.

Gosh! I'm so fucking furious. That goddamn piece of shit.

I wanted nothing more than to beat something up and scream my lungs out to free up my mind. But this had to wait until after classes. Right now, I needed to smile and calm myself.

"Now that you mention it, he's pretty late, huh?"

"Heeh, Kiyotaka, huh? Since when is that a thing, Matsushita-san?"

"Oh no. Kiyotaka-kuuuu~n! I'm so lonely without you!"

"Hey! What are you talking about? It's not like that at all..."

Matsushita took a deep breath as she was being pestered by Karuizawa.

The girls kept goofing around and even I chimed in from time to time, even though my stomach churned every time I heard that sickening name.

"Speaking of Ayanokouji-kun, I saw Chabashira-sensei and some other guys in front of his room yesterday evening. I wonder what that was about..."

"Really, Onodera-san? He did nothing bad, right?"

Mori tilted her head and glanced towards Matsushita.

"There's no way Kiyotaka would do something bad. There was probably something wrong in his room."

"I agree. I don't think Ayanokouji-kun could do anything bad. He's a pretty decent guy, not like some others in this class..."

More and more girls supported their claims after Matsushita and Karuizawa spoke up in his defense, even if Mori's question was just a harmless one. It didn't sound like she wanted to badmouth him either, but was just out to tease Matsushita in particular, since the two of them had become quite close during our time here.

But that stupid fuck was gone now.

"Ah, speak of the devil!" Matsushita's bright laugh rang through the room as she raised her hand and waved at someone behind me. "Good morning, Kiyotaka!"

Those words halted my heart.

My eyes went wide and all the blood in my body vanished with a snap.

The light ringing sound in my ears grew louder and more prevalent, as I felt my body wobble back and forth. My entire vision began to twist and turn before it spun out of control.

"Kushida-san?"

"... you okay, Kushida-chan?"

"...-chan?"

I wasn't able to understand a single sentence as I only saw the movements of their mouths. Everything was blurred and contorted. Everything except this one demonic voice that echoed through the room and originated behind me.

"Morning, Chiaki. Let's catch up later. Chabashira-sensei was right behind me."

My body spun around. I didn't want or order it to, but it acted on its own. The reflection of Sotomura's watch produced a flash of light as I turned, which blinded me for a moment.

Click!

My heart stopped and so did my breathing.

"Look at what I bought yesterday!"

"That's hella cute, oh my god! Let me take a picture."

Click!

Another bright flash flared up my eyes, which made me relive the scenes from last night.

No... No, no, no, no, no...

After my vision returned, he stood in front of me. The brown-haired, yellow-eyed devil.

He glanced at me, as if nothing had happened, before his face morphed into a twisted, diabolical grin that tore through my entire being.

"Hey Kushida. Yesterday evening was nice, wasn't it?"

"Huuuh, huuuh, huuuh..."

I tried to inhale and exhale. But I couldn't. It was so hard...

Why?

why?

WhY?

He can't be here...

HOW?!

His hands flashed forward, clutching my throat. I tried to breathe, take in some air, but it was impossible. No matter how much I wanted to, he didn't let me. The pressure on my throat continued.

Tougher.

Tighter.

Firmer.

He kept exerting more and more pressure. The devil squeezed my windpipe and ultimately crushed it as if it was nothing but a vile and disturbing insect.

I'm dying. I'm dying. I'm dying.

My heart.

Someone?!

Anyone?!

I can't...

I'm dying?!

Please...

I'm...

"Kushida-chan?!"

"Sensei ..."

"... sick ..."

"... we'll ..."

Eh? Why does everyone look so worried?

"..."

Why can't I hear anything?

"..."

It's so cold...

"..."

I can't feel my arms...

"..."

I can't feel my legs...

"..."

What's happening to me?

"Lie ... infirmary ..."

Why am I lying on the floor?

"Can ... me?"

Since when...

"... hear ...?"

"... shida-chan!"

"... -san!"

"Kush..."

"... way ..."

...

...

P̴̡͚͕͕͍͎̪̠̙̀́͒̂͝͝ͅl̸̯̳̗̻̉ͅẹ̸̑̂͊̈́̇̍̃̉̎͝ā̷̡͖̪̻͎̦̳̰͎͙̒͊͘ś̶̠̻̬̳̠̿͑̃̐͜e̷̥̗͙̹͐̉̄̒͝.̸̯̘̥̬̘̩̓̈́̉̋͐̚.̷͇͓̪͕̭͚̥̻̉͊͗̿̐̓̄̐͋.̸̛̬̟̰̤̥̻̱͎͓̎̒͒̃͛̄͒̕͘ ̷̮̙͒͋̎̍Ḩ̵̡̳͕̯̖̱̮̠̹͊ḛ̷̳͙͕̮͍̫̑̄̉l̶̫͉͇͘p̷̡̞̙̲̬̤̽͌̓͑͊̕ ̸̪͈͆͋͜m̵̹̗̮̘̦̱̉̓ẽ̴̼̺̜̙̰̚ͅ!̵̡̛͈̺̀̾̒͗̍̔̐̈́̕

...

...

...

...

My eyes shot open and a scream of pure terror escaped my mouth as I tried to control my heavy breathing. Sweat dripped all over my body, drenching my loosened uniform.

Steps reverberated through the unfamiliar room until a woman stopped in front of me. She looked relieved, but I didn't understand why or how anyone could feel relaxed right now.

"Ah, you're awake... Kushida Kikyou-san, right? My name is Tominaga Chinatsu, but you can call me Chinatsu-chan. I'm running the infirmary here. For now... would you be alright with answering some questions?"

I stared at the woman in front of me with an absentminded expression. My heart was beating rapidly, which meant that it should pump a good amount of blood through my body.

Then why...

... why was I freezing?

I glanced down at my half open shirt and the blazer that lay on the blanket, both of which were drenched in sweat. Even though the sun shone through the window straight onto me...

... it was so fucking cold.

My whole body trembled, and I felt powerless because I couldn't move at all. I barely managed to shift my head up and down to answer the women's question.

"Okay." Her movements drew a soft smile over her face, which made me feel at ease. "Do you know where you are? Please don't feel pressured. You can take your time answering."

I opened my mouth, but no words followed. I tried to clench my fists, but all my fingers did was tremble without moving.

What happened? How did I end up here? Why do I feel so weak?

"The school..."

After what felt like hours, I managed to form two words.

The doctor nodded and scribbled something onto the document on her clipboard.

"That's correct, Kushida-san. Can you tell me which one?"

"Advanced... Nurturing... High... School..."

"Very good. Are you feeling better?"

"No... I'm cold... I feel dizzy... My arms and legs, they... feel so heavy... and numb... My chest hurts... It's really painful... Sensei, what's happening... to me?"

"According to Chabashira-sensei, your blood-pressure went through the roof shortly after she entered the classroom. It had calmed down somewhat when I examined you, but it was still elevated, which is why I gave you some light medication."

It was hard to listen to her voice. Answering her question wasn't easy, either. My mind couldn't process because it didn't work as it should. All I felt was this indescribable amount of terror.

"Did anything like this happen to you before?"

"No... never..."

She nodded twice and took some more notes.

"The symptoms were rather obvious, so I can tell you with certainty that you had a panic attack. I don't know what caused it, but you don't seem sure either. You should stay here and rest for a bit. I don't think it's anything serious at the moment, but I'd like to run some tests to rule out a few things that might be responsible. Would that be okay with you?"

"Yes... thank you, sensei..."

"Your heart rate is still elevated and you seem rather uneasy... do you want something stronger to calm down? I can give you some benzodiazepines if you are still uncomfortable. It should make resting a lot easier."

"That would be good... I think... Thank you, sensei..."

The doctor nodded and walked over to a locked cabinet.

She pulled the key out of her pocket, which was fastened by a string of sorts and unlocked the door, revealing rows and rows upon medications. After discovering the one she was looking for, she opened up the bottle and took one of the pills before closing the closet back up again.

The woman moved out of my field of view for a few seconds and came back with a glass of water. She tried to hand me both, but I could neither grasp nor lift the glass since my fingers were trembling and not listening to my commands.

The doctor noticed this and helped me ingest the medicine before asking me some follow-up questions.

Afterwards, I curled myself up into a ball.

Even though the medicine and my current position should have improved my state, I still shivered uncontrollably. My heart was beating so fast that I thought it would explode and stop working.

What happened? How did I get here? Why do I feel so terrified?

It didn't take long until my body grew tired, which should have been the effect of the pill I took.

I felt my body calm down and closed my eyes.

Chabashira-sensei walked back into the classroom about ten minutes after she had left with Kushida. The poor girl wasn't able to walk, or even responsive, so our homeroom teacher had carried her over to the infirmary.

As soon as the door closed behind her, questions rained down like hellfire.

"Is Kushida-chan alright?"

"What happened to Kushida-san?"

"She was really pale just now, sensei. Will Kushida-chan be okay?"

The woman receiving those questions seemed quite annoyed as she glared at us.

"Please calm down. Sit and be quiet."

Even though they were unwilling to let go of their questions, they calmed themselves and sat down. Some of them were respecting her words as a teacher, while others were too worried about Kushida to argue with Chabashira-sensei.

"I've brought her to the infirmary, and the doctor said that she would be alright. I can't tell you any more than this, since this would invade her privacy. Just rest assured that we are doing our best to treat her and that she will be fine with a few days of rest."

The whole class sighed in relief.

Kushida was the sort of person everyone would worry about, because everybody loved her. I knew that I had inflicted major mental damages to her, but it was still interesting that she had a panic attack as soon as she saw me. This wasn't part of my initial plan, but that was alright.

Plans were never set in stone. They had to be fluid and adaptable.

If a single cog failed, there needed to be multiple cogs one could choose from to go ahead with the intent behind the scheme. If one planned something to the t, one needed to be prepared to scrap almost everything in case of an unforeseen event.

Therefore, I had foreseen said unforeseeable event, and made sure that everything could proceed without issues.

"Aside from that, I have something else to announce. Yesterday evening there was a leak in Ayanokouji's room. I am mentioning this, because it was important that he told the faculty about it when he did, since it prevented worse things from happening. This means that you shouldn't hesitate to inform the teachers or the service personnel in case anything is broken in your room. The workers fixed the leak yesterday evening without a problem and everything is back in working order. The school will also conduct preliminary investigations in the rooms adjacent to his, to make sure that the issue is contained." She opened up the history book and glanced over the class. "Since we are done with the organizational matters now, open your books at page 172."

Just as they had promised yesterday, the raid was camouflaged as a repair and mentioned to everyone because it was important that the students did the same if they ever ran into a similar problem. Aside from Chabashira-sensei and the investigators in charge, no one would be the wiser.

Even though something like this shouldn't happen often, I assumed that each incident would get its own cover story. This way, the other teachers wouldn't be able to tell if something was going on behind the scenes or if there was an actual problem with the pipes or something similar.

Class passed in the blink of an eye.

Most of my classmates were rather fidgety, likely due to Kushida's circumstances. It was obvious and understandable that they were worried about their friend, but they should keep their emotions in check. I doubted that even half of the class listened to the teachers since they were too occupied with today's events.

After the instructor left the classroom, Hirata took the stage to make an announcement before our break.

"Everyone, please listen for just a moment. I know that we are all worried about Kushida-san, but we shouldn't forget that the midterms will take place soon. The other tutors and myself will still be available today, just like we stated before. I'd also like to ask you that only one representative for our class visits Kushida-san in the infirmary, since she might be overwhelmed if too many students stop by. Please keep her current condition in mind and be considerate of her circumstances."

Hirata was too brilliant for this world. He kept a cool head through this crisis and addressed everyone's thoughts and feelings, which would make it difficult to disagree with him.

After a short discussion, it was decided that Hirata would visit her as Class D's representative, while the others would concentrate on improving their grades to make Kushida proud when she came back. This even influenced Ike and Okitani, who wanted to do their best for the sick girl.

Sudou was the only one that wasn't convinced as he strolled out of the classroom.

I glanced at Hirata, conveying my intentions with my eyes alone. The two of us got pretty good at communicating like this, which felt pleasant. It almost seemed like we were great friends, or something along those lines.

A thin smile appeared on the boys's face.

He nodded before making his way over to Kushida, who should still rest in the infirmary. While he healed our angel with his bright, almost divine aura, I would take care of Sudou.

I walked out of the classroom and caught up to his lone figure not long after leaving the school building.

"Sudou, wait."

"Huh?" He turned around with a grimace. "Oh, come on. Not you as well, Ayanokouji. I don't care about that damn study group."

"Okay...? I didn't really want to talk about that, though."

"What is it then?" He tilted his head.

His voice softened, so it seemed like as long as he wasn't forced to study or listen to anyone babbling about that specific topic, he was fine.

"Just wanted to know how your club is doing these days. It's been a while since I had time to watch."

His expression and mood did a complete 180, after he realized that I wanted to talk about his favorite pastime.

"It's going great, honestly. I might even get a spot in the team if everything works out. They'll announce the roster in a few weeks, so I have to give them 112% during that time."

Even though he still sounded and looked like a rough delinquent, seeing him smile like this was quite a sight. Every time I talked to him, I couldn't help but think of him as a good guy.

A good friend, even.

Which is also why I had to upset him a little.

"Wow, that's impressive Sudou! If any first-year can make it into the team, then it's gonna be you, I'm sure."

"Yeah, I've been working my ass off for this opportunity. In a prestigious school like this, such a spot means more than any of the past schools I've been to combined. Even if I only graduate from Class D, as long as I can convince the scouts with my abilities, I'll be fine."

He looked up at the sky and reached out his hand, as if to grasp onto something that was still far away, but slowly creeping closer.

No, the thing he was grasping at wasn't getting closer to him. It was the other way around.

I raised my head, glancing at the birds, which were flying around on the canvas that was the clear blue sky.

"For that to happen, you need to stay at this school, though."

"Huh?"

His serene, longing expression soon changed into irritation.

"I mean, I'm sure that, given the chance, you would have no trouble to convince the scouts that you are an amazing player. Because you are. There is no doubting that. But you can't prove your qualifications to them, if you can't stay at this school long enough to play a match. I'm not saying that you need to join a study group or anything. Just that it would be a shame if your dream was cut short because you flunked a single test, you know?"

He looked towards the ground in frustration, clenching his fist.

"I know. Dammit. But what am I supposed to do? I'm an idiot. All I'm good as is basketball, and that's all I need."

"I can't tell you what you are supposed to do. Because it's your decision. I just hope that you'll be able to make your dream come true. That's all everyone can ever ask for."

As I glanced at the fire of passion that was burning in his eyes, I began to reminiscence about my own ambitions.

That last part of my genuine advice wasn't solely meant for him. If I could make these three years last forever and never had to return to the White Room, then my dream might come true as well.

What my dream was, I didn't know just yet.

I knew one thing for certain, however.

My dream wasn't back in the white hell where that man reigned.

I shouldered my bag and ambled back to school with a smile on my face, after having ignored all about yesterday's incident. The doctor said this was likely a onetime thing, so I would be fine.

Everyone would have been worried, so I'll be in even more demand than before. This meant that I could go back to the way things were previously: everyone loving me.

It was the best feeling I could have ever asked for. Being relied upon and adored by everyone, there was no better gift.

The doors to the classroom were already open and loud conversations as well as other such sounds rang through the corridor as I made my way over to my classmates and friends while wearing my brightest smile.

"Good morning, everybody!"

I made a small hop into the classroom and waved my hand.

They all spun around after picking up on my sweet voice, and their expressions changed into relief and happiness.

"Kushida-chan! You are back."

"We were so worried, Kushida-chan!"

"What happened yesterday, Kushida-san? Are you alright?"

"We were so worried, Kikyou-chan!"

"Did Hirata tell you what I wanted him to tell you, Kushida-chan?"

The greetings and worries piled up, as both boy and girls alike surrounded me, just as happy as I was that I recovered in such a short time.

"Yes, I'm much better, thanks to all of your support! Hirata-kun told me that you were all worried, and I'm really sorry for that. I'm glad to say that I'm back in top condition, so there is no need to be concerned about my health anymore. I apologize for scaring all of you when I collapsed yesterday."

I bowed my head, but everyone said that this was pure nonsense. They were just glad that I was doing better. Since all of their attention was focused on me, and only me, I couldn't have been happier.

The teacher walked into the classroom a few moments later, so we returned to our desks for the upcoming lesson. I had already made plans with everyone today, and I was looking forward to the karaoke songs we would sing together.

"Alright class, open your books on page 231."

"That's a good page! That's Kushida-chan's birthday!"

Everyone laughed upon hearing Ike's dumb joke, and even the teacher wore a thin smile.

"Well, if that's the case... Kushida, why don't you begin?"

"Yes, sensei!"

A gleeful smile spread across my face as I read the contents of the page in a cute, yet serious sounding voice.

"The boy was standing on the stairs, peeking through the crack in the door. The moonlight shone onto his face as he pulled out his phone and started to record the bitch Kush —"

Eh?

"Is something the matter Kushida? Please keep reading the book."

My head jerked upwards after hearing this voice. The chubby middle-aged teacher with a pair of glasses was gone. In his stead stood a brown-haired, yellow-eyed devil with horrifying, cold eyes.

My heartbeat sped up and a sudden numbness spread through my whole body. It felt as if my heart itself decided to sabotage me as the feeling of frost crept through my entire being. My vision began to blur before everything spun around again.

"S-sensei, I'm... um... not feeling very well. M-might I go to... the infirmary?"

"I won't repeat myself. Read the passage. That's an order."

"No..." I shook my head in denial. "I can't... everyone... please!"

As I turned around towards my class, a bone-chilling scream rang through the classroom. My chair and desk tumbled over, and I crawled backwards over the floor.

The demonic visages of my classmates were sneering at me with contempt and hatred. Not only the ones from my current class but also the ones from junior high and everyone else before.

Everyone was here to torment me.

"Hey, Ike! Look what I got from Ayanokouji-sensei. It's Kushida's bare tits."

Yamauchi's contorted face gleamed as he ran over to Ike with a bulge in his pants.

"What?! Yamauchi-kun, that's insane! Damn, I'm getting too excited here. Just look at those weapons of mass destruction. How can she be so sexy?"

"Right?! And I have more, look. Here she's making sexy poses and there she is, showing her panties."

"I have a video where she's touching herself!"

"The Professor too?! Yamauchi! No — Yamagod! Please send me everything you guys have!"

Ike fell down to his knees and began to pray as if he stood in front of two Gods.

"Just take them yourself. That fucking bitch will strip if sensei tells her to."

The distorted faces of my classmates spun around, facing the one boy whose visage was as clear as day.

"Sensei! Please!"

"Yeah, sensei. Don't be mean and let us take some pictures as well."

"Sensei!"

"Well Kushida, you heard everyone, right?" His smile contorted into a devils smirk. "Strip."

No, no, no, no, no, no.

Stop.

This isn't real.

This can't be real.

Stop...

Please.

Anyone?

Just stop...

My hands wandered up towards my head, grasping onto the hair strands. And they pulled. Even though I tried to stop them, they didn't listen. They tugged, ripped and teared bloody strands of hair out of my head, which dropped onto my legs, the nearby chair and the ground beneath.

It hurts.

Stop...

Please... no!

This...

Click!

A bright flash blinded my pupils.

I shut my eyes to escape the sharp pain that these lights caused, but it was no use.

Click!

A blinding flash tore through my vision. Even though my eyes were closed, there was no escape.

Click!

My head, once again moving on its own, rose after my ears picked up on these demonic sounds.

Everyone pointed their phones at me.

Everyone was laughing or enjoying themselves.

I had moved from the ground without realizing, and stood naked in front of the blackboard for everyone to see. My hands didn't listen to me, so I didn't block their view. Instead, they began to play with my breasts and moved towards my slit.

My whole body began moving, dancing and making poses for everyone to enjoy. I was trapped in my body, while that devil stood to the side with strings in his hand, which he pushed and pulled as he pleased.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! STOP IT PLEASE!"

My whole body jerked upwards.

Everything was wet from the sweat that kept flowing down my body. Drops trickled off my nose and forehead onto the sheets of my bed, which were also wet.

Badumpbadumpbadumpbadumpbadump.

Without pause or rhythm, my heart kept banging against my chest as I gasped for air. I had a hard time breathing, and my limbs were numb and tingling.

"Sensei... Tominaga-sensei?"

No answer.

"Sensei? SENSEI?"

My voice got progressively louder, but she never showed up.

For the first time after waking up, I let my gaze wander around in the room. I was at a loss upon noticing that it wasn't the infirmary anymore, but my dorm room.

How... when did I get here? I can't remember...

As I crawled forward, I noticed that my thighs were wet and somewhat sticky. I glanced down on myself and noticed a faint, yellow outline that had spread through my skirt and bed sheets. As if my eyes couldn't believe what they saw, my fingers reached out, wiping over the outline. I took them back to my nose and took a careful whiff.

The strong, awful smell permeated my numb nostrils as tears streaked down my eyes.

I sniveled and wiped them off with the back of my hand before I tumbled over to my bag, which I had apparently dropped on the chair, just like always when I came back from school. Like a lunatic, I began to tear through my bag in search of my phone, throwing the books, notes and other materials into the corner.

The device was tucked away in one of the smaller compartments of my bag.

I heaved a small sigh of relief and unlocked it without hesitation.

The time and date displayed indicated that it was still the same day, but classes were already over. Hundreds of messages clogged my notifications, asking me how I was feeling and if I needed anything. I couldn't help but crack a small smile after scrolling through all those kind messages.

My limbs slowly regained their feeling as the shivering stopped. Even my trembling heart calmed down as the warmth of these messages drove away the cold feeling I had before.

Until I saw the notification of a certain chat.

[Ayanokouji] Hope you are feeling better soon. ヽ(~_~(・_・ )ゝ

This message hit like a punch straight into the deepest parts of my gut.

I scrambled up, rushed through the bathroom door and threw up onto the floor since I couldn't reach the toilet in time. My mind, which had just barely managed to calm down, was back in this never-ending state of fight-or-flight.

My body collapsed near the vomit, since I couldn't even find the strength to roll away.

I opened the schools forums and kept reloading the page again and again.

My finger did nothing but swipe down until a post was made, causing my heart to stop for a second.

I heard that everyone wrote her a nice message, so there was no reason for me not to wish her a fast recovery. I'd only be standing out if I wouldn't.

After typing it out and adding a cute smiley at the end, I strolled back into the classroom, where the study sessions were taking place.

Horikita went home without talking to me today, which felt weird. She must have been occupied with her brother's words, or maybe she was just in a bad mood because of last night. Whatever the case may have been, it didn't matter to me at the moment.

Checking up on the study groups was my number one priority right now, or rather, examining a certain someone.

"Kiyotaka, come over. Let's study together."

Chiaki's cute voice echoed through the room the moment I stepped inside.

With her were, as so often, Karuizawa and Satou, as well as Hirata, as the teacher, and a few other girls. I made my way over while reciprocating their waves and greetings. Chiaki tapped on an empty seat right beside her, which she seemed to have saved for me.

I thanked her for this consideration and skimmed through their progress.

Judging by the standard of the scores I had in my vision, they should be more or less fine. None of them were especially bright, but no one was as bad as Sudou and Ike.

Speaking of the two idiots, Yukimura had a hard time teaching Ike, since he kept mouthing, 'What did I do to deserve this?' again and again while shaking his head in desperation.

The other group members used their time to study, while I was more or less keeping my eyes on Chiaki's notes, only sometimes filling out my own. She had written the correct solution to a problem multiple times before using the eraser, negating her progress. Afterwards, she started over with the same problem and used the wrong formulae.

When Hirata noticed this or other simple miscalculations, he gave her a few tips and helped her until she was on the right path to solve the equation before he checked up on the next person's progress.

Chiaki let out a deep sigh and laid her head down on the book.

"This stuff is far too complicated. Can't they give us something easier?" She turned her head to Karuizawa. "How are you faring?"

"I honestly don't understand a thing. I'll probably get around 50 points through the easy questions and that's that."

"Mh, yeah. Some problems are way too hard. How should I know which formula to use, anyway?" Chiaki shook her head and glanced over to me. "What about you, Kiyotaka?"

I finished my calculation, as to not destroy the illusion of a studying student, before I shrugged.

"Guess I'm with Karuizawa on this one. Some of these assignments are ridiculous. The easy ones are doable at least, so I don't think that I'll fail."

"Poor Hirata-kun. He has to run through half of the classroom without pause just to help us..."

Mii-chan glanced after the boy who had stolen her heart with longing and sorrow. She was one of the tutors for English and had to do the same from time to time, so she knew what she was talking about.

"Yeah Karuizawa. Your boyfriend is like really cool."

Satou stuck out her tongue, which prompted Karuizawa to flush in embarrassment.

"Don't be so loud, you idiot."

"It's not really a problem, right? I mean, everyone knows already."

"Yes, but still... this... ahh mouuu, stop teasing me Satou!"

We conversed and joked around in our small study group as time kept ticking away.

I still didn't know why Chiaki kept hiding her abilities from us, but I could at least confirm that she was gifted in academics as well. From her speed and confidence throughout these problems, it became apparent that most of them were easy for her. The only time she slowed down and made genuine mistakes was when she arrived on the really hard questions, which were on a similar level than the three from the mock-exam.

Her current capabilities were more than enough, so I couldn't complain. Her academic level was similar to that of Horikita, which made her far more valuable already, since the raven-haired girl was too self-absorbed.

The time we had allocated for the study group soon ended, and we decided to grab a bite before everyone made their way home. Even though we were all worried because of Kushida's health, we managed to spend a normal day together and even had some fun.

After I got home, I laid down in my bed to relax and watched some TV.

Some time later, a couple of knocks rang through my room, drawing my attention.

It couldn't have been Fuka, since she wouldn't knock and had something to do today, apparently, so I was quite curious.

I shuffled towards the door with lazy steps and opened it.

The one who was visiting took me by surprise.

I had planned to make contact soon, but this way was much more convenient.

In front of me stood a girl, maybe 5'1". She had short, beige-colored hair and was, unlike every other time people saw her, not smiling, but looking down towards the ground with a bitter expression.

Her name was Kushida Kikyou.

"M-may I c-come in?"

My ears were ringing as I forced open my eyes. The right side of my face was wet and the stench that took residence in my nose was awful. I struggled to stand and threw up into the sink before raising my head.

What I saw horrified me to the core.

The cute and beautiful Kushida Kikyou that was loved by everyone was nowhere to be found. In her stead stood a girl with dark, reddened eyes that were void of life and respect for herself. The stench of urine and vomit had mixed, which led to the disgusting expression I saw myself with.

A half digested noodle slipped down my bangs and produced a loud splat when it slammed into the pool of vomit in which I stood while the liquid trickled down my chin, staining my uniform, which was drenched in sweat and my ejected stomach contents.

Tears gathered in the corners of my eyes as I fell to my knees.

I closed my eyes for a moment, and the nightmare began anew.

Hasty knocks echoed through my room as I opened up my eyes.

"Kushida-chan? Are you okay?" The successive knocks became faster and more urgent. "Kushida-chan? Should I call someone?"

"Mii-chan?" My voice was disgusting, just like the taste that lingered in my mouth.

"Kushida-chan! What happened? You screamed. Are you okay?"

I tumbled up and leaned against the door, not knowing how I even arrived in front of it. Upon glancing around in my room, I noticed that it was ravaged, as if I had just taken everything and thrown it around in a fit of rage.

Tableware was broken, the fragments strewn all over the ground. My dirty clothes were still in the bathroom, ripped apart, soaking in the pool of vomit. Some strands of my hair were ripped out as well, decorating my floor besides the wood splinters from a chair, and other such things.

The faucet still trickled, so I had washed my face, apparently, but the stench was still stuck in my nose.

"Y-yeah. I'm alright. It was just... just a nightmare. F-from the fever."

"Oh, my god! Do you want me to come in and make you something to eat? Or do you need any medicine?"

"N-no... thank you, Mii-chan, but I'm fine. You said that I screamed, right? What did I say?"

"Something like 'Stop! Stop it, please!'. I was so scared that something happened to you. Are you sure that you are alright, Kushida-chan?"

"Yeah. I'm getting better. Thank you for worrying about me, Mii-chan."

"Mhm. If you are alright, then I'll go back to my room. If you need anything, please call me Kushida-chan!"

"I will... thank you, Mii-chan."

There was a long silence until I heard footsteps that were growing quieter.

"Mii-chan?"

They stopped.

"Yes?"

"Can you keep this a secret, please?"

"Of course Kushida-chan! You can trust me. Please get well!"

Once again, there was a long silence before Mii-chan walked away.

I slid down the door, hands clenched into fists.

"That's not how it's supposed to be..." Even if she was still outside, there was no way that she could hear this weak, outright pathetic voice. "I should be the one keeping secrets... and she should be the one sharing them."

Where did I go wrong?

His demonic visage flashed through my mind.

Fuck...

"Sure. It's a welcome surprise that you are visiting me, Kushida. Please, make yourself at home."

The girl walked in with slow and careful steps before taking off her shoes. I peeked outside, left and right, to check if anyone saw her. Since no one was around, I shut the door and sat down on my bed.

Kushida kept fidgeting around with her fingers as she walked up and down the room. Every so often, she glanced at me with terror-stricken eyes before averting them just as fast. When this happened, her whole body trembled, as if she was reliving what she had gone through.

My classmate took a deep breath and handed me her phone before going down on her knees.

"I'm terribly sorry for everything I did. I swear that this won't happen again and I'm seriously going to do everything you say. Just... please... don't destroy my life any further. Please..."

She had given me the phone beforehand to make me realize that this was not a ploy to get my confession. But if she thought that far, there was a possibility that she thought even farther.

I unlocked and checked the device before glancing at mine for a moment.

Afterwards, I looked at the girl who was groveling on the floor in front of me.

"Kushida? What are you talking about? I would never hurt you. This has to be some kind of misunderstanding. Can you explain what's going on?"

With this innocent question on my lips, I stood and felt up her body.

Not because I was a pervert and wanted to feel her plump, soft breasts and thighs, but because I needed to make sure that there weren't any other recording devices on her.

The already small girl shrank even more while I thoroughly scanned her body.

She shivered and trembled, unable to stop herself. Tears gathered in the corners of her eyes, which she closed as if to keep the dam from breaking. The brave girl kept enduring my search, even when I got close to certain spots at which no woman would want to be touched by someone they didn't like.

All she did was bite her lower lip and shed some tears, while shuddering in terror.

Her hair was bright and still felt warm to the touch. This, as well as the pleasant scent that lingered over her, was proof enough that she had showered just before coming over. Yet, there was the faint stench of vomit, which even her toothpaste couldn't get rid of in time.

"It was smart of you to come over with no recording devices on your person. Otherwise, this would have ended terrible for you. Which leaves the question... Why are you here, Kushida?"

"I... I really thought I'd die today. Not only once, but over and over. Every time I shut my eyes, I see you. Tormenting me, strangling me, killing me. And then I wake up. Every time a forum post got up, I checked them, drenched in sweat, hoping that it wouldn't be one of the pictures or the recordings you took. I... I just want to... live again. Please... please..."

Her voice was weak and pathetic, quivering with every syllable. Small drops rolled down her cheek as she tried her hardest not to burst into tears in front of me while her fingers were occupied with pacifying behavior to keep her sanity in check.

This girl was genuinely broken. Unable to offer any more resistance.

This was the amount of mental pressure necessary to tame a girl like Kushida.

I left openings for a counterattack and dared her to retaliate.

A proud, self-important person like her wouldn't take the things I did to her without a fight. She would seek retribution, a harsh and ruthless one at that.

Kushida was sharp enough to realize that an immediate arrest would leave me no time to spread any recording, even if I wanted to. In fact, these recordings were even helpful to her to convict me of my crime.

What she didn't expect, however, was that she never had a choice to begin with, since she had followed my script from the very beginning.

Everything she did was predetermined.

Everything she experienced was prearranged.

Dancing in my palm and being put down like a sick dog was the only thing that she could do.

The small ember that smoldered yesterday was nowhere to be found. Gone and forgotten in the deep darkness of the endless abyss that my existence had cast over her since last night.

"You said that you don't want me to destroy your life any further, yes?"

She nodded in a weak and miserable display of her current state of mind. The teardrops gleamed in her eyes as she gazed into mine with goosebumps on her skin, trembling as if this was all she had ever done.

"I can't."

"Huh?"

Kushida stared at me like a crestfallen squirrel that dug up an empty stash.

Her tears dripped onto my floor.

"I'm not destroying your life, Kushida." She looked at me with a disturbed, troubled expression. "You did this to yourself. It was your decision to blow off steam on that roof. Your decision to threaten me with raping you. And your decision to report me to the faculty. In all those instances, I had only acted in retaliation to your initial attacks. You could have taken any other path to get here, but you chose offense every single time, without hesitation. This wasn't some elaborate plan I came up with to destroy your life, Kushida. I only acted according to the circumstances in which you put me in order to defend myself. You were the aggressor during all those occasions. Not me."

Her eyes opened wide, quivered and broke out into tears.

They kept streaming down her beautiful face as if they were the source of a waterfall. Kushida kneeled down, hit her head on the ground to appease me and begged for forgiveness.

"Please, Ayanokouji-kun. I-I... I'll do anything... just please. Please don't ruin me. I understand now that what I did was wrong... I can repent. So please..."

"Kushida."

Her body shook as if an earthquake originated somewhere in her heart. Kushida's head jerked up in surprise, maybe even a sliver of hope. But then she saw the two callous orbs who hadn't shown a single sign of faltering, as I was close to ending her insignificant life.

"Undress and lie down on the bed."

Before, she had threatened to accuse me of rape, and now I was about to make her dark fantasy come true.

There wasn't much of a reaction after hearing those words, since she must have already expected them. Her lifeless, dead eyes didn't change a bit as she stood.

"Yes..."

She said and shed her uniform.

- Word Count: 13604 / 62450 Characters

Released 21.05.2022

Chapter 11 - Queen (Part 3)

It took some time, but every single piece of her wardrobe dropped to the ground with a light, dull sound.

First was her blazer, which had some darker spots around her chest area due to the tears she had shed.

Only moments later, her white skirt, which was still far too short, followed suit.

The shirt she was wearing underneath was rather long in comparison, which is why it covered around half of her underwear, which was pink instead of blue this time around.

Her body kept trembling while she began to unbutton her blouse until the last remaining none underwear article of clothing dropped to the ground. The pink-ribboned bra with frills fit rather nicely with the rest of her undergarments.

If she had done this willingly, I would have certainly gotten excited over this magnificent sight in front of me.

But I was aware what horrible atrocities I was committing right now.

Without hesitation, without an inkling of remorse or compassion, I destroyed her life to make her subservient to me. Even though I knew that she would never forget these days in her entire life, I was prepared to traumatize Kushida until death freed her of this terrible curse.

I knew very well that I was, am and always will be, a horrible human being.

There was no doubt in my mind that I will someday face the consequences for my actions. Even though I behaved like him, I wasn't the devil.

Only a mortal man.

If it had been any other girl than Kushida, I might have stopped her, even before she was done undressing. The first action alone would have been more than enough proof that she would act according to my instructions. But this girl, in particular, needed to face a deeper layer of despair.

She had to be thoroughly crushed and rebuild, otherwise a strong character like her would get disobedient.

Her movements faltered upon touching her bra, but she eventually grit her teeth and disconnected the ends. Kushida's eyes were shut, unwilling to look at me or anything that would confirm that these actions were real.

Together with her tears, the thin fabric dropped on the ground, revealing two voluptuous, impeccably shaped breasts.

After this dull sound rang through the room, she hung her head, whereupon her tears travelled further down her cheeks towards her chin, before dropping onto her smooth thighs.

Kushida Kikyou would do anything to keep the life she had built for herself, and she had realized that there was no escape from my vicious, malevolent grasp. Even if she dropped out and decided to attend another school, I would be out of here in three years.

To her knowledge, this was the truth.

This meant that even if she left the school and tried to start anew once again, I could find her and rip apart everything she had established during the time we were separated. There was no way to escape anymore. For her to survive, she needed to obey me.

Kushida accepted that fact with a heavy and hemorrhaging heart.

After I had repelled the first attempt of her pitiful retaliation, she had realized that I wasn't someone she could contend against. She knew that, if she screamed now, I would be fast enough to silence her and would immediately release everything in my possession.

But what if she had made arrangements with another person beforehand to lure me into a false sense of security before striking again?

Even that was covered.

The shuddering, crying, naked girl took a deep breath and bend forward while sliding her panties down her alluring legs. Her soft breasts began to jiggle around as she revealed herself in front of me, which was a sight multiple students in this school would kill for.

If Ike were here, he would probably murder me for traumatizing Kushida like this. Or maybe he would be too occupied with ogling her body and burning such a scene into his mind. I doubted that he, or anyone in this school, would look favorably upon what I was doing to this poor girl.

Would Fuka be mad at me if she were to see this? Would she think that this situation was cruel? That I was pushing her too far? Would she try to stop me? Or would she have helped me, by chance?

I honestly couldn't tell, despite learning a lot about her, throughout the time we had spent together.

Even though Kushida knew what would inevitably follow, she covered both her breasts and crotch with one hand each. A pitiful last ditch effort to keep something that resembled dignity.

But I wouldn't allow such luxury.

"Your hands are in the way."

Her eyes shot open and contorted in fear and resignation as she let her arms drop to her sides.

This was my first time seeing a naked girl, and such a beautiful one at that.

It would be a lie if I said that I wasn't somewhat excited by her appearance, but this was neither the time nor the place to get distracted by mere physical stimuli. I could understand people that were drawn to her body and wanted to conquer her, but this wasn't why I was tormenting this beloved classmate of mine.

Kushida made herself 'comfortable' on the bed and shut her eyes.

"Spread your legs."

A tremor moved through her perfect frame as she listened to those three simple yet dreadful words.

Tears streaked down her face, trickling onto and soaking my bed sheets as she revealed her most prized treasure before me. The shivers of her body increased in intensity as I began to rattle on my belt and let my clothes drop onto the ground.

Kushida's closed eyelids quivered with every single one of these appalling sounds that reverberated through the room.

It was impossible to fathom what must have been going through her head during that time, but I was sure that it had been nothing short of mortifying and sickening. These pains she must have had to endure, as she imagined what would happen to her in just a moment.

No person should ever have to go through something like this.

I kneeled onto the bed and propped myself up over her.

My head cast a shadow over her eyes, which she must have noticed since she turned hers away from me. There was also the natural heat my body emanated, which made her recoil into the bed as she began to sob.

My hand cupped her right breast, or tried to, since she was rather big in that department.

Her soft skin felt unbelievable, even if her whole body trembled in fear.

Just caressing over her smooth and warm breasts felt different from anything I had ever felt before. I've seen the anatomy and everything about the human body in books, of course, but those depictions couldn't be compared to what my palms were experiencing just now.

I began to squeeze and massage her breasts until she unwillingly let out a few light whimpers.

Not out of pleasure, but pure and unfiltered terror of what would happen in the next minutes.

After I had finished playing around with her breasts, my hand ran down her plump thighs. The way her arousing, soft skin felt on my palm was captivating, irresistible, even. I slid my finger across her inner thigh and gently pressured the side.

Kushida understood this wordless command and spread her legs even wider open as a lone, pain-devouring tear rolled down her cheek. Her eyes squeezed even further as she sniveled and accepted her fate.

If my goal had been her innocence, her first time, then right now I could have had my way with her.

But this had never been the objective.

I distanced myself from her and rustled around with my trousers, shirt and the belt, all of which I was still wearing. She heard these unexpected movements and opened her eyes in astonishment and relief.

This comfort was brief, however, as she realized that she hadn't escaped her precarious situation.

I sat down on a nearby chair after picking up the change of clothes I had dropped and locked eyes with the naked girl on my bed.

"Get dressed."

"W-why? No... p-please... D-id I do something w-wrong? I'm sorry, I swear I'll be —"

"What did I tell you?"

She clenched her fists, frightened that I might do something even worse to her after not doing what I had intimidated her with. Kushida didn't know what to expect from me, due to my impulsive and abrupt changes in behavior. But she was ready to experience such horrors to save her current position and keep the information I had buried forever, which is why she couldn't help but dread what else I was going to do to her instead.

"Yes..."

Again, she did as told and put her uniform back on.

Her movements were slow throughout the whole process, because she feared what might come next even more than before. She closed the final two buttons on her blazer, before throwing an apprehensive gaze into my direction.

"You passed, congratulations."

Her eyes grew confused.

Before she could process the meaning behind my words with her mind, a sliver of hope reignited in her. The single desire to keep this last fragment of her grace, as well as her life as it had been before, flared up in the girl known as Kushida Kikyou.

"Then —"

"Not so fast. Have you already forgotten what you tried yesterday? Why you are here in the first place?"

She stared down and bit her lips in frustration. Her pupils trembled in despair.

"Your disobedience will not go unpunished. Since you ignored my previous warning, I will have to use some of those pictures. But I'll make sure that there is no way that they will inconvenience you for now, since you've seen reason in the end."

My classmate opened her mouth, but I cut her off before she could form a single word.

"Don't misunderstand. I'm not being merciful. You are very useful for me the way you are now, but I need you to realize that your actions have consequences. If I deem you unnecessary or a liability to my goals, I will release everything in my possession, including the videos and recordings, without a second thought. I'm not a pervert and I'm not after your body. All I want is someone who obediently listens to my commands and gets this class out of the ditch they have maneuvered themselves in. And you, with your large social circle, are perfect for this task."

"I understand..."

Kushida nodded, somewhat relieved but still unsure of my intentions.

"That being said, these pictures will prove helpful to both you and me as well. Chabashira-sensei and at least one investigator will soon find you because of the anonymous report you have filed to get me expelled. Because of the false accusation, your expulsion will be on the table. We both don't want you to leave this school yet, which is why you will answer their questions exactly as I tell you to once you get taken to the examination."

"Okay... I'll do anything you say. I promise."

After our 'business', I returned to my room and plugged my phone into the charger before starting cleaning up the mess I had made.

I still couldn't remember when or how I got back in the first place, but I believed that these memories would return in time. Aside from that, I hoped that the recollections I still had of last night and today would vanish and never resurface again.

But this was nothing but a wish that would never be granted.

I might have escaped him for today, but I couldn't be sure that he won't someday use my body to —

My hair fluttered as I shook my head left and right.

There was no use in thinking about such what if's at the moment, since I had other, more pressing complications to attend to. I didn't know what kind of person he was or why he did those awful things to me, but I needed to listen to him now.

A deep breath later, I began to clean my room, as I didn't know when my expected visitors would arrive.

I readied a garbage bag and put my ripped clothes, which still stank of vomit and urine, inside before I began to wipe the floor in the bathroom. My whole apartment was disgusting as I had stepped inside the pool of my stomach contents and spread them all over my place when I lost it and threw my tableware and other such things around.

It took quite a while, but I eventually finished with my cleanup.

Just as I stashed the garbage bag under the kitchen sink, three knocks echoed through my room.

I walked in front of the mirror and checked my appearance one last time to make sure that I hadn't dirtied myself before taking a deep, calming breath to center myself for this upcoming play.

"I'm coming, just a moment."

With artificial vigor and high spirits, I strolled towards the door and peeked through the crack. Just like that monster had said, our homeroom teacher and a man I didn't know sought me out today.

"Chabashira-sensei? Can I do something for you?"

I tilted my head and feigned surprise as I undid the chain for them.

"Follow me."

"Uhm, okay...?"

I nodded and walked after her with a hesitant, somewhat puzzled demeanor.

That monster had already prepared me for what was about to happen, so I had nothing to fear. No matter who the investigator was, he couldn't be as dreadful as the demon who supplied me with the story I needed to portray.

That boy was cruel, cold and an unvarnished devil in human skin.

But as long as I was on his side, he would not hurt me. He would not defile me. As long as I was obediently following his commands, I could continue to live my life like before. That was what he had promised me, and what I chose to believe in.

Because there was no other hope I could latch onto.

Just as described, the three of us walked through the school building into a room next to the faculty offices. An old man with a laptop sat on a chair in front of me and nodded towards the seat opposite of him with a disinterested look on his face.

"Sit."

Concise, as expected.

I sat down and glanced at Chabashira-sensei, who made herself comfortable on a nearby chair. As much as this was possible on those wooden death traps, at least. She seemed to be in a terrible mood, so I decided not to talk to her if I didn't need to.

"Kushida Kikyou. Student-ID: S01T004721. Class 1-D. Homeroom teacher: Chabashira Sae. Is that correct so far?"

My fingers moved around each other on their own.

This wasn't a ploy. I was nervous, since one wrong step would end me. But I should have no problems to convince this man and the other investigators of my innocence. That monster thought the same, or he wouldn't have sent me here with these instructions.

This ever-observant guy noticed my movements, which was a perfect start for me. These emotions that were spiraling through my chaotic mind were half truth and half lies. It would be difficult for anyone to keep them apart.

"Yes. That's correct, Sir."

My voice was quiet and humble.

This would be the easiest way to convince these people that my claim this time around was truthful. I began to work on my tears as it took a moment for them to take form after I had involuntarily spent all of them because of a certain devil that called Class D his home.

The investigator kept typing around on his laptop for a few seconds before his stern gaze landed on my figure.

"Do you know why you are here?"

"Yes, Sir. It's because of the anonymous complaint I issued to the school."

I lowered my head and stared at the ground.

This was a clear indication that I was feeling both remorse for what I did and guilty of the crime I would be accused of in a few seconds. A seasoned investigator would pick up on such obvious behavior, of course, which I could use to my advantage later on.

"So you admit that you falsely accused a fellow student at this school of a serious crime?"

"Y-yes, Sir. I do..."

Tears bobbled down my face and dripped down on my thighs.

Since that monster had mentioned that these investigators were skilled, I needed to be aware of every move I made throughout this interview.

Nothing could go wrong.

"What were the contents of this complaint?"

I broke out into tears, unable to hold the pain I felt for hurting my classmate any longer. I sobbed and sniveled while I buried my head into my palms and shook it in denial, as I was thinking about this unforgivable act I had committed.

"I accused my classmate of... b-blackmail and ordering me to... to..."

Without finishing the sentence, I continued crying and whimpering. I rubbed my eyes with the sleeve of my uniform, since I had trouble seeing from all the tears that obstructed my vision.

The man handed me a handkerchief and resumed his questioning in an apathetic tone of voice.

"Continue."

After this simple word reached my ears, I began to bawl my eyes out even more than before. This time, however, it wasn't part of my ploy, nor had it been a part of his instructions.

I simply broke, because that bastard forced me to relive the last twenty-four hours of pure terror, even though he didn't intend to.

As far as he was concerned, I had lied and was now crying for sympathy points.

But this conclusion couldn't have been any further from the truth.

My plan was for him to resume his questioning after skipping the accusation. I thought that it would have been enough to inform him of some things I had said, which would confirm that I was indeed the person who made the complaint.

If I said these words out loud, then I couldn't pretend that this never happened anymore. I would have to live with what this monster did to me for my entire life. But I didn't want this.

Even though my logical mind knew that it was already far too late, my emotional one didn't want me to succumb to the realization that I was sexually assaulted and almost raped.

It tried its best to stop me from realizing that I could never have a normal life from this day onwards because of the things this devil did to me. I could never feel at ease with men around after what he had put me through.

I could still pretend, but that was all I would ever be capable of.

In truth, I was broken, shattered beyond repair.

" I... I... a-accused him of o-ordering me to... to... take my... clothes off and..." Once again, the dam broke. If he was really as good of an investigator as that demon said, then he should have realized that this was my trauma speaking. "... and to... t-touch myself."

Without giving me any sign or indication of his thoughts, he kept typing on his notebook before facing me again.

"What is the name of said student?"

His apathetic, cruel expression flashed in front of my eyes as my mind began to retrieve the name in question. This was a normal, subconscious action I would take dozens, if not hundreds, of times a day when I talked to people.

But this name hit different.

"A-ayanokouji Kiyotaka-kun..."

Tears streamed down my face as I blew into the handkerchief the man had given me to free up my stuffy nose.

"Why did you accuse your classmate of such serious crimes?"

"B-because I was forced to."

Chabashira-sensei's abnormal reaction didn't escape my eyes, and I realized that she must have had something to do with the reason that this demon walked away scot-free.

Was she aware what this monster had done to me?

"Who forced you to make the wrongful complaint?"

"I can't tell you. They said that they will spread the pictures they took if I do. If these pictures get out..."

The handkerchief didn't do its job very well, as I was soon back to sobbing and sniveling, barely holding myself together as the events of the last twenty-four hours replayed in my head over and over.

Those tears should have been fake, but they were as real as they could have been.

"We promise that no one will hear a word of what is being said in here. If you want our help, then you need to trust the school and its systems. We can't blindly trust your words, since you already lied once before, but we will investigate everything about this case before drawing a conclusion."

The man handed me a second handkerchief and prompted me to continue.

At that point in time, I had already lost track of which emotions I played and which of them were real because they weren't too far apart. I took a deep breath and struggled for a moment before giving him an answer.

"On that day, we held a study session with a few classmates. It turned sour rather fast, so we soon split up. I ran into some... other students I knew. They noticed that I was feeling sad and invited me to... to have some f-fun for a bit to distract me from what happened. I agreed, but soon realized that I couldn't enjoy myself because of what transpired in the study group before. I excused myself as to not ruin their mood, but they said that they would accompany me home since I wasn't looking so well. On our way to the dorms, one of them pushed me into an alley where they attacked me. I wanted to scream but..."

It was hard to understand the words I said, since I couldn't stop weeping. The man did his best to note down everything, which once again reminded me of that demon who had orchestrated all of this.

Because he was just as apathetic and dead inside.

Chabashira-sensei as well, just stared at me without saying another word.

Even if I wasn't puzzled and impaired by today's events, it would have been hard to gauge whether they believed me. But those tears were real and I could only hope that these two saw that I was truly terrified.

Because something like this really happened to me.

Upon realizing this once again, I bowed into my legs and cried as loud as I never did before.

That monster made me relive what he did to me, so that it seemed like the truth to all the involved investigators. Even if the words were lies, the emotions, scars and memories were real. They would have a hard time keeping these two conflicting stories apart, since they were too similar to each other.

At this moment, it finally hit me.

That demon was using me and my pain to his advantage. He knew what they were going to ask, and he realized that I would cave in under the pressure and bawl my eyes out for real. He did all those things to me, which is why they would never realize that I lied when I claimed that others did.

What kind of devil does a person need to be, to be this cruel and calculating in his actions?

This was nothing but pure evil.

"I know that it is hard to talk about something like this. Please take your time and continue whenever you feel ready."

While I was bawling my eyes out in front of a stranger and my homeroom teacher, my mind kept reminding me how this monster used me with every teardrop I had shed in here.

There was no escape and no mercy.

This was my punishment for going against him.

"... but they covered my mouth... and o-one of them began... he began to take p-pictures while g-grabbing my b-brea..."

Again and again, the devil's yellow eyes flashed before me as I was forced to relive today.

The tears kept pouring out uninterrupted, staining the floor in my snot and saliva while I just wanted the pain to stop.

"... they said that they would show everyone if I were to tell and ordered me to walk with them to the school building's rooftop. They f-forced me to u-undress and touched... they touched... and... and I couldn't... My body was frozen... and heavy... I was so afraid. I couldn't think... or scream... or..."

Those words were nothing but the truth. I felt these dreadful emotions, just in a different context. I was terrified what that monster would do to me when he told me to undress. I was horrified when he told me to spread my legs.

Because I had seen his eyes on that rooftop when he squeezed the life out of me.

He didn't think I was worth anything. This devil wouldn't have felt guilty, just like a human wouldn't feel remorse after stepping on an insect. Yes, I Kushida Kikyou, was nothing but disgusting vermin in his eyes.

And that made him so fucking terrifying.

The worst things that could have happened to a girl, or anyone... had partly happened to me.

I escaped the rest on a simple whim.

The man who sat in front of me still hadn't reacted to anything I had said and kept prodding me to continue when I felt ready to share more. I could only wonder if any man was this cold and disgusting when they took off their mask.

First that demon in my class, and now this person before me.

"One of them said that they should use me for 'that'. I thought... I really thought that they would..."

The devil's whisper echoed through my head.

The threats, the apathy and those fucking dreadful eyes flashed through my mind again and again while I was bending and twisting the truth to his liking as his emissary of deceit.

"Another one said that someone named Nagumo wanted to hurt the Student Council President, and that I would be perfect because of my large social circle. I understood little, but they ordered me to frame one of my classmates and that they would take care of the rest. If I did all of this, they would keep the pictures and such to themselves."

"And that's how you ended up framing your classmate, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka?"

"Yes... I didn't mean to... but... I had no choice..."

He nodded in understanding. "Those students... who were they?"

"Nagata Kazushi, Date Katsuhiko, Noya Shihei and Uzumaki Rai from Class 2-B."

The interview went on for a while afterwards where I had to explain my whole day from start to finish. Then in reverse order and sometimes jumbled up. The man in front of me wasn't much less cruel than the demon in my class, since he also made me relive these horrible twenty-four hours over and over.

I cried, sobbed and broke down in front of him and Chabashira-sensei multiple times, but he didn't care and resumed his questioning, anyway. The devil had mentioned that it would be like this in order to find any holes in the story since I had lied before, which is why he briefly 'trained' me.

This 'study session' must have been a playbook straight out of hell.

Every time I messed up one of the details, the light would flash and the shutter would echo through his eerie apartment. I didn't have to undress like the first time, but he would tell me what he wanted a picture of and take it before continuing his interrogation in his usual apathetic demeanor.

That was the first time I realized that he wasn't excited when he saw my breasts or other private parts of my body. His terrifying gaze never changed, no matter which poses he wanted me to make. He wouldn't use these pictures to sate his weird sexual urges like I had thought.

No...

He simply wanted to torment me.

Because he knew what damages such cruel actions would cause.

After the things this devil did, the person in front of me right now wasn't the least bit scary. It was only uncomfortable because he made me go through this horrible day over and over.

The man pulled out a general map of the school and spread it on the table.

This was yet another technique that this maniac had predicted.

"This is the layout of the school grounds. Could you mark the way you walked with them? Since the area is filled with cameras for public security, your steps are easily retractable, but we still need your statement for the sake of completeness."

He handed me his pen, and I began to mark a certain path through the school grounds.

'Since you already lied once, they will make extra sure that you are telling the truth this time around. That being said, you will probably have to mark down the path you supposedly walked with those students. The route you will be marking will be this one. Don't worry about the cameras if he says that there are any. I already made sure that the footage doesn't exist anymore. It's just a bluff to shake you up.'

His frigid, yellow eyes and sickening voice still messed with my mind.

But if I could count on one thing, and one thing only, it was that he had everything mapped out. He hadn't been wrong a single time until now, so I believed that this whole incident would work out the way he intended it to.

After what felt like several hours, the interview ended and the security personnel was instructed to escort me back to my dorm room. I thanked the man for listening to me and apologized that I had lied in the first report due to the threats I had received.

I could only hope that the devils games were done after this, because my body and mind were already exhausted and shattered beyond recognition and wouldn't be able to handle much more.

"Good morning!"

"Ohh! Kushida-chan is back!"

"Are you feeling better, Kushida-san?"

"..."

"Thank you, everyone. Yes, I'm..."

Class D was in an especially great mood first thing in the morning, because our angel was back and seemed healthy again. She would also be 'happy', since she came to accept the new status quo that she would have to live with from today onwards without the need to worry about what I might do next.

Her body trembled whenever a boy closed in on her, but we could train to suppress these reflexes in time. After what I had done to her, she was understandably terrified of men, but she was quite adept at hiding her feelings until now, so she just needed to hide a few more.

Kushida's usual meet-ups with her friends would act as some sort of exposure therapy.

Her logical side knew that something like this wouldn't happen to her with most guys, but her emotional one still hadn't moved past the trauma I had inflicted on her and wouldn't do so for a while, maybe ever.

As long as she was doing her job, I didn't mind if she was terrified and broken inside. But I would act accordingly if her usefulness slipped because of the things I did to her.

Class D's queen finally belonged to me, and I couldn't have been happier about this outcome.

Since Kushida knew how cruel I could be, she would never betray me. Before she exposed me to danger, which I could take revenge for, she would protect me on her own volition.

"You are in a good mood, Ayanokouji-kun. That's strange."

I tilted my head to the side.

"And how would you know that, Horikita?"

"I might imagine things, but I was sure that I saw a thin smile on your face for just a second."

"That's probably impossible."

"Mh."

Silence descended between the two of us for a while. I observed my classmates, and she read through her book.

"Ayanokouji-kun?" Her voice sounded hesitant and uncertain. "About Sudou and Ike, are they studying now?"

I turned my head towards her, somewhat surprised.

Maybe it was possible for her to change after all. I was prepared to level with her until the start of the second year, since she could still be useful. If she disappointed me, however, her time here would end.

"Ike went to yesterday's study session to make Kushida proud or something along those lines. Sudou left for his club activities as always."

"Do you think we could get them together again?"

"Do you really believe that's a good idea?"

She glanced down at her hands, which were fidgeting around.

It must have taken her a lot of courage to ask me to help her again after what she did the last time, so I was inclined to support her to the best of my abilities. Something her brother said pushed her in the right direction, which was more than I could have asked for.

But before that, I was still curious.

"I'm astonished, honestly. I thought you were done with them. What changed your mind?"

She was silent for a moment, before she eventually opened her mouth.

"I still want to reach Class A, under any circumstances. But it's come to my attention that those two might not be as useless as they seem. So please, Ayanokouji-kun."

This 'please' differed from the ones I had heard before. It was her genuine goal to help them this time, because of what her brother had said. It must've been hard to squeeze this word out of her mesmerizing lips, and I began to have some hope for our future.

Her future.

What the hell?

"I'd like to help you, but I believe that it will be impossible without Kushida. Even the first meeting was only possible because of her help. If you want them to join, talk to her."

I was prepared to ask her myself, but with the steps forward Horikita had made today, I was curious if she would try to appeal to Kushida on her own volition without sending me in first. Even if I didn't order her to, our angel would jump in excitement because of the opportunity to help her friends again.

"You are right. I will ask her after class."

Wait, wait, wait a minute. Was that character development? Horikita?

I placed my hand on her forehead.

"Ayanokouji-kun! What are you doing?"

After checking her temperature, I moved my hand away with a somewhat puzzled expression.

"Just confirming that you didn't catch a fever. The things you said just now were too out of character for you."

My lovely neighbor was about to stab me with her compass, but the teacher walked in at that moment. Horikita had difficulties holding herself back as she glared at me with ice-cold eyes during the whole lesson, but she managed to contain herself.

The day passed in a flash and my grumpy neighbor seemed to have forgotten her previous grudge. She stood and went to Kushida's desk first thing after the bell signaled the end of class.

"Kushida-san. I'd like to discuss something with you. Would you care to have lunch with me?"

Why am I so annoyed that she was asking her out in a much nicer fashion compared to the last time she asked me to have lunch with her?

The cute girl tried to hide her astonishment, but failed miserably. She threw a peek at me as if asking, 'What the hell did you do to her?', before smiling at my neighbor in her usual amicable attitude.

"It's unusual to get an invitation from you, Horikita-san. But yes, I'd love to."

Thus, the three of us wandered to the most prosperous and popular cafe on the school grounds; the Palate. We found a seat for three and ordered our sweets and drinks.

To my surprise, Horikita paid for all of us, myself included.

This unexpected development was driving me crazy.

I was dreaming, right?

Even though I squeezed the skin on my hand with increasing force, I hadn't woken up from my expected slumber.

"What in the world are you doing, Ayanokouji-kun?"

"Huh? I —"

"On second thought, don't answer. I don't even want to know."

Then why did you ask...?

A cute, adorable giggle escaped our additional companion, which overplayed her fear of me. Kushida's body quivered every time I opened my mouth, and she felt uneasy whenever our eyes met. But she could manage these instinctive responses when others were around.

"So, what did you want to discuss with me, Horikita-san?"

"I'd like to start another study group for Sudou and Ike... even Okitani, if he wants to join again. Will you help me one more time?"

"Knowing you, this study group won't be for Sudou-kun's or Ike-kun's sake, right?"

Kushida took a sip of her drink while waiting for Horikita's answer. Her smile was bright as usual, and she was happy that her enemy came to her for help. She seemed to think that I had something to do with Horikita's change of heart, but I wouldn't correct her mistake since she was being rather cheerful.

It's been a while since I'd seen her smile, after all.

"You are correct. I'm doing this for me, not them. Is that a problem for you?"

"No, I'm just glad that you are honest about your intentions. If your study group is helping my classmates in the end, I will assist you to the best of my abilities."

Kushida had an additional question.

I believed that she wanted to know the real reason that Horikita decided to help them, what her true goal in all of this was. But I didn't want her to ask, which is why I shook my head while grabbing my drink.

My raven-haired neighbor didn't notice these subtle hints for Kushida, who refrained from making any further inquiries. Instead, she mimed her usual cheery persona.

"Alright. The study group is back together!"

She jumped up and didn't care in the slightest that some customers turned towards us. It was surreal to see her delighted and happy after everything I had done to her, but I was glad that she managed to keep herself in check in front of people.

"I look forward to working with you again, Horikita-san! Ayanokouji-kun!"

Kushida extended her arms towards us with a beaming expression. My neighbor and I glanced at each other, somewhat caught off-guard. I didn't think that this was a good idea, due to our circumstances, but since my victim took the first step, I wasn't opposed to it.

Horikita and I returned her gesture, which resulted in the exact reaction I had feared. While she shook Horikita's hands with a kind smile, she instinctively recoiled upon touching mine. Since I had anticipated her subliminal feedback to this traumatizing trigger, I gripped her hand tighter and pulled it towards me, which balanced out her initial response but led to a small frown on her face which she corrected momentarily.

"I'm sorry. It's just residue from the milkshake. The server spilled a little."

"Ah, mh. It's... alright Ayanokouji-kun."

Kushida picked up on my cue and wiped her palm with a napkin before crumpling it into a sphere and stashing it in one of the pockets in her blazer. Horikita glared at me as if I was an idiot and shook her head.

"Well then. With that being said, how are we going to get Sudou-kun and the others back on board?"

According to her question, she accepted our pretext for her expression as a fact and moved on with the conversation. Since Kushida was here, I stayed silent and let her handle things from hereon out. She knew how to play her part and didn't need me to tell her what to do. Even if I wasn't here right now, the two would have been able to work things out.

"Leave it to me, Horikita-san!"

Kushida grabbed her phone and tapped around on it.

Barely one minute later, Ike raced into the establishment, wearing a grin that was out of this world. He looked around the cafe and his eyes gleamed for a millisecond after catching sight of Kushida before immediately dying afterwards when he noticed Horikita at the table.

He crept closer while trembling and stopped at least one meter away from either of them.

After noting my existence, he glared at me, as if asking, 'Did you tell them about the chat?!'

I ignored his plea and took a sip of my drink.

It was a chocolate flavoured one and tasted fantastic.

This was the first time I had this milkshake in particular, since I've been working my way through the menu whenever my friends and I visited the Palate.

Having friends was nice...

"I'm sorry for calling you over so suddenly. We wanted to ask you something."

Ike's lips formed a thin smile, probably thinking about something indecent before shaking his head in a panic. After he realized that Horikita was glaring at him, he backed away another step and stared at the girl in fright.

"W-what is it?"

"Are you joining Hirata-kun's study group?"

The boy trembled.

"I-I went yesterday...?"

"That was not my question, Ike-kun."

"Ah, I- no...? Um... it really sucked, honestly. I didn't understand a thing, and he is annoyingly popular. I only went there for Kushida-chan's sake, anyway. Sudou and I decided to cram the night before the midterms. It'll be fine."

Horikita lowered her head before pinching her brows. It was undeniable that she was struggling to hold back on the snide remarks she wanted to throw at him.

"That certainly sounds like an idea the two of you would come up with. It's highly likely that you will be expelled if you stay on that course."

"Of course it's you again. You haven't changed, have you?"

Sudou's annoyed voice echoed through the Palate.

Kushida had an insane amount of sway over the people in our class, especially the guys. She could probably honey-trap half the school without breaking a sweat. I should thank Horikita for gifting me such a beautiful piece to play with, since it was only thanks to their weird relationship that I could tame her this early without revealing too much of myself to her.

"Sudou-kun! Ike-kun! Please, can you listen to her just for a moment? She really wants to help you guys."

Both of them had neither the intention nor the psychological strength to resist Kushida's upturned puppy eyes.

Ike agreed with a beaming smile, while Sudou just nodded and averted his gaze with a conflicted expression.

"Sudou-kun, won't you try studying with us one more time? You might manage to pass barely if you pull an all-nighter, but if that fails, you won't be able to play basketball here anymore. You are aware of this, right?"

The Horikita of that day managed to surprise me again and again.

After all this time, she had used the strongest card she had against Sudou: his love for basketball.

If she worded and twisted her sentences in the right way, it would be easier to convince him to study for the sake of his dream. I laid the groundwork yesterday, not knowing that Horikita had something similar in mind.

"I want to play basketball, and I will reach my dream." He glanced at me for a moment before turning back to her. "But I haven't forgotten the shitty way you spoke to me the other day. If you want me to join, I want an apology first. An honest one."

Sudou raised a fair point.

It was difficult for someone as short-fused as him to look past something like this. Even if his temper weren't an issue, her words would still leave a bitter and unpleasant taste in a normal person. This made me wonder how Horikita would handle this situation. She wasn't one to apologize, but she kept surprising me today, which is why I had high hopes for her plan going forward.

"I hate you Sudou-kun."

Huh?

As if the last few hours of character development didn't exist in the first place, she threw everything in front of the bus.

How could a person consistently take two steps forward before jumping four backwards? I couldn't fathom what was going through her head, and felt sorry for her brother, who had to deal with this for so long.

No wonder he punched his sister as soon as he laid his eyes on her.

Back then, even though she was right, she spoke to Sudou in a condescending and disrespectful manner. I understood her hesitance in apologizing for being correct, since no one would want or should need to do that. But this was never what Sudou had asked for.

He simply wanted an apology for her contemptuous words about him and the sport he loved above all else. Sudou knew that Horikita's conclusions about the relevance of studying weren't false, but the way she made her point rubbed him the wrong way.

"What?!"

Before Sudou could explode any further, Horikita's calm and aloof voice rang through our immediate surroundings.

"Our mutual hate is trivial right now. I will teach you for my sake. And you will study and do your best for your sake. Am I wrong?"

"So you are really aiming for Class A. Even if that means dragging along someone you hate?"

She nodded, as if this was the most normal thing to do.

"Yes. Why else would I willingly involve you?"

Sudou clenched his fists after Horikita spat at him once again. He must have understood her line of reasoning, however.

If she would teach someone she hated, he could also learn under someone he despised. In a different manner than expected, Horikita managed to convince Sudou in her own twisted way. She was harsh and blunt as usual, but she understood Sudou's feelings towards her, because she felt a similar form of contempt.

"I'm still busy with basketball. The other guys never take a break from club activities for tests. I can't fall behind everyone."

Horikita opened her binder and turned the page to face him. Written on the paper on top was a detailed schedule leading up to the exam. She already predicted his unwillingness to study because of his club and came up with an appropriate solution for the problem.

"During the last session, I noticed that this style of studying didn't suit you. The two of you don't understand the fundamentals, meaning we have to start there. I've come up with a plan that won't jeopardise your club activities or your place at this school."

She sounded somewhat proud of herself, but Sudou didn't seem to buy this too-good-to-be-true solution.

"I doubt that it's possible, but sure. Tell me your plan, then."

"The test is about two weeks from now, so you will study during the lessons like your life depends on it." Everybody involved blinked in disbelief after listening to her foolproof plan. "The two of you don't work seriously in class. Sudou-kun, you mostly sleep, while you, Ike-kun, do nothing but daydream."

""That's...""

Both of them were about to object, but noticed that there wasn't anything they could say to defend themselves.

"In other words, you waste six hours a day doing nothing. We need to use this time to cut down on after-class studies, which will benefit your class activities and free time."

"This could work, theoretically. But isn't it practically unreasonable? If they can't keep up with class, how are they supposed to study and keep up with class at the same time?"

Kushida voiced her concerns on behalf of Sudou and Ike. Both boys nodded in unison, agreeing with the problems that she saw with this plan.

Horikita had already seen this coming, however, and turned to the next page.

There was a detailed plan on how each day would be tackled by the group. They were to study during classes and we would meet up in the short breaks after every period. Horikita would then answer and explain every question and problem they had faced during the previous hour. This process would repeat through the next periods, and would take place until the day of the midterms.

"There is no way this is going to work."

"Yeah, Sudou's right. Isn't it impossible to understand everything in ten minutes of break time?"

Once again, Horikita anticipated their negative views on her plan and had prepared a counter argument.

"I'll compile answers to every question and make them easy to understand. After that, Kushida-san and I will teach you individually, one-on-one. This way, we don't have to divide our attention if one of you runs into problems."

It was so beautiful...

My name was nowhere to be found.

It was rather obvious, since I didn't have good scores, but it was nice not being included in such troublesome affairs. I could spend my time by pretending to study while observing them without being bothered by anyone.

"I think we should try! It's better than doing nothing and Horikita-san spent so much time coming up with a plan for you, Sudou-kun! Ike-kun! I will also give it my all for the two of you! Let's all study together! Yay!"

"YAAAAAY."

"Y-yaay."

Ike was convinced, probably daydreaming about his one-on-one lessons with Kikyou-chan-sensei, while Sudou was scared to death of his new teacher, Suzune-cha —

No... I shouldn't go there.

I was once again surprised by my queen's persuasive abilities. We'd have to see how things would turn out during this week and I still had an ace up my sleeve, but it would be a waste to play it this soon.

With a loud thud, my bag dropped onto the ground after I shut the door behind me. I locked it and slid down with a heavy breath. My hands and fingers trembled as I still felt that devils touch on my skin.

Before I knew it, tears dropped onto my skirt and I began to cry my eyes out.

I thought that I could do it. Believed that I would be fine just pushing everything that happened aside.

But it was impossible to forget...

Whenever he opened his mouth to speak, a chill crawled down my spin. It didn't matter whether he was answering a question in class or talked to Matsushita and the other girls. I could only hear these three dreadful words.

"Spread your legs."

Then, a moment later, his terrifying yellow eyes flashed in front of me.

There was no escape.

If I closed my eyes, turned away or tried to distract myself, it didn't matter.

Those horrible orbs followed me everywhere I went.

My heartbeat began to accelerate, and I shot up towards the kitchen area.

I barely made it in time as the disgusting retching sounds echoed through the otherwise silent room. I wiped the threads away with the back of my hand before rinsing my mouth to get rid of this sickening taste that had lingered for the whole time.

Others wouldn't smell it after I had brushed my teeth three or four times, depending on the amount of vomit.

But I could still taste it... always.

I trudged into the bathroom and began to undress.

With every piece of clothing that dropped onto the floor, there was a click and a flash, as if he was still taking pictures of me. My body trembled in response to these hallucinations and I once again felt sick and disgusted by myself.

After stashing my uniform and underwear in the basket, I readied my wardrobe for tomorrow and turned on the shower before heading inside. The warm and gentle rippling sounds of the water were calming, but this brief tranquility wouldn't last long.

I began to wash my hair and neck before my hands ran over my shoulders, breasts and the rest of my body. As soon as I reached certain parts of myself, a second set of illusory hands began to caress over me.

They were cold and void of love or emotion.

Their arctic grasp squeezed my throat and played with my body until I threw up again.

When I was done cleansing myself, I turned off the shower and put on my nightwear. My stomach churned and twisted as I glanced at my bed, but I lied down on it and felt the warm and gentle embrace of my sheets.

For just a moment.

Because when I opened my eyes again, I was back in his room, naked, waiting for him to have his way with me. The things I was seeing weren't real, but the emotions these illusions triggered were absolute.

I rolled off the bed to escape these phantoms that were haunting me.

A loud, pain-filled groan rang through my dorm room as I crashed into the ground. My heart felt as if it was beating out of my chest as I began to hyperventilate. I managed to calm my breathing by reading the nice messages I had received and tried my best not to puke again.

It was already late, so I wasn't looking forward to cleaning my bile off the floor.

I curled myself up, since the ground was quite cold. There were blankets in my room, of course, but they triggered the phantoms as well. But maybe this wouldn't be much worse since they'd show up anyway once I closed my eyes.

And thus, my nightly terrors began anew.

Sudou and Ike studied with zeal during the upcoming lessons. They didn't take great joy in it, but they did their best for their own sakes, and Kushida's.

It was amazing how simple men were.

One light smile, a kind word, or even just an innocent brush from a cute girl changed their entire behavior. Even though Sudou seemed like he was dying from time to time, he kept on doing his best to achieve his dream of becoming a pro basketball player.

The lunch bell rang and everyone hurried to the cafeteria. We agreed to meet up in the library after lunch, as not to run into Hirata's study groups that were still taking place in the classroom.

Chiaki and the others were bummed when I excused myself for today as well, since I spent little time with them at the moment, but they understood my reasons after Hirata explained my involvement in Sudou and Ike's genuine attempts to better themselves for this class.

"Ayanokouji-kun! Do you want to have lunch together?"

Kushida hopped in front of me after my talk with Hirata and the others. He flashed me a kind, genuine smile, happy that I managed to make connections outside our group as well.

"Sure. I'd love to."

The adorable girl jumped to the next person in line, even though both of us already knew how that would turn out.

"What about you, Horikita-san?"

"I already have plans. Please excuse me."

With those words as a passing gift, Horikita left the classroom as haughty as always.

Since Sudou and Ike were already gone, Kushida and I went to the cafe to get lunch.

Once again, the building was overrun by girls and couples. I couldn't catch sight of anything but bouncing chests wherever my gaze went.

I'm not a pervert, but this was the truth...

"What's going on here?"

"This isn't really a place where boys come to eat."

"Then what the hell are we doing here?"

Kushida's giggle was hard to pick up on as she dragged me over to one of the empty tables with trembling hands.

I didn't like this situation, since I was standing out like a sore thumb in such an environment. There were a handful of other guys, either coupled up or with a whole cluster of girls around them.

Like Kouenji, for example.

I never saw him during lunch, and this would explain why. This wasn't one of the places I frequented, because Chiaki and the others were considerate enough not to drag me into cafes that were only filled with girls and a handful of guys. We also visited the Palate a few times, of course, but not that frequently, especially after we had received no points for this month since most of us began to run low on points.

Kushida and I sat down and ordered our meals before I glanced around the area with interest.

"Do you know those girls with Kouenji?"

"Yeah, why? Are you interested in our senpai's Ayanokouji-kun?"

Her smile was kind, yet teasing, but not at all genuine.

I wondered how she managed to wear this mask after everything I had put her through, because I knew that the things I did would leave deep and cruel scars. She should have trouble sleeping, even in her own bed, which should have been a safe space.

Kushida chuckled after I stared at her for a few seconds without reacting to her question. She turned towards them with a faint smirk on her beautiful face.

"All of them are third-years."

So that's how he was going to reach Class A. It was really a Kouenji-esque way to just buy out the points of every third-year student, since they couldn't do anything with their savings after leaving the school. Kouenji was rich, so his plan was foolproof. He not only got ahold of the points he needed but also the attention of beautiful girls.

Talk about win-win...

"His name was going around lately and everyone's been talking about him."

"What a sad world."

I felt nothing but pity for these women, but it wasn't my place to judge them. The weak did what they deemed necessary to survive, and that's that.

"In the end, they are just realists. You can't afford to eat on hopes and dreams."

I leaned forward and supported my head with my palm.

"What about you?"

"I'm a bit of a dreamer, I think. Something like a knight in shining armor would be nice."

"Hmm? Do you think such a person will come and save you from me?"

The surroundings were so loud that it was impossible to hear the conversations on other tables, which is why I had no qualms about making such a statement in a building full of people.

Kushida leaned forward, mirroring my actions.

She tried to stay calm, but the light quivering in her eyes didn't go unnoticed.

"I don't think he would survive." A forlorn smile surfaced on her otherwise usual cheery expression. "What about you, Ayanokouji-kun? Are you interested in girls like Horikita?"

"Horikita? Not really, I guess. But let's talk about her later."

I knew what she was after, but I had no intention of talking about their little dispute here.

"Hmm... you've caught the girl's eyes for a little while now, you know that, Ayanokouji-kun? You are on the first-year student's ranking charts."

Were those similar to Ike's breast size, cuteness and other such rankings? It felt weird to know that I was being ranked without my knowledge, which must've been the same for the girls. I apologized to them in my mind and turned my attention back to Kushida.

"Really? What sort of rankings are there?"

I was genuinely curious about this.

Would they also have such disrespectful rankings like we had for them?

"There are lots. The hot guy rankings. Rich guy rankings. Creeper rankings. Just-die rankings. The big —"

"Okay, that's enough. You girls are scary."

And at least as bad as the boys with such things...

"Don't worry too much. You are ranked third in the hot guy rankings. Satonaka-kun from Class A and Hirata-kun are first and second place, respectively. Even though I think you could outrank Hirata if you weren't so gloomy all the time. You are also ranked pretty high in that ranking..."

Kushida's teasing laughter rang through our vicinity.

This time I couldn't tell whether she wore her mask. The trembling lessened during the time we conversed but wouldn't die down this easily. I didn't doubt that it would return in full once we were alone somewhere and not behaving as if we were having fun with each other.

She also wanted to gather information from me, which might have helped to improve her mask for this occasion.

But my third place rank in hotness was really weird. Would someone feel proud of that? If I was third, there must've been a ton of votes, right? Did Fuka discover a way to vote more than once?

I should ask her the next time I run into her. It's been a while since we've had a chat...

"You don't seem happy about it. You are ranked third, you know? Third!"

"Mh, it might be different if I cared about such things, but I don't really feel anything." I shrugged and took a sip of the drink the server had brought some time ago. "What would the girls think if the boys had rankings for you?"

"They'd probably be considered the lowest of the low."

The cute smile on her lips didn't reach her eyes.

That was fast...

"Well, you ranked second in cuteness and seventh in breast size, if you are interested."

"Eh?"

My sudden statement had caught her off-guard, but I didn't understand why. Did she really believe that guys wouldn't do something like that when the girls were doing the same? What a bunch of hypocrites.

She kicked my shin with a somewhat flustered expression.

"Don't just say that out loud."

Kushida's face paled upon realizing what she had just done.

Her eyes began to quiver, and she pulled her trembling hands off the table and hid them underneath. She gazed out of the window and bit her lip, scared of what I might do to her once we were alone.

This girl had an unexpectedly cute side to her. She felt so embarrassed about what I had said that she forgot her place.

"It's fine. I don't mind."

She peered at me with a surprised expression, as I hadn't acted like she had anticipated. But there was no need for me to torture her any further. She knew her place, and that was enough. Now it was important that she began to realize that I had a whole other side to me.

"W-who's first?"

Her words were hard to understand since she covered her mouth.

I didn't know of such rankings and there was a pretty good chance that she might even be first in the cuteness ranking, if it really existed, but I wanted to verify a theory of mine. For that, Kushida needed to lose against someone in a topic she thought herself superior to anyone.

"Ichinose is first. And second, in the breast department."

A sliver of anger crossed her charming face before she regained her cool and transformed her expression back to wearing her usual adorable smile.

She was incredibly talented to keep her mask on despite talking to me as if we were friends. Some of her usual quick reactions would naturally suffer, because she needed to expend her efforts into not crying in front of all those people. She might have been able to lead everyone else astray, but not me, the one who had ripped apart the persona she created for herself.

"Ahh, Ichinose-san, huh? She's really cute after all. I can totally understand losing to her."

She hated Horikita for presumably knowing her from their previous school and despised others that were better than her in certain matters. Thus, my conclusion so far. I could just ask her, of course, but that would have to wait. It was also always good to have some initial information, which made it easier to ascertain if she was being dishonest or not.

I was sure that she wouldn't retaliate against me or hide information due to the horrors she had gone through because of me, but it was always wise to have a backup plan in hand, just in case the unforeseen happened.

"Hey... Ayanokouji-kun...?

Her voice was even weaker than before as she lowered her head and blew bubbles into her drink.

"If... if Horikita and I ever... clashed... Who would you side with?"

Was that her reason for bringing me here all along?

She must have ruminated about this question ever since she came to know my hidden side, because it was apparent that Horikita didn't know about the mysteries I sheltered, which made her wonder why I was going along with anything she did. If my feelings towards her were something in line with love, it would be dangerous for Kushida to clash with her.

This would explain the flow of our conversation till now.

My hands embraced hers, which she held her drink with. Her body shook, but she didn't resist, as there were too many people around. If she made a scene, I would be inconvenienced, which she didn't want to have on her conscience.

I gazed into her eyes, and she peered back into mine.

"You are my queen, Kushida. I'd do anything to protect you."

She averted her gaze while I let go of her hand. It wouldn't be good if weird rumours about us spread, after all. The current sequence of actions just looked like a friend supporting another one, which wasn't out of place with someone like Kushida.

"Did you want to have lunch with me to ask that question?"

"Yes... but not only that."

"What else?"

"I figured that we should spend more time together. Because, you know... otherwise, it might look weird when we are suddenly hanging out more often."

As expected of my queen.

She saw a problem I couldn't perceive due to my limited knowledge in that field and took care of it. If we were ever seen together, then the excuse that we were good friends would have more weight if there was a time which led up to it beforehand. This would also work in favor with her exposure therapy towards me, since I needed her to return to normal eventually.

The waitress brought our meals, which we ate while discussing some trivial, borderline useless topics. Even though we were chatting about whatever came to mind, I could get a better read on her, as well as the amount of knowledge she possessed regarding certain topics.

Kushida wasn't only beautiful, but also academically and emotionally gifted. Her general intelligence was yet to be seen, but I figured that she would prove herself as an excellent all-rounder.

After finishing our meals, we ambled over to the library, where we promised to meet up with the others. Horikita and, to our surprise, Sudou and Ike as well, were already waiting with their materials, ready to begin.

"You're late."

My neighbor was rather prickly, but I didn't understand why since everything was fine this morning.

"Sorry, the crowds were tough..."

Kushida bowed in apology for our late arrival.

"Hey! You two didn't eat lunch together, did you?"

Ike's eyes contained suspicion and pure malice. If either of us answered, I was sure that he would learn how to sew in order to stitch a voodoo doll that resembled me and murder it to his heart's content.

"Yes, we ate lunch together."

She stabbed me in the back...

Even though Kushida's bright smile could drive away the darkness itself, I couldn't help but be afraid of what Ike might do after realizing that I had a one-on-one 'date' with Kikyou-chan-sensei while he waited for her to arrive.

"Hurry."

Horikita's cold voice rang through the library. She didn't even look up at us, so she was in a terrible mood as well.

"Okay, okay..."

I sat and took out my notebook.

Sudou and Ike began chatting since they were glad that Horikita's plan wasn't as hard as they initially thought. My neighbor kept them back on topic, but they started drifting off again just moments later. She seemed about to explode, which is why I acted before she could say anything.

"Shouldn't we hurry and concentrate on studying?"

"Yes, I agree. We've been wasting precious time because someone was late."

Wow, speak about hostile...

"We were barely a minute too late..."

"Here's a question for everyone. Who came up with inductive reasoning?"

Thank you so much, Kushida...

The following conversation turned off-topic rather quick as we somehow swayed from the Baconian method towards talking about actual bacon, which was in no shape or form related to Sir Francis Bacon. The group, meaning Sudou and Ike, then began chatting about useless topics yet again.

Horikita was about to admonish them, but the voice of a student on a nearby table reached us before she could.

"Quiet down. Your blabbering is annoying."

"Sorry, I got carried away because I got something right." Ike gave the newcomer a thumbs up. "Did you know that Francis Bacon was the guy who came up with inductive reasoning?"

"Huh?! Wait. Are you Class D students?"

The whole group from the table adjacent to ours looked up, scrutinizing us.

Sudou was irritated by their behavior, since he was already looked down upon at the beginning of school for his placement in Class D by some upperclassmen. Even back then, he hadn't handled this situation very well.

"So, what's the big deal? You got any problems with that?"

"Not a problem at all. I'm just glad that I don't have to study with morons like you. It's clear how far superior we, Class C, are compared to you cavemen."

Since I was interested in their general conduct, I glanced over towards them.

I had little to do with Class C students and only rarely ran into them when I was hanging out with Ichinose and the other Class B students. Few people decided to address someone in such a large group, which wasn't out of the ordinary.

This batch didn't seem too bright, but I could use this confrontation to gather some intel, at least.

"What did you say?!"

Sudou shot up and glared at the boy with a threatening gaze.

"Don't get mad. I'm only telling the truth. I wonder what would happen if you start a fight with us now. Since you can't lose points, maybe you'll get expelled?"

The group began to laugh, which provoked Sudou even more.

"Fine with me, bring it!"

Before he could walk around the table and get physical, Horikita's annoyed voice rang through the library.

"I don't particularly mind that you are bad-mouthing us, but you are in Class C? You shouldn't be proud of barely escaping the floor of the barrel."

"Clearly there were errors of calculation in placing Class C and A. But you guys in D are on another level."

The boy's tone differed to before, as he seemed to have taken Horikita's words personal. His condescending attitude was gone, and he got more defensive about his position in the hierarchy.

"That's an inconsistent standard of measurement. Are you also comparing apples and pears? Everyone not in Class A is lumped together. Haven't you received the memo?"

The table got quiet as the student glared at Horikita.

"You are pretty sassy for a defective product. Do you think you can say anything because you have a cute face?"

"Please don't compliment me, rather stop looking. It feels uncomfortable."

The Class C student smacked the table and stood up.

He was about to walk over to our table when one of his classmates stopped him in his tracks.

"Relax. If we're the ones starting the fight, we'll be in trouble. Let it go." The boy turned towards us after calming down his friend. "I'm looking forward to seeing how many Class D students will be expelled this time around. If I remember correctly, you already lost one, didn't you? That guy was gone so fast no one even knows his name."

The guy sneered, which was the breaking point for Sudou's already fragile temper.

"Okay, that's enough."

He dashed forward and grabbed the Class C student by the collar. Everything, including his body language, told me that the other guy would soon spit blood on the library floor. I decided to intervene this time around, since I couldn't get Sudou expelled for being short-fused.

"Okay, stop. Stop!"

Before I could move, a serious yet sweet sound reached my ears. I recognized her voice, and so did Kushida.

I was rather happy that she interfered since I could sit by and watch, whereas Kushida didn't seem all too excited about her appearance, which confirmed my previous assumption.

Sudou stopped and turned towards the beautiful new arrival.

"What? This doesn't involve you. Stay out of it."

Even though he was quite irritable, Ichinose only smiled.

"It doesn't? I'm using the library to study in silence, so it does involve me. If you want to get violent, do it outside."

"Tch."

Sudou pushed the guy he grabbed aside and stomped back to his seat. The Class C student wanted to retaliate but was stopped by Class B's leader as well.

"And you. Why were you provoking him? If things continue like this, I'd have to report you to the school. Do you want that?"

"S-sorry... Ichinose."

The Class C students hurried off with their tails between their legs after Ichinose took the center stage.

Similar to Kushida, no one wanted to be on her bad side, which was understandable. Both of them were kind and just overall nice to be around. If someone managed to mess up their relationship with them, half of the school would follow.

"If you guys are going to study here, please act like proper adults. Thank you."

With those words, Ichinose spun around and strode back to her class.

"Excuse me for a minute. I'll be right back."

Horikita glanced at me with a startled expression as I went after Class B's leader.

"Hey! You are going after Ichinose-chan, aren't you? You bastard!"

Ike wanted to follow me, but was held back by both Kushida and Sudou. They forced him back down on his seat and began to study again after the commotion died down.

Ichinose gifted me with a dazzling smile as I neared Class B's table.

"Ayanokouji-kun! I was pretty cool just now, don't you think?"

She pushed her little fists forward as if shadow boxing and let out a light chuckle. Shibata and Kanzaki just shook their heads while Amikura and a few other girls cheered her on.

"Sorry about that, and thanks for stepping in, Ichinose. You really saved us there."

"No worries. If you guys want to study with us, we could make some space?"

Her gaze went around the table as she made sure that this proposal was alright with her classmates. They all agreed and had no qualms about us joining their study group. Shibata, Kanzaki and Amikura also prompted me to come over with them, since it would be more fun.

I still didn't understand why studying needed to be 'fun', but I hoped that I would learn their reasoning in time.

"That's really kind of you, but our tutor isn't the group type. Just the four of us are already draining her."

"Oh, that's totally fine. If you ever want to join, you know where to find us. Or you can just call me."

"Yeah, I'll keep..."

My thoughts drifted off, after I noticed the topics that Amikura was reviewing since they weren't the ones Chabashira-sensei had notified us about. The confusing part was that the contents Kanzaki was going over were in the test, since I had already seen the solutions. We were learning those as well, but the ones Amikura was occupied with were neither in Horikita's and my notes nor in the solutions I had received from Kiryuin.

Why had they received a different set of problems?

"Ayanokouji-kun?"

Ichinose tilted her head and rested her index finger on her supple lips.

This was too adorable...

"Hey, you guys received the topics for the midterms as well, right? Could you show them to me?"

"Oh yeah, of course. Where did I put the papers..."

While Ichinose was occupied with combing through her materials, Kanzaki handed me some of Shibata's notes since they were lying around nearby.

"Here, those were the topics Hoshinomiya-sensei gave us."

I compared his notes with mine, but they only partially overlapped. Some topics they had noted down weren't in Class D's notes and vice versa, meaning that Chabashira-sensei must have given us a few wrong topics. It wasn't a problem since none of the topics that were missing would be present in the midterms, but it was still a weird fact.

Was this her way of testing me?

It made little sense, though. If she wanted to analyze me, she would have given us completely wrong topics, not only the ones that wouldn't show up in the midterms, anyway.

Did she just want to see how I'd react? No...

Was this a ploy by the school?

There was a large assortment of topics that could be chosen for the midterms. The students wouldn't know that the contents had already been decided. Class B got different wrong topics than we did, but what about Class A or C? If they also got a different selection of bait-topics, we could narrow the true topics down without a reasonable doubt.

Essentially, we would have an easier time in the midterms if all classes worked together and not against each other.

As of now, there was still a chance that Chabashira-sensei gave us the wrong topics because she tried to mess with me, and that Hoshinomiya-sensei got them wrong for whatever reason. If we could confirm with at least one more class, then we could establish my assumption and all students would know the topics for the midterms for certain.

But why would the school do something like this?

"Is something the matter, Ayanokouji-kun?"

Ichinose had noticed that something was off, and glanced at me with a mystified expression.

"I'm not sure just yet." I borrowed Ichinose's pen and circled certain topics on Shibata's notes. "But you should focus on these for now."

The whole table looked at me, rather perplexed.

"Are you sure, Ayanokouji-kun?"

"I'm not saying that you should solely focus on them, but I believe those to be the most likely topics for the midterms."

"May we know why?"

While Ichinose seemed to trust me even without knowing the reason, Kanzaki raised a valid question. Since I've already helped them narrow down the topics, there was no need to keep them in the dark. If I helped them, it would only strengthen the relationship I had with Class B.

"I could be wrong, but..."

I revealed my reasoning for circling these specific topics, how their notes differed from ours, and how we could narrow my assumption down for sure if we had another class's topic list to cross-examine.

"Hmm, so we just have to confirm your hunch, correct?"

Ichinose pulled out her phone and tapped around on it.

Not even a minute later, she laid the device on the table and turned it around for everyone to see. It showed a picture of Class C's list of topics, which, as expected, only differed slightly from ours.

She was as skilled in these things as Kushida. It was almost scary...

"Wow, Ayanokouji-sensei. You are super smart!"

Amikura gave me a thumbs up and stuck her tongue out in a teasing manner. The other Class B students nodded in agreement, which made me somewhat uncomfortable.

"Not really. I mean, anyone would have seen this if they had known the list of at least one other class, right?"

"Mhh, but I think you —"

Amikura received a light smack on the head from a pouting Ichinose.

"Stop it Mako-chan! Can't you see that he's uncomfortable?"

I had to thank Ichinose for her timely intervention, but she shouldn't think for a second that this glimpse of goodwill would change anything in our ongoing war.

"Well, since this confirms our assumption, I should let my class know as well."

The list of wrong Class A topics was still missing, but that didn't bother me much as I could cut down on the topics everyone needed to learn without being too suspicious. This would make it even easier to score higher on the upcoming exams.

We said our farewells before I headed back to Kushida and the others. After a 'warm' welcome by both Horikita and Ike, I shared what I learned from Ichinose's group.

"Mh, that's an interesting find there, Ayanokouji-kun."

My ill-tempered neighbor eyed me with suspicion.

"Oh yeah, for sure. I only wondered why we had different topics and the rest was a group effort..."

"That's amazing news, though! Since we narrowed down the list of subjects to learn, it will be far easier for everyone to learn them! Right, guys?"

Kushida's overwhelming, bright smile increased our mood even further. Ike began to cheer her name with zeal, not even thanking me for discussing things with the Class B students. In his version of the story, this was Kushida's doing all along.

How this twisted logic worked, however, I couldn't tell.

"Wait. Wasn't today's lesson completely useless, then?"

Sudou's bitter, yet truthful words put a damper on our heightened mood with that single question.

After our lunch break, Kushida conveyed the exciting news to the rest of our classmates.

Everyone was glad that the list of topics could be narrowed down further, as they cheered her name in unison, since I told her not to mention my involvement in figuring this out. Even though we lost some time learning a few unnecessary topics, we made more headway in total because we didn't need to learn and remember as much as before.

I let Kushida know that I wanted to see her this evening before leaving the classroom and ambling back to my apartment.

[07:21:35 PM[Unkown] Meet me in the park where I asked you for help with Sudou and Ike.

This was the message I received from an unknown number some time after class.

After breaking the good news about the upcoming midterms, we decided to hang out for a bit before going home. Even though I wanted to stay with them a while longer, I excused myself for the day and made my way over to the specified location.

I didn't know why the devil wanted to meet, since we had already made plans for later, but maybe something came up which forced him to a change of plans. It didn't really matter though, because I was sure that it wouldn't be wise to keep him waiting.

When I reached the offside park area, the demon was nowhere to be found. On the bench we were supposed to meet sat a woman with long, platinum-blonde hair and gazed at the rising moon.

The upperclassmen turned her head as she heard my footsteps.

"Oh, hello little Kouhai."

"Um, sorry for the intrusion, senpai. I was looking for a friend of mine, but it seems I got lost." I forced a light laugh and scratched my chin as if I was embarrassed. "I'll be taking my leave then."

I bowed and was about to turn around when the woman opened her mouth yet again.

"Ahh, right. Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, correct?" Her gentle smile turned into a vicious sneer. "I know what he did to you."

With no warning, these sickening yellow eyes flashed through my field of view.

My heartbeat sped up as my breathing grew laboured.

I wanted to calm down and think, but my body stopped responding.

"A-ayanokouji-kun? W-what did he do to me?"

I tilted my head and let out a light, nervous chuckle.

Even though such actions would give away the knowledge I possessed, I was unable to control my expressions the way I usually could due to the shock.

A devious, evil grin flashed over the girl's lips.

"Almost kill you, for starters."

The words 'kill you' reverberated through my head as the phantoms brought me back to that moment in time. That horrifying occasion where I had thought that I would die.

My airways were tied up, as if he was still holding onto my throat, still putting pressure on my windpipe. I felt cold and weak as I stared at the woman in front of me with nothing but fear in my eyes.

Someone was actually crazy enough to just watch while something like this played out before her?

There was no other way that this woman could have known about this. And if she knew this much, there was no point in playing dumb, either. The most important course of action right now was to buy myself some time to calm down and think of a way out.

Since thinking was pretty fucking hard right now...

"What do you want, senpai?"

With this simple question, the illusions intensified.

The devil leaned against the railing, analyzing me with his cold and damned frightening eyes. Another phantom crept closer to me, grasping my throat from behind.

W͍ͫ̀h̬ͭ͟a̷̼͂t̪̽́ ͌͋͏͓i̞̗ͨ̃͞s̛̠̤ͦ ̧͓̲̊ỉ̵̗͔͘ţ̛̃̀ͅ,̡̦͉ͨͥͪ͞ ͭͪ͏̷̰̯̟K̢̧͈͕͈̍͂u̶̱̺̥̼ͧ̒̄s̛̹ͫ̄͡h̛̗̬͔͇͂̍i̸̶̝ͭ̔͒ͥ̑ḍ̷̴̡̲̙̮͂̾̓̒̈́͘ā͎̲̟͢?̵̙̥̳̮̉̓͗ͥ̔ ̢̖̣̹͖ͦ̏̔̏̀͢͢ͅD̲̊͊̊͠ǫ̛̝͔͓ͫͪ̈́ͪ͢͢ ̮̤̆́y̡̭͛̒ͬ͠o̹̝̞̔͂͜ȕ̴͓̜̐̿́ͬ̇̀̀͘͟ ̵̡̲͍̠̭͇͒ͥ͘t̢̡̜̖̠̫̩ͨͧ́̕h̵̪̏̅̋̓͊͘͘͢͜i̸̧̢̟͈̣̻̊̀̓̓͡n̸͚̻͇̋k̵̈͗͞͏͕ ͪ̓̀ͣ͏̡̡̙̺͜y̨̢̨͙͍̓ͭ͟o̷̳͚̙͙͒͑u̴̢̢̥͖͗̒ ̴̲͊͘a̽̐͏̹͓̥͝r̶͕̣̼̉̓͝ë̎͠͏͍̯̺ ͙̆ͧ͊̕d̵̨̰́y̶̬͎͑̃͟i̴̖͑n̤̅͟g̷̖͓ͯ?̥ͭ̕͡

His frigid, distorted voice rang through my ears.

I nodded.

A̝̐͢n͌͏͕͓d͚͒̀͢ ̦̓͜wͯ̇͏̰h̷̝ͥ́ỳ̵̹̦͞ ̟̐̈́͘͝s̵̢̪̆̐ͬ͜h͉͚͊ơ̫̋͋u̵̱̻̱͒l͓͌͝d̡̝̠ͭ͑̍̀͟ ̧̲ͣ̑ͧ͡͡I͕̪̊̀ ̗͖̐̂́c̶̹̄̊ȧ̷͏͎r̞̐͡e̝ͫ͞?̛̺̺̄

"My class lost four people today, thanks to his little scheme. Nagumo was furious that some of his biggest supporters in Class B were expelled and I had to listen to his shitty speech the whole day. It was funny... honestly, but Ayanokouji betrayed me because I kept my distance after what he did to you. He must have realized that I would move against him, which is why he attacked me first. We only talked briefly after the incident on the roof, but it seemed he had picked up on the subtle changes in my behavior despite my best efforts. I'll take revenge on him for screwing with me, and you will help this beautiful, charming senpai."

The woman stood up. Her crimson eyes were as cold as the devils.

With every step she took towards me, I took one away from her.

The ghastly hand around my throat increased its pressure.

Y̜ͤ͜ȏ̝ͬ͜ū̫̗̾́͢ ̴͚͇̇ͤ͡b̧͚̄̆͠ě̈́͏͎l̫̫̽̋͡o̦̩͒͠n̖̙̈́̀ͅg̢̛̙͊ͮ͞ ̷̳̣͑ͭ̅͠t̵̩ͪ̾̚͜͠o̢̩ͬ ̴͙ͤͮͮ̄͞m̵̶̴͎͖͚̹ͨ͋̍e͍̰̪̒͌ͥ͠ ̸̷̸͓͔̦̂͡ņ̵̖̎ͧ͊̇͟õ̻̌̔͘͡w̵̡͈̫̼͈̻ͥ́́͝.̨̣ͮ̉ͯ̄̿ ̶̷̗̮̫͓̪ͪͯ͌͂̚͝Y̛̽̓̈́͡͝͏̰̤̩͎o̴̰͌̇ͪ̒́u̙̬̿ͭͪͦ̎̀ ̧̦̱̹̼͌̇ͬ̀w̫̯̦̿̕̕̕i̡͍̮̓̕͡͠l̸̢̧̛͉͍̼̇ͦ͜l̴͍̝̫͉͊̃ͭ̐̔̂̐̀̕ ̢̡̮̭̥̏ͯ̔́̕͢͡͠ͅd̡̨͍̲͖̦̗ͦͥ̎̋̅͢ơ̷̧̧͉̘̦̭̙̓͞͞ ̶̷̨̛̛̦̮̾͐̇͟ā̶̼͎̣̟̘̲͉́͜͟ş̵̛̞͚̺͇ͭͥ̌͂͋͢ ̷̶̵̦͎̜̪͍͒͟͜ͅͅĬ̧̨̖̻̠̟̲̪̖̉͂̋͒́̕ ̵̷̥̲̞ͮͮ͜͞s̵̤̣̪̿ͮ̈́ͮ̊͝͞a̛̝̗̖͗̕͢͞͞͞y̳͛̈ͨ̌̓ͣ͘,̼ͤ̄ͦͩ̍ͮ̕͜͝ ̶̢̧̞̓ͣ̋̊ͩ͘͡͡ô̢̫̦̞ͯ͆̕͝r̮̗̱͎̪͐̚͟͜͠ͅ ̬̳͛͠y̨̦͒́́͞ͅo̶̢̥̾̐̀ȗ̵̼͇͂̐̄͑ ̵̸̡̛̳͖̲̤͑ͬͧw̧̡̲̟͙͋̇ͫ͢͢i̧̨̲̺͇ͩ̾̔̀l̷̨̨͚̠̻͂lͭ́͜͏̞ ͉̭̂̾͡r̴͉̺͍̈́e̱͌̓ͪ́͢͟g̡̗ͪ̅̍͝r̮̥͑̐ͦ́͢͝ê̲͚̼͢t̳̍͞ ̢͖ͨ͘i̡̠̓t̴̩̀.̹̾͘

His voice ripped through my thoughts as I bumped into the railing with nowhere left to run.

"You will work for me now, as a double agent, of sorts. Whatever he plans, you will tell me. If he closes in on me, you will also tell me." Her hand flashed towards my collar. "Is that understood, little Kouhai?"

Her arctic voice, her apathetic facial expression, as if she was looking at an insect, and even her gestures... they were carbon copies of him.

I felt like I was drowning as I kept gasping for air.

"There shouldn't be much to think about after what he has done to you. You want revenge too, right? So don't worry, little girl. As soon as I got rid of him, I will set you free. There will be no one breathing down on your neck anymore. I'll need two weeks. Tops. In that time, be a good little follower to him and an even better informant for me. Or else..."

"Ahhh, so annoying!"

Thud!

Thud!

Thud!

"Why can't she just die!"

My face turned ashen.

"Well, you know where this is going, right? If you fuck me over, I'll release my copy of your conversation. It was fun watching him. He gave me inspiration."

.̳̅͢.̬ͨ́͜.̸̹ͩ͢ ̛̙̎t̺͖ͩ͜͠h̵̤̒̊ͅi͇͊̐͞s̸̯̫ͬ̐͜͠ ̸̴̪̠ͦ̌͞ŵ̹̝̹̓̕͝oͫ͂ͦ͟͏̫̬u̸͔͉ͪ͑l͈̭̲͐̕d̷̢̙͛́̕ ̩͙͗̔ͩ͞h̸̶͙̩͕͊͊̍́ä̢̲̲̦́ͦ͢͡͡ͅͅv̩̮̜̝ͯ͟ê͛͛͗͆͏͏̡͍̫ ̵͆͏̵̛̬̥̜̙ẹ̶̢̣̮͊͌̈̒̄ņ̶̝̪̱̬̉̎͛̀̀̀͜d̢̡͗ͨͧ͡͏̨̼͖̦̞̬e̸ͩͭ͋̈͏̷̶̻̟̙̗̠̕d̷̴̀̃́͝͏͇͖͍̬ ̴̢̨̣̼͈͉̤̿̓͛͛ţ̸̗͉͉͙ͮ̽̈̾͝e̸̛͍̠̩̓̓̇r̞͚̗͌ͤͪ͢͞r̖̈̂ͨ͜͞i̬̗̇͘b̺͊̒̌͟͞l̹ͩ͢ē͓͚̍̈ ̶͔̓ͅf̞̃͟͡͡o͔̯̐̕͢r̸̝͗̄ ̴͕̯͂͗͞yͯ͌͏̘̺o̧̳̔̀ǘ͉͡.̷̨̬ͦ

I bit my lip with clenched fists.

What the fuck did I do wrong to be threatened by two crazy psychos?

No matter how hard I tried to claw my way out of this, I would end up in even more shambles than I already was.

"If I help you... to get rid of him... I want out. As soon as that monster is gone, I'm done being your follower, informant or whatever. I just want my life back."

"Deal, little Kouhai."

She extended her hand towards me, and I made the mistake of reciprocating her gesture.

The moment our hands met, she pulled me closer to her and closed in on my ear. Her free hand flashed forward and gripped my throat, just like he had done.

Her fingers coiled around my neck as she began to strangle me.

"If you dare to tell him about our meeting, I will destroy you. You still remember the story he spun up for you, right? I'll make sure it becomes reality if you betray me." Her grip tightened as she put more pressure on my windpipe. "Just. Far. Worse."

This maniac in front of me, whatever her name was, wasn't joking around.

Tears spilled from my eyes, which seemed to be the new norm for me after all the ones I had shed during the last few days. My body felt cold and lifeless, since there was nothing I could do to defend myself against these two monsters.

I was nothing but an insignificant insect in their schemes.

"I understand..."

Ỵͯ͜o̴̰̚u͇ͬ͜ ͆͞ͅa̸̰ͧr̵͚͑e̷͓ͦ ̵̝͗m̸͙̌y̹̑͜ ͖̐̀q͈͊u̟͋́ȩ̩̅ȩ̯ͮn̩͋,̥ͨ͞ ̳ͦ͜Kͨ͏͕ų̟ͭš̵̞h̵̗̃i̲ͣ͝d̵̝̉ḁ̿́.̠̊͝ ͖̈́͞I̢͇͆'̸̼ͤd̮̉͜ ̭͒́d͓͒͢o̝ͩ́ ̡̦̽a͓̽͠ṇ͊͜y̸͛ͅt̷͗ͅh̺̊́ȉ̧̱n̥ͤ͢ģ̦ͭ ̶̱ͧt̰̾͟o̢̩ͤ ͙͐̕p̵̪̊ṟ̢̀ỏ͍͝t̴͙͋ẻ͏̱c͇̔͢t̴͍͂ ̦ͣ͢y̩͒͢ơ͍ͤủ͓̀.̸̱̎

- Word Count: 14992 / 68663 Characters

Released 28.05.2022

Chapter 12 - Queen (Part 4)

After dinner, I was relaxing on the bed while browsing through some of my group chats.

Despite my worries on the first few days I had in this new life, I was part of quite a few, which was a welcome surprise. At first I had concerns about my ability to make friends or join any groups I could hang out with, but they turned out to be for naught.

The very first group I had joined was the Class D boys' one, with Sudou, Ike and the others. It wasn't an all boys chat anymore since Satou had joined a few days ago, but that wasn't the important part here.

Then there was the group with Chiaki, Karuizawa, Hirata and so on, which I've been a part of since its creation. Even though a normal person wouldn't be proud of such a fact, I couldn't help but be happy.

Last but not least was Class B's group.

Almost their entire class was part of this chat, including me. I felt somewhat out of place, being the only student outside of Class B, but Ichinose, Amikura, Shibata and the others all assured me that it was totally fine for me to join them.

I assumed they had a second group just for class matters, while this one was for pretty much everything else.

It felt weird, but I wouldn't complain about making more friends. Another positive fact was that these people were far too trusting, which made it easier to gather information. I figured that they would get more careful as time went on, but there was no reason to spoil the good relationship I had with them.

The door to my room opened and closed in a matter of seconds, as if some rabid animal sprinted inside.

I had left it unlocked since I was waiting for my visitor, who had just arrived. The beige-haired girl that opened the entrance to hell was panting and gasping for air before locking the door with the chain.

"Fuck..."

She struck the wall in frustration before leaning her head against the door. Kushida's breath was uneven and labored, as her clenched fists slid down the facade.

"Poor wall. She did nothing to anger you, you know?"

I tapped the power button on my phone and sat up to face the new arrival.

"I can't beat anyone else, so the wall has to do."

Was that how bullies justified their actions?

I didn't follow this train of thought any further, as I appreciated that Kushida seemed to be a tad more relaxed around me. Of course, she might still wear her mask, but at least she was getting better at hiding her true fears.

My queen made her way over and sat on a chair in front of me with a discouraged face. She seemed to be in a rather bad mood, so much in fact, that she hadn't realized that her behavior wasn't as careful and obedient as it should have been.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

She shot me a furious glare, which I didn't mind.

It was time that she saw my other side. The kind and gentle one she hadn't seen before, since she had suffered enough the last few days. Kushida was aware of her place in the hierarchy and accepted it. Now I needed to show her that there was no need to be afraid any longer.

As long as she did what she was told, at least.

"Are you my fucking shrink now? Okay, sure. Why not? How about we start with the guy who threatened to rape me just the other day? Oh, wait... He almost did."

"Wow, that's awful. Who would do something like that to you?"

She clicked her tongue and was about to retaliate before realization struck.

Kushida's face paled, and her body began to shudder. She peeked at the door she had just locked with a terrified expression before glancing at me with fear-stricken, quivering eyes.

"Ayanokouji-kun, I —"

"Shhh..."

I put my finger in front of my lips, silencing her.

The petrified girl shut her mouth, afraid of what I might do to punish her transgression. Her uneasy breathing sounds traveled through the otherwise silent room, as the two of us held eye-contact.

I tapped the bed to my right.

She understood what this silent command meant and trudged over with hesitant, unsteady steps before placing her bum on the comfortable seat beside me.

"What happened?"

She lowered her head while playing with her trembling fingers.

It must have been difficult to sit beside me, acting like nothing had transpired here between us. I had touched and scarred her on this bed on which she now had to sit and chat with me as if we were two close friends. My hands, which were positioned close to hers, had strangled and almost killed her, before they defiled certain parts of her body.

These terrifying memories haunted her to this day, and would continue to do so, even in the distant future.

"I ran into trouble..."

Her reluctant and concerned attitude was understandable, since she couldn't fathom how I might react to this information. She knew that I wanted her to work for me, which meant that she was useful. A person who ran into trouble shortly after being employed, however, was anything but practical and could be considered a disastrous investment.

"What kind?"

She peered into my eyes for a moment, before averting her gaze back down towards her palms.

"A human kind with platinum-blonde hair. She's a senpai and her eyes are fucking terrifying... She is fucking terrifying..."

This description left little to my imagination, since I knew the girl in question rather well. The woman she was worried about was none other than the most interesting senpai I had met to date — Kiryuin Fuka.

"Elaborate."

"Here." Kushida handed me her phone and showed me the message she had received from an unknown number, which instructed her to meet up where I had asked her for help. "She said that you betrayed her and that she was going to get you expelled for it. I'm supposed to be the one helping her."

"And how will you accomplish that?"

"Since I am working under you, I'm supposed to tell her about every move you make. She mentioned that you had realized that she turned her back on you, which is why you attacked her and Class 2-B."

Now that she had calmed down somewhat, she must have realized that Fuka was part of the class I had her attack during the interrogation, which was the reason she was in this precarious situation.

I was glad that Kushida came to me with this information.

It would have ended terribly if she had listened to Fuka's threats and worked against me in order to get rid of her tormentor for good. I expected this would happen, since it was just a matter of time, but Fuka acted sooner than anticipated.

But there was one question I couldn't answer myself.

"Why did you decide to tell me?"

"Why?" Her dry laugh echoed through the room. It wasn't a genuinely happy one, but a self-deprecating, disheartening reflection of her thoughts and feelings. "I don't fucking know..."

Something had changed in the girl known as Kushida Kikyou.

Other answers like, 'I can't see you lose', or similar compliments would have been valid choices in her case, which might have improved her standing if I was susceptible to such pleasantries, but she told me the truth.

Her honest thoughts.

Fuka was a smart and ruthless woman. If her plan worked out, there might have been a way for Kushida to get rid of me. Yet she informed me, her executioner, about Fuka's ploy on the same day she had learned about it. All she had to do was leave me to drown and I could have done nothing about it.

From her point of view, there shouldn't have been a better option to get rid of me once and for all. She had more than enough reasons to loath me and being under duress by a third party was an especially convincing reason for betrayal when a person was going through such dark times.

Siding with me was like signing a deal with the devil.

"Kushida."

Her head turned towards my voice as her body shrunk. She shivered not only in fear but also the freezing sensation my words carried. She had trouble locking eyes with me when we were alone, but she did rather well today, even though it must have been taxing on her psyche.

"Thank you."

I believed that my lips drew a smile, but there was no way to confirm if they were. Kushida must have seen my expression, so I could have asked her, but this would have ruined the moment.

She averted her gaze like a sulking puppy and cursed under her breath.

"Bastard..."

"Don't you know that it's bad manners to turn your back to someone you are talking to?"

She brought her legs up the bed and lowered her head, burying it in between her knees. My adorable classmate was scared and felt her insecurities rise because of the looming threat in front of her. Kushida was smart, and she realized that her specs weren't high enough to duke it out with people like us.

"Let's talk about how we are going to act from now on."

Her place at this school should have been endangered since she had warned me about Fuka's plan. Once this cruel senpai realized that I knew about her ploy, she would likely use whatever she had against my queen and bring her down hard.

Kushida knew this, of course.

I thought up multiple plans, one of which she would reveal to Fuka, while I would execute the other without her help. If she disclosed the wrong one, my life at this school would be in danger. She would need to maneuver carefully every time the two of them met, but I was convinced that Kushida could handle it.

After we finished up the first part of our meeting, I briefed her about everything I would need from her concerning the class competitions, which was quite a lot of initial work.

"I need a document about every single student at this school. The most important ones are the first-years, of course, then the second and third. Since you know most of them, this shouldn't be too much trouble. Names, general information, friends, club associations, whatever you can think of, preferably with pictures or I won't know who you are talking about. If you learned any secrets about them, write them up if they are useful, otherwise don't bother. I'll leave the decision what's important and what's not under your discretion."

Kushida nodded and glanced at the time on her phone.

"Is that all for today?"

She seemed eager to go home, which was understandable. Her mind would suffer through several mentally taxing phases whenever she was spending time alone with me, since she could never know whether I would decide to defile her on a whim. Thoughts like this would keep her on edge, which was good for her exposure therapy.

"Have you ever heard of Edward P. Montague?"

"Who? No. Is that guy important?"

She tilted her head and threw me a puzzled look.

"What about Winston Churchill? You should have at least heard of him, right?"

"Of course I've heard about him."

"Thus, by every device from the stick to the carrot, the emaciated Austrian donkey is made to pull the Nazi barrow up an ever-steepening hill." I glanced at the mystified girl beside me. "It's a quote from a letter he wrote in 1938."

"So? Why am I supposed to care about a letter that's almost a century old?"

"The carrot and the stick. Have you heard about this idiom?"

She heaved an exasperated sigh.

"I'm sitting here listening to a long-winded explanation about some random guy named Edward and a quote of Winston Churchill, while all you wanted to do was ask me if I know a phrase that every child knows? You really are a lunatic."

I was glad that she seemed to get her usual lively attitude back, but I was also hurt by her words since I didn't know that this idiom was common knowledge. Kushida seemed to have realized that I intended to change my behavior towards her, which is why she adapted to this new sensation by trying to ascertain how she could behave around me without incurring my wrath.

"Until now, I've only beaten you with the stick. You deserved this, since you had threatened and then framed me. As a show of good faith for our continuous cooperation, I will award you with your very first carrot right now. The rest of my conduct around you will depend on your attitude going forward. Decide which treatment you prefer and act accordingly."

I stood, strode over to my drawers and opened them before pulling out a certain document. After shifting through the pages for a few seconds to check if everything was in order, I handed them to Kushida.

The girl's beautiful eyes widened in disbelief.

"Those are..."

"The questions and solutions for the upcoming midterm exams. I want you to give them to our classmates two days before the exams are taking place. This way, they'll be seriously studying the following days while we can make sure that they'll get even better scores due to these explanations. In such a situation, when they feel tired, exhausted and somewhat apprehensive, you will descend from the heavens like a holy angel and bring joy to every single one of your classmates." I gazed at the mesmerizing girl in front of me. "That's what you want, isn't it, Kushida?"

"You... I'm out of words. How long did you have these? How did you even get your hands on something like this?"

She shifted through the documents, unable to believe what she saw.

"That's not important. The crucial part is that no one sees these before the appointed time."

"You really have an answer for everything, don't you?"

"Nothing of that sort. For example, I'm still curious where your hatred from Horikita stems from. But that's a conversation for another time."

She stopped reading and stared at me with a puzzled look.

"Huh? Didn't you tell me that she told you about me?"

"The details I told you were simply highly possible facts, which I've come up with myself after analyzing the behavior the two of you displayed around and away from each other. As far as I know, Horikita knows nothing about what happened at your school. She knows that something transpired, but not who was to blame and how it all went down."

She began to contemplate what I had mentioned, which must have been quite a shock. The realization that she went through all of this pain for no reason at all should have been devastating.

"You should go if you don't want to spend the night here."

Her hands trembled as she turned towards me with fear-stricken eyes.

"G-goodnight."

"Goodnight, Kushida."

She opened and shut the door, vanishing from my room like a fresh gust of wind.

There was no need to worry, even if she was seen now. Since she had the tests with her, she could just say that she asked for the notes I made during class because she had lost hers, or something along those lines.

I made my way over to my beloved chess games and placed the red queen on the first-year board before moving her diagonally upwards until she was in front of the green pawns. Afterwards, I placed my second knight and rook, as well as the pawn, which was positioned in front of the king.

"I hate victims who respect their executioners."

The light clack of an opening door rang through the room.

"Jean-Paul Sartre, right?"

The sweet voice that answered belonged to the girl who made her way over from the bathroom to where I stood.

She embraced me from behind, spreading the warmth of her body through mine. Her well-endowed breasts pressed against my back while she bent forward, which made a few platinum-blonde strands appear in my field of vision as her enticing words caressed my ear.

"How long do you plan on keeping this up? That poor girl must be scared to death."

Fuka could have told me that she already took care of her errand...

"I haven't thought about that just yet. We'll first wait and see what she's going to tell you. If she informs you as planned, she is trustworthy enough. If not, I'll let her know true despair." I took her hand, which rested on my shoulder, and turned around. "But this only works if you did your job right."

"Who do you take me for? Of course, I made sure that she realized how serious I was about messing with her life if she dares to disobey me. I even took a few pointers from you." Her smooth, warm hands slid towards my throat as a seductive smirk spread over her charming face. "Want to see?"

"Yeah. Show me."

My gorgeous senpai pushed me back against the wall and strengthened her grip around my throat. It got harder to breathe and talk as she kept this pressure up, but there was no change in my apathetic expression as I stared into her eyes.

Fuka was confused by my lack of response and began to squeeze my throat even more.

"Is... that... all? Get... serious... will... you?"

Even though choppy, my voice was as calm as it always had been. The difficulty in pronouncing words was physiological, which is why I couldn't do anything against it.

Fear, angst or pain, however, failed to enter this emotionless husk I called home.

Fuka let go of my neck and stared at her reddened palms. She was aware how much pressure she had used to strangle me, which is why she was shocked as she glanced at the bright red handprint she had left on my skin.

Yet, after all this, there was not a single reaction.

"I didn't expect you to move so fast after getting your classmates expelled. Are you sure that you'll be alright?"

Fuka must have been confused, since I acted as if nothing happened and just carried on with our previous conversation. She must have been curious about the reason I hadn't acknowledged or reacted in a human capacity to her attack.

Why was he so calm? Was it because he could have freed himself without a problem? Or could it be that he's been exposed to such practices often and simply gotten used to it? If this was the case, what kind of childhood did he have?

Questions like these should have been spinning around in her head at this very moment.

"Don't worry. Everything has been taken care of, just like planned. Nagumo is furious because his followers are doubting him. Since the expelled students were avid supporters of his ideals, his pride and reputation among the students took quite a devastating hit." Fuka stretched her arms as she let out a chuckle. "His contorted face during the speech to save himself was such a sight to behold. I had to try so hard not to laugh. It was wonderful. These poor idiots didn't even know what happened to them before it was too late."

"When the rich wage war, it's the poor who die." I removed four red pawns from the second-year board before throwing them in the trash. "In the end, those people were just careless and stupid fodder, otherwise this plan wouldn't have gone off without a hitch. But we'll be working our way up, eventually. This was only the beginning, an introduction, so to speak."

"Sartre again, yes?" She let out an alluring chuckle and caressed over my neck. "I love the way you introduce yourself to others. It's always exciting to watch."

"Meanwhile, Nagumo will become paranoid. There are only so many people who could have set them up, after all. He'll slowly weaken himself, while all we have to do is watch and strike when he's down. I spun up some plans if you happened to be in danger as well, so don't worry."

Fuka flashed me the most seductive smile I had seen to date.

"That's sweet, but there is no need. Nagumo won't think that I did anything, since I don't care about class rankings or the like. On the off-chance that he targets me, I can deal with that disappointment on my own."

It was a relief that she was capable, because I hadn't planned on intervening without her say-so. Everything was fine as long as she believed that I cared about her. If I ever needed to get rid of Fuka, all I had to do was strike swiftly and without mercy, just like always.

Just in case, I had already expelled her seven times in my mind.

Every plan was more complex than the previous one and could be executed concurrently with the others. They were far more difficult to pull off than these little games I've been playing until now and impossible to defend against.

That much of a preparation was needed if I wanted to get rid of her in a short amount of time, because she wouldn't be as easy to expel as a handful of pawns. These plans would only see the light of day if she stood in my way, however, because she was far too useful to throw away.

Fuka was the queen for a reason.

"You should go back to your room as well. It's getting late."

She pouted as she played with the red king on the first-year board.

"You are not even giving me the chance to spend the night here?"

"Of course not. Knowing you, you would agree without hesitation before jumping into my bed."

Fuka moved closer towards my ear and slung her arms around my neck. Her intoxicating scent began to captivate and ensnare my nostrils as her two curvaceous slopes pressed against my chest.

"As if you would say no to that."

This girl wouldn't stop being troublesome wherever she went...

... but that was one of the reasons why she was so charming.

Two days before the midterms, Kushida walked up to the teacher's desk and made her announcement.

"Everyone, before you leave the classroom, could you listen for a moment?"

The whole class stopped in their tracks after hearing her sweet voice that rang through the room like a birdsong. Not even Hirata had such persuasive abilities over the class, because the boys wouldn't really listen to him. Kushida, however, had both males and females alike in her divine grasp.

"We've all been working hard so that no one would fail the upcoming midterms. Since everyone tried their best, I also felt responsible for giving it my all. The papers I will hand out now result from that."

Kushida distributed the copies of the past midterm exam to every single student herself. While all the others gazed at these questions with widened and sometimes confused eyes, Kushida handed Horikita and me the last two papers in her possession.

She walked back to the teacher's desk and finished her magnum opus.

"These are the old test papers I received from a third-year student yesterday evening. I heard that the exams are the same every year, so I asked around until someone was kind enough to give them to me. If we have those, besides our earnest studying, I'm sure that everyone can stay at this school together!"

My classmates were overjoyed after realizing what kind of treasure they held onto.

Even though everyone worked hard for the past weeks, none of them felt their time had been wasted in a pointless fashion, and regarded these test papers as supplementary materials which would give them an edge and make the exam that much easier.

Kind words and cheers were hurled into Kushida's direction, as she was the hero who made this miracle possible just a few days before the important test, which everyone subconsciously dreaded.

"Thank you! Kushida-chan-sensei, you are the best!"

Ike hugged the papers with hearts in his eyes.

"Thanks, Kikyou-chan!"

"Yeah, Kushida-san! This is going to improve my grades for sure."

"Thank you Kushida-san. You really helped me out."

"Great work, Kushida-san. Now it should be a piece of cake for everyone to pass!"

Hirata, who had been the most worried of all our classmates, beamed at the thought that no one would be left behind this time. The lingering regrets that he was unable to save Yamauchi were replaced by hope and the knowledge that he made the right decision, even though it had been, and still was, a painful memory for him.

My adorable queen paraded to the back of the classroom with her head held high while wearing her usual hypnotizing smile. She was showered with praises and handshakes from left and right until she eventually reached Horikita and me.

"Excellent work, Kushida-san."

My neighbor nodded somewhat cheerfully after she went through the questions to check if she needed to change up her study plan for the upcoming days due to this newfound information.

"It was nothing special. We all tried our best for our friends, right?"

Her dazzling smile must have blinded Horikita, as even she was showing a faint expression of optimism.

I reached out to her forehead once again, but aside from an angry glare into my direction and the fact that she hadn't stabbed me to death with her compass, nothing was out of the ordinary.

After this short excursion, my classmates left for lunch, ready and prepared to study with the test papers for the upcoming days to make sure that we'll achieve as many points as possible. Horikita called out to Kushida, who had been occupied with her usual socializing until only a handful of people were left.

The hero of the day strode over with a genuine, radiant smile on her face.

"Thank you for everything you've done, Kushida-san. Without you, the study group would have never worked out."

"Please, there is no need to thank me. I just want to get into a higher ranked class together with everyone. I'll help you again any time, Horikita-san!"

Kushida clapped and grabbed her bag, before signaling her friends outside that she would join them after this conversation was over.

"There is one thing I'd like to ask."

"Yes?"

She tilted her head and looked at Horikita with a puzzled expression. The cute smile she wore ever since the announcement hadn't left her charming face yet, either.

"You hate me, don't you?"

What was wrong with this girl?

Kushida seemed a bit taken aback and sneaked a few glances in my direction as if to ask for instructions on how to answer her question. Since their dispute was none of my concern, I shrugged, which would prompt her to deal with this situation as she saw fit.

"That's right. I really hate you." Even after expressing such a cruel opinion, Kushida Kikyou's brilliant smile didn't waver. "Do you want to know the reason?"

"No. As long as I'm sure that you are telling the truth, I can continue working with you."

Horikita didn't seem to mind that she was hated by Kushida. My neighbor seemed relieved, however, that both of their feelings were out in the open. They despised each other, but agreed to work together to reach their common goal, despite their misgivings.

How would their relationship evolve from now on? Would they come to like each other somewhere down the line? Or would my queen not stop before this irksome knight met her demise?

It was only a matter of time before one of those possibilities would occur, but I had not yet decided how I would handle such a situation. If Horikita didn't change in the coming months, I could use her to deepen my relationship with Kushida while losing nothing of importance to the greater plan.

If I were forced to decide between them, then the answer was simple as well.

I would annihilate my knight without a second thought, since the queen was too important to pass up on. I had already promised Kushida that I would do anything to defend her. And I planned to keep this promise.

From the moment she decided to threaten me, our futures were entwined. I wouldn't let her go, and she wouldn't be able to escape my grasp. No matter how our relationship continued going forward, she and I could never stray too far apart since I had clawed my way into her deepest and darkest memories.

Just like the trauma and the nightmares, I would always stay with her.

The rest of the day passed quickly, and so did the next.

Since I wouldn't have any trouble acing the exam if I wanted to, I had nothing to do but laze around in my room while watching some shows or reading interesting books. Because everyone else was studying, there was no reason for me to leave my apartment, which is why Fuka was relaxing with me for the whole day as well.

I also texted with Chiaki for some time, as I figured that she must've been bored as well. She didn't have as much to learn as the rest, so I doubted that I was bothering her. We messaged back and forth for a while, talking about useless stuff and other such things.

Even though I learned nothing new or useful, I enjoyed every second of our conversation.

Aside from conversing with Fuka and Chiaki, I also texted with Ichinose and sent her an unsigned message with the old test papers through an anonymous account.

If she trusted the information and these solutions, then their scores would see a respectable increase. If not, she would put more trust into future messages that would reach her from the same anonymous account after she realized that the material had been legit.

During my downtime, I had a lot of leeway to think about the people in the other classes, especially the ones I haven't had the pleasure of meeting like most students from Class 1-A and 1-C. Due to Kushida's social talents, I knew pretty much everyone in the first year better than most.

The girl I had observed in the library, for example, was called Shiina Hiyori.

She seemed to be an outlier in this troublesome, delinquent class and spent her time by reading books and attending the tea-ceremony club, which made me even more curious about her. Shiina was impossibly cute and enjoyed everything I appreciated as well, which led me to a rather unprecedented situation.

I wanted to get to know her.

Not because I had ulterior motives in mind, but because I was genuinely interested in this girl.

The rift that opened up in Class A also didn't escape Kushida's all-hearing ears. It seemed they were split up into two factions named after their respective leaders. The Sakayanagi faction, led by Sakayanagi Arisu, and the Katsuragi faction, led by Katsuragi Kohei.

If Kushida's impressions were correct, then Katsuragi was a by-the-book guy, who attached great importance to the rules of manners and good conduct. The other girl was rather mysterious aside from the fact that she was always seen with another student named Kamuro Masumi, because of her disease.

But that was all she could gather at the moment.

Due to the existence of these two factions, I could infer that she should have differing, likely even contrasting, thoughts to Katsuragi, or there wouldn't be such a rift in their high-ranked class. If they had the same view on things, then their dispute wouldn't have escalated to such a degree.

From what I could gather so far, I was rather certain that Sakayanagi would be Class A's king in this game, but I still had to wait and see until everything was official.

With the information I possessed, I could form a chess set for every class, but their pieces were not set in stone.

Someone I deemed a queen due to the way I could use them might be assumed to be a simple pawn by another person, depending on their play style. Ichinose, for example, would have difficulties to classify Kushida as a queen if they were in the same class due to their overlapping properties. She would still be useful, of course, but much less so than for me.

With all the new information I had acquired thanks to my queen, I couldn't help but get excited about what else the future might bring.

I only hoped that neither of the remaining class leaders would disappoint me.

"There are no absences today. It appears everyone is present. Are there questions?"

"We've studied diligently the past weeks. Everyone will pass."

"That's some confidence, Hirata."

The devil in disguise glanced at me for a second.

She was probably curious about what I had done to boost their confidence to such a degree, but there was no need to elaborate on my plans and movements behind the scenes.

Since I already made a promise, there was no way I wouldn't keep it if breaking it would inconvenience me this much. I cherished my newfound freedom as well as the experiences and memories I could enjoy because of this respite, so of course I would make sure that everyone passed the exam.

The rest of our class was just as confident as our ad hoc leader.

Since everyone had studied with the tests Kushida provided, there was no reason to be worried for them either.

The first test on today's agenda was social studies, which would be the easiest one by far.

Chabashira-sensei began to pass around the tests as her stern gaze swayed through the classroom.

"After this midterm exam, there will be a final one in July. After that, you'll be rewarded with a vacation during summer break."

"A vacation?" The puzzled voices of my classmates echoed through the room.

"That's right. A dream vacation on an island surrounded by the brilliant blue sea."

Well, that was a fucking lie...

I hadn't asked Fuka about any of her special exams until now, since I wasn't interested, but I was sure that this voyage would be everything but a vacation. If she supplied me with information beforehand, this game would be far too easy. It would already be a walk in the park, since I just couldn't see myself losing against anyone at this school, but I didn't want to make it even more trivial than it already was.

But a boy could dream, right?

"Did you guys hear that? Summer and the beach."

"We heard, we heard!"

Of course, they would also be stuck in their fantasies, even though they differed from mine. My classmates never had to worry about their freedom or similar things that they had considered normal their entire life.

"Let's do our best!"

""Yeah!""

The boys cheered, but I chose to hold myself back this time around, as I could see some intense stares being thrown our way. The girls weren't stupid and realized what the guys were thinking about when 'summer' and 'beach' were mentioned.

Before long, Chabashira-sensei gave us the signal and began the test.

I skimmed through the pages and noted that the questions were one-to-one copies of the previous midterms, just as expected. The other students recognized this as well, as smiles appeared on their strained faces.

If everyone had memorized the tests, they would all be able to get a perfect score.

Since humans were distinctive, however, there would still be large differences in what they could remember, even after studying with the old test papers for two days. Someone like Horikita, for example, would have a far easier time memorizing the contents than Sudou or Ike.

After I completed my initial observations, I began to fill out the test papers in front of me. I took my sweet time while writing and answered every question. The periods thereafter were Japanese and Chemistry, respectively.

Once again, I went over the test answering what I deemed necessary.

The raven-haired girl beside me should have no problems reaching at least 100 points outside of maths. If she studied the old papers, even the three difficult problems wouldn't be impossible to solve. It was quite impressive that the questions she had prepared for Sudou and Ike were consistent with the contents of the test.

The only blockage in Horikita's way was Horikita herself. If she wouldn't hold her self back with her own attitude, she would have made a pretty good puppet leader and an even better friend.

After the fourth period, Mathematics, ended, a short break began.

During our break time, Sudou, Ike, Kushida and Horikita gathered together and began to chat while I went to the front of the classroom to visit my other friends.

"So, how did you guys do?"

"I did fine, I guess. Those papers Kushida-san got really saved me, though. Without them, I might have cut it close."

"I'm the same as Karuizawa. I still feel that I screwed up somewhere, though."

"Everybody did their best, so I believe we'll all pass at least. If our assumption was right, we might even get some class points with our good scores."

"Mhh, Hirata-kun's study sessions helped a lot as well. The tests until now went alright for me as well, and English is not a problem, as you guys know."

"I'm quite confident that I'll get a good score as well. What about you, Kiyotaka?"

""Yes. What about you, Ki-yo-ta-ka?""

The girls' teasing voices rang in unison.

Hirata chuckled and shook his head as if he had already expected such a reaction. Chiaki's complexion evolved from a healthy color into a soft crimson, which didn't help in the current situation.

"You guys really are the worst."

She pouted with the most adorable expression and averted her eyes.

"I'm good, I guess. Since I spent my time with the old test papers, I believe that I'm able to get around 70 to 80 points without a problem. It's better than usual for sure, but still not a lot."

"You're just as hopeless as us, then." Karuizawa grinned.

"Ayanokouji-kun, is everything okay in your study group?"

"Yes, I think... Why?"

I turned around upon receiving Hirata's concerned question.

Horikita was standing next to Sudou and pointed at something on her notes. Ike and Kushida seemed somewhat anxious as they stood to the side and watched their exchange.

"I guess I'll check up on them. See you guys later."

""See you later.""

After I arrived in front of my study group, I received a status report from Kushida.

"Ayanokouji-kun, it's terrible. Sudou-kun said he fell asleep during his English studies."

"Twice? Seriously?"

This could have never happened in the White Room as we would have received electro shocks if we dared to fall asleep during studying. Or any other time when we weren't supposed to sleep...

"W-well... I might have postponed looking at the English papers a bit and..."

"Sudou-kun!"

Kushida sounded appalled, frustrated, and remorseful.

"I know, I know, alright? But English sucks. I can't even read those letters."

Sudou spent the rest of his break studying like a madman while we tried to help him in every way possible. Horikita and Kushida concentrated on the short answers and high-scoring questions, so that he wouldn't need to remember as much.

Despite their best efforts, the bells' merciless, yet beautiful sound echoed through the classroom ten minutes after our break began.

My delinquent friend was a nervous wreck as the teacher stepped into the classroom, tests in hand.

As I was solving my English problems, I couldn't help but observe Sudou, who seemed to struggle with the questions. Even if he failed, there was no way that I would let him get expelled, but he didn't know that, which was why he was shaken up about the whole situation.

After the final test of the day, our group of four gathered around him.

"So, how did you do?"

"I did everything I could, but I don't know how well I did..."

"You did everything you could, right? I'm sure you did well, Sudou-kun!"

Kushida's sweet, angelic voice brightened the mood somewhat, but Sudou was still apprehensive.

"Damn it, why did I have to fall asleep?"

"Sudou-kun." Horikita stood in front of him with her never-changing stern expression. He couldn't even look her in the eyes. "Yes, you fell asleep, which was stupid, but you did everything you could in the limited time you had. You didn't cut any corners or throw in the towel. I think you should feel proud of what you've accomplished."

Sudou backed up in his chair, clearly afraid for his life. "What is this?"

"A concession. I previously said that you wouldn't take your basketball training seriously. Seeing what you did the last two weeks, I have to admit that I was wrong. You are doing your best for the sport that you love. I believe that now. I also understand that it is incredibly hard to become a successful basketball player, harder than I had initially imagined. I regret insulting you for your dreams." She bowed in front of Sudou while the rest of us looked at their conversations with our mouths agape. "I'm sorry for what I've said back then."

While all of us were still processing the impossible situation that had just occurred, Horikita grabbed her bag and left us with four, technically five, parting words and a shallow wave of her hand.

"I'll be going then."

"Hey, am I dreaming? Did Horikita just apologize?"

Ike, just like the rest of us, was stunned. Even I couldn't have expected such a surprising development from her. Sudou and Kushida as well could do nothing but stare at Horikita's receding back with wide eyes.

The red-haired delinquent held his right hand over his heart after my neighbor was out of sight and earshot.

"Oh, no... I think I might be in love with Horikita."

This would go horribly wrong.

In front of Horikita, Sudou wouldn't amount to much more than a dog — a Sudog, if you will.

No matter how often I ran my simulations, I couldn't imagine the two of them being in such a relationship.

Even if she did change during her time here and began to build friendships before eventually opening up to the possibility of a relationship with the opposite sex in a year or two, there was no way that she would choose Sudou.

Some people just weren't compatible, and those two were a perfect example of this.

Aside from that, I had already narrowed Sudou's future girlfriend down to two people, one of which I would bind him to. Either of them would be fine, as they would help each other grow no matter who won his heart.

Both girls had little to do with Sudou at the moment, so I had not yet decided on how I would bring them together, but I wouldn't change my decision to take Sudou's feelings into account.

In the end, love was only an interaction of various chemicals which reacted in our brains. Dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin, oxytocin, vasopressin, testosterone and estrogen could all be triggered at will.

The heart was a simple muscle and did nothing in this equation.

As long as the surroundings, mood and tone were correct, Sudou would be susceptible for anyone I put on his path.

Horikita, however, wasn't and will never be the one.

Some might call me cruel for denying his 'heart', but in the end, I would probably help him unintentionally.

Authors Note:

With this chapter, the Kushida arc is officially over.

There will be another .5 chapter later today from Fuka's POV. Since Kiyotaka is tired and too lazy to explain what exactly he did, she's gonna inform you about everything she figured out and worked on while Kushida was tortured.

There'll be some fluff in the upcoming chapters to balance the scales, so you can look forward to that.

- Word Count: 7358 / 33370 Characters

Released 04.06.2022

Chapter 12.5 - Man is the cruelest animal

My phone rang.

I knew that it was Kiyotaka even before looking at the notification.

He was the only person in my contacts that was allowed to ring and vibrate, after all. The others were banished by the silent setting and could be happy if I answered them when I felt like it.

After checking the contents of his message, I made sure that no one was around before exiting his room. I walked past the elevator, which was about to open up, and vanished into the staircase.

Kushida Kikyou.

Where could she have gone?

The first time I took note of her was when Kiyotaka and a few of his classmates were hanging out together. There were quite a few curious people in his group, not because they could entertain me, but because he took an interest in them.

For starters, there was the fake couple, the rabbit and the two-faced girl.

These individuals stood out from the rubble that followed them around. At first, I hadn't known about any of them, but that had changed since Kiyotaka was inquisitive about my opinion concerning these people.

Number one, the fake couple.

I already forgot their names, but his assumption that these two weren't dating was spot on. It baffled me that none of the other students in his class had seen through their charade since Kiyotaka did, even though he seemed alien to everything that could be considered 'normal'.

Number two, the rabbit.

Kiyotaka mentioned that she was smart and observant, which I could confirm. I slipped up a few times while trailing them on their first get-together, which left the girl questioning my intentions for following them. She was cute and attentive, like a rabbit and had proven to be an outstanding student in Class D. At least compared to the usual trash in his class.

Number three, the two-faced girl.

He said that she was behaving weird and seemed to hide something, but that he could never find out what was wrong with her. When I had observed her on that day, I couldn't find anything wrong either, but my gut told me that something was strange about her. Thus, I began to shadow her sometimes and gleamed at inconsistencies in her behavior as well.

According to the message I had just received from him, he made some progress on number three, which is why I wanted to help him in any way possible.

If he trusted and confided in me, he might eventually open up and share more about himself.

After spending so much time with him, my interest piqued more and more, which was the total opposite to Manabu and Nagumo, who soon became boring and predictable.

Even though Kiyotaka never told or showed me anything that he didn't want me to see, I couldn't help but think about him even more. The days I spent with him were fun, interesting, and colorful.

I hoped that we could keep it this way for a while longer.

Other students glanced at me with surprised and confused expressions after I brushed past them and vanished from their sight as abrupt as I had arrived. I never cared what other people thought about me, and I did so even less now.

After reviewing the information he had supplied me with, I believed that we would reach the same conclusion: she needed some place away from people where she could be alone.

Kiyotaka must have already ruled out the possibility that she was going to the dorms, or he would have told me to check if she came by, meaning the only places that were desolate or private would be viable locations.

I came up empty-handed a few times, which left fewer places to scour through.

Since Kiyotaka was in the library, he most likely checked the places I didn't visit because of the distance, which ruled out around half the school premise. As I kept narrowing down my list, a certain place caught my eye.

The school building.

It was already late, and few clubs that took place in the school building had still activities around this time of the day. Aside from clubs, there would be no reason for students to be there around this time. Someone as social as Kushida would know this, and Kiyotaka would probably prioritize other places before he went to the school, since he might have thought that clubs were still ongoing.

I detected the two-faced girl as she headed into the building in question, her bag slung around her shoulder. As I was about to let Kiyotaka know about my discovery, I found him heading inside the construction just moments after her.

Neither of them saw me, as I was in a blind spot from their point of view.

This situation put me in quite a bind.

Kiyotaka asked me to keep an eye out for Kushida, which I did. He had found her now, so my part in this search could be viewed as accomplished.

But I didn't want to leave like this.

I wanted to see what he was going to do, hear what he was going to say.

There was no way that I could curb my curiosity.

With a heavy, somewhat conflicted heart, I followed them inside.

Up and up the stairs, I followed the single pair of steps my ears picked up on, which should have been Kushida's. I soon noticed Kiyotaka's back, as he had slowed down since we were about to reach the last floor before the roof.

As I was about to make myself known, he glanced back at me.

Of course, he had noticed my presence.

How could I have thought that he didn't?

Even after all the time we had spent together, his abilities and past were shrouded in mystery. What he had revealed to me so far was nothing but the tip of a colossal iceberg that stretched out into the deep, dark sea.

Kiyotaka was an enigma, a big question mark that I wanted to dissect and understand.

He must have been aware that I was curious from the first day the two of us met. Even now, I kept pleading him with my eyes, hoping to be allowed to watch the upcoming events unfold.

If he told me to leave, I would comply, no questions asked. I could, under no circumstances, jeopardize the rapport I had built with him if I wanted this relationship to work out.

His enthralling, golden eyes refocused towards the roof before he snuck up the stairs.

He didn't answer me, but not responding was basically a silent form of agreement.

I reached the final staircase and stopped while Kiyotaka crept up the rooftop door and pulled his phone out. From my position, there was no way to see what he was doing, but I expected that he was about to record whatever was about to happen. I backed him up, just in case, and pulled out my phone to start an audio recording.

Kushida's voice and the sound of her actions barely reached downstairs.

She kept cursing and hitting something, which continued for a while before Kiyotaka turned around. He gave me a signal and kicked against the door without hesitation. I didn't know what he was planning, but ducked back into the stairwell since I didn't know if she would move towards us.

Kiyotaka and Kushida began to talk.

After he moved away from the door, I inched closer to the crack he left open as careful as I could. Their voices got much clearer, and I had a rough idea about where they were standing, which is why I stopped around halfway on the staircase.

"If you tell anyone what you've just heard, I'll end you."

Her cheap threat was almost comical in front of someone far beyond her comprehension.

Kushida's mind must have been in turmoil because she was seen by him, an unknown, untrustworthy individual. I would be surprised if she registered that Kiyotaka moved away from the door to make sure that I wasn't found.

"And if I did tell?"

Kiyotaka's voice was as tranquil and serene as always. He must have had a plan, otherwise he wouldn't have kicked the door on purpose. Even if he didn't have one, I doubted that I needed to worry about him.

"Then I'd tell everyone you raped me."

"That's a false charge, you know?"

"That's okay. It wouldn't be false."

"What are you doing?"

"Your prints are on my clothes. That's evidence of my claim. I'm being serious. Is that understood?"

I couldn't believe that such a conversation was playing out in front of me, because that wasn't how fingerprints worked at all. The texture of the fabric would make it incredibly difficult to pull off prints, especially since he now knew about her plan and could deal with the problem before it turned into one.

Did she watch too much CSI or one of these other boring shows where the killer was discernable in the first few minutes?

"Oh, yeah, sure."

His monotone, bored voice rang through the area.

"What the fuck is wrong with you? Disgusting pervert."

Did he actually just squeeze her breasts?

I couldn't think of anything else that he could have done to warrant her outburst.

Did he prefer her size?

If I didn't have my emotions in check, I would have probably walked out and beaten him up.

"So you'd expel me and ruin my life, just like that? So Horikita was right, after all. Did you really expel Yamauchi?"

These unexpected words shocked me.

The first surprise was the fact that Manabu's sister seemed to have found out about all of this before Kiyotaka and I did. According to Manabu, however, his sister was nothing but a disappointment.

Her presence in Class D reinforced that point.

The second revelation was as much of a surprise as the first. I knew that Class D had lost a student a few days after school started, but I always believed that Kiyotaka was the reason for his demise.

Was this guy's expulsion really her doing?

"So what? That disgusting pervert didn't deserve any better for always drooling after my ass whenever the fuck he saw me. If you don't want to end up like him, you'll do exactly as I say. Is that understood?"

"Yes."

Wait... was she bluffing?

I couldn't tell.

Even though I racked my brain and analyzed the information I held, I couldn't support either theory for certain. This would be different if I could see her expressions or if she was calm, but it was impossible when listening to an angered voice.

"What did that bitch tell you?"

"Just about that incident back in middle school. The rumors reached even Horikita, apparently, even though she was in a different class."

After this sentence, the puzzle pieces which revealed his plan fell into place and I understood why he had mentioned Horikita and that boy named Yamauchi.

With every step, Kushida kept playing into his hands without realizing it.

Kiyotaka mentioned the boy's expulsion to her, so she could use it as leverage on him, even if she had nothing to do with it. This would allow him to spill the beans about Horikita, without appearing suspicious, due to the huge threat that was looming over him.

It didn't matter who expelled him, whether it was Kiyotaka, Kushida, or someone else entirely.

He just wanted to help her threaten him.

It wasn't hard to decipher his strategy as an outsider with all the information, but it was almost impossible for an involved party that wasn't thinking with a clear mind.

"That fucking bitch! Tch. What rumors?"

"About what you did in your class."

"Fuck!"

He had more pieces of the puzzle than I had.

Did he lie to me? Or did he stumble over them just now as well?

The more I learned about him, the more questions arose.

Instead of answering them, he was creating new ones to figure out with every few sentences that left his lips.

"Listen to me, you piece of shit! Did she tell anyone else that I destroyed my class? Or are you the only one?"

"Since she pretty much only talks with me, I doubt that she told anyone aside from me. But I can't say for certain." Silence descended between them as she was processing the new information she had received. "Can you let go of me now?"

"Fucking creep. Did you enjoy touching my tits, you damn imbecile?"

I wondered about this as well. I should have a talk with him after this.

"Ahhh, so annoying!"

Thud!

Thud!

Thud!

"Why can't she just die!"

A light chuckle escaped my mouth.

It was difficult not to laugh out loud in pure delight.

He extracted everything he needed from her before turning the tables.

That boy was frozen to the core.

But I didn't know what was yet to come. I had yet to see the darkness he carried.

"Really convenient, right? These smartphones, I mean. They have everything. From our points, recording functions and contacts, to a messenger a student could use to send files around. There's even a school board if I remember correctly..."

"Give me... the phone."

"Ahh, no can do. Sorry."

The girl growled and closed in on Kiyotaka before a loud bang reverberated through the air.

"Eh?"

After such a confused sound escaped her lips, a muffled thud rang through the area as he pushed her against the wall, reversing their previous position.

"Ay...ouji..."

Her voice was incredibly weak, strenuous, and choppy.

What was he doing?

I couldn't stop my curiosity, so I sneaked closer towards the door. Since he pinned her against the wall, only he would see me if I peered through the crack.

The girl tried to pry off his hand before she smashed her fists against his arms, face and neck. He didn't flinch and took the attacks head on without being bothered by them at all. Kushida began to use her feet as well and stomped against his femur and knee before concentrating on his private parts, which he kept defending with his free hand.

After he was fed up by her attempts, he simply lifted her up as much as the length of his arms allowed him to and squeezed her throat even firmer.

"... Air... lease... ouji... eathe..."

The attacks lessened as the girl grew weaker.

His eyes, which sparkled in a golden hue due to the moonlight, were cold and lifeless.

My whole body trembled upon gazing at those orbs once again. He should have also been able to see me out of the corner of his eye, but his pupils were fixed on the struggling, desperate Kushida, as if he didn't register me at all.

"What are you saying, Kushida? I can't hear you. Do you have trouble breathing?"

The poor girl nodded.

"...ji-ku... dyi..."

As if he increased the pressure that weighed on her throat, fewer sounds made it out of her.

"What is it, Kushida? Do you think you are dying?"

His classmate nodded with a pale face and teary eyes that began to lose their spark.

"And why should I care?"

Both her and my eyes widened in shock upon listening to his arctic, indifferent voice.

I knew him well enough by now to realize that he wasn't joking around.

He truly didn't care if this girl would lose her life today.

"Whether you live or die has nothing to do with me."

After such cruel words, he kept his promise as his fingers buried themselves deeper into her neck. Not a single muscle in his body attempted to stop what he was about to do.

I watched this scene unfold with quivering eyes and a trembling body.

Would he really kill her? What should I do? Stop him, or keep quiet and watch? Help her, perhaps? Or would he do the same to me? No... he wouldn't kill a student...

... right?

As I reached this train of thought, an ice-cold shiver ran down my back.

If I had turned out to be an enemy on our meeting on the rooftop, would I still be alive? Had he lured me up there to throw me off if the worst-case scenario occurred?

The possibility of what could have been was terrifying.

My body began to tremble as dread and terror crept and slithered through my entire existence. Every single negative emotion I was feeling right now had been planted through his intricate, well-executed and unrelenting actions.

If it was him, everything up to this point had been planned from the very beginning.

He wanted me to see him like this.

Was this a threat to not cross him? Or was it something else?

Did he decide to trust me with his dark side, or did he show it to me so that I would behave?

I had no answer to any of these questions.

But I had walked in on his lesson of evil...

... and there was no escaping it.

For neither of the two pupils.

[Kiyotaka ]

I picked up the vibrating phone as I was lazing around on my bed. The time displayed was 00:12 AM, meaning that Kiyotaka had been occupied until now.

Back in the stairwell, when he inspected my phone, he had left a note not to contact him until he reached out to me. It took a moment until I realized why, but with this missing piece, everything he had done and said until that point in time clicked together.

"You can go ahead."

"I take it that the investigation went well then. Are you sure she'll play her part?"

"I got her covered. The rest is in your hands."

The subsequent beeping sound grew fainter as I removed the device from my ear.

There was nothing to worry about, then.

I tapped around on my phone and browsed to the data transfer notification I had previously received from an unknown number. There was no text, only an assortment of images depicting a certain naked girl, which I would need later.

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka was an interesting and infinitely cruel man.

The question why he had shown this side to me still lingered in the back of my mind, but there was no way to figure out the meaning without asking him. Even then, he might not tell the truth. He had also taken precautions in case I decided to act against him.

The number which had sent me these pictures belonged to none other than Kushida Kikyou.

I couldn't watch as he ordered her around, since he had positioned his victim in the perfect way that would have allowed her to see me through the crack in the door, which is why I had to back up a bit. This, however, didn't change the fact that I could hear the sounds and see the flashes that followed.

After I had received the note and these files, I understood the full extent of his plan.

There shouldn't have been any shutter sounds, because there is no such effect for the phone's camera. Besides that, some flashes had been too long, different from the ones a photoflash would create.

In other words, he didn't take a single picture with his own phone and was using an audio-cue and his flashlight manually to create the illusion that he was, because he knew that Kushida would retaliate and that his phone would be searched.

Aside from psychologically devastating Kushida, he also needed a few indecent pictures of her, which meant that he must have stolen her phone when he got close to her and returned it once he was done. I couldn't observe them, but the likeliest scenario was that he swiped the phone when he threatened to kill her and slipped it back when he was taking care of her attire once he was done with the 'photoshoot'.

I stretched my arms and fell back onto my bed.

Even though I couldn't answer the questions that plagued my mind, I chose to trust him. I believed that he let me watch not to threaten me, but because he wanted to put his trust in someone who might not turn away from his demonic nature.

Tomorrow would be a busy day, and the day after would entertain me in more ways than one. Since Kiyotaka had given me the go ahead, it meant that he would be done with Kushida before tomorrow night.

The investigators would need at least until then to find her.

Afterwards, they would use a similar excuse for Kushida's investigation and pull her aside during the later hours of the day, so that no rumors would begin to circulate through the school, similar to Kiyotaka's case. They had to move immediately for him, since there was a chance that the perpetrator could spread the pictures if it took them too long, but this wasn't a concern now.

Once she was done with her statement, they would waste no time before questioning my four classmates, since, as with Kiyotaka, they didn't want to give them enough room to spread the potential pictures. The four students we had chosen to target previously weren't anything special and gullible enough that this would work out without trouble.

Nagumo wouldn't be able to keep his cool after realizing that someone had attacked him.

Doubt would influence his thoughts and he would sabotage himself before Kiyotaka and I gave him the final push once we were done playing with him.

The next day was as beautiful as one could imagine.

Since I woke up rather early, I went into the bathroom to take a quick shower. It was a weird sensation when the own room felt foreign, since Kiyotaka's scent was nowhere to be found. I had showered in his room more often than in my own ever since I had the duplicate key made.

I wasn't in love with him or anything, but he was interesting, smart, mysterious, handsome and he smelled incredible. These reasons sound as if I was a maiden in love, but that was not at all the case.

He was the sole reason that the color returned to my dull, gray life, which is why I enjoyed the time I could spend with him. He harbored a side that few were allowed to see without ending up like Kushida.

As far as I knew, I was the only one.

After my shower, I prepared a light meal before heading outside.

The dorm was already bustling with activity, just like every morning. It was a shame that Kiyotaka lived in another one and was so far away from me. There were three dorms on campus, one for each year. Every time the third-years left, the new first-years took their place. This was the case with Kiyotaka's class, mine, and everyone else's before us as well.

While I was daydreaming, I ran into one of my classmates.

Not like a person would usually run into someone when you walk to school or anything.

I literally ran into him.

A dull sound echoed through the surroundings as the boy I crashed into stumbled forward.

"Watch where you are going."

My voice was bitter and sounded accusatory, as if he was the one at fault for this mess.

"Me? You were the one —" He turned around with an angered expression before paling like a sheet of paper. "K... Kiryuin-san!"

Beads of sweat gathered on his forehead as he stared at me with wide, quivering eyes.

"You were saying something?"

He backed away like a scared animal and flailed around.

"N-no. I mean... I didn't... I haven't... uh. Sorry that I ran into you, Kiryuin-san!"

He bowed down, turned around and scampered away.

What an idiot.

I pulled out my phone and typed around on it since I was bored.

After a few minutes, I reached our classroom and plopped down on my chair.

The whole class greeted me with bright smiles, but I just ignored them, as always.

I had no intention of mingling with such boring people.

"Kiryuin, you are early today."

A tall blonde-haired failure of a man who didn't even belong in this classroom stood in front of my desk.

The clock displayed the same time it always did when I arrived here.

I wouldn't make such a dumb mistake just because today would be an especially good one. He started this conversation because he needed something from me. Even though I already knew what he wanted, I made it seem like I didn't to play with him a bit.

"It's a little early for your usual round through the classrooms, no? What do you want, Nagumo?"

"Jeez, you're cold. You know that you are ruining your charm with that feisty attitude of yours, right?"

"My charm? You are just not good enough to draw out my charms."

His face flushed in anger.

It was easy to provoke him with specific topics and it was funny every single time.

"Tch! Have you reconsidered joining Class A and working with me? I may be the reason that you are in Class B now, but I never thought of you as undeserving of Class A."

He seemed annoyed by my antics and grimaced in dissatisfaction, but that was to be expected. I didn't know why, but he kept asking the same question again and again, and hoped for a different outcome.

Wasn't that the definition of insanity?

"If you can't answer that question yourself, you should really leave this school." I glanced towards the door. "Oh, your little fan club arrived. Turn around and smile, Mr. Notice Me Senpai."

"Good morning, Nagumo-san!"

"Miyabi! Morning!"

"Ohhh, Nagumo-chi! What are you doing here so early in the morning?"

He disregarded me with a frustrated shrug and spun around with a bright smile to face the girls that began to pour around him.

I never understood how a boring person like Nagumo managed to attract so many students. Compared to Kiyotaka, he was nothing but a speck of dust, even disregarding the formers superior abilities and looks.

Nagumo kept chatting with some of the Class B girls until it was time for classes. He separated from his fan club with a sorry expression and ambled back to his classroom.

Our lessons began as well and ended just as quickly.

Every single day I had to spend in this classroom was an insufferable amount of pain and sorrow.

How did Kiyotaka perceive days like this? Did he appreciate going to school? Was he enjoying the time he could spend together with his classmates and friends?

There were many questions I could not answer about him, not even the simplest things, like his favorite color or food.

Did he like sweets? If yes, then what kind? Chocolate, ice cream or something different?

For some strange reason, I cared about such insignificant details. This had never happened before. Yet, these harmless, regular questions were not all I was interested in.

What did he think about me? Was I just another one of his chess pieces, or was I something more? Did he consider me to be a genuine friend, or just someone who came over all the time and spent time with him? Was he aware of the reason for my advances, or was he frustrated and bothered by them? Had he seen something in me that prompted him to reveal himself?

I wasn't afraid to ask or hear the answers to those questions, but I had a rough idea how he would reply to each of them. Any normal person would feel angry, maybe even disgust or horror, when they saw his true demonic visage.

But I only felt intrigued and captivated.

What must have happened to Kiyotaka that caused him to act this way?

No person would just stand up one day and turn into such a man without a reason. There was a process involved, and I wanted to know more about him and the path he took to get here.

There was also the fact that he was clueless about some of the most common things. Someone with his intellect shouldn't have such obvious deficits, safe for the ones who never had a normal life to begin with.

So why didn't he have one? And what exactly happened to him?

The closest thing I could relate him to was someone who was raised in a laboratory. Such a person wouldn't know about certain customs and other such things, that normal people would deem natural. I found this idea quite amusing, but also tragic.

The possibility that something similar happened to him wasn't too low, after all.

"Let's go grab a bite, Nagata!"

"Sure..." The boy reached into his pocket to check his balance. "... ah, shit. I forgot my phone at my dorm room."

"You're such a blockhead. How did you cheat your way into Class B, anyway?"

The boy let out a light chuckle and smacked his friend's head.

"Shut up, Noya."

The group of four enjoyed themselves, not knowing that this would be their last day at this school.

Since Kiyotaka and I had decided to target a group in my class, I've been keeping tabs on every pawn that our selection criteria applied to. I made sure that those four had been with each other, and that nobody else could place them anywhere during that specific timeframe.

The initial goal was to expel a group of up to five people, which would have assured our spot as Class C next month. While it was still possible for us to drop to the lower class with four, it was not set in stone and depended on their and our performance this month.

But that much was more than enough, since downgrading my class wasn't our initial goal.

The boy I ran into this morning was none other than Nagata and a sly sneer crept up my face as I caressed the additional device in my pocket. My classmates made their way outside one after the other, which gave me some time to stash my phone inside the room.

The four joked around with each other and left as well, whereupon I began to follow them around.

If they were questioned and their devices would show the same general location as in their story, the investigators would believe that Nagata still had his phone on him during the day. If they kept our movement data for several days, it would also show that this was normal behavior for the four of them.

As long as they had the picture or the deleted data remnants on their phone, the school would have no choice but to expel them. I wondered what Kiyotaka had done about their GPS locations on that day, since he only said that everything would all work out if I just get the pictures onto their phones.

Did he know how long they were kept, or had he managed to alter them somehow? Was it possible to purchase the ability to purge such data or transform them to a certain degree?

Both possibilities were conceivable, but also incredibly dangerous for the school.

As far as the pictures go, we had already checked that the original time and date of the photo remained if we send them to someone without the use of our messenger. There was also no logging feature for such file transfers, which was why there would be no indication that a file was sent to the phone and not taken.

We could use this to our advantage and plant the evidence on their devices.

Even if they began to collect the metadata of the pictures in question, they wouldn't be able to gain any useful information, since everyone in this school used the same model.

Kiyotaka apparently came up with an easier and less physical option to accomplish this feat, but I wanted in on the fun, which is how I ended up tailing those four guys in front of me. I was intrigued by his imagination, since I hadn't figured out how he planned to transfer the pictures, but it would have been boring if I just sat on the sidelines while he took care of the whole performance.

I could ask him, of course, but I doubted that he would explain his approach to me. He was not only very secretive, but I also didn't want to show him my weaknesses. Knowing him, he would use this knowledge to his advantage somehow.

The five of us reached the Cafe, which was, as usual, filled with a plethora of students

In such a cramped space, it wouldn't be weird or unexpected that someone jostled you, because too many people wanted to find a seat or join their friends who had already saved a spot on the other side of the establishment.

It wasn't difficult to steal someone's phone in such an environment if a person was knowledgeable in the sacred art called sleight of hand.

The key was to overshadow the movements you would cause by removing the phone from their pockets. The pressure that was needed to mask such an action couldn't be too blatant, however, or the person in question might think that something was off.

I had tried the same tactic on Kiyotaka during our first meeting on the rooftop, but was beaten in my game as he managed to steal my phone while I couldn't even find the spot where he had hidden his.

As the four guys were patiently waiting for one of the tables to free up, I made my way over to Date and brushed past him. Due to all the busy people around this area, he didn't even notice that I was also here.

I unlocked his phone with the passcode I've seen him type in thousands of times and sent over a few of the pictures that I had saved on Nagata's device. Before he could notice that his phone was gone, I slipped it back into his pocket.

Afterwards, I repeated this sequence of actions for the second person.

During the whole time I kept rather close to them, in case one of these morons decided to check his phone. In such a situation, I could gain their attention while slipping the device back in before anyone missed it.

Unfortunately, I didn't have enough time for the third person, so I joined a group of Class B girls on the other side of the cafe and ordered a drink. They passed me a few questions from time to time, which I replied to with a short or joking answer, essentially behaving like always.

This wasn't the first time I had joined some random Class B group either, since I was usually too lazy to stand while I enjoyed my drink, so they thought nothing of my sudden appearance.

These four idiots couldn't stop talking about the movie they were going to watch after this, so I had already accepted my fate in sitting next to one of them, which would enable me to borrow his phone for a moment.

As luck would have it, their group ran into some Class A guys after leaving the Cafe, and a different opportunity presented itself. The classes in the second year knew each other rather well and weren't on bad terms during the peaceful school times, so it was no surprise that they began conversing with each other.

Despite Nagumo pushing us from our throne, he managed to rally everyone around him.

"I'm really jealous of you B guys, you know that, right?"

"Says the guy in Class A. Whose leg are you trying to pull?"

"I'd swap places with you anytime if I could spend some time with Kiryuin-san, even if it's just during the lessons."

The group of seven let out cheerful laughs and patted themselves on the shoulders while I could only shake my head.

"Spend time with her? Dude, all you could ever do is watch her from afar. She's too cold and doesn't spend time with anyone in our class. Kiryuin-san doesn't even care about Nagumo. You should have seen how she disregarded him this morning."

"Noya is right. It's gotten even worse the past month."

Well, because Kiyotaka was here. Everyone else was irrelevant.

"Watching Fuka-chan from afar is still spending time together, no?"

The Class A student elbowed Date with a disgusting grin.

"Damn you creep!"

The students began to holler around, but their laughter died down soon after I walked up behind Noya.

"What are you guys laughing about? I want in on the fun."

I entered their conversation with a smug smile on my face.

"K-k-kiryuin-san!"

The person who enjoyed watching me from afar shuddered, surprised by my sudden appearance.

"What? Uh... I forgot your name. Cat got your tongue?"

"Ahh... I'm Onizuka Eikichi, 18 years old. Single. YOROSHIKU!"

I ignored the guys whose name I had forgotten yet again and focused my attention on Noya.

"What about you? Do you also enjoy watching me from afar, No-ya-kun?"

My voice was arctic, as opposed to the sweet sounds that left my lips when I was with Kiyotaka.

With every syllable of his name, I pushed my finger deeper into his side, whereupon he winced. His erratic movements, due to this uncomfortable feeling, concealed my actions as I snatched his phone.

"W-what? There is no way..." His dry, nervous chuckle was apparently contagious as it spread through to the other guys in the group after they realized that I heard every word they exchanged. "We w-would never watch you from afar like some perverts. R-right g-guys?"

They nodded in the most pitiful attempt to salvage this situation.

"If I hear you guys talking about me again, we are going to have a word, alright?"

"Y-yes! Kiryuin-san!"

I slapped Noya's back twice with a wide, devious grin on my face. During this time, I slipped his phone back into his pocket and turned around with a satisfied smirk.

"Good boys."

I walked off and turned a corner, where I waited for the group to split up. I kept following them to the movies and took one of the free seats inside the showroom.

The rest of the day went by like that until the four of them split up in front of the dorms.

I shadowed Nagata until he stumbled into his room.

After a quick glance towards the entrance, I raised my hand and threw the phone down with all the strength I could muster.

The device cracked and split apart with a loud crashing sound.

"Ahhh, finally."

Even though it was my idea, I should tell Kiyotaka that today wasn't fun. Maybe he'll treat me to a nice dinner, or go on a date with me.

The latter seemed improbable, but a girl could hope...

"Good morning everyone, I have an announcement to make."

Our homeroom teacher trudged into the classroom like this. From his expression alone, everyone would realize that something must have happened. That, as well as the four missing students, of course.

"Your classmates Date Katsuhiko, Nagata Kazushi, Noya Shihei and Uzumaki Rai were expelled. They left the school premises last night. Are there questions?"

The faces of my classmates lost all color, as they glanced around like confused animals. They couldn't make sense of the sudden situation, since Nagumo had almost unified the whole year.

There shouldn't have been any attacks against our class.

Most of us knew that Nagumo wouldn't shy away from expelling students when he needed to, but these four were different. It would have been foolish of him to eliminate his own supporters.

If it wasn't him, someone else began to struggle for power.

Getting rid of four people at the same time was unprecedented in the history of this school, which meant that a formidable foe had appeared.

"Sensei, what was the reason for their expulsion?"

"I'm not at liberty to say. Don't think about spending points either. This information is not open for purchase."

The teacher shut down every incoming question.

Since we already knew that we could buy information like this, it was even more surprising that we weren't allowed to acquire any this time around. This alone would drive Nagumo close to insanity, because he could never find out what had happened for certain.

I snickered as I thought about the frustrated expression he must have been wearing at that moment.

Just a few moments after our lesson began, I received tons of messages. Since the frequency of new texts didn't dwindle, something must have happened.

"Sensei, could we turn off the cameras for a few minutes?"

Our homeroom teacher turned around, while my classmates regarded me with confused gazes. They knew that such a privilege could be bought, but they hadn't expected that I would use this option out of nowhere.

"You know the price."

"It won't take long."

The teacher pulled out his phone and tapped around on it before giving me a nod. Before I could even pick up mine, he continued his lesson as if nothing had happened.

I grew confused as I scrolled through the notifications that had arrived since they all originated from the same class. It didn't take a long time to realize that four Class B students had left the school premises forever.

Even worse, there was no way to figure out why they were expelled.

A frown appeared on my face as I've read through their names with clenched fists.

"Which piece of shit attacked me..."

My classmates turned around after listening to my mumblings. Since the cameras were shut off, they began to whisper amongst each other. They as well had friends in Class B and the news spread like wildfire.

Shit...

The resentment he must have felt after all his hard work went to naught should have been next to unbearable. Nagumo, who was about to unify the whole second-year under his banner, lost miserably against an enemy he didn't see coming.

How were you supposed to defend against such a foe?

The faith of the ones who followed him without question was shaken to their roots and his growing paranoia, which would surface from now on, wouldn't help him in his endeavour to salvage the situation at all.

Little did he know that this was only the beginning.

- Word Count: 7099 / 31616 Characters

Released 04.06.2022

Chapter 13 - Artificial Castling

Chabashira-sensei walked into the classroom in a relaxed manner.

Even though my classmates should have realized this, a few of them felt anxious. We had the old test papers and made efforts to study prior to the midterms, so they should have had more confidence in themselves.

The only exception to this rule had been Sudou, who was without a doubt the most apprehensive out of the bunch, since he messed up during his English test. There was a chance that he might have failed, after all.

"Sensei, when will the results be announced?"

"You shouldn't be worried, Hirata. It would have been hard for you to fail, even if you tried. But the results are in, so I might as well announce them now."

Chabashira-sensei stuck a large poster with everyone's names and test scores onto the blackboard. The subjects were ordered after the sequence in which we had taken them, so first was social studies and the last one on the list was English. Each list was arranged in descending order of the person's score.

""What the hell?""

Multiple students shouted and glanced around in surprise upon seeing the results on the poster. The reason was not because about half of our class had scored perfectly in the midterms, but because of the unbelievable score achieved by a single person on top of each list that blew everyone away.

According to her expression, however, even the person in question was surprised.

The stern, yet beautiful girl beside me stared at this scene with widened, astonished eyes. She wasn't the only student in this classroom that was confused, though. No one could comprehend what Chiaki had achieved during the exam.

"Hey, Chabashira-sensei! Aren't the results kind of... you know... wrong?"

"Yeah, sensei! How is it possible that Matsushita-san scored 101 points on every test?"

"Even though I'm happy for her good scores, it's really kinda like, impossible to achieve that, y'know?"

More and more students began to chime in with their own opinions regarding this matter, which changed the previously comfortable atmosphere into a loud, confusing mess. Our beloved homeroom teacher shook her head, fed up with the whole situation, and threw us an icy glare.

"Quiet!"

Chabashira-sensei's irritated voice was proof enough that she was displeased with the barrage of annoying comments that flew her way. My classmates fell silent and anticipated her next words with curious yet strained expressions.

"I assure you that all the scores on this sheet were verified by multiple teachers and that they are completely valid. That being said, Matsushita..." She turned to Chiaki, who regarded her with a confused gaze. "Congratulations on your score."

According to her awed and perplexed appearance, Chiaki was still processing her scores, wondering how she had managed to obtain 101 points in each subject, which should have been impossible. Since she was aware about some of this school's special quirks, I believed that it wouldn't take much longer until she realized what might have happened.

There were only so many conclusions one could draw from such a sight, after all.

So far, my impressions on Chiaki were correct, as expected. She had never planned to take a step into the limelight, because she thought that our class wouldn't be able to ascend to Class A, even if she gave her best. Yet now she had scored more than full marks in every test without knowing how.

This would beg one important question...

Who had purchased these points?

"T-thank you, Chabashira-sensei..."

While my classmates were focused on the interaction taking place in front of them, as well as their own speculations about how she had achieved this score, I began to scan the sheet for Sudou's name. His scores weren't bad and could even be referred to as excellent for someone of his usual academic ability.

Even though he was, like me, one of the inferior students, he had managed to score in a similar range to my own in four of the five main subjects. Just like him, the other students saw an impressive increase in points as well, due to the old test papers we had received from Kushida.

This hadn't been her only move throughout these painful times.

Since my queen wanted the best for our pawns, she had used her panic attack as a pretext to increase their willingness to learn, and told everyone that she collapsed because of the growing worries about her classmates as the exam drew closer which prompted her underlings to study with everything they've got.

This interesting idea once again assured me that I had made the right decision to trust her with the position of my most important piece. Kushida would fulfill her role perfectly. I had no doubts about this.

"Yes!"

Sudou leaped up in joy after he confirmed his lowest score for himself. Since it was above the passing grade of 32, he believed that all his efforts had been worth it. Kushida, Horikita and Ike also noted that his score was above the previous threshold and breathed a sigh of relief...

... moments before the imminent disaster that was about to unfold.

"I'm positively surprised by your achievements this month. Despite my misgivings at the beginning of the year, you managed to beat Class C's average this time. You all did very well. Except..."

Chabashira-sensei took out a red pen and strolled towards the right side of the massive poster, which was attached to the blackboard. This section of the banner was occupied by our English scores. They went from the highest score of 101 down to the lowest one, which was 43 and belonged to none other than Sudou.

"Huh?"

This mystified exclamation was the only sound that escaped his quivering mouth as our delicate homeroom teacher bend over and drew a red line above Sudou's name to indicate that he hadn't made the cut, despite the sweat and tears he had put into studying for the last two weeks.

My favorite delinquent classmate should have gone through the worst stage of his life at this moment.

As one of his friends, I should have understood and supported him at such a difficult time. Instead of worrying about him, I was distracted by Chabashira-sensei's plump butt and enticing thighs, which revealed their intoxicating charm as she bent forward.

This was, of course, an incredibly improper thought to have.

I once again realized how far Ike's antics had corrupted me and my thought process during our short time together.

"You failed, Sudou."

Her cold, indifferent voice prompted my classmates to fall silent in shock. As if they had already forgotten about Chiaki's impossible scores, their attention shifted towards Sudou and the harsh words that left Chabashira-sensei's graceful lips.

"W-wait. What do you mean I failed? I clearly scored over 32 points!"

Sudou got neither loud nor angry at her, which differed to his normal behavior. He was confused, bewildered and devastated because he had failed. There was no way that he could believe such a shocking truth.

"When did anyone say that 32 was a passing grade?"

Chabashira-sensei tilted her head with a devious smirk on her otherwise lovely face.

"What? You said so yourself, sensei. In the last exam —"

"The last exam has got nothing to do with this one. You had to score 44 points in this exam, meaning you were one point short. I'm sorry, Sudou., but there is nothing I can do."

The cold-hearted vixen shrugged with her usual deadpan expression as disbelief and denial crept into Sudou's shattered heart. He kept staring at his score and the red line right above it with trembling lips.

"Forty-four? But why?"

"It's simple. The passing grade for the exam in a subject is set for each individual class, just like before on the mock exam. The number was calculated by dividing the average score by two."

Chabashira-sensei took a black pen and wrote this simple yet devastating formula on the blackboard and demonstrated the calculations with the numbers in question:

87,3 / 2 = 43,65 44

"No way... Does this mean... I'm really going to be expelled?"

I was glad that, even now, Chabashira-sensei had thrown no subtle glances my way.

Sudou's English score came as no surprise, since I had anticipated that he might have failed. He was only missing a single point, and I had enough private points to save him. This would have to wait until after classes, however, since I couldn't just swap around the points on Sudou's tests in front of my classmates.

"Yes. Although your time here was short, you tried your best to adapt. To finalize your departure, you'll have to fill out a withdrawal form with your legal guardian present. I will contact them for you later."

My classmates paled, stunned by Chabashira-sensei's callous attitude.

This expulsion differed to Yamauchi's, who committed a criminal offense and had been suspended due to this, as Sudou was only missing a single point in one out of five tests. Despite the difference in severity, both were purged without batting an eye.

This once again affirmed the school's strict expulsion policy.

Hirata clenched his fists as he began to brainstorm ideas. He must have filtered through everything we had learned about this school and its procedures during our time here in order to save his classmate. Despite his best efforts, multiple frustrated sighs escaped his trembling lips.

Even though the solution to this problem was right in front of him, he couldn't see it.

"As for the rest of you, good work. Remember that there will be a vacation waiting for you if you pass the final exam as well. Next up is —"

"Sensei! Can't we do anything to stop Sudou-kun's expulsion?"

Hirata realized that he wouldn't arrive at a conclusion on his own, which was why he asked our instructor for guidance. Even though Sudou and he weren't on the best of terms, which was entirely the former's fault, our knight in shining armor still tried his best to protect his precious classmate.

"He received a failing grade, so he will be expelled."

Chabashira-sensei once again left a hint that there was, in fact, a way to save Sudou. But nobody had noticed this.

Except for her...

Chiaki seemed to have figured it out, or at least realized that it was still possible to save him. She probably couldn't act right now, since it would be hard to gather enough funds to purchase a point for Sudou, even if the whole class decided to chime in.

I doubted that she had already recognized that it was possible to save Sudou in a far cheaper way.

I shook my head as Chabashira-sensei handed Hirata-kun the answer sheet he had asked for.

This was a waste of time...

His plan must have been to check the exam papers for any mistakes in their grading, or answers that could be interpreted in multiple ways, which might enable Sudou-kun to receive an extra point. But the teachers at this school wouldn't make such a rookie mistake.

Hirata-kun's face turned more grim and frustrated the further he scanned down on the papers. It was hard to watch his desperate, inconsequential struggles. After glancing at my scores, I had a rough idea about how we could save him, but decided to keep it to myself because it would worsen the situation without a doubt.

It was at this moment that my phone vibrated.

Usually, I would wait until the lesson concluded to check on the messages I had received due to the potential point penalty. But this time was different, because I believed that this could have been the help I was waiting for.

I slid my phone out of my pocket and glanced at the notification that was displayed.

[Unknown] Show me that I've put my trust in the right person.

A few seconds later, the vibrations from my phone rippled through my palm.

[Unknown] has sent you 200.000 private points.

"There are no mistakes..."

Hirata-kun's discouraged voice seeped through his clenched teeth, whereupon the rest of our classmates gasped.

Even though most of them didn't look too favorably upon Sudou-kun and stated multiple times that they wanted him gone, he was still our classmate and his expulsion frightened them despite their prior misgivings.

Since the most reliable boy in our class hadn't found a surefire way to save Sudou-kun, they had already lost all hope.

"Well, since we have agreed on Sudou's fate now, homeroom is over."

Fumei had kept his word and now it was my time to keep mine.

The person behind the number, whoever he was, wanted this class to reach greater heights. My scores and the points he had given me were enough evidence to support his claim that he wanted to help us through the ranks if I stepped up as Class D's leader.

He put his faith in me and set up this stage so that I could establish myself.

It wasn't wise to depend on or put my trust in someone who I neither knew the motives nor identity of. But if I did nothing and let this situation play out, this mystery person would vanish and Sudou would be expelled.

As I reached this point in my thoughts, I remembered the first message I had received from this unknown number, which was a few hours after Kushida-san had handed us the old test questions to prepare ourselves for the upcoming exams.

My grades wouldn't have suffered, even if I hadn't learned, but I wanted to solve the difficult problems on my own, without the help of the papers we had been given. I needed to know if I could deal with such obstacles if I only relied on my intelligence and abilities alone.

Since everyone else was busy learning as well, I didn't lose any time and began to work through the problems that were on a much higher level than I could currently solve. As I was ruminating about the formulae I could use to zone in on the correct result, a message reached my phone.

I grabbed the device from my bed and unplugged the charger before unlocking it. I had hoped that Kiyotaka might have replied, but I wasn't that lucky. Instead, an unknown number had sent me a short and rather mysterious message.

[05:12:38 PM[Unknown] Do you want to reach Class A?

At first, I wasn't sure if I should even answer, but I soon decided that it wouldn't hurt to reply since I might get some valuable information which could give me an advantage in the coming months. Even if we couldn't reach Class A, I didn't want to spend my time at this school with scraping points from the bottom of the barrel if I could help it.

[05:14:48 PM] Who are you? And what's with that question? Everybody wants to reach Class A, right?

[05:15:11 PM[Unknown] Then why are you hiding your abilities?

My eyes began to quiver as I've read through these unbelievable words on my display again and again.

No one in this school should have been aware that I wasn't going all out. I had decided that it wasn't worth the trouble, as I deemed it impossible to ascend the ranks with such a defunct class.

But if someone realized that I was hiding my capabilities, then they should be in a similar state as well.

It was improbable that an individual outside of our class knew that I only acted half-heartedly. Most of my schoolmates could be eliminated from the remaining list of suspects, since I rarely interacted with them. Aside from this, even fewer of my classmates seemed capable of seeing through my charade.

The first person who came to mind was Kouenji, since he presented himself as rather enigmatic.

I couldn't get a good read on him, but his scores during the previous mock exam had proven that he could solve at least one of the difficult problems we had been confronted with. But he was too flippant to care about the class competition, as he had mentioned more than once that he wasn't interested in the 'squabble of imperfect existences'.

Aside from him, who else could it have been?

Another, more handsome, face surfaced in my mind, but I denied this possibility as soon as it came up. I had to concentrate on the process at hand, and not my own wishful interpretations, which twisted my thoughts into jumping to conclusions that were impossible.

Why did I keep thinking so much about him? Was it because I enjoyed his company?

Did I... like him?

No, no, no. Stop it, Chiaki.

Concentrate...

[05:17:26 PM] I don't know what you are talking about. Why would I hide anything?

[05:17:59 PM[Unknown] This is your last chance to tell the truth. If you decide against it, I will wish you good luck for the next three years. They shouldn't be that comfortable for someone in Class D.

The unknown number forced me to decide, without giving me much time to think.

Due to his usage of words, I could infer that this person wasn't a Class D student. There was also no reason that another first-year class should want to help us, because not even Ichinose-san would go that far.

With this theory in mind, it was safe to assume that I was chatting with a second- or third-year student of either Class A, B or C. This individuals goal seemed to be to gain my cooperation, but I didn't know why. If he had figured out that I was hiding my abilities despite not being a part of my class, he should be capable enough to accomplish quite a lot at this school, even without me.

Could it be that he wanted to help someone in Class D?

[05:19:23 PM] I figured that the class wouldn't amount to anything, even if I gave it my all. I didn't want to stand out too much if I couldn't change the situation, so I adapted to my surroundings.

[05:19:47 PM[Unknown] Are you willing to follow my commands to reach Class A? Are you willing to step up for the class? If any of these answers is no, then there is no need to try.

My initial impression about him seemed to be correct.

This person needed someone to lead Class D, because he likely wanted to help one of my classmates. My assumption was that the seniors were prohibited from helping the juniors during their time here, which is why he chose to contact the next best student in Class D to support us in secret.

I was curious about his motives, but it would be futile to ask him since I doubted that he would reply. This mysterious senior held the answers to all my questions, while I could merely decide on how much I was prepared to invest in this class going forward.

[05:20:59 PM] How do I know that we can truly reach Class A with these people? How am I supposed to trust anything you say? If I can put my faith in you, I wouldn't mind standing up for the class. But if you are not at least 75% sure that I can reach Class A with them, I'm not interested.

I had to present an ultimatum of sorts, since I couldn't let him decide the flow of this conversation on his own. He needed me, which meant that I had at least a small amount of bargaining power. I also believed that he chose me because I could bridge the gap between Class D and A at least somewhat.

Seventy-five percent were enough of an assurance for me to stand up for this disastrous class.

Chabashira-sensei had said it herself, after all.

We were the worst Class D in the history of this school.

Without outside help, we wouldn't amount to anything.

[05:21:51 PM[Unknown] If I help you, you will reach Class A with a certainty of 100%. You can decide for yourself if you trust me in the upcoming days. You will get a message if the time for you to establish yourself has arrived.

With this message, the chat with this supposed upperclassman had stopped. I tried to contact him afterwards, but he never replied to any of my attempts to gather more information.

I had considered this to be some kind of prank — until now, at least.

"Sensei, please wait a moment."

Thirty-nine pairs of curious eyes focused on me, mere seconds after I had opened my mouth.

It was rather uncomfortable, being in the spotlight like this. I had poor memories of such days, but there was no turning back now that I had spoken up in front of everyone.

Fumei chose to trust me, so I should return this favor.

"What can I do for you, Matsushita?"

I had received 200.000 points and the command to prove myself.

He also knew that Sudou would fail, which meant that he must have made sure of this somehow. This assured me that his status at this school should be rather high, as he must have also seen my entrance exam scores. Otherwise, I couldn't explain how he knew that I held back.

After weighing in my impossible scores, I came up with three potential solutions.

But only one of them was viable.

Number one was the right to void an expulsion, which should cost much more than a mere 200.000 points. Such an amount would be too cheap in a school like this, since every other first-year class could afford this service. This solution also didn't have any downsides which would lower the price.

Number two was another large-scale purchase with which I might be allowed to lower the passing grade by a certain amount. This option could be considered quite expensive but still cheaper than option one, as it had one fatal downside. It could only be used on students who were facing expulsion because of a failed exam.

This led me to option number three, which Fumei must have used to increase my points above the achievable threshold of 100 points. Since he gave me 200.000 points, it was fair to assume that this sum equaled one test point.

This, however, was where the problem started.

Since Fumei hadn't contacted me after our initial chat, I had decided to score my tests in the 70 to 80 point range across the board because of the old papers. Despite that, all of them were at 101 now, which meant that he must have used an exorbitant amount of points on me.

If my theory was correct, he must have spent over 23 million private points to increase my scores.

But this couldn't be right.

I was missing something essential...

"I'd like to buy one point for Sudou-kun's English test."

""Huh?!""

The whole class erupted into chaos.

While some were laughing about my insane idea, others kept hurling insults at me for losing my mind. A few students, like Hirata-kun and Horikita-san, stared at me with wide eyes, unable to believe the words I had uttered.

The only one who hadn't changed his expression was the handsome brown-haired boy near the window.

Chabashira-sensei's laugh echoed through the room, whereupon my classmates turned silent in apprehension. Since she was usually stern and cold during her lessons, they were caught off-guard by her sudden change in mannerism.

"That's a unique idea. I'd never expected you to ask for points."

She kept quiet and observed me with a predatory gaze, as if she was prompting me for an explanation.

"Didn't you say so yourself on the first day? 'At this school, you can use your points to buy anything. Anything located on the school premises is available for purchase.' Isn't a point for a test just another 'thing' to buy?"

Our instructor smirked, amused by my answer.

"Yes, indeed." She nodded. "Okay, I'll sell you a point for Sudou's test. It will cost you 100.000 points though."

Everyone's hope soared before it crashed down back to earth in a blazing fireball as they realized that it would be difficult to gain such an amount, even if the whole class pooled together their money for Sudou.

This was why I hadn't voiced my opinion prior to receiving enough points.

The classroom would have turned into a bloody battlefield, because I knew for certain that some of our classmates wouldn't have sacrificed their points to save him from expulsion.

But that was before...

"That's not a problem. I'll pay the points in full."

Karuizawa-san caught sight of my point balance as I pulled out my phone.

"What? 222.550? How?"

The volume in the classroom increased drastically, as everybody began to wonder how I had received such a huge number of points. Some of them should have realized that this amount was impossible, since it was more than any first-year could have achieved, even if we hadn't zeroed our class points this month.

Dozens of questioning gazes pierced the back of my head.

Thanks to this uncomfortable revelation, I would have a lot of explaining to do after classes were over. Fumei hung me out dry to see whether I could come up with believable explanations for my sudden wealth.

What a cruel person...

The doubts I had repressed and forgotten due to the commotion in the classroom resurfaced as I was about to conclude my deal with Chabashira-sensei. Even with this new information in mind, Fumei would have spent close to 12 million private points to increase my grades, without knowing that I would agree to his terms.

I gritted my teeth and glanced at our homeroom teacher.

"Chabashira-sensei, could we take care of this transaction later? There are still some things I need to make sure of before I can proceed with such a purchase. We are talking about a lot of points, after all."

I believed that there was a cheaper way to save Sudou, but I needed some time to refocus on my thoughts and figure things out. It wouldn't take very long, but I had to review everything I knew and evaluate the hypothesis I came up with.

"I don't mind, but you don't have that much time. I'll begin preparing Sudou's paperwork after classes, so you should decide before then if you want to purchase the point, or it'll be too late."

I bowed with a slight nod.

"That's more than enough time. Thank you, sensei."

"Well, you heard her, Sudou. Your future at this school is in her hands." She averted her eyes from him and glanced back at me. "I know what your goals are, and I wish you good luck. No one from Class D has ever been promoted before. Know what you are up against, Matsushita."

With those parting words, Chabashira-sensei left the room.

Our break was still ongoing, at least for a few more minutes, which prompted my classmates to swarm around me as soon as our teacher was out of sight. I didn't understand a single thing they said, since their voices overlapped in an impossible to decipher cluster of words and surprised expressions.

Sudou-kun as well, ran towards me like a lost puppy with tears in his eyes, begging me to save him. He pleaded and promised that he would do better if I just gave him this one chance.

I hadn't realized that most of my classmates assumed that I wanted Sudou-kun to face his mistakes and do better in the future, which hadn't been my intention at all. In truth, I wanted to ask Chabashira-sensei some follow-up questions after buying myself some time to think, but this misunderstanding was fine with me.

"If you promise that you will behave yourself from now on, I will purchase that missing point for you."

"Yes! Yes! Please! I swear! I'll do anything!"

Hirata-kun chuckled with a light smile on his face before he regarded me with a nod.

I excused myself to purchase Sudou's point and promised them that I would explain everything later.

After leaving the classroom, I barely caught sight of Chabashira-sensei's vanishing figure as she began to ascend the stairs on the other end of the corridor. While making sure that no one followed me, I ran after our instructor and met her on the rooftop where she just lit up her cigarette.

"What an interesting surprise, Matsushita. First, your splendid idea to save your classmate and now you are even visiting my lonesome on this roof. Have you already decided whether you will purchase the point?"

Chabashira-sensei didn't seem surprised at all, as she puffed out decent quantities of smoke, which drifted away due to the fresh breeze that blew over the rooftop.

"First, I have some additional questions. Would it be alright with you if we talk now?"

"Please, go ahead."

She struck her cigarette, getting rid of the ashes.

"How many private points would it cost to take one of my own points and transfer it to Sudou-kun's test?"

Our homeroom teacher glanced at me for a second before puffing out another round of smoke.

"50.000."

A small, reassured smile formed on my face.

It seemed like I was right with my assumption about a cheaper way to stock up on test points. This is the one that Fumei must have used to top up all my tests across the board. If he took points from the lower-scoring students who wouldn't be aware that they had fewer points than they should have had, no one would have ever noticed.

Sudou's failure wasn't an accident, but a predetermined outcome.

"And how much would it cost to transfer a point from his Social Studies test to his English test?"

She glanced at me with a sly smirk.

"10.000 private points."

I clenched my fists and bent my knees as I made a small hop. "Yes!"

Upon realizing what I had just done, my face began to feel hot.

Gosh, how embarrassing!

After clearing my throat and drowning the embarrassment I felt, I peered back at my teacher.

"T-then I'd like to purchase such a point transfer, please."

"Of course."

Chabashira-sensei nodded, and we concluded our deal just a moment later.

"You can tell Sudou that his expulsion is annulled."

"Thank you, Chabashira-sensei. I still have one last question, though. How much would it cost me to purchase information from you?"

The woman raised her brow, surprised by my inquiry.

"That depends on the information you are requesting."

I browsed through my phone and showed her Fumei's information.

"This phone number. I'd like to know who it belongs to."

A peculiar glint flashed through her eyes as she finished the last bit of her cigarette and snapped it away.

"That would cost you 150.000 points. Are you sure that you want to spend this kind of money lavishly?"

"Yes, I'm certain, Chabashira-sensei."

After a few taps on our phones, the transaction once again concluded.

She walked towards the door and made sure that it was shut before she wandered back towards her previous position, where I was still waiting for her. Chabashira-sensei navigated through her phone as a small grin formed on her face.

"The phone's owner is..."

Chiaki was the dazzling star of Class D for the rest of the day.

I had to admit that she had handled herself exceptionally well, so well in fact that I didn't need to do anything. This was a nice surprise and an even more interesting development.

She had glanced at her phone moments before she began to reveal herself, which meant that she must have had help from someone, but I doubted anyone aside from me had noticed this.

Unfortunately, Sudou and Ike had stopped me in my tracks before I could follow Chiaki outside, because they wanted to celebrate their passing grades. I didn't believe for a second that Sudou's promises convinced her to act, and assumed that she just wanted to buy herself some time to sort out her thoughts before she confronted Chabashira-sensei with her conclusions.

I could ask my cherished homeroom teacher what they talked about, but I would likely have to pay for this information, just like everyone else. The knowledge I could gain wasn't significant enough to warrant such an expenditure, which is why I decided to find out what they had discussed in time.

Even though I couldn't be sure, I had a pretty good idea about the overall flow of their conversation from the hints I picked up in Chiaki's behavior before she vanished.

Despite her obvious discomfort, she kept answering the questions that were aimed at her from left and right. I cared little about her lies at this current stage, because I doubted that she would tell anyone the truth.

Chiaki had a lot on her plate, which is why I left her alone for now and followed the association of failures to our victory celebration, which took place in my room.

I didn't understand why, but the decision had been made and my vote didn't count.

Nobody in class had noticed that Horikita lowered her English score on purpose to balance out Sudou's bad one. At least no one who would mention this detail. Since she was the type of girl to stay quiet about such things, there was no reason to dwell on her decision any further.

Horikita's unexpected action, however, made me once again reevaluate the maybe not so cold-hearted beauty who ambled towards my room beside me.

Her contribution in saving Sudou was second only to Chiaki, who had purchased the last missing point for him. If someone were to ask her about this weird score, she would probably answer that she did this for herself, but I believed that she had an unexpectedly cute side to her.

Kushida must have also realized what Horikita had done, but kept quiet as well.

I wasn't sure if she just followed my lead, or if she didn't want Horikita to get any positive attention in the classroom, but that was none of my business.

"So, why are we doing this in my room again?"

Horikita ignored my question, as her gaze wandered over the chessboards I had set up before she sat down on the bed and focused on her novel. Kushida, who had been here before, bounced around the room with a curious expression to hide her prior knowledge. Sudou was staining the floor with his sweet beverage while cursing the person who shook the can.

Ike, of all people, was the only one who listened to me.

"Mine's a mess. Sudou's is as well. We can't go to a girls' room, even though I would love to visit Kushida-chan's apartment, so that only leaves yours. It's plain and simple, aside from those things, whatever that is?"

He played around with the figures on my chessboards and messed them up before resuming his journey through my room in proximity to Kushida, who was annoyed by his behavior.

She didn't show this, of course, but I could tell.

From a practical standpoint, these boards had no use for me since I could save each board's state in my mind without trouble. Even years down the line, I could retrace every move that had been executed.

But I loved the feeling of those cold, lifeless chess pieces in my hand.

Every time my palms slid over one of them, I was reminded of the good memories I had from the White Room. Most were bad, so the occasional good ones were interesting to relive in hindsight.

"I like it neat and tidy. Some might say that my room has no personality..." just like me, "but I think a simple room also has a certain charm to it."

"What do you think, Kushida-chan?"

She turned around with a bright smile after inspecting the chessboard in the corner, which she hadn't noticed the first time she was here. I didn't fault her for not admiring my pitiful attempt at interior design on her initial visit.

Her smooth finger slid over the table before she rubbed them together.

"I think it's nice here. It's simple, but clean and tidy."

"Heeh? It must be nice being praised by Kushida-chan, huh?"

Ike shoved me with his elbow, dissatisfied by the compliment I had received from his angel.

I wonder what he would do if he knew what I did to her...

"I still cannot believe that I was almost expelled. Without Matsushita-san saving my ass, I wouldn't be here right now."

The boy took another sip from his drink and stared at his empty hand, which he then clenched into a fist.

"But you are, so cheer up Sudou-kun! Everyone passed because we gave it our all. I mean, even Matsushita-san couldn't have saved you with her points if you hadn't scored so high, right?"

The girl clasped her hands and gifted him with one of her most dazzling smiles, which prompted Ike to flush.

"Kushida-chan is right, Sudou. Stop being so grumpy!" He turned away from Kushida to hide his complexion. "But man, I never expected Matsushita-san to have such an ace up her sleeve. How did she even think of buying test points?"

While the three were chatting, I glanced over to Horikita, who wasn't upset that nobody realized what she did. Knowing her, she must have been glad about this, since people would leave her alone.

Kushida peered at me after Ike asked about Chiaki.

It was a fair assumption to conclude that I had something to do with her moves, but she hadn't noticed that Chiaki had received a message just before she began to act and that I hadn't used my phone during that time. Since Kushida was playing double agent for Fuka, she knew that this wasn't her doing either.

Aside from this one specific senpai, she would never expect a hostile invasion into my territory.

"No idea... but damn, that was really unexpected. I should pay her back those 100.000 points someday, right? I mean, that's a shit ton of instant noodles we're talking about."

"As if you of all people could ever amass such an amount of — Ouch! Sudou!"

Kushida hid her beautiful smile and let out a light laugh as Sudou slapped Ike's head for talking trash about him. All I could do during this friendly banter was sigh, since more liquid spilled on the floor and stained my otherwise clean room.

"You should definitely keep your promise as well, Sudou-kun! But Matsushita-san wasn't the only one who helped you. Isn't that right, Horikita-san?"

Even though it didn't seem like it, Horikita was listening to our blabbering while she read. As soon as her name came up, she bookmarked the page she had arrived at and looked up.

Her expression wasn't a happy one, but she wasn't troubled either.

She was cute.

I couldn't deny that.

Horikita's apparent disinterest in this celebration was clear, but she had still listened to every word we said. If she was included, like now, she would answer without being irritated.

I had a feeling that I understood more about what it meant to be a tsundere.

"I did this for my sake. If Class D's evaluation worsened, I would suffer the most."

Wow, she's so predictable...

"You are not cute at all, you know that?"

"That's totally fine with me. I don't need you people thinking of me as cute or anything."

She glanced at me, as if she had read my mind and warned me to keep my mouth shut.

Again...

Even though she was still spouting harsh words, her tone felt different to before. Was she realizing that having friends wasn't that bad? Maybe someday she would be ready to call me a friend.

"Of course you'd say something cruel like that."

Sudou and Ike had softened up to Horikita after she had apologized to him, which was clear by this rather relaxed conversation between the three.

"You guys should stop taking all of this lightly. Sudou-kun, without Matsushita-san's intervention this time, you would have been expelled. You are still aware of that, right?"

"Y-yes, I know... damn it."

"Since you know that much, you should also have realized that this can't be happening in the final exams. Even if we wanted, we wouldn't have enough points to save anyone else. Aside from that, we don't know if this was a onetime offer, or if it was possible to buy multiple points. In short: your continuous study sessions merely began."

Ike almost broke out into tears while he rolled around on the floor before he paused.

"Hey, since we are back on that topic... How the hell did she manage to gather over 200.000 points anyway?"

"Oh, I know!" Kushida bounced into the conversation, which made her generous assets jiggle. "She said that she had figured that someone might get into trouble, so she asked some upperclassman to lend her points. Matsushita-san mentioned nothing, but I'm sure that she had to give them something in return, especially now, since half of those points are gone."

"Damn it!" Sudou punched my poor wooden table. "I really hope I didn't put her into trouble. I'll talk to her tomorrow again and make sure that things are alright on her end. That's the least I can do at the moment."

"Hehe... maybe she had to mmphf..."

I had a terrible feeling about the following words, so I put it onto myself to make sure that they would never be spoken.

"But we should get class points for our good midterm scores, don't you think? Maybe we'll even get points next month."

"Yeah! Points would be awesome!"

Ike freed himself and stumbled behind Sudou.

"Our average wasn't that great. We barely beat Class C with the help of those old test papers. I don't think that the school would reward us with class points for this 'achievement'."

"Speaking of achievements, Class B really showed Class A who's boss, huh?"

"Oh yeah, now that you mention it, Ike-kun! Their average was higher than Class A's, right?"

Even though the scores themselves were obfuscated, the ranking itself wasn't and Ichinose's class had taken the top spot this time around. I wasn't sure whether it was because they could narrow down their topics or if they had indeed put their trust into the papers I had sent them.

Whatever it was, they made the right decision, since Class A was behind them in pure academical scores.

"So we probably won't be getting any points this month either, huh? Being poor sucks..."

"You guys shouldn't have blasted through your allowance by buying useless crap in the first month. If you had acted responsibly, you wouldn't be in this crisis right now."

Ike and Sudou were both dissatisfied by her harsh words, but they couldn't deny that she was right. The former glanced at me, ready to pounce, as he was still mad about the compliment I had received for my room.

"Hey, Ayanokouji. How many points do you have left?"

I shrugged and pulled out my phone to check the balance. Horikita and Kushida, who sat behind and beside me respectively, also took a quick glance.

"Around 10.000. It's not much, unfortunately. But I'll survive somehow."

"What the hell?! You're rich! I've been surviving on free meals for the last month!"

"That's your fault, isn't it, Ike-kun? I still have around 50.000 myself, so it is definitely possible to act responsibly with the amount we were given."

The boy's face paled as he turned to his last remaining hope.

"Kushida-chan! What about you?"

"Um, I'm at around 15.000, I think. But I've lent some away so I should have had more..."

Ike grabbed Sudou's shoulders and shook him, which led to even more stains on my floor.

"Sudou! They are rich! Rich, I tell you!"

Afterwards we talked, drank and ate cake for a while until the evening.

Sudou and Ike said their farewells, leaving me alone with the angel and the demon. Thankfully, they were kind enough to help me clean up the mess the two guys had made. It was really nice having girls over, since they would at least feel a little responsible for their behavior and help the host clean up.

They didn't need to, as I was fine on my own, but this as well, was a new experience for me.

Cleaning up with friends after a celebration filled me with conflicted feelings. On one side, I was sad that it was already over, but on the other, I felt blessed that I could experience such an event in my room.

Was I even cleaning up with two friends? Or was it a girl who hated me and a classmate / acquaintance / neighbor?

I doubted that Kushida held any positive feelings for me after the things I had done, and I felt that Horikita would beat me to death if I ever told her that I considered us friends.

"You really don't have to stay and clean up." I said, while throwing a bunch of empty cans in the trash.

"Nonsense, Ayanokouji-kun. Since we held our celebration here, it is the least we could do. Sudou-kun and Ike-kun just aren't aware of basic human decency, which doesn't surprise me at all."

Horikita threw me a quick glance as she cleaned the tableware in the kitchen.

It was mesmerizing how much she looked like a housewife at this moment. Her hair was tied into a ponytail, which stopped it from being in the way while she scrubbed the dishes. She was wearing a blue apron and gloves, as to not get any stains on her uniform.

Sudou, in particular, would kill me if he saw that I was staring at her like this, as I have yet to fix the chemical error that had transpired in his body just because Horikita had been nice to him for once.

"Pervert."

Kushida's icy glare as she stepped on my foot was also rather scary.

She walked past me and proceeded towards the table where Sudou had spilled half of his drink before bending over to wipe away the residue, which revealed her underwear. I was assured that this was a total miscalculation, but the shortness of her skirt still didn't sit right with me, neither should it sit right with the school.

"Calling me pervert but showing off her pink panties, is she serious?"

I received a kick in the shin as her eyes began to resemble their beautiful appearance back on the roof, where she had tried to intimidate me. Ignoring the receding pain, I went over to my chess boards and fixed them up again.

"Do you like chess by chance, Ayanokouji-kun?"

Horikita, who had just finished in the kitchen area, threw me a curious gaze.

It seemed as if she was genuinely interested in learning more about me.

But wasn't that only something friends would do?

"Mh, I do. But I never really had anyone to practice against." It couldn't be called practice if you annihilated everyone, since your future was on the line, after all. "What about you, Horikita?"

"I never played it before. Are you any good?"

"Mh, I'm alright, I guess."

"I see, well..." She undid her hair, which fell down beautifully, resuming their natural position. "Since we seem to be done here, I will take my leave. Goodnight Ayanokouji-kun, Kushida-san."

She strode off as we said our farewells before closing the door behind her.

"Urgh, I really hate that bitch. Fuck."

"Oh, hey Kushida. Long time no see."

"Haha, you are even worse than her."

My joke hadn't cheered her up, rather it had caused the opposite of what I had in mind.

I was glad, however, that she grew more comfortable around me, if one could call it that. Her mouth was foul as always, but she still trembled and feared me whenever we were alone. I decided to let her indulge into her behavior, so she could see that I didn't mean her any more harm as long as she was loyal to me.

"Really? Most of the people I converse with seem to like me."

"Yeah, because they don't know that you are batshit crazy."

"Crazy, huh? Some might see it that way."

"Whatever." She plopped down on a nearby chair, which was far away from the bed.

During our whole celebration, she attempted to stay clear of that area in particular, which was an understandable reaction after I had threatened to rape her. It was undeniable that she would never forget this.

"That second-year bitch contacted me again."

"Tell me about it."

She recounted what she and Fuka had talked about during their meeting while I checked the new messages I had received throughout the day. I was already aware of this information since Fuka had recorded their 'date', but I was glad that she was telling the truth.

For her sake.

I informed her about our plans for the next meeting and once again assured her that I would deal with the problem. It wasn't easy to move against her, since she was a second-year student, and Kushida understood this much as well.

My cute classmate averted her eyes as she glanced towards the ground she had wiped a few moments ago.

"There's something else..."

"Yes?"

"Well... you know how I've been letting my stress out from time to time, right? After you found me, I had trouble in... trusting my surroundings, so to speak. I don't feel comfortable lashing out outside my room anymore and it is almost impossible inside because I get rather loud. I hate to ask you, and I hate myself that I need to, but would it be okay to rant to you if I'm feeling frustrated? I don't know where else to calm down and you screwed things up in the first place, so it would only be fair if you took responsibility and helped me."

I doubted that she would have asked me if she could help it, but she had no choice but to trust me with problems like this. If she kept these things to herself, she would someday explode due to the inevitable buildup of toxic thoughts, which would inconvenience me more than listening to her from time to time.

She was aware of this and so was I.

"You did an exemplary job with the student profiles I asked for and I haven't properly thanked you for them yet. Since you deserve another carrot, I will listen to you if you want to vent. You can come over any time, provided you give me a prior notice of five minutes and that you make sure that no one sees you."

"I figured that no one may see me, but are you sure that I can come any time? What if you have friends over, or you're hanging out with Karuizawa and her group?"

She still gazed at the ground, as this whole conversation should have been quite uncomfortable for her.

"Kushida."

Her body trembled before she raised her head and glanced at me.

This girl's trauma hindered her from realizing that my tone was quite different to the previous times she was here, but I would work on this problem in time.

I took a few steps towards my classmate, which prompted her whole body to tense up. Her hands trembled, and she held onto her skirt for dear life, as if this thin piece of fabric could save her from the horrible monster that stood before her.

Kushida shivered and tears began to well up in her eyes as I began to caress her cheek with my finger. My arms gently wrapped around her neck as I nudged her head into my chest.

"You are my queen. I will always have time for you. No matter who tries to stop me, I will be by your side if you need me. That is a promise, Kushida."

I caressed the hair on the back of her head as I felt it bobbing up and down, buried in my chest. After I let go of her, she needed a moment to return to her usual self, before she began cursing, cussing and throwing profanities around for a solid hour until she calmed down.

None of my classmates survived her onslaught unscathed.

"Haaaaah, thanks. I guess."

She exhaled, as if the weight of the world was just lifted off her shoulder.

"I did nothing you would need to thank me for. You decided to entrust me with the problems that were plaguing you, so I should be the thankful one."

"Speaking of problems... when will this second-year headache be gone? I'm afraid, honestly. If she doesn't tell me everything and manages to get you expelled, it's over. For both of us."

That was true.

There was no guarantee that Fuka would keep her promise to Kushida and leave her alone after she had dealt with the 'person who betrayed her'. At least Kushida knew where she stood with me and could depend on my goodwill as long as she did her part.

"You don't need to worry about her. Everything is under control."

"What do you mean everything is —"

Her eyes went wide in shock as realization struck her. Kushida's beautiful pupils turned grim and wrathful, which made them even more fascinating.

"You... you fucking lunatic planned all of this, did you not? You knew that she would attack you eventually and placed me in her crosshairs as the weak link to punish me. You had everything figured out before it even happened. It wasn't an accident that she found me and not a surprise that I chose to come to you with this information. You realized that I would betray her for you before she even betrayed you. She had already lost this battle before it even began, didn't she...?"

It was quite amusing to see her like this.

She was furious and had any right to hate me, yet her future depended on my survival. With a single flick of my finger, her life would be over, both here and outside this school. She couldn't know that there was no 'outside this school' for me since I had just changed my prison for three years.

Kushida hadn't yet realized that she would never dare to betray me, no matter what happened to her or what I chose to do. Even if someone else were to do the same things I did, the impact would differ, because I was her first.

This twisted, cruel game I had played with her altered her in ways that she hadn't yet noticed.

The two of us, Kushida and I, were bound by the darkness I created for her.

No one could break this black thread of fate I had spun.

"It seems like you took the message well. I was worried that you would be angry."

"Fuck..."

She covered her beautiful face with her palms and shook her head in denial while I pulled out my phone. After typing in a certain number, I put the phone on speaker before the other side had picked up.

"Ayanokouji? It's pretty late already. You really are fond of chatting with me, aren't you? If I didn't know any better, I'd think you had feelings for me."

Kushida glared at me with a hint of disgust, intrigue and astonishment after listening to the voice of our homeroom teacher, which blasted through my phone's speakers.

"Aren't you a little too old for me, Sae? Or are you perhaps looking to be dominated by a younger man? Anyway, if someone were to be expelled and needed rescue, how many private points would that cost?"

"You... haven't I told you not to parrot Chie? Urgh... it costs 20 million, but you knew that —"

"Thank you. Have a good night, Sae."

"Hey... I told you —"

Before she could finish her sentence, I cut the call.

Sae wouldn't mind too much and Kushida would read that much more into our relationship. She should have realized that I had a certain amount of influence over Chabashira-sensei, or else I wouldn't have behaved in such a relaxed, even disrespectful manner.

This would also support her assumption that our homeroom teacher got me out of the trouble with the pictures, since she didn't know that I had snapped none with my phone and used hers instead.

"You heard her, right? You also remember what I told you before, correct?" I turned the phone, which displayed my current point balance, towards her. "Everything is under control."

"How in the world...?"

After answering at least a thousand questions over what felt like days to me, Hirata-kun and I managed to calm the crowd that had formed around me. With their curiosity sated, my classmates dispersed and went their own ways.

"Thank you for your help, Hirata-kun."

I threw him a weak smile, since I was mentally and physically drained.

"You don't need to thank me for being thoughtful of your situation. It must have been difficult for you to answer all those questions. You feel much more at ease with a small group of friends, after all."

It came as no surprise that Hirata-kun had realized that I didn't mix well with groups of people. I was usually kind to everyone who decided to talk to me, but I also liked to keep a certain distance from others.

There was an exception to this rule, but this sentiment held true most of the time.

"You're right... it was exhausting. I still wonder if I made the right decision, doing all of this out in the open. Maybe it would have been better to talk to Chabashira-sensei in private."

Even though I said as much, I doubted that I had a choice if I wanted to keep working with Fumei.

No...

... with Horikita Manabu.

I still couldn't wrap my head around the fact that the student council president and leader of Class 3-A was helping this class. Because of this newfound information, I also understood why he decided to lend me a hand.

Horikita-san, his little sister, was in this class, after all.

I had little to do with her, barely anything, but according to Kiyotaka, she was difficult to deal with. Horikita-senpai must have tried to help us through her at first, but she had likely denied his help, which is why he chose to contact me. This narration would fit into the overall feeling I got from her.

Discovering who was behind Fumei reassured and unsettled me, because the student council president would graduate and leave the school this year.

What would happen to us afterwards? Would he teach me until then? Would he help me find other loopholes in the system I could use to my advantage?

"I think you made the right choice, Matsushita-san. Everyone in class heard and saw what you did. You were like a beacon of hope for the students that had already given up. If we all work together, I am sure that we will ascend through the class rankings in time."

His beaming aura and positive outlook were almost blinding. I could somewhat understand what Karuizawa-san saw in him. He was a wonderful person and a good boyfriend.

While I was thinking about such things, the figure of a certain brown-haired boy flickered through my mind.

He was also handsome, and I preferred him over Hirata-kun in terms of appearance alone. Kiyotaka even placed third in the hot guy ranking, despite his otherwise gloomy attitude.

I didn't know how he managed to be ranked so high, but I felt happy for him. If he wasn't as reserved and emotionless all the time, I believed that he could have taken the first place with ease.

Whoever didn't vote for him just didn't know him well enough.

Kiyotaka was far too adorable when he was struggling with some of the simplest things, like not knowing what a gal was. He might be a little naïve and easy to influence, but even this had a certain charm and made him cute. The happy expression he wore on his face when we had ice cream the other day was far too precious as well...

"See, you are smiling. You know that you did the right thing."

I blushed after realizing that Hirata-kun was still here and pivoted around to hide my reddened face.

Only Hirata-kun saw this embarrassing sight, which relieved me. Karuizawa-san and Satou-san would have teased me for sure, while the other girls might have misunderstood this smile and the following blush as affection towards him.

He misinterpreted my smile as well. Not in an uncomfortable, weird sense, but one that showed how much Hirata-kun cared and thought about the people around him.

"Yeah, you are right. If we try our best, we might even get points next month."

I didn't mind using this misjudgment to hide the emotions that had been stirred up inside me.

After the discussion with my classmates and a short chat about the future of our class, we shut the windows and left the classroom.

Hirata-kun was kind enough to make sure that everyone was gone so that I could return to my room without being swarmed by my classmates, who might have had a few more questions. Nobody would have faulted him if he let me deal with all of this alone, but this just wasn't the person Hirata-kun was.

"Thank you for accompanying me this far Hirata-kun, but you can go ahead. I still have something to take care of."

"Are you sure?"

The kind, forthcoming boy tilted his head with a worried expression.

He must have noticed that I was tired and drained after all of this, but I still had something important to make sure of, which couldn't wait. It was paramount that I dealt with this today before continuing on this path.

"Mh." I nodded with a light smile before we said our farewells.

Hirata-kun's figure vanished around a corner as he continued down the stairway to leave the building. I turned around and took the flight of stairs up towards the next floor.

After spending our first months here and evaluating everything Chabashira-sensei had said and done so far, I came to a simple, indisputable conclusion:

I couldn't trust our homeroom teacher without verifying the information I received from her.

She had set us on the wrong track multiple times during our short time here, so I couldn't rule out that she hid something from me during our previous conversation. I had paid for the intel I received, but that alone didn't assure me of her sincerity.

Thus, after a short period of deliberation, I arrived in front of the student council room.

My heartbeat sped up, which betrayed the nervousness I felt by just standing in front of this door. A few seconds and a deep breath to calm myself down later, two knocks resounded through the empty hallway I stood in.

"Come on in."

"Sorry for the intrusion..."

I pushed the door open and bowed before glancing around.

Three people were inside the room and observed me with curious gazes. The student council president, his female assistant whose name I had forgotten, and a blonde boy I hadn't seen before.

"You are a first-year, correct? What can I do for you?"

The other two kept silent as the president's heavy voice traveled through the room.

There wasn't a single hint of recognition in his tone or the look he gave me. I expected as much, since he wouldn't want other people to know that he was helping me, but it was still unnerving.

For this reason, I had prepared a pretext for my visit.

"Actually, I heard that the student council was looking for new members in the first-year, and I'm interested in joining. Is there a specific time for interviews?"

The blonde boy sneered.

He wanted to say something, but Horikita-senpai was faster.

"Yes, there is a time-slot for interviews, but since you are already here, it would be a waste not to hear you out. Please, take a seat."

He gestured towards a wooden chair in the middle of the room.

I bowed in thanks and made my way over while Horikita-senpai turned towards the other two students present.

"Tachibana, excuse us for a few minutes. Nagumo, you can leave for today."

Secretary Tachibana executed a graceful bow before leaving the room without another word. The other boy, who was apparently called Nagumo-senpai, seemed quite upset and left the room while mumbling something unintelligible.

After the door shut behind them, only Horikita-senpai and I were left in the room. I still wasn't sure whether this was normal procedure, or if he had recognized me and wanted the others to leave due to that.

Should I speak up? Or should I wait for him to make the first move?

"I am glad that you are here. You must have realized that there was a cheaper way to save your classmate, or you wouldn't have had enough points to figure out who I was. My eyes didn't deceive me, after all."

A deep sigh of relief escaped my lips.

It would have been embarrassing if he hadn't been Fumei.

"Yes, Horikita-senpai. I'm terribly sorry that I intruded on you like this, but I had to verify the information I had received from Chabashira-sensei for myself."

"There is no need to worry. I hoped that you would act this way, otherwise I would have been disappointed. Good work today. You even managed to surpass my initial expectations."

"Thank you, Horikita-senpai."

Even though I was glad that everything had worked out today, I couldn't gain any insights from his reactions. He was just as hard to read as Kiyotaka, even though he wasn't as handsome.

Gosh, Chiaki! Stop comparing people to him!

"I take it that your application to the student council was just a farce to confirm my identity, yes?"

"I'm sorry for this, but yes. That was my intention."

He shook his head as a small smile formed on his face.

"There is no need to apologize. Since you are already here and realized who I am, you must have questions concerning our future cooperation. I'll answer a few."

"Then first, the most important one: how is my class supposed to reach Class A when this is your last year?"

I had only revealed myself because I thought that I could work with Fumei for at least two years. But since Horikita-senpai will graduate at the end of this year, he could only help me out for so long. Even if he began to teach me now, we wouldn't have enough time.

I basically engaged in a losing battle. The more time passed, the harder it would be to stay afloat.

"That won't be a problem. Someone trustworthy in the second-year owes me a favor. He will help you once I'm gone. The third year will be yours to take care of, but I'm sure that you will have grasped a lot until then and will manage to prevail with the rest of your class."

If there was someone on his level in the second-year, this might actually work.

I didn't know who that person was, nor did I care at the moment, but it was important to know that there was a plan for the years after his departure. Since this student worked under Horikita-senpai, I was sure that he was just as talented.

With each of them by my side for around a year, I was confident that I could handle the last one on my own.

"Then the next question, why are you helping us? I assume it's because of your sister, Horikita-san, but why are you not working with her if you want to help?"

I had my theory, of course, but this was too important of a detail to get wrong. If I had made errors in my evaluation, I needed to know them now rather than later when it might be too late.

"Suzune is too proud for her own good. She would never let me help her."

Horikita-san's first name is Suzune, huh?

Well, she was proud. That much wasn't an understatement. I was certain that she would hate me if she were to find out that I was working with her brother.

"But you are wrong, since I am not doing this for her. Quite the opposite, actually. Having a defective sister like her is embarrassing. The only way that she doesn't tarnish our good name would be the fact that she reached Class A after being sorted into Class D." He closed some documents on his table and moved them towards the right side. "I'm neither helping you for your sake, nor hers. I am doing this so my family doesn't have to live in shame of harboring such a nauseating Class D defect."

His words were nothing but harsh and hurtful.

The image of the kind older brother shattered like a glass panel that dropped from the tenth floor as he revealed this cruel truth. He lent us a hand, not because he cared about his sister, but because he couldn't bear the bad reputation that would follow his name.

I cared little about such trivial things.

Even if I graduated from Class D, my parents would still be proud of what I had accomplished. They wouldn't stop loving me, even if they knew what this school was about. This seemed to differ for the Horikita siblings, however.

I pitied them, but in the end, I wouldn't be able to change anything.

"I think you've asked enough questions for now. You acted admirably today. Thank you for asking your homeroom teacher about my identity with no one around. I'd like to keep it that way, which you must have understood already. If our cooperation came to light, it would be a lose-lose scenario for both of us."

"Of course." I nodded, since I had assumed that this was the case.

"Well then. Your application for the student council was received and will be processed in the upcoming weeks. Don't hold your breath, however, you won't be accepted."

I stood and bowed.

"Thank you for your time, student council president."

Tachibana-senpai strode into the room the moment I walked out. She must have waited in front of the door until the 'interview' concluded. The boy named Nagumo was nowhere to be found, which relieved me. Even though I couldn't put my finger on it, something about him bothered me.

He wasn't someone I wanted to be acquainted with.

I went back to my dorm room and had a nice dinner.

I felt thirsty afterwards, but had failed to buy anything prior due to everything that had been going on today. With not much choice, I decided on a short trip to one of the many stores.

On my way down with the elevator, I saw Kushida-san walk out of Room 401.

For some unknown reason, my stomach churned, and I felt like puking. I didn't know why, but my dislike towards Kushida-san grew at that moment. Even though she did nothing wrong and was always friendly, attentive and helpful to our classmates and other students around her, I felt contempt to such a sweet girl who treated any student the same, no matter which class they were from.

She wasn't the type of person I would associate with often, since she got too close to people for my taste, but I didn't hate her. Far from it.

In truth, I was glad that we had such a kind soul in our class, especially when the guys fought.

I discovered a whole new side of myself, one I was disgusted with. If someone had asked me before today if I was a jealous person, I would have answered with a definitive no. But right now, I wouldn't be able to look that person in the eye.

But why was I so possessive with him?

The elevator reached the ground floor before I could confront these unfamiliar feelings.

I trudged out of the lift and glanced back up before pulling out my phone.

[07:34:12 PM] Hey, are you busy?

Was that even a good message? Should I have asked if he was free instead? Or specified why I asked? How stupid would that sound? 'Hey, are you free? I'm going shopping. Do you want to accompany me?'

No, no, no...

What was wrong with me...?

[07:34:40 PM[Kiyotaka] No, not really. Why?

'Just to talk.'

No... that was a weird message.

'I need something from the store.'

Why would he care about that?

What do I do...?

Wait!

Why am I so concerned about a simple text?!

[07:34:40 PM] No, not really. Why?

[Chiaki] is typing...

Online

[Chiaki] is typing...

Online

[Chiaki] is typing...

What the hell is she doing?

[07:36:59 PM[Chiaki] I was on my way to the store and could use some company.

[07:37:04 PM[Chiaki] Only if you are free and want to join me, of course.

I figured that she was just getting ready to leave her room, since she needed a bit of time to reply.

In the end, she just wanted me to carry the bags, right? Wasn't that what boys were called for on such occasions?

Should I just decline?

I couldn't help but think that this would have been kind of mean, even though she was pretty selfish as well, since she wanted me to carry her bags. Chiaki was always nice to me though, and really helpful when I was struggling with things I didn't understand.

Not only this, I also enjoyed the time I spent with her, more so than with most others, since it was easy to keep the conversation going.

[07:37:23 PM] I'll be on the ground floor in three minutes.

He's coming!

Wait, he's coming?!

I ran over to a nearby window and checked my reflection. It was already rather dark, and the curtains behind the window improved this makeshift mirror even further.

Why did my ribbon look so weird?

And what's with those loose strands of hair?

This was horrible!

In such a state, I kept fixing up my harrowing appearance.

I adjusted my skirt, blazer and shirt and made sure that nothing looked weird or out of place. Even the microscopic dust particles that I couldn't see bothered me. I polished the bracelet he gave me again, even though I had done this every day since he gifted it to me on my birthday.

At this moment, my erratic movements stopped.

What was I even doing?

He's just a friend.

Just Kiyotaka.

There was no need to feel jealous about Kushida-san.

What the hell was wrong with me? Why did I feel so nervous?

This wasn't the first time we were meeting up either, so what had changed?

And why?

"Yo."

I called out to the charming brown-haired girl who inspected the window with a serious gaze. Why she was doing this, however, I couldn't tell.

"Uwah! K-kiyotaka?"

She turned around with a pale face that turned crimson just a moment later.

"Sorry if I startled you. Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah. Totally fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

A weak laugh escaped her pink lips as she glanced over to the window with a small nod.

Was there someone inside she knew?

I tried to take a peek as well, but the room was dark and the curtains were closed shut. They didn't move either, which meant that no one had been there.

Chiaki cleared her throat. The bracelet I had gifted her jingled as she covered her mouth with her hands.

"Let's go? It's already late, right?"

I nodded, whereupon she began to move. She walked slower than usual, but I didn't mind matching her speed, even though I preferred a faster pace myself.

"You were pretty cool today, Chiaki."

The school grounds were silent.

The only thing my ears picked up on were our steps and her beautiful giggles, which sounded adorable.

"I aim to please." She tilted her head over and threw me a dazzling smile. "I'm just glad that everything worked out okay."

"You are probably going to be a big-shot in our class now. Just like Hirata and Kushida."

Chiaki shook her head and arms in clear denial.

"Please don't remind me. Hirata-kun's and Kushida-san's lifestyles are nothing I want to experience. I'm not that bad with large groups, unlike someone else who's taking part in this conversation..." She threw me a cute, sideway glance. "... but I don't enjoy it either. I feel far more comfortable in a small group with a few friends."

I had learned a lot about small talk the past months, which is why I noticed that now would be a good time to switch to another topic with which we could maintain our conversation further without stagnating. We could have continued down this path, of course, but I needed some practice and I felt confident with Chiaki around.

"What do you need from the store, anyway?"

"Um... nothing exciting, just some beverages. Maybe a new shampoo as well. I think mine's running out. Aside from that, I also need garbage bags and..."

It didn't take long until a few items turned into a whole list. While she kept noting more and more necessities, the regret for my previous decision grew exponentially. We were still a few minutes away from the store, so it could only get worse.

Should I message Kushida to help me escape?

"Oh, be careful."

Kiyotaka grabbed my hand and pulled me to his side. My heart began to flutter as I felt my face heat more than ever before. I turned away from his muscular chest, since I felt embarrassed. Upon glancing towards the ground with a crimson complexion, I found the reason for his sudden, unexpected action.

A half melted ball of ice cream lay on the path we had just walked on.

I hadn't noticed it myself, so I would have stepped on it if he hadn't pulled me away. Since it was ice cream, I wouldn't have only ruined my shoes until I could clean them, but I would have most likely slipped as well.

Distracted by his warm embrace and pleasant smell, I began to forget all the difficult and stressful questions today.

"T-thank you."

I peered at his face and couldn't help but be awestruck by the sight in front of me. Despite my best efforts, my legs began to weaken and gave in as if they were made of jelly.

Due to the street lamps which illuminated our surroundings, his irises were shimmering golden, as opposed to the usual brown. My heart began to drum against my chest as I saw my reflection in these two mesmerizing orbs. My mind was occupied with so many thoughts about him that I hadn't even realized how close the two of us were.

Those golden eyes were truly the most beautiful ones I have ever seen.

"Thank you, I guess?"

What? What?!

Did I just say that out loud?

No, that's impossible...

Please, tell me that I didn't just say this out loud...

There's no way, right?

"Those golden eyes are truly the most beautiful ones I have ever seen."

Did she just compliment me?

Oh, I see. Of course...

It would be easier to ask me about carrying the bags if she was nice to me before. Her flattery would cause similar feelings of kinship or fondness, which would improve the chances of a positive answer from my side. Such a remark would fry a boy's brain for sure.

I hadn't known that Chiaki was such a vicious snake.

"Thank you, I guess?"

For some inexplicable reason, Chiaki turned into a bona fide tomato.

She was behaving rather strange today, which must have been a sign that she felt bad about manipulating me into carrying her bags once she was done with her shopping spree.

This train of thought made the most sense after considering everything I knew.

Chiakiii, what are you doiiing?

He's just a friend.

A handsome male friend.

I had multiple male friends over the years. Why was I making this so weird?

Stop it, Baka-Chiaki.

Okay... Calm down. Think rationally.

Why was I behaving this way? Let's make sense of this.

First off, mind-adjustment questions:

Do I think Kiyotaka is handsome?

Yes.

Do I enjoy spending time with him?

Yes.

Do I think his reactions are cute and super adorable?

Yes.

Do I like him?

Yes.

How much?

Yes.

...

...

...

Chiaki's behavior was off the charts on the weirdness scale for the rest of our shopping trip.

I couldn't make sense of a single reaction throughout our time together, which had never happened before.

Aside from my growing confusion and worries about her health due to her feverish gaze, we engaged in trivial topics like what we had for dinner and what we did today. She told me about the lengthy interrogation she had to endure by her classmates while I talked about the celebration our study group held in my room.

This was the exact moment when she grew dissatisfied.

Since Chiaki didn't like getting close to people, I decided that it would be fine not to invite her, even though she was the reason that Sudou hadn't been expelled. My conclusions seemed to have been a misconception, one which I was regretting right now, because she apparently wanted to join us according to her reaction.

"Thank you for saving Sudou, by the way. Without you, we would have surely lost him."

I decided to use her own weapons against her with the fragile hope that this might cheer her up. If I complimented her now, she might pardon us for not inviting her to our celebration.

"That's really nothing you should thank me for. I just did what everyone would have done."

A dry laugh escaped her lips.

Since my attempt at brightening up her mood had failed, I wanted to be a nice and forthcoming friend and help her with the shopping list, which had increased in size by the second. To my surprise, she didn't allow me to help, and worse, I wasn't even allowed to walk in the same row as her from time to time.

She was really mad, huh?

Her excuses were horrible, as she told me that I couldn't follow her to buy shampoo and such things, because she needed to do this alone. Even though I knew which one she was using due to the smell and could work off her list according to our previous shopping sessions with Karuizawa and the others, I was strictly prohibited from following her into the whole area.

I messed up big time...

After she had gathered all the necessities in the basket, Chiaki proceeded with the payment before we left the store. Once outside, I stretched out my arm towards her hand, which was holding onto a rather heavy bag.

"W-what?"

Her complexion turned crimson again.

This must have been another calculated move to make me more susceptible to her following words and actions, with which she would persuade me to carry her bags.

"I'll take it. You bought a lot, right? It's probably heavy."

"N-no, you really don't need to —"

Before she could finish her psychological warfare, which had no effect on me, I cut to the chase and grabbed the bag from her hands. In an unusually erratic reaction, her whole body jerked back in disgust as my hand touched hers.

Even though I was nothing but an empty husk, this hurt my frail heart quite a lot.

I lowered my head since I felt somewhat dejected by her strong aversion towards me and ambled beside her without saying another word.

What. The. Hell. Is. Wrong. With. You. CHIAKI?!

Why would I pull away like that?

He totally misunderstood!

I wasn't ready to be touched like that by him... at least let me prepare before!

It was difficult to read him, because of his usual expressionless face, but I noted that he lowered his head after I had pulled back. Due to this reaction, he must have concluded that I thought of him as disgusting or something like that.

This was horrible!

How in the world could I rectify this?!

If I was alone in my room now, I would have probably pulled out my hair and screamed in frustration after the most irresponsible, stupid and downright terrible action I had taken to date.

What was I supposed to do now? If I told him that I meant nothing by it, would he believe me?

Ever since I realized that I liked him, I couldn't think straight. I didn't even know how or when I fell for him.

Looking back, we only knew each other for around two months, but we've been hanging out regularly after our first meeting with Hirata-kun, Karuizawa-san and the others. He trudged after our group so helplessly and seemed to look for an excuse to bail on us, since he felt uncomfortable.

Back then, I felt sorry for him and was intrigued by his social inability, despite being objectively handsome. We somehow clicked, and our conversations evolved more and more.

Before I knew it, I thought about him almost all the time.

Why hadn't I realized my feelings sooner?

My opinions regarding him should have been obvious, yet I didn't see them coming at all...

If I hadn't felt jealous about Kushida-san walking out of his room, would I have —

The vibrations of my phone halted my mind, which had raced through a never-ending state of turmoil.

Since I had to get my mind off Kiyotaka to refocus, I excused myself for a moment and opened up the chat.

[08:04:19 PM[Fumei] I neglected to mention something: stay away from Nagumo. He's dangerous.

Apparently, my initial impressions of this person were warranted. If even Horikita-senpai told me to stay clear of him, then this senpai should be rather troublesome.

I peered over to Kiyotaka, who ambled beside me with a lowered head. One of his hands was tucked away in his trouser pocket, while the other one carried my heavy shopping bag, which he offered to take care of like a perfect gentleman.

My calm heartbeat sped up once again.

How incredible would it be if he was as capable as Horikita Manabu?

Even though I knew it was impossible, I really wanted him to be the person who had helped me today.

Those were my selfish desires that wanted to have everything.

A handsome, athletic boyfriend who was adorable, had cute reactions to the most basic things and was smart.

But how would that be possible...

"Hey, Kiyotaka. My messages won't send. Can you write me something and see if it works for you?"

"Oh, yeah, sure."

He pulled out the hand which was hidden inside his pocket and grabbed the bag with it. His now empty right hand burrowed through his other pocket until it resurfaced with a phone in hand.

... this is not a fairytale, after all.

My phone vibrated, and I checked it for the message I had just received.

[08:06:36 PM[Kiyotaka] Me something and see if it works for you?

"You're such a potato."

I ran my fingers through his smooth hair and chuckled while I acted as if I wanted to hit him.

This would bring me closer to him and help Kiyotaka realize that I wasn't at all disgusted by his touch.

"Sorry."

Even though Chiaki's pace slowed down with every passing minute, it didn't take long until we reached the dorms.

The two of us took the elevator up to the thirteenth floor, where her room was located. I carried the heavy bag all the way to her doorstep before she stopped me with her usual charming smile.

"Thank you for accompanying me this far. I'll take it from here."

I figured as much.

She unlocked her room and opened the door before sliding inside and blocking my view from the rest of the apartment. Aside from the wall to her left, the ceiling above her, and the corner where an umbrella stood, I couldn't see anything inside the room.

"I-it's not because I don't want you in here."

I hadn't even said anything, but she felt the need to give me an explanation either way. She didn't owe me one, since it was her decision who was allowed inside her own room.

Chiaki flushed a moment later and her mumblings resumed in an even more jumbled up manner.

"I mean, I don't not... This..." She took a deep breath. "It's messy inside. I don't want you to see that. You can come over some other time." Her ocean-blue orbs opened wide. "If, if you want to, of course! I mean... uhm... yeah..."

Did she just use a negation after a negated contracted verb?

My classmate lowered her head as her right foot drew circles over the floor.

"Sure, that's alright. I'd offer to help you clean up now, but that would be futile, I guess."

She let out a hollow, self-deprecating laugh and played with the hair on the back of her head.

I lifted the bag to place it inside her room so she wouldn't need to heave it over the doorstep herself. Chiaki noticed this action and met my hand halfway. Sure enough, our fingers touched again.

This time, however, she didn't recoil.

Instead of taking the bag, her smooth fingertips caressed over the back of my hand before she grabbed the handle.

"Thank you again. Both, for walking with me and carrying the bag all this way here."

Her voice quivered as she lowered her crimson-colored head even further.

"You don't need to thank me for something like that, Chiaki. I had a good time, as always."

"Ah, umu." She nodded. "T-thanks Kiyotaka, have a good night."

Before I could answer, she slammed the door shut.

"Goodnight, Chiaki."

Something slithered down on the other side of the door, but I couldn't make out the mumblings that followed.

I assumed that the umbrella fell over, but I didn't know for sure.

Utterly confused about what had just transpired, I strolled back down to the fourth floor, hoping that no one saw me up there. Being falsely labeled as a pervert would be one of the worst things that could happen to me. A lot of girls would probably speak out for me, but one would never get rid of such a stigma.

After a long day, it felt weird to walk into an empty, quiet and dark room.

"I'm home."

'Welcome back.'

Such a trivial exchange of pleasantries would surely be nice.

Since I knew a few girls by now, I reproduced their greetings in my mind.

Even though I wasn't doing anything wrong or illegal, I felt bad about using their voices for my simulations.

I couldn't be sure, but I believed that a thin smile spread over my face as I thought about such a life after my time here.

Back in reality, I strolled over to the chess boards and executed a queenside castling on the first-year board.

This was an excellent move, not only in the normal two-player variant but also in this specific four-player scenario

Even though I got closer to one player, I bought myself more space from two others. Additionally, I was completely safe on the side my king resided, since Ichinose and her classmates were around.

She wouldn't hurt an enemy king, even if she could.

Authors Note:

不明 (Fumei) means unknown in Japanese.

Chiaki didn't know who wrote her at first, so she dubbed the unknown numbers owner Fumei. After she figured out who the phone's owner was, she renamed the chat contact to respect Manabu's wishes to remain unidentified.

This chapter also marks the end of the first volume.

The second volume will have a shorter chapter count since I don't have to set up all the relations, etcetera, from scratch like I had to in the first volume.

Expect around 5 or 6 chapters this time, maybe... I'm not sure yet.

We'll see how it goes.

-

On another note, I liked to thank everyone of my readers for 5k reads and almost 500 votes!

This number is still insane to me, and I appreciate every single one of you.

Whether you are commenting, voting, following me, putting this story in your reading lists or just silently appreciating the chapters, thank you for your interest in the story I created.

I hope you guys and girls will continue to enjoy these chapters every week, since I love spending my time writing them.

-

See you next week in Volume 2 ~

- Word Count: 15360 / 69254 Characters

Released 11.06.2022

Chapter 14 - King's Rook

[07:32:58 AM[Fumei] If an injury has to be done to a man, it should be so severe that his vengeance need not be feared.

This was the first message I had received from Horikita-senpai after he warned me about Nagumo-senpai. The text itself read like a quote or some such, but I hadn't heard of it before.

Fumei wasn't the type of person to send a message without reason, so I had to wonder if something had happened. I was unaware of anything noteworthy that such a quote would apply to, but I still felt uneasy.

Yet again, I checked my point balance.

The fleeting hope I still harbored vanished without a trace.

Today was Monday, June 3rd.

We hadn't received our points on June 1st, so my classmates and I wished dearly that the reason was the fact that the first fell on the weekend. It was a stupid and pointless prayer, since the payout was more than likely automated, yet we still held onto such a futile hope.

There hadn't been a single logical reason to be hopeful, but I still couldn't help but feel frustrated after my balance hadn't changed.

"We didn't get any points for the exam after all..."

Hirata, the others and I all believed that we might see an increase in points according to our scores during the midterms, but as of now, it looked like we were sorely mistaken. Aside from important class matters which I now had to attend to, there was another problem I had to deal with during this week.

His name was Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.

The handsome boy himself wasn't the problem, but my thoughts and feelings concerning him were. I couldn't keep behaving like an idiot in front of him, so I calmed my jumbled up anxieties and made some plans going forward.

Since I was aware of the irrefutable fact that I liked him, I had to figure out just how much.

Judging by my silly and embarrassing behavior that evening, it was bad.

Seriously bad.

I was relieved that Kiyotaka had trouble with some common concepts, which is why he probably hadn't noticed that I was behaving in such a weird way. Even if he did, he should have had trouble understanding my feelings according to my impressions of him.

As a part of Class D's leadership, I had to better myself.

I scanned over my reflection in the mirror and nodded happily after adjusting my hair and bow tie. My complexion changed into a light, healthy pink as my palm caressed over the bracelet he had gifted me. Clapping my cheeks twice, I encouraged myself before heading out of the room.

"Yosha!"

Our classroom was as lively as usual before the first period began.

I wouldn't have been surprised in the least if the other classes heard Ike's annoying and somewhat disrespectful shouts, which must have carried quite far due to the opened windows.

This time, more so than usual, the class was disorganized, to a frightening degree. The reason, however, wasn't hard to figure out, since it likely had to do with the state of our current balance, which hadn't changed from last month.

After two days, most students would have lost hope for any rewards.

I unlocked my phone and checked the point balance of our class.

Currently, the display showed 0 CP, meaning class points.

After dropping all the way to zero in May, we had yet to see a positive development in our situation. The only upside to this unfortunate position was that we couldn't drop any lower, since we were already considered the worst of the worst.

Below the zero class points was yet another number, which read 6.135 PR, for private points.

Slowly but surely, I kept grinding down on my reserves, which would soon run out. I could just ask Fuka for a cash injection, of course, but I didn't see myself asking with her dropping to Class C and all the things that happened during that time. She had more than enough points to lend me some, but as long as I didn't overspend my allowance, I would be fine with such a low balance.

"Good morning, everyone."

Chabashira-sensei strode into the classroom with her head held high as the second bell rang. The atmosphere in the room changed drastically as everyone began to quiet down. Only one person in our class couldn't hold himself back from blurting out the questions that were weighing on his mind.

"Sae-chan-sensei! Why do we still have zero points? Didn't we all pass the exam? No one was expelled either, and we've been behaving much better than before as well!"

Ignoring the inappropriate way he had addressed her, Ike was right.

Because of Chiaki's intervention and Horikita's low score, which still went unnoticed by most of our class, even Sudou barely passed the exam. Our past behavior hadn't influenced our points this time around, since it was only used to deduct points that were already in existence.

I assumed that point rewards would only be given during or rather, after special exams, as well as certain written tests. If we had received points for the midterms, for example, Class D would have received not only points but also an urgently needed confidence boost.

"So that's what this turmoil is about. Then let me explain the current situation." Chabashira-sensei rolled out the poster she brought with her into the classroom and pinned it on the blackboard as she continued her exposition. "You've all worked hard the past month. I recognize that, and so does the school. With that in mind, these are the new point totals for each class."

She stepped aside and revealed the white sheet of paper, which was similar to the one we had received a month prior. Different to back then, however, the amount of points for each class had increased.

Class A 1037

Class B 0729

Class C 0540

Class D 0093

I analyzed the numbers and compared them to the old ones.

It was quite easy to figure out the pattern using Class D as an example, since we started out with zero points last month. Due to the old test papers, each topic had seen a high increase in points, which was why we received much better scores. English was, understandably, the subject that most people tanked, due to the different characters that we had to use, as well as other grammatical intricacies.

Social studies, Japanese, Maths and Chemistry were easier to memorize in that regard. Even if none of them understood how to solve the difficult problems, they still got full marks if they just managed to copy the solutions from the test papers.

The average scores for each topic were 97.0, 96.1, 92.5, 92.1 and 87.3 respectively, creating a combined average of 93 points for Class D, which was the exact number of class points we had received this month.

The same calculation applied to the other classes as well.

Class A 1037 (97 -0)

Class B 0709 (59 -40 or -39)

Class C 0520 (30 = -62)

Class D 0093 (93 -0)

These results were a clear sign that something was going on between Class B and C.

Even if Class B hadn't used the old papers I've sent them, they should have scored in the 90s. In case they had used them, even an average of 99 wouldn't be weird. Additionally, we knew the class rankings of the exam results, which were B A D C, even if the total amount was obfuscated.

This meant that Class B must have scored 98 or 99 points, since I doubted that none of them made even a tiny mistake during one of the tests. There was a slight chance, of course, but it was so miniscule that the possibility could be ruled out almost entirely.

With this hypothesis in mind, they had lost around 40 class points throughout this month. Class B was, in theory, only slightly short of Class A in behavior, and they had a far better climate in their class, which would make it easier and more comfortable to behave.

Since Ichinose would never initiate a fight with someone, this whole mess should have been Ryuuen's handiwork. As things are right now, he tanked Class C's points more so than he did Class B's, but morale was an important hidden factor which he must have set his sights on from the beginning.

"Wait! 93? We got points guys! Yahoo!"

Ike's joyful scream echoed through the room in such a volume that the windows began to vibrate.

Probably.

The rest of the class was just as elated as him, since we had finally received points for our efforts.

"Doesn't that mean that we made points with the midterms just like Hirata-kun and Matsushita-san said?" Karuizawa turned around to Chiaki for a high-five with a cheerful smile on her face. "Yay!"

"But it seems like we lost a few points through behavior, right?" Yukimura's stern gaze focused on the red-haired delinquent in our class. "How else could we explain the 93 points that we received?"

"Tch! Look, I'm sorry, alright? Gimme a break."

Sudou made a lot of progress after he had been saved by Chiaki, and even felt guilty for the points she had to spend because of him, while Yukimura still seemed dissatisfied with his previous behavior.

He was stuck in the past, lost in his own negative thoughts about his classmates, which once again reminded me of a certain someone who sat beside me.

"I don't think we lost points due to our behavior this time, Yukimura-kun." Chiaki shook her head and turned around to face him directly. "Ninety-three is the combined average of our scores in the exam. With that in mind, it is safe to assume that this applies to the other classes as well."

The curious students listened and nodded in understanding.

It seemed like Chiaki's reveal had garnered her some respect and recognition in the class, which was an immense asset for a leader. Even these defects had realized that without her interference, Sudou would have been expelled and the class might not have gotten those 93 points this month.

"Sudou! Look at those Class C morons! Saying that they are so much better than us Class D defects and scoring this low in the midterms." Ike burst out into a hail of laughter and ridicule.

"I think that's an incorrect assumption as well, Ike-kun. Even if we scored relatively high because of the old test papers that Kushida-san provided us with, Class B shouldn't have had an average of 59. We also know that they had scored even better than Class A, who received 97 points this month. From these four classes, only Class B and C march to a different drummer. From my perspective, their two classes should have some kind of feud, which cost them a good chunk of their points."

Chiaki's analysis was spot on.

No one but her seemed to have noticed this simple and obvious fact, as everyone mouthed a silent 'ah', in realization. Even Horikita narrowed her eyes, only having noticed this inconsistency after it was spelled out to her.

This was the difference between the two of them.

Horikita was so incredibly full of herself that she didn't consider observing and analyzing the problem from multiple points of view. Chiaki, however, took all the information she possessed into account and formulated a hypothesis which she could back up with multiple facts until she arrived at a sound conclusion.

I hoped that her thought process could lead Horikita to see the wrongs in her own so that she could improve upon them. They didn't need to become friends, but they could learn a lot from each other during their time here.

"Let's let them duke it out then. Isn't this good for us?"

Sudou shrugged without a care in the world and leaned back into his chair.

It looked like he tried to take part in class discussions to show Chiaki that she hadn't wasted her 100.000 points on him. His development was slow, but gradual, and that was all I could ask from my pieces. As long as they attempted to improve upon their mistakes, I would support them to the best of my abilities.

"But there is still a problem, right? Chabashira-sensei, why didn't we receive any private points this month if we have 93 class points now?"

"That's an excellent question, Hirata. There was some trouble and the point distribution for the first-year students has been delayed for the time being."

"Wait! So it's the school's fault? We demand more points as compensation!"

Ike hammered on his desk, trying to rile up our other classmates to follow his example until Sudou threw him a quick but purposeful glare, which silenced him immediately.

"Don't blame me. The school decided that they would wait with the allocation of points. You'll get them soon enough, if there are any left, that is."

Her words left a bad taste in my mouth, but no one mentioned anything.

I was sure that Chiaki took the hint as well, but she had apparently decided that it wasn't worth asking right now. It was a good and admirable quality for a leader if she knew when to act and when to keep quiet.

After she revealed herself, the hopes I had for Chiaki soared, even if I was still uncertain about a few things regarding her.

Once lunch break began, the students stormed out of the classroom.

The typical groups formed before they went out to eat together.

Ike, Sudou, Hondou and Okitani walked out collectively while discussing something about an upcoming game, as they debated if they should pool their points together in order to purchase it. Chiaki left alone because she wanted to speak to Chabashira-sensei about her remarks, or at least that's what I thought she would do.

It was a refreshing feeling to be out of the loop for once.

Hirata went on a lunch date with Karuizawa, which only left Satou and a few others from our usual group.

I wasn't that close to them, and I finally understood what Horikita meant when she talked about me just being a friend of friends. For example, I could still hang out with Satou alone, but I didn't know what to talk about with her. If I hung out with Mii-chan or Mori, I'd be totally stumped as well.

Shinohara, who had gotten closer to Karuizawa, joined us as well from time to time, but she would have been even worse to deal with. I didn't know why, but she didn't seem to like me very much.

If either Chiaki, Hirata or Karuizawa joined us, I wouldn't have any qualms about hanging out with either of them, though.

In Chiaki's case, I could just talk with her and she'd include the others when she saw fit. Hirata and Karuizawa would take care of circling through the different topics even better.

I supported my head and gazed over to another girl in class.

Her name was Sakura Airi, also known as Shizuku.

At first, Kushida's information package revealed little about her. Sakura kept to herself and was into photography, but that was about as much as she could find out. Once I've informed my queen that her glasses were fake, she came up with tons of information about a former gravure idol who resembled Sakura.

She also supplied me with a link to Shizuku's online blog, which answered the question what she was doing whenever she walked off on her own with no one noticing. She's been rather active even now and uploads new pictures frequently.

I didn't know what a gravure idol was, but after Kushida had explained it to me, I was rather surprised since most of the girls here could easily do the same. My repeated contacts with Ike really rubbed me the wrong way, as I began to fantasize about Chiaki, Horikita, Kushida, Karuizawa, Chabashira, Fuka, Hoshinomiya and Ichinose in similar clothing I had seen Sakura in.

This was awful...

As luck would have it, my neighbor, one of the girls I mentally disrespected, pulled out a bento from her bag and neatly placed it on her desk, which was a perfect distraction from these misguided thoughts.

"Don't tell me you can cook."

"Then I won't."

She eyed me with confusion and unpacked her meal.

"Are you sure this is edible, then?"

"I don't know. Do you want to try some?"

Horikita leaned into her hand and glanced at me with a beautiful smile on her face. She took out her chopsticks and picked up some rice and meat before holding it steady above her bento-box.

"What? Really? Sure!"

I hadn't expected that she would let me try some of her food so willingly.

As far as I was concerned, this wasn't a big deal, but from the few shoujo manga I've skimmed during my time here, I came to realize that giving someone a bento is a pretty overt expression of affection or even love, especially with highschool couples.

Had I made so much progress with her during our two-month acquaintanceship?

The two sticks, which still rested in her smooth hand, made their way over to her smirking, somehow captivating mouth before they vanished inside. Her faint smile grew brighter as she began to chew her meal in clear enjoyment.

"Oh, that's surprising. It tastes even better now."

Ouch...

This was brutal, even for her.

"Wow. You are cruel..."

"And yet, you are still here talking to me. Might you be what they call a masochist, Ayanokouji-kun?"

Looking back on my life, I really had to wonder about that.

"Not really. Despite your best efforts, I'm just enjoying your company, you know?"

Horikita was terrible at processing remarks like this one, so it was an easy way to one-up her. She kept quiet afterwards, as the cogs in her head kept turning.

I assumed that she could only think of comebacks that were too nice or too mean upon hearing such a heartfelt comment, which caught her in a moral dilemma.

She wasn't mean in order to hurt people; she was just being too truthful for most to handle.

I kept observing her as she averted her gaze and ate her bento in silence with a somewhat annoyed expression.

Receiving a homemade meal from a girl would probably feel pretty nice.

Hirata was out of luck in that regard. I'd be surprised if his fake girlfriend decided to prepare a bento for him. Apart from that, his 'sweetheart' was Karuizawa, of all people.

I doubted that she could cook.

It was a shame that Kushida knew nothing about Karuizawa's past.

I hadn't asked her specifically, since that would reveal my knowledge, but she wasn't one to hide information from me. Not anymore, at least. Hirata probably knew more than anyone else did, but he would only talk if it somehow helped Karuizawa when he alone couldn't handle a problem, so asking him was out of the question as well.

It was easy to force Karuizawa to spill the beans, but she wasn't needed in any capacity at the moment. Taking care of her could wait a little longer, as her allegiance wouldn't be as useful as Kushida's.

On the other end of the spectrum was Chiaki, whose intelligence and willingness to stand in the spotlight was a huge boon for the class. With the assistance of Hirata, Kushida and the others, she could be trusted to handle most things.

Maybe I could use this brief respite and relax? If she struggled, I could still lend her a hand...

As I was thinking about such things, my phone vibrated.

[12:51:12 PM[Chiaki] Want to grab a bite?

A light smile crept up my face as I replied.

I grabbed my bag, said my goodbye to Horikita and made my way out of the classroom. After a short walk to the cafeteria, I caught sight of my charming friend, who sat at a table with two expensive meal sets aligned next to each other.

Upon noticing me, she waved me over.

"I'm honored that miss class leader found the time for me."

"You're such a dork."

Her alluring giggle was the only sound that my ears captured at that moment, even though the cafeteria was rather loud, as usual. Chiaki moved to the side and tapped the seat to her right.

I couldn't help but feel bad now that I sat in front of one of these two meal sets.

"You didn't have to pay for mine, you know? You are already in debt because of Sudou's test point. I don't want to burden you any further than that."

She finished chewing the salad she had just picked up and peeked at me.

"It's fine. If you are paying the next time we met, we'll balance things out again."

There'll be a next time with just the two of us, huh?

I couldn't help but feel happy about that.

"Or don't you want there to be a next time?"

Her rose-colored face sported a snappy grin as she leaned to the side and watched me.

"No, on the contrary. I'd like that a lot, actually."

She seemed happy, yet pouted after hearing my matter-of-fact response.

I wasn't sure if she tried to coax a certain reaction out of me, but she should know this would be rather hard to accomplish. Even though I had learned a lot thanks to her and my other friends, I was still unable to show much emotion.

"How did you know that I wasn't already eating, anyway?"

"Oh, come on... I know you pretty well by now, Kiyotaka."

"Am I that easily seen through?"

I tilted my head and put a few pieces of egg and vegetables in my mouth.

"Any more and people could walk right through you."

Her cute snicker drowned the surrounding noises once again, and I couldn't help but marvel at this fascinating girl to my left. Chiaki seemed to have grasped my inner thoughts to a certain degree and threw me a teasing smile.

"Hoo? Are you happy sitting beside such a cute girl like me?"

She was obviously cracking a joke, but hit the nail on the head.

Women were scary good in those things.

"Wouldn't anyone be happy to sit beside such a cute girl like you?"

With this remark, our conversation essentially stopped since Chiaki was unable to form another coherent sentence for the rest of our lunch break. I was concerned about her health since her face was red and really warm to the touch after I checked it for myself.

Leading the class was a hard job, but I didn't want her to overwork herself.

After classes ended for the day, Chabashira-sensei strolled into the classroom for a short announcement.

"Sudou, I have to talk to you about something. Come to the faculty room."

The boy in question clicked his tongue, as if annoyed.

"Yeah, sure. I'm coming. Can I first talk to the club advisor and tell him that I'll be late?"

My classmates were surprised by Sudou's docile behavior and glanced at Chiaki in awe. Chabashira-sensei wasn't impressed by his change of heart and turned around to walk out of the room.

"I already took care of that. Follow me."

Sudou peered at Chiaki, who nodded as if to cheer him on.

They had a private chat after we all came back from lunch, so I assumed that she knew what was going on. Not only had she gathered information, she also managed to rein him in without trouble, likely because he still felt guilty about everything she had to put up with because of him.

I was positively surprised by Sudou's change, as he had neither lashed out nor thrown a tantrum, even though he would miss some of his basketball training.

Had Chiaki already taken care of what happened?

She hadn't told me anything about her meeting with Chabashira-sensei, but to her defense, I hadn't asked.

Would she have told me if I inquired about it?

After I was done packing my bags, I went to the dorms with Horikita.

I didn't really know when we started, but if we both walked back to the dorms after school, we made a habit of walking together. Sometimes I waited while she grabbed her materials, sometimes she waited while I stashed mine. We never really talked about it, but it felt somewhat natural now.

"I'm a little worried about what Chabashira-sensei said this morning."

"This morning? You mean our points being delayed?"

We ambled towards the dorm side by side. Neither facing each other, nor doing anything else people would usually do while conversing with a close friend.

"Yes. She mentioned there was trouble. If it was a problem for us students, things could end badly."

"Mhh, you might be right. I had a bad feeling as well, I guess. Chiaki can probably handle it though, so I'm not worried."

She peeked at me before averting her gaze.

"Matsushita-san, huh? Her decision to buy a point for Sudou's test was indeed impressive. What do you know about her, Ayanokouji-kun? The two of you are friends, right?"

"Chiaki? Mh, she's just a normal girl, I guess. If you want to know more, why not ask her yourself?" The two of you might become friends.

"I don't feel the need to talk to her since you know her well. You are like a bridge between me and these people, Ayanokouji-kun. I'm counting on you."

This didn't sound like a compliment, or anything even remotely nice, but I chose not to dwell on it.

"Why not join Class D's group chat? You wouldn't even need to text with them if you don't want to. Don't you think it's weird that you are the only one that's missing? Even Kouenji joined..."

She shook her head and faced me with a serious expression.

"I'm not interested. Not even remotely. Aside from that, I keep my notifications turned off as to not get distracted."

A few seconds later, her phone vibrated.

The ice queen stopped in her tracks and turned towards me with a threatening yet somewhat endearing gaze.

"Ayanokouji-kun."

"What? I was just checking facts, you know?"

"Fact is, my notifications are always turned off. My phone must have bugged out just now."

And who's going to believe that?

"Ouch!"

Did I say that out loud just now?

I kept teasing Horikita until the elevator reached the fourth floor. She didn't let me leave, so we kept bantering until we reached hers. As she was about to get off, I grabbed her arm and pulled her back in before pressing the button for the fourth floor again.

She was pretty mad, but I won this exchange, at least in my book.

We said our farewells before I disembarked this death trap and ambled towards my room.

A pleasant smell floated through my nostrils, which informed me that Fuka was already inside and started cooking for us. We've been taking turns with preparing the food, so I wasn't surprised that she was here.

"I'm home."

"Welcome back."

Ahh, yes...

My simulations weren't off. This truly felt nice.

After I shut the door, she walked out of the kitchen area with a devious grin on her face.

"Would you like to eat dinner? Or take a bath? Or would you like... me?"

I really thought something like this would only happen in one of the Professor's manga, but I seemed to be mistaken. Aside from the fact that it wasn't dinner time yet, I didn't mind her joke, though.

As long as she was happy, it was alright.

"Dinner sounds good."

"Buuuuuh!"

She pouted before serving the dish.

We began to enjoy our meals while she informed me of her day.

Nagumo had apparently made another announcement after Class B's downgrade to Class C. A large majority of his followers began to doubt his abilities, since he could do nothing to save the expelled students. The voices that spoke out for him had lessened as well, since everyone realized that this had to have been an attack on him and not their class.

The students who supported him didn't feel safe doing so, since nobody knew who might be next.

She asked about my day as well, but there weren't any interesting developments, so there wasn't much to talk about.

Afterwards, we cleaned the dishes and made our way to the bed to relax.

This was how we spent most of our quiet days. We laid down and talked about random stuff or played games together. Other times we decided to watch a show, or read something when nothing interesting aired. I had a lot to talk about with her, and it felt comfortable showing parts of myself without hiding too much of my thoughts.

Some might find such a way of living boring, but I enjoyed the idle time I could spend with her.

I checked a message on my phone on my way to the bed when Fuka spun around to face me, a teasing smile etched into her beautiful face.

"So, do you want me now?"

Both her voice and scent were incredibly alluring. Paired with my bed to our right and the fact that I had seen quite a lot of her skin before, I couldn't really fault myself for thinking about doing certain things with her.

I was about to play it off when the door to my room swung open.

My reflexes, which I had honed to the human limits back in the White Room, immediately kicked in as my body took action on its own.

I placed my foot behind her heel and pulled it towards me while pushing her upper body away from me. The sensation on my hand was phenomenally soft, as I noted that she wasn't wearing a bra.

But I really had no time to dwell on this information any longer.

While she was falling backwards with widened eyes, I dove after her and wrapped my right arm around her back, supporting her head. My left caught our fall as the two of us crashed into the ground with neither of us getting hurt.

"Finally, you're making a move. I was already growing restless."

A charming giggle escaped her enchanting lips, as she returned to her usual self after a short scare. She still panted, since my actions took her by surprise, but this made her even more captivating than usual.

"Save me, Ayanokouji!"

I ignored her advances and left her lying on the floor as I stood back up to face my uninvited guest, who must have marched straight through the wall to get in here, since I had locked the door as per usual.

"Why are you here? No — first, how did you get in here?"

While I was surprised to see one of my classmates standing in front of the opened door, Fuka rolled around on the ground and chuckled into the hem of my blanket.

"This is the room where our group meets, isn't it? Ike and the rest of us made duplicate keys. Didn't you know that? Everyone else in the group has a key as well."

What did he mean by 'everyone'?

Fuka died laughing as she listened to Sudou's explanation and tried her best to stay quiet, while the latter spun the key around in his hand without a care in the world.

I really needed to have a chat about privacy with the nice lady on the ground floor.

"Are you serious?"

"Forget about that. I'm in a shit ton of trouble, seriously. You have to help me!"

His desperate pleas fell onto deaf ears.

"If you hand me the key, I'll help you."

He stared at me, as if he was unable to believe what blasphemous words had just left my mouth.

"No. I bought the key with my points. It's mine."

Are you serious? How did that guy even have enough points for that? Is a key to my room that cheap?

"Alright, just... didn't you talk to Chiaki already? She'll take care of it, right? If it's something she can't know because you were doing something perverted or illegal, then tell Ike or one of the others."

Sudou walked into my room, not even closing the door.

"I can't ask Ike or the others. They're stupid. And Matsushita-san has already helped me once. I can't disappoint her again like that after she saved my ass. Please Ayanokouji, we have to take care of this before she has to do anything."

The boy slid down on the floor and nervously fidgeted around.

I took a deep breath and walked towards him, before sitting down on the door side of the bed. "Fine, I'll listen. But let me make a cup of tea first." On my way up from the bed, I pulled the blanket down, which made it impossible for him to see my other visitor if he didn't walk past or crawl under the bed.

Fuka would notice if someone were to walk towards the bathroom, and could slip under the bed before she was seen.

As I was about to trudge to the kitchen area, the doorbell rang and another one of my classmates poked her head through the entrance. Her smile was incredibly cute and lit up even more when she caught sight of Sudou, who already sat on the floor.

"Oh, Sudou-kun is already here."

She clasped her hands and sat down beside him.

"Hey Kushida, do you also have a key to my room?"

She glanced at me with a confused expression that soon turned into one of genuine surprise.

"Yeah. Wait... didn't you know Ayanokouji-kun?"

Seriously...?

I wasn't certain whether I should laugh or cry.

It was weird that Kushida, of all people, had a key to my room. She could have at least mentioned something like, 'thanks for allowing us to make duplicate keys' to inform me about this serious breach of privacy that had occurred behind my back.

"Should I return it to you?"

She played with her fingers, uncertain of what she should do. Since Kushida knew what I was capable of, she realized that she had messed up by not notifying me about this.

"No, it's fine. Just keep it."

I heaved a sigh and turned away from the kitchen area with a pained heart.

"Can we move to the topic at hand now?"

From his reactions and overall behavior, it was indisputable that he had a serious problem this time. He was relaxed before Chabashira-sensei wanted to talk to him and now he was freaked out. Don't tell me...

Did he also slap her butt with one of those clipboards?

"Fine. What do you need to talk about?"

While sitting down, I sent a message to one of my contacts.

[15:48:18 PM] This is a weird question, but do you have a key to my room, by any chance?

The notification I received after merely five seconds wasn't a very nice one.

[Horikita] What kind of pervert are you?

At least I wasn't the only one out of the loop.

While I was occupied with these thoughts, Sudou began to explain in what kind of trouble he had maneuvered himself in. I didn't understand half of his rumblings, but the gist of it was that he may be suspended for a while.

"Don't tell me you really slapped Chabashira-sensei's butt with a clipboard?"

"What? How the hell did you get that idea?"

Sudou denied this accusation with an appalled expression, while Kushida had a worried look on her face.

"Ike mentioned something along those lines a few times, I think?"

I threw this pervert under the bus without hesitation.

"Did you grab her by the collar and threaten her to shut up or else...?"

"What? No!"

"Oh, I know! Sudou-kun viciously beat Chabashira-sensei and threatened her with lewd pictures!"

Kushida seemed to have adopted my line of thinking and went with examples that were eerie similar to the things I had done to people in the past.

Wait... did she know what I did to Sae?

"That's horrible! Of course, I wouldn't do something like that."

Kushida's esper abilities were getting scary, so I stopped this charade and focused on the important question.

"So what happened?"

Sudou heaved a deep sigh and lowered his head.

"I beat up some kids from Class C. The suspension is probably my punishment for that."

Kushida covered her mouth, shocked by this sudden revelation. She shot me a quick glance and saw that I was as calm as always, so she relaxed as well, thinking that I had everything figured out.

Didn't she know that my emotional responses were next to null, no matter what happened?

"Alright... So why did you beat them up?"

"It wasn't my fault, I swear. Those Class C jerks picked a fight with me. I just retaliated to defend myself. Now they say that I started the fight. But they're lying. I didn't do shit!"

He had revealed little, but I got the gist of the general situation.

Despite this, I saw no indication that Chiaki wouldn't be able to handle this. According to her behavior, she must have already known something since she talked to both Chabashira and Sudou.

He already inconvenienced her a second time by beating them up, so there was no use in asking us for help.

"Sudou-kun, can you please start over and explain slowly?"

Kushida wanted more information, but I wasn't that interested. This would be a great chance to see what Chiaki was capable of, as I had no intention of intruding in Sudou's business at the moment.

"Ah, shit. Sorry. You're right." Sudou took a deep breath. "I was talking with the club advisor about being a regular for the summer tournament. I was the only first-year nominated to be a regular player, and the senpai's were cheering me on. Anyway, those Class C guys, Kondo, Komiya and Kimura called me over to the special building as I was on my way home after training. They said that they wanted to talk to me about something and I agreed. We conversed a few times during training before and they weren't that bad, actually. When we reached the special building, however, they told me they couldn't bear seeing a Class D defective as regular and threatened me to quit basketball or they'd rain pain on me or some shit. I refused, obviously. Afterwards, they ganged up on me, so I beat them up. Now I'm here."

I still couldn't see anything that Chiaki wouldn't be able to handle.

Sure, it might be uncomfortable for him since he messed up just a few days after he received a second chance from her, but there was nothing I could do to change that.

"So they painted you as the bad guy, Sudou-kun." Kushida stared at the floor, troubled by his circumstances. "You already told the school what you told us, right? What did they say?"

"They said that I have until next Tuesday to come up with proof, otherwise I'll be suspended until summer. To top it all off, our class will lose points because of this."

Since the offense wasn't as serious as in Kushida's case, they gave him some time to clear his name.

"But why didn't the teacher believe you when you said you were innocent?"

"It's not that simple, Kushida. First, everyone knows how short-tempered Sudou is. They wouldn't think that anything was amiss if he really beat them up and tried to hide it in fear of losing points. Additionally, look at him. Do you see any wounds? Even if he claimed self-defense, it wouldn't hold up since there aren't even scratches on his skin, let alone bruises. Since Class C had no trouble framing Sudou, they have to be seriously injured."

She looked at me with a pleading gaze.

"But what do we do now?"

Kushida seemed genuine in her attempts to help her friend, but there was no easy way out for him.

Sudou's hands were trembling as he cursed himself for being so shortsighted and quick to anger.

All of this could have been easily avoided.

Class C's plan was quite simple, but in this case, highly effective. Even if Sudou was only suspended for a short amount of time, he would be hard pressed to regain his spot as a regular. This was likely how they had planned to damage both him and Class D as a whole.

There was also an equally high chance that they had tried similar tactics with Class B, which would explain how they had only received such a low amount of points this month.

Sudou ran blindly into their trap and got caught in its bloody maw.

"Let's just ask those Class C guys to be honest with the teachers. They surely feel bad about wrongfully accusing you, right?"

This was one of her typical nice persona answers. The real and honest Kushida would know that this was an incredibly naïve idea that would never work out.

"They'll never be honest. Damn it, I won't forgive them."

Sudou was furious, yet earnestly reflecting on the mistakes he had made.

"The only thing that's left is finding proof that Sudou is telling the truth. But that could be quite difficult to accomplish."

Sudou's eyes opened wide as if he was remembering a helpful detail.

"There was something, I think. It felt like someone was watching when I fought those guys, but I can't say for certain... Maybe I was just imagining things in the heat of the moment."

This hypothetical eyewitness, if it existed, was a double-edged sword.

If they only saw the aftermath of the fight that took place and not the confrontation leading up to it, their testimony would bury Sudou for good. If said person saw the whole thing, however, things might change for the better.

"So, how should we go about finding them? Ask each class? Or every person one on one?"

Kushida glanced at me with a curious gaze.

She was seriously expecting me to help him, didn't she?

"I know it sounds shameless, but... can you guys not tell anyone about this?"

"Huh?"

Kushida's surprised gasp rang through the room.

I could somewhat understand his sentiments, but since Chiaki must have already known about this, it wouldn't take long until others would find out as well. In the worst case, the Class C guys would spread the story when they were asked about their wounds.

There was no way to keep this quiet.

"I don't want the basketball team to know. What if they kick me off the team?"

It was heartwarming to hear how much he cared for basketball. I never had such strong feelings for anything in my life, but it must be nice to love something to such a degree. Due to his earnest, yearning eyes, I chose to refrain from informing him that keeping this under wraps was a pipe dream.

There was no need to break his delusions at the moment.

"What about Chiaki? She knows as well, right?"

"Yeah, but she also said to keep things a secret, or else the class might get irritated with me again. She's trying to help, and I feel awful about putting her in this position after she saved me."

Chiaki must have also figured that it's better to keep a low profile as long as possible. She knew that she couldn't hide it forever, but this short delay might have bought some time to figure things out or prepare countermeasures.

These actions showed that she had a plan in mind, and it wouldn't hurt to wait and see where things were going. Sudou also felt bad and regretted his actions, which demonstrated once again that he was reflecting upon his mistakes.

"Sudou-kun, I think it would be better if you kept your distance from all of this for now."

"I agree. You should keep your head down for the time being."

He lowered and shook his head.

"You're right... Thank you guys. I'm really sorry that you have to clean up my mess now."

"We'll try our best. Don't worry, Sudou-kun!"

Kushida grabbed him by the shoulders and gifted him with one of her brightest smiles. Her bubbly feel-good attitude was an excellent tool to strengthen his spirit and keep him hopeful during this difficult time.

"I should head back to my room. Sorry for barging in so suddenly, Ayanokouji."

If you really feel bad, give me that duplicate key you had made.

"It's fine. Don't worry about it."

"Thanks again, guys. See you tomorrow, Ayanokouji, Kushida."

"See you tomorrow, Sudou-kun!"

"See you."

With this quick goodbye, only three people were left in my room.

I was glad that none of them wanted to use my bathroom, because Fuka's generous assets would make it somewhat difficult to get under the bed. It was possible, of course, but might be uncomfortable for a moment.

"You didn't seem very willing to help."

Kushida glanced at me while voicing her thoughts.

She sounded relaxed, and with that, I meant not cutesy at all. It must be difficult wearing that mask all the time. Even now, she had to conceal her instinctive fear of me and acted amicably.

"That's because I wasn't."

"Huh? Isn't he one of your little figurines?"

Kushida looked over to my chessboards with a surprised expression and tilted her head.

Took her long enough...

"Chess pieces, but yes."

"Then shouldn't you like... do your thing? Like you did with me?"

"I already told you that this wasn't planned. You forced my hand by threatening me. That aside, do you really wish that onto someone else? You sure are cruel, huh?"

There was no reason to let her know that everything had been planned from the very beginning. If she faulted herself for the position she found herself in, her negative sentiments towards me would diminish, albeit a little.

Kushida's face turned grim.

"As long as I don't have to go through that shit again, I couldn't care less, honestly."

I closed in on her with a sigh and began to caress over her soft and warm cheek.

"You have to understand that every piece has its own role..." Kushida pulled back somewhat, but not enough for my fingers to lose the sensation of her smooth skin. "... just like every person behaves or reacts differently to the circumstances they are confronted with. Some people fold under pressure, others get stronger. Similarly, there are multiple ways to turn someone into submission depending on the individual." As I rubbed over her lips, a pleasant, wet sensation spread over my fingertips. "There's the efficient way and then there is the inefficient one. Repeating 'my thing', as you called it, for every person, would be rather inefficient. Don't you agree?"

"Whatever."

My cute classmate pulled back and averted her gaze.

"I never wanted to punish you, Kushida. You are my queen. You are important to me. I understand that I did something horrible to you. This wasn't by choice, however, but necessity. I'm really sorry that I had to hurt you so much."

My lips drew a slight smile as I hugged the adorable, trembling girl in front of me to convey my feelings, not only by words but also action. This embrace, which felt warm and comfortable to me, should have been terrifying and bone-chilling for her.

I loosened my grip and sat down on the bed.

Our relationship would never be normal, not after what I had done to her. It would be a miracle if she could live her life without being constantly reminded of what I did. Even far in the future, when she might find a good guy and wanted to get intimate with him, she would remember everything she had to go through because of me.

That's how cruel one's own mind was.

I would never deny that I did something wicked and inhuman to this young girl, as she would never escape me and the shadow I cast over her as long as she lived. Being sexually assaulted and almost raped wasn't something a person could shrug off without receiving permanent mental damages in the process.

"So what am I going to do about Sudou's problem?"

"Do as you please. I'll let Chiaki handle things for now. I'm sure she can manage."

Someone must have helped her with the private points. There was no way around it. Kushida shouldn't have believed what Chiaki told everyone about this upperclassman, or she would have likely known about this beforehand. But she couldn't see the flaw in her own reasoning due to a small misconception.

Kushida seemed to have realized this as well, as she turned to me with a quizzical look.

"She is also one of your pieces, right?"

"No, but I don't mind handing her the reins if she is trying her best to reach Class A."

My classmates expression turned into one of surprise and disbelief.

"Wait, wait a minute. She didn't reveal herself because you commanded her to?"

"I had nothing to do with her actions. I was just as surprised as everyone else when she suddenly paid for Sudou's points. There was no way that she asked a senpai for points either. This was an obvious lie."

"You are telling me that she figured out something that you didn't? And how else would she have gotten those points?"

"It's not like I didn't figure out a way to save Sudou, but I would have only interfered if necessary. Chiaki's actions made mine obsolete, so why bother? About how she received these points... I have a hunch, but that's all for now."

Kushida was taken aback by this sudden revelation.

"How smart do you think she is?"

I faced her with my usual deadpan expression.

"Do you want to jump ship?"

Her face lost all color as these words left my mouth.

Before she could open her lips to deny this sudden accusation, I stopped her.

"Just joking. I know you wouldn't do something that stupid."

According to her expression, she didn't enjoy it at all. The glare I received was more informative than multiple reference books about human psychology.

"What about Kiryuin? Any news?"

The two of us continued our sham-conversation, or the real, life-threatening one in her case.

I made sure that every detail aligned with what I'd talked over with Fuka and gave her a new set of instructions. We've done this almost every day since she was coerced by her, and so far, my queen hadn't disappointed me even once.

After we were done with our planning, I had one last task for her before she could leave my room.

"Before you go..."

I stood and walked towards the kitchen to prepare tea for myself.

"Yes?"

"I need you to steal the duplicate key Ike made and give it back to me. I don't care how, just get it done."

"Sure, I can do that. But won't he just ask for a new one if he lost it?"

She really was adorable sometimes...

"I'll handle the key lady downstairs. Don't worry about it."

"Well, if you say so. Grabbing the key won't be a problem. I'll be on my way then. See you tomorrow, Ayanokouji-kun."

Her cheerful, positive voice rang through my room as she pulled the door open with a wide smile on her face.

"Sleep tight, Kushida."

With a thud, the door closed, and only two people were left.

"My back hurts."

"Sorry about that."

"I really can't believe that they did something like this without you knowing." Fuka began to ridicule me the second everyone was gone. "You reacted the same way when I barged into your room with a spare."

I walked over to this troublesome senpai and reached out my hand. Her comfortable fingers grasped mine, whereupon I pulled her up. As I let go to turn around towards my tea, she wrung her arms around me and locked eyes.

"Are we continuing where we left off after you pushed me to the ground?"

"You wish. Go home, it's late."

She pouted, as I freed myself from her gentle imprisonment and took care of my fresh tea.

"Someday I'll get you, Kiyotaka."

"I'll be cheering you on, Fuka."

During homeroom the following morning, Chabashira-sensei nodded towards Chiaki after she was done taking attendance and stood to the side. She observed the class in silence as my classmate stood and walked up to the teacher's desk.

Some students looked at their weird behavior in confusion, while others already had a bad feeling. One of the latter individuals was Sudou, who ducked his head into his arms before folding his hands.

"Excuse me everyone, I have an announcement to make. As you are already aware, we still have received no points due to the complication Chabashira-sensei mentioned yesterday. Said problem was an incident between three Class C students and ... Sudou-kun."

The whole class turned to glare at the red-haired delinquent in question. After everything that had been mentioned so far, they knew where this was going, even without Chiaki explicitly describing everything. She must've seen the mood swing in the people's gazes, as her charming voice once again attracted the attention of her classmates.

"Before you say anything, please listen for a moment. This incident wasn't entirely Sudou-kun's fault. Yes, he could have handled the situation better, but let me explain first and try to put yourself in his position."

Afterwards, Chiaki began to describe the entire situation in a much better way than Sudou did.

I assumed that she had received her information straight from our wonderful teacher and asked her to break the news herself. Chabashira-sensei's cold and apathetic nature was pretty stimulating, but not really helpful in this situation, hence it was a good decision on her part to take the lead.

She also tried to ease her classmates anger by asking them to put themselves in his shoes. Even the girls would understand retaliating when they were being attacked.

"So in short, those three Class C students threatened Sudou, and they got into a fight. Sudou defended himself and was later accused of beating those three up. Correct so far, Matsushita-san?"

Chiaki must have asked Hirata to pose this question.

This would show the others that the two of them believed in Sudou's innocence.

"Yes, Hirata-kun. The school put the decision on hold until next Tuesday, which gives us some time to find the witness Sudou told us about. If we find them, it might be possible to prove Sudou-kun's innocence. If anyone here witnessed the fight, please raise your hand or let me know privately at a later time."

Unfortunately, no hands went up, but that didn't mean that all hope was lost.

Chiaki had predicted that some people might have problems with raising their hand and included the second option for shy people like Sakura or others who didn't like to stand out much.

The previous gravure idol's reaction differed to every other student as well. Instead of glancing around like the other students, to check if someone had raised their hand, she peered downwards at her knees with clenched fists.

This was both an indication of guilt and prior knowledge.

She didn't need to keep an eye out for the witness, if it was herself, after all.

I wasn't the only one who might have picked up on the changes in her behavior. Kouenji did so as well, at least if he had noticed anything else beside his own reflection in the mirror.

Well, this was a pretty big if...

Even with Kouenji out of the equation, there was still Chiaki who had also caught Sakura's weird performance. This was one of the reasons that she held her speech near the teacher's desk.

From her position, she could see everyone's reaction without missing the smallest movements.

"In order to check for witnesses, every teacher will inform their respective classes of the details of this incident."

Sudou's reaction to Chabashira-sensei's announcement was rather tame, which showed that he had already known that the other classes would be notified as well. Since he had said nothing yesterday, Chiaki must have updated him of the new plans this morning when she talked to him.

"Thank you, Matsushita. Let's end homeroom for today."

Chabashira-sensei strode out of the classroom and left us students to our own accord.

The next girl who stood was Kushida. Since she sat near the front, she turned around to face most our class with her sunshine and rainbows smile.

"I also believe that Sudou-kun was dragged into the fight against his will."

She then conveyed yesterday's conversation to everyone in the classroom, to give them all an additional understanding of the circumstances. Her words also filled some holes for other students, who had still felt sceptic about Sudou's innocence.

Even Chiaki's eyes widened in surprise as Kushida mentioned that the basketball team's coach wanted Sudou as a regular, which proved my assumption that she had received her information from Chabashira-sensei as opposed to Sudou himself.

"If you know anything that could help, please tell Matsushita-san, Hirata-kun, or me. We'll be doing our best to clear Sudou-kun's name and prove his innocence."

"Yes, we will do anything in our power to clear our friend's name."

Hirata stood as well and nodded in Kushida's support. This also prompted his girlfriend, Karuizawa, to shake her head with a sigh.

"We should do our best for the class, I guess. So let's ask around at least. I can kind of understand being bothered by their disgusting behavior as well, so..."

Chiaki's ability to rally her classmates was impressive.

Even though she was uncomfortable in front of all these people, it didn't stop her from doing her best for the class. She must have had a lot of time to figure out the best approach for today and contacted everyone she needed beforehand, otherwise this announcement wouldn't have been so smooth.

Our lessons passed as usual, and it was soon time for lunch break.

Both Chiaki and Kushida asked me to join them for a meal, but I declined, saying that I had something to take care of. This wasn't entirely true, but also not a lie. In either case, I would have joined one of the large groups the two of them were part of, which I didn't feel like doing today.

I just wanted some peace. To relax in the sun, nothing more.

After they had left, I grabbed my bag and ambled towards the roof, all on my lonesome. There wouldn't be any students around during this time, so I knew that I could be alone or would be in rather pleasant company for a short while.

The warm midday sun caressed and warmed my face the moment I stepped out of the building.

I took a deep, refreshing breath of clean, somewhat salty air and strolled towards the center before dropping my bag. I stretched my arms and sat down before unwrapping the bento I had prepared this morning and began to eat.

Would Horikita's have tasted like this?

A sense of peace spread through my hollow being as I watched the chirping birds and rustling trees on the school grounds. One of the swallows dived towards the roofs railing and stared at me. Its two orbs entwined with mine as it jumped down the fencing and cocked its head to the side.

I couldn't talk with animals, so I didn't know what it wanted. The only assumption I could establish was that it might have been hungry and wanted some of my food. With little choice, I decided to spoil the cute bird and threw a chunk of rice towards it.

The swallow jumped back in surprise and fluttered with its wings before it took a mouthful of my cooking and flew off.

"No need to thank me or anything..."

After this interesting meeting with an unfriendly animal, I finished my meal and placed the bento box back inside my bag before resting my head atop it. The sun was too bright, so I closed my eyes and relaxed the muscles in my body.

While the pleasant warmth spread through the empty husk I called home, I listened to the different sounds that reached my ears from around the school.

Students ran, screamed and yelled around, talking to their friends. Doors opened and closed as they were pushed back and forth by the fresh breeze. The birds kept chirping and playing with each other while flying all around the campus.

Such tranquil moments truly felt nice.

My days were numbered. I had already made peace with this cruel fact. But as long as I still had time, I wanted to explore and learn as much as I could about this alien world that stretched out in front of me.

Even something as trivial as lying on a rooftop was an unthinkable wish in the White Room.

Just as unthinkable as sensing the sun on one's body.

'Please... help me. I don't want to disappear...'

I shook my head, dispelling these thoughts that had been triggered due to the door opening.

"I'm surprised. You are the second student that has visited me up here."

"The second? Really? I thought we shared something special, Chabashira-sensei."

She must have been hinting at Chiaki, but it would be a waste of points to inquire more about this.

My far too attractive homeroom teacher chuckled and ambled beside me. Fortunately, the smoke she was exhaling in specific intervals didn't reach my nose, or else I might have had to switch spots.

"I can see your underwear, sensei."

"Then move away."

"What? No. I was here first."

I couldn't really see anything because of the difference in brightness between outside and inside her skirt as well as the stockings, which obstructed my view even further. Due to her relaxed attitude, I figured that she must have been aware that it was impossible for me to see anything indecent.

"Stop staring."

She tapped on her cigarette and dispersed the ashes on my head.

"Hey! Stop cleansing my soul."

"Mh? You really are an interesting student, aren't you? Is there something you don't know?"

I wiped the ashes off my face and turned back to her.

"There's a lot I don't know. For example, why are you wearing black underwear when red would look good as well?"

"Messing with me won't work, you know?"

She kept smoking but took two steps away in a rather pitiful attempt at disguising her reaction. Afterwards, she let out a light chuckle and attacked me with ashes once again.

"You are a horrible teacher, being so cruel to one of your students."

"I guess that some might think of me as horrible."

These words were different to our previous banter, as they contained a deep-seated regret. I didn't know if she intended to supply me with this information or if she had made a genuine mistake, but she kept her usual poker face.

"You should stop smoking, Chabashira-sensei."

"I'll take your words into consideration."

She stood there and kept polluting the air, as if nothing happened.

Chabashira-sensei didn't even glance at me as she moved nothing but her hand, which was holding onto the cigarette, as well as her supple lips, when she put this poison between them.

"Why are you hiding your abilities?"

"That's a great question. What do you think, sensei?"

I averted my gaze from the clear blue sky and observed her legs, since I probably wouldn't have such a chance again anytime soon. Even though she was a teacher and a lot older than me, I couldn't help but be captivated by her.

In the White Room, I was never interested in such things, because they were impossible to accomplish. I grew up in a sterile and cold environment, which promoted my physical and academical growth to the limit. There was no time to think about sexual relationships.

But it was different now.

Ike might have had a hand in the increase of such thoughts, but he wasn't the reason these notions existed. My behavior often indicated that I was operating and thinking like an adult, despite my age, but I was still a teenager.

Of course, I was interested in such things, especially now, in the prime of my life, so to speak.

These short three years could be all that's left for the rest of my pitiful existence.

"I think only you can answer this question satisfactorily. Maybe you'll tell me sometime?"

"I wonder about that."

A heavy sigh escaped her lips as she snapped away the cigarette.

"What are you planning to do about Sudou's case?"

"Nothing, I believe Chiaki can handle it just fine."

"And if she can't?"

"Then I might lend a hand. I made a promise, didn't I? You don't need to worry, Sae."

"I see." She turned and ambled towards the door, step by step. "Don't stay too long."

With this short farewell, she left the rooftop, leaving me alone.

Chabashira-sensei had her flaws, but I preferred her over Hoshinomiya-sensei as our homeroom teacher. Being one of her students must be tiring. Maybe someone like Ichinose would thrive and have a superb relationship with such an instructor, but I could never be such a person.

After classes were over, I went home and watched a movie to kill some time.

Everyone was busy looking for Sudou's alleged witness, so I couldn't meet up with anyone throughout the day. Once evening arrived, Kushida stormed into my room and threw her bag into a corner in a fit of rage.

She rambled and complained about Horikita, who was 'fucking annoying' and Ike, who couldn't stop drooling after her. Once the two of them were adequately insulted, she switched over to some other students in our class until she branched out to Class B and Ichinose.

It seemed like her day had been rather busy.

From what I could gleam from this rant, Horikita had decided to let Sudou drown in his own mistakes and told him that she wouldn't help, no matter what happened. This put an immense damper on his newfound feelings for her.

Kushida then asked her again, for Sudou's sake, and was denied a second time.

Ike was a perverted piece of shit, or so she said. Apparently, he was stalking her through the school's GPS, which she had turned on again and dreamed about cuddling with her.

Naked.

I didn't know how she managed to uncover such sensitive information, but she got the key, so that's a plus.

After receiving such harrowing reports, I was glad that she left her phone in her room or turned off her location whenever she came over to visit me. If Ike saw how often she came by, he would definitely try to kill me. And if he knew that she was naked in my bed, he would probably kill himself...

Her disgusted and spiteful insults stopped somewhere down the line, and I found her sleeping on the floor. Her head rested on a cushion while her shallow, uneven breaths rang through the room.

I was quite amazed by her ability to change from being angry with every single person she had met today to falling asleep in a matter of seconds, especially after considering in whose room she had become dormant. She must have been quite exhausted from running around all day in order to help Sudou.

This conclusion for the day wasn't entirely bad, so I left her alone for the moment. After informing Fuka that she couldn't come by today, I spent my time with a book and began to prepare dinner for the two of us after I finished the chapter.

Since she was already here, it would have been cruel to eat alone and send her away.

I observed her throughout the evening and concluded that she still had nightmares. Sometimes, her whole body shivered, other times she pleaded me to stop torturing her while tears dripped onto my pillow. Not everyone would have been able to sleep through those ordeals and terrors without waking up.

Kushida, however, had realized that they became normal for her and worked around the problem.

About an hour later, the meal was ready.

I prepared the table and arranged everything before making my way over to her sleeping place.

"Kushida, wake up."

I began with a soft whisper, because I didn't want to scare her.

If my neighbors heard a girl screaming out of my room, I would be doomed.

To my misfortune, the cute girl didn't move a single muscle in response.

Since talking wasn't working, I decided to try uncomfortable stimuli and took a deep breath before blowing into her ear.

She made a cute, 'mhm' sound before turning away.

Should I just punch her in the gut? She would definitely wake up due to the pain.

I should probably cover her mouth first...

"Kushida?"

With a shrug, I put my palm over her mouth and increased the pressure on my grip before pushing her head into the pillow. Before I could strike out, her eyes shot open in horror.

The first thing her irises focused at, were my two lifeless orbs that were devouring her sanity. The first touch she felt was my palm against her mouth, hindering her to scream for help. Kushida's pupils constricted in pure dread as her heart began to smash against her ribcage.

At least that's what it sounded like.

"Dinner is ready."

With those three words, I let go of her smooth lips and stood up.

Her eyes widened in surprise and fear as soon as she recognized where she had fallen asleep. According to her perplexed expression, she had deemed this as one of her nightmares at first.

Kushida swallowed audibly as I walked over to the table and sat down. Since she wasn't following, I glanced at her, which prompted my classmate to stand up as well.

Her gaze grew confused as she joined me on the laid table.

""Itadakimasu!""

We said in unison before devouring our meals.

- Word Count: 11784 / 53072 Characters

Released 18.06.2022

Chapter 15 - Focal Point

On the next morning, my classmates busily exchanged information with each other.

The different groups that had formed met up with the other ones and went over who they had already talked to and which students were still missing. Some of them even made notes and compared them with everything else they knew so far.

I glanced towards Sakura, who sat in her chair and behaved inconspicuous, as always.

Apparently, Chiaki hadn't talked to our witness just yet, since she acted as if nothing was out of place. If she had been questioned about her involvement, she wouldn't have been this calm and might even have stayed home today.

Maybe she wanted to give her some space before she brought down the hammer?

On the other side of this ongoing incident stood the combination of Chiaki, Kushida and Hirata, who could also be referred to as 'light triad'. They persuaded most of their classmates to help Sudou, and a large majority of them stopped badmouthing him. Instead of complaining, they chose to help him to the best of their abilities.

I, for one, couldn't believe how naïve they were, but what did I know?

Even though the three of them tried their utmost, other students in our class still concentrated on all the points they were missing out on, especially when they compared our current situation to Class A. There were still enough people who didn't believe Sudou, like Yukimura, for example, but he did his best to protect their points by swallowing his pride.

"... I'll defend our points, even if it's the last thing I'll do. I'm going to save them, everyone!"

That was the end of Ike's grand speech.

I was overjoyed that I had only realized that he was talking after his monologue was almost over, or my brain might have received even more severe damages than it already had. It rather concerned me that I found Chabashira-sensei's cold attitude stimulating yesterday, but there wasn't much I could do.

Those guys were really rubbing off on me the wrong way.

"I understand how you feel, Ike-kun. But the most important aspect is to treasure our friends as much as possible. Our class ranking and points are only secondary."

"What Hirata-kun says is reasonable, but I still want my points. The students in Class A get over 100.000 points this month. Do you guys even know how many clothes and accessories we girls could buy with that amount? It sucks, seriously."

Karuizawa rested her legs on her desk, while her boyfriend tried to appease the masses. The whole class was bummed out after listening to her opinion, since she had indiscriminately mentioned the stark contrast between us and Class A.

"Why couldn't I have been in Class A from the start?"

"Yeah, I wish I started out in A, too."

"It would have been really nice starting in A or B, right..?"

Such hopes and dreams were voiced one after another.

Human nature was quite cruel in that regard. The more they talked about this problem, the more it would bother them in the end. If they didn't stop soon, resentment and other such thoughts would kick in and turn towards Sudou, who was at fault for this current predicament.

The delusions our classmates had seemed to have a positive effect on my neighbor, since she couldn't help but let out a few scornful snickers from time to time. Aside from these 'interactions', if one could call it that, she ignored all of them and kept reading Dostoevsky's 'Demons' in silence.

'One cannot love what one does not know.'

This quote, which originated from the book she was reading, summarized her entire struggle at this school. She had not yet learned something very important, which she would need to achieve in order to survive here.

Horikita Suzune had no intention of helping Sudou and the others.

I didn't particularly mind her opinions and convictions, because the decision to get her expelled would get easier every time she disappointed me like this. The only downside was the deduction of class points, but I could handle the loss of a mere hundred.

"It would be awesome if there was a secret trick to reach Class A just like that." One of my classmates flicked his finger on 'that' to prove his own point and heaved a deep sigh.

You're in luck Ike. There is a way to reach Class A instantly.

"You're in luck Ike. There is a way to reach Class A instantly."

Wow, that was scary.

Chabashira-sensei walked into the classroom and regarded the dumbfounded boy with a bored look.

"Wait. What?"

"There is an alternative way to reach Class A without using class points."

Even Horikita glanced up from her book after she had heard the words 'reach Class A'. Her brain turned from draft into listening mode as she bookmarked the page she had stopped at and pulled out a small notepad.

"Don't joke with us, sensei."

"Have you guys already forgotten that Matsushita bought a point for Sudou's English test? It's the same procedure with a class transfer. As long as you pay enough private points, you can transfer into a class of your choosing."

She's such a tease...

All of my classmates, including Horikita, fixed their reverent gazes onto Chabashira-sensei, who divulged information they deemed impossible. Kouenji was the only student that didn't react in any capacity, which proved my initial assumptions about him.

"S-seriously? How much would that cost?"

That smile...

These disgusted eyes...

... she loved tormenting them, didn't she?

"Twenty million. Do your best to conserve points and you may transfer to any class you desire."

Her devious yet enthralling grin didn't fade as she put her class in front of such a hopeless task. There was no way anyone in this class, aside from Kouenji, could stock up on enough points to purchase such a transfer.

"Twenty million?! That's impossible!"

Everyone complained. Some of them even thought that she was joking since they considered gathering and saving up such a massive amount unreasonable.

What did they expect? A free pass to Class A?

"Of course it is expensive. We are talking about Class A, after all. That's the whole point in the school system. Even though no one successfully transferred classes before, it is possible to do so."

"Chabashira-sensei. What was the highest number of points a single student saved up?"

After listening to our homeroom teacher and receiving such a treasure trove of knowledge, Horikita began to dig further into this new possibility that had opened up before her. Saving up twenty million points could be her way out of this defective class, and more than enough proof that she was worth attending this school, despite her brother's misgivings.

All she ever wanted was Horikita Manabu's recognition, and those points were her entry ticket to such a future.

"A student from Class B saved up twelve million points around three years ago. The student was expelled, however, since he was engaged in a large scale fraudulent operation."

Kushida, who had entered the classroom with a few friends some time ago, glanced towards me with wide eyes for the fraction of a second. She was confused and bewildered by Chabashira-sensei's words, since she had seen an even higher number with her own eyes when I showed her my phone a few days ago.

"Fraudulent operation?"

Chabashira-sensei leaned against the nearby wall and shrugged upon listening to Shinohara's question.

"He took advantage of the newly admitted first-years and scammed them out of their points. His plan was to gather the twenty million points necessary and skip ahead to Class A. But the school wouldn't overlook such reckless actions and expelled him."

In other words, the student wasn't careful enough about covering his tracks and ended up shooting himself in the foot.

Amateur...

This response was in line with what I had already known about this school, so there shouldn't be any lies or deceptions in her words. As long as nobody could prove otherwise, a student could get away with anything at this school.

Just like in the outside world.

Chiaki, who had also listened with interest, glanced at Chabashira-sensei and gave a small nod. According to the latter's reaction, this was some kind of sign the two of them had agreed upon since she suddenly changed the topic.

"That reminds me. None of you have gotten any points from club activities, have you?"

I want to exchange secret signals with them too...

"Points for club activities? What do you mean, Sae-chan-sensei?"

Ike and the others perked up their ears.

Shinohara's eyes sparkled in anticipation, as she was one of the few people who were part of two clubs. I doubted that she could gain our class points in the cooking or volleyball club since she wasn't well versed in either, but her pupils still exuded a hopeful aura.

Aside from her, we had some promising students who might turn this into an advantage for the class.

Sudou in the basketball club was the most obvious contender, which is what Chiaki must have planned. Then there were Hirata and Onodera from the soccer and swimming club, respectively. Both of them were skilled in the sport of their choosing and would prove useful in the future.

Another useful student was Miyake Akito.

Kushida couldn't find out much about him since he was rather closed off, but the senpai's in his club spoke highly of him and his abilities. According to them, he took part in prefectural competitions before joining this school, which proved that he would be a valuable member during tournaments and similar events.

"Exactly what it sounds like. Individuals may win class or private points depending on their efforts, participation or success in club activities. For example, if Sudou became a regular, he would receive corresponding points. If he did well in the tournament, he would also receive points and so on. The same goes for Hirata in the soccer club and everyone else. Even the calligraphy club is no exception from that."

This batch of new information took everyone by surprise. Their resolve to help with Sudou's current predicament rose, because his presence as a regular in the basketball club would help our class in the long run.

Even if he only earned private points this way, Sudou could supplement his own or other student's scores with the amount of points he would receive. Not only would his athleticism come in handy in special exams, but his love for basketball would bring our class additional points as well.

If he used them wisely, at least, which is where his future anchor point would come into play.

Sudou couldn't be trusted to take care of these points on his own just yet, since he would purchase useless stuff or help his friends if they were out of points. But as long as someone like a kind and loving girlfriend was watching over his shoulder, once the time came, everything would work out.

Chabashira-sensei's words were an immediate incentive for everyone to help him, because my classmates realized that his activities could affect our points, and due to this, our class.

Chiaki was really crafty...

One just had to wonder how she knew that clubs would award students points depending on their performance.

"Why didn't you tell us earlier? We could have all joined clubs and made a bunch of points."

"You have already realized that this school is usually fair, yes? What do you think would happen if someone halfheartedly joined a club? First, he wouldn't gain any points, since there is no way someone lazy would put in the effort to stand out in a club setting. Second, what if your efforts were subpar? Would you get kicked out of the club? Lose private points? Lose class points? Do you see how your question isn't making any sense?"

This time, it was Chiaki who spoke up.

From what I could gather, the two of them had made some deal in the background. I didn't know if she needed to pay points for Chabashira-sensei's services or if she managed to persuade her some other way, but she was pushing everyone into helping Sudou while showing them how valuable he would be to our class in the future.

Even students who only cared for themselves would think twice about leaving him to rot, since they would gain something from their assistance in the long run. It didn't matter if her reasoning about losing points was wrong, since only a few of our classmates would question what she said. Most would take her words as a fact due to the correct calls she had made during the last few days.

Time and time again, Chiaki had proven that her understanding about this school and its rules was superior to everyone else in this class. Even complete idiots would have understood this by now.

Her judgment, coupled with the backup from Hirata, Kushida and the other girls that Karuizawa was in control of, meant that most students would take her statements as factual without talking back.

Chiaki had set herself up as a class leader without showing a single flaw or insecurity during the execution of her plans, which was not only impressive, but would have been hard to accomplish for anyone else in class.

Hirata and Kushida, for example, wouldn't have been able to talk back against people. The former wanted everyone to be heard and happy, while the latter wanted to be loved by them without fail. Horikita was smart and resourceful enough as well, but she didn't have the support of her class due to her cold and brisk attitude.

My assumption that Chiaki could handle Sudou's case without my help grew more and more.

She may not be as capable as some others in certain areas of expertise, but an evaluation for Class B wouldn't be out of place for someone of her caliber, if it weren't for her inherent, distant behavior towards most people she surrounded herself with.

She wasn't nearly as bad as Horikita, of course, but aside from our group, she talked little with anyone else until she had revealed herself and stepped into the spotlight. This action seemed to have given her a push in the right direction, as she started to warm up to certain other people.

Chiaki still had a long way to go, but she was also making steady progress to invalidate her flaw.

I felt blessed and honored that I was one of the first individuals she chose to interact with, and I knew that I would always remember these days fondly, even after they had long past.

Even after she and everyone else had already forgotten about me...

Ike couldn't say anything as both Hirata and Kushida kept nodding in understanding after listening to Chiaki's explanation. Even if they weren't included in her plan beforehand, those two were smart enough to perceive that her reasoning was perfectly sound and was most likely correct.

Their reactions were rather predictable, so I was more interested in another girl's thoughts about this matter.

Horikita was done scribbling into her notepad and was about to continue with her book as I turned towards her.

"I heard from Kushida that you weren't interested in helping Sudou before. Does that new piece of information change anything for you, or are you still stubborn?"

She regarded my teasing with a deep sigh and shrugged.

"Well, I acknowledge Sudou's existence, albeit a little. I still don't think that I will need to help, however. From where I'm sitting, Matsushita-san seems to have everything under control, just like you said. If I don't have to help him because someone else would, then I won't. It's that simple."

Horikita had a similar outlook as me. As long as she wasn't needed, she wouldn't help.

Our respective reasons, however, were different.

While I wanted to savour my limited time in this school and play around with my chess pieces to my heart's content, she wanted to reach Class A more than anyone else. Horikita was the one who had to go all-out to reach her goal.

I did not.

From what I had gathered through Kushida so far, no one in this school, no matter which year, would be a threat to me.

There were a few interesting pieces, of course, but none that endangered my livelihood.

"Do you think she already found the witness?"

"Chiaki mentioned nothing, so I'm not sure. Maybe Sudou was just imagining things and there was never a witness. Who knows?"

She shot me a quick glance and turned to face forward again.

"The witness is Sakura-san."

If I hadn't had full control over my muscles, my mouth would have dropped wide open.

My outward expression hadn't changed, but I was excited upon listening to the sweet words that left her hypnotizing lips. I was surprised that Horikita, of all people, could be this observant, and managed to single out Sakura as the witness, even though she had kept a low-profile throughout our time here.

It was inconceivable how she made me veer between hope and hopelessness every time we had a chat.

Sometimes I thought that expelling her from this school before we had received points would have been most beneficial. If I had gotten rid of her then, we wouldn't have lost any points. But other times, like now, I was glad that I hadn't pulled the trigger just yet.

Had the fact that I enjoyed our banter anything to do with my decision?

Was this why I gave her a chance to change?

Humans needed time to adjust and evolve, so I gave her time. The deadline to her demise, however, wouldn't move anymore. If she wasn't good enough for my roster when the time arrived, I would eliminate her without mercy.

"How'd you know?"

I tried to act surprised, but it didn't work out too well.

"When Matsushita-san was asking for the witness, Sakura-san looked down instead of around the classroom. In a class of thirty-nine people, she was the only one who wasn't curious about who might have observed the incident. Her behavior leaves only one logical conclusion."

"Well, if you already know that, shouldn't you tell the others?"

"You can tell them. I'm not interested."

Before I could inquire about anything else, the bell rang, marking the beginning of homeroom.

Since Horikita had informed me about Sakura's 'secret', there was no reason for me to leave Chiaki and the others in the dark about her findings. As soon as classes ended, I walked towards the group of three who were already discussing next steps.

"Yo Chiaki, Hirata, Kushida."

""Yo Chi~a~ki~.""

Some girls to our right squealed in a high-pitched tone as they threw glances at the girl in question. This friendly banter was a daily occurrence, ever since we were on a first-name basis.

"C-come on... are you really going to keep this up? You girls are the worst..."

Chiaki's embarrassment was visible not only through her pout but also the light, red shade that surfaced on her face.

Karuizawa and the others stuck out their tongues and teased Chiaki further, while Hirata and Kushida greeted me as well. After they had enjoyed her delightful reactions for a few more minutes, they went their own ways and kept searching for the witness.

"Sorry about that, Kiyotaka. They are always messing with me..."

"Your reactions are adorable, so I don't mind at all."

"A-adore..." I could have sworn that her complexion grew even more crimson, but that was almost impossible. "A-anyway, what brings you here, K-kiyotaka? Want to grab a bite with us?"

"Um, yeah sure. But there's something I have to tell you beforehand. I know who the witness is."

""What? Who?""

Both Hirata and Kushida were surprised while Chiaki kept calm and was only stunned for a short moment.

Our knight in shining armor was both amazed and grateful, since we could be able to end this whole incident with the witness, while Kushida was astonished that I had lent them a hand despite my previous claims.

"It's Sakura."

The following reactions came as no surprise.

Chiaki smiled while Hirata was probably already thinking about how and when to talk to her. Kushida just gasped and kept up her cover in front of our two classmates.

"Good work Ayanokouji-kun."

"Yes! Great find, Ayanokouji-kun!"

"Ah... I did nothing to help, though. Horikita was the one who told me that Sakura was the witness just now. I was as surprised as you are when she informed me of her hunch."

"Horikita-san, huh..."

Kushida peered towards my neighbor with a confused and saddened expression. A dejected laugh left Hirata's lips, as he as well, was torn about what to do about this outcast of a classmate. He wanted to support her, but couldn't do anything if she didn't want to be helped.

"Well, first things first. We need to be careful with Sakura-san. She is extremely shy, so I think only one or two people should ask her about the incident. If we walk up to her with a group of four, she will only get spooked."

"That's a good point, Hirata-kun! Sakura-san would probably run away or be too nervous in front of us, especially because this concerns Sudou-kun, who we all know to be short-tempered. Maybe I should talk to her alone since I'm a girl too?"

Chiaki shook her head.

"Thank you, Kushida-san, but this wouldn't work. I think that Kiyotaka and I should talk to her."

Why me though?

"Hirata-kun is right. Because Sakura-san is very shy, Kiyotaka needs to be there for sure. He also didn't have many friends, since he was homeschooled before coming here, so he can somewhat relate to Sakura-san. Even though they are not the same, there should be some overlapping concerns and thoughts that could help him connect with her. Kiyotaka was also reserved until he got to know all of us better. He kind of still is, but you guys know what I mean. Both Hirata-kun and Kushida-san are too popular. To be frank, Sakura wouldn't be able to deal with you, especially because there are so many students around you all the time. She would feel overwhelmed by your presence alone."

Our white knight and Class D's angel nodded in understanding.

Even though I didn't like the fact that I was drawn into this whole mess, Chiaki's conclusions were spot on.

"Mhm. I get what you mean. Like if we were talking with her and some of our friends suddenly come up to us in greeting. This would put her in an uncomfortable position. Right, Hirata-kun?"

"Yes, I agree. Matsushita-san, Ayanokouji-kun, we'll leave Sakura-san in your hands."

The triad, which was now in agreement on how to proceed, nodded.

My bored, lifeless gaze met Chiaki's lively smile and I couldn't bring myself to decline.

Since there might still be other witnesses, we decided that it would be wise to keep asking around. There was also the problem that Sakura was a Class D student, which wasn't ideal for a witness. If she had no definitive proof like pictures, audio, or even a video, it would be just as difficult for the school to believe her.

She might have more rapport with the faculty than Sudou since she was quietly biding her time here, but she was still a Class D student and needed those points as much as everyone else.

Sakura, as well as the rest of Class D, would lose out on points if Sudou was found guilty.

This must have been the reason that Chiaki hadn't acted on the information beforehand. Now that Hirata and Kushida were made aware, however, she needed to try, at least.

Our meeting ended after ironing out the finer details.

It was concluded that Chiaki and I would talk to her tomorrow after classes.

"Well, since we are done now, should we grab something to eat together?"

Hirata's bright smile was as blinding as it had been on the first day I had met him, even though he went through a rough patch because of Yamauchi's expulsion.

Kushida looked downwards and shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I already have an appointment with a friend." She then glanced at Hirata with a knowing smile. "Now that I think about it, Hirata-kun, didn't you want to eat with Karuizawa-san today?"

"But Karuizawa-san is —" Hirata stopped, before he nodded as well. "Right... Now that you mention it, she said that I should join them after we were done with our talks."

I didn't believe any of it.

Before Hirata agreed to Kushida, she kept nodding, as if she was prodding him towards something.

This smelled fishy.

"The two of us will leave then, Matsushita-san, Ayanokouji-kun!"

Kushida gleamed while dragging a beaming Hirata along. Both of them waved us goodbye and had unusually big smirks on their faces. When I turned around to face Chiaki, she was as red as a ripe tomato.

I must have missed something...

Definitely.

"S-seems like it's just the two of us, Kiyotaka."

"I guess. So, where do you want to go?"

"Mhm, I don't know. You decide."

She stuck out her tongue and successfully burdened me with such an important decision. Her following smile was kind but weaker than usual, which revealed once again that she felt tired and exhausted. Chiaki tried her best to hide her current state, but there was no way that I wouldn't pick up on it.

Dealing with these things must have put a huge burden on her.

"Okay. Let's go."

I said and grabbed my bag before leaving the classroom.

Surprised, she snatched her own and followed me with a perplexed expression.

"Where are we going?"

This was a valid question after I led her up the stairs instead of down, towards the cafeteria or shops. I didn't bother explaining as the two of us kept staircase after staircase behind us.

A few moments later, we reached the rooftop, which was just as serene and relaxing as yesterday.

I typed out a quick message to Chabashira-sensei to stay clear of the rooftop for today as we ambled towards the center. Chiaki looked around with a puzzled expression and tilted her head towards me.

"What are we doing here?"

"Sitting."

I sat down and tapped the ground beside me.

Even though Chiaki was confused, she followed my lead.

Her expression soon changed into a surprised smile as she realized that the ground wasn't as cold and uncomfortable as it looked. This was thanks to the sun, which kept warming the roof like a natural heater.

I unpacked the bento I had prepared this morning and placed it between the two of us. A moment later, I handed her two replacement sticks I kept in case something happened to mine.

"Itadakimasu."

"W-wait. I couldn't... this is... yours."

"It's more than enough for both of us. Also, I'm the one who offered it to you, so let's enjoy our meal together."

She fumbled around for a few moments before giving in. All I could hear in between her fidgeting was a confused, yet happy sounding whisper.

"Bento... His Bento..."

Chiaki's feverish expression flared up upon taking her first bite, indicating that I had met her taste, which made me glad. There would have been nothing more embarrassing than her not enjoying the food I prepared.

I hadn't expected that I had to share my bento, but I didn't mind this change of plans.

"My god! This is sooo good! Thank you... but what did I do to deserve this? How can I pay you back for such a tasty meal?"

Her current expression was nothing short of breathtaking. This alone was more payment than I could have asked for, since she gifted me with happy recollections that would always stay by my side, no matter where I went.

This genuine, bright smile and her sparkling ocean-blue eyes as she ate my bento would always remain in my mind as a treasured, once-in-a-lifetime memory.

As long as I was here... as long as I was free, I wanted to experience as much as possible.

"You don't have to pay me back. Your adorable expression is more than enough compensation. As for the reason; you seemed tired. I figured that all of this is weighing on you, so I thought you deserved a timeout once in a while. The roof is empty and comfortable because of the sun, and no one will bother you. If you use your bag as a pillow, you could even take a short nap after our meal." My lips drew a light smile, this time for certain. "I'm glad that the meal isn't a letdown... I thought it might be a bit lacking."

Her eyes opened wide in amazement and awe. I could see my reflection in her pupils, which reassured me that I did indeed smile. I was assured that I was not an emotionless, cold husk, but a living, breathing human being.

Maybe, just maybe, I felt something like happiness.

"No! It's great! It's perfect! I love it! Hyaaa."

I didn't know why, but she squealed and folded her arms over her head to hide her crimson-colored face.

The two of us enjoyed our bento and kept chatting about the most useless things. Since I knew how much she usually ate, I stopped after a few more mouthfuls and told her that I've had enough before assuring her that she could have the rest.

Apparently, this was called a white lie.

I would be hungry until evening, but I didn't mind at all.

Once we were done, I grabbed the empty box and put everything back into my bag.

"Mhhh~ that was great! Thank you Kiyotaka."

"Now..." I patted her bag twice. "... get some sleep."

Her delighted face turned crimson as she began to fumble around.

"Wha-... There's no way I can just sleep. I'm also not tired either so —"

"You don't have to push yourself so much when you are with me." I tapped her bag again. "You've been busy, right? You look exhausted too... Why don't you take a short nap? Nobody is going to bother you here."

Chiaki averted her gaze as those words traveled over the empty rooftop. Her lips parted before closing again without producing a sound as she caressed over her fingers.

Was she looking for a reason to decline?

I wouldn't mind if she rested in her room instead of here, but I couldn't be sure if she would really sleep or still work on Sudou's case, despite saying otherwise. She was exhausted, and I didn't want her to overwork herself. Chiaki knew this as well, or she would have refused already.

"Please?"

A deep, exasperated breath escaped her lungs as she raised her lowered head.

"It's not like I could say no... to you..."

The latter part of her sentence was quiet, but it was still audible, which she didn't seem to have realized. Somewhat reluctant and ashamed, she placed her head on the bag and closed her eyes.

Her quick breathing and elevated heartbeat slowed down, and she grew more comfortable as time passed. Chiaki must have fallen asleep eventually, as her body relaxed and entrusted herself to the warm caressing of the sun.

"Mhmmm... Kiyotaka..."

Was it considered impolite to ignore a sleeping person?

I had never been in such a situation, hence I wasn't sure how to behave. According to her breathing pattern and muscle relaxation, she was sleeping soundly. Her calm voice also indicated that she had a good dream, or something similar.

"Yes?"

In the end, I answered, on the off-chance that she somehow remembered that I didn't reply to her.

"I... really... like... you..."

With those four words, she moved closer and rolled her head onto my chest.

Even though she was fast asleep, she knew exactly where I was.

"... a lot..."

I was pretty sure that this was a secret I wasn't supposed to hear, which is why I left it at that.

Chiaki was still dormant and didn't know what she had just said or done. The only thing I could do right now was pretend to be asleep when she woke up on my chest. This way, it wouldn't be too embarrassing for her.

But she liked me, huh?

A small, innocent smile appeared on my face.

Or did it?

I raised my hands to my face and traced over the outline of my lips. Even though I really wanted to know if I had smiled, I couldn't figure it out. My fingers, or rather the contours over which they drew, couldn't find any changes in expression.

Maybe I was just too slow to react?

That might have been it.

What should I do with this information?

How was I supposed to behave from now on?

How would I answer if she decided to tell me her feelings while sentient?

I didn't expect so many questions to turn up after just a few simple words.

The loudest and biggest of them all, however, was why.

Why would such a cute, adorable girl fall in love with a callous and cruel monster like me?

"Mhhhhm."

I felt rather drowsy as I came to.

The bag I had been lying on was much more comfortable than anticipated. Despite my prior statements that I hadn't been tired, it didn't take long to fall asleep after our meal.

Our meal, huh...

A big smile formed on my face.

Even though I felt somewhat embarrassed by sleeping next to him, Kiyotaka was correct with his assumption that I needed some rest. This quiet, warm and all around pleasant spot was perfect.

Usually, I wouldn't have been so exhausted just from taking care of the class, but I had to spend a lot of time running around and preparing things beforehand in order to keep Sudou-kun safe and get everyone to help him. It might have looked effortless from an outsider's perspective, but this brief respite of serenity was everything I could have asked for in these circumstances.

Especially because I got to taste Kiyotaka's cooking.

Gosh, his food was sooo good!

I felt warm and cared for by just thinking about him, so I reached out to the bag I was lying on to prop it up and snuggled my head further inside to vent my happiness without squealing.

Both actions took place simultaneously and gave me a different feedback than I had anticipated.

The bag was unusually big and muscular and moved up and down in slow but steady intervals. I could also smell Kiyotaka's scent even better when I began to burrow into it.

My eyes shot open in surprise.

Two pairs of legs revealed themselves in front of me, both of which were resting right beside and somewhat on top of each other. A moment later, my hand gripped his uniform as my brain short-circuited.

The sun was warm, there was no doubt about this, but at that single moment, I felt much hotter.

I was relieved that I couldn't see my expression or the color of the skin on my face, since I was sure that I had once again turned into a tomato. This wasn't even a question, a hunch or a feeling, but an absolute fact.

The only reason I hadn't screamed in embarrassment or scrambled away from him in shame was because my whole body had shut down after waking up from sleeping on his chest.

On. His. Chest.

He wasn't awake when this happened, right?

He hadn't seen me smiling to myself while I was snuggling into him, right?

Even though it was dangerous to stay like this any longer, my body refused to listen to my commands.

It wouldn't move.

No — I didn't want it to move, because I wanted to stay like this, even if it was just a second longer.

Every time my eyes fluttered open, my heartbeat sped up.

Every time my head bobbed up and down because of his breathing, I felt happy.

Every time I took a breath, his sweet fragrance made its way through my nostrils.

Kiyotaka wasn't using any fancy perfume or something along those lines, but his inherent odour was nothing short of mesmerizing. I just couldn't believe that someone could smell this amazing by simply existing.

After this roller coaster of emotions, I couldn't deny my feelings for him any longer.

I had truly and utterly fallen for this handsome, brown-haired boy.

When my mind and every fiber of my being told me to let go of him and get up before he awoke, my heart decided that I wasn't ready to move on, because my body wanted to feel his warmth just a little longer.

After an intense battle, I regained control over myself and raised my head.

With a never-ending uneasiness, I turned towards his face and sighed in relief as I caught sight of this unmeasurably adorable sleeping face.

I slipped away from him with minimal movements and glanced over the roof.

The sun was already setting, which meant that we must have slept quite a long time.

I was both relieved and disappointed after escaping this situation without waking him up.

Because of his perfect poker face, I would probably never be comfortable or confident enough to tell him how I felt, since I was too scared of his answer. My biggest fear was that our relationship as it was now could change if he didn't feel the same way about me.

I wasn't brave enough and Kiyotaka seemed like the sort of person who wouldn't reveal his feelings, unless he was 100% sure that he would get a positive answer. But I didn't know what I could do to show him my affections without being too obvious for the worst-case scenario.

"Kiyotaka?"

My quiet voice vanished in the surroundings.

Aside from my beating heart, only a slight breeze and his shallow breathing could be heard.

Despite my better judgement, my fingers advanced towards his cheek on their own. I began to caress over his smooth face and smiled like an idiot as I blew away the messy strands of hair on his forehead.

In the end, I didn't know how he felt about me.

Would he be happy if he woke up now?

Would he be apathetic like usual, or would he have gifted me with this rare, charming, and absolutely breathtaking smile after waking up and glancing at my face?

I didn't know the answer to any of these questions.

All I could do, all I was currently capable of, was to approach his cheek.

Since my own strands of hair would tickle him if they fell onto his face, I tucked them behind my ear before bending forward. In my trance, I barely noticed my heartbeat, which sounded like a car-engine as it drummed against my chest.

After plucking up all my courage, I granted him my very first kiss.

"Sakura-san?"

"Wh-what?"

Chiaki and I headed towards Sakura after school the next morning in order to persuade her to share anything she had seen about the incident. I had never heard her voice before today, since she was one of the girls who hadn't introduced themselves.

It was quiet, yet pleasant but somewhat insecure.

Her tone had a certain innocent yet enticing charm to it, at least if one knew about the other face of Sakura. Otherwise, she would seem like a scared little cat, which had a certain appeal as well.

"Could you spare us a moment of your time?"

Our class leader was, of course, the person who took care of this conversation. I only stood beside her, lending a helping hand if I needed to. That was her strategy, at least.

Mine was different.

"S-sorry. I... I have plans, so..."

Sakura was feeling uncomfortable as she scratched her cheek. She stuttered and spoke in a quiet and hasty tone, which proved that she wasn't good at talking to people.

Even Kushida couldn't crack this girl in order to gather information about her.

The things I knew now were a team effort and would have been impossible to find out if it weren't for my observations and Kushida's vast social abilities and knowledge in this sphere.

"It won't take long, I promise. I just wanted to ask about Sudou's case."

"N-no. I... I don't know... anything. Please... can I... leave now?"

Chiaki bit her lip, since she didn't know how to talk to Sakura.

I took her hand and squeezed it upon noticing her frustration. Since I knew how she felt about me, it was a quick and safe sign to inform her that it was alright and that I would take over.

My adorable classmate reacted with a flustered face.

"I'm sorry that I ambushed you like this. Of course you can leave."

As per usual, she had this special, older sister smile on her face.

Sakura had no problems coping with such a kind and pleasant farewell either.

"T-there is nothing to a-apologize for. S-see you."

The scared squirrel rushed out of the room with quick and purposeful steps. I gave Chiaki a light nod before following the girl through the hallway.

We were a considerable distance away from the classroom and other people when I decided to call out to her.

"Sakura?"

Her whole body trembled as she heard her own name. Upon turning around, her eyes widened before her feet shifted into a ready position to run away from me.

"Please don't run. I don't want to talk about Sudou, I promise."

The current distance between us amounted to around five meters.

According to the anthropologist Edward T. Hall, this was the public zone.

Since the two of us were quite far apart, I had to raise my voice if I wanted to talk to her. Sakura recognized this as well and didn't see my increased volume as me getting angry or anything similar.

Instead of realizing the uncomfortable nature of this moment, she would feel bad for me. A normal person wouldn't be bothered by something like this, but Sakura, who wasn't very well versed in human interactions, would think of herself as a nuisance due to her insecurities, which gave me a stronger position during our conversation.

Her feet stopped halfway while turning, but she made no efforts to revert her previous movements, which showed that she wasn't quite ready to believe me just yet.

"Is it okay if I come closer? I'd feel silly yelling through the hallway."

I scratched my cheek to show her that I was feeling just as uncomfortable as she did.

The psychological term for this deceptive action was mirroring.

Usually, this happened unconsciously, as an individual would mirror behavior, movements or speaking patterns. Here, I could consciously use this to build rapport with Sakura, and let her know that I was also feeling conflicted and distressed.

She nodded, whereupon I inched closer until I reached the social zone.

I kept pushing forward until I was around two and a half meters away from her.

"That's a great camera. A Nikon D3500, right?"

"Y-yeah."

Her worried eyes turned bright and widened in surprise that I had recognized the camera she used.

Without Kushida's reports, I wouldn't have been able to increase my affinity with her this easily. Thanks to my prior knowledge about her likes and dislikes, I could prepare for our confrontation.

In her eyes, she had found someone like-minded. Someone who enjoyed photography, or something similar.

"I love taking pictures of nature. What about you?"

"E-everything, really."

She said little, but it was a step in the right direction. Not only her eyes had changed, but her voice also developed from stark insecurity to cautious excitement.

Once again, I wore a mask.

This time it wasn't Hirata or Karuizawa, who I had used to my advantage before, but Kushida, or even Ichinose, who were remarkably social and didn't have trouble connecting with people. What helped them was their great interest in a lot of things that others cared about, genuine or not.

If I could bond with someone over certain topics the other person would get excited about, it was easier to talk to them.

This was what I had learned from these two fascinating women.

Even though I didn't particularly like or dislike the White Room, it offered me a unique, objective point of view towards this world. Back in the white hell, I felt myself stagnating. But here, I was accumulating personalities, which I could use to brighten my horizon.

The current lessons in the White Room or in this school were completely useless to me, because I could do anything I needed to do physically and academically.

But the more people I got to know during my lifetime, the more facets I would gain.

'Only a fool wouldn't use his innate abilities.'

In some sense, the old man's words were correct.

I absorbed books, knowledge and physical lessons like no one else, so why would I stop there?

The more people I devoured, the better I could use their innate abilities to move my pieces. I understood the way they thought, carried themselves and would act, so that I could make their abilities my own.

Even though I was still not as proficient as Kushida in social interactions, I was improving.

I was evolving slowly but purposefully, because I deemed it necessary to advance myself further.

"Before arriving at this school, I was homeschooled for a long time. It was boring, but I loved taking pictures in my free time. These few fleeting moments were the only times I felt some sense of..."

"...belonging? Uhh, I... I'm sorry. I didn't m-mean to interrupt y-you..."

"Yeah... I guess belonging is a fitting description for what I felt. Those times... I still cherish them even though I managed to grow out of my shell. Somewhat... at least."

This story existed for the single purpose of drawing her into the conversation. Every single word that left my mouth was a lie. Neither Sakura nor anyone else had to know this, however.

All I needed was her growing interest in me.

"W-why did you stop? T-taking pictures, I mean."

"There is not much nature around here, unfortunately. Not without civilization right around the corner. I don't particularly enjoy taking pictures of buildings or people. Trees, forests, animals, landscapes, the ocean and its inhabitants, or other such scenic views... I really enjoyed taking pictures of... freedom."

Even though we didn't know each other very well, she connected with me through our troubles and experiences, which felt similar to each other by design.

"I'm really sorry if Chiaki came on too forceful. She meant nothing bad by it."

"N-no. It's j-just I... I'm too..."

Insecure? Scared?

That was fine... Sakura.

People needed time to change, and so did you.

I will protect you...

... until I need to rip you apart.

So don't worry about anything. There was no need to struggle, because you wouldn't be able to escape either way. Not after you became a part of my plan. Not after I put my bloody claws into your flesh and made you mine.

If you don't resist the course I envisioned for you, it will hurt much less.

In other words, Sakura... don't delay the inevitable and just be a formidable pawn for me.

"The hallway... the view outside the window... I love taking pictures of such scenic views, even if some of those scenes are nothing special in everyday life."

She couldn't finish her initial sentence, but opted to progress the conversation in a different route.

"So general landscapes or scenic views are your speciality, huh? What about people?"

Sakura wouldn't think anything strange of this question since I had included animals in my previous explanation. Since I was talking about nature, it was obvious to ask about the inhabitants of forests and such. In her case, she talked about civilization, so asking about human subjects was a given.

"Huh?! Th-that's a secret. I... I mean it's e-embarrassing."

Her cheeks changed from a healthy pink to a deep crimson as she thought about the pictures she took as Shizuku. As a shy, anxious girl, she would feel uncomfortable about being asked about such sensitive topics by a man.

"No need to be flustered. I'm sorry if I asked a question that you felt was too personal. I meant nothing by it."

She glanced at me before averting her gaze towards the ground in shame.

"N-no! It's just... Will Sudou-kun be okay?"

"I don't know. But I'm sure Chiaki can manage. I'll tell everyone that you saw nothing. Is that alright with you?"

Her body shuddered in response as her head jerked up to meet mine.

"B-but... I... —"

"It's okay. I know. But they don't need to if you feel uncomfortable. We'll just keep it a secret, alright? As long as you are okay with your decision, I am as well. Chiaki will find another way to save him."

Once again, she lowered her head as this guilty conscience weighed her down.

This feeling was the goal all along.

Sakura would either work up the courage to confess to our classmates that she had indeed seen something, or silently feel bad for her whole life. The closer the deadline of Tuesday got, the worse her regrets would become.

She was timid, yes, but she was also an incredibly sweet and innocent girl that wanted nothing bad to happen. It was only a matter of time until she came around and spoke up for Sudou.

Her general behavior had a certain charm to it as well, which could easily bewitch a lot of guys who were into such girls, if she were a bit more like Shizuku, her other persona.

"Th-thank you, Ayanokouji-kun. You are a good person."

Sakura flashed me one of the most beautiful smiles I had seen to date.

Her expression wasn't forced or a false mask she used to play around with people, but her genuine reaction towards my kindness, which made it even more fascinating than Kushida's. It was also such a rare sight that the value of a single delighted smile eclipsed those of the latter's by far.

Unfortunately for her, she couldn't have been more wrong about me.

After saying my farewell, I walked back to the classroom to gather my materials and grab my bag. Chiaki and the others who knew about our plan were waiting for me.

"So how'd it go, Ayanokouji-kun?"

The first question came from Kushida.

Horikita, who sat at her desk and needed a rather long time to gather her materials, perked her ears to listen in as well, but had no intention of moving from her desk. Sudou and Ike also stood near the triad and were interested in what Sakura had said.

"She was nearby, but she had seen nothing. There was a commotion, so she ran away because she didn't want to have anything to do with it."

"So a total bust, huh?"

Quite a bust, yes, Sudou.

He lowered his head and slumped over someone's chair. The mood of the other's wasn't any better after receiving this disheartening news.

"We still haven't asked all the other students. There is still a chance someone else saw it as well, right?"

"Yes, Kushida-san is right. We shouldn't give up hope just yet, everyone!"

Kushida and Hirata tried to lift the mood, but even Sudou began to lose hope. Horikita let out a ridiculing chuckle as the two of them tried to grasp onto the last possible straws.

My neighbor packed her bags and stood before striding over to our group.

"Ayanokouji-kun, do you want to head back together?"

Not a single person who listened to her sweet voice could believe her words.

Even though we frequently walked back together, we never talked about it. We just 'happened' to wait for each other before leaving when the other person wasn't occupied with someone else. None of the others should have noticed this, which would make her sudden invitation even more surprising.

I placed my hand on her forehead to check up on her temperature.

She didn't seem to run a fever, but I could conclude through this rash action that Chiaki was mad.

"I don't have a fever. I just want to talk to you about something."

Horikita wouldn't want anything troublesome now, would she?

"You guys sure are close, huh?. I still vividly remember the painful arm lock you put me in yesterday when I accidentally touched your shoulder. How is this differential treatment fair? My shoulder still hurts like hell!"

Ike seemed to have had a run-in with the devil while Chiaki and I were sleeping on the rooftop.

Both of them seemed rather agitated about my hand, which rested on her forehead. Sudou didn't seem as bothered, but still somewhat dissatisfied. Chiaki pouted with an angered expression and stared daggers at Horikita from behind Kushida.

"Do you mind?"

"No, sorry."

I let go of her forehead and walked back to my desk to grab my bag.

Ike kept lamenting about how this was unfair, while Horikita and I left the room after I said my farewells. My two dumbfounded and three dissatisfied friends couldn't wrap their heads around what had happened.

"It's so hot... Why are we here anyway?"

I turned to the side to glance at a person who didn't seem to mind this scorching heat at all.

"I just wanted to check for security cameras, but it seems like there are none around here."

"Security cameras?"

Horikita nodded.

"Yes, like in the classroom, for example. I figured if we had a few in every classroom and outside the school building, there might be some in the hallways and staircase as well."

"Mh, so you do want to help Sudou, despite saying otherwise. That's some adorable tsundere behavior, according to my research."

She glanced over with a dark expression.

"Haven't I told you to stop mingling with those people? They are poisoning your thoughts, Ayanokouji-kun. I'm neither a tsundere, nor am I adorable. Aside from that —"

Her phone vibrated before she could finish her sentence, whereupon I regarded her with a smirk.

"Should we go visit the electronics store to fix your phone? It seems to be prone to errors."

"Would you lend me your hand for a moment, Ayanokouji-kun?"

Horikita smirked and reached out her own, while the other covered a certain painful object.

"I don't think we are at that stage of our relationship just yet, so I have to decline. That being said, the security camera's were good thinking. I didn't know we had any in the classroom, though."

Horikita heaved a sigh as she realized that I wouldn't fall for her 'trick' and pocketed her compass.

"Naturally." Her matter-of-fact reply rang through the searing corridor as she brushed her hair back. "How else would the teachers know what the students were doing behind their backs with such precision? Do you remember how Chabashira-sensei had specific numbers for every single offense in the classroom?"

"Now that you mention it, that was indeed weird. How did you even notice that?"

"Well, Ayanokouji-kun... some people don't daydream during lessons." She glared at me with a twisted smile. "Additionally, Kushida-san said something about the cameras in our classroom while you were away, but it seemed like she hadn't made the connection that there could also be cameras all around the school grounds."

How did she know that I daydreamed?

Cute, cute, cute, cute...

She didn't react to my pitiful attempt to trigger her esper senses, so I gave up and returned to the important parts that had surfaced during this conversation.

If Kushida disclosed something about the cameras Chiaki should have taken her hint into consideration as well, but neither she nor anyone else was here to check. Or had she considered this beforehand and came up empty-handed?

I knew that looking for cameras out here would be futile, but at least I could ascertain their thinking patterns.

"Well, since we are done here, let's go back to the dorms."

"So that's it? You're done helping Sudou?"

"I was never helping him, just looking out for viable clues I happened to stumble upon. I won't go out of my way to help him, not anymore. Previously, I thought that saving them once would open their eyes, but it seemed like I should have just let them get expelled. At least we would have lost fewer points, since we didn't have any to begin with."

Her reasoning could work, if she could back up her claims.

If I were going all-out, there would be no need for most of the people in my class. Sudou was a nice reserve to have, but also not needed. Horikita, however, isn't even near my level of abilities, which is why she will need to count and depend on other people.

Unfortunately, she seemed unwilling to learn.

"Let's go back then."

We ambled towards the staircase and were about to turn a corner when I bumped into a particular student that came striding towards us in a fast pace.

The camera in her hand dropped and crashed onto the floor with a loud thud.

I could have caught it, but saw no reason to intervene, since this accident might enable me to spend more time with her. If I could get to know her better during that time, she would be more useful to me in the future.

"Ah! N-no...!"

"Oh, Sorry."

Before even apologizing, she hunkered down and kept pressing the power button. She kept tapping on it in a daze, but it didn't turn on, whereupon her worries grew exponentially.

"No... no... please..."

After squeezing the button down dozens of times, she reseated the batteries in a last ditch effort to save her camera.

Reality, however, was cruel.

"I'm sorry Sakura, that was my fault."

She glanced up like a lost puppy with her camera in hand. A few small tears gathered in the corners of each eye, which were about to release a whole flood.

"No, I was... without looking. I'm so sorry."

"It's fine, really. We were both at fault then, alright? But your camera... it doesn't look very good."

Horikita watched this whole exchange with a bored and somewhat haughty expression. Her interest in Sakura had vanished after I told them that she saw nothing that could help us.

My nervous classmate looked down and clang to her broken camera.

"Since it's partly my fault that you have to get it repaired, should we go together? We don't have to if it makes you uncomfortable, but I feel terrible about running into you like that."

Once again, I was pushing forward with my Kushida persona. I needed to be careful not to change too drastically since Horikita's watchful eyes gazed over both of us.

"I..." She sounded as if she wanted to decline, but stopped before doing so. After a few seconds of silent contemplation, she bobbed her head. "O-okay. Thank you, Ayanokouji-kun."

I had anticipated that she would decline and already mapped out the rest of this conversation, but it seemed like that this was no longer needed. We exchanged numbers and decided to talk things over tomorrow before we went our separate ways.

"You were awfully nice, Ayanokouji-kun."

"Is that a crime? Do you think your cold, blunt and heartless demeanor would have worked any better?"

"For staying out of trouble? Yes. I remember you saying you quite disliked it."

Horikita eyed me with a suspicious glint.

"It was a simple calculation. If anyone saw that I made a cute girl cry, then that would have spilled more trouble than accompanying her to the store. That's one of the reasons why I am so nice to you. I'm worried about my social standing, you know?"

My favorite neighbor, she was my only one, so I had none other to choose from, chopped me in the side.

"You do realize that there is no one around, right? And since when do you have a social standing, Ayanokouji-kun?"

"Someone could surely jump around the corner any second now."

Horikita leaned back and crossed her arms while regarding me with a sceptic gaze.

"I doubt that someone would just —"

At that moment, as if the heavens had decided to punish Horikita for her usual rude behavior, a strawberry blonde girl jumped around the corner with a bright smile on her face.

"Heya, Ayanokouji-kun and... his girlfriend-san? Are the two of you on a date?"

Ichinose tilted her head after uttering such an innocent, yet dangerous, question.

I couldn't help but reveal a smug smile towards Horikita, who looked incredibly annoyed by this whole situation. Not only did someone jump around the corner, she had also been called my girlfriend, which she wasn't too fond of.

"We're not on a date."

"I'm not his girlfriend."

We both opened our mouths at the same time.

If one concentrated enough, it was possible to understand both parties. Horikita, for example, understood which deceptive words I had spoken and grazed my head.

Ichinose laughed since she assumed that I was messing with her.

"I already figured as much. This place is a little too hot to be a date spot."

Was it, though?

I wasn't sure about that.

Depending on the things you were going to do here, this place could be pretty comfy.

"Ouch!"

"You thought about something stupid, didn't you? I've seen it in your eyes. They are changing when you are being an idiot. Don't even think about talking your way out of this."

Horikita was truly one of the scariest girls I've met until now.

Class B's leader couldn't help but giggle again while she was listening to our skit-like exchange.

"You two really are close, huh?"

"We are."

"We are not."

"Ouch!"

This time, she not only chopped into my side but also stepped on my foot to punish me for this transgression.

"Putting our relationship aside for now, what are you doing here, Ichinose?"

"There is no relationship to put aside. Could you stop messing with me, Ayanokouji-kun?"

Ichinose's cheerful laugh dwindled as she tried her best to calm down.

"I heard that your class was in trouble, so I thought I'd look around and give you guys a hand."

Horikita raised her eyebrows and eyed Ichinose with suspicion.

Her scepticism wasn't warranted, but this much was proof enough that she didn't know what kind of person Ichinose was. Or maybe she just didn't care, which might very well be the case.

"And why would you give us a hand, just like that? From the good of your heart?"

Why did she sound so sarcastic?

It came as no surprise that she was blunt and quick to judge, as always, but I hoped that the two of them could talk with each other without blood flying everywhere. This wouldn't be a problem for Ichinose, but I wasn't so sure about Horikita.

Even if Class B's leader was usually kind and relaxed, she wouldn't back down from a fight if she felt the need to advocate for her beliefs. A good example was her action back in the library, when she stood between Sudou and that Class C student without batting an eye.

"Ayanokouji-kun and I are friends. So why wouldn't I try to help his class if I can?"

"I can't help but think there's an ulterior motive."

Ichinose's captivating smile didn't waver, even though she was accused of something ridiculous.

"Ulterior motive? Do you think we are working in the shadows to undermine Class C and D? Do you need to be that on guard? All I'm planning to do is lend a helping hand to a friend. If you are not interested, you can leave anytime."

"So that's your plan? To coax the unsuspecting Ayanokouji-kun into revealing something he shouldn't?"

Unsuspecting? Me?

The strawberry blonde girl didn't seem hurt or otherwise affected by such a cruel accusation.

"I'm sorry that you think that way. And I really hope you can work through those problems." That was all she had to say about Horikita before she turned towards me. "Do you want to fill me in? It's okay if not. I'd understand."

I glanced towards Horikita, who seemed to be finished with this conversation.

After cursing my misfortune and hoping that my neighbor wouldn't kill me later, I told Ichinose everything we knew so far. My classmate might have called this foolishly trusting someone whose intentions I didn't know, but that was far from the truth.

Ichinose was one of the safest people to talk to in this entire school, because she had not a single bad bone in her body.

"Are you certain that your classmate is innocent?"

"To tell you the truth, we're not. But all we can do right now is look for witnesses and hope for the best possible outcome. Even though I'd love to help him, it'll be quite troublesome to convince the school that he's innocent."

Ichinose flashed me a thin smile.

"I'd like to help with that. If it's okay? More people are always better in such a situation, right?"

"And why would a student from Class B readily help us? What do you expect from us in return?"

Horikita cut into our conversation like a mother bear protecting her cub.

Was she worried about me?

"I already told you that I'd like to lend Ayanokouji-kun a hand. It would set a bad precedent if the party that lied won, no matter if it was your classmate or the Class C students."

"You want to lend him a hand, yes? Let's say that Sudou was at fault and you learn the truth about that. What would you do? Lie to help your friend? Wouldn't that also set a bad precedent for yourself?"

"Of course, I hope that my interference proves helpful to him and his class. But if your classmate really is at fault, then I won't be hiding that either. Ayanokouji-kun has said it himself: you guys have been looking for witnesses for a few days already and turned up with nothing so far. If you can't prove Sudou-kun's innocence, then your classmate will be suspended either way. With our help, you might have a fighting chance, if he is innocent, like he claimed. There are no disadvantages for your class since we are providing our help for free."

"So, after everything is said and done, you are only helping yourself. Either Ayanokouji-kun is thankful to you for supporting him, or you are hammering the nail in Sudou-kun's coffin. Am I wrong?"

Ichinose shook her head without losing the smile on her face.

"You don't seem capable of thinking that some people simply act out of goodwill, do you? I don't have a single ulterior motive in offering my help."

"That's what you say. But I still can't see a single demerit for you. There are only positives to be gained, which is why I'm not interested in working with you, an enemy. That being said, I'll take my leave now. Be careful of this woman, Ayanokouji-kun. She is not your friend."

After such a statement, Horikita strode off.

Both Ichinose and I stood in a daze until she had moved so far away that her steps were barely audible. The strawberry blonde girl wore a conflicted expression and smiled wryly in response to her harsh words.

We both stood still until the last echo vanished.

"Sorry, Ichinose. Horikita is just... not very good with people. She's not a bad person, so don't take what she said to heart. I really appreciate that you are trying to help us, and I believe Sudou thinks the same way."

"Ah, it's alright, really. The heat in this building really is something else though... maybe she was just overheating." Ichinose smiled upon cracking such a joke and took out a cute panda handkerchief before wiping the sweat off her forehead. "It's been a while since we last met up, right? The midterms were really something."

"Oh, yeah. But we all survived, so everything is fine. Your class seemed to have had some trouble this month though, according to your points at least... Is everything okay? Can I help?"

"Don't worry about us. It's nothing we can't handle. Thank you for your concern, though. Say, Ayanokouji-kun, are many students in your class this prejudiced against other classes?"

I glanced upward, pretending that I was thinking about her question.

"Some, I guess. But I bet you already met most of my classmates, so I wouldn't be surprised if you knew better than I did. Horikita is not like the other students in Class D. She's mostly minding her own business and doesn't really let anyone too close to her."

"That sounds lonely, but at least she seems to be quite fond of you." After a short pause, which showed how affected she was by Horikita's poor standing in class, she clapped her hands to regain some of her lost vigor. "What do you say, want to meet up for karaoke someday this week? I'll need to ask the rest of my class, but as far as I know, most of us should be free on a day or two."

"Yeah sure. That sounds good. It's been a while since I saw everyone."

We ambled back towards the dorms while chatting about the last week and other trivial matters. Ichinose demonstrated some of the moronic things Shibata was up to while moaning about Amikura's never-ending teasing.

I could only wonder about Class B's class climate, which seemed much warmer and more comfortable than what I was used to seeing in Class D.

"That reminds me, what do you think about our summer break, Ayanokouji-kun?"

"Do you mean the vacation on the tropical island?"

"Mhm, that one."

She excitedly bobbed her head while making small hops over the square-shaped paving tiles without touching the grooves. Her assets were generously bouncing around, which really distracted me from the matter at hand.

More than I'd like to admit.

"This may sound weird, but it sounds too good to be true. Chabashira-sensei's announcement reminded me of the time she told us that we'd be receiving 100.000 points each month."

"You think so too, huh... I think it's going to be a turning point."

Her cheerful expression changed into one of worry and discomfort of what might happen between the classes during this mysterious vacation.

"A turning point?"

"Yup. I believe there might be some kind of hidden task or something. With only class points from the midterms and clubs, it would be impossible for some classes to regain their deficit or overtake another class."

Ichinose was far more open about this topic than anticipated. She told me straight up that she believed that something like 'special exams' might exist, even though this wouldn't benefit her one bit.

"Mh, now that you point it out. I guess it would be impossible for Class D to make a comeback otherwise."

"Hey Ayanokouji-kun..." She stopped, struggling to voice the question that had been on her mind. My movements came to a halt, since Ichinose had also stopped walking or jumping over the pavement. "You don't have to answer, but do you know anything about any past midterm exams?"

Her hesitance to seek for confirmation was understandable. She wanted to know more about the papers I had sent her anonymously, since she also believed that the message was my doing after she realized that Class D got a large point boost during the midterms.

Establishing the connection that the tests might have originated from Class D wasn't too far fetched for someone as smart as her. Since I was friends with a majority of Class B, she must have figured that I was the most probable sender.

"You mean the old test questions, right? Kushida got them from a third year or something, I think."

"Yeah, those... we got them as well, but they were sent to me anonymously by a student."

"And now you think it was one of us?"

"I think so, yes. I exchanged contact information with almost everyone, so it wouldn't be hard to send me something anonymously, even if I hadn't given out my number to this specific person myself."

She might have been withholding her suspicions about me since I decided to keep myself hidden for now, or I severely underestimated her social abilities and she knows so many people that it was hard to narrow anything down.

"Did you guys use them as well?"

"We did, but mostly as a last resort. Even though we kept cramming the narrowed down materials, some of my classmates had difficulties with certain topics or specific math questions, so we memorized the solutions, hoping that they would really appear in the test. Our trust in these papers was definitely worth it. We got a higher average than Class A, after all."

As expected, my theory was correct, and Chiaki managed to figure it out rather quickly as well. I was glad that she took this first step without my interference, as this would make my work a lot easier. If Chiaki could handle most of the problems coming our way, I would get to spend more time like I wanted to.

"Do you think it's fine to share this information with me just like that? I mean, your friend said it herself. I'm basically an enemy, not to be trusted."

"Enemy, huh..." I gazed towards the sky while Ichinose nervously fumbled around with her fingers. "I don't think that you are an enemy. So isn't it fine? We are not only friends, but I believe that a lot can be gained from mutual exchange between two or more classes."

A light smile formed on her face before she averted her eyes. Her cheeks turned into a light pink as her lips parted.

"Hey... has a girl ever confessed her feelings for you?"

What now?

I checked my surroundings to make sure that she was still talking to me and not someone else who coincidentally walked past us, because Ichinose wasn't a person to joke about something like this.

If she asked me out right now, I would agree in a heartbeat, even though that something like this would probably never happen. She was worried yet curious about my answer, so I assumed that someone had confessed to her or was very obvious about going to, at least.

"Do I look like a guy who's ever had a girl confess her feelings to him?"

"Well actually, yes..."

She played around with her fingers, as if she was uncomfortable talking about such a topic.

Wow, really?

That surprised me more than it should have.

She wasn't entirely wrong since Chiaki basically confessed her feelings by kissing me while I was 'asleep', but I was still surprised that even someone as outgoing and social as Ichinose believed that girls would announce their feelings to me.

"Did someone confess to you?"

"Huh? Oh, mh... could you spare some time tomorrow after class?"

"Sure."

Standing beside Ichinose, I didn't know what the future would bring.

I wasn't sure if I was or would ever be ready to have a girlfriend, even though I'd like to understand these feelings some day. To experience love and youth, maybe that was a part of the dream that Matsuo had asked me about.

If he were to stand before me now and repeated his question, I doubted that I could answer him.

But I was sure that I would do so in time.

Even if he was no more.

After our lessons the next day, I went over to our meeting spot at the school entrance.

It wasn't hard to spot Ichinose, since a sea of students kept greeting and talking to the girl, who exuded an aura of pure comfort and kindness. Gazing at her from afar like this, I felt like a cheap closet pervert.

She really was criminally cute. I wouldn't be surprised if she had stolen a lot of hearts already.

With a light smile on my face, I made my way around her.

Ichinose's head swung from her left to her right. Sometimes she even tiptoed to look over the other students who obstructed her sight.

My charming schoolmate was earnestly looking for me, so I couldn't keep her waiting for much longer, right?

"Buh!"

"Uwaahhh!"

The strawberry blonde gummy bear jumped back in surprise, which drew the surrounding attention towards us. I've gotten much better with scenes like these due to Class B's help, so I wasn't as uncomfortable as I once was and felt brave enough to scare one of the most beautiful girls in this school without feeling out of place.

After a few heavy and deep breaths, to calm herself down, she began to laugh.

"Ayanokouji-kun no baka!"

I tilted my head to the side with an innocent smile on my face.

"So, where are we going?"

She put her small, still shaking hand over her heart before drawing one last calming breath.

"Follow me."

We walked for a bit until we reached the backside of the gymnasium.

This seemed like a proper place for someone to confess their feelings. I even saw scenes like this in manga before.

W-wait...

"Now then..."

A rather nervous Ichinose took yet another deep breath and faced me with a serious expression.

Wait, wait, wait. What?

I wasn't ready for such a situation.

Give me some time, would you?

What was I supposed to say?

How long should I wait with my answer?

What about Chiaki?

Would I have time to think about it, or would she expect a reply right here?

Would it be weird if I just straight up said yes before she finished her sentence?

"I think..."

There was no need to panic, no need at all.

I'll just listen to her and accept anything she says.

Wait...? What?!

"... I like you! Please go out with me!"

Authors Note:

I mentioned that Shinohara is in two clubs because of the pictures on her wiki page. There is one of the school database about the cooking club, which correlates with her 'Professional Status' in the overview on her page with the cuisine club.

There's also a picture from Volume 11, however, where the text says that she's in the volleyball club. I'm not sure if this might be a mistranslation or if she changed clubs during her time, but I couldn't find anything about this after skimming through the books again.

A short google search told me that Japanese highschool students usually only take part in one club, and that the number of students taking part in multiple clubs was rather small. I also found multiple sources claiming that students wouldn't normally change clubs during a year, which is why I opted to dump her in both clubs.

This isn't something that would have huge ramifications on the story either, but simply to show how much general knowledge Kiyotaka has accumulated thanks to Kushida compared to his canon counterpart.

- Word Count: 13090 / 59997 Characters

Released 25.06.2022

Chapter 16 - Passive

"... I like you! Please go out with me!"

Wait... what?

I admit, my emotional state wasn't the best.

Seeing Kiyotaka so close with Horikita-san yesterday hurt. The worst part was that I thought about their relationship all night and couldn't get a single whiff of sleep.

In short, I was a mess.

My lack of rest led to an inevitable downfall of any reason I still had left in me, which is why I followed Kiyotaka after classes had ended for the day. He left the classroom without talking or saying goodbye to anyone, which meant that he was probably meeting up with someone who wasn't part of our class.

I knew that following him was wrong and a violation of his privacy, but... no — I had no excuses for my behavior.

Kiyotaka ambled down the stairs next to some other students neither of us knew or cared about. He continued towards the school building's entrance and glanced at the cluster of people in front of him. After staring at someone for a few seconds, he made a sharp turn left and vanished among the crowd.

I hurried outside the building after he was gone and looked around. Too many people crossed my line of sight during that time, so I had lost trace of Kiyotaka's figure in this mass of students.

"Uwaahhh!"

A loud scream rang through the area, whereupon every single person in the vicinity turned towards the source. Due to this sudden shift, I caught a glimpse of something I had never deemed possible.

The quiet and somewhat expressionless boy in my class had apparently sneaked around Ichinose-san from Class 1-B and scared her. Even though all these gazes were homing in on them, he didn't seem to mind this situation at all as he regarded the young woman in front of him with his usual stoic expression.

"Ayanokouji-kun no baka!"

A sharp pain pierced through my heart.

These words, the surprised yet gentle smile on her face, their familiar appearance, as if they had spent time with each other frequently, and the usual poker face that Kiyotaka wore...

It hurt.

It pained me that I wasn't the one receiving this scare.

That I wasn't the one smiling at him right now.

That I wasn't the one so close to him.

I knew little about Ichinose-san, but the bits and pieces I had gathered from the other girls in my class painted a clear picture about her as a person. During my time at this school, I had met her once, during our get-together with some of the Class B girls after Yamauchi-kun was expelled.

She gave off a kind and vibrant aura, which was unique to her alone. Even with the little knowledge I possessed about her and the other students at this school, I felt that she was even more popular than Kushida-san, which couldn't be an easy feat to accomplish.

The conflicting emotions that were swirling around inside me couldn't be explained with words.

The two of them looked cute together and I couldn't have felt more frustrated by this feeling.

Both him and I, I just wanted us to be happy.

Preferably together.

If it was Ichinose-san instead of me, I could at least rest assured that she would care for him as much as I would. She was a better alternative to Horikita-san, but I wanted to see neither of them with him.

I didn't want to give up like this...

It disheartened me that those two were standing there all chummy and comfortable with each other while I hid in a group of people and shadowed him like some obsessed stalker.

After exchanging a few more words, the two of them left the area together side by side. The other students, who had already turned away from the sudden commotion, continued on their ways. Instead of following their example like a thinking, stable human being, I pushed past them and began to follow Kiyotaka and Ichinose-san.

Their short stroll ended behind the gymnasium, which was a rather unusual spot for a normal meet-up between friends, so I peeked around the corner to get a better view of what they were doing.

The Class B girl faced Kiyotaka with a nervous expression and drew a deep breath.

"Now then..."

My sleep deprived brain, which was already primed towards them having a close relationship with each other, simulated every potential conversation that could happen due to the clues I had picked up on.

A deserted place behind the gymnasium.

Ichinose-san's crimson, somewhat uneasy complexion before facing Kiyotaka.

And the words she managed to elicit her lips after a long struggle.

"I think..."

My heart began to drum like crazy as I put together the pieces of this puzzle. The adrenaline my body released kept pumping the blood through my veins stronger than ever before. It was as if time had slowed down, or even came to a halt completely.

There was only so much a girl could say to a boy at an abandoned place like this.

It was obvious what she was about to do, right?

Why else would a kind and uplifting woman like Ichinose-san walk such a handsome and mature man like Kiyotaka all the way behind the sports facilities if she wouldn't confess her feelings to him?

There was no other possibility.

Even though I wanted Kiyotaka to be happy with the girl he felt the most comfortable and loved, I could never live with myself if I didn't at least try... If I didn't voice my lingering affections for him before someone else did.

Kiyotaka...

My turbulent thoughts were faster than my mouth and I didn't manage to formulate his name before the words I yearned to tell him slipped through my lips.

Time continued to pass as two voices overlapped into one.

"... I like you! Please go out with me!"

"I think someone will confess their feelings to me here."

...

...

...

WHAT?!

An eerie, unpenetrable silence ensued.

The trees rustling in the wind; the birds' playful chirping; even the usual sounds one would hear during school hours...

Everything vanished.

Everything, except eight words that kept reverberating through my ear canal like an echo would through a cave-system.

Ichinose's whole body had trembled in surprise as she glanced past me with widened eyes. Her lips had moved as well, but the words she uttered had been overshadowed by the person she had discovered behind me.

The person who had just voiced her feelings.

While the girl in front of me was taken aback, and trying to process the situation, I recognized my classmates voice.

Ichinose's confused and bewildered gaze alternated between Chiaki's face and my own. Her complexion, which had been a healthy pink, turned into a darker shade of red with every alternation.

As I turned around to the new arrival, she finished processing the situation as well. The charming lips on her blushing face parted once again before Ichinose or I could say or do anything and dispelled the ensued silence.

"I... I... I'm so sorry!"

She bowed, almost touching the ground in the process. Tears had gathered in her eyes as she raised her head and ran away with a deep crimson-colored face. Her soft steps, which should have crunched the grass beneath her shoes, didn't even register in my ears, as I was still occupied with working through her previous words.

Her echoes vanished, and the sounds returned.

The wind brushed past the trees and rustled through the leaves. Birds kept chirping and gathering branches and twigs to build their nest beneath the gymnasium's roof, and the familiar sounds on the school grounds returned as well.

"Umm... shouldn't you go after her, Ayanokouji-kun?"

The second girl with a beet-red complexion peeked at me, before she returned to stare a hole into the ground. Her fingers slid over a letter, which she had hidden behind her back as Chiaki jumped around the corner.

"I don't think that I should go after her right now. Chiaki's mind should be nothing but a mess after she realized that she misunderstood our meeting here. I believe that I should give her some time to cool down and gather her thoughts. If I run after her while she is this embarrassed and conscious about what she did, I would only make things worse." My words were slow but concise. "I will also need a few minutes to process what just happened, so I wouldn't mind finishing our business here first to put my mind off things. I'll look for Chiaki after we both had enough time to process."

Kushida was a great mask with an infinitely large amount of facets I could use.

This one was confusion, with a hint of anxiety and portrayed someone with a mind in shambles, someone who was struggling with the current situation. Even though my mind was still as sharp and unimpaired as always, I needed Ichinose to believe that I was affected by this sudden confession to a human degree.

I had seen Kushida's sentiments multiple times when I broke her apart, but I wasn't well versed in executing them myself just yet. In principle, I was nothing but a small child that tried to imitate a famous actor with years of experience.

"Are you sure...?"

Ichinose, who was also affected by this sudden change in atmosphere, tilted her head.

She seemed to be of the opinion that I should have run after her, but I was convinced that this would have been the wrong move in this situation. Chiaki must have misread this whole scene and wanted to cut off her 'rival' before she could 'confess' to me.

This was not only out of character for a gentle girl like her, but she would also feel horrible about what she had done. Even though Ichinose hadn't planned on declaring her feelings to me, Chiaki was ready to sabotage her in order to voice her own.

The right decision right now was to give her enough space and time to reflect on everything that had happened. We could still talk about her, me and us after she was in a stable state of mind.

"Yes, I'm sure. Don't worry about it and please continue. You said that someone wanted to confess their feelings to you here. Is that right?"

Class B's leader was still hesitant. She became silent for a moment before choosing to trust my decision.

"Y-yeah. I found this letter..."

The strawberry-blonde handed me the folded paper, which she had concealed behind her back.

It felt morally wrong to read and analyze a message addressed to another person, but I had the recipients permission, so this ought to be fine. Since she was asking me for help, I should do my best to support her.

The letter itself was adorned with a small panda sticker that wore a shy expression and was holding onto a heart, a heart-shaped one, not an anatomically correct representation. The handwriting was almost artistic, because every single line and slope had been taken care of with utmost care and perfection.

Due to the light pink color of the letter, I assumed that the sender was a girl. A boy would have chosen another, more neutral shade for theirs.

Ichinose came to me for help, which she wouldn't have done if she could have asked someone in her own class, so it was safe to assume that the sender originated from Class B. Her admirer was artistic and paid close attention to Ichinose, since she was in possession of a complementary handkerchief to the sticker...

Shiranami Chihiro.

She was a sweet girl who exuded a soothing presence to the surrounding people. Whenever we hung out together, she tried to stay close to Ichinose. According to Kushida's intel, she was part of the Art club as well.

Taking such a big step forward must have been more than heart-wrenching for her, especially since we were living a society where not everyone was fine with same-sex relationships. They were more accepted than before, but still frowned upon by some people.

What concerned me more than her bravery, however, were the meeting time and location, which were behind the gym where we stood in about ten minutes.

I raised my head after finishing my preliminary examination.

"Wouldn't it be better if I weren't here?"

Ichinose had looked at me the whole time while I was reading the letter. As soon as our eyes met, she averted her gaze towards the ground and smoothed the surrounding grass with her foot.

"Love is kind of alien to me. I don't know how to respond without hurting her feelings. I also don't know if we can manage to stay friends afterwards... so I wanted to ask you to help me..."

At first, I couldn't believe that she didn't know how confessions worked, but after a few seconds of thinking it over, I reached a conceivable conclusion I could work with.

Ichinose was too perfect.

Few boys would have the guts to confess to someone unattainable like her, knowing that they would most likely be rejected. She was not only beautiful but also smart, kind and funny. Her positive charisma was off the charts, which is why most people wouldn't bother even trying to get together with her, because they deemed such a future impossible.

It was almost comedic how popular and beautiful girls like her wouldn't get confessed to, not because they weren't good enough, but because they were considered too unreachable by a potential admirer.

For most, gazing at her from afar and looking for someone attainable was the obvious course of action.

Being asked out by a girl would make this situation even more distressing for both parties, due to the additional hurdles that needed to be overcome. Yet this brave adolescent was ready to stand up for her wishes and feelings.

Shiranami's courage was impressive, and she had earned my utmost respect.

"Are you sure I'm the right person to ask? You saw what just happened. This was anything but smooth, and I still don't know if I made the right decision to allow her some time to calm down. Aren't there any people in Class B who could help you?"

I knew that Ichinose was outsourcing because it was the most sensible option in her opinion, but there was no need to reveal my conclusions at this stage.

"The person confessing to me... she is from Class B."

Still, what was I supposed to do?

Play her boyfriend?

"I doubt you'd be going around telling people... but I'd like for you to keep this a secret."

She peered at me and fumbled around with her fingers in order to calm down.

"Of course. My lips are sealed. But I still don't know what exactly I'm doing here."

"I really don't understand why this is happening."

Her surprise was genuine.

She didn't know why someone thought of her as a good partner, which confused me. No matter how dense someone was, it was hard, no — almost impossible, to think of her as someone who wouldn't deserve the best.

I'd like to tell her otherwise, but this would not only be awkward but also out of place after I was confessed to just a few moments ago. Ichinose undervalued herself in her own view, but I didn't know why. I couldn't think of anyone who, given the chance, wouldn't go out with her.

"My previous plan was to ask you if you could pretend to be my boyfriend... but after what just happened, there is no way that I could do something like this to Matsushita-san, who had just poured her heart out to you."

"Me pretending to be your boyfriend? May I ask how you came to that conclusion?"

"Upon receiving this letter, I did some research about this topic. I discovered that the rejected person wouldn't feel as bad if the object of their affection is already in a relationship, so..."

She fell silent since her plan had already blown up into her face before she could begin to execute it.

This time, it was my turn to heave a sigh.

After what she just said, she should have realized that her way of rejecting Shiranami was a mistake. Yet, Ichinose was still clueless and looked to me for help. She had noticed the subtle changes in my bearing and caressed her hand.

"I like you, Ichinose..." Ichinose's expression didn't change despite hearing these words, because she had realized that the voice I adopted differed to Chiaki's. "... but what you were planning on doing is nothing but plain cruel."

Her gentle, insecure expression broke as her eyes contorted in disbelief and confusion.

"W-what?"

"I'm sure that you had the best intentions. I really believe that, but you are going about this in an entirely wrong way. Do you see that? Or do I have to explain it to you?"

Ichinose Honami was a kind girl.

This was one of the reasons that she tried her best to create a situation to let her devotee get off easy. There was no need to shatter her heart, if she could just utter a white lie to protect her frail existence.

In her naïve mind, this would save both of them from heartbreak.

But in the end, it would only worsen the situation they were in.

Even if Chiaki hadn't confessed to me and I agreed to play her boyfriend for a while, her idea would have been unnecessarily cruel towards the other person who felt nothing but sincere love for her.

No — It would have been straight up disrespectful.

The receiver shouldn't lie under any circumstances after a person finally found the courage to confess their feelings towards another, no matter how pure or kindhearted their intentions were.

In the best-case scenario, she would never find out about the lie. Yet there would always be a small spark of hope in her heart, that Ichinose might have agreed had she not been in a relationship with me.

In the worst-case scenario, she might realize that the reason for her rejection was nothing but a hoax and would be devastated for the rest of her life.

Both paths were more painful than the truth, for either of them.

Ichinose's clumsy and naïve thoughts were enough evidence to prove that she had never been in love with someone. Otherwise, she should have realized how Shiranami must have felt.

Since her mind was set on rejecting the confession, there was bound to be pain.

At least one person would get hurt today, and Shiranami had prepared for this eventuality. Knowing Ichinose, she would hurt herself just as much in the process.

That was what love felt like, or so I believed.

"..."

Class B's leader was still thinking about my words, but we didn't have an unlimited amount of time at our disposal. Shiranami would soon arrive, which is why I had to bring an end to Ichinose's misguided thoughts.

"Confessing your feelings to someone isn't easy. Actually, it is incredibly hard. You spend every day in complete anguish as you create the experience in your head over and over. And yet, you still can't bring yourself to declare your feelings to this person. Even when you finally managed to make up your mind, the words, 'I like you', get stuck in your throat. You can't get them out, because you cannot stop worrying what the response will be." I paused for a moment to let these words sink in. "Take Chiaki, for example. She didn't wake up today and decided to confess to me. She acted out of impulse, out of fear that you would declare your affection to me before she had the chance. It must have been a horrible experience for her, which is why she deserves an honest answer for her courage, whether it's good or bad. If you don't make the situation clear for both parties, you are going to regret it later. At least that's what I think."

"Um, Ichinose-san... Ayanokouji-kun? What are you doing here?"

Shiranami Chihiro's smooth voice burst through the previously ensued silence. Her tone was shaky and unnerved since she had expected no one aside from Ichinose to wait at this location.

"Oh, hey Shiranami. Are you also joining us at karaoke tomorrow?"

The new arrival regarded me with a smile, realizing that my presence was nothing but a coincidence.

"Um, yeah, almost everyone is planning to join. It's a shame that we have lessons during the morning, though..."

Usually, a sick teacher would be substituted on that day, but if none were available, the lessons would be put on hold until enough absences due to illness had accumulated. The students would have free time during this period and had to make up for the lost lessons on a Saturday.

Tomorrow would be the first time that this occurrence took place in our year.

I was curious if lessons on a Saturday differed to the ones during the week. Not much would change for the teachers, but I wondered how the students would behave throughout the lessons, since it should have been a day off.

"Say, Ayanokouji-kun, is it alright if I talk to Honami-chan... alone?"

I glanced at both of them for a moment before nodding.

"Oh sorry, you guys were meeting up. I didn't plan on intruding, so I'll be going then. Bye Ichinose, Shiranami."

"See you tomorrow, Ayanokouji-kun."

The girl was relieved and waved me goodbye while hiding her nervousness behind a forced smile as I left. Ichinose wasn't in a good state either, since she had been mute ever since her devotee showed up.

I had no business in Shiranami's resolve and her inevitable downfall thereafter.

Because similar to Ichinose, I had my own confession to deal with.

After I left the area, I pulled out my phone and checked Chiaki's GPS location.

Unfortunately, she had turned the setting off, and her dot was nowhere to be seen. I had a few ideas where she might have gone, but most of them were shots in the dark.

My best guess was the rooftop where she had kissed me.

The effort I had to put into not opening my eyes at that moment was excruciating. Even though she had just kissed my cheek, I remembered every single detail, as if it had happened a few seconds ago.

Her warm and soft lips were far above everything I had ever felt before.

Chiaki had been hesitant, gentle and smooth, yet forceful and determined at the same time. I hadn't been aware that such opposing factors could coexist, but at that moment, they did.

Since she bravely yelled out her feelings, I had to respond properly to her confession.

A teary-eyed Shiranami ran past me as I typed out two messages and leaned against the railing over-viewing the sea.

Despite such a shocking image, all I could do was wonder whether she would come to our karaoke meet-up after this. It was an absurd, almost contemptuous thought process, but I was still interested.

With not much to do, I waited for a moment, both for a reply to my messages and for Ichinose to come this way. Rejecting Shiranami's confession must have been hard for her as well, so I wanted to see if she was okay.

"Ah..."

She looked awkward, uncomfortable even, and averted her gaze when she noticed my presence. Class B's leader trudged over with a lowered head and a wry, sorrowful smile on her face.

"I'm sorry, for before."

I shook my head and gazed over the ocean.

"There is no need to be. You had her best interest in mind, I know that. But you haven't thought far enough about the consequences and her feelings regarding that matter. I'm sure that, whatever the two of you talked about, it'll be fine. She deserved honesty for her courage and you gave it to her. That's all anyone could ask for."

Ichinose nodded with a solemn expression as she moved beside me.

"Yes, I failed to respect Chihiro-chan's feelings. But thanks to you, I won't make the same mistake again. I just hope that we can carry on as usual, somehow or some time." She stared up in the air and leaned against the fence right beside me. "Love is really tough, huh?"

"Sure is..."

A sigh escaped her lips before she turned her head towards me.

"But enough about me. What are you going to do?"

"The same as you. I will tell her the truth. That is what she deserves."

She kept staring at my eyes, which were focused on the ocean and inquired no more about this topic.

I was thankful that she deemed this none of her business and abstained from asking any further questions.

The two of us stood beside each other in silence, not knowing what to say. A lot was going on in both of our minds, so this brief pause was a welcome one.

Yet, I chose to break the silence after a few more seconds.

"Sorry about the lecture."

The wind was quite strong near the ocean, so she wiped a few strands of hair out of her face and let out a chuckle while her sapphire-blue eyes gazed straight into mine.

"No... rather than you apologizing, I have to thank you for it. At least my decision was half right. It was correct talking to you about my problem."

The smile she wore at that moment could have single-handedly started and stopped wars.

"Why me anyway?"

She turned her gaze towards the setting sun and rested it on her arms, which were folded over the railing.

"Over the past months, I've gotten to know you pretty well. Or so I think. I figured you would be good with this kind of stuff, even though I knew you were really uncomfortable with people in the beginning. You are also the maturest person I know so I liked the idea of having your support when I was struggling. 'It would end up fine with him there', or something like that went through my head."

"You are putting an awful lot of trust into an enemy."

Upon hearing this, her head shot up and turned in my direction. Just a few seconds ago, I had thought that her smile couldn't get any brighter. Yet when I glanced at her, I couldn't believe how much bliss she radiated.

"Is that a smile I'm spotting there? Enemy-kun?"

Her sunny expression turned into a teasing smirk.

"That's not at all possible."

"Ohhh, sure it is. It's right there. Want me to take a picture?" She was about to pull out her phone when she panicked. "Wait. Don't stop smiling! What are you doing?"

Ichinose reached out to me and grabbed my cheeks. She kept giggling and pulled them left and right to force a certain expression back on my face.

Even though I was denying it, I was pretty sure that I had indeed smiled.

Albeit a little.

After Ichinose and I separated, I walked up to the rooftop.

Chiaki herself still hadn't replied to my message, but Kushida's social net was unescapable. Since she wasn't in her room and couldn't be found anywhere else in the school, I had a good feeling that she would be here.

A location of happy memories, even though they were founded on a one-sided assault, so to speak.

My eyes caught sight of Chiaki's back as I entered the rooftop through the only door available. She just sat on the ground, approximately where she had slept, and stared away into the distance.

I sneaked closer with soft steps because I didn't want to alarm or scare her while she was going through so much. Before long, I arrived beside my precious classmate and sat down to stare at the birds with her.

Chiaki glanced at me for a moment, but soon turned back to face forward, observing the horizon. Her eyes were red, swollen and watery from the tears she must have shed during the time she remained here. She bit her lip to cope with the feelings that overcame her after looking at me and sniffled.

I didn't know the first thing about love, but I had to answer her proclamation.

For her sake.

Even though she had confessed out of a misdirected feeling of necessity, it was still a proper declaration, with all her bottled up feelings, her hopes and her dreams. She laid them bare in front of me, not knowing how I might react.

"You surprised me."

"I surprised myself..."

A long stretch of silence followed her meek voice. Chiaki leaned her head against her interlaced arms and faced away from me to escape the lingering pain.

This must have been a difficult situation for her.

She confessed and declared her feelings without planning to. Not only did she have to wait a long time to hear my answer, which wasn't a good sign to begin with, but someone else she didn't know very well had heard her proclamation, which must have been unnerving.

A spiteful person might say that it was her fault for running off, but I understood what must've been going through her head during the whole time. Chiaki must have been worried, embarrassed, and depressed.

She must have been a mess.

But I wasn't much different in that regard.

This confession came unexpectedly, which wasn't a surprise since even she was unaware that she would announce her feelings towards me today. Thanks to Ichinose and Shiranami, I had time to sort my thoughts as well.

"Sorry that it took so long to get back to you. I just thought that it would do both of us a favor if we had some time to calm down and gather our thoughts before we talk again."

"It's not your fault... I was the one who ran away..."

Her voice sounded like my own — monotone and emotionless.

I realized that I had made the wrong decision.

Waiting so long without receiving an answer, or even running after her... she must have been feeling dreadful.

"Do you want me to leave?"

Her body quivered as she shook her head.

"No..."

"Can I tell you my reply, then?"

Chiaki took a deep breath to steel herself.

She was prepared to receive a negative answer since it had taken me so long to go after her. If both of our feelings aligned, there would have been no reason to take time away from the inevitable bliss that would follow, since both parties in the relationship could share their happiness with each other that much sooner.

But this wasn't such a black and white decision for me.

In her view, I had already made up my mind before as she ran away. She was sure that I would decline her advances and hoped that we could somehow remain friends, even after I shattered her heart.

This was the reason she didn't manage to look into my eyes until that moment.

Chiaki turned towards me and raised her head. Her ocean-blue spheres trembled as our gazes entwined. After all this time to prepare herself, she was ready to face the consequences for her actions.

Even though it might be uncomfortable, it was a ritual two people had to go through to accomplish a confession. Whether it was a successful or a failed one didn't factor into the equation.

"I'm not very experienced with stuff like this..."

My classmate kept quiet and listened to the words that rolled off my lips.

This was her current part, something she could not interfere with.

After her heartfelt confession came my honest reply.

No matter how it would turn out, our relationship would change because of this single exchange. If even Ichinose wasn't sure whether she could continue like usual after this confession, then neither Chiaki nor I had any hope to even imagine what might become of us.

"...but I enjoy spending time with you. I like our talks, silly chats and sudden nightly shopping tours. I look forward to the days we meet up to eat ice cream, or do something different. It doesn't really matter what we do, because everything is fine as long as we are together."

My voice was as monotone and emotionless as always.

I could only hope that she would believe me despite these facts, since not a single lie was spoken. These were my true feelings, because she deserved as much after plucking up the courage to confess to me. It was only fair to answer honestly after she had made the first step towards a potential 'us'.

"I don't really know what it means to be boyfriend and girlfriend, or what it means to... be together with someone."

How did she look at that moment?

My eyes gazed into hers, but it was impossible to read her expression.

I was too occupied with the words that left my mouth as the seconds passed.

All of this could have been a buildup to the painful words that she didn't want to hear, a gentle refusal which would enable us to stay friends even after I hurt her. Or it could have been a preparation for my own confession of sorts.

"But I'd like to find that out with you. If you haven't reconsidered, that is."

Chiaki's reddened, swollen eyes widened. Her two orbs sparkled in joy before she bent forward and jumped me with the most beautiful, joyous smile I had ever witnessed.

No training in the White Room or anywhere else could have prepared me to dodge such an attack.

Due to the force she put into her embrace, we tumbled over backwards. A few small teardrops dripped onto my face as the remnants of her lingering doubts were swept away by feelings of delight and euphoria.

"I'd like that too... I also have no experience with this... but I don't care. Let's find out together what it means to be boyfriend and girlfriend. The two of us, from now on..."

Her voice shook with every syllable that left her enchanting lips.

The words she expressed were hard to understand, not because she was facing away from me or due to her frustration, but because of how happy and relieved she was now that I had accepted her proclamation. Her heart as well couldn't stop beating in a dangerous rhythm as she clung onto me.

With this, the confession scene ended.

The next chapters would be our first experiences in these new, unfamiliar roles.

Neither of us knew what the future would bring, but both of us were looking forward to everything that was to come.

It was at this moment of pure bliss and happiness...

Growl!

"Hyaaa~."

My girlfriend buried her head into my chest even deeper than before.

Rumble!

"Nhhhh~,"

No, it wasn't a thunderstorm, an earthquake or anything remotely close to that.

"Um, Chiaki? Are you perhaps hungry?"

"Kiyobmhh..."

The muffled sounds that escaped her mouth were hard to interpret since she kept burrowing into my chest while flailing around. I couldn't see her expression, but her ears had turned crimson.

Did she just call me Kiyobaka?

No, it must've been -taka.

Yes. Surely...

"Let's grab a bite?"

She shook her head — burrowed in my chest.

"Aren't you hungry?"

She nodded — still burrowed in my chest.

"Then shouldn't we get... something?"

Her mouth moved again, but it was impossible to understand even a single word because she had pressed herself against me in such a way that no sounds made it through.

"Chiaki. I can't hear you, you know?"

"I can't possibly leave this roof looking like that!"

She raised her tomato-colored head and looked into my eyes. Her pupils quivered as happy-tears dripped onto my uniform. My shy girlfriend averted her gaze and continued to hide in my embrace.

Thus, we kept sitting there, in that exact hugging position, for the next hour.

...

"Huuuuh. We can go now, Kiyotaka."

After quite some time and a deep, relaxing breath, Chiaki decided that she was ready to leave the rooftop. Her complexion was much better, as she had managed to regain a healthy color. Her heartbeat as well was only marginally elevated instead of through the roof like before.

"Okay then..."

I stood first and extended my hand towards her.

She wore the most fascinating smile as she grasped my fingers. Her grip was determined and smooth. My rough hands couldn't even be compared with the softness her own carried.

"My butt is all cold and sore..."

I made a mental note for a doctor's appointment, since my ears were failing me.

"What?"

"Huh?! Eh... n-nothing. Nothing at all."

As I thought, she said nothing...

With that conversation at the back of my mind, the two of us ambled down the stairs with slow steps.

We were kind of awkward at first, neither of us too sure on how to behave. Eventually, we found our rhythm. Walking side by side, our hands grazed past each other from time to time. They touched for a moment and separated just as quickly.

Every time this pleasant contact between us took place, she averted her gaze. Her ears, which had previously regained their normal color, turned into a deep shade of pink yet again.

Neither of us made the so-called first move.

We were still overwhelmed about today and unanimously decided that we would take things at our own pace. This wasn't bad at all, since neither she nor I had any idea how to behave as boyfriend and girlfriend. The two of us were a couple now and I couldn't even follow Hirata's example, because I knew that he and Karuizawa weren't in a genuine relationship.

This was an entirely new phenomenon for me.

I was glad that we were both struggling in our new roles. Due to this, we could lean on each other and experience this relationship as two equals. Two people who didn't know what they were doing most of the time.

One of the important prerequisites for a successful and long-lasting relationship were conversations, but this was not a problem for the two of us.

We both knew that the other was just as clumsy and inexperienced, which acted as a safety net of sorts.

"Kiyotaka? When are we going to tell people about u-us being a coup... in a relationship?"

The flustered and shy Chiaki was incredibly cute.

Every word that somehow labeled us was spoken with hesitance and in a quiet tone of voice. It was refreshing to see the level-headed class leader so defenseless and clumsy around me.

"Mh, I don't know. I wouldn't tell anyone, not directly at least, but that's just me. If someone asks or figures it out themselves, I wouldn't deny it, of course, but I'm not like Karuizawa and could proudly announce to the class that I'm in a relationship. It's not that I'm not proud of us being a couple, but it's just the way I am, I guess."

"I get what you mean. I couldn't do that either..." A cute chuckle rang through the stairwell. "Would it be okay if I told Karuizawa-san and Satou-san? They would probably spread it around to our classmates and it wouldn't be that much of a hassle for the two of us, I think..."

"Sure, I certainly won't stop my cute girlfriend."

Even though I had a bad feeling about this decision.

"Ummm..." She ducked away to hide her tomato-colored face before she turned around again with a pout. "Your poker face is too mean. I want one too!"

"Sorry about that."

Another giggle rang through the building as we made our way to the place we decided for dinner.

The next morning started like any other.

I freshened up, performed a few exercises to keep my physique in shape, and ate a light breakfast. Afterwards, I grabbed my schoolbag and strode to the classroom.

A friend of mine, Kushida Kikyou, greeted me as soon as I stepped into the room.

Her attitude was a given, since we were still working on our 'close friendship', which we would show our friends and the other students. Aside from me, she approached a few other close friends as well, which would elevate me onto a similar level in their eyes.

I sat down at my desk and turned towards my grumpy neighbor, the ice queen.

"Good morning, Horikita."

She raised her head after finishing the paragraph in her book.

"Good morning, Ayanokouji-kun."

After a cold and concise acknowledgment, she refocused on her novel.

She was mad, wasn't she?

Sakura also entered the classroom a while later and sat down at her desk with minimal movements, as not to attract any unwanted attention. I made my way over and channeled my inner Kushida to ask about the camera, since I was sure that she would be too nervous to approach me herself.

"Good morning Sakura."

"G-good morning, Ayanokouji-kun."

The girl was surprised that I initiated a conversation with her, as if she had already forgotten that we had planned to meet up. That, or she wasn't prepared to be talked to this early in the morning.

"About the camera repair. Would tomorrow be good for you?"

"Ah, um... that would be okay, yes. Is that fine with you?"

Her voice was quiet and hesitant.

Since the squaller, Ike, wasn't here yet, I had no trouble understanding her. Some other guys, like Hondou and Okitani, who were already in a bad mood because this should have been our day off, eyed me with suspicious and malicious glares.

"Yeah sure. Say tomorrow afternoon around 2pm?"

"That would be good, yes... Thank you again for accompanying me."

Sakura bowed and averted her eyes.

"Please don't thank me for that. I still feel responsible for running into you. The least I could do is lend you my time."

A shy smile spread over her face before she buried herself in a reference book for a topic we wouldn't be talking about today. Since she had agreed to our meet-up, I figured that my business with her was done and trotted back to my desk.

My girlfriend entered the classroom about five minutes later.

Chiaki flushed the moment she laid her eyes on me, which was the second she had walked in. Upon noticing her own obvious behavior, she averted her gaze and clenched her bag.

"G-good morning, K-kiyotaka."

"Good morning, Chiaki."

She hurried towards her desk with a lowered and thoroughly crimson-colored head after this exchange, which had been no different from our usual greetings in the morning.

The guys once again eyed me with suspicion.

This time, even more of them had picked up on the weird occurrences between me and the opposite sex. Ike and Sudou, whose dark circles extended towards the ground, stumbled into the room as well. They exchanged greetings with their friends just seconds before the whispers began to outweigh their casual chats.

Even though it was Saturday, the classroom fell into a familiar chaos as more people arrived.

But this 'chaos' was nothing in face of what was yet to come.

I still didn't know how everything had started, but Chiaki had been far too self-aware.

Both Karuizawa and Satou weren't stupid, especially with gossip like this. Even the guys realized that something was different, so it wasn't weird that the other girls had also noticed that Chiaki's behavior differed from usual.

My poor girlfriend was swarmed from all sides before I knew it.

I felt sorry for her, as I peacefully sat at my desk, but what else was I supposed to do? She had decided to tell them, so as a good boyfriend, I shouldn't interfere...

... or should I?

Being a boyfriend was already shaping up to be one of the most difficult experiences I had undergone to date.

Like a flock of seagulls who had been waiting for a shoal of fish to swim into their domain, the girls turned towards me in an instant. Their movements were identical to each other, as they eyed me with a hint of excitement or hunger.

This was going to end up terribly, wasn't it?

""""""Ayanokouji-kun!""""""

The girls swarmed me like a torrent of starving piranhas and kept asking me questions, most of which I couldn't understand due to other people asking their own at the same time.

Why didn't something like this happen when Hirata and Karuizawa got together?

According to the sorry-glance our knight in shining armor threw me, I could infer that I had missed an important moment in his life that might have shaped his future.

I felt horrible.

He could have warned me... seriously.

The tomato-colored Chiaki peered at me from below her elbow and mouthed pitiful excuses before hiding away again. Some girls still pestered her for answers, but most of them had set their sights on me since they deemed me to be the weaker link in our relationship.

Horikita, who had been reading her book until now, was irritated by this sudden influx of people in her vicinity. She was about to complain and shoo them away, but once the words 'Chiaki's boyfriend' fell, she stared at me with wide, trembling eyes.

After this shock, she buried her head in her novel.

Of course, she was annoyed by all these people...

Most of the boys, except for Kouenji, who was still admiring himself in the mirror, Hirata and a few others who weren't interested in gossip like Yukimura, threw me dozens of death glares after the news reached their ears. The worst of them was Ike, who couldn't stop badmouthing me in front of his friends.

Sudou, who seemed genuinely happy for me, smacked his head while Sakura followed the sudden spectacle with a worried expression. The confused Professor also trudged into the classroom and was caught off-guard by the crowd that had formed around my desk.

The girls asked me a plethora of questions, most of them innocent ones that Chiaki could have answered as well. Since they were still curious, I decided to keep the answers to myself to honor my girlfriends decision.

Instead, I replied to the simple ones like, 'since when?' and 'did you kiss already?'.

I probably shouldn't throw my girlfriend in front of the dogs and tell them that she did, in fact, kiss me while I was pretending to be asleep, so I told them that we hadn't done so yet.

Kushida's feelings on this subject seemed to be torn.

She didn't stick around like the other girls, but talked to the new arrivals like the Professor and the other guys who were interested and shared the information she had about the situation. Even though she kept up enough of her mask for the other students in our class, she wouldn't be able to fool me with her act.

It was a given that she felt worry and insecurity because of Chiaki.

She knew what kind of person I was and wondered what this new development meant for our relationship. Kushida feared that I wanted to replace her with my girlfriend, but that wasn't at all the case.

My interrogation continued for a few more minutes until the bell rang and the teacher strode into the room. Everyone went back to their desks, and the morning began as usual.

After a few hours of boring classes, lunch break arrived.

"L-let's go to the c-cafeteria?"

Chiaki's face was once again going through the different shades of red, but she seemed to get better at handling herself. This wasn't the first time she had invited me to eat together, but since this was her first time as my girlfriend, she was nervous about asking me out.

"Yeah, I'll be right with you."

After grabbing my materials and stuffing them into the bag, I stood and walked towards her. Before I arrived, she jumped forward and latched onto my arm, with her whole body quivering.

While some girls were fawning, 'Kyaaa~ they are so cute,' others were doing their own thing and ignored us. A majority of the guys, however, wished me the most horrible death they could imagine, which I didn't really understand.

Due to her own stunt, Chiaki couldn't raise her head, but her flushed ears were enough proof to assume that the rest of her face wouldn't look that much different.

It was quite bizarre how different boys and girls acted amongst each other when a new couple emerged.

I had never noticed this before, for obvious reasons, but girls were a lot more welcoming than boys. They were happy for their friends and wished them the best in their new relationship, or at least most of them. The guys were a separate matter altogether, as they weren't even trying to suppress the envy they leaked through the classroom.

"Matsushita-san, why are you with that plain and boring guy, of all people? Tell me a single reason he's better than me!"

Ike's demand, after not being able to stomach that I got a girlfriend, was as twisted as one should have expected from him. He hadn't realized that his behavior was the reason that no girls aside from Kushida wanted to talk to him.

"A single reason is hard... there are so many to choose from..."

Chiaki's embarrassed complexion vanished as she put her finger onto her chin and began to contemplate Ike's question.

"Wha —"

The relaxed attitude with which she had answered confused him, but he wasn't able to answer as the other girls drowned him in laughter, dismissing him and his disrespectful opinion without even flinching. His reputation with the opposite sex had been bad before, but it got considerably worse because of this single remark.

Even if he decided to say something outrageous, he shouldn't have done this in front of the whole class.

He hadn't only messed with Chiaki, who acted as one of our leaders, but also infuriated Karuizawa and all the other girls who followed her, since I was close to her as well. Even though we never met up on our own, Karuizawa was someone I would consider a friend, as opposed to a friend of a friend.

We left him standing with his mouth agape and ignored his cheap provocation before we ambled towards the cafeteria. Just like yesterday, we kept walking side-by-side, closer to each other than before. Even though this had been something we had done multiple times, it felt different now that we were a couple.

"Choose a set. It's my treat." I grabbed one of the expensive meals and glanced at my girlfriend, who regarded me with a puzzled expression. "It's my turn this time, remember?"

It took only a moment before she broke out into a smile.

"Ah, right... Will you be alright though? Didn't you say you were in trouble with your points?"

"I wouldn't offer it to you now if I couldn't handle the price, right? It's true that we are all low on points at the moment, but it's definitely enough to have a nice first meal with my cute girlfriend."

Chiaki blushed and took one of the expensive meal sets as well before averting her gaze towards the ground.

After my payment, we scoured the cafeteria for an empty table. Unfortunately for us, there wasn't a single one that wasn't occupied. With no other choice, I decided to intrude on some familiar people.

"Is it alright with you if we sit with them?"

She glanced over at the table at which I pointed and peeked at my face.

"Yeah, sure. I'd like to meet your friends."

Since she didn't mind sitting with them, we strode over to the group that was already eating.

Kanzaki and Shibata waved me over as soon as they caught sight of me.

"Yo, Ayanokouji! Not finding a spot, huh? Wanna sit with us?"

Without waiting for my reply, Shibata moved closer to Kanzaki, who moved farther away in return. At the end of their little cat-and-mouse game, the two of them made enough space for two more people on their side of the bench.

"If you don't mind, thanks."

As we sat down, I caught sight of Ichinose's surprised and somewhat conflicted expression.

"I'm Matsushita Chiaki. It's nice to meet Kiyotaka's friends."

She bowed with a smile.

"Ohh, nice to meet you, Matsushita-san. A friend of Ayanokouji-kun is a friend of ours! I'm Amikura Mako."

My troublesome schoolmate patted her chest and grinned before stuffing her mouth with an apple slice.

"I'm Shibata So. Nice to meet you."

He waved with a friendly smile on his face.

"Kanzaki Ryuji."

"Oy, you ass-hat. Be more sociable, will ya?"

Shibata smacked Kanzaki's head and bowed it down to mirror Chiaki's behavior.

The whole table began to laugh since the two of them always bickered with each other like this. It took a few moments for everyone to calm down again and for the last person to introduce herself.

"I'm Ichinose Honami. We already met at the karaoke with a few of your classmates. I'd like to apologize for the misunderstanding I've caused yesterday, but it seems like everything worked out fine in the end."

Class B's leader bowed as well, while Amikura glanced at her with a dangerous expression.

"Ahh, no... Please, you don't have to apologize. I was the one jumping to conclusions and... well, I did something I shouldn't have done. My behavior towards you was cruel, and I felt horrible after I managed to calm down. Kiyotaka assured me that you wouldn't be mad, but I feel obligated to apologize for what I've done regardless."

Chiaki made a deep bow, demonstrating her feelings about this matter.

After everything was said and done, she had hated herself for crashing Ichinose's 'confession'. Nothing bad had happened because it hadn't been one, but neither of us had known this at that point in time. Despite this, Chiaki had voiced her feelings, which would have turned Ichinose's confession into a wreckage.

If she had done this with anyone else, she would have probably been hated for the rest of her three years.

"It's fine, really. I understand that it must have been difficult for you as well. Under such circumstances, a temporary lapse in judgement is excusable. Please don't feel bad anymore. I don't think any less of you just because you followed your passion."

Ichinose was merciful, as expected.

After my talk with her, she had enough information to understand how difficult a time the confessing person would have, which gave her a broader view of everything that had happened yesterday. Even if that hadn't been the case, I doubted that Ichinose would have been too mad at Chiaki.

This might have been different if she had really wanted to confess, though.

"Heh... What's going on here, hmm?"

My girlfriend would learn what an incredibly dangerous woman Amikura was sooner rather than later.

"Um..."

Ichinose fell silent, since it wasn't her place to tell this tale. Chiaki sighed, before a dry laugh escaped her lips.

"Well, Ichinose-san asked Kiyotaka for help yesterday and I somehow thought that she wanted to confess to him. So..." She stopped, realizing what she had done once again. "I... I wasn't in a very good state, so I... before she... could... Something like that..."

Her explanation was filled with confidence because she wanted to stand up for the mistake she had made. The closer she got towards the end, however, the less courage she had left, which is why she trailed off in embarrassment and sunk into silence.

Ichinose helped her out afterwards, proving that there was no bad blood between them. She filled a few holes without throwing her in front of the wolves and kept quiet about Shiranami's confession as well.

"Hoooo? Honami-chan, you little vixen. That's what I'd call a wing woman!"

"Wha — Mako-chan!"

While Amikura kept teasing Ichinose, Shibata leaned towards me.

"Congrats buddy!" He patted my bag. "Was she the one... you know? Back at the karaoke?"

I almost choked on the meat I had just swallowed and began to cough.

"Got it. We'll take your secret to our graves!"

He nodded after my reaction, which had been more than enough to assume the answer. While the two of us were whispering, Kanzaki was at a loss for words and shook his head before putting some vegetables into his mouth.

"How do you guys know each other? You are all from Class B, right?"

Chiaki grabbed her chopsticks after this long and uncomfortable introduction.

This was a fair question to ask, especially after considering my usual habits of socializing, which were, as she knew as well, non-existent. She must have been surprised that I was friends with all of them and not only Ichinose.

"Ichinose-san brought Mr. Pokerface over some day and we've been hanging out ever since. He seems to have gotten a lot better with people during that time, too."

"Still couldn't tickle a smile out of that one, though."

"But a lot of paling! Especially when he mmpff..."

Thank you Kanzaki, I owe you one.

Big time.

After this short bout to familiarize everyone with each other, we ate our meals and talked about what we were up to and other such trivial things. Unlike our classmates, neither of them asked questions about our relationship, for which I was quite thankful for.

I was also glad that Chiaki was doing alright with the Class B students, because I didn't know if she'd be fine with befriending them. It was possible that she saw them as enemies, just like Horikita, but at least she masked her thoughts and appreciated her time with them.

"That reminds me... Ichinose-san, I heard you are also looking for the witness. I'd like to thank you for that. With you on board, our chances at finding someone that might have seen something are much better."

The strawberry-haired beauty shook her head in denial.

"Please don't thank me. I don't know if we will find a witness, or what they will say in the end, but I really hope we can prove that your classmate is truly innocent. I wanted to help Ayanokouji-kun, but we might do the opposite depending on what really happened. Whoever the responsible party is, should be punished. That is what I believe."

"Still, your help is appreciated. I'm positive that Sudou-kun is innocent, so you don't need to worry about it. Let's both do our best, no matter the outcome."

The two of them hit it off pretty well after their rocky start yesterday.

Since I was spending a lot of time with both of them, it was important to me that they were on good terms, at least. If they had disliked each other, I would have done my best to mediate between them. According to their lively discussions, however, I didn't need to worry about anything.

Soon, lunch break was ending.

As we were about to part ways, Ichinose turned towards us again.

"Oh, before I forget. I know it's kind of sudden, but do you want to join us this evening, Matsushita-san? We were planning to go to the karaoke parlour. Ayanokouji-kun is still coming, right?"

I nodded and glanced over to Chiaki.

"I'd love to. Thanks for the invitation. See you all later."

The rest of the day passed by in a flash.

Even though not everyone had found the time for the whole evening, Chiaki got to meet some of the other Class B students. A few were busy and only around for a couple of minutes, but most of them showed up at some point. The heartbroken Shiranami was nowhere to be seen, but this wasn't unexpected.

People needed time to heal, but I was sure that Ichinose and she could make up in due time. She also had a great class who would surely support her if she were to tell them what happened.

It might have hurt in the beginning, but time healed all wounds.

Even if some took longer to soothe than others.

Sunday afternoon.

Since I didn't know how punctual Sakura would be, I arrived at the appointed location about ten minutes prior to the agreed upon time. This was enough time to not make her wait forever if she was already here, and still within a reasonable scope of, 'oh, I didn't wait long. I just got here.'

I looked around for a moment but didn't see her, so I sat down on a nearby bench and observed the students who ambled around with groups of friends or their significant others.

"Who am I?"

My view turned black, but the answer was easy, even if I hadn't heard her voice.

It wasn't the first time someone had played this kind of 'game' with me, but it was the first time this specific classmate of mine did. I was genuinely surprised, however, since her two smooth hands were steady the whole time.

"Your voice made this way too easy, Kushida."

"Wow, you cheat."

A soothing giggle escaped her lips as she let go.

"Also, your breasts are a dead giveaway."

"Huh?!"

She was so shocked that her masked slipped for a moment.

This remark seemed to have made Kushida uncomfortable as she backed away behind me.

"A-anyway. What are you doing here? A new-couple date with Matsushita-san?"

She walked around the bench to face me. Her casual clothes looked incredible on her and she was far too cute to not compliment her aloud. I stood and closed in on her, since many people began to walk around the area.

"You look really cute."

"Wha — you have a girlfriend! Don't say things like that to other girls!"

Was this some kind of rule I didn't know about?

I hadn't been informed that I couldn't say such things from now on.

Was thinking them forbidden as well?

This might be more trouble than expected.

Was this already considered two-timing? Or being unfaithful? Should I apologize to Chiaki?

I decided to think about these issues later and focused on the topic at hand.

"No, I'm waiting for Sakura. I was partly responsible that her camera broke, so I'm going to accompany her to the repair shop since she's likely too shy to go there herself."

"Aren't you a nice person, Ayanokouji-kun?"

The twisted smile she flashed didn't reach her eyes, but I understood her sentiments.

Calling me a good person bordered on blasphemy.

"I guess..."

"Well..." She stretched her arms and threw me a brilliant smile. "... I'll leave you to it then. I'm in the Palate with a few friends if you need me or want to come by. Get ready for lots of dessert pictures!"

Her words carried farther than before, due to her increased volume.

"Have a nice day, Kushida."

My precious queen waved me goodbye and vanished into the crowd.

I wondered how much work and dedication it took to hide the fear she harbored for me to such an impressive extent. Due to my actions, her psyche should have taken a devastating hit. She didn't show any concerning signs at the moment, which was reassuring.

Kushida would never betray me, that was a given, but she might be troubled depending on her mental state.

As I was thinking about such things, another person closed in on my position.

She was wearing a large hat, as well as a surgical face mask that covered most of her face. There were some other assets that weren't that well hidden, however, which is why I immediately recognized my apprehensive classmate.

"Did you catch a cold?"

Sakura jumped back in surprise, which drew the gazes of even more students.

"You recognized me?" She heaved an exasperated sigh. "I don't like to stand out so much... sorry for the weird getup."

"Don't you think that you are standing out because of your weird getup?"

The girl looked around the area with a crestfallen gaze. She noticed that the surrounding people threw her confused stares as they evaluated her strange choice of clothing.

"It seems you are right..." Sakura averted her gaze and took off her mask as a dismissive laugh escaped her pursed lips. "There's an electronics store in the mall. Is that one alright with you?"

"Of course. We better get going, though. Your camera is important to you, after all. The faster it's back in working condition, the better."

She nodded enthusiastically and followed beside me.

Sakura was a great piece to practice my social abilities with. Even if I failed a few times or made a fool of myself, she wouldn't mind, since she was at least as socially inept as I.

This situation was also a first for me, because I was the person who held the reins and had to carry the conversation. It differed to the times I messed with Sae or Hoshinomiya, since I wasn't playing a person in order to gain something, but in order to learn how a normal student would chat with his classmate.

"It's weird, right?"

She didn't specify what she meant by this question, but I had a pretty good idea what she was on about.

"Not at all. As long as you enjoy your hobby, everything is fine. There's a plethora of people, and it seems like there is a story behind that camera of yours. It's enviable that you can show your love for something so openly. There are lots of people who are ashamed of their hobbies or interests, so seeing someone like you openly expressing their love for it makes me somewhat happy. I think."

Instead of answering, she smiled and gazed towards the ground.

I knew that these words had connected with her, so that much was enough for me, but it was hard to carry a conversation all by myself at the moment. Someone social, like Hirata or even Karuizawa, would have followed up with another question or a sudden exclamation to draw her back into the discussion.

But I didn't know what to talk about or say when she just replied with silence and a gesture.

"I wonder if they'll fix it right away..."

Thank you, Sakura!

"Maybe there is some kind of express repair? It would be nice if you could have it back soon."

Once again, my classmate only nodded and hugged her broken camera.

While I was envious of her on some level, I also was irritated by her lack of engagement.

Those feelings she harbored for her passion, I truly yearned for them. I wondered if I could ever feel just a fraction of the emotions she must have been going through.

We ambled along the mall, which was close to our meeting spot, in silence.

Leading a conversation was difficult, and I didn't know how everyone else did it so effortlessly. Today's failure assured me that I still had a tremendous amount of knowledge to gain. But I wasn't worried, because I had three years to accomplish what I set out to do.

The two of us soon entered the electronics store and looked around for the repair counter.

"Ah..."

Turning towards this timid voice, I found my classmate wearing an expression of blatant fear and revulsion. After following her line of sight, I noticed the store clerk at the repair counter who was cleaning a tablet with a rather aggressive cleanser. The stench was quite intense, so I could somehow understand her disgust.

The moment I caught sight of this man, I remembered what the Professor had told me about an author he liked that drew most of his series with these kinds of people. They were called 'ugly bastards' or something.

I didn't really listen, since they were talking about weird things after Ike had joined us, but the two of them had pointed out that I should tell no one about this conversation, no matter what.

"Is everything alright?"

"Ah, umm. N-no. It's nothing."

Without realizing it herself, she had answered my question negatively, meaning that she had a problem with the store clerk. Despite this, she shook her head and took a deep breath before walking towards the employee. I could have interfered during that time, but I was interested to see where all of this was going.

"Ummm, excuse me? I would like to have this camera repaired."

This was a surprising first step, since I had resigned myself to handle the conversation for her, but it seemed like Sakura had made up her mind before coming here. During their exchange, there were a few times when Sakura wanted to hand over her camera, but the man ignored these obvious signs and kept blabbering on and on.

My classmate got meeker as time passed.

She wasn't good at conversing with people in the first place, and this man didn't help her anxiety with his constant advances and suggestive looks at her body.

"Sorry to interrupt..." I glanced at his nameplate. "... Kusuda, but we'll be late to the movie we wanted to watch if this keeps going. Could we fill out the necessary documents now?"

Sakura glanced at me with a surprised expression after I mentioned plans she knew nothing about, while the store clerk seemed annoyed to be disturbed during his conversation with her.

She was quick on the uptake and handed over her camera.

The worker grudgingly examined the gadget and found a few parts that had been damaged through the fall. Fortunately, Sakura still had the warranty card, which meant the camera would be repaired for free.

Sakura was relieved that things were moving forward and nodded her head in thanks while the man turned around and gathered some documents she needed to fill out. After he returned, she skimmed over the paper and filled out the form until her movements halted near the bottom of the page.

It was a good thing that I came with her, because this man had openly bad intentions. Sakura must have realized this as well, which was why she had allowed me to accompany her. His nauseating eyes scanned over her entire body as she stared at the documents with a conflicted expression.

Even I felt disgusted by simply watching this man and decided to step in yet again.

"Sakura, may I have the pen?"

She turned towards me with a quizzical look but handed me the pen without thinking too much about it.

While filling out the rest of the form, I informed the store clerk about the change of plans.

"When the repairs are finished, please contact me."

"H-hey wait. Isn't she the owner? That would be —"

He tried to reject my proposal, but I stopped him without missing a beat.

"I don't see any legal problems since the warranty explicitly shows where and when the item was purchased. It should be perfectly fine if the user's name differs from the purchaser's."

After filling out the required documents, I handed them and the camera back to the store clerk.

He reluctantly accepted the papers and told us that the repair would take approximately two weeks. Sakura's shoulders slumped upon hearing this estimate, but there wasn't anything we could do to speed up the process.

After the two of us exited the shop, Sakura lowered her head and heaved a sigh of relief.

"Thank you for that, Ayanokouji-kun. You really saved me."

"I assume that something similar happened when you bought the camera?"

A meek nod followed my question.

"I felt kind of disgusted, honestly."

"It's true that he gives off a rather ominous vibe. I'm just glad that you let me come with you. If I had known a guy like that worked in this store, I would have insisted on accompanying you."

"I get why Matsushita-san likes you, Ayanokouji-kun. You are a really kind person."

The rosy blush on her cheeks deepened as she regarded me with a light smile.

"Really? I don't think I'm exceptionally kind or anything. This was something any decent human being would have done. Don't you think?"

"I'm not really close to enough people to answer this..."

She let out a self-deprecating chuckle.

Now would be an appropriate time to ask her for any information she might have, but I did not intend to force the issue. If I was asking now, she might read too much into it and think that I used this favor to get what I wanted from her.

Someone as insecure as Sakura might arrive at such a twisted conclusion.

"Well, since we are done, you likely want to go home, right? I'll text you as soon as the repairs are done."

I spoke up because I figured that this would make things easier for her. Sakura was way too nervous, so I wasn't sure if she would speak up when she wanted to leave or if she would just follow me around all day, not knowing what to do.

Despite my kind gesture, I had made the situation more difficult for her.

She fumbled around with her fingers and peeked into my eyes before averting her gaze again. This went on for about half a minute before she plucked up all her courage.

"A-about Sudou-kun... As my way of saying thanks, I... I might be able to help with the case..."

This was in the realm of potential reactions I had foreseen.

To keep our standing in this relationship similar, I needed her to know that I didn't care about the information she could supply me with. Rather than telling her to go ahead, it was more important to earn her trust.

"Let me stop you there, Sakura. You don't need to force yourself to reveal something you don't want to. Especially not for something like this. I'm sure Chiaki will find another way to help Sudou without your help."

"N-no, it's not that but... I think if I kept quiet, I would probably come to regret it. I don't want to cause trouble for my classmates, but I was afraid of standing out if I spoke up as a witness. I thought a lot about this, but I think telling the truth is the right decision."

At the beginning, she had trouble conveying her thoughts, but the more she spoke, the stronger her conviction became. She did not hastily make this decision, but determined that she wouldn't want to live her life like this. Such a decision required a lot of courage, especially for someone like Sakura.

"Okay. But let's keep this between us for now. I will inform you if we need your help with Sudou's case. This way, only I know about this until there is no other way than to reveal it. Even if you change your mind, our other classmates wouldn't blame you for not speaking out. Would this be alright with you?"

She nodded sheepishly, thankful yet sorry that I had to be so considerate of her circumstances.

We parted ways afterwards, and I spent my time in peace until evening came.

The door to my room swung open with an unprecedented speed.

My guest slammed the door shut and bolted towards me.

Before I knew it, I was lying on the bed while a certain platinum blonde-haired girl towered over me.

"Kiyotaka darling... I've been hearing really interesting things lately."

My lovely senpai, Kiryuin Fuka, glared at me with blazing eyes.

"Really? Interesting enough to pin me to the bed? Tell me more about it while I prepare dinner?"

I tried to stand up, but she didn't let me.

"Your classmates are quite chatty, you know? I coincidentally saw them in the cafeteria and they were discussing a certain topic pertaining you and a girl called Matsushita."

"Oh that. Yeah, she is my girlfriend now. So?"

"I was first."

Her pupils turned cold as she gazed straight into my darkness without flinching.

"Jealousy doesn't suit you, Fuka."

"I'm. Not. Jealous."

Fuka mounted me and began to put pressure on my chest by leaning forward. She aligned her thighs with mine and sat on my hip before moving around to find a comfortable position for herself.

"Fuka..."

I closed my eyes and began to meditate, since it was already too late to have clear thoughts anymore.

"Mhh...?"

She kept shifting her weight to arouse me, which was a clear indicator that she was jealous. The idea that she could have been possessive or playing some kind of power game had long since passed after evaluating her current actions.

"Don't worry, it's all part of the plan."

I doubted that I could get her off my back with a pretext of needing this relationship due to higher circumstances that were out of my control, but I chose to try.

"What plan?"

My far too attractive senpai wasn't assured in the slightest.

"The 10.000 year plan."

"What kind of idiotic plan is that?"

"I think the creator of said stroke of genius would be hurt if he heard you say something so cruel."

It was getting harder to stay calm, but I didn't want to throw her off, either. She had some kind of goal with her sudden attack, so all I had to do was figure out what exactly she wanted.

"Are you serious? About her?"

Since she kept digging, I figured that it was easier to answer her honestly. Coming up with more excuses would just enrage her further and informing her wouldn't hurt my plans, either.

"Yes. I'd like to know what it feels like to be in a relationship."

"Huh?"

This was the first time that she had lost her usual poker face completely. There was no smug grin, no slight change in expression or anything close to it. Instead, she stopped moving as her two orbs widened in surprise.

"Chiaki confessed to me, and since I appreciate spending time with her, I thought it would be a good idea to go out with her. She took a great risk in revealing her feelings without knowing mine, so being honest was the least I could do."

"Why did you answer her and ignored my advances?"

"What are you talking about? You never confessed. Weren't you just playing around?"

I tilted my head, confused by her angered reaction.

Fuka did whatever she wanted every time she was here, but I always thought that this was her way of messing with me and analyzing how I would react. The way she behaved differed to any other students, so I couldn't use my usual baseline to judge her actions.

If someone normal, like Karuizawa, had pulled those stunts, I wouldn't have doubted my conclusion.

But it was different for an anomaly like Fuka.

"Of course you'd think that." She shook her head. "Then let me make myself clear for you."

Her cheeks pressed down on my growing bulge as she bent forward. She must have noticed this physical reaction towards her previous actions, since a sly smile spread across her face.

"I like you, Kiyotaka."

Her warm, moist breath caressed my ear as her sweet words rang through the silent room.

Fuka shifted her head and stared into my two apathetic orbs. Instead of moving away, like she always did, she leaned further in and pressed her seductive lips onto mine.

At first, only our lips touched, but this wouldn't have been enough for her.

Fuka's tongue forced its way into my mouth, mere moments before it entwined with mine. Her lips still tasted like cherry from the milkshake she had before she came over. Even though her breath was warm, her tongue still exuded a cold feeling as it coiled around my own like a boa constrictor.

She kept the pressure up, just as ravenous as her animalistic counterpart when it hunted its prey and pushed me deeper into the mattress. Her aroused moans intensified as I began to assert dominance and reciprocated her zeal.

My hands began to move towards her hip on their own as the bulge in my trousers grew in size. Even during a kiss as passionate as this, I could tell that she began to smile upon sensing my fingers, which lifted her blazer and the black shirt beneath.

As I brushed past her soft, slender waist, she pulled back, revealing a steamy thread of saliva that stained my school uniform. "Go ahead. I'm all yours, Kiyotaka." She bend forward and bit into my neck while she kept grinding her cheeks against my ever-growing bulge.

I grabbed Fuka's waist and spun her around.

The mattress trembled under our shifting weight as I towered over her.

This was the exact moment when my simulation, which had started when she tried to kiss me, concluded.

Was this already considered adultery?

With my whole body weight pressing down on her, I grabbed onto her throat. My two golden spheres stared down into her constricted crimson orbs as I opened my mouth.

"Thank you for your honesty, but I have a girlfriend and can't return your feelings right now."

She nodded, and I let go of her neck.

Fuka rolled off the bed and glanced at the bulge in my pants with a sly smirk.

"What's for dinner?"

"I was thinking of —"

My words were cut short by the vibration and the corresponding ringtone. I pulled it out and confirmed the Caller-ID before answering the call.

"Um... Hello. This is Sakura..."

"Hey Sakura, what can I do for you?"

She fell silent for a moment. Since I could still hear her nervous breathing, I waited for her to continue.

"Thank you for coming with me today."

"No problem. It really wasn't a big deal."

"Okay... You're right..."

She hesitated again and went silent afterwards.

I got a lot more comfortable during conversation thanks to the different people I've been surrounding myself with. The biggest influence must have been Class B, without a doubt. If they had not included me into their gatherings, I wouldn't have learned as much as I did.

"What's the matter?"

"Umm..."

After this monotone sound, more silence followed.

I was sure that something weighed on her mind, but I couldn't force her to tell me anything if she didn't want to. All I could do was drive her into my direction in a gentle, modest manner.

Just like Ichinose would do.

"Sakura? Are you okay? Did something happen?"

I was one of the few people she talked to, which meant that if something had happened, I was the only one who could do something. If she left me in the dark, I needed to send an observer in her direction.

"I'm sorry. It's nothing. Goodnight."

Without waiting for an answer, she hung up on me.

Evidently, I had a lot to learn until I was as skillful as Ichinose and Kushida in these scenarios.

After the call ended, I texted Kushida and ordered her to monitor Sakura the next few days, and that she should call me as soon as something happened.

I did not know for certain what she wanted to talk about, but my gut told me that it wasn't anything good.

For her, at least.

- Word Count: 13930 / 63165 Characters

Released 02.07.2022

Chapter 17 - Counterattack

On Monday morning, I walked over to the classroom.

With every day that passed, the weather got more unbearable. The only comfortable climate conditions were inside the buildings, because the materials for the uniforms were quite thick. Outside, it felt like a river of lava was flowing right under our feet.

As I reached the school building, I caught sight of a new paper on the otherwise scarcely filled bulletin board.

Ever since the club fair, the only papers posted there had been club openings. As the clubs found their respective members, however, these notes dwindled and their representatives began to remove them one after another.

The new poster I had just caught sight of was different, since the creator was asking for information on the incident between Sudou and the Class C students. They also promised to reward potential whistleblowers with points if they received any helpful tips, which showed their sincerity in the matter.

At first, I thought that this interesting approach had been Ichinose's doing, but the number that was specified at the bottom on the page wasn't hers. It was Kanzaki's.

"Good morning, Ayanokouji-kun!"

Ichinose, like an angel one just thought about, showed up with her usual cheery attitude.

The girl walked up beside me and looked over the new paper as well. Her eyes widened during her read-through, which indicated that she hadn't known about this until just now. Despite this, she nodded with an approving smile after completing her examination of the bulletin board.

"So there is this method too..."

"Good morning, Ichinose-san. Ayanokouji-kun. I see you found the paper. What do you think?"

Her classmate and a good friend of mine, Kanzaki Ryuji, walked up behind us with his familiar, calm and composed, yet amiable expression. His proud, expectant bearing would have confirmed that he had put up the notice, even if I hadn't known his number beforehand.

"Did you get anything reliable yet?"

"Nothing at all."

He shook his head and shrugged as Ichinose spun around to face the two of us.

"I see. How about we check the bulletin board?"

"Is there another board I missed?"

Kanzaki's pupils dilated a moment after these words left his mouth, increasing his cognitive load. He must've been retracing the school's layout and checked whether he had put up a paper on each board he came across.

Ichinose's thin smile deepened as she pulled out her phone.

"There's a message board on the school's homepage. I made a post requesting people to forward information about any violent incident they have witnessed during the last week. With any luck, we might gain some additional clues."

She showed us her screen and clicked onto a link, which led to the message board.

There were multiple posts, ranging from questions and polls to discussions and other inquiries. The only one I was interested in was the one she had posted, which rested at the top with dozens of hits. Both of their measures were far more efficient than asking every single student one by one, especially since they were both promising rewards for any information they received.

The difference between our two classes became obvious by observing how each decided to tackle the problem.

No one in Class D had even suggested posting something on the forums or on the bulletin boards that were spread throughout the school grounds. Even though Chiaki knew that Sakura was the witness, it would have still been a good idea to ask for further information in case someone else had been around as well.

She had prematurely decided that our classmate was the only witness and had put her own efforts elsewhere while she let our classmates do whatever they felt compelled to do in order to keep them occupied.

"You are both promising points for helpful information, huh? That's probably the only way to get any, but we don't really have a budget to purchase them. Maybe I can repay you once we get points next month..."

I didn't feel guilty or liable for the points they would spend, since it was their decision, but it wouldn't hurt to let them think otherwise. We were rather close, so my thoughts on this matter wouldn't be unfounded, either.

"Ah, it's fine. We decided that on our own. You don't need to feel pressured to pay us back or anything."

Both of them nodded, proving that they were sincere about their wish to help us without working towards a hidden ulterior motive that would inconvenience or even harm my class.

"Oh! I might have something!"

Ichinose's face lit up as she stared at her phone's screen.

How could a person be this precious?

Was it bad to think about other girls this way while I had a girlfriend?

I couldn't answer this question on my own, but it was hard to ask anyone since this might have been a social taboo that a normal person would be conscious of. Picking Chiaki's brain about a topic like this was a no-go, for obvious reasons. Fuka was a close second due to her otherworldly behavior and unknown feelings for me.

Kushida had mentioned that I shouldn't say these things out loud, but did this also include thinking them?

Being a proper boyfriend was really hard...

"Look at this."

Ichinose showed us her phone, which displayed a message she had just received. Even though we both had no trouble gazing over her small frame, Kanzaki felt the need to crane his neck to make up for the two centimeters he was missing, as the three of us read through the contents.

"It looks like one of the guys who troubled Sudou-kun was a bad seed even back in middle school. A kid from his hometown probably leaked this."

"Interesting."

Kanzaki fell into a deep contemplation upon concluding his read-through.

The fact that one of them was a troublemaker, just like Sudou, already changed the situation in our favor. It wouldn't be an instantaneous winning condition, but doubts and questions about their truthfulness would certainly arise due to these new circumstances.

All three of them must have good motor skills, since they were all in the basketball club. In such a three versus one constellation, even Sudou would have taken a hit, which meant that their story didn't match their claims.

The more information like this came to light, the fewer people would blindly believe Class C's allegations. This piece was already enough to raise a valid concern about their reliability in the matter.

I doubted that the school would care unless they had definitive proof, however.

"What do you think, Kanzaki-kun?"

Ichinose's curious voice rang through the area as she glanced over to her classmate.

"Perhaps they let Sudou beat them up on purpose. If the three were setting up a trap for Sudou, the story would make perfect sense. The connection seems natural."

"Yeah, I think so too. If we can verify this information, then we could be a step closer to proving Sudou-kun's innocence. But what we have is still pretty weak..."

"We might be able to convince some people with this new evidence, but the circumstance that it was such a one-sided fight puts a lot of pressure on our side. Of course, it is hard to stay rational when you are surrounded and threatened by three people, but the faculty likely won't care without proper evidence."

The two Class B students kept throwing the ball to one another as they shared their thoughts and views on this matter. Both were quick on the uptake and needed little time to arrive at the same conclusion before long.

They considered the purpose of everything that had happened and focused on the underlying problems we were currently facing, even without my intervention. If I had been assigned to Class B at the beginning of the year, I would have had a lot of free time on my hands.

And Hoshinomiya...

One of their biggest weak points was their need to stay fair and square while competing against the other classes. This naïve mindset would spill their downfall sooner rather than later. Friendship, love and other such weak links could only keep a lifeboat afloat for so long.

When the emergency rations dwindled, it wouldn't be long until the killings would start.

"I still have to transfer the points over to the person who provided us this information. But how am I expected to pay them when they're posting anonymously?"

She tilted her head and peered at the two of us.

"Do you know the person's number?"

Kanzaki didn't seem sure about how to pay their informant either, so I decided to help her. Ichinose's moral compass would struggle if she wasn't able to deliver the promised reward.

"It's a toll-free number, but I remember it."

She drew close and pointed at her phone.

I felt a lot more aware about the fact that I was intruding into her intimate space than she was. Ichinose wasn't wearing any special perfume, but her scent was pleasant and refreshing. My heart-rate skyrocketed as I took a whiff of her fresh lavender shampoo, which made me realize how close we were.

"Here, open up the point's remittance screen. You should see your ID number in the upper left corner."

"Umm..."

The sweet girl hummed while sliding her nimble fingers over the phone. She pressed the button to open her point page and swung her head left and right while waiting for it to load up. Her balance was displayed on the screen a few moments later, but the number I saw caught me off-guard for a second.

"Yep, yep. There it is. So what now?"

"From your ID number, you can issue a temporary token key." I pointed at the corner of her display. "If you open that and send the key, you get a request for payment."

"Oh! I see. Thank you, Ayanokouji-kun."

"I didn't get it at first either, but Chiaki's explanations are really easy to understand."

Even though I wasn't able to read minds, I was sure that I must have been the most terrible boyfriend a girl could have, since I had difficulties suppressing my indecent thoughts about my schoolmate.

After my simulation of Fuka's improper actions ran wild, I became more and more aware of how close I had been to the girls that were familiar with me, like Ichinose, Horikita, and so on. Kushida was the only girl I could count on in this situation, since I could be sure that she would keep this to herself and be helpful at the same time.

"We should go to class, or we'll be late."

"Oh, yeah. Sure."

I followed them inside the building while Ike's twisted thoughts assaulted my brain again and spun up multiple theories for the large amount of points Ichinose held in her account.

It was impossible to amass such a balance for one's own use without underhanded methods, but a generous, gentle girl like her would never resort to something like this. A place in the student council shouldn't have granted her these benefits either, which left only one reasonable conclusion.

These points originated from her own class.

A quick calculation over the points they had earned in the last two months in consideration to their spending habits assured me of this. I assumed that Ichinose acted like some sort of bank for her class and managed their emergency assets as well as their other large-scale expenditures.

Their class was built on nothing but trust and friendship.

It would be a shame if someone burned those roots and sent the broken pieces flying.

"Good morning! Ayanokouji-kun!"

"Oh, hey. Good morning, Kushida."

I was once again pleasantly surprised by her insane acting skills, which allowed her to receive me with her bright, cheery smile every day I ambled into the classroom. Her abilities to stay focused on her instructions were truly top-notch.

"Let's hang out again sometime, okay?"

"Sure."

Ike glared at me like a carnivorous predator that was about to ambush its prey after realizing that I had had a 'date' with her. Chiaki, who sat at her desk and had a chat with Karuizawa, Satou and Shinohara, wasn't concerned in the slightest that I had met up with Kushida during the weekend.

She trusted me and wouldn't act jealous or insecure now that we were a couple.

The goal behind our angel's behavior was to accentuate our friendship to our classmates even further. If the other students saw that the two of us were decently close, no weird rumors would spread, even if someone caught her leaving my room. She was not only everyone's friend, but I already had a girlfriend as well, which would deter their minds from wandering in weird directions.

Well, a few lost souls might still follow their twisted logic, but that was about it.

"Did you spend your day off with Kushida-san?"

The icy string of words that followed my arrival at my desk belonged to none other than my favorite neighbor, Horikita Suzune. Instead of greeting me with a kind and heart-warming, 'Good morning', she regarded me with narrowed eyes and a brooding expression.

"Yeah. She invited me to meet up."

"I see."

She turned her head away from me and looked towards the front.

"Is something wrong with... that?" I couldn't help but swallow my saliva, which stuck in my throat as I glimpsed at her grim face. "Wh-what's the matter?"

My chair screeched over the floor as I slid out of her striking distance.

"What do you mean?"

"You had that weird look on your face."

Horikita shifted her gaze back towards her left and ascertained the distance I had formed between us due to my prior movements. Her captivating pupils met with mine as she raised her head.

"Really? I didn't intend to make any kind of face. I should look the same as I always do. However, I will say that I am impressed how freely you are moving around. For one, you have a delightful girlfriend you can spend your time with and still find time to hang out with Kushida-san. In contrast... no, forget it. I was just calmly and discreetly analyzing the situation."

There was nothing calm and discreet about the glares she had been throwing me before this.

"Aren't we f... seatmates?"

Horikita averted her gaze as a light yet clearly discernable pout formed on her face. The ice-queen's complexion turned from her usual, healthy pink to a faint shade of red.

I rubbed my eyes, because I had a feeling that the symptoms of the Ike-sickness had evolved and began to include optical and auditory hallucinations. But even after wiping over them once, twice and thrice, her adorable expression hadn't faded.

My hand made its way over to her forehead.

Once again, I checked her temperature.

Once again, it was in an acceptable range for a normal, healthy human being.

"Ayanokouji-kun. Touch me more..."

What?

"Ayanokouji-kun. What are you doing?"

Huh?

"Oh, sorry."

I removed my trembling fingers from her forehead before she could counterattack with her compass, which she hadn't even pulled out yet. My retreat was slow, but there was no retaliation.

While I wondered if I was getting sick, Mori tapped me on the shoulder from behind.

"Ayanokouji-kun? Kushida-san wanted to talk to you. Do you have a moment?"

"Ah, yeah sure."

She nodded and walked up to Hirata before they began chatting.

Leaving the baffled Horikita behind, I trotted towards the hallway, where Kushida waited for me.

"I just saw something really incredible. Hey, what did you do?"

What, seriously?

"Just to confirm, you also heard her say, 'touch me more', right?"

Kushida jumped up and backwards with a smile on her face. An outsider might have interpreted this as her laughing about a joke I had made or something similar. The truth, however, wasn't that gracious.

"What? No! Fuck, what the hell is wrong with you?"

Her low voice didn't travel far.

No one would have believed that these outrageous words left Kushida's charming lips after looking at the angelic expression she wore for the students that glanced at us through the classroom door.

"I'm asking myself the same question from time to time."

"She didn't seem happy about being left out, and I could have sworn that she wanted to call you friend and not seatmate." The perverse laugh she imposed on me afterwards sounded more like a devil's than an angel's. "Hurt her more! I've been enjoying every second so much that I had to walk out of the classroom. Gosh, it's so fucking beautiful seeing that damn arrogant cunt like this."

Kushida's mouth was as rotten as always, which collided with her otherwise elegant expression.

"Well, since you are in such a good mood right now, you might answer a question that's been weighing on my mind: is it a bad sign that I'm thinking about other girls while I'm in a relationship with Chiaki?"

"Huh? Who are you thinking about?"

She seemed intrigued rather than grossed out, which wasn't a bad sign. This tame reaction meant that it wasn't anything too weird, which reassured me somewhat before I even received her answer.

"Oh, umm... you, Horikita, Ichinose, Chabash—"

"Okay, stop. I think I've heard enough. I don't even want to know more than that if I'm being honest. It's normal for a damn pervert like you, okay? Just keep your twisted thoughts to yourself and don't act on anything. It'll pass in time."

I wasn't nearly done with my recital, but this amount of information had been enough to solve my problem.

As expected of my queen.

Since thinking was fine, I didn't need to worry about my qualifications as a decent boyfriend anymore. I was also relieved to hear that this was normal behavior, since I didn't want to mess up my first relationship. Fuka's actions and my subsequent simulation lead to an increase of certain thoughts I needed to get a grip on.

"Hmm... I knew I could count on you. Thanks Kushida."

My classmate beamed and glanced behind me for a moment. I knew what she was about to say, since I wouldn't misread these clacking heels that strode our way.

"Let's go inside, Ayanokouji-kun! Chabashira-sensei is coming."

Kushida and I ambled inside the classroom as I savoured the pleasant sound made by the devil's steps.

I checked in with Sakura after homeroom and the following history lesson concluded.

"Sakura? Would it be alright if I told Chiaki what you entrusted me with? She couldn't come up with a different solution over the weekend and our time is running out, which is why I figured that your testimony might help. You don't have to, of course, but unfortunately it's now or never."

She peeked at me and managed a small nod.

"It's okay... If you say that there is no other way, then I trust your judgement... You kept this selfish secret for me, and even lied to Matsushita-san to protect it. I'm sorry... that I put you into such a position, Ayanokouji-kun."

She lowered her head and revealed a pained expression due to her shame. After assuring her that everything was fine, I went over to my girlfriend and informed her about my findings.

"Say, Kiyotaka. That was your plan all along, wasn't it?"

A gentle smirk formed on her charming face.

"Yeah, but you knew that already, didn't you?"

I might have been able to fool Horikita if she had been in Chiaki's shoes, but it would be impossible now. She knew as much as I did that Sakura was the witness. She already did me a favor by not mentioning my lie to Hirata, Sudou and the others after I told everyone that Sakura saw nothing, even though she had been nearby.

Had she neglected to mention this because she liked me, or did she have faith in my decision?

"I tried a different approach and got lucky. If I hadn't accidentally run into her, this might have never worked out. After talking to her, I was sure that she wouldn't readily answer questions or admit that she saw something because she is especially shy and uncomfortable around people, so I wanted her to feel more relaxed around me first." I tried my best to form a wry smile. "Even though you knew, I felt horrible about misleading you... What I'm trying to say is, I'm sorry."

"Don't be... you did great Kiyotaka, even if you might have had some luck along the way." She took my fingers and displayed her affection towards me by caressing my hand with her smooth touch. Her complexion turned into a deep shade of pink, but she handled herself much better than before. "Leave the rest to me."

Chiaki strode over to Sakura, who threw me one last glance before making up her mind for good.

For this to work out, I needed her to speak to others, even when I wasn't around. People I had faith in would have a higher chance in making her feel comfortable as well, if I gained her trust initially.

This was, once more, simple human psychology.

The two girls talked for a moment before leaving the classroom towards the direction Chabashira-sensei had walked off to after her lesson. Kushida noticed their movements as well and glanced at me for further instructions. I gave her a sign to carry on as usual, since there was no reason for my queen to occupy herself with Sakura when Chiaki was by her side.

I spent my time chatting with Karuizawa and the others. Horikita's troubled glares didn't go unnoticed by neither me, nor Kushida, even though I was occupied with interpreting what the girls were talking about.

While I tried to force her into opening up to me, Kushida enjoyed every second in which the girl seemed unhappy or miserable. If my beloved neighbor ever evolved enough for me to use her, then I needed both of them to be fine with each other.

But I would cross that bridge if the time came.

For now, they could hate and loath each other as much as they wanted.

It didn't take long until Chiaki and Sakura re-entered the classroom, since I had informed Chabashira-sensei about what would happen beforehand. Our timid classmate sat down at her desk and waved Chiaki goodbye, while my girlfriend strode over with a conflicted expression.

"I'm back."

She threw me a cute smile and folded her fingers behind her back.

"So, how did everything go?"

"As expected. It won't be easy to convince the school that Sakura is a liable witness. Not only did she admit to being a spectator rather late into the investigation, she is also a Class D student. Chabashira-sensei said that she can join us on the day of the deliberation and I... kind of... said that you would join as well?"

"I'm going to what?"

Her conflicted, guilt-ridden complexion from before made sense after this revelation. She must've felt sorry for dragging me into this mess when I had barely anything to do with it.

Even though I had hoped not to attend their discussion, it might be for the better if I joined.

My girlfriend pleaded for forgiveness with upturned puppy-eyes.

"After Chabashira-sensei said that Sakura is to join the conference, which included Sudou-kun, she was scared to be alone in a room with him and people from the school. I asked if it was alright if I joined as well and that's when she said that two extra people could join. The first person who popped into my mind was you, for obvious reasons... You are also friends with both Sakura-san and Sudou-kun, so I thought you wouldn't mind too much. I'm really sorry..."

A heavy sigh escaped my lips as I caressed over her head.

"How could I say no to my adorable girlfriend?"

She squealed in embarrassment and hugged me. The scent of her perfume, which contained a hint of roses, was enhanced further by her warm and comfortable embrace. I was unable to get this intoxicating scent out of my nostrils even after we had parted.

"Get a room, you two!"

A few of our closer friends kept teasing the blushing Chiaki until the teacher arrived. I couldn't help but think of her flushed face during this time as even more endearing than usual, while she tried her best to concentrate on the lesson.

Time passed quickly, and the time for lunch soon arrived.

My girlfriend and I had made plans for today, but since the circumstances had changed, Sudou joined us as well.

At first he declined, saying that we were too lovey-dovey for him, but Chiaki reeled him back in by stating that he could either figure this whole mess out on his own or join us for lunch and get her to help him.

Thus, the decision was made and the three of us gathered at an empty table in the cafeteria.

While we were eating, we went over everything important once again.

Sakura's witness statement, Sudou's testimony and the good behavior that he would present himself with during his hearing or else. Even though the red-haired delinquent nodded at everything we discussed, I doubted that he listened because he seemed otherwise occupied.

Chiaki also noticed that he kept checking our surroundings from time to time. A disappointed expression would form on his face before he heaved a deep sigh and ate a few bites of his meal.

This sequence of actions then started anew and repeated during the whole time we had our meals.

She gave me a puzzled look, whereupon I signaled her that I would take care of him. Our defense counsel went through all the details for tomorrow so that I had all important information and excused herself, since we both knew that Sudou wouldn't register anything right now.

The heartbroken boy would have an easier time opening up about his issues with Chiaki gone. Since my cute girlfriend had entrusted me with this problem, I had no choice but to comply and take care of it for her.

Not without pushing my own agenda, of course.

I had a pretty good idea who the culprit for his plight was, which is why I began with her.

"Did you really think she'd come and see how you were doing?"

"Huh? Wha-what are you talking about?"

He stared at me like a guilt-ridden dog that had been caught doing something he shouldn't have done, like ripping apart a pillow or urinating all over the apartment while the owner wasn't at home.

"Horikita, of course. I hate to disappoint you, Sudou, but she'll likely never care about you the way you would like her to." He gnawed his lips and clenched his fists in frustration. "She apologized for herself, not to make you feel better. I realize that you don't want to hear this, but you will be happier in the long run if you accept this truth now."

"I know, damn it..."

Back in April, he would have surely hit the table and might have thrown a tantrum after listening to the harsh, yet honest words that left my lips. Now, he was working to better himself by forging his own path through this world. He still trembled and shook in anger, but he kept himself composed enough to warrant honest praises from my side.

Chiaki had put a leash on him after protecting his place at this school during the midterms. Sudou knew that he owed her everything and tried his hardest to adapt to his environment.

But this dog-collar around him wasn't my girlfriends to wield.

"Let's talk about Sakura."

"Huh? What about her?"

Since I had mentioned Horikita's name just before Sakura's, he would inevitably remember this part of our conversation, even if he thought about my grumpy neighbor later. I wasn't sure if he had her on his mind during his free time, of course, but priming him into this direction was anything but a mistake.

"You have to keep this between us, alright?"

"Yeah sure."

"I'm serious, Sudou-kun."

I lowered my voice and copied Horikita's emphasis and cadence, which would burn into his mind like a constant reminder for the words that would follow. He was infatuated with her, so it was rather easy to help him remember or think of certain things that he could associate with my neighbor.

Sudou wouldn't just forget all about her. He wouldn't bury these false feelings he had developed just because I told him to. But this was alright, because someone else would soon show up in his life.

"Y-yeah. I got it, alright?"

"Everyone in our class knows that Sakura is timid and easily frightened. It was difficult for her to gather the courage to come forward as a witness and make her statement in front of everyone. She didn't do this for me, nor for Chiaki. She wanted to help you, even if it might become dangerous for her." I emphasised the importance of the following words. "If word gets out, the Class C guys might act against her. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"What? Do you think they'd do something to her?"

He was surprised, which I couldn't understand after what they had done to him.

Even though he had threatened Horikita on our first day here, I doubted that he would have struck her after his reaction just now. The thought of attacking a girl who couldn't defend herself was impossible for him to comprehend.

"Don't you? Did those people look like they cared whom they threaten?"

"Those bastards. If they try something..."

"... then you need to deescalate the situation, Sudou-kun."

He stared at me with wide, shaking eyes.

"How am I supposed to do that?"

Sudou knew what kind of person he was, which is why he thought himself incapable of such an act. He himself hadn't noticed how far he had already come in keeping calm. Yes, there may have been additional pressure due to the debt he owed Chiaki, but he still managed to stay relatively calm throughout this whole ordeal.

The Sudou from three months ago, wouldn't have been able to do such a thing.

"Just be there and protect her. Don't start another fight, but run away. For her sake. I know you could beat them, even Sakura knows you could beat them. But you can't, under any circumstances, use violence to protect her."

"That sounds like something Horikita told you to say..."

The boy sighed and took a sip of his drink.

"Chiaki did, because she cares. I have the same opinion. Can we trust you with this? I know that you don't have an unlimited amount of free time, but if you could help us keep an eye on Sakura when you are nearby, we would be grateful."

In truth, Chiaki knew nothing about this part of the conversation, but that was of no concern to him.

Even if he were to mention this to her, she would back me up after recognizing a potential threat she hadn't thought of before. She would understand the underlying scheme and do her utmost to see it through.

Of course, the plans she and I were thinking about differed from one another.

"Alright, I get it. Sure. I'll keep an eye out, I promise. Matsushita-san and you have saved my ass time and time again. The least I could do is protect one of our classmates who might be in trouble because she's trying to help me."

We disposed of our trays and made our way back to the classroom.

The two of us ran into Ike, Hondou and the Professor on the way, which gave me some time to send a message.

[01:03:12 PM] You're up.

After classes were over, I returned to my dorm.

I checked some things on my computer before lying down and reading a well-recognized book.

Chiaki was still occupied with going over all the information we had with Ichinose and Kanzaki. She wanted to know about any messages that either of them received, since they might contain useful clues for tomorrow. Both Kushida and Fuka were on their respective errands right now, which provided me some time for myself.

I still wasn't sure why Fuka was following my plans, though.

It could have been her way of growing closer to me, or she might simply be interested in learning more about my thinking patterns. She might have said that she liked me and even tried to kiss me, but I couldn't rule out the possibility that this was one of her ploys. Maybe she just wanted to see whether I would allow her to kiss me, or if I had a genuine interest in my relationship with Chiaki.

Actions spoke louder than words, so she must have realized that I was serious about my girlfriend after I rejected her advances, even though I had been aroused by her provocative yet seductive performance.

Between her and Kushida, it was clear which queen I currently preferred to use.

My classmate was not only easier to handle due to her total obedience, she would also never betray me, which she had to prove time and time again without realizing it herself. I also learned that she could deal with the pressure of being coerced by someone like Fuka, who wasn't going easy on her during their talks.

My senpai, however, could turn against me at a moment's notice if I let my guard down, which is why I was prepared to bury her as soon as her behavior changed or felt off. I could put my faith into her to a certain degree, but I could never blindly trust an unpredictable woman like her without knowing her motives.

While Fuka was probing Kushida's loyalty, I monitored Fuka's sincerity through Kushida.

I shook my head to dispel these thoughts from my mind and continued scanning through my new book.

It wasn't something I would usually read, and it wasn't at all close to the genre I was interested in, but sometimes a person had to branch out to learn new things.

After flipping through a few pages, I received a message from Sakura, which surprised me somewhat.

[03:53:07 PM[Sakura] If I was absent from school tomorrow, what do you think would happen?

Her question was worrisome.

If Sudou had received this message, he would probably storm off to her room and keep yelling at her door until she opened up. Chiaki would likely convince her that it would be best to go to school and see things through.

But I was only curious.

[03:53:21 PM] What do you mean?

[03:55:46 PM[Sakura] What are you doing right now?

It took her a while to answer, but she managed to send me another message. According to my understanding of her, she asked this question to make sure that she wasn't interrupting or bothering me. If I said that I was reviewing materials, for example, she would apologize and stop texting.

[03:55:59 PM] Nothing really, just killing time watching boring shows.

[03:57:12 PM[Sakura] If it's okay with you, could we meet right now? I'm in room 1106.

[03:57:21 PM[Sakura] It would really help me out if you could keep this a secret from everyone...

If this had been a message from Fuka, I would have declined in a heartbeat.

But Sakura wouldn't be up to something that would inconvenience me or get me in trouble, which was why I assumed that she wanted to talk about the problem that occupied her since Saturday. Even though this hadn't been the first occasion on which she had messaged me only to turn tail before spilling the beans, she seemed to have made up her mind this time.

[03:57:39 PM] I'll head over in about five minutes.

Now that I thought about it, this was my first time heading for a room in the upper levels where the girls lived. Well, technically, it was my second time, but it would be the first time I was actually entering a girls' room.

Alone at that.

Even though I was just going to visit Sakura, I felt overly conscious of myself and wondered whether I should change into something different. I denied this idea, however, and stepped out of my room.

After pushing the elevator's call button, I waited until it reached my floor and watched the door slide open in front of me. To my surprise, Horikita stood inside with her usual blank expression.

"Hey."

It would have been weird if I turned tail or ignored her, so I had no other choice but to join this ride. I pressed the button for the eleventh floor and saw that the thirteenth was already lit as well, which must've been where she lived. I was probably the only person who knew this, but I couldn't understand why I was so sensible about it.

Even though I had greeted her, she only glanced at the button I pressed and said nothing. Horikita wore a complex, unreadable expression as we both stood side by side in silence.

"Did you go grocery shopping?"

My social skills were at an all-time high, as I managed to start a conversation with her.

"A keen eye, as always."

She rustled the vinyl bags in her hand.

My attempted casual conversation went down the drain before it even started.

Every other girl would have engaged in the conversation a bit more, even if it was only out of pity, but Horikita only replied with a sarcastic, somewhat hurtful remark. I didn't know why I expected anything else since I already knew what kind of woman she was.

A sigh escaped my lips before I disregarded the girl beside me and glanced out of the window.

"Are you free for lunch the day after tomorrow?"

I didn't turn around, but I had the feeling that I had surprised her with my question. Since Kushida said that Horikita was feeling left out, I decided to include her some more. This might help my neighbor to grow out of the cocoon she had spun around herself.

"I suppose I could make some time for you."

This answer was so Horikita-like that I shook my head.

"You don't need to change your busy schedule because of little old me. We can always find another time to have lunch. Just let me know when you have time if you want to meet up."

"..."

"Ouch." I said in monotone.

Instead of her trusted compass, which she didn't carry with her all the time, she grabbed my right hand and pinched into it as hard as her small fingers allowed it. She had clipped her nails yesterday, so it wasn't really painful or unpleasant.

"That's what you deserve for being cheeky with me. None other than yourself is to blame for the pain you are experiencing right now."

"Yes, yes, I get it."

My eyes caught onto a thin smile which formed on her face, while I rubbed my hand.

"Ayanokouji-kun."

I prepared myself for another verbal or physical beating, but nothing followed.

"Horikita?"

"No, forget it. It's nothing."

The elevator stopped at the eleventh floor with a loud 'ding'.

I stepped off this death trap and said my farewells to the girl who stood inside. She didn't answer immediately but gripped the hem of her uniform. When the door was about to close, she lifted her hand beside her hip and waved me goodbye.

She looked awkward, yet adorable in her own twisted way.

Before I could process the blush that had appeared on her face, the door shut and the elevator continued on its way towards Horikita's floor, leaving mechanical noises in its wake.

Wow.

There was no way that her actions just now were incredibly cute.

They just weren't.

Period.

Mentally exhausted and physically damaged, I ambled towards Sakura's room. After knocking on the door, it swung open almost immediately, as if she had waited in front of it the whole time.

"Pardon the intrusion..."

"Come on in."

My classmate wore a casual short-sleeved shirt and a fitting skirt, as she greeted me with a shy smile. She held the door open until I stepped into her room and closed it after me. The way she handled her door was cautious, as if it might break if she shut it at a normal speed, which gave me a lot of information about her as a person.

"So, what did you need from me?"

"I... really don't feel confident about testifying tomorrow... I can't even properly talk to students my age sometimes... so how am I supposed to testify in front of teachers?"

"So you are considering taking the day off tomorrow?"

Sakura gave a slight nod before collapsing onto her chair. She slumped over the table and rested her head.

"Ahhhh. Jeez, why am I so completely useless?!"

"So you can be relaxed after all."

"Huh?!" She blushed, realizing that she broke her persona and denied everything. "N-no. I'm not like that at all."

I sat opposite of her and supported my head with my left arm.

"It's okay. I already told you that I'll keep your secret, Shizuku."

At first, she was relieved as she listened to the sweet words that left my mouth. After processing them, however, she shrank back as shock and anxiety emerged on her charming face.

This knowledge didn't change the way I looked at or treated her.

She had to realize that she could trust me, even beyond what she was currently capable of.

She had to see that I was a kind, generous person who had her well-being in mind.

She had to know that I had kept her secret for some time.

I kept quiet and gave her some space to process and deal with this sudden revelation. It was fine if she wanted me to leave now, but it would be better if I was allowed to stay and keep working on her. Whatever the case may be, everything was already set in motion.

This was me actively developing my pieces instead of passively watching over them.

"So you knew...? Since when?"

"Yesterday. When we went to repair your camera, I noticed that your glasses were fake. My mother had similar ones, since my father once said that she looked breathtaking with glasses after they returned home from some sort of costume party. At first, I assumed that your reason for wearing them was similar, some kind of fashion trend I didn't understand, but then I remembered that Kushida showed me a magazine in which someone similar to you was featured. I asked her if I could see it again and confirmed my assumption." I scratched my cheek and averted my gaze. "Ah, but don't worry. As far as I know, Kushida hasn't realized that you are Shizuku. The same goes for the rest of our class."

She took a deep, long breath, relieved that I was the only one that was aware of the Shizuku persona she was hiding. It was important to reassure her that no one but me knew about her, or she might feel uncomfortable.

Especially if someone like Ike learned about these pictures.

"It's embarrassing..."

She stared at the floor and tried to hide her crimson complexion.

"Is that how you see it? I think it's pretty cool."

"R-really...?"

She raised her head with sparkling, hopeful eyes.

"I think it's important to do what you believe is right. And that, no matter what you decide, you can look back on that moment in the future and say, 'Yeah. I'm happy I did that.'"

This wasn't the answer to her immediate question, but one for the hidden inquiry she had yet to form.

Sakura also understood this and hung her head again.

She had already taken the first step towards her inevitable change with my help. If she continued and took the second and third steps as well, she could take much more in the future, even without me.

I couldn't give her a straight answer for the question that plagued her.

All I could do was inform her of what I believed to be the correct course of action for any human being.

"We're friends, aren't we? So whatever you decide, I will help you shoulder the burden."

My classmate's gaze met with mine. The hint of a tear shimmered in the corner of her widened, unbelieving eyes.

"A-are we f-friends...?"

I finally understood how Chiaki, Karuizawa and Satou must have felt when I had asked this question back then. Sakura as well, seemed happy enough, so she would surely understand my desire to recreate a fond memory, of sorts.

"Of course we are, you moron. Why did you think we weren't?"

My voice was a lot softer than Karuizawa's on that day. This, coupled with the small smile that escaped my lips, made Sakura realize that I wasn't seriously calling her names. It was more of a friendly jab between, well, friends.

"Ah... Jeez. Why am I so happy hearing that?"

She snickered, perplexed, yet somehow embarrassed.

"I think you wouldn't have any problems finding tons of friends if you were shedding your shell from time to time."

"T-there is no way I could do that so easily..."

"Of course it wouldn't be easy. But I think you can do it, if you take it one step at a time. And if you ever stumble, your friends will be there to catch you. That applies even now. If you don't feel ready to testify, I'll find a way so you don't have to. I promise."

She seemed relieved by my words, but still conflicted about the decision she had yet to make.

With my support, she could decide whether she wanted to keep hiding or take a big step towards a better, improved Sakura. Now that her secret was known to me, another small burden had been lifted off her shoulders as well.

"Do you want to go out with me for a while? A change of scenery might help you."

"Huh?!"

She leapt up and banged her knees against the table before toppling over in agony. Her glasses flew off her face into my direction. I caught them, since they would have broken after hitting the table at this angle, which might have inconvenienced her.

Just like a certain bespectacled detective Chiaki had told me about, she was using normal glass for her eyeglasses instead of ophthalmic lenses.

I handed them back to her after wiping off the dirt that had accumulated due to the commotion.

"You look a lot better without those, you know?"

"Huuuuuuuh?!"

After Sakura had calmed down, we strolled towards a place of her choosing.

I had nothing specific in mind, and since she had a place she preferred, there was no need so suggest something else. If she felt calm and relaxed, it was a lot easier to talk to her.

We arrived at a building which was specifically used for club activities.

Sakura wanted to come here ever since school had started, but she didn't feel comfortable walking through these corridors on her own. I didn't quite understand why she felt troubled, since this was one of the calmer buildings.

The two of us walked past a few closed doors that had been labeled with their respective club names. One of them housed the members of the Art club, which was a rather interesting gathering of people. One student from each first-year class, aside from D, was part of this club.

Kamuro Masumi from Class A, Shiranami Chihiro from B and someone named Kaneda Satoru from C.

"I'm envious of you, you know?" Sakura spoke up with a quiet yet determined voice after we turned a corner. "You don't seem to have much problems making friends, and here I am, happy that you were the first person to call me that."

"I know exactly how you feel."

"Eh?"

It was almost comical how similar she was to me in certain aspects.

Was this the reason I wanted to help her?

Because I saw a reflection of myself?

"Did you know that I had similar conversations with Chiaki and the others?"

"What? Really?"

"You probably didn't know this, but I was homeschooled before I got here. I had no real friends and didn't know how to behave around other people. I was just as afraid as you are when I got here. Seeing all those strangers, being supposed to talk to them... But in the end, I found that I was afraid for nothing since the people I can now call 'friends' are pretty great. Hirata's invitation at the beginning of our school year saved me. If I had declined, then I don't think I would enjoy this place as much as I do now. It was the same for you, right?"

Sakura gave a self-deprecating chuckle before narrating her story.

"It's really scary how similar we are in certain aspects. For me, it was Kushida-san who invited me out. Different from you, however, I wasn't brave enough to answer her, no matter what I tried. I really wanted to hang out with her, and maybe some other people as well... even if she made me somewhat uneasy. I'm pathetic, aren't I?"

It fascinated me that Kushida, of all people, made her feel uneasy.

I didn't believe that she meant her aura, or that she was always followed by a plethora of people, but the subtle nuances when she couldn't perfectly hide her true face. Sakura, who had a small career in putting on a mask for people, seemed to have sensed that something was not quite right with her.

If this was the case, why hadn't she seen through me?

"Nonsense. You are evolving at your own pace, and that's totally alright. I mean, you are chatting with me now, right? That's already a big step forward. Don't you think?"

"I guess..."

She averted her gaze as a subtle smile spread over her face.

"There's still tomorrow, or the day after. There is always a chance for you to say yes. Chiaki, Kushida, Hirata, our other classmates, including Sudou, are good people at heart. Sure, he is pretty short-fused and can be a bit much to handle for someone as modest as you, but in the end, his heart is in the right place. Even if he seems scary."

"You are probably right, Ayanokouji-kun. I just have to find the courage for it."

She clenched her small fists and bobbed her head to inspire herself.

"If you decide to testify tomorrow, don't do it for Sudou, Chiaki, me or your classmates."

"Huh?"

"Testify for yourself. For Sakura Airi, the brave girl who witnessed what happened and wants to tell the truth. I believe in you, so you should believe in yourself as well."

Sakura's eyes widened, since she had likely never heard such honest words of encouragement before. Believing in oneself wasn't always easy, but if you can't believe in yourself, then who could you ever believe in?

"Thank you, Ayanokouji-kun."

Sakura needed reassurance, a small nudge in the right direction, to speak up for herself.

She realized that she wasn't the only one battling with loneliness after I had told her my story. She understood that I also knew how she felt and gave her this piece of advice as someone who had found something akin to happiness.

I could only hope that these words found a place in Sakura's heart.

Even though I wasn't someone as amazing as Hirata, maybe I could be someone similar to him for her sake. Someone who helped her take the first step into this world that was previously filled with negative thoughts.

After saying my piece, I closed my eyes.

The emotions I tried to convey, I wanted to see if I could feel them, if there was anything left in me, even if it was just a lone ember somewhere in this empty, broken shell I called my home.

Emotions were an obstruction I didn't have to worry about due to the cultivations of the White Room, but I wanted to feel. I wanted to learn what it meant to be angry, or sad, to love and to hate.

The White Room took all of this from me.

Even if I regained these emotions now, they wouldn't weaken me.

I lost them once, so getting rid of them again wouldn't be a problem.

But I wanted to remember what it felt like.

I tried so hard to experience the emotions in the words I had conveyed to Sakura, but all I felt was emptiness.

My hollow shell... was but a shallow husk, only housing the abyss.

Nothing could escape it, not even myself.

I was sure that a person's heart would break if one were to endanger and maybe ruin such a sweet and innocent child.

Maybe I would feel the same...

If I had a heart, that is.

Tuesday, the day of Sudou's hearing.

I entered the classroom sooner than usual in case Sakura wasn't here, but my worries had been for naught. She sat alone at her desk and waited for classes to begin, like always.

Sudou, who had strolled into the room after me, kept glancing at her from time to time before averting his gaze again. Now that he knew what sort of secret beauty Sakura was, he couldn't help but be aware of her. This, coupled with the fact that I told him to keep an eye out for her, made it difficult for him not to think of this female classmate as a charming person of the opposite sex.

Kushida, the one who had told Sudou about her gravure-idol persona, did not betray the fact that she was the one who had informed him yesterday and gossiped with her friends about the new flavors that were available at the Palate.

I walked over to Sakura since I still had some time before our lessons began.

"Are you okay?"

She didn't seem as bad as I had thought.

Maybe our conversation yesterday had left a lasting impact on her. I had prepared auxiliary plans in case she was overly nervous or decided to call in sick, but it seemed like I could leave those untouched for now.

"Ah, yeah. I'm fine." I peeked at Sudou and was about to open my mouth, but she shook her head, wearing a thin smile. "It's alright. Kushida-san must have noticed after all..."

Sakura trusted me enough to believe that I didn't spill the beans.

If anyone thought closely about it, it wouldn't have made any sense that I disclosed my knowledge about her gravure-idol days and told her that I'd keep quiet before informing Sudou, since she would instantly lose any trust she might have had in me.

With this, the stage was set up for the play that was about to unfold before us.

Classes went by in a flash, which must have been the total opposite to what Sudou and Sakura were feeling. During today's lessons, Chiaki was calm and focused. Instead of appearing worried, she seemed confident in her abilities to keep her classmate out of harm's way.

After the bell rang, Chiaki stood and rounded the three of us up.

"Sudou-kun. You remember what we have talked about yesterday, yes?"

"Y-yeah. I'll do my best, okay?"

He scratched his neck and shouldered his bag.

"Then repeat."

Chiaki interlaced her arms.

"Repeat what?"

Sudou made two steps back to increase the distance between them.

It seemed like Chiaki's behavior reminded him of a certain other individual, causing him to relive some of his trauma, which I still knew little about. Someday, however, I would find out what Horikita had done to my poor Rook.

"What I told you yesterday."

"Argh, shit... alright. Do nothing selfish. Shut up and let you do the talking. Don't open my mouth unless spoken to. Be calm and collected when asked a question, and lastly... if I lose my temper, I'm going to regret it."

Sakura flinched as these rules kept piling up, especially after listening to the last one. Before she could process how terrifying Chiaki could be, she turned towards her with her usual charming older-sister smile.

"There are no rules for you Sakura-san, since you can behave like a decent human being."

"H-hey..." Sudou sulked and hid behind me. "Your girlfriend is scary as hell, dude."

Ignoring my favorite delinquent, I went over to Sakura to reassure her. She was still in a decent condition, better than anticipated, considering that she found the courage to stand up for herself and take a step forward.

"We'll better get going then."

The discussion was scheduled to begin at 4:00 PM, so we had about ten minutes left.

It wasn't the first time I went to the faculty room, but this was such an unusual gathering that I couldn't help but feel nervous. When I moved in a group, I was limited in what I could do if I didn't want to stand out, after all.

When the four of us reached the room, the nightmare of a teacher waved at us.

"Yahoo! Hello Class D students and Ayanokouji-kun."

Her eyes sparkled like two diamonds, since she loved sticking her nose into other people's business.

"What are you doing this time?"

Chabashira-sensei walked out of the faculty room and shot her a cold glare.

"Oh, no! I've been found Ayanokouji-kun. Help me, Sae-chan is so scary."

She acted like a damsel in distress and ran towards our direction, or rather, mine.

This woman...

Chiaki, who had noticed my predicament, moved in between me and Hoshinomiya-sensei to block her way.

"I don't know who you are, sensei. But I would appreciate it if you left my boyfriend alone."

"Huh?!" Class B's homeroom teacher seemed shocked beyond words as she began to voice her dissatisfaction. "Ayanokouji-kun? Are you two-timing me? Me?! ME?! You cheat! Fraud! Womanizer!"

Sudou leaned towards me and covered his mouth.

"What's wrong with that crazy chick?"

"Where do I even begin...?"

Sakura shrunk back due to Hoshinomiya-sensei's over-exaggerated performance and hid behind the three of us.

"You! What's your na — ouch! Sae-chan!"

Once again, she received a well-deserved clipboard beating by Chabashira-sensei.

"Stop harassing my students and leave."

The recipient of both the beating and this cold remark winked at me before she went back into the faculty offices.

"Let's meet up in my room later, Ayanokouji-kun!"

"Please ignore her."

Chabashira-sensei motioned us to walk with her.

"We will not do this anywhere close to her, right?"

It was apparent that Chiaki had a bone to pick with Class B's homeroom teacher. But it was the same for me as well. After this meeting just now, she would harbor doubts about the truthfulness of my claims back in May.

I was able to buy myself some time, but I might have to deal with her during our 'vacation', depending on how much she intended to interfere in the class competitions.

"It won't be that far away unfortunately, but we'll have a room for everyone involved in this case: the homeroom teacher of the classes in question, the concerned parties and the student council."

Chiaki faltered for a second when she heard the last two words.

I was pretty surprised by her reaction, since I figured that only Horikita would react in such a manner, or even worse, if her behavior during the club fair was anything to go by.

Was she also scared of him or something?

Chabashira-sensei led us up to the fourth floor and through the vacant corridors. A placard that read 'Student Council Room' was affixed to the wall near the doorway. Our homeroom teacher knocked and went inside before the four of us followed suit.

Inside the room stood two long tables, which had been arranged opposite of each other.

The Class C students had arrived prior and were seated on the window side of the room. Beside them sat a bespectacled male teacher in his thirties who seemed fed up by this whole circus.

Sakagami Kazuma, Class C's homeroom teacher. Aside from his name and class assignment, I knew next to nothing about this man, since it had proven quite difficult to amass information about the teachers, even for my queens.

In the back of the room was another table, which was partially elevated from where we were sitting. On the seat behind this table sat a student, who went over documents his secretary had just spread out before him. Horikita Manabu raised his head and affirmed his position, which was akin to that of a judge, prepared to determine the truth.

"Sorry we're late."

We were two minutes early, so I didn't really understand what Chabashira-sensei was on about.

Was her watch faulty by chance? Should I buy her a new one on her birthday next year?

"It's before the scheduled start time. There is no need for apologies."

The man, Sakagami-sensei, waved his hands.

"You haven't met, have you? This is Sakagami-sensei, the homeroom teacher of Class C. Now then."

Chabashira-sensei motioned us to sit down.

She herself sat down at the helm, closest to the student council president.

After her, followed Chiaki, Sudou, me and lastly Sakura.

This arrangement had been a deliberate consideration by Chiaki, so that she could shut Sudou up if he did something stupid, while I could support Sakura when she began to struggle due to the stress.

Her game plan was solid, although I wasn't allowed to sit beside Sae, which was a shame.

"Well then, I would like to discuss the violent incident that occurred on Friday May 31st with the members of the student council, the involved parties, and their homeroom teachers. You may begin the proceedings, student council secretary Tachibana."

Horikita Manabu's calm, yet heavy voiced echoed through the room, silencing anyone inside.

Chiaki calmed herself with deep breaths, which didn't surprise me.

This was her first real challenge, and I couldn't wait to dissect her every move.

Secretary Tachibana, who I had the pleasure of meeting once before, gave a slight bow and summarized the situation from both sides in an easy-to-understand manner. There wasn't any need for further information, since everyone in here was aware of what was truly going on behind the scenes.

I have had my suspicions ever since I received Horikita-senpai's message, but I was sure that he was completely conscious of every single move Class C and I had made during the past week. He knew that Sudou-kun was set up, and he wanted to see how I would handle this situation without his help.

After his initial message, we had had no contact, meaning this was my first real test, of sorts.

"Based on the aforementioned facts, we would like for you to identify which version of the events is true." Tachibana turned her eyes towards us, specifically Sudou-kun. "Komiya-kun and the two other members of the basketball club went to the special building after Sudou-kun called them there. They claim to have been beaten up in a one-sided brawl once they were inside. Is this true?"

My classmate shrunk back and cleared his throat after receiving my glance.

"No, that is a lie. Komiya-kun and the others called me over to the special building under the pretext of wanting to talk to me about something. I figured they wanted to ask for pointers or things like that, since the club advisor told me that I might have a shot to be a regular for the summer tournament. After I arrived there, they told me to quit the basketball club or I would regret it. Their reason was that I am... a Class D defective, and they didn't want to see someone like me being a regular."

So far, so good.

Sudou-kun's calm narration of his, or rather, our side of the story, would give us some bonus points. Back then, he didn't think this far ahead, of course. The part about the pointers for basketball was fabricated by me to give him a solid, good-natured reason to meet with them.

Since he had indeed been scouted as a regular, there was no reason to doubt this line of thinking. The pause hadn't been planned, but it was a genuine reaction by him, as he did not see himself as defective.

With this statement, we not only showed Sudou-kun's sincerity but also took a jab at the Class C guys, who would never have asked for help from him, since they saw themselves as superior students.

If we could draw their true thoughts into the open, the trial would get considerably easier for us.

"That's a lie. Sudou called us over to the special building. As if we'd need pointers from a defect like him."

Sudou flinched upon hearing Class C's accusation. His lips parted and closed just as quickly before a pained expression emerged on his face. My classmate turned towards the reason for his suffering and was met with two glaring orbs that penetrated right through his delinquent facade.

Instead of showing any further interest towards this cheap provocation, he raised his head and stared at the Class C line-up while clenching his fists beneath the table.

For now, everything went according to plan.

It was sure that Komiya wasn't the one pulling the strings.

Someone who came up with such an underhanded ploy wouldn't have jumped at our pitiful attempt at harassment. His bearing and behavior was similar to Sudou's; rash and imprudent. Since he was the one talking while the others only nodded, it was safe to assume that the mastermind behind our current predicament was someone else.

"Komiya-kun, we ask that you please show some restraint and don't interrupt."

"Fine..."

"Both parties insist that the other called them over, so the accounts conflict. However, the stories share some commonality. There was a dispute between Sudou-kun, Komiya-kun, Kondou-kun and Kimura-kun, correct?"

Tachibana-senpai turned towards the Class C students and awaited their statement.

"I wouldn't call it a dispute. Sudou's always picking fights with us. He's better in basketball than we are, so he keeps bragging all the time. We practice with everything we've got, but it doesn't feel good when he makes a fool of us, so we often butt heads."

Some of Sudou's veins seemed about to pop, but he managed to calm himself down for now. I was ready to kick his shin again if I needed to, but I would rather abstain from physical violence if unnecessary. All I could grant him right now were a few words of advice.

"Calm and collected, Sudou-kun."

He nodded, just before Secretary Tachibana turned towards him to listen to his side of the story.

"That is also not true. When we practice, those three constantly get in my way and try to obstruct my training. Not only does this lead to a worse performance for me but also them, since they are rather bothering me than trying to get better."

This unexpected reply took me by surprise.

We hadn't talked about the second part of his statement, but he seemed to have realized in which direction I wanted this interview to go. I was proud of the steps Sudou-kun had taken today, since he showed that he cared a lot for his club activities and the promises he had made me.

"You..."

"This..."

The other two Class C students wanted to voice their own opinions, but were silenced by Tachibana-senpai's grim glare.

With this, I could rule out that the mastermind was inside this room for certain, which allowed me more maneuverability in how I was going to tackle this hearing going forward. Even if their teacher was on their side, the plan shouldn't have originated from him, but someone else in Class C.

Unfortunately, I knew little about anyone inside this school aside from Class B, which was only thanks to Kiyotaka.

"Both sides have given their grievances, but now we have to come to a judgment with the collected evidence."

"Sudou-kun beat us senseless. It was a one-sided fight."

It was a given that they would focus on their injuries, since Sudou-kun had none. This was without a doubt a tricky situation for us, but I still had some ideas up my sleeve.

"That's not true. They attacked first. It was self-defense."

"Excuse me, may I ask a question?"

I decided to step in now, since every delay might be disadvantageous for Sudou-kun.

"Do you mind, president?"

Tachibana-senpai turned to the Horikita-senpai, who gave a small nod.

"I'll allow it."

I rose from my seat and focused on the three Class C students in front of me.

"Earlier you said that Sudou-kun called you over to the special building. But who exactly did he call, and why?"

"We don't know why he called us over. We were changing after finishing up for the day as he suddenly said he wanted to talk to us for a minute. Wasn't the reason because he didn't like us?"

"So you claim that he called the three of you out together? To what? Beat you up? He didn't just call one of you but all at once?"

"Ah... y-yeah. That... doesn't that just show how confident he was?"

He began struggling, which meant that I needed to keep pushing even harder.

"Student Council President, if I may. Do you have knowledge of martial arts?"

He seemed somewhat amused by being used as an expert-witness before he let his stern gaze sway over all participants.

"I'm ranked fifth dan in karate and fourth dan in aikido."

Since I knew who I was working with, I naturally wanted to gather some information about him. Kushida-san has proven rather helpful since she was a social prodigy who had no trouble connecting to the upperclassmen.

"From your perspective, how difficult would a fight against multiple enemies be compared to a single one?"

"Well, victory becomes exponentially more difficult the more people one is fighting. But this only applies to people trained in martial arts. An untrained individual would have an even harder time in such a constellation."

"Thank you very much, Student Council President." I bowed before turning towards my accused classmate. "Sudou-kun, are you trained in any martial arts?"

"What? No. I didn't have time for anything other than basketball, even if I wanted to."

After gaining a satisfactory answer, I returned to the beginning: my questioning of the Class C students.

"Kondou-kun, you are trying to tell us that he called you over and beat you up single-handedly without receiving even a single wound himself? Against three people, no less? How could the fight be so one-sided if you had a skilled fighter like Kimura-kun?"

"B-because we didn't intend to fight, of course."

The boy in question was uneasy and glanced towards his teacher.

"So you didn't intend to fight and ended up like that? Couldn't you have all run away? Even if just one managed to gain enough distance, he could have called for help. But you are trying to say that Sudou-kun managed to overwhelm and prevent three people from running off and asking for aid?"

I ended my rhetorical questioning and once again faced Horikita-senpai.

"Student Council President, from an experienced martial artist's perspective, would you say that Sudou might have been capable enough to achieve such a feat?"

A weak smile formed on his face.

"No, it would be hard if not impossible for a single untrained individual to defeat and restrict three individuals from running away, especially if one of them is a skilled fighter."

"That! That way of thinking doesn't apply to Sudou-kun. He's exceptionally violent and thrashed us, showing no hint of mercy or remorse. That's what happened."

The boy peeled off the gauze, which covered his cheek, to expose the scrapes underneath.

I ignored the unpleasant sight and resumed my attack.

"So you claim that the student council president is lying? Or doesn't know what he's talking about? He is a well-trained, experienced martial artist, is he not? In the end, those wounds proof nothing. You might have been wobbly and fallen down the stairs for all we know. If confronted with facts, your story doesn't hold up."

My gaze wandered towards Tachibana-senpai, who seemed agitated due to Kondou's rebuttal.

It was undeniable that she cared deeply for Horikita-senpai, which is why I could use this to my advantage. For Secretary Tachibana, who is blinded by her feelings towards Horikita-senpai, this was not Class C against Sudou-kun anymore, but Class C who just dared to berate the student council president.

I didn't think that she would act unprofessional during our discussion, but the seed was already sown.

"Sudou-kun's testimony, however, makes perfect sense if you put everything we know into perspective. He was called over and threatened. When he did not oblige, the Class C students attacked him in such a manner that they would lose and be beaten up. If someone untrained gets cornered and suddenly attacked by three people, they wouldn't think twice about how they are not really defending themselves. The adrenaline rushing through Sudou-kun's body prevented him from seeing the whole picture: that you guys were luring him into a trap because you were jealous of his abilities as a basketball player."

""What?!""

Yes, go on...

"This is ridiculous. We weren't jealous of his abilities, we —"

"Kondou-kun, calm down, would you? It is unbecoming to behave like that in front of the student council."

The boy's eyes trembled before he averted his gaze towards the ground.

"Y-yes, Sakagami-sensei. I'm sorry."

I clicked my tongue in annoyance.

My provocations worked.

Without Sakagami-sensei's interference, Kondou-kun would have messed up and proven his guilt. Class C's homeroom teacher seemed to be more helpful than Chabashira-sensei regarding certain matters pertaining the students, which was an error in my calculations.

I hadn't expected that he would interfere directly.

"Aside from the testimony of an expert witness, which is the student council president himself, we also have evidence from someone who observed the scene firsthand." I made eye-contact with Secretary Tachibana, who nodded, allowing me to proceed. "Sakura-san, please, if you will."

She jerked up and began to shake.

The chair she sat on would have fallen over due to the inertia if Kiyotaka hadn't caught it in the last possible moment. Her nervousness was apparent, which might not benefit us as much as a calmer Sakura-san would have.

She clenched her hands and hid them in her sleeves.

"C-class 1-D, Sakura Airi-san."

After stating her name, she fell silent.

Sakagami-sensei chuckled and was about to say something as a powerful and loud voice rang through the room.

"I definitely saw what happened. The students in Class C threw the first punch. There is no mistake about it."

We had planned that she would follow up with the pictures she took, but it seemed like she had forgotten all about this due to her nervousness. I felt somewhat proud of what she had accomplished, even though I had done nothing to help her take this step.

Sakura-san's silence interrupted our flow, which Sakagami-sensei tried to exploit.

Before he could do so, I took back the lead.

"We also have proof regarding her claims. If you may, Sakura-san."

She nodded and grabbed her bag from the chair. After zipping it open, she pulled out ten pictures, which were unmistakable evidence that she had been at the special building at the time of the incident.

"T-this is proof that I was in the building that day."

Secretary Tachibana strode to Sakura and looked over the photographs, one after another. She nodded and gathered them before she carried them over to Horikita-senpai. He as well took some time to examine our proof before laying them out on the table so that everyone could get a closer look.

I didn't have time to look at her pictures before the hearing due to the time constraints, but I was shocked after seeing them for myself. The girl that had taken these photos and the one that sat in our classroom since April were two different people altogether.

Sakura-san could make such a happy expression?

"I'm... I was looking around for places with no one around so I could take pictures of myself. The pictures also show the date and time, which proves that I was there when I said."

"What —"

"I am sorry for interrupting you like this Sakagami-sensei, but I believed that our homeroom teachers were only present to observe while the students themselves took care of the discussion, or am I wrong about this?"

It was dangerous for us if I let this man open his mouth, which is why I stopped him with any means possible, even if it meant antagonizing him somewhat. The Class C students taking part in the discussion were nothing but pawns used by the mastermind behind them.

They couldn't think or act for themselves.

As long as I could keep Sakagami-sensei quiet, we had a far better chance at winning.

He likely wanted to retaliate and claim that this wasn't definitive proof, since the camera could have been tampered with, or things along those lines. Those were valid concerns, of course, but I wouldn't let him voice them. If the students in question raised the issue, I would lose this gamble, but after careful consideration of what I knew, I was positive that they would never think of this.

"She is right Sakagami-sensei. You are only here to observe, not consult. You know as well as any other teacher that this school attaches great importance to the autonomy of students."

"I understand."

He forced these two words out through gritted teeth while Chabashira-sensei smirked.

I took one of the pictures from the table and laid it down in front of the Class C students.

"This picture is clear evidence that Kimura-kun attacked Sudou-kun. Why is that?"

My question wasn't resolved by any of them.

Instead, they looked at each other with question-marks on their faces. They peeked towards Sakagami-sensei from time to time, but there was nothing he could do except clench his fists in frustration.

"That's what I thought. Student Council President, Secretary Tachibana. Isn't that enough evidence to show that they were luring Sudou-kun into a trap to rob him from his deserved place in the basketball tournament? They can't even answer such a simple question."

Both of them once again looked over the pictures, which were the only pieces of physical evidence we currently held.

"The evidence and reasoning definitely supports Class D's version of the story. For one there is photographic evidence which verified Sakura-san's presence while the altercation took place. Second is the notion that an untrained delinquent was easily overwhelming three separate individuals, sustaining no notable injuries. This would only be possible if the three of you tried to run away, which clearly wasn't the case as seen in the picture and according to the injuries you claim to have received. The circumstances seem to indicate a setup from Class C, in which a student from Class D carelessly stepped. Since I am not hearing any logical reasoning from Class C's side and the evidence wasn't conclusive enough to proof a setup for certain, I am inclined to give the three involved individuals a stern warning and leave it at that. This, however, does not change the fact that Sudou-kun hit the other students. Since you were likely led on, I will refrain from punishing you this time. Should any further physical altercation take place in which you are involved, then I won't be as merciful as today."

"Yataa!"

Sudou-kun jumped up from his chair, behaving out of place for the serious reminder he just received.

Both Horikita-senpai and I sent him a grim glare, which bore through him at the same time.

His face turned ashen before he sat down and prayed for mercy. Sakura-san smiled, happy that she could help resolve the issue, while the Classs C students and Sakagami-sensei frowned, unsatisfied with the outcome.

If I had allowed their teacher to trample our evidence, this discussion wouldn't have ended this favorably for us.

Last, but definitely not least, was my boyfriend, Kiyotaka.

He sat on the chair beside Sudou, expressionless as always and seemed concentrated on twiddling his thumbs, which looked far too adorable. Despite his apathetic, bored demeanor, I could tell that he was relieved now that everything had worked out in our favor.

Yosha!

I finally have more time for him!

We have to go on a date after this!

While I blushed in happiness and wondered where we should go for our first real date as a couple, my phone vibrated.

Horikita- and Tachibana-senpai were discussing something behind the raised table, and the Class C students kept whispering amongst themselves, which is why I took the liberty to check my phone for a moment.

[04:32:12 PM[Fumei] Good work, but you are not done yet.

[04:32:13 PM[Fumei] The Prince.mp4

Right...

Due to my relief about our victory, I had almost forgotten the words he had sent me on June 3rd.

'If an injury has to be done to a man, it should be so severe that his vengeance need not be feared.'

I didn't know the quote at first, but after researching it, I found that it was a quote by Niccolo Machiavelli. The excerpt is from a book called 'The Prince', and its general theme is that the ends justify the means.

While everyone was still occupied, I clicked on the video.

The first few seconds were already enough to see where this was going. I didn't need to review the whole thing to know what I had to do to receive Horikita-senpai's continued support. This was his way of turning me into someone that could survive the third-year on her own.

"I'm not satisfied with the outcome. The Class C students tried to destroy Sudou-kun's future at both his club and this school. An appropriate amount of punishment should be served."

The whole room turned silent.

The clattering, the chats and movements all halted momentarily. Some even stopped breathing altogether.

Sudou-kun looked confused and surprised while Sakura-san observed me with a concerned face. Kiyotaka also raised his head and glanced at me. Even Chabashira-sensei seemed astonished as her two orbs widened for a moment.

"This is ridiculous. My students were beaten and badly hurt, but you are still pushing against us? You can already be satisfied that your classmate wasn't suspended. I won't accept..."

Sakagami-san seemed to have lost his cool, but his words went in one ear and out the other.

I couldn't hear him, I couldn't hear anything, to be honest.

I, Matsushita Chiaki, was about to ruin the lives of three people.

Could I live and move forward with this knowledge?

Would Kiyotaka see me in a different light because of what I was about to do?

I was afraid, no — terrified, that I would alienate him with my actions.

Now that I finally managed to inform him of my feelings.

Now that I was happy.

But I had no choice.

In the end, it was for our future. For all of us.

Not only for Kiyotaka and me but also for Sudou-kun, Sakura-san and our other classmates.

'The ends justify the means'.

"Matsushita-san, right? The proof you presented until now is nowhere near enough to warrant such a harsh punishment. You can count yourselves lucky that Sudou-kun wasn't penalized this time."

Secretary Tachibana spoke up against my statement while Horikita-senpai silenced Class C's homeroom teacher.

She was hinting at my close call from before, when I barely stopped Sakagami-sensei from potentially ruining my plans. In her view, I was feeling too conceited, too full of myself due to my recent success and decided to push farther than I should have with the evidence I had shown until now.

"But I have proof. I have a video file of the altercation. May I play it for you?"

My senpai glanced at me in surprise, wondering why I hadn't bothered to use this piece of information sooner. After a short deliberation, she nodded, whereupon I handed her my phone.

Her eyes grew wide when she confirmed the beginning of the video. Even with no sound playing right now, she knew that this was damning for the Class C students. She gave me another look before handing my phone to the student council president.

Fumei watched the video with his usual calm and collected gaze. He must have seen it already, but I wouldn't have been proficient enough to tell due to his excellent acting skills, that enhanced his tranquil, almost mysterious expression.

So this is what it means to be a Class A student?

There was still a long way to go for me... for all of Class D.

"Would you kindly send this file to Secretary Tachibana so she can show it to everyone?"

"Ah. Yes, of course."

I exchanged numbers with my female senpai and sent her the file. She began to set up her phone and connected it to a projector with speakers, which was previously hidden inside the ceiling.

A few moments later, the video started.

"He's coming. You guys know what to do, right?"

Komiya clapped twice as he strode up the stairs to rouse his two partners in crime, who were resting on the ground, either sleeping or playing around on a handheld gaming console.

"We've been through this a thousand times already. Let's just get rid of that nuisance and grab a bite to eat."

Afterwards, the video was portraying the exact story that Sudou-kun had recounted time and time again. It was clear through dialogue and video that they were executing their plan. After the 'fight', neither of the three were nearly as hurt as they were now.

They were even laughing.

"Ohh fuck, my chin hurts like hell."

"But that should be enough, right?"

"I guess? Let's check in with Ryuuen-san first."

The video ended after the three of them left the camera's limited angle.

Ryuuen? Who was that?

Despite my lingering questions, I turned to Tachibana-senpai.

"That is more than enough proof, isn't it?"

"Indeed. Not only was it clear that he was being set up, they also weren't as badly hurt at the end of the video. The case is clear. Right, Student Council President?"

"It is as Secretary Tachibana says. The malicious intent behind their actions is obvious for everyone to see. Their deceptive practices and lies endangered a students future at this school. With this in mind, the three of you are expelled, effective immediately. Sakagami-sensei, would you call their parents for the mandatory procedures?"

"I... will take care of it..."

He spoke slow and unsteady, angered by the sudden, unexpected reversal.

As their teacher stepped out of the room to take care of their expulsion, I took the chance to gather more information from them. While they were cursing and whining about their fate, I was handing them an olive branch in order to gleam at the puppeteer behind this operation.

"Ryuuen. Was it his plan? Why did he try to attack us? If you give me any useful information, you might escape this precarious situation. It surely would be possible to take back my demands and turn them over on him."

This was not a bad deal.

Neither for them, nor for us. Even Fumei would agree with this decision.

If I could behead the snake, then we wouldn't have to worry about it anymore. I could also try to ease my guilty conscience, since only one person would need to be expelled instead of three.

Contrary to my expectations, however, neither of them answered. Aside from a visible tremor upon hearing the name, they didn't react in any way that would indicate that they had even listened to me.

I took a deep breath and sat back down.

The three of them had made their decision.

Nothing would change if I kept concerning myself with them.

Whatever this Ryuuen person did, they were loyal to him, even while facing expulsion. According to their physical reactions, they harbored a deep-seated fear of this individual. Their angst was so deeply rooted that they didn't even care that they might be able to get rid of him instead.

There must have been something else except violence to make someone this obedient.

Trust? Power?

Did they think that this person could somehow help them? That he would have been able to save himself if they betrayed him this time?

I truly doubted it.

Authors Note:

Well, today I woke up with like 300 notifications and didn't know what the hell happened.

First, I want to thank @ZdattyGames for recommending my story, which seemed to have led to this influx of people and welcome all the new readers that have come over because of him.

I've read all your comments, answered some of them, and I'm really grateful to all of you for reading, voting, commenting and putting my story on your reading lists 3

On another note, thank you all for over 10k reads, 1k votes and 50 followers, which is just... I don't know, overwhelming? I hope you guys and girls will keep enjoying the future chapters as much as the old ones.

With that being said, see you next week. 3

- Word Count: 14850 / 68488 Characters

Released 09.07.2022

Chapter 18 - Critical Position

"Damn, Ayanokouji... Your girlfriend is scary. Please protect me from now on."

Sudou's whole body shuddered as he recalled the merciless words Chiaki spoke when she pressed for the expulsion of all three Class C students without hesitation.

Her voice had been eerily calm throughout the whole exchange, which scared him more than expected. For him, she was his savior, but for them, their greatest nightmare. Sudou must have been thankful that she was on our side and not someone else's.

I couldn't deny his sentiments, however.

Chiaki was far more ruthless than anticipated.

Thanks to her, everything had worked out for us, even without my intervention into the events, which meant that I could depend on her abilities in the future if the need arose. Maybe I would get to spend some more time as I wished, thanks to my wonderful girlfriend.

"I think you'll be fine if you behave from now on."

I was about to lean against the wall to wait for Chiaki, but Sudou had other ideas.

"I will! I swear! Tell her that, would you?" He kept rocking my shoulders back and forth with a nervous, almost fearful expression before he turned to Sakura, who stood beside us. "And you..." She flinched, surprised by his sudden interest in her. "... thank you so much for helping me. I'm sorry that I put you in that position!"

He bowed down in front of her, whereupon Sakura stared at both of us with wide eyes. Her hands and fingers moved and began to squirm in a panic as she took two steps back. She wasn't used to such a heartfelt, genuine acknowledgement of her courage, so she didn't know how to behave under these circumstances.

"N-no. There is n-no need to t-thank m-me, S-sudou-kun."

The beaming girl lowered her head, overstrained yet happy that she could not only be of help in this situation, but also that her statement during the discussion had actually made a difference for him.

Due to her determination, the outcome had changed to our advantage.

"Sudou-kun is right, Ayanokouji-kun. The way Matsushita-san handled everything was really amazing." She softened her voice and peeked at me with quivering eyes. "But she's also super scary sometimes..."

My pawn shuddered as well as she remembered that she almost began to weep during and after her testimony, while Chiaki was so confident in her abilities and herself that she dared to cut off a teacher during the trial.

It was not surprising that both of them were caught off-guard, since her behavior had surprised even me. The way she had handled herself throughout the discussion was nothing short of marvelous.

Chiaki had utilized every weak point they had exposed during the trial without mercy and buried the enemy under a cluster of facts, evidence and expert statements after realizing that neither of these three goons could have orchestrated such an attack on us.

The only real danger in the room had been Sakagami-sensei, who turned out to be much less passive than our own homeroom teacher, but she still managed to stop him from interfering with an imaginative stroke of reasoning after he interjected and obstructed her plan once.

Her cunning hadn't stopped there, however, as she even used Horikita Manabu against the three Class C students to get the emotional Tachibana on her side. Even though she wasn't able to play this card during the trial, she began to prepare everything in case she needed it.

To sum it up, Chiaki did her homework and executed her own plan to perfection.

I should have been happy with what she had achieved, but I wondered how all of this had turned out if the mastermind had attended the trial as well. Would she have been able to outmaneuver him? Was she quick enough on her feet to figure out potential traps and pitfalls in a short amount of time?

My girlfriend and the two student council members strolled out of the room a few moments after my analysis of the events concluded. Tachibana locked the door while Chiaki walked up to me with a conflicted smile on her face.

The student council president strode after her and stopped as our eyes met.

"Ayanokouji, it's nice to see you again. Matsushita is quite something, isn't she? I heard that the two of you are a couple. I guess congratulations are in order."

All of my classmates glanced at me with more or less surprised expressions after the student council president addressed me. Due to the trial, they had recognized that the elder Horikita held a powerful position in the school, which begged the question how the two of us had gotten to know each other.

"It was quite a surprise to be running into you today, Horikita-senpai. Chiaki was indeed really cool back there. I'm glad that she asked me to accompany her today, even though I did little to help."

Chiaki blushed, grabbed onto my arm and rubbed her head against my shoulder.

The student council president regarded us with his usual deadpan expression until Tachibana walked up to him. Her two buns bounced around as she looked up to the elder Horikita with reverence.

"Well then, we won't be intruding on you any further. Please relay my greetings to Suzune."

"Will do."

"Goodbye, Horikita-senpai."

Sudou and Sakura just bowed while Horikita's brother left. The steps of the two council members grew softer until they eventually vanished in the distance. After a few moments, only the four of us were left in this empty, almost eerie corridor.

"That's quite a surprise, Kiyotaka. I didn't know that you and Horikita-senpai are acquainted."

Chiaki voiced the question that had been on all of their minds.

"Oh, that... we don't know each other that well, I guess. I ran into him on my way to Chabashira-sensei one day and he asked me how Suzune was doing. He figured that I ought to know best since we were seatmates. Why he didn't ask his sister directly is beyond me, though."

Sudo furrowed his brows before he glanced at me in surprise.

"Wait, wait, wait... hold up a moment. Your seatmate Horikita? Our Horikita? Wait... Suzune? They are siblings?"

The love-struck boy couldn't believe my words as he stared after his potential brother-in-law, who had long since vanished from our view. Sakura was just as surprised by this revelation as he was, which meant that only a few students must have formed the connection through their names.

Chiaki, for instance, hadn't reacted with surprise and had only nodded as if she understood everything.

"Well, anyway... we should celebrate, right? I mean, those punks had it coming messing with us! It's my treat so don't worry about your balances! I'm inviting all of you to Ayanokouji's room!"

"Wait, what?"

Both of our female companions began to laugh as my monotone voice rang through the deserted hallway.

I doubted that Sudou had enough points to even treat himself, but I kept quiet as not to spoil the current atmosphere. Since everyone was in a good mood, Sakura could feel more at ease than usual as well. With a little luck, she might be able to pluck up the courage to branch out to different people with whom she could grow close to in the future.

She seemed comfortable talking to Chiaki, so maybe they could become good friends as time passed.

On our way out of the building, we ran into two familiar faces.

"Yahoo! You guys are late!"

Ichinose waved, full of vigor, while Kanzaki stood beside her as stern as usual. He threw us a smile when he took note of the relieved expressions we all wore as we walked towards them.

"You were waiting for us?"

"Of course, we wanted to know what happened."

Class B's leader made a small hop and clapped her hands. Her eyes sparkled with genuine interest about how we managed to overcome a situation that was stacked against us from the very beginning.

"Sudou was found innocent and the Class C students were expelled."

"W-what?"

Her previous smile faltered after these unexpected words.

Both Kanzaki and Ichinose were shocked beyond belief.

As far as they knew, breaking even would have been troublesome enough, but getting them expelled should have been close to impossible with the proof Chiaki had shared with them and us before the trial began.

"C-congratulations, but... what happened? The body of evidence was slim at best. How did you manage to turn it around like that? Expelling a student, much less three, shouldn't have been this simple, right?"

The strawberry-blonde beauty wasn't too happy about this unforeseen outcome.

Even though they hadn't been her classmates and were probably part of the faction that had attacked her class during the last month, she didn't take this news as pleasant ones. She was happy that the truth prevailed, but the price those students had to pay left a bitter aftertaste in her mouth.

If Ichinose had been in Chiaki's shoes, she would have pushed for a suspension rather than straight up expulsion, or she would have ignored the video evidence altogether if she didn't need to use it. She might have also tried to strike a deal with Class C's shot-caller beforehand, so that no one would have gotten into too much trouble.

This was the mindset the person called Ichinose Honami characterized.

"At first Chiaki managed to convince the student council that Sudou was innocent and that Class C had laid a trap for him, just like you and Kanzaki assumed. This resulted in a warning for them as well as a harsh wake-up call for Sudou, since he barely scratched past suspension. That's when we all celebrated, but Chiaki had yet another piece of evidence she hadn't shown before, which was an entire video of the altercation from start to finish. The three students stated that they were planning on setting him up and the rest had turned out as Sudou had explained multiple times."

Since I was the most familiar with them, I recounted how the trial went according to the information in my possession. My girlfriend hadn't interjected either, so I deemed it fine to inform them of the details.

"But... this... How? There were no cameras, right? You checked with Horikita-san, didn't you? Kanzaki-kun and I also investigated the location and came up empty-handed. Where... did that video come from?"

Chiaki shook her head and shrugged.

"I don't know either. It was sent to me in the middle of the discussion by an anonymous number."

The two puzzled Class B students fell into a deep state of contemplation.

There wasn't much to figure out at this stage, since we were missing important clues to narrow down the mystery person's true identity. The only upside was that they didn't need to gather any more information to make a few preliminary assumptions that would narrow it down.

For one, they could be certain that no one in Class B had sent Chiaki the message, otherwise they would have done so sooner, or informed Ichinose, at least. This was also true for Class C, because it wouldn't make sense to expel their own. If someone in Class D had held onto this video, they would have most likely sent it to Chiaki before the trial instead of in the midst of the meeting.

With this, we could exclude almost all the first-years, which limited the potential sender to Class 1-A, as well as the second- and third-years.

Ichinose and Kanzaki would rule out the upperclassmen if their train of thought carried them this far, because they would falsely assume that the senpais couldn't interfere in the lower classes, which I had proven false by expelling students from the second-year with Kushida.

The adorable Class B girl peeked at me for a moment before heaving a sigh.

"Well, what's done is done. They lied to harm another student and had to pay the appropriate price. Even though expulsion is harsh, if Horikita-senpai himself decided that, then I'm sure it was a reasonable punishment."

"Do you know the student council president well, Ichinose-san?"

Chiaki tilted her head, confused by the way she had talked about the elder Horikita.

"Oh... You weren't with us when I told my class, right?" She let out a cute laugh and averted her head as if she felt embarrassed before dropping a bomb. "I got accepted into the student council!"

"Wow, really? Congratulations, Ichinose-san."

"Damn, congratulations."

"C-congratulations..."

"Thank you, thank you."

My girlfriend glanced at me as she realized that I hadn't congratulated her.

Since Ichinose and Kanzaki weren't surprised by my silence, she must have figured that I was informed beforehand. Her thought process was indeed correct, since I knew that she got accepted for some time already.

"That's nothing to worry about. But how is it? Working for the student council?"

Ichinose wore a bright smile and gave two thumbs up.

"It's exhausting but really rewarding. I'm glad I got accepted after all. At first Horikita-senpai declined, but I kept trying and a few weeks later Tachibana-senpai called and notified me that he had reconsidered my application and I got in. I felt out of place at first, but everyone was super nice to me during my adaption period."

Damn, this girl was beyond gorgeous when she was happy...

After our group separated from the Class B leadership, we strolled over to the dorms and made our way into my room in order to celebrate Sudou's innocence with everyone who had helped him.

This list would have included quite a few people since a majority of the class had asked around for a witness, so he cut it down without mercy. In the end, only Kushida and Ike joined us. Hirata had been invited as well, but he declined because he was on a date with Karuizawa. I also called Horikita after Sudou kept bothering me for at least ten minutes since I was the only one who had her number, but she said that she was busy and didn't intend to take part in the festivities.

Sudou was heartbroken after her blatant disregard for his feelings, which came as no surprise. Kushida tried her best to cheer him up, but even she needed some time to pull him out of his misery after this painful reminder that my neighbor didn't care about him.

I was pretty sure that Horikita wasn't busy, since she had picked up almost immediately, but I kept this piece of information to myself because Sudou would probably start weeping again.

The party went on for a while as drinks and snacks were served.

Even though Sudou said that it was his treat, most of the snacks were mine, since he had pulled them out of my drawers. The only things he had bought were the refreshments, which he had gulped down himself. Despite this shameless thievery, everyone enjoyed themselves over the course of the afternoon.

Sakura was still timid and uncomfortable around people, but she managed to take part in a few conversations with Chiaki and Kushida, who tried to help her acclimate to the unusual surroundings. It was easier if the girls talked to her, so I was quite thankful for their thoughtfulness.

After multiple, long and arduous rounds of talks, chats and other discussions, evening arrived.

The first ones to leave were, unsurprisingly, Sudou and Ike. As per usual, neither of them had any intention of cleaning up the mess they had made and wobbled out of the room with the pretext of being drunk on orange juice, or something equally absurd.

The girls stayed behind and helped me clean up, even though I had told them that it would be fine. They insisted on doing at least that much after intruding, just like the last time I had them over.

Kushida and Sakura said their farewells after everything was in order and ambled back towards their own apartments, leaving Chiaki and me behind in mine.

As the door shut, silence descended upon the once lively room.

My girlfriend blushed to such a degree that she could have put Sakura to shame as she realized that we were the only people left at my place. She didn't mind being here when others were with us, but it seemed like this alone time changed the situation for the worse.

"Y-your room is really nice. A little simplistic, but neat and tidy."

Chiaki looked through my room and roamed around with light steps. Her gaze wandered from the kitchen area, over to the bathroom door, to the bed and back to the entrance, where she found something to talk about.

"I see you like chess, Kiyotaka?"

She ambled towards the three chessboards in the corner and picked up the red king before twirling it around in her fingers with a curious glance. After setting the piece back down on the correct position, she spun around, awaiting my answer.

"I think it's a fun game, although I'm not that proficient. It's more like thinking 'wow, playing the piano is kind of cool', but being unable to do so. I know the rules of chess, of course, but that's pretty much all there is to it."

She snickered and twisted one of the boards with her index finger.

"I guess I know what you mean. But why did you buy three boards? And why the four player variant? Did you think that a few plants were too boring for your advanced interior design?"

"Oh, well... I'm not very good with plants. I could probably kill a cactus by accident. The chessboards were more of an impulse purchase, since I got them in a three for the price of one discount. I wanted one anyway, since it's fun playing with friends, so getting three was fine with me. Even if I don't need the other two, I could turn a profit if I sell the remaining ones. That's what I thought, at least, but I'm too lazy to sell them and they don't look too shabby as part of my interior, I think."

I walked towards the kitchen and began to boil water to prepare some tea.

"Hmm, maybe I should buy you a cactus. If I come over frequently, we should be able to keep him alive, don't you think?" She peeked at me with an adorable blush before averting her gaze from embarrassment. "Or maybe we just leave those chess boards alone for now, hahaha..."

"If you want to buy us a cactus, I won't complain."

Chiaki fumbled around with her hands as she lowered her head and changed the topic.

"Hey... about before, during the trial. What did you think of... you know..."

"About what you did?"

I walked over to my bed and sat down before tapping the spot beside me.

Her face once again flushed in a deep-crimson color as she made her way over to me. She brushed away her skirt and relaxed beside me before continuing to play with her fingers.

"Yeah. I thought a lot about it and I mean, those were three people we are talking about. Destroying their future at a prestigious school like this because of what they did... it feels wrong."

My hand grasped onto hers as I began to caress over her fingers.

Chiaki's thoughts were understandable for a normal, reliable and decent human being that grew up in a healthy environment. Even though they had tried to weaken our class, they were still people, and she felt horrible for paying them back in kind.

In the White Room, this would have been called weakness.

Here, in the real world, however, it was called compassion.

"Even though your actions sound cruel on paper, I think you made the right decision. They were coming after us and they probably wouldn't have stopped with just Sudou either, so retaliation sounds fair to me. Your actions protected all of us, so I don't think that they were a mistake. You are also reflecting on the steps and measures you took and feel bad about them, so you are definitely not a bad person, if that's what you thought."

The scent of peonies made its way through my nostrils as she leaned onto my shoulder and rubbed my hand. The odor was faint, since she had rinsed her hair some time ago, but it was still discernable now that she was so close to me.

"I did well, right?"

"Mh..." I nodded, leaning my head into hers. "You did really well. I'm proud of my adorable girlfriend, who's not only beautiful but also smart and fearless in front of a teacher."

A charming giggle escaped her enticing lips as she threw me an innocent, yet strangely inviting peek.

"D-don't I... like... you k-know... deserve a r-reward then?"

The aftermath of this celebration turned into quite a difficult situation.

How was I supposed to know what kind of reward she deserved for something like that? Did she want to go out or have a meal? Should I cook for her or did she want to visit a restaurant of sorts? But maybe this had nothing to do with food and she wanted another present?

Since she sat right in front of me, I had no time to ask anyone who might have known the answer. My only choice was to keep pretending that I know exactly what she wanted and hope that I could figure it out before the time arrived.

"Mhh... I guess you do."

"R-right?"

Chiaki's heartbeat sped up as she faced me with an even deeper crimson-colored expression. Both her pulse and temperature climbed, which made the skin above her carotid artery throb in quick periodic cycles. She kept gazing into my eyes with her quivering ocean-blue orbs.

The way she looked at me, stared at her own appearance, which reflected from my pupil and iris, reminded me of someone. Because of this hint, everything I had doubts about clicked into place.

The reward she yearned for...

I knew exactly what it was.

Confirming my assumption, Chiaki closed her eyes and leaned forward.

This would mark my first kiss if I ignored the one she had planted on my cheek back on the rooftop. As far as I was informed, a cheek kiss couldn't be considered as someone's first. In addition, this would be the first one I reciprocated, or initiated, even.

I wasn't too sure which action counted as initiation, but this was beside the point.

My first unforced kiss.

My own choice.

How would her lips feel on mine? How would she taste? Should I use my tongue or leave it at a normal kiss on the lips for a few seconds? Which time span would be the right amount to hold contact? Was this perhaps too soon for our first kiss? Where would I need to put my lips? Would it feel weird or bad if I made a mistake?

Questions I had no answers to popped into my mind one after the other.

My thoughts began to race, slowing down my perception of time.

Due to my unawareness of these topics, I decided to run a few simulations with different actions before determining the one that would produce the most satisfactory result for both of us.

As with Fuka's simulation, this one began with our lips almost touching. From there, I could formulate the perfect responses to every move she might make. About two-thirds of people tipped their heads to the right during a kiss, which meant that I could cut down on the time required to calculate if I neglected to run samples for a left-sided head tilt.

From there, I could analyze the movements of her lips.

Depending on how her levator labii superioris pulled her lip upwards, I needed to adjust my own muscle movements for this region. In the same sense, I had to accommodate for her depressor labii inferioris, which lowered her lip downwards. There were, of course, even more muscle regions in play, but these two were the most important ones to take note of.

With this information, I could extrapolate —

As I was about to run my first sample after confirming the theory behind the muscle movements of our lips, I realized something groundbreaking.

This wasn't how a kiss between two lovers was supposed to work.

My over-analyzation would ruin the sacred act that is known as 'first kiss'. It would not only spoil this once in a lifetime opportunity for the girl who had opened her heart up to me, but also for myself.

I canceled all the concurrent simulations I had prepared as time resumed.

There was no need to anticipate or perfect the actions that were about to follow. Here, just this once, mistakes were permitted. They didn't matter, because this process should be something natural between both parties instead of a perfect artificial execution of a specific sequence of actions I had calculated in advance.

The distance between our lips decreased as the seconds passed.

Her warm breath, which caressed mine just before the touch, was overwhelming the receptors on my skin. She still smelled like the green tea she had sipped during the celebration as her lips closed in on my own.

Without the simulations to prepare myself, I chose to lean in further.

This was yet another first time for me.

And then everything blanked out for a moment.

Chiaki's lips were as soft as cotton candy, almost like a pillow made of clouds you might throw yourself into after a difficult day. The scent of green tea mixed with the fragrance of peonies from her hair, which shuffled around, creating a whole new aroma for the receptors in my nostrils to experience.

The insecurities I held before vanished like long-lost memories as our lips nestled into each other without trouble due to their inherent shape and form. Contrary to my previous thoughts, the kiss didn't taste like anything, but a warm, fuzzy feeling spread through my nervous system as I brushed against her smooth and comfortable lips.

With most of my previous questions answered, I pulled away.

My girlfriend opened her eyes with a feverish yet innocent and shy gaze, not daring to meet mine. Her rosy cheeks shone in the light as nothing but our heavy breaths, synchronized heartbeats, and the boiling water for my tea could be perceived inside the otherwise silent room.

I wanted to feel her a bit more, maybe just a little longer...

After caressing over her chin, I tilted her head upwards, not allowing her to hide this captivating sight of her adorable, blushing face any longer.

Her eyes shimmered as I moved in once again.

"You are seriously too cute..."

"G-good morning, Ayanokouji-kun."

"Good morning... Sakura."

It was quite surprising to be greeted by her first thing in the morning, which was demonstrated by the other students' curious expressions after hearing her voice, since it was the first time for some of them.

Yesterday's discussion seemed to have lit a small but rich spark in her pursuit of changing herself. These shifts were only subtle as of now, but her overall confidence differed from before. Not only had her sitting posture changed and courage risen, her overall outlook towards this school and her future in it had transformed for the better.

These changes didn't mean that she would suddenly appear as self-confident and social as Kushida or Hirata, but she was working on her timid and meek bearing one step at a time. She took the plunge during the trial with which she had already accomplished one of the hardest steps.

After greeting Sakura, I ambled towards my desk.

Horikita already sat at her own and regarded me with her usual complacent expression. She nodded at me and returned to her book before I could reciprocate her kind gesture.

I guess I'll convey the elder Horikita's greeting later...

"G-good morning, Matsushita-san."

"G-good morning, Sakura-san. Once again, thank you for yesterday. You helped us out a lot."

Chiaki's voice was loud and clear for everyone to hear.

This was her way of taking care of Sakura and making sure that no one would talk badly about her. Since she was our de facto leader, she had a lot of sway over the class during critical times like this one had been. By thanking her, she elevated her reputation, at least by a little.

"A-ah... n-no it's not like I did a-anything really so..."

While Sakura tried to downplay her own bravery and overshadow her discomfort, Chiaki raised her hand and held it out in front of her, ready to receive a high five for a job well done.

Our timid classmate hesitated for a few moments before plucking up the courage to act.

"Yay!"

"Y-yay..."

She was still clumsy and awkward, but she tried her best to fix these bad habits and improve her low opinion of herself. It would take a lot of time and effort, but I believed that she could accomplish her goal at a decent pace.

"Good morning, K-kiyotaka!"

"Good morning... Chiaki?"

She was apprehensive during her greeting, which strayed far from her natural modus operandi. Her voice was quiet yet shrill and at least an octave higher than usual. The reason for her unnatural behavior didn't need to be mentioned, but I had hoped that she had somehow prepared herself for the emotions that were flooding her conscious.

The tracking hounds of Class D, mainly Karuizawa, Satou and Kushida, realized that something was amiss the second she had walked in and greeted Sakura. Without a moment's delay, the three of them scurried around her desk to discover the secret Matsushita Chiaki was hiding.

This was going to end horribly...

"G-good morning, S-sudou-kun."

The delinquent turned around with a bewildered expression.

"Eh? Yo, Sakura! How are you doing?"

Successfully greeting Chiaki and my humble self must have given her a small confidence boost which she had consumed in order to greet Sudou, who trudged into the classroom with Ike in tows.

"Ah... I'm good. Thank y-you. I'm.."

"Morning Sakura-chan!"

"E-ehh? H-hello... I-ike-kun."

He tilted his head with a pained expression.

"What kind of greeting is that? You are breaking my heart, Sakura-chan! Why does Sudou get a proper one? Something's seriously going wrong here. First Ayanokouji gets a girlfriend and now this!"

Our class squirrel shrunk back and looked around for someone who might be able to help her out of this sudden, unexpected situation she was confronted with.

"Ehhhh? I... uhm... wuuuuu..."

"Oi, stop messing with her, you jerk."

Sudou's flat hand slapped the back of Ike's head, who bowed forward in response.

"Ouch! I'm just joking! Joking!"

An embarrassed, almost inaudible chuckle escaped Sakura's pursed lips.

Even though Ike was one of the worst perverts in this class and consistency damaging my brain with his antics, he was quite adept at talking to people and making a fool out of himself to make them feel at ease.

Sometimes, at least.

Just like Sudou, I believed that his heart was in the right place.

His previous complaint might have been irrelevant and dumb, but it would help Sakura deal with different people who might express themselves with jokes and such things, just like he did. She still had trouble differentiating between seriousness and fun when she was confronted with certain remarks, but she would only improve in time.

"Kyaaaaaaaa!!!"

The crowd of girls that had formed around Chiaki squealed in unison after they had finally cracked her. A few glances flew my way afterwards, but I ignored their gazes as well as I could under these circumstances. None of them came over to ask questions, so I assumed that my girlfriend had protected me this time around.

The boys wondered about their conduct as well, since the girls' reactions were quite intense, which is why it didn't take long until the first part-time delinquent walked up to me with a grim expression.

"Oy, Ayanokouji! What was that about?"

His voice was deeper than usual as he gave off the feeling that he would beat me up if I didn't respond him honestly, or if the answer I supplied him with was insufficient or unacceptable.

"Nothing much. Probably Chiaki telling them that we kissed yesterday."

"YOU DID WHAT?! AYANAKOUJI YOU DAMN TRAITOR!" He jumped forward, grabbing my collar. "How could you do this?! Think about me and Sudou! But mostly about me! How could you leave us here, alone? How could you?!"

Ike's melodramatic act angered Horikita to such a degree that she stabbed him over a dozen times with her compass, which was rather unusual. The boy in question screamed and writhed on the ground in agony while my other classmates spun around with confused gazes, wondering what the fuss was about.

Sakura watched this exchange with one crying and one laughing eye.

This situation was quite funny, but Horikita's ruthless stabbing left her in shock. She had no intention of meddling in their business, which was a good decision considering her current social abilities.

My pawn might have taken a few steps forward, but she was still shy and insecure beneath her facade, especially in front of strangers or other classmates she didn't know that well, like Horikita. Rushing this change would be a mistake, because it was much safer taking such a long and arduous journey at a slow pace.

She had also made friends who would take care of her on this pilgrimage, so there was no need to worry.

A few minutes later, Chabashira-sensei strode in and homeroom began.

She notified us that the issue had been officially settled yesterday and that we should have already received our points for June. Some of my classmates had questions, since none of us had informed them what exactly happened.

"So Sudou-kun was innocent, just like everyone said, right? Then what happened to the students who set him up? I mean, the least we deserve are a few extra points from their class or something for our troubles, no?"

Karuizawa, who was running low on points, made a fair point to increase her balance.

"There won't be any extra points for you. The culprits were expelled for their actions and Sudou's violent outburst was pardoned this time. You can count yourself lucky that he wasn't suspended."

"Expelled?"

Hirata dropped his pen, which rolled over his desk and fell to the ground.

Chabashira-sensei heaved a sigh and explained what had transpired during the discussion, which caught everyone in the classroom by surprise. Not only had we somehow received much needed information, but Chiaki's brisk demands shook our classmates to the core.

Our knight in shining armor wasn't pleased by her announcement, since he would have preferred for everyone to stay at the school, similar to Ichinose. In contrast to him, most of my other classmates were happy that the perpetrators had been punished.

He forced a weak smile and picked up his pen in silence because he didn't want to drag down the mood.

After classes ended, I went over to Sakura to figure out what her plans were.

"Are you free today?"

"Um, today's... not good. I have something planned. Would tomorrow be alright?"

She averted her gaze and glanced at her desk with a nervous expression.

"Yeah, that sounds good. See you tomorrow then."

"Yes. See you tomorrow Ayanokouji-kun."

After leaving the classroom, I messaged Fuka to meet up with me, and Kushida to follow Sakura and inform me of her location until I caught up with them.

The pre-show was over and now was the time for the main act to begin.

"Why are we following that bitch?"

"Hmm, today was a good day for her, don't you think? She made huge progress by greeting everyone that was in my room yesterday and managed to laugh about Ike and Sudou. Aren't you proud of your classmates accomplishments?"

Kushida ambled after me with a rather unhappy expression. She heaved a deep sigh and shook her head.

"Urgh... of course you wouldn't answer me seriously. Can you at least tell me how long this is going to take? I still have a few errands to run, most of them to gather information for you."

"I didn't know you were such a busy bee... but I can't really answer your question in a reasonable scope, because I don't know how long it will take either. Maybe today isn't the day after all, but we should keep up with her to find out."

The subject of our observation made her way through the busy school grounds. We followed her through the park and past our previous meeting point until we closed in on multiple stores that were spread around the area.

"Give me your phone."

My queen handed me the device in question after unlocking it with her passcode.

I tapped around on it for a bit before opening the camera function and took a few pictures of Kushida's cleavage and a short video of her thighs to check if everything was in order.

Afterwards, I glanced around the area.

Sakura trudged towards the electronics store we had visited before and stopped at the door. Her hand already took hold of the handle, but she wasn't able to overcome her inhibitions about opening the lion's den just yet.

A few seconds passed until she took a deep breath and entered.

"What's that damn cow doing here? Is she getting the camera? You know, the one you guys went to drop off here? God, can this stupid cunt be any slower? I have places to be in contrast to a tits-for-brains bitch like her."

Her foul mouth was as charming as always.

"No such thing. The clerk said that the camera would be done in about two weeks due to the influx of repairs and a few parts he needed to order and wait for before he could begin."

"Then what the fuck is she doing here?"

"You'll know soon. If everything proceeds as anticipated, I need you to follow my commands without question or hesitation, since we will have little leeway. But first, let's find us a cozy place to hide." I pointed towards a suitable location near the alley behind the store. "How about there?"

She followed my lead with a slight, uncertain nod.

We reached our vantage point, which gave us a nice, clear view of the backside of the electronics store while also providing us with much needed cover. In other words, a place void of people and their curious gazes.

I received a message which simply read 'thanks', informing me that the man had locked the front door and turned the sign around to inform potential customers that the store was currently unoccupied. After deleting the message, I kept an eye on the back entrance, which was void of CCTV.

Since he had been working inside the shop for quite a while, he knew that the store's entrance and counter area on the customer side were filmed by security cameras. Sakura's reaction would betray the contents of their conversation, even without audio, which is why the man wouldn't stay inside.

"Seriously, what are we doing here?"

She pulled on the hem of my uniform and threw me a quizzical look.

"Do you remember Shizuku's blog?"

"Of course, I showed it to you, after all. What does her blog have to do with anything?"

"You haven't read the comments, have you? We weren't the only ones who had noticed that Shizuku, or rather Sakura, was a student at this school and continued to take pictures on the school grounds."

My queen furrowed her brows and glanced towards the store before her head jerked back to face me.

"Wait. You mean the store clerk?"

"He's a rather peculiar person with a taste for teenage girls, it seems. And he likes Shizuku... A little too much, if you understand. When I visited his shop with Sakura, his disgusting intentions were rather obvious."

The rear entrance opened just before Sakura and the store clerk walked out. Our classmate seemed scared and tried to get away from him, while the man grew more agitated due to her negative stance towards his explanations.

I pressed the big red button on Kushida's phone after making sure that only video and no audio were recorded.

"How did you know that something like this would happen?"

"It wasn't hard to tell that he had trouble controlling his urges after observing him during the camera drop-off. His behavior wasn't only nauseating, but also disrespectful towards any human being. There were multiple messages by a certain user under every picture Sakura had posted. At first, his messages were normal, compliments about her figure or choice of clothing, her hairstyle and stuff like that. These harmless messages soon escalated into an obsession of sorts, which only increased in intensity when she began uploading pictures from inside the school grounds."

"Sakura-chan!"

Spit and saliva flew out of his mouth as he stumbled after her. He reached his sweaty hands out in order to grasp onto her arm, which she pulled back in fear and disgust.

"Please don't contact me anymore!"

Just as expected, an unstable individual like this wouldn't give up such twisted 'love' without a fight. If the girl of his dreams and sleepless nights turned him down, he would break down and fall into ruin.

Kushida's eyes widened as Sakura's barely audible voice reached our ears.

Even though her emphasis was weak, she managed to get her message across with the strong conviction she had put behind each word. Despite her better judgement, Sakura had chosen to take care of this issue on her own, because she believed that she was ready to face him after everything she had accomplished until now.

"Are we going to help her, then?"

My queen grew uneasy the longer we observed the exchange in front of us.

She knew better than anyone what was about to unfold before us.

Kushida, as a near-rape victim herself, realized that this man was dangerous and that his actions and thoughts would turn darker and more violent the harsher Sakura's rejection towards him was.

"Help her?" I tilted my head as if she had said something unreasonable. "Of course not. The two of us are just going to watch how this scene turns out, no matter what happens to her."

Her pupils constricted in fear in response to my distant, apathetic words.

Kushida had first hand experience in how a person like Sakura would end up after such a traumatic experience. She, who still had nightmares due to what I had done to her, couldn't believe that I did nothing to save another from suffering the same fate, even though I could have stepped in much sooner.

"No..."

The girl beside me lowered her head and began to rough up her hair as she kept repeating this single word like a chant or a curse until her whole body trembled under the psychological pressure that weighed down on her.

"Please... Ayanokouji-kun... No... please..." My classmates breathing grew rugged and uneven as she stared at me with her horrified, shuddering orbs. "Please... let me go. I don't want to see... I can't... please..."

"No can do. I still need you, so you stay."

"I... understand..."

Kushida glared at her shivering, ashen hands and clenched her chest as if she was having another panic attack. While she was trying to pacify herself with her right, her left kept hitting her forehead as she uttered a few familiar words, like a chant.

"This is all your fault..."

The boy, clad in nothing but a white gown, glowered at me.

I didn't know his name, number, or age, but he shouldn't have been much older than eight or nine. His strong reaction surprised me, however, since I had long since lost the ability to emit such complex emotions.

"My fault...?"

It wasn't like I didn't understand his statement, but I couldn't see how I was at fault for the situation the subjects had found themselves in. Around a week ago, we had seen some of the other subjects for the first time after the project manager decided that our solitary study session and exercise plans would be changed to joint classes.

Thirty children had vanished in these past seven days.

According to the youth in front of me, this had been my fault.

"Yes, your fault! You are the reason that the examinations keep getting harder for everyone. We'll all end up like 045, 058, 117 and the others because of you! Just because you can't stop improving all the time. Why are you doing this?!"

The boy's angered voice echoed through the white, sterile environment.

But this time, I really didn't understand the question.

They, just like me, took the examinations as well as the physical and mental training routines without complaints. All of them knew that the subjects who didn't pass a certain threshold or broke down were disposed of.

If I stopped to improve, I would cease to exist.

The White Room was that simple.

So why...?

"Why is it my fault that you are so weak?"

Kushida followed the confrontation in front of us with half-closed eyes. She couldn't bear witnessing much more of this man's relentless attempts at sweet-talking Sakura into accepting his love. Tears formed in her eyes as she whispered incomprehensible gibberish to herself.

What exactly took place in Kushida Kikyou's mind in that moment?

It was a well kept secret that she didn't like most of her classmates. Sakura was one of the girls she despised the most because she was just a timid and stupid girl with nothing to show. After we had found about Shizuku, she was henceforth dubbed, 'the shy bitch with cow-milkers'.

I didn't know how Kushida came up with such insults, or why she disliked her classmates and half the school to such a degree, but maybe this was her way of dealing with some insecurities she had to work through, which might explain her need for love and recognition from everyone.

My queen despised Sakura's weak and pitiful nature and had shown no signs whether she wanted to keep her from harm. Ever since she had asked if I would help her, she worried more about herself and her own mental health than about Sakura and what might happen to her if we kept watching.

How would she have reacted if I hadn't traumatized her that day?

I wanted to know if there was some sense of justice in this girl, and if so, how much.

A few meters in front of us, Sakura and the man's heated conversation continued. No matter what she did, or how far she tried to back up, he didn't leave her alone and tried to get closer to her. My shy classmate dumped hundreds of letters in front of him and stood up to his repeated sexual harassment.

"How do you know my room number and why do you keep sending these?"

The store clerk tilted his head, confused by this apparently obvious question. He couldn't understand why Sakura wasn't happy to receive his love. Why she wasn't overjoyed that the two of them had met in this school.

"Why? What do you mean, why, Sakura-chan? Of course I would know your room number and send you letters. It's because our hearts are connected, Sakura-chan! Can't you see it?"

Kushida's face contorted in disgust while Sakura took a few steps back until she bumped into the wall.

"Please stop it! It's bothering me!"

Her harsh, determined rejection of the man's love, his blood, sweat and tears, led to the actions I had anticipated before either of us arrived at this location. It was for this sole reason that I helped Sakura to stand up for herself.

The mentally unstable employee was in no condition to control himself.

He liked teenage girls, especially Sakura, so he couldn't live with the words that had shattered his world view. A sick, twisted individual who had likely occupied and pleased himself with her pictures from time to time wouldn't take such a sharp rejection very well.

"Why?" The light in the man's eyes vanished, replaced by a lifeless glint. His voice sounded hollow and broken as he stomped the ground like a child throwing a tantrum. "Why would you say something like this? Even though I wrote out all my feelings for you! Why don't you understand how much I love you, Sakura-chan!"

Spit and saliva flew through the alleyway as the clerk rushed forward with glowing eyes. After his emotional, almost volcanic, outburst of anger, he wasn't able to hold himself back any longer.

"D-don't come any closer!"

He latched onto Sakura's arm like a leech and shoved her up against the wall. His hands brushed past her thighs and stomach before he ripped her blazer apart. Sakura defended herself, but her attacks were too hesitant and weak to stop her attacker in his tracks.

"It's okay, Sakura-chan!" His slithering, squirming tongue slid over her cheek as she tried to struggle free. "I'll show you how much I cherish you. If I do that much, you'll understand, right? Sakura-chan?"

A blazing inferno of pure madness appeared in the man's eyes.

His hands wormed and wriggled their way to Sakura's breasts as he thrusted her against the brick wall. He was elated as he noticed the bulge inside his pants and began to unbutton his work clothes.

"See, Sakura-chan? We belong together. Just the two of us!"

"N-no... P-please... Someone..."

Sakura's voice was too weak and barely reached our ears. She struggled as much as she could, but she was much less brutal than Kushida in her attempts due to her inherent weak and fearful nature. A girl like her didn't have it in her to stand up against someone stronger than her, even though her chances were anything but terrible.

"Fuck! Ayanokouji please... I'm begging you. Help her. Please."

Ignoring Kushida's desperate pleas, I kept filming.

"Listen to me!" She clenched my arm with a terrified expression. "I'll do anything, okay? Anything you want. But please help her! This is not... She can't end up like me... Please..."

Kushida was a great actress.

No, she was nothing short of phenomenal.

She still suffered tremendous, unspeakable horrors because of the inhuman actions I had taken against her, but she kept them hidden away all this time. In front of our classmates, her friends and teachers, she showed a version of herself that wasn't broken past recognition.

The tears she shed were the first real ones that hadn't been spilled for herself.

[03:49:33 PM[Ayanokouji] I think Sakura is in danger. But I can't find her. Can you check the mall?

"Fuck!"

My voice echoed through the changing room as I dropped everything and ran out wearing my basketball shorts and school uniform. The other guys from the club threw me looks of surprise as I dashed through the door.

Ayanokouji had notified me that she might be in danger when word got out that she is the witness, but I had thought that everything was alright, now that the Class C assholes were gone and forgotten.

The students I ran past regarded me with curious, confused expressions upon seeing my mismatched get-up and the speed at which I brushed past them. I caught sight of a few of my classmates as well, but now wasn't the time for chit-chat.

She had helped me when I was in trouble, so I couldn't let her down now.

When Kushida had told me that Sakura was an idol, I didn't believe it.

But the doubts I had harboured vanished when I saw the pictures she had prepared for my trial yesterday. She hadn't been wearing clothes as suggestive as in her blog-posts and the fashion magazine Kushida showed me, but that fascinating smile had been hers for sure.

Was she in trouble because of that, perhaps? Had another student found out about her career?

Argh, shit... screw this.

I wasn't smart enough to figure out stuff like this anyway, so I might as well leave it to someone like Matsushita-san while I concentrated on the things I could do best.

The mall area was huge, much larger than anything a normal school should reasonably have, so I didn't know where to start. Without a real plan of action, I began to check all the alleys around the stores one after the other, hoping that she was alright and that I wouldn't be too late in case she was in danger.

After running past a back street, I stopped in my tracks, since I caught a glimpse of what I believed to be a school uniform. I took a closer look into the alleyway and couldn't believe my eyes.

Sakura was indeed in danger, but not because of those Class C morons.

"Hey! You perverted asshole."

"Eh? Wh-wha?"

The man in staff uniform spun around with a frightened expression and almost stumbled over his jeans, which stuck to his ankles. His hands were slung around Sakura's hip, trying to pull her skirt off while she was struggling away.

"S-s-sudou-kun! H-help me!"

Tears streamed down her face as she looked at me with fear-stricken eyes. Her clothes were disheveled, the blazer was ripped and a few buttons had been torn off the shirt underneath. Aside from these obvious signs of attack, she seemed physically fine for someone who was on the verge of being abused by some sick pervert.

"You disgusting fucker!"

My brain short-circuited as I dashed towards the two. I raised my arm ready to punch that assholes lights out, when Horikita-san's voice echoed through my head.

"... then you need to deescalate the situation, Sudou-kun."

I didn't have time to be confused by this sudden memory as the conversations from the past days replayed in my head.

"Just be there and protect her. Don't start another fight, but run away. For her sake. I know you could beat them, even Sakura knows you could beat them. But you can't, under any circumstances, use violence to protect her."

"If you lose your temper tomorrow. You are going to regret it. I can't save you any time you mess up, Sudou-kun."

"Should any further physical altercation take place in which you are involved, then I won't be as merciful as today."

Argh, fuck!

I lowered my arm and crashed into the man with my shoulder. That piece of shit stumbled and fell over after I shoved him, due to my speed and the fact that his trousers were already below his knees.

"Sakura, let's run."

As these words left my mouth, she collapsed like a puppet whose strings had been cut and stared at me with widened, quivering eyes. Her whole body trembled and slumped over as she began to sob and sniffle until she broke out into tears.

We had little time before I'd lose my temper and beat this piece of shit up for good, so I had to get her away from here as soon as possible. She was hurt and probably needed medical attention before anything else.

If I was expelled, I couldn't protect her anymore.

So if she wouldn't move, then I had to.

"I'm sorry Sakura, please forgive me."

"Huh?"

Without waiting for her reply or permission, I lifted her up into a princess carry and ran off, leaving the man who rolled around on the ground behind in the shaded alleyway.

"S-s-s-s-s-s-s-s —"

Sakura was unable to utter a single word.

Her mouth opened from time to time, but only cries and sobs escaped her lips. She must have still been in shock because of everything that had happened to her.

Physically, she seemed more or less fine since only a few scratches and pressure marks on her arm were visible.

I dashed towards the infirmary as fast as I could since I didn't know what other damages she might have suffered due to this guy's attack. Once I took care of her, I could inform the security guards and teachers that Sakura had been attacked by one of their employees.

"Are you okay?"

Kushida wiped off her tears and gave me a weak nod.

"Calm down and remember your job. I need you at your best."

I put on my gloves and peeked at my accomplice after Sudou had vanished around the corner.

"I know... I'll get it done..."

The two of us left our hiding spot and strolled over to the half naked pervert who wallowed on the ground like an inflated blowfish, or a turtle on its back. I grabbed this excuse of a human by the collar and dragged him inside the backroom of the store.

The clerk struggled around and glared at me as I dumped him against the wall.

"What? Who are you? What are you doing? That hurt!"

"That hurt? Wow, you are adorable."

I bend down and threw a right hook towards his jaw for spouting nonsense.

He jerked back against the wall, coughing and writhing in pain.

Multiple teeth chipped due to the force I had put into my punch. The broken parts trickled down towards the ground with his blood and saliva before his head drooped towards the mixture of his bodily fluids.

The man tried to crawl back and hid his disgusting face behind his trembling hands.

"Argh! F-fuck! Why are you doing this? I did nothing wrong!"

"No? That's good. I did nothing wrong either."

My hand flashed towards his throat before I dragged him up and shoved him against the wall.

Fear seeped into his eyes as he stared into my lifeless, apathetic orbs of pure darkness while Kushida stood by and watched this scene unfold while trembling. I squeezed his throat and repeatedly took shots against his solar plexus.

He coughed up small amounts of blood and would have collapsed due to the immense pain if I hadn't held him in place. Curling up or bending down to lessen the psychological and physiological impact wasn't a luxury this person deserved.

"That's your solar plexus." My voice was calm as the vast ocean during the night. "Right now, your diaphragm is partially paralyzed, which is why you're having trouble catching your breath."

The man screamed, shouted and shrunk in agony as his legs gave in and grew limp from the immense amount of pain he had to endure while I kept using him as my punching bag.

"Wh-who a-are y-you?"

"Just a concerned friend."

I pulled him further up while I smashed my fist into the upper right-hand portion of his abdominal cavity.

"That's your liver." I clarified while I conducted my experiment. "The nice thing about the liver is that if you hit it just right, you get the vagus nerve, which tentacles out to the rest of the body."

With every hit against his liver, another word left my mouth.

Kushida, who had never seen me get this violent, backed off against the wall in pure dread. The hope that she could somehow stop me vanished from the clerk's eyes as he stared at the shivering girl in unadulterated horror.

I kept slamming my fist into him and explained what was currently happening to his body, since he didn't look like someone who would know about the inner workings of the human anatomy.

"Your brain short-circuits, your body shuts down, and you feel... what's the word...? Terror?" A quake trembled through his whole body as I forced him to stare into my abyss. "Which is what Sakura must have felt just now."

"I..." My classmates shuddering voice echoed through the backroom. "I really t-think that's e-enough, right? P-please... just leave him be and get why you came. He doesn't deserve t-this..."

My hand motions stopped as I dropped the man into his own blood that had seeped out of his mouth and turned around to face Kushida. The whimpering employee slumped over like a dead fish as my hand wrapped around her throat.

My arctic, golden spheres, with which she was familiar by now, gazed straight into her shaking orbs.

"Didn't I tell you to shut up and follow me, huh? You're useless." I buried my knee in her abdomen before she collapsed towards the ground. "Get out and make sure no one comes in. I still have some things to do."

Kushida yelped out in pain and crawled away with tearful, fear-stricken eyes. After glancing at the helpless, bloody store employee for a moment, she stumbled out of the backroom.

"Unlock your phone."

"W-why?"

Once again, a right hook flew towards his face.

With a loud cracking noise, his nose broke and bent out of shape.

He tried to scream because of the pain, but I covered his mouth with my left to make sure that he could hear my next words clearly. If he hadn't realized that I wasn't messing around by now, then he was far past saving.

"That wasn't a question. Do as you're told and you might live."

His head slumped to the side as I was about to inquire about his passcode a second time. I wanted to check his pulse to verify that he didn't die on me as his eyes shot open in fright and horror. The man coughed and breathed through his mouth, since his nostrils could no longer supply him with enough oxygen.

"Welcome back. Passcode, please."

The employee's bloody fingers tapped over the required four digits whereupon the phone unlocked. After examining the generous sum of money in his account, I could only whistle in surprise.

"Wow. Have you been saving up for something? Let's send those points to someone nice who could use them. Kushida, for example, the girl you just saw. Isn't she a cute one?" I seized his throat and put pressure into my grip. "If you tell anyone that I stole your points, then she will get expelled. Isn't that kind of genius? I'd advise you not to mention anything to the guards once they arrive, or I'll find you and slowly remove your eyes after my graduation. How does that sound?"

He stared at me in pure fright without nodding or otherwise signaling his consent, which meant that he was fine with keeping his mouth shut and protecting his eyesight. The shock must've been quite overwhelming, so his non-responsiveness was understandable.

But there was still another potential meaning for his silence.

"Oh... you don't believe me, is that it?"

The clerk's eyes expanded in horror as he shook his head. Tears began streaming down his face and rinsed away some of the blood below his nose and around his chin.

"No, it's okay... I totally understand your doubts."

I glanced around the room and stood up before walking over to a magnetic wall that held onto all kinds of tools and other instruments one might need while repairing electrical devices. My eyes stopped on a blue screwdriver with a yellow spot on top of the handle.

"No... wait... Please... I under-understand... I... will..."

He crawled into a corner, as if this would help him escape.

"Shh..." I grabbed the screwdriver and ambled towards him. "Don't worry, I won't take one of your eyes. I mean, I still need them for afterwards if you don't adhere to our arrangement."

A faint, yet bone-chilling scream reverberated through the door.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck...

I roughened up my hair, partially shielding my ears from the weak howls and wails from inside the store.

Ayanokouji would have covered his mouth before he did anything that warranted such an outburst in order to keep everything as quiet as possible...

So why the fuck could I hear it so clearly?

After a short moment of relative silence, I heard another commotion from further inside. It sounded like something fell down a shelf, or got knocked off a high rack.

Or maybe something else...?

It didn't matter, because this was my signal...

I stood and peeked into the room through the crack of the door.

The employee, which Ayanokouji had brutally beaten up without a single shred of hesitation, squirmed and writhed over the ground while shielding his groin. His nose was bent out of shape, and a blood-soaked screwdriver protruded out of the man's right leg.

Blood, vomit and saliva dripped out of his mouth as he wallowed inside his own body fluids.

This was my chance...

I made sure that Ayanokouji wasn't nearby and tiptoed into the room before glancing at the man's nameplate.

"Hey, Yukitsu-kun... where is he?"

The man turned around with a surprised expression upon picking up my voice. His eye's lit up as he nodded towards the front room where the business was usually handled.

"Y-you know me?"

His voice was weak and choppy due to the pain.

"Of course I know you, Yukitsu-kun!" I beamed and took his disgusting, greasy hand into my own. "How could I forget you? You were really nice to me and my friends when we had questions at the beginning of the school year."

Fuck, I think I'm gonna puke. This piece of shit is so fucking repulsive that I want to kick his teeth in myself.

He clenched my hands as a pitiful smile formed on his face.

"Y-you... y-you need to h-help me. P-please. I beg you."

Tears gathered in the corners of my eyes.

"Yukitsu-kun..." I wept and wiped the tears away. "I want to help you, but I can't. He... took pictures of me. If I betray him, he will release them all and probably kill me afterwards. Yukitsu-kun... you saw it yourself... he's crazy..."

I had little time to talk to him, since Ayanokouji could be done with swiping the electronics he wanted any minute. There was also Sudou, who would likely be back with the schools security soon.

"Kushida-chan..."

He shed a few tears both for him and me, since our situations seemed equally hopeless.

"Please... call me Kikyou, Yukitsu-kun..." I grabbed my phone from the ground without him seeing and unlocked it. "Those points. Do you know where they came from?"

"Those were... mine... Kikyou-chan..."

Argh, fuck, don't you dare use my name, you disgusting piece of human shit. God, how can a living being be so fucking sickening. I just want to kick his fucking brains out. FUCK!

"Kikyou-chan... you don't think I did anything wrong with Sakura-chan, right?"

Are you fucking brain dead? You wanted to rape her, you stupid, abominable piece of shit. I hope you fucking drown in your own disgusting blood, you damn god-forsaken lunatic.

"Of course not Yukitsu-kun." I threw him the most dazzling smile in my repertoire. "You loved her, right? She just didn't understand that you just wanted her to be happy. I would have been over the moon if someone confessed their feelings to me this way."

Fuck, I think I really need to puke. Just spouting this nonsense makes me disgusted and sick of myself.

"Kikyou-chan...!"

I crept closer to the bloodstained employee and moved the cleanest of his hands towards my chest.

"Yukitsu-kun... I have a plan to get rid of him... but I need your help or it won't work. I'm cooperating with a second- and third-year student, but they are having trouble because he's always one step ahead of us. It won't be much longer until he figures out that I'm supporting them. But now you showed up, Yukitsu-kun! You are the only uncertain variable he doesn't have full control over... so please... Please help us get him expelled." I brought his disgusting hand closer to my breasts. "You'd be my hero, Yukitsu-kun!"

Even though most of the things I had told him were plain lies, I needed to enhance my proposal in his eyes, just in case the whole 'Yukitsu-kun' thing wouldn't work. I doubted that he was smart enough to realize that I just played with his repulsive heart strings after he believed me that we had already met before, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

I had to protect myself, no matter what.

"What kind of plan, Kikyou-chan?"

Calm down, don't strangle him...

My face lit up momentarily, unable to hide the luminous spark of hope that ignited inside of me.

"It's a little complicated, but we have no other choice because he is too cunning. Right now, for example, he stashed his phone on the other end of the school grounds with someone he trusts. Even if we told the school what he did to us, they wouldn't do anything because his GPS ping wasn't nearby. All we would do is sign our own death sentences..."

The gullible idiot nodded.

"Okay. I trust you, Kikyou-chan!"

Fucking die of blood loss already.

"Yukitsu-kun!" I pulled his hand into my warm embrace. "You are probably not aware of this, but he filmed what happened between you and Sakura-san with my phone and sent it to his accomplice. The school will investigate and probably let you go, meaning you'll be outside the school... outside of his reach."

He nodded, not even realizing that he would be put into a prison and rot for life for what he did.

"Once you are outside the school, you can help me with this." I unfolded a small piece of paper and handed it to him. "I have little time to explain since he could come back any minute, but you have to memorize what's written on the note and eat it so that he can't find it. You are our... my only chance... Yukitsu-kun. I would be forever grateful to you."

Fuck, if you stare at my damn tits a second longer, I'm going to poke your nauseating eyes out.

"Okay. I'll save you from this monster. I promise, Kikyou-chan."

"Thank you so much, Yukitsu-kun! I promise to visit you once I graduate, okay? Let's meet up in three years, just the two of us! We can spend time together as much as you want!"

I forced a smile as well as a few tears out of my eyes and made sure that he ate the piece of paper before slipping back outside.

"Let's leave."

I shut the door and took off my gloves before putting them in a previously prepared miniature trash-bag that I hid beneath my school uniform. Kushida followed me with a slight nod and threw me an insecure glance.

"Did you get everything you wanted?"

"Most of it, but it's too dangerous to linger around any longer. We were on a tight schedule because of Sudou. He should have reached the infirmary and informed the security personnel of the clerk by now. They shouldn't be that far... ah, speak of the devil."

Kushida and I ambled through the mall, away from the scene, as multiple staff members ran towards the location of the previous incident. We were already far enough away for the store to be out of sight, but I was sure that they were here to arrest him for what he did to Sakura.

They'll be quite surprised by his condition...

"You got your phone, right?"

"Yes, I picked it up as planned. Are you sure that everything is going to work out?"

I took her quivering fingers that still had some light bloodstains on them and caressed over the back of her hand.

"You know you can trust me, right? I would do nothing that would endanger you, my precious, beautiful queen. I'll always take care of you and your needs as long as you need me."

"Mh..."

A light smile formed on her charming face.

"Come to my room this evening. I have a present for you. You did excellent today, even though this must have provoked horrible memories for you. I'm sorry that you had to go through something like this again."

"A present?"

She shot me a confused, yet delighted, look.

"As long as you are good to me, I will be good to you. That was our deal, right? I never intended to hurt you on that rooftop, but your actions had left me no other choice. You'll love the present I got for you, I promise."

"I'll see you this evening, then..."

Her low whisper barely reached my ears before she vanished into the crowd.

A few minutes later, I reached the abandoned park area where Fuka and I first met.

I retrieved the garbage-bag, which was filled with the gloves and a few small to medium-sized rocks, and threw it into the ocean, never to be found by anyone who might have an interest.

With this last piece of evidence disposed of, my hands were clean.

Since today went well and I still had some time to kill, I bought myself two balls of chocolate ice-cream and ambled back to my room while making sure that no one who would remember my presence saw even a trace of my figure. Due to this, I strolled through the least frequented roads inside the school grounds, which was a new yet pleasant experience.

I took the stairs up to my floor, unlocked the door and wandered inside where I was greeted by a sweet, almost sensual sounding voice which originated from the most interesting, troublesome senpai I had met.

"Everything went well, I assume?"

"Naturally."

Fuka relaxed on the bed and tapped around on her phone. According to the frequency and urgency of some of her actions, she seemed to play a game. Her movements stopped as she reached into her back pocket and pulled out my phone before throwing it over.

Upon catching the device, I couldn't help but be mesmerized by the warmth in my hands.

"You perv~..." Her smirk grew wider. "We had a nice day. Parfait and cake in the jam-packed Palate followed by a nice, emotional love-story in the cinema before we strolled back to your room to relax."

It was smart, hiding in plain sight.

Even when the students in the Palate were asked if they had seen us together, it was impossible to answer to the sheer amount of people that walked in and out. Most of them would say that they wouldn't remember, while others would just nod their heads, remembering that they had seen similar hair or things along those lines.

The underlying suggestion that we should have been there, the misinformation Fuka would spread with the GPS data and her own presence, as well as their inaccurate perception, would help plant wrong memories in their minds on a large scale. They would mis-attribute both her and my visits to the Palate into a single recollection as opposed to multiple ones that were spread over the last days and weeks.

"The movie was boring, though, don't you think?"

"Boring? In no way, shape or form was this romantic love comedy boring. You were so touched when the two main characters unburdened their heart to each other on the walkway that you began to cry. I couldn't even believe it myself. And when they kissed, you were just blown away by all the emotion the animation and music had stirred up inside you."

She threw me a mischievous grin, followed by a loud, heartfelt laugh.

"That's a bit too much, don't you think?"

Fuka leaned back into the bed and stretched her arms and legs.

"Do you think you'll need the GPS data and my witness statement?"

"No, that guy should be too scared to do anything that would endanger him or Kushida. According to his revering gaze towards her, she shouldn't have had a difficult job to lull him into staying quiet for her sake. This, coupled with the threat of physical violence, will assure that he keeps his mouth shut. Even if the school finds out about Kushida, they will figure that someone had set her up and keep looking for the real perpetrator. The proof you acquired was just a backup plan in case something went wrong."

I checked the messages I received from Sudou, Ichinose and Chiaki while I didn't have my phone on me and responded to a few of them. Fuka had texted with Sudou during the time, but she left the other chats alone for obvious reasons.

"Speaking of Kushida, she'll come over this evening and I want you to be here as well. I guess you should put on your best apologetic face for when the two of you meet."

The girl who was lolling around on my bed showed me a toothy smile.

"So that's why you told me to leave her alone all week? Did she finally graduate from playing double agent? I'm glad, though... couldn't help but get bored the last few times. Apologizing isn't really my strong suit. Maybe we'll leave that for another time."

I had no doubts that she would act like this since Fuka was too proud of a woman to atone to anyone for anything she had done. This was her way of trying to gain the upper hand in this exchange, since we both knew that she would apologize in the end.

Fuka just wanted to see what she might get out of it.

"You tried to steal my first kiss, which wasn't a very nice thing to do. By now, you should have realized that I'm serious about my relationship with Chiaki, which is why it's only in your interest to keep playing nice with Kushida."

It didn't matter if she liked me romantically or if she was just trying to ascertain her standing with me due to her prior actions, but she understood that Chiaki was important to me. In a similar sense, she was mindful of the fact that Kushida was one of my most powerful pieces.

This would lead her to a myriad of conclusions, some of which were wrong and others which were correct. She wouldn't be able to narrow down much because she was still unaware of my inner workings. Fuka may have experienced how I thought and how I treated people to a degree, but she didn't know the values I had placed on certain individuals.

If she decided to be stubborn, her own would plummet.

"So all of this just to beat up the guy who stalked your classmate, some electronics and a few private points which might be unsafe to use? I don't buy it. You were after something else. But what?"

My senpai understood her place in this current constellation and offered me another transaction. She knew what I did, how I did it and who I used to accomplish what I sought to do. Yet, she couldn't believe that this was solely to gain access to the man's points and a few of his electronics.

"Aren't you intrigued to find out what I would do for Chiaki, you and Kushida if I do something like this for a girl I barely know or care about?"

Once again, a counteroffer from my side.

She would stop asking questions about my motives and I informed her of her current placement in the hierarchy. Whether this was the truth, however, she couldn't confirm. Fuka either took my word for it and accepted the proposal or she would take this information as unreliable and demand more compensation.

"Why did you decide to help her?"

With this question, our dealings had concluded.

We both knew how each of us operated, even though we couldn't confirm the other party's goal for certain. She and I realized how this conversation would end before it even began and we had been fine with this outcome from the very beginning.

"Because Sudou needs someone to hold his leash. A deeply rooted protector instinct is an excellent starting point to build upon. Whether their feelings would bloom into love or friendship wasn't important at this stage. Sakura would be scarred because of today and Sudou would feel partly responsible, even though nothing of this had been his fault. His heart wouldn't allow him to turn a blind eye, now that he had gotten to appreciate her somewhat."

The first girl had been put into his path already, and the second was bound to follow.

I was curious how their relationships would turn out once they began to prosper, which is why I decided to take a step back and watch the pieces surrounding my Rook evolve and unravel on their own. If the natural course of progression took too long, I could still create artificial situations to put them on a quicker path to their immutable resolution.

After my chat with Fuka, I excused myself to check on Sakura in the infirmary.

It didn't take long before I arrived and observed both Sudou and Sakura through the window, even though I had taken somewhat of a detour on my way here.

The basketball clubs newest regular was still clad in his sports gear and school uniform combo, which didn't look bad now that I took a proper look at him. He sat on the chair next to Sakura's sickbed and played a game on his phone. Our female classmate slept peacefully, probably because she got dosed with sedatives to help her calm down.

According to the doctor, Sakura had an extensive trauma because of the sexual and physical assault.

She had a few bruises and scratches, but wasn't that badly hurt aside from that. The school had already provided her with a counselor with whom she could talk to if she ever felt the need. Knowing Sakura, it would take her a while before she could open up, but therapy could help someone like her tremendously.

I slid the door open with careful movements and stepped into the room.

"Yo Sudou, I got your stuff."

He raised his head and pressed the power button on his phone.

"Ah, Ayanokouji. Thanks. I was worried they wouldn't let you in or something."

"I'm glad you found her, otherwise... I don't even want to think about it. How is she, anyway? Did they tell you anything?"

Sudou grabbed his bag and began to change out of his basketball clothes in the middle of the infirmary without a care in the world.

"They didn't tell me anything because of privacy reasons or some shit. The doctors informed Chabashira-sensei, so at least someone knows what's going on with her. Aside from that, she's been sleeping soundly for the last hour, I think." He clenched his fists with a darkened expression. "That piece of shit also got hauled in here some time ago. Someone really put that dude through the wringer. He was unconscious and bloodied all over."

"What seriously? Not that he didn't deserve it, but who would have done something like this? Wait... it wasn't you, right?"

He tilted his head and threw me a disappointed look.

"Duh! Put some more trust in me, will you? I remembered what you all said. I only tackled him out of the way and ran off with Sakura. Of course, I was their prime suspect, but I was cleared."

"Is he still here?"

"No, the police took him to some kind of prison hospital thingy... I don't know. But that sick bastard is gone for good."

My classmate sat back down after changing and stared at Sakura's sleeping figure with a worried expression.

The situation I had created brought them closer together, just as expected. Since her assault wasn't as bad as Kushida's, it was still possible for her to live a relatively normal life. She would still have traumatic episodes if her memories were triggered, but she was better off than my queen.

Sudou's timely appearance in the darkest, most terrifying moments of her life would forever be etched into her mind.

That had been the plan all along, for both of their sakes and ultimately for mine.

He felt a great need to protect her while she saw Sudou as her savior. This would encourage her to trust him and, according to her timid personality, might prompt further albeit slow, development. It wouldn't be easy for either of them, but they had each other as close, trusted friends.

No matter how their relationship played out, Sudou would help her escape the endless cocoon she had entangled herself in for most of her life, while Sakura could help him be a calmer, more gentle and socially acceptable version of himself.

The two of them would complement each other until they were both ready to be proper individuals.

This wouldn't happen in a short span of a few days or weeks, but they would make it work. If not, I could still lend a helping hand, with or without mentally damaging someone in the process.

After my talk with Sudou, I strolled back to my apartment and prepared everything for my queen's arrival.

The door slid open as a joyous Kushida stepped into my room while hiding the key back in her pocket.

"Good evening, Ayanokouji-kun!"

Her cheerful appearance surprised me somewhat after what we had done today. She must have had difficulties with her own psyche during that time and shouldn't have been able to wear such a carefree mask freely.

"I know that today was difficult, but you did great."

"Thank you..." She lowered her head. "I was terrified throughout the whole ordeal..."

"Because of me?"

She averted her gaze.

Kushida's self-confident manner had vanished in a matter of seconds. Masking her feelings like she did was beyond impressive, but she wasn't prepared to keep her act up in front of me.

"Yes..."

"You don't need to be afraid of me, Kushida."

I took a few steps forward and breached her personal space. Even though I had closed in on her, she didn't flinch or tried to escape. With another step, I invaded her intimate space and raised her smooth chin up in order for our eyes to meet.

"I told you already: you are my queen. As long as you stay by my side, I will take care of you."

Concluding my monologue, I embraced her.

Kushida's entire body trembled for a moment before she relaxed. Her fingers clenched the back of my uniform as she leaned closer into my chest. As if all power had left her body, she entrusted me with her warmth.

"You really mean that...?"

Her voice was quiet and unstable.

This marked the first time she had truly dropped all pretenses. All the emotions, thoughts, charades and mind-games she had tried to keep up for appearance's sake dissolved into thin air as she sought confirmation of my claims.

Kushida Kikyou wanted to feel safe and protected.

She wanted the nightmares and panic attacks to stop before they devoured the last working components of her inner self that were held together by the black thread I had spun around us.

"I can prove it, even. Are you ready for your surprise, Kushida?"

I caressed over her smooth cheek before slipping a few strands of hair behind her ear.

"Yes..."

She was quiet, but her curiosity was piqued. In her mind, she couldn't think of any present that would assure her of my claims. No matter what I said or did, everything could have been a lie to manipulate her further.

But maybe she just stopped caring.

I gestured towards the bathroom door.

"Come out."

For a moment, Kushida was puzzled by those unexpected words that left my lips. She had thought that we would be alone, as always, and shrunk back. Her gaze shifted to me and back to the door when she heard it open up.

Her two beautiful orbs widened at the sight of the platinum-blonde girl that stood in the bathroom.

My queen's obedient face soon contorted into one of pure anger, rage and hatred. She roared in a fit of almost hysterical laughter while she covered her mouth to be quieter since we were in the dorm rooms.

"He got you! He really fucking got you, you stupid bitch! Did you really think I'd rat him out for your sorry ass, huh? Ohhh, fuck what I would have given to see you suffering and humiliated."

The insults and ridiculing remarks only grew in intensity as time passed.

Fuka stood in the doorway and waited for her to finish.

Her outward appearance was that of pure defeat, shame and embarrassment, while she had the fun of her life because of my classmate's reaction. Her acting abilities were on par with Kushida's, which came as no surprise.

After she was done mocking, taunting and humiliating our senpai, she turned towards me.

"What are you doing with her now?"

"I'll use her as I see fit. I know what she did to you, so you can take my word for it that I returned your suffering in kind. You don't have to like her, but it would be nice if the two of you could be on neutral terms if you ever have to work together. I'll try to avoid such a scenario at all costs, but I can't promise anything aside from that."

Kushida was more than happy that I had freed her from Fuka's shackles. She didn't know what Fuka had to go through as her initiation, but not knowing left a lot of room for interpretation, which satisfied her already. By now, my queen knew that there was no escape once I had someone in my grasp, so she stopped worrying about her altogether.

"I don't really like it... but if you say so, it's going to be alright. Thank you Ayanokouji-kun."

She rewarded my efforts with a charming smile and embraced me with no reserve.

If Ike or any other guy were to see this, I'd be dead by tomorrow.

Even if this was just an act intending to appear closer to me in front of Fuka, it felt good being hugged by her. Kushida's voluptuous chest pressed against mine, which made her cleavage stand out much more than usual. She had apparently showered before she came over since the scent of fruits spread through my nostrils as she nuzzled into my chest.

I couldn't help but feel like that I was consistently failing in being a good partner.

As I was, once again, doubting my integrity as boyfriend material, my phone vibrated.

Kushida noticed the tremors as well and moved away to give me some space.

"Ichinose? What can I do for you?"

"I wanted to talk to you about something important. Do you have time?"

"Yes, I'm free. Do you want to come over?"

She was silent for a moment before responding in an embarrassed tone.

"Um, actually... I'm already in front of your door. But I figured that I should call first and see if you are free."

"In front of the door? I'll be right with you."

I signaled Kushida and Fuka to hide in the bathroom, which could only end in a bloodbath. Both girls frowned but ultimately decided to behave like adults and hurried into their temporary hideout. As I heard the lock mechanism of the door, I opened up the one in front of me to let Ichinose in.

"Sorry for intruding on you like that. I didn't want to discuss this over the phone and I felt that I needed to tell you today."

It must have been something important if she decided that she needed to talk about it in person. Wait, it wouldn't be another love letter, right? Could she have heard something about Sakura and wanted to talk about it with someone?

"It's alright. I was bored anyway."

A captivating giggle escaped her charming lips before she looked around.

"Your room is really tidy, totally different from the other guys' rooms. They won't let me in, but I've seen pictures when everyone was showing off how they had decorated their rooms."

"How could anyone leave you standing at the door? Do you want a tea or coffee or anything?"

She sat down and held up her hands in an apologetic gesture.

"Oh. No, no. You don't need to go through all the trouble. I wasn't planning on staying very long, anyway."

"It's no trouble. I was about to brew a tea for me before you called. Are you fine with Kukicha?"

"Ah, then... yes. Thank you."

We talked about some general things while we waited for the tea.

The topic then shifted towards Sakura and what had happened to her.

Apparently, half the school already knew that something took place, but only a handful of people were aware what had transpired. I told her as much as I would reasonably know and left it at that.

Ichinose was surprised that Sakura was a former idol and immediately checked her phone for 'Shizuku'.

"Please keep this a secret though... only a few of my classmates know that she's a former idol. I only told you because, well... I thought that it would be safe with you."

"Of course! I would never pass something on that had been entrusted to me. But I wonder... will she be alright? Hopefully that man did nothing too bad to her..."

It was adorable how worried Ichinose got over someone she didn't even know.

I stood up and ambled towards the kitchen area before preparing two tea cups for us. My guest kept glancing around with a curious gaze until she caught sight of the chessboards.

"You are missing a few pawns..."

Her alluring snicker rang through my room as she noticed the chessboards on the corner.

"Ah, yeah... there was a discount because some of them were incomplete. I got three boards for the price of one, though, so I'm not that mad..."

I carried the two cups back to the table and served them up for both of us.

"Thank you very much."

She blew into the freshly brewed tea and took a small sip.

"It's fantastic!"

Her face flushed, likely due to the heat the tea was emitting. I mirrored her actions and got to the point of her visit.

"Now, what did you want to talk about?"

She looked downward, somewhat guilt-ridden.

"To tell the truth, there was a dispute between Class B and Class C students before. That time, the school didn't get involved as we did not escalate it to such a degree. Someone named Ryuuen-kun masterminded that one. I already mentioned him to you before, right?"

It was as I had previously figured. Class B and C both lost a good chunk of points this month due to Class C playing around with the other classes. I was pretty sure about my prior assumption, but now I could be certain since Ichinose confirmed my doubts.

"Yeah, you mentioned him once. But aside from being a delinquent, I know nothing about him."

"Few people even know his name, as he never revealed himself. I would be surprised if Kushida-san knew about him, even though she tries to befriend everyone. He is very careful, after all."

Kushida knew him.

Not very much about him, but both she and I were aware of his existence. As we went through the list she made for me, I told her that he was most likely the reason for Yamauchi's timely expulsion. I had no proof for my claim since it was just a feeling, but my queen took this hunch as a fact.

He was also mentioned in the video Chiaki had revealed at the end of the discussion about Sudou's incident, which painted him as the mastermind. She didn't mention that fact to Ichinose, so I should respect her wishes and keep quiet about my knowledge as well.

"It's hard to believe that Kushida doesn't know about someone."

I cracked somewhat of a joke, which seemed to have lightened the mood a bit.

"I think he set up Sudou-kun and instigated the dispute with Class B. Fortunately we have a very strong bond, so we managed to hold out until he let off, but... he doesn't hesitate to hurt other people for the sake of his own interest. He's a formidable opponent, and I wanted to warn you about him. I don't know how he'll react now that he lost three classmates, so please be careful."

A cornered rat is the most dangerous, something along those lines?

I was thankful for her concern, of course, but I doubted that he would retaliate without proper planning. Ryuuen will be more prudent after his loss upon picking a fight with us. He had underestimated Class D and paid a hefty price.

If he learned from this mistake and was as cunning as I believed him to be, then Ryuuen Kakeru would be much more careful and relentless from now on.

"I appreciate your concern, but why tell me? Chiaki takes care of the class. I'm just her boyfriend. That doesn't really qualify me for taking care of such things."

"Mhh... I think you are not giving yourself enough credit. I told you because I trust you, so we are the same, right? You'll do the right thing with this information."

Ichinose seemed to have some kind of hunch about my involvement, even though Chiaki did all the work in Sudou's case. I was only half-heartedly following commands and enjoying my free time.

Her inkling probably originated from the fact that she suspected me to be the source of the midterm exams she had received. There was a rather high chance that her conclusions were correct, because I was the only Class D student who had this much contact with Class B during that time.

The limited number of viable suspects shrunk after she had confirmed that both Class A and C didn't know about the midterm papers, which only left ours. Class B's leader decided not to voice her theories but gave me an equally important gift, at least from her perspective.

Between us, Ichinose and I slumbered an untold secret we both kept.

Neither of us was certain that the other one knew what our reasons for helping one another were, but a strange form of trust and faith into the other person formed between the two of us.

Untold and still somewhat fragile, but clearly discernable.

- Word Count: 16440 / 75114 Characters

Released 16.07.2022

Chapter 18.5 - Angel with Horns, Devil with a Halo

"D-don't I... like... you k-know... deserve a r-reward then?"

My voice quivered and trembled with every syllable that left my lips.

We hadn't been a couple for very long, but ever since I had kissed him on the cheek, I wanted to know what the real thing feels like. How it would feel to lean into him and press my lips onto his.

Since this was the first relationship for both of us, we decided to take it at our own pace. A momentum and steady progress we both felt comfortable with, which was one of the reasons why I felt hesitant about asking him outright.

Was I going too fast?

Asking for too much?

We hadn't even had our first date yet.

Sure, we went out a lot, even before we became a couple, but we never met up and called it 'date'.

Did this matter?

Wasn't it just a label people used to explain them meeting up with their significant other?

"Mhh... I guess you do."

Kiyotaka glanced at me, as if he knew what I tried to accomplish.

Maybe I hadn't been the only one who wanted us to kiss. He might have felt just as afraid to voice his desire, anxious about my potential answer. The two of us might have felt the exact same thing without voicing our hopes.

"R-right?"

With the acceleration of my heartbeat, my whole body temperature increased as I stared into these mesmerizing, brilliant, golden eyes that he called his own. They drew me in like a siren's song, like a moth to a bright, smoldering flame and threatened to devour my sanity with their irresistible, alluring charm.

Since he said that I deserved a reward, then it should be fine, right?

Even if we did some things out of order, as long as we were both happy running off-course with each other, nothing else mattered. Both he and I wanted to embrace each other. We wanted to feel loved and cherished by our most valued person.

If we were both yearning for this type of contact, then it was fine, wasn't it?

We didn't rush into anything, but in this moment, during this time, in his room, it felt appropriate.

I closed my eyes and leaned forward.

A myriad of questions and fears spun around in my mind, but I couldn't concentrate on or answer even a single one of them. There was so much going on in my mind that it was nothing but overwhelming.

After a moment, I felt his warm breath brush against my skin and tipped my head to the right.

I didn't know why, but it just felt natural in that moment. It wasn't a deliberate action, but more so a reflex that lay dormant inside me ever since I was born and had awakened now.

His pleasant, comfortable breath carried the scent of green tea, which should have been similar to my own. My face changed into a deeper shade of crimson as his lips drew closer towards mine.

Even though my eyes were shut, I could tell that we were gradually closing in on each other.

I couldn't hear anything but my own heartbeat, which drummed against my chest faster than ever before. The time I had confessed to him behind the gym, or when he replied to my confession on the rooftop, couldn't even compare to my current awareness and sensitivity about everything that happened.

The never-ending flow of time came to a sudden halt as a vivid warmth spread through my whole body. Our lips nuzzled into each other as if they had always belonged together.

The calm, somewhat excited flutters that had slumbered deep in my heart erupted into a firework of emotions.

My knees and arms, which I used to support myself on his bed, began to weaken and trembled like jelly as our senses, passions and affections entwined into one.

It was hard to focus on anything but the sheer softness of his lips or how this simple action invaded and overwhelmed all of my senses. This feeling when our lips touched and pressed onto each other was addicting and impossible to forget or describe with words.

This moment felt like a dream, a long-lost sensation that had reawakened and devoured me whole.

Kiyotaka gently pulled his lips back, and the flow of time resumed.

His blazing, golden orbs were the first thing my eyes caught sight of as they fluttered open.

Remembering what had just transpired, I averted my gaze.

I couldn't lock eyes with him right now, or these two exceptional spheres of pure beauty would have turned my world upside down even more than they had already done. My whole body burned up and nothing but my own overwhelming heartbeat reverberated through my ear-canal.

Kiyotaka's rough yet gentle hands reached towards my chin.

He raised my head, forcing me to look back into his hypnotic orbs that were impossible to escape, even if I wanted to. Without a warning, or prior indication, he leaned closer once again.

Once again, the flutters in my heart intensified.

"You are seriously too cute..."

My heart began to crave his affection even more than before as our lips embraced each other for the second time. His gentle yet strong desire to feel my lips again was nothing short of mesmerizing.

This moment was truly...

... better than a dream.

Phew... you can do this.

Today was just a normal day, just like any other day as well. I've prepared extensively for this moment after waking up from the best sleep I've had in years or ever. All I had to do now was take the plunge, remember everything I had mapped out and act according to my instructions.

After staring at the room labeled '1-D' for what felt like several hours, I mustered up all my courage and slid open the door. The first person my eyes focused on sat at the far end of the room, next to the window.

Despite all my preparations, my heart grew restless after remembering what the two of us had done yesterday. Without even stepping into the room, my plans crumbled and collapsed into the deepest, darkest void while my body temperature increased yet again.

While I tried my hardest to calm down my strained nerves and save us both a lot of trouble in the process, a female classmate of mine called out to me with her usual quiet and timid voice.

"G-good morning, Matsushita-san."

"G-good morning, Sakura-san. Once again, thank you for yesterday. You helped us out a lot."

I stumbled over my words since I was occupied with hiding my turbulent thoughts, the embarrassment and the fear that the girls would figure out what happened yesterday evening.

Contrary to the last time, I could anticipate how the class might react to this situation and decided that it would be best for both of us to keep quiet about yesterday. Knowing Kiyotaka, he wouldn't tell anyone that we had kissed because it would be troublesome.

"A-ah... n-no it's not like I did a-anything really so..."

She was still shy, nervous, and uncomfortable around pretty much everyone in our class, so her reaction came as no surprise. I hoped that she could grow out of her shell in front of people, since she had such a beautiful smile when she was happy.

With some time and the proper support, she could surely find happiness in this school, just like I did.

It wasn't easy to show her that she could be more relaxed around us, so I raised my hands to receive a high-five from my classmate with a bright smile on my face.

Since she was quite modest and inconspicuous, only a few students in our class had taken note of her, even though we had been attending this school for over two months now. The worst part was that the ones who observed her only did so because of her opulent bust size.

Sakura-san shrunk back and hesitated for a moment, before reciprocating my gesture with a shy smile.

"Yay!"

"Y-yay..."

I guess we'll have to practice that another time...

After waving her goodbye, I strolled towards my own seat with an ever-accelerating heartbeat.

Usually, I would have greeted Kiyotaka by now, but my heart wouldn't be able to handle this much pressure today, which is why I had decided to walk straight to my desk without turning around to him. This would be the best course of action for my nerves and his quiet morning.

I took one step past the usual spot where I called out to him with a beaming smile on my face.

Mmm... I want to look at him!

And I want to greet him!

Defeated before I even began my fight, I peered towards my handsome boyfriend, who glanced around the classroom with his usual bored expression. He must have noticed my glance, because he raised his head and gazed at me with his shimmering, golden orbs.

Oh. My. God! Why is he so handsome?!

"Good morning, K-kiyotaka!"

"Good morning... Chiaki?"

No, no, no, no...

If even he noticed that I was behaving out of character, then...

I spun around and peered at Karuizawa-san and Satou-san, who had already pierced me with their suspicious looks before I had even said anything to Kiyotaka. Kushida-san as well, observed me with a curious expression before wandering towards my desk at a slow pace.

No...

With a lowered head and thoroughly defeated expression, I trudged towards my seat and dropped my bag. Before I could sit down or pull my chair back, all three of them huddled around me like a pack of wolves, waiting for their prey.

"Nene, Matsushita-san... what was that about, huh?"

"Yeah, what was up with that weird greeting, hmm?"

"Did something happen after Sakura-san and I left yesterday...?"

Kushida-san tilted her head with an innocent expression, which prompted both of my other classmates to stare at me with wide eyes that were colored in disbelief. Another string of ruthless words left Karuizawa-san's lips before I could even blush.

"Heee? Now you have to tell us what happened, you know?"

Satou-san nodded, supporting her friend.

I could only curse myself for not having such a perfect poker face like Kiyotaka during times like these, since I could feel warmth surging through my whole body after their relentless barrage of questions.

"N-nothing happened..."

Neither of them believed me, for obvious reason, as bright, teasing smiles formed on their faces.

"Nothing, huh? Then why are you blushing so furiously, Matsushita~san?"

The last time they had found out about something gossip-worthy was when Kiyotaka and I became a couple. They didn't leave him alone because I couldn't stay silent. I probably won't be able to lie myself out of this, but I should at least make sure that they leave Kiyotaka alone.

But maybe I'll just try once more...

"R-really... N-nothing happened... at a-all..."

Gosh, this was getting worse by the second...

I interlaced my arms and glanced away to prove my point, hoping that they would somehow believe my ridiculous claim.

The girls glanced at each other before nodding. After concluding their secret, nonverbal exchange, they turned back and eyed me with their curious gazes.

"Say, Matsushita-san, did you two kiss or something?"

The number of people surrounding my desk had increased, which meant that even more girls had heard Karuizawa-san's exclamation and my, admittedly, obvious reactions towards her question afterwards.

I lowered my head in shame and bent my legs to shrink in size, hoping that it would be enough to vanish from sight. My lips quivered, and I felt as if I was evaporating in a current of molten lava due to how uncomfortable I was in this situation.

"Wait..." Satou mouthed, staring at me with wide eyes. "A-are you serious?"

"P-please leave K-kiyotaka alone about this..."

I hid my head in between my legs and arms before the whole group of girls began to squeal.

"Help her?" Ayanokouji tilted his head as if this had been the most laughable question he had heard all day. "Of course not. The two of us are just going to watch how this scene turns out, no matter what happens to her."

I glanced at his cold, apathetic eyes as a shiver of pure dread ran down my back.

No... not again... I can't go through this again...

My heartbeat reverberated through my ears at such an insane volume that I felt like they might start to bleed any minute. A shrill, loud peeping sound accompanied the drums of my inevitable doom as I grabbed onto my hair.

"No... no... no..."

The light quivers in my fingers and hands turned into devastating trembles that ripped some of my hairs out. This was definitely an action that should have hurt, but my brain failed to register the pain as both my body and mind were numbed by the devils sweet whisper.

I need to get out of here... I can't watch something like this... Not again...

Why now...? Why...?

Just when I began getting a little better...

"Please... Ayanokouji-kun... No... please..." It became much harder to form the words I wanted to convey as my breathing grew labored. "Please... let me go. I don't want to see... I can't... please..."

Before I knew it, my mind flashed back and forth between the rooftop and his room, before I stood back in this alley right beside him. The flashes from the camera didn't stop for a second as the clicking sound kept conditioning me to realize that my naked body was caught on a myriad of pictures, while I could do nothing but smile, nod and act if I enjoyed being humiliated.

His crisp, diabolical voice echoed through the walls of my mind as I lay on his bed with my legs spread apart. The demonic voice kept murmuring and hissing through my ear as the devil's cold hands caressed over the slit between my legs.

"No can do. I still need you, so you stay."

I need to listen... I can't defy him...

"I... understand..."

No one can withstand the devil...

No... no... no...

Stop... please... don't...

It's happening again...

With a cold snap, every single drop of blood in my body vanished.

The devils frigid, rough hands flashed forward and wriggled around my throat like a chain that bound me to him. My vision flickered for a moment and the two of us stood on the desolate, inhospitable rooftop.

His yellow eyes didn't falter or quiver as he increased the pressure of his grip until even the last bit of oxygen was forced out of my lungs. He didn't lose focus or hesitated as I begged for my life like a pathetic insect that was getting tortured.

"Shhh, Kushida."

The devils sweet yet terrifying melody resounded through my final resting place.

I pleaded, tried to scream and struggled through this bone-chilling dance of death, but he didn't care. He kept squeezing my neck with his deathly pale hand until the bones inside began to creak and crack until they eventually crumbled into powder under his heartless, inhuman grasp.

My vision flashed again as I stood in front of my bathroom mirror and watched the scene unfold. The 'Kushida' that had just been killed on the rooftop arose again and turned her broken neck towards me.

"This is all your fault..."

Voices I recognized as my own originated and overlapped in this cold, terrifying darkness that welcomed me after my demise. I couldn't hear anything but my own cries, no matter how far I descended into this endless abyss I had found myself in.

My own being, my sanity and my very light was lost and being devoured by my own conscious.

Was this how it felt like to die?

This was indeed all my fault...

As I realized this truth, two gigantic golden orbs stared at me from the never-ending abyss below.

"I'll see you this evening, then..."

I walked off before he could respond, hiding my bloodstained hands inside the pockets of my blazer.

A violent, dizzy feeling overcame me as I trudged along the busy school grounds.

How nice would it be to just walk home and sleep...?

It should have been wonderful, invigorating, even.

But the lump in my throat wouldn't let me...

Over time, I've gotten quite used to knowing when I was about to puke, which was why I realized that I was about to vomit soon. I wasn't sure how I had managed to keep myself in check before, but I wouldn't be able to hold it until I reached the dorm, much less my room.

There was a cafe near my current location which only a few upperclassmen frequented. With a little luck, no one would notice me heading for the bathrooms the second I walked in. The employee might, but as long as none of the students caught a glimpse of the imperfect Kushida, everything was alright.

With a deep breath, I put on my best mask before I entered the establishment in question.

Just as expected, there were a few second- and third-years sitting with each other, chatting and laughing about their day-to-day. All the chairs around the occupied tables were taken, which meant that the bathroom for the girls should be empty.

I regarded the female employee with a weak nod and ambled into the bathrooms.

After the door shut, I ran into the next best stall and threw up into the toilet before I began to cry. Tears and snot mixed with my half digested meal and swirled around in the bowl. I continued to gag as my bloody hands smeared the white toilet seat while the abhorrent stench of iron and vomit tickled my nose.

My nauseating retching stopped as the bathroom door opened.

I sprang into action and locked the stall before anyone could see this pathetic version of Kushida Kikyou that slumped over the toilet bowl like a corpse and couldn't stop puking because of everything that had happened today.

"Excuse me Miss, are you feeling alright?"

The employee's anxious voice rang through the bathroom as she stood in front of the only closed stall door. She must have worried about me, but I didn't know why.

My mask should have been impeccable...

"I'm... fine... thank you."

I wiped off the stains around my mouth with the back of my hand and leaned against the refreshing, cool wall. It was quite difficult to calm and silence my labored breathing, which was why I hoped that the woman would accept everything I said as fact and leave again.

"It's okay, really. I'm also getting nauseas when I'm on my period." She slipped two packaged pills beneath the stall door. "Here, these usually help me even on the worst days."

I'm not on my period, you stupid cunt.

"Thank you so much." I forced a smile, which would enrich my voice with a positive undertone. "Mine ran out and I seem to have forgotten to buy replacements. And of course, just when I was on my way to purchase the new ones... well..."

A light, understanding laugh escaped the staff member that kept me company behind the door.

"I know days like this just too well, so don't worry. Unfortunately, I have to get back to work, but if you need anything else, please tell me. There are no female customers at the moment, so don't worry about cleaning up. I'll tell any visitors that the toilets are currently out of order."

Just fuck off and leave me alone already.

"Thank you so much... really. I appreciate the kind gesture."

Her ankles cracked as she stood up and footsteps resounded through the room before the door closed. After silence had once again descended, I heaved a deep sigh before slumping against the toilet.

My eyes focused on the blood that had dried on my pale hands as I reached out for the pills. Without even unwrapping them, I dropped them into the bowl and flushed the toilet to get rid of this disgusting stench.

Tears dripped onto my arms as I watched the vomit circling around before it vanished, together with my tears. I grabbed some toilet paper and wiped the dried blood from the seat, the door handle and the ground with trembling fingers.

Maybe I should purchase gloves for the next time as well...?

I didn't hope that there would be a 'next time', of course, but after today, nothing Ayanokouji did would surprise me anymore. It should be the correct decision to be prepared for every eventuality that might occur.

Even though I might look like it sometimes, I wasn't stupid.

I was aware of what my classmate did to me... that he manipulated me the whole time, even after I had escaped that damned rooftop and his room. He realized this as well, yet he had no intention of stopping.

Was it really worth fighting against the inevitable any longer?

Wasn't it just easier to give in to him and feel safe... protected, even?

He didn't need me for today, but he took me with him as a reminder.

His eyes were cold and inhuman, despite the abhorrent things he did to other people. If he had wanted to shut that piece of shit up himself, he wouldn't have hesitated to do so.

I stood and unlocked the stall door before trudging towards the sinks.

The sound of water rippled through the room as I rubbed the blood off my hands.

One minute, five minutes... it didn't matter how much time passed or how much I scrubbed over my fingers.

I still felt dirty.

I could still detect the stench of blood that hovered over me like a warning sign.

- Word Count: 3660 / 16576 Characters

Released 16.07.2022

Chapter 19 - Adjournment

"You seem tired. Are you sleeping well, Kiyotaka?"

Chiaki leaned to the side and examined my face closer.

I shouldn't have looked any different from how I usually did, but her tone carried genuine worry for my well-being. She was likely still anxious about Sakura, who was a no-show at school. Since she had a convincing reason, there weren't any point deductions, but everyone knew what happened and kept fretting about her.

People seriously talked too much...

"Not notably good or bad. Is it that awful?"

"No..." She caressed over my cheek with her free hand before we proceeded on our way. "Maybe I'm just overly worried due to everything that has happened in the past weeks."

It was correct that a lot had happened, but none of the bad things affected me personally. She seemed to have been projecting her worries onto me, which would explain her current overprotective nature.

We walked through the busy mall hand in hand as I caught sight of some posters which had been plastered on the front of multiple stores, advertising a huge fluffy panda with a height of about fifty centimeters. On the right of the poster was a big, golden star with bold letters inside, spelling out 'Limited Edition' in all caps.

"Wow, I didn't know they'd get those here!"

The advertisement seemed to have caught my girlfriend's attention as well, as she began to examine the poster in front of us. She pulled out her phone and took a picture before typing out a message.

It looked like these soft toys were rather popular among the female students, according to the people that stopped to investigate the poster. Chiaki was probably messaging one of her friends in our class about their availability as well.

I was, of course, completely out of the loop on such things.

"What are 'those'? I've never seen them before."

Chiaki put her phone away and turned towards me with an unsurprised expression.

"This brand sells a lot of those special stuffed animal toys. They are always released in five to six versions in a limited quantity and never re-released once sold out. Meaning, those specific cuddly toys will be the only ones that they'll ever produce before moving to another animal."

"That's pretty smart."

Once the brand established themselves as a reputable company with good quality, people would do anything in their power to get one of these cute stuffed animals for their children, loved ones, or themselves. From the poster itself, it also looked like they were being shipped out in packaging, so collectors could keep them in factory new condition and sell them off for profits later.

I wouldn't be surprised if one of the first few animals they had produced was worth a small fortune due to their brand being unknown back then. The company probably turned a huge profit with their pricing policy.

"Do you have one of them?"

"No, but a friend of mine back in middle-school was crazy about their products. She stood in line half the night together with her brother in order to buy one every single time a new animal was released. Mii-chan also likes the brand, but not to such a degree, so I just informed her that they'd be selling them in case she was interested."

This was their evil plan all along, huh?

Not bad company...

"Let's go there!"

Chiaki tugged my sleeve and pointed towards the clothing shop we had visited together with the others. This place harbored fond memories for both of us, because she had suggested calling each other by our first names here.

Now that I thought about it, she had always made the first move towards 'us'. She had not only confessed to me but also asked for our first kiss as well as the first date which we were currently enjoying.

Could it be... am I a bad boyfriend?

"We don't really have points to spare for a shopping spree, do we?"

"So? We can still try out new pieces. I mean, I want to see you in this and this and that one over there..."

My girlfriend already began listing clothing items while outside, but this only worsened once we entered the boutique. She pulled me inside and kept pointing at, and gathering, trousers, shirts, jackets, swimwear and pretty much everything that caught her eye and might look good on me.

It had been a while since we had nothing to do but to relax, so spending time like this was always fun. The special exams were coming up as well, which is why I believed that both Chiaki and I deserved some time off before the game began.

I was still wondering whether I should let her take care of everything bothersome during our summer break, because she had managed to tie up Sudou's case exemplarily. Despite my wishes, however, I made a promise to a certain teacher which I couldn't violate without serious repercussions.

And I really wanted to see how capable my opponents were...

"Let's goo! You put these on first."

She held out her arm, which was covered by clothing items from different brands and sizes. Chiaki had gathered such an amount of different pieces that she almost vanished behind them.

"Which ones? I can't put all of them on first, you know?"

"The green and orange one because they complement each other so well."

Did she want me to look like a pumpkin?

My girlfriend hid her beautiful smile behind the pink scarf she had found and shooed me into one of the free changing rooms while waiting in front of it with a plethora of shirts and jeans hanging from her arms.

"Really? Huh... if you say so."

I knew little about fashion, but I found this combination of colors rather weird. Such shades shouldn't be paired together under any circumstances if I thought about this with color-theory in mind. But Karuizawa and the other girls all said that Chiaki had a great sense of fashion, so I chose to trust my partner with her selection for me.

After pulling the curtain, I undressed and slipped into the new things she had prepared for me. Upon glancing at the mirror, I was even more sure that these colors wouldn't work together.

Maybe I just had no sense for aesthetics.

I tapped off the dust and thrust the curtain which shielded me from the outside world aside.

As soon as the sun shone into my face, an adorable, resounding laugh greeted me. Chiaki's amusement was so loud that some of the staff members turned in our direction as well. The female personnel glanced at us with astonished expressions and broke out into laughter just moments after my girlfriend.

"I'm so sorry, Kiyotaka. But you are so adorably clueless sometimes..."

Chiaki ran her smooth fingers through my hair before wiping away the tears that had formed in her eyes. She sat down on one of the stools and snickered into the remaining clothes she had gathered for me.

To my surprise, the sales women hadn't been mad after the two of us left, even though we kept putting on multiple clothing articles without being able to buy a single one of them. I guess they've had their fun, thanks to Chiaki's games whenever no one aside from us was in the store.

I couldn't deny that I had found an incredibly beautiful girlfriend, however.

Even though I had been aware of this before, I realized that she radiated even more whenever the two of us did something together. She looked like a model with almost every piece of clothing she had put on. Short-sleeved, long-sleeved, jeans, shorts, hot pants, dresses, swimwear... It didn't matter.

Chiaki looked absolutely breathtaking in every single one of them.

She had also found multiple combinations that looked great on me when she wasn't occupied with pulling my leg with the weirdest color mixtures she could come up with.

"That reminds me... Karuizawa and the others always said you had a knack for fashion. Do you want to become a fashion designer or something?"

"Mhh..." She clung around my arm and leaned onto my shoulder. "I haven't really thought about it that much. But doing something like this wouldn't be bad, I think. What about you Kiyotaka, is there something you wish to do after graduation?"

"I want to be free."

Would it be weird if I told her that?

Without an explanation, she wouldn't understand. But it was not like I could tell her about my past. This wasn't only a very private matter, but it would also put her in danger if she knew anything about the White Room.

"No idea, really. I would probably continue studying after highschool."

I really wondered what I wished to do, but this was all I could muster.

We kept chatting for a while until we ran into a few of our classmates.

Luckily, it was a group that was friendly to us and harbored nothing but genuine goodwill towards our relationship. If we had stumbled into Ike and company, our date would have been ruined in an instant due to the bad vibes he would have spread since he couldn't find a girlfriend.

After exchanging pleasantries, we separated again and continued our date.

We ambled around the mall, went window shopping, laughed and joked around while we leisurely spent our time together as a proper couple. Chiaki laughed most of the time, because I was still troubled with such simple, mundane things.

I managed a few smiles, but that was all I could currently offer my girlfriend.

Even though I couldn't properly express my emotions, Chiaki knew that I had fun whenever we spent time together.

After relaxing on a park bench for a few moments, we visited the Palate and ordered some sweets. I ordered a Tiramisu, while Chiaki went with her usual parfait and drink combination.

Both confectionaries were tasty on their own, but being on a date with my attractive girlfriend made them even sweeter, or so I chose to believe, since this was my first time trying both of them.

Our eventful day for two continued until the sun began to set.

Chiaki felt tired from all the walking and running towards the shops she had us do, so I suggested completing our date with a movie. This hadn't been my idea, of course, but I heard that Hirata and Karuizawa went to the cinema from time to time as well.

I assumed that this had been a lie, but the reactions of the surrounding boys and girls during that time informed me that watching a movie with your significant other was one of the possibilities of spending a day together.

We had planned nothing for today, and just went out and did what we felt like doing throughout the whole time, which had turned out pretty well for our first attempt at a date. Chiaki was happy as well, so there was no way that I would complain about the decisions we had made.

After walking to the cinema, we selected a movie to watch and found our seats just as the advertisements began to roll over the projection screen. Since we had eaten before, we didn't need popcorn or similar snacks and just leaned back into the chairs side by side, waiting for the show to start.

The panda from the poster made another appearance to draw in even more potential customers who might not have seen the mass of banners that had been plastered over the storefronts throughout the school grounds.

The promotions soon stopped and the mystery thriller we had decided upon began.

Since both Chiaki and I enjoyed such stories, it had been an easy decision to pick this over the remaining choices. Even though my girlfriend enjoyed the movie, the built-up fatigue caught up with her around the halfway point.

Her soft head slumped onto my shoulder while shallow, relaxed breaths escaped her enchanting lips.

A slight smile formed on my face as I took a whiff of her peony shampoo and adjusted my position to improve her sleeping posture, which didn't look as comfortable as it could have been.

Since she might feel bad about napping in the middle of the movie, I chose to do the same.

Leaning my head against hers, I shut my eyes as well.

The movie kept playing and ended around an hour later. There was quite a commotion during the credits as the other students stood and began to leave the auditorium, but Chiaki kept sleeping soundly as she leaned into me.

Another five minutes passed and two staff members strolled into the showroom to clean up the popcorn, snacks, coke bottles, empty containers and other such residue from the floor and seats.

It didn't take particularly long until they noticed that we were still inside.

"See? I told you the movie was boring."

A man's voice rang through the room before the woman heaved a sigh.

"That's not a valid point now, is it?" There was a slap, as if she had hit the ground with her broom. "The movie launched two weeks ago and those two are the only ones that fell asleep during that time."

"Should we ask them? I'm not losing another bet against you."

"Sure, go ahead. Wake them up."

A rather loud clang followed, as if someone stumbled over a bucket of sorts.

"What me?! There's no way I'm going to wake them up. Are you insane?"

"Why not? Didn't you want to ask them about the movie?"

"That was the last show of the day, anyway. Let's just clean around them and wake them later."

"So you are afraid to wake them up?"

Their relationship seemed to be quite similar to Horikita's and mine, since they kept pestering and taunting each other while cleaning the showroom, which seemed to be the reason that both of them were in such a good mood.

"Th-that's not the point. They look kind of... cute, don't you think?"

"So you are not scared of her boyfriend?"

"Wha — No, o-of course not. I could wake him up, e-easy."

A loud, hearty laugh escaped the female employee as she swept the floor in between the rows.

I wasn't sure why that guy was afraid of me, but as long as Chiaki could sleep a little longer, I wouldn't mind his misplaced concerns. This line of thinking should give me some bonus boyfriend points, right?

Time passed, and the male staff member kept postponing his inevitable duty to wake us until the last possible moment, when they had nothing more to do but lock up the entrance and go home.

"C-come on... give me a hand, would you?"

The woman answered his inquiry with silence and impatient taps on the ground.

"F-fine..." His footsteps grew closer as he slid through the row towards us. "E-excuse me, Sir?"

"Why are you so timid? You're a man, aren't you? Now find your voice and wake them up."

I had to concur with the woman, since the man's pitiful whisper barely reached my ears, even though I had been wide awake the whole time. If their conversations didn't wake us, then the man's pathetic attempt had long since lost meaning.

"Please don't be a scary boyfriend, please don't be a scary boyfriend."

His quiet chant increased in volume as he drew closer.

When I felt his body heat nearby, my eyes fluttered open.

"UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Ups...

The man screamed as if he was about to die and fell backwards over the row of seats in front of ours. The woman, who stood to the side on the walkway, burst out in uncontrollable laughter while Chiaki jolted up in surprise before opening her eyes.

She glanced around, surveying her surroundings with a drowsy yet charming gaze.

"Kiyotaka?" She rubbed her eyes and hid her yawn behind her smooth fingers before she turned towards me. "Why are they so loud? Wait... where is everyone? Is the movie already over?"

My girlfriend was still tired, which is why it took her quite a while to complete these few short sentences.

"Oh. Yeah, I guess. Seems like we fell asleep and the nice gentleman wanted to wake us up. I really don't know what he's fussing about, though." I leaned forward, glancing after him. "Hopefully he isn't hurt."

The poor employee who hung headfirst over the row of chairs recovered from his unfortunate position and glanced at the staff woman, who was still occupied with calming herself after the man's hilarious reaction.

"He just opened his eyes like a goddamn zombie! Holy shit! I almost died. My heart..."

His heavy, exhausted breaths rang through the theater as he heaved himself up.

"Excuse me... did you just call my handsome boyfriend zombie?"

Chiaki leaned to the side and regarded the staff member with a fascinating smirk that didn't reach her eyes.

"Tanaka... I think you were afraid of the wrong person."

After Chiaki and I had our fun with the frantically apologizing employee, we said our farewells to both of them and left the cinema before strolling back to the dorms.

The two of them had apparently been friends since childhood but were separated when one of them had to move due to their parents work. Since coincidences could be freaky, they had both applied for the job independently, not knowing that their long-lost companion did the same.

A long-lost childhood friend, huh...

Such a person was someone I could never have, because everyone in my generation was disposed of. But I still had to wonder what kind of individual they would be for me.

Would they be a guy, or a cute girl?

As this question spread through and occupied my mind, I remembered my talk with the Professor a few weeks back, and was glad that I didn't have one of these so-called childhood friends. Most of them seemed to end up either dead, alone, with a broken heart or with severe mental damages, depending on the story.

It was brutal.

"Sorry that I fell asleep."

Chiaki clenched my hand as we walked through the calm mall area.

Her skin was warm and soft, unlike mine, which felt cold and rough to me. She didn't seem to mind, however, since her adorable smile deepened as our fingers entwined.

"I fell asleep as well, so you really don't need to worry about that."

My girlfriend peeked at me before she stretched her free arm into the air.

"Today was nice!"

"Yeah, I really enjoyed myself on our first proper date. I think we did an amazing job, even though we took a nap in the cinema and scared one of the workers to death."

A healthy blush appeared on her face after being reminded that this had been one of our firsts, before her bewitching laugh filled the previous silence that had descended onto the school grounds.

"I guess we did a good job today."

"You are truly cute when you get all shy. You know that, right?"

She pouted and averted her eyes before squeezing my hand.

"Kiyobaka..."

We kept making fun of each other until we arrived in front of her room.

Chiaki fumbled around with her fingers as the two of us stood in the door frame. She threw me a few awkward glances which were difficult to interpret. Since it was almost time for curfew, it wouldn't make sense to visit her room, so she seemed to hint towards something else.

At first I wanted to say goodbye as this was how a day like this supposedly ended, but after her reactions, I wasn't sure if this was the right move to make. There was a high chance that she would be unhappy with my decision, but I didn't know what other options were available to me as we were not at that stage yet, according to my research into the topic.

"S-sooo... today was n-nice."

She had mentioned this already, which meant that she didn't intend to keep talking.

"Yeah it was."

While I hid my hands inside my pockets as usual, she kept fidgeting with her fingers as her pupils darted around her eyes like ping-pong balls. She seemed to search for a topic to breach but couldn't come up with anything.

Time kept ticking away as we just stood there and looked at each other in silence.

This was getting somewhat uncomfortable, even for me, so I decided to bite the bullet and make the first move.

"Well, it's already late, so —"

I wasn't able to progress any further than that, because Chiaki grabbed onto my arm, as if yearning for something.

"I don't want to... say goodbye just yet..."

Her voice was timid, yet determined.

Nothing could change the flow of time, however. The day was over and curfew was about to begin. Even if I wanted to, I wouldn't be able to stay much longer than a few more minutes.

"We have little control over that matter, do we?"

Chiaki nodded somewhat unruly, since she also knew that I couldn't remain with her much longer if we didn't want to test the school's limitations and related punishments for breaking curfew.

"I..."

The words she sought to convey didn't leave her lips.

If I had any idea what she wanted, I could help prod her in the right direction, or act myself if that could solve our current stalemate. But during such a situation, I felt out of my element.

I couldn't give her a proper answer if she wasn't telling me what she was craving for.

Her shimmering blue eyes turned upwards and met with mine.

And there it was again, her yearning gaze, which I recognized from that day.

"K-kiss me a-again?"

This short, yet all-explaining string of words escaped her enticing lips before I could act.

Truthfully, this had been a mistake on my part.

I should have anticipated her potential needs before she had to voice them, or at least, that's how it should have worked in the most ideal circumstances.

My girlfriend's eyes opened wide for the fraction of a second before a sensual smile spread over her face.

The reason for her first action must have been the thin smirk that appeared on my face, and the second didn't need to be explained any further.

Chiaki's smooth lips were pleasant and welcoming as I leaned into her. My hands wrapped around her hips while hers rested on my chest as we embraced each other in front of her room.

Since there was so much talk about 'the first kiss', I had assumed that it would have differed from the following ones. That it was better, or more unique in certain ways, but that hadn't been the case at all. This delicate intimacy we were feeling right now was strangely satisfying and comparable to our first.

We parted after our lips entwined for what had felt like a millisecond.

"Sorry, that was my bad."

I conceded my mistake with the best wry smile I could muster.

As a boyfriend, it was one of my duties to know how to act in times like this — but I had failed.

A shy laugh escaped her sweet lips before she embraced me.

"It's new for both of us. We are still learning, so mistakes are permitted. I mean, I could have just said something sooner myself. But you can also, you know... act on it... if you want something..."

"Mh...? Might as well, then."

I slid forward before planting another kiss on her supple, intoxicating lips.

"Do you need me for something?"

"No?"

"Then why am I here?"

"Wow, your cruelty really knows no bounds."

If I told anyone who I was exchanging these pleasantries with, they wouldn't believe me. The expected outcome was the end of my good reputation and a liar's mark on my forehead.

"'MY cruelty?' You are screwing with me, right?"

Kushida, who behaved like a rabid dog, grabbed a pillow and threw it in my direction.

The identified flying object flew past my head and crashed into the wall with an almost inaudible thud. I grabbed the foreign body and flung it into her face, which she received rather ungraciously and with a contemptuous expression as she fell backwards.

"We both know that we need to hang out more often, and today is such a beautiful day. Let's just work some of your Kushida magic and invite a few people to do something that could be deemed as fun."

My not so adorable classmate interlaced her arms and plopped onto the bed.

"You really think that I'm just writing a single message and a bunch of students come running, don't you?"

"Wait, isn't that how it works?"

I tilted my head, since this was exactly how Kushida Kikyou operated.

"Argh, damn it. Yes. Fuck! It is that simple, okay? Gimme a second."

She picked up the phone while throwing around profanities and began to message some of our classmates.

In the end, my queen needed less than three minutes to rally up a quarter of our acquaintances.

We decided to meet up at the dorm entrance since most of us were in our rooms anyway. This was where I was currently waiting for Sudou, Ike, Satou, Inogashira and Mii-chan, while chatting with Chiaki, Kushida, Hirata and Karuizawa, who were already here.

The five of us were talking about some random things as usual, like what we had done in the past few days, if we tried the new item on Palate's menu and much more. Kushida began to glance at each individual that took part in our current gathering and realized something with a horrified expression.

"Now that I think about it... I'm the fifth wheel in this constellation, aren't I?"

Everyone laughed, appreciating the joke she had set up with herself as the punch line.

"Mh, now that you mention it, it's true. Since Matsushita-san and Ayanokouji-kun are a couple as well, you are something akin to an add-on in our current group."

Hirata wasn't ready to call someone an outcast or anything with a negative affliction, even in his jokes. Add-on was a much tamer word in comparison, but not less hated than outcasts in certain circles, according to the Professor, Ike and the other guys who spend their time gaming.

"Oh, that's right! You guys should go on a double date or something, don't you think?" Kushida clapped her hands with the most beaming expression a human being could produce. "I'm sure Ayanokouji-kun could learn a lot from Hirata-kun!"

"Huh?!"

"Eh?"

"Wh-what?"

While everyone was confused by her sudden remark, Hirata began to laugh upon hearing our classmate's proposal.

Chiaki's and Karuizawa's reactions were similar to my own, but the underlying reason for each couldn't have been any more different. While my girlfriend and I were learning the ins and outs of being a couple with steady progress, Hirata and Karuizawa were only pretending to be intimate with each other.

"Well, I think that's a great idea. Right, Hirata-kun?"

The parasite threw herself around her boyfriend's arm with a wide smile, proving that Kushida wasn't the only exceptional actor in our small gathering of friends. The gyaru, which meant girl for anyone who might not have known this, put her insecurities aside and made the first step towards our future double date.

"I agree. If we find the time, we should definitely go out together. It sounds like fun."

"Well, if Kiyotaka is fine with it, then I don't mind either."

My girlfriend left the baton, and with that, the final decision, with me.

"Yeah, sure. Let's meet up when we're all free."

The three remaining girls ambled towards us while we kept talking about this and that.

Every one of them had arrived in their own unique style of clothing, seen by the casual wear they had dressed themselves with. Since it was Saturday, there was no need to visit or even go near the school building, so everyone decided to show off the clothes they had bought during our stay here.

Chiaki let go of my hand and jumped off the bench before walking over to them with Karuizawa and Kushida in tow. They kept complementing each other and their choice of outfits and talked about what they might buy next month. Karuizawa, for example, wanted to purchase a few more accessories, while Satou needed a top that would fit and complement one of her shorts, which she couldn't wear at the moment due to mismatched colors.

Hirata inched closer towards the bench and sat down beside me.

"Sudou-kun and Ike-kun are running late, it seems."

"Seems like it."

It was quite odd that Ike, of all people, needed such a long time to show up, since his one and only Kushida-chan-sensei had invited him to a 'date'. Usually, he emerged behind her in a matter of minutes, sometimes even seconds, depending on his current location.

This time, however, he was late despite being nearby.

"We haven't really talked in a while, huh? With all that's been happening, I mean..."

"Yeah, we had some eventful months indeed. I'm glad that most of us managed just fine."

The two of us hadn't talked one on one like this ever since that one time in the locker room. We had spoken often even after that, but we were always accompanied by at least one of the girls or other guys. Right now, it sounded as if he wanted to breach a rather sensitive topic, according to his tone, soft voice and visual sweep of the area.

"You know, Ayanokouji-kun, I wanted to thank you again for what you did, but I never really found the right moment. I felt bad, not being able to convey my gratitude, even though you had been there for me when I needed it."

Was he talking about our conversation before Yamauchi was expelled? Or because I had sent Kushida after him when I noticed his dangerous downward spiral afterwards?

It wouldn't have been difficult to figure out that I had talked to her, since I had made no moves to hide my involvement during that time. If he had asked me about it, I would have answered him honestly as well.

"Thank me? I don't think I did anything that would warrant your thanks."

"When Yamauchi-kun was about to be expelled... well. I was about to do something really stupid, wasn't I?" A dejected laugh escaped his lips. "I wanted to thank you for talking to me and holding me back that day."

His melancholic gaze swayed over towards Karuizawa, who wore an enthralling smile as she had fun with Chiaki and the other girls while they began to take pictures and short videos to record cherished memories for their future selves.

Everyone aside from me would naturally think that he was glad to still be here because of his girlfriend, but this hypothesis was far from the truth. In reality, he was worried about what might have happened to Karuizawa in case he had taken the fall for Yamauchi, just like he had planned.

A parasite without a host would soon languish and die a lonesome and tragic death.

Even though Hirata would never label her with such a devastating stigmata, it was the undeniable truth.

"You were troubled and focused on Yamauchi, who found himself in a difficult situation. I only tried to show you the circumstances in a different perspective. Without you, Class D might have already been lost."

"That's nice of you to say, but I don't think that would be the case. I believe that Matsushita-san is capable enough to lead our classmates to the top. She saved Sudou-kun twice, after all."

Chiaki could lead the class well indeed, but there were still things she wouldn't be able to accomplish on her own. She wasn't as proficient as Kushida or Hirata in social interactions, nor was she as athletic as Sudou or Onodera. Even Horikita, who possessed a large, gaping hole as far as deficits went, had her own strong points in certain scenarios.

Every single individual born into this world was formed and molded with their own set of flaws.

Some of these defects were small, while others were much bigger.

But the fact that a single person couldn't carry a whole class on their back remained.

It just wasn't feasible.

"Kushida-chaaaaaaaan~!"

Ike's unpleasant voice reverberated through the dorm's entrance.

Hirata shook his head with a smile on his face and stood up.

"I think they are here. Let's go."

I nodded and glanced towards Sudou and Ike, whereupon I understood what had held them up for so long.

Contrary to everyone else, Ike wore his school uniform, which already began to show dark sweat stains beneath his armpits because of how thick and airtight the material was.

He must have been changing his clothes the whole time until he realized that nothing he had was good enough for a 'date' with Kushida-chan-sensei. Only he would call a gathering of ten people 'date', after all.

Sudou slowed down to match my pace as we ambled towards the mall.

"That moron, seriously. We stood in his damn room for ages because he couldn't find any clean clothes without stains or other blemishes that made wearing them impossible. In the end, he decided on wearing his uniform and now he's sweating buckets, which is even worse than having a small stain no one would have noticed anyway."

My assumption hadn't been too far off, it seemed.

"We were already wondering what had taken you guys so long, but that explains everything." I shook my head before throwing him a glance. "What about you, though? I'm surprised you decided to accompany us today."

"Huh?! What's that supposed to mean?"

He averted his gaze after receiving mine and kicked away a pebble to vent his apparent frustration.

"Nothing, just that you've been spending a lot of time with Sakura, that's all."

"Wha — It's not like that."

Of course it wasn't, but there was no way I wouldn't make him aware of the fact, since it might increase the chances of a prospering relationship between the two.

My remark took zero effort but would have a major impact on him and his perception.

"How is she, anyway? I had little time to visit her the last week."

My favorite delinquent hid his hands inside his pockets and heaved a deep sigh.

"Well, she was pretty happy when you brought her camera over, but sometimes she still wakes up screaming. And that's only when I'm around to hear it. She doesn't want to talk to me about it, which I kind of understand, but it's hard seeing her like this."

"Is she still in the infirmary?"

"Yeah... she said she doesn't feel comfortable going back to her room. I don't understand most of this stuff, to be honest, but she isn't doing well, I think. She also sleeps a lot and talks to her doctor daily, but aside from that..."

Sakura was working through her trauma and Sudou's repeated visits and presence will have a lasting impact both for her sentiments about him and her recovery. Panic attacks like hers weren't out of the ordinary in victims, so I didn't worry too much about her state of mind.

Even though Kushida put up a tough front, she had even worse problems than Sakura, since she had to go through the humiliation of being seen, photographed and touched by her assailant, all while she was naked and powerless. I might have not gone all the way, but this was more than enough to leave serious psychological traumata, which she could never work past, especially since she still had to serve me.

She was much stronger, and more resilient than Sakura, but even she flinched and trembled every time I touched or closed in on her when we were alone. Kushida's peerless mask wasn't able to cover all of her scars around the clock.

My mere presence alone made her relive these dreadful memories.

Sakura could count herself lucky that Sudou had found her soon enough. She wasn't essential for this game and I would have given that man as much time as he needed with her. My pawn might be one of the girls I could bind my favorite delinquent to, but she wasn't the only one.

Although more difficult to control than Sakura, she would be a fine leash for my dog. I hadn't paid too much attention to her until now, but I would have some time to observe her in a different environment during the special exam.

"I'm sure she'll get better with time."

"I really hope that piece of shit rots in prison for the rest of his miserable life."

Sudou clenched his fists, rage seeping through him as I stared at Kushida's back.

"Hopefully, yes."

"Ayanokouji-kun, do you need help with your studies?"

"Uh... no... Why?"

I glanced at the girl opposite of me and picked up some salad and meat.

"It's just that the final exams are soon, so prepare thoroughly."

"It's July 3rd... we have like three weeks left."

She reciprocated my gaze, swallowing her fish.

"And that's exactly what Sudou-kun and Ike-kun would have said, don't you agree?"

"Well, if you put it that way..."

The cafeteria was packed with people, so it was rather difficult to understand the other person. Kushida said that the Palate had problems with the air conditioning system, which is why everyone who should have been there was now wandering through the crowded cafeteria.

"Why are there so many people today?"

Horikita had evidently not heard about the issue, which wasn't surprising.

"Kushida said that the air conditioning in the Palate is broken."

I swirled my drink and took a sip of the cold liquid to cool down my body.

"You seem to be rather close with Kushida-san."

My neighbor interlaced her arms and threw me a reproachful look.

That's what you are supposed to think.

"Well, she's nice to be around compared to some other people."

"Really? Just who could you mean by that?"

She opted to tap my leg with her foot beneath the table as a warning while I ate my meal, even though her schoolbag and the renowned compass inside stood right beside her.

"Ah... just other people, you know? You are, of course, not other people. I'm eternally grateful to be dining with a delicate woman like yourself on such a beautiful summer day."

"Of course you would be." She slung back her hair. "Consider yourself lucky that you are the only one who may."

"Now that you mention it... the last time you grabbed a bite with someone aside from me was when you ran into Ike and the others, right? They are still crying about your harsh behavior during 'the worst meal of their lives'."

Horikita chewed the remainder of her food and wiped her lips with a napkin.

"A reaction such as this should have been obvious. Not only was it entirely predictable, but also preventable if he hadn't touched me with his greasy hands. What do you do when an insect keeps bothering you and roams over your arm?"

"Isn't that kind of harsh?"

She just looked at me with a blank face and chose not to elaborate any further. Her arctic glance and brisk attitude conveyed a single question that described Horikita Suzune perfectly: 'are you seriously asking this right now?'

The girls in this school were terrifying existences.

First was Horikita, who stabbed everyone who came too close to her. Then there was Kushida, who was both an angel and a devil in disguise. Fuka didn't even need to be mentioned and Chiaki assaulted me while I was pretending to sleep. The worst of them all was Sae, who wanted to throw me in front of the wolves for her own gain.

Talk about heartless...

I had planned to contact Shiina Hiyori, the only true angel at this school as far as I could tell, before we left for our summer vacation, but due to what had happened during the Sudou incident, I was hesitant to speak to her. It was better to let things cool down for a while before I accidentally ran into this interesting Class C girl.

"Well anyway, what is it that you wanted to talk to me about, Ayanokouji-kun?"

"Yes, about that. I have this friend..."

She regarded me with a deadpan expression.

"It's another birthday present, isn't it?"

"Well, I was just wondering if a heart is alright if it says 'Happy Birthday' on it? You said that hearts are a no-go since the person could take it the wrong way, but since the meaning is clearly specified on that heart, it should be alright, no?"

My neighbor and acquaintance leaned back in the chair and stared in the air before nodding.

"Yes, I believe that such an object should be within the scope of a reasonable birthday present."

"Thanks Horikita."

"Not for something like this. You are a good friend, Ayanokouji-kun."

"Huh?!"

Horikita's eyes widened for a split second.

"Eh?!"

I must have been daydreaming again, so I chose to inquire once more before drawing any premature, potentially life-threatening conclusions from the sentence she had just uttered.

"Horikita...?"

I was about to reach my arm towards her forehead when she stood.

"To your friends, of course. We, you and I, are not friends. Remember that, Ayanokouji-kun. We are classmates, and neighbors, that's all. I'll be going now. Thank you for the meal."

She strode off with those words as passing gift.

What did just happen?

My frozen apparatus of a heart cracked somewhat open after Horikita, the ice queen, had called me a friend. I couldn't help but look at her receding back with an unknown feeling slumbering inside of me until she was out of view.

I glanced down at the wrapped up present and nodded in satisfaction after my work was done.

It took a while, a lot longer than I'd like to admit, but I managed to wrap-up the present perfectly before adding a shiny red ribbon on top to finish things up for good. My model had been a picture I found on the internet, so I was sure that I had packaged it in a decent, presentable fashion.

I stashed the unused gift wrap in a drawer and pushed the present inside the wardrobe right next to it since I didn't want to have this thing standing around when Sudou, or worse, Ike and him, barged in here with one of their stupid ideas.

At least Ike 'lost' the key to my room...

My phone rang a few moments after I lay back down on the bed to relax.

"Chiaki? What's up?"

"Do you remember the conversation about the double date with Karuizawa-san and Hirata-kun?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, the two of them would be free this Saturday and Karuizawa asked if we had time as well. Would that be alright with you? Or do you not want to go? I can probably convince her that something came up on my end."

I leaned back into my pillow and supported my head as I glanced at the cactus Chiaki had bought me.

Every time the two of us talked or spent time together, I wondered how I had deserved such a sweet and caring girlfriend. After all the things I had done and would do without hesitation, she worried about me not wanting to go on a double date since I may have felt pressured saying yes during our prior meet-up.

Chiaki was looking forward to it, and I had already agreed, so I wouldn't step back down.

"Saturday sounds great."

Even though I was interested in what a double date entailed, I hoped that Chiaki might get a glimpse at their relationship. She was quite perceptive about these things, since she had noticed Tachibana's infatuation for the elder Horikita on their first meeting, so she should be capable of seeing through Hirata and Karuizawa as well.

Would she inform me if she noticed something off about them? Or would she talk to them about their reasons? Maybe she'd opt to leave it alone after deciding that it wasn't her place to meddle in their relationship?

So many questions I had no answers for...

"Alright, I'll text you the details later when I discussed things with Karuizawa-san. See you, Kiyotaka!"

"Yeah. See you, Chiaki."

After hanging up, I took a walk around campus to get some fresh air, since the weather was nice.

The sun hovered in the light-blue sky and gifted us with its warm, comfortable rays while the few clouds in between saved us from the brunt of the heat, which was enough to weaken any human being into escaping towards a store that had a working air conditioner.

Quiet days like this one were opportunities I wouldn't have many of. I ingrained every day that passed in my mind, since all of this tranquillity would end in just two more years and a few fleeting months.

There wasn't much time until I would have to say goodbye to everyone.

While they could still stay in contact and meet up with each other after their graduation, I would return to that place. The person known as Ayanokouji Kiyotaka would vanish from the surface of this world until that man decided that he was allowed to exist again.

Even though I had spent my time leisurely, like Matsuo would have wanted, I still hadn't found an answer for the question that had been plaguing me ever since he had posed it during my escape.

It was truly laughable.

A person, no — the so-called masterpiece of the White Room, who had expert knowledge spanning over multiple fields, including but not limited to psychology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, thermodynamics and many more, couldn't even answer such a simple question.

Just what did I wish for?

The red tint in my eyes vanished and was replaced by pure darkness while I sat on the comfortable bench and basked in the sunlight. Contrary to my expectations, there was no vocal follow-up from the girl, whose fascinating scent surged through my nostrils as she leaned forward.

She had taken my last critique into consideration, but still...

"How are you, Ichinose?"

"Huuu, how'd you know that it was me this time?"

The strawberry-blonde beauty removed her smooth hands from my eyes and regarded me with a smile that rivaled the summer-sun that lingered in the clear blue sky.

Would it be sexual harassment if I told her the truth?

"Oh, it was a fifty-fifty chance. I just guessed and got lucky."

Ichinose sat down beside me and leaned against the backrest while stretching her arms, which accentuated the generous, well-developed contours of her body.

"Fifty-fifty, huh? I almost had you." She threw me an adorable pout. "Who was the other person, though? Probably Matsushita-san... or maybe Kushida-san? You are quite close with her as well..."

Our repeated efforts had paid off, apparently.

"It was Kushida."

"Mhh... won't your girlfriend get jealous?"

She covered her mouth as she stared at me with a worried expression.

"You don't need to worry. Chiaki knows that I wouldn't do something like that to her. You and Kushida are also friends with everyone, so worrying about something that would never happen seems like a waste of time. Don't you think?"

Ichinose wouldn't know this, but Kushida could never get into a relationship with someone, since she would lose everything she had worked so hard for the moment it became public knowledge. If she gave her heart so a specific person, she would be unable to receive the love from others.

Kushida Kikyou could never be more or less than a good friend to everyone.

"I'm glad that everything worked out for the two of you after that bumpy start."

"It was indeed quite bumpy, wasn't it?" I scratched my cheek, just like Sakura did whenever she felt embarrassed. "What about you and Shiranami? I haven't really found the time to ask with everything that happened, sorry."

She threw me a peek and interlaced her fingers.

"Don't worry about it, I understand. Everything is fine. It took some time for both of us to get used to knowing our feelings towards each other, but we are doing much better now. She reminded me of my little sister, so I always saw her that way. This was one of the reasons why I struggled with her unexpected feelings when I learned that she was romantically interested in me."

Ichinose was in a talkative mood, which made it easier to inquire about potentially important subjects that I could use to my advantage. She wasn't very secretive in the first place, but she made it almost too easy.

"You mentioned her before, right? Your sister, I mean. How does it feel having a sibling?"

"Mhh..."

If she wasn't willing to share her thoughts, I wouldn't push her. I kept quiet about my upbringing as well, which is why I wouldn't fault anyone for wanting to keep their past hidden. She would supply me with even more information by denying to answer the question, however.

Would I have drawn the same conclusions if I hadn't been raised in the White Room? Or could I have talked openly about my childhood with a genuine smile on my face as I spent my time with a beautiful schoolmate? Would I have been able to forge honest, genuine bonds with my friends instead of relying on shallow lies, deception and artificial actions to keep myself afloat?

"It's nice. Having a younger sibling, that is. My sister is two years younger than me and we were always pretty close. No, that's not right... My mom, her and me, the three of us, were always close..."

It sounded as if something had transpired between them before she arrived at this school, according to her choice of words and the hesitance in delivering them. She didn't mind sharing her past with me, but had difficulties to convey her thoughts and feelings on the matter.

From her reaction alone, I could gleam that it must have been something she still hadn't worked through.

"Hey, did you see that panda advertisement?"

Ichinose's blue eyes widened for a moment before a dazzling smile formed on her face. She was thankful for my consideration towards her inner troubles and switched back to her usual cheery self.

"I did." She jumped up, rocking her arms in the process. Her previous melancholy was nowhere to be found and replaced with playful anger. "You won't believe what happened, Ayanokouji-kun!"

Class B's leader pouted and stomped her feet on the ground.

She looked so captivating that I couldn't help but smile in response.

"What happened?"

"So, they released this incredibly adorable panda cuddly toy two days ago, right? And who do you think was one of the first students in the line to purchase this limited edition?"

"Judging by the flow of the conversation so far, I assume that this person was you?"

"Exactly! And I still don't have my cute stuffed animal! Can you believe that?" She sat back down and faced me. "The clerk inside the store just told me that they were already sold out, even though I was one of the first to enter. I couldn't do much besides accept his words and went outside to vent to Mako-chan, but then the girl behind me in the line strolled out with her panda in hand! I went back in to complain, but the receptionist kept telling me that they were all sold and that he was incredibly sorry."

She still seemed frustrated about this whole ordeal, and I could understand why.

Not only had the clerk lied to her and refused to sell her the panda, but she couldn't get her hands onto the stuffed animal in any other store since it was only sold in this one. According to her handkerchief and the cute sticker that Shiranami had put on her love letter, Ichinose seemed to like pandas, which would make the situation even more discouraging.

"Couldn't you have asked your classmates to purchase one for you?"

"I did! But it took me a while to realize that, so they were sold out for real once Mako-chan arrived."

She glanced towards the ground with a sullen look and heaved a sigh in disappointment.

"That panda was so cute..."

"Mhh... can't you buy one from someone else? If you want one that badly, there are bound to be people who would sell it to you, I'm sure."

"Kanzaki-kun had the same idea, so my classmates helped me to ask around... without luck until now."

I felt somewhat sorry to see her in such low spirits.

For the always energetic Ichinose to make such a sad face, it hurt even someone like me. I wanted to hug her, or pat her head for comfort, but that would likely be me overstepping some serious boundaries, so I held myself back and kept listening to her until we parted ways.

"Over here, Ayanokouji-kun!"

Hirata waved me over to the bench he was relaxing on. I strolled towards him and looked at the nearby clock, which informed me that I arrived around five minutes before the appointed time, which was referred to as good etiquette, according to my research.

"Yo, Hirata."

"Are you nervous?"

He threw me a calming smile and made some space for me to sit.

This was typical Hirata behavior, as he was making sure that I felt comfortable and wasn't overly worried about today. If I would answer his question with a resounding 'yes', he would try his best to calm me down and prepare me before the girls arrived.

He would be such a good boyfriend.

"Somewhat, perhaps."

"I'd really love to have your poker face from time to time. There's no way to tell that you are. But I'm tense as well, so you are not alone. Let's just both do our best together."

My classmate let out a light chuckle before the two of us began to talk about the usual things, like what we were up to and how his club was going. A few moments later, Hirata excused himself and checked on the message that had just arrived on his phone.

Mine vibrated a few seconds later.

They both displayed the same picture, with Chiaki and Karuizawa posing in the elevator and holding peace signs into the camera while sticking out their tongues in a playful and vivacious manner. There was also a text in some cute hearty font below, which read 'be right there'.

The aforementioned elevator soon reached the ground floor and opened up, revealing the already foreseen passengers. They ambled over as both Hirata and I stood and approached them as well.

""Did you wait long?""

Their sweet, cheerful voices overlapped into one, as if they had rehearsed their greeting on their ride down.

We can do this too, Hirata!

One...

Two...

"Not at all."

"About 5 minutes."

Damn it!

The three of them turned towards me with deadpan expressions.

"What..?"

How did I already make a mistake?

"I think we'll have to practice that, Ayanokouji-kun."

Karuizawa shook her head, disappointed in... well, in what exactly?

Both Chiaki and Hirata began to laugh in reply to my confused gaze before we left the dorms and began our double date. The four of us walked towards the mall side by side, while I wondered how any of this even worked, since I hadn't informed myself previously in order to experience this rare opportunity in the most natural way possible.

Our first stop, planned by Karuizawa, was the famous Palate.

Now that the air conditioning was fixed, it was back to being the most visited cafe on the school grounds by far. The other restaurants, cafes and dining places couldn't even hope to get anywhere close as many visitors.

The four of us walked inside and placed our orders while talking about some trivial stuff, as well as the upcoming final exams that Karuizawa was worrying about. Kushida, who had lunch with her friends, waved at us and went her own way, since she knew that we were on our double date today.

After a very sweet meal and some drinks, we decided to do go for something more physical and made our way to the game halls. Previously, I had thought that this was an area for video games and arcade machines, but they also offered other entertainment, like bowling and table tennis, as well as a corner for board and card games.

Chiaki and Karuizawa unanimously decided that we would start with a two-on-two match in table tennis. Since both of them were quite ambitious, they agreed that the losing couple had to pay for dinner. This was quite a deal for Karuizawa, who was so low on points that Hirata would have to foot the bill if they lost.

We decided on a simple best of three and began the match with little to no delay.

Chiaki and I lost the first round, which prompted Karuizawa's confidence to soar through the roof. She jumped up multiple times while high-fiving Hirata with a bright smile on her face.

"Yosha! Good job Hirata-kun! Let's win this! Free food!"

Her 'boyfriend' only threw us a smile before we pursued our relaxing game.

I wondered how this match would have played out if we were on a double date with Sudou instead of them, since there was no way that it would have been as relaxed as it was now because his fighting spirit would have been piqued for sure. Sakura would have surely held him back, while his other potential owner would have been just as fired up as he was according to the information Kushida supplied me with.

The second round soon ended with our win.

"Yes!" Chiaki threw her paddle on the table and jumped towards me. "We did it!"

Her reactions were so beyond adorable that I couldn't help but hug her back while she embraced me like a spider monkey which had found their soulmate after a life of solitude.

Hirata was all smiles as usual, while Karuizawa seemed uncomfortable. She must have felt inferior, or bothered by our public display of affection, which triggered her rejuvenated vigor in the third round.

What began as a friendly, fun competition ended with three people at the table giving it their all, and that one guy who tried to figure out when to end the game without making it too obvious that he could have won the whole time.

The score was 17-18 in our favor.

Chiaki was the server for the next round.

She tossed the ball up into the air and performed the initial serve.

Karuizawa returned the serve with a well-executed topspin which seemed to have been more luck than anything else.

Seeing my chance, I slid over to the corner and countered with a chop that was easy to return.

Hirata, who was next in line, answered my play with a powerful forehand drive.

My girlfriend barely managed to reach the ball in time and returned it to Karuizawa with an unclean stroke.

Since Hirata's parasite was hellbent on winning this potentially game-deciding point, she used this opportunity to smash the ball back to our side.

This was, of course, expected behavior.

As Karuizawa swung back in a large arc, time stopped.

My simulations concluded in a matter of moments, whereupon I prepared myself for the incoming ball.

I moved half a step to my right and turned my body into the specific angle I needed before Karuizawa's paddle snapped forward with rapid acceleration.

And then...

... I slipped.

My hand reached out, barely hitting the ball with the edge of the paddle, which spun and jumped over the net into an unexpected location of the table, to which neither Karuizawa nor Hirata had enough time to react due to their surprise of me falling over and hitting the ball in the process.

With a loud crash, I slammed into the ground and dropped the paddle.

"We did it, Kiyotaka! Are you okay?"

Chiaki jumped in pride before she ran towards me with a worried, yet joyful, expression on her face.

"We won?"

My puzzled voice rang through the area as I propped myself up.

"We won!"

My girlfriend jumped me yet again.

Since I was about to stand up, I lost my balance and fell back down together with her, as she was still holding onto me. Chiaki let out the most adorable chuckle with a half surprised, half teasing smile on her charming face as she lay on my chest.

"Ups..."

She slid a strand of hair behind her ear and bent forward.

Once again, our lips embraced each other. This time in an even more exciting position than before. The simulation I had begun after Fuka's actions crept back into my mind as I noted that this had been the first time that she took the initiative without feeling shy about it.

After a few seconds, our, to this date, longest kiss ended with our lips parting.

"What was I thinking?" Chiaki's head turned crimson in embarrassment. "What did I just do?"

Neither Karuizawa nor Hirata heard her ramblings as they walked around the table to make sure that we were alright.

"Are you guys okay?"

"Hooo? Why is your face so red, Ma~tsu~shi~ta~san?"

Hirata was the only concerned party at the table as his 'girlfriend' noticed that Chiaki's face had changed colors rather drastically after she dove towards the ground with me.

"I... No... You... This... We..."

She kept stuttering, which prompted Karuizawa to pester her even more.

After the excitement of the table tennis game, Hirata proposed to play something more relaxing, like a card or board game which were also provided in the enormous game hall.

"I always wanted to play poker. Let's try that!"

"Poker you say? Should we make another bet which couple wins?"

Chiaki smirked, taunting Karuizawa for her previous transgression.

Her plan was utterly devious and would work out with no problems if the opposing party didn't stop to think about her terms for just a second before deciding to agree.

"Yes, let's say... The couple who loses..." The gyaru looked around the room for some sort of inspiration or an idea for a fair bet until her widened eyes stopped on me. "Hey, wait a minute! We can't bet on that. How are Hirata-kun and I supposed to win against Ayanokouji-kun?"

"I'm not that good at poker, I think. I never played it before."

"That's not the problem here!"

Both Hirata and Chiaki burst out into laughter due to my lack of anything that resembled understanding as well as Karuizawa's cute outburst after she realized that my girlfriend tried to trick her into fighting a losing battle.

In the end, we played a few rounds of poker with no strings attached, which I won without even breaking a sweat. All three of my classmates had been way too wary of me, since none of them could read my expressions.

During our fourth round, I won with a pretty terrible cards because they all thought that I had a really high-scoring hand for some unknown reason. In that instance, I had only kept playing because I felt like the game would end too soon since I had been hogging chips since the beginning.

Nobody called my bluff, however.

The day was so fun and relieving that I forgot to wonder if Chiaki had managed to figure out that Hirata and Karuizawa were only pretending to date after I arrived back in my room.

Days like this one... were they part of my wish?

I still had no definitive, foolproof answer to Matsuo's question, but during this day, I truly thought that I might be able to resolve this mystery in the next three years.

"So, why am I here again?"

"Well, Ayanokouji-kun, I figured you also needed to study some more since you only scored in the middle range on the midterms. Sudou-kun also mentioned that he wouldn't join the study group without you, so here you are. "

The perpetrator behind the current, unfortunate situation peeked in my direction before giving me a thumbs up. He must have thought that he wouldn't get tortured by Horikita while I was here, since I would be the one getting tormented.

What a crafty red-haired scoundrel.

Don't ask me for help if you need to get closer to another girl in the future, you hear me?

Ike, Okitani and even Kushida were back this time as well. The six of us sat in the library and worked through the questions which might or might not be part of the final exam at the end of July.

"Kushida-chan, can't you get the test papers again so we can leave and play some games?"

Ike ruffled through his hair, fed up by the math problems he still couldn't solve without Horikita's or Kushida's help, which came as no surprise after considering our past study sessions for the midterms.

"The third year I asked said that not all tests stay the same, so it wouldn't help even if I got us the old test papers Ike-kun. Aside from that, he said that the school noticed that something was amiss the last time and decided to monitor the third- and second-years more closely... Rather than asking for the tests again, I should apologize for putting him in such a difficult position."

Her reasoning was, of course, a lie.

If they began to depend on the old test papers and the school changed them up even once, they would be beyond doomed. Only a large amount of private points would help them in such a scenario. Since I expected every single one of them to fail on that front, I decided that Horikita's study sessions were the best solution to keep them afloat.

"Now that you mentioned it. Ayanokouji-kun, aren't you studying with your girlfriend?"

"Well, she offered to tutor me, but I said that I would be fine." I glanced at Horikita. "Since I don't really need tutoring."

"You're such a moron Ayanokouji! You should have said yes to such a rare opportunity!"

Being called a moron by Ike must've been the worst thing that had ever happened to me. For reference, I still hadn't forgotten that I grew up in the White Room.

"What opportunity?"

His eyes widened in disbelief.

"You know, like you go visit her during the evening and she puts on some glasses and plays the teacher for you, right? And since you are a useless, naughty student, you — OUCH! Who?" He turned around with the glare of a predator in his eyes. "H-horikita-san-sensei, ahahaha..."

He shrunk back into his puppy mode and backed off while licking his stab wounds.

"Concentrate on your work and stop daydreaming. It's disgusting." Horikita walked over to me and pinched my cheek. "And you. Study properly and stop dawdling. I'll check your history questions before you may go. Is that understood, Ayanokouji-kun?"

"That huwts, Howikita. Awen't we fwie... ouch."

She pinched my left hand after she had stashed her compass back into her pocket.

"Since we are seatmates, I feel responsible to make sure that you are not completely useless during the exam periods. Be thankful rather than complaining and grumbling all the time, would you?"

"Thanks, weally... But could you let go of my cheek now?"

The ice queen threw me one last glance before letting me off the hook.

I rubbed the sore spot on my reddened face and concentrated on the questions in front of me.

"The final exams are soon, right? Are you worried about anyone failing?"

"Hmm, I'm not too sure about Sakura. She's attending school again and all, but her head is still back in that alley more often than not. Sae said that she had some leeway due to her circumstances, but if she kept slipping, then it would only get worse in the future."

"Oh... right, the gravure idol called Shizuku. I looked her up after your stunt with her. She's pretty cute."

Fuka's eyes narrowed like a lioness' who was about to jump her prey.

"Are you interested in her? Maybe ask her out sometime. She'd probably be delighted to be invited by a charming senpai. I have to warn you though, she's really shy and went through a lot, so don't expect too much."

She kicked my feet, not feeling the horrible joke I had set up before she placed them back on my legs. My beloved senpai peered past the book I held in my hands to ascertain my facial reaction towards her following words.

"I'm only interested in you, Kiyotaka. Should I try to ask you out, then?"

"You know that I have a girlfriend, right?"

A hint of disappointment colored her face as nothing changed, which shouldn't have surprised her.

"So? She doesn't have to know." Fuka grinned and slid her feet up and down my leg to annoy me or prompt a specific reaction. "I won't tell if you won't tell."

My guest was indeed a rather interesting woman.

Once she found something or someone that interested her, she would go all in until she was satisfied. This must have been the reason for her repeated and unpredictable antics.

Similar to me, she always had an angle when she acted in her usual Fuka-esque manner. Even her sexual shenanigans were part of this play to ascertain how I would react under different circumstances in order to gather more information about me and the current state of our relationship.

"Could you stop? I'm reading..."

"Relationships for Dummies."

Fuka read aloud before snorting.

"What are you laughing about? That stuff is seriously complicated."

"I really don't get you sometimes."

"Wait? Sometimes?"

I flung the book to the side and perked up.

"Now you're giving me attention, huh?"

"Yeah, tell me more."

Since she said that she wasn't understanding me sometimes, it was safe to assume that she wanted to let me know that she followed my intentions most of the time, which was essentially impossible.

"No can do."

Mh... okay. You want to play, huh?

"Hmm, I'm hungry. I'm making dinner. Do you want some?"

"Yeah, sure. Your cooking skills are out of this world."

She grinned and leaned back into the pillow.

"No can do."

"Hey..."

She protested with a strangely adorable pout.

The doorbell rang as I relaxed on my bed.

Two messages arrived in quick succession, telling me to open up since they were waiting outside and had to hurry before someone came by. I walked over to my closet, grabbed my shirt and some other stuff and walked towards the door.

"Yo."

The eyes of Kanzaki and Shibata, who had been waiting for me, widened in surprise.

"Damn, that's huge."

Later on the same day, I threw on some casual clothes and left my room.

I wasn't exactly late, since I had around fifteen minutes until the appointed time, but since I still had to walk there, it would barely be enough. On my way towards our meeting location, I ran into Kushida, who ambled back to the dorms with a shopping bag in hand.

"Good evening, Ayanokouji-kun. Do you have to run errands as well?"

Her bewitching smile almost made me forget what kind of person she was. Even though no one was around, she kept up appearances and mimed Class D's angel, as usual.

I wasn't surprised that she was so popular around the male population...

"No. I'm on my way to the karaoke parlor, actually."

"Hmm..." She glanced around left and right while stretching her arms to hide that she was scouting out the area. "You don't need me today then, right?"

"No, you can do as you please."

Kushida exhaled as if she had waited for me to say this for the longest time.

"Thank god. I'm so fucking tired. I just want to drop into my bed and rest."

"It's not my fault, I hope?"

"Are you worried about me? Seriously?"

It wasn't strange that she acted this way after what I had done. The situation with Sakura and the store clerk dug up disturbing memories that hadn't healed yet. My queen knew as well as I did that salvation would never fall upon her.

Since no one was around, I took her hand and pulled her into a nearby alley.

"Kushida... you are precious to me. Of course, I'm worried about you when you are feeling unwell. If there's something I can help you with, you can always tell me. You know that, right?"

I caressed her soft, warm cheek and embraced her small, frail and trembling frame. She closed her eyes and leaned into me. The tremors that went through her body subsided before she nodded.

"Mh... I know..."

"Do you also know why you are important to me, Kushida?"

She nodded again as a low, uncertain hum escaped her enticing lips.

"Then tell me..."

"Because... I'm your queen."

Kushida's hands clenched the back of my shirt as she tightened her grasp around me.

"Exactly. You are my queen..." I loosened my embrace and wiped the lone teardrop from her eye. " ... and you deserve to be treated like one. Don't you agree, Kushida?"

Another meek, uncertain acknowledgment followed my words.

"I'll have to go now, since I don't want to be late. Have a good night, Kushida."

"Good night, Ayanokouji-kun."

I kept standing, rooted in place as she walked off towards the dorm. Her back shrunk ever so slightly as she walked further away from me until she stopped and turned around for a moment. Her surprise at seeing me look after her receding figure was clear, even at this distance.

My hand stopped reaching up as I waved her goodbye.

She returned the gesture with a weak, uncertain smile before strolling around the corner.

Kushida wanted to hear those words. Not only to feel safe from me, but also for herself. My queen began to evolve again, and I didn't mind whispering sweet lies into her ears to support and strengthen her beliefs.

With this, it was about time to commence the next step in our relationship.

A few minutes later, I reached the karaoke stalls and walked towards room number ten, where we had decided to meet up. I couldn't hear anything from inside, which made me wonder if I got the date or time wrong, but decided to knock anyway since it wouldn't be the first time that I stumbled into a room I didn't belong into.

The door opened a second later before three hands flashed out, pulling me inside.

"Did she see you?"

Amikura and two of her classmates cornered me with anxious expressions. Another one peeked through the crack of the door and checked the hallway in front of the room for 'her'.

"No, I didn't run into her on my way here."

"That's a relief." She heaved a sigh and closed the door to the karaoke room. "Get ready and hide with the others, then. You were the last one who was missing."

"Sure." I nodded and turned away from her. "Kanzaki, Shibata, where are you guys?"

I didn't know where they had hidden, so instead of walking through the whole room looking for them, it was easier to just ask. They probably were behind one of the couches, but I couldn't be too sure.

"Over here!"

Without further ado, I made my way over towards my friends with quick, well-placed steps.

"Be careful, there's a tab—"

"Argh! My toe!"

"Is that you, Hamaguchi-kun? Weren't you already with us?"

"I wanted to help Ayanokouji-kun avoid the table."

"That didn't work out too well now, did it?"

"Why did you guys even turn off the lights before everyone was hidden properly?"

This was a fair question, since it was weird that neither of them had activated the flashlight on their phone to orientate themselves in the darkness if they had trouble.

Didn't you guys have phones?

"Waaah! Ayanokouji, how'd you get back here?"

"I walked?"

I doubted that it was a good idea to notify them that I knew the room's layout due to the last time we were here and could dodge the table, stools and the couch because of that.

"I think I hear someone. Everyone be quiet."

Amikura ran off to somewhere inside the room, probably towards the light switch, while the rest of the girls with her slid over towards us and ducked behind the available pieces of furniture, or so I believed, since even I couldn't see that much in pitch black darkness.

"Room ten... But why is it so quiet?"

The girl outside was as unsure as I had been, but chose to open the door despite that fact. She had heard no one inside, yet still chose to walk into the room without knocking or anything to announce her presence to the potential guests inside the room.

What if she had walked into something lewd?

This wasn't a far-fetched thought since no cameras had been installed inside the karaoke rooms. Anyone could rent them and invite someone over if they felt like spending time with each other. As long as no one ordered anything from the service personnel, they could do pretty much everything they wanted in here.

But then again, there were also the dorm rooms, even though —

"""""HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ICHINOSE-SAN!"""""

"""""HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HONAMI-CHAN!"""""

"""""HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CLASS REP!"""""

"""""HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ICHINOSE!"""""

My profound thoughts were disturbed by multiple loud chants, which I had missed to take part in due to the hypothetical question I ran into because of the birthday girl's arrival.

"You eggheads! Didn't we agree on 'Ichinose'?"

The whole class burst into a hail of laughter as Ichinose Honami, the receiver of this surprise party, stood in the doorway with a perplexed expression. According to her bewildered, blushing complexion, she had not expected this at all.

"You guys... this... Thank you so much."

She was so overwhelmed by this celebration that she couldn't find the correct words for the sentiments she sought to convey. It took her a while to process everything that had just happen, before she thanked us all for coming and throwing this party for her.

Such a wholesome scene wouldn't have been possible in Class D.

Neither A nor C could have pulled something like this off, either.

This day, this party, this class, their cohesion amongst each other... it was all Ichinose's handiwork.

Since this was a birthday celebration, there was cake, a mountain of sweets and drinks, as well as the presents which had been hidden from view before she arrived. Amikura revealed the cake with a proud, dignified expression before everyone began to laugh to their heart's content.

"Shibata! What the hell did you do? We're short a candle."

The boy in question backed off, raising his hands in defense.

"That's because you turned off the light. It rolled off the table and I couldn't find it anymore."

"I think I stepped on it before." Someone said.

"Oh... now I know what this weird feeling under my bum was."

Class B's infectious laughter once again spread and rang through the whole room.

Even though some surprises had turned out less than perfect, every single individual in this room had fun and enjoyed their time together with their classmates and friends. Ichinose specifically, was so touched by their kindness towards her that small tears of joy began to gather in her eyes.

She wiped them away with a charming smile while radiating bliss from head to toe.

The evening event continued as everyone sang birthday songs, chatted with their friends and helped themselves to some refreshments when they felt like it. Since I wasn't used to these kinds of gatherings, I kept a low profile while talking to Kanzaki, Shibata and the other guys.

Amikura grabbed one of the provided microphones and stood on top of the table to make another announcement.

"Now everyone drum roooll!"

What's a drum roll?

Around forty pairs of index fingers started hitting the table or seats repeatedly, as Class B's vixen revealed a mountain of small and large presents in the room's corner, which had been covered by a blanket before. Some had bought their own individual gifts, while others had pooled their points together to buy something more expensive.

Ichinose, who had already been caught by surprise because of this whole party, couldn't believe her eyes now that she even received presents from everyone who attended the celebration.

Once again, her eyes watered as everyone clapped and cheered her on to open them up.

The strawberry-blonde beauty thanked us, moved and overwhelmed by all the goodwill her classmates met her with, and began to open the presents one by one. Just like Fuka and Chiaki, she took extreme care not to rip the wrapping, which I still didn't understand since it was garbage that would be thrown away either way.

The waste bin wouldn't care whether the paper was ripped.

Every time she opened up one of the gifts, her eyes lit up and a beaming smile flashed through the room. Lots of hugging, embracing each other and shedding of tears took place during that timeframe as the students of Class B were collectively high on dopamine, which soared through the air.

I, for one, would have felt uncomfortable in her shoes.

This wasn't an atmosphere I could thrive in, no matter how much time passed.

But it was the perfect stage for her.

While the girls' delighted squeals rang through the karaoke room from time to time, I kept myself occupied with the boys and some of my other schoolmates who joined our conversations as well. After all of Class B's presents had been unwrapped and marveled at, came the time for mine, which was a pretty uncomfortable feeling.

Pre-planned with her classmates, it was the last present she would receive today.

"You really didn't have to, Ayanokouji-kun."

Ichinose must have felt guilty, since I wasn't part of their class, but I didn't mind buying her a present at all. She grabbed and examined the last package, which was wrapped in blue gift paper that matcher her eyes with a gentle smile on her face.

"I hope you like it."

Just like before, she unwrapped the present with utmost care until she held a small, black box in her hands. Since I was very imaginative with gifts, I went with another pun on her name. Both Fuka and Chiaki had been happy with their gifts and wore them to this day, so I figured that my presents weren't that bad, at least.

Class B's leader glanced at the necklace with the blue wave pattern with her similarly colored orbs in surprise. This one, just like Fuka's, had her name engraved into the pendant. Her gaze alternated between her gift and me with shimmering, tearful eyes before she noticed the piece of paper that I had put inside.

She took a deep breath and read through it before a cute snicker rang through the room.

"'Look behind the sofa'?" She stood, stashing the necklace back in the box, which she then stored in her pocket with a strangely blushing face. "Did you create some kind of treasure hunt for me?"

"Nothing like that. I wanted to add the necklace to the other present, but Amikura had other ideas. She mentioned that it was better this way, but I didn't really understand why."

"Gosh, you are so clueless..."

Amikura's words stung deep, even though they rang true.

Ichinose walked towards her destination during our short exchange and glanced behind the couch in surprise.

"Wow, that's huge!"

"That's what she said."

Why were they stating the obvious?

And what's so funny about that?

The strawberry-blonde beauty heaved the box, which couldn't have been that heavy, on top of the sofa while I was occupied with deciphering the guys comments and weird snickers behind the girls' backs. She shook it around to get an idea of what could have been inside, but there was no sound, not even the weight of the item inside shifted.

The entirety of Class B watched the situation unfold with brilliant smiles, since they already knew what I had gotten her.

"There's no way..." Her voice quivered as she glimpsed at the item inside. She dropped the box back onto the sofa, turned around and ran towards me with the most radiant smile I had seen to date. "Thank you so much!"

She jumped me with such a force that I fell backwards on the other end of the couch.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

Ichinose's heartfelt embrace was incredibly warm and her body was soft in all the right places...

... but I had a girlfriend, so I stopped this dangerous line of thinking.

She was already thrilled about the present she had received, even though she wouldn't have been able to see the version I had purchased from the clerk after telling him to block her attempts at buying one of these stuffed animals. This stunt had cost me a few points, but all of this was worth it to see her smile like this.

Inside the cardboard was, as she had already seen, a packaged panda.

This version grabbed onto a pink, stuffed heart.

Stitched onto this heart were two words, separated into two lines of text:

Happy Birthday.

Authors Note:

Coincidences can indeed be freaky, huh?

This was planned as the chapter for this Saturday, but since the theme of this chapter and today overlapped, I thought that I'd just publish it now. This is also the conclusion for the second volume, so we are finally in special exam territory.

There's also bad news, however, since my family came down with covid yesterday.

I had been negative yesterday evening, but this changed when I did another test this morning, so well...

I'm not feeling that bad at the moment, which means I can and will keep writing, so this is more so of a heads-up that I may not be able to adhere to my usual upload schedule depending on the severity of my symptoms going forward. If I don't get worse, the next chapter will be uploaded next Saturday, as usual.

On a positive note (pun intended), I wanted to thank everyone for over 100 Followers, which is another milestone I deemed impossible when I began this story. Reading your comments and seeing you guys and girls enjoying the story I created really brightens my days, so I'm thankful for all the kindhearted readers this story has gifted me with 3

See you all in Volume 3 ~

- Word Count: 14361 / 65568 Characters

Released 20.07.2022

Chapter 20 - Armageddon Game

I glanced at the three chess boards one last time before my departure.

Due to the aftermath of the Sudou incident, quite a lot had changed. The red queen moved up two squares diagonally towards the center of the board, showing off her reach. One of the red rook's had also moved up two squares, followed by a lone red pawn which was positioned directly behind it.

The green pawns that had been standing on the board were nowhere to be found due to their expulsion.

After making sure that everything else was tidied up, I left a set of coded instructions on the bed and took a deep breath.

This familiar room, the wooden boards, and the aroma of fresh tea which still lingered in the air... I would miss them for the next few weeks because I've long since grown accustomed to these positive changes in my life.

Yet, I was looking forward to our upcoming 'vacation'.

While Fuka tackled her special exam here, I would take care of my first one on an island far away from Tokyo or the school grounds. That much was all I had worked out so far. It was impossible to know what exactly we needed to do on said island, but I was optimistic that I could form new bonds during our stay there.

Fuka had seen me off yesterday, aware that we couldn't meet up before we boarded the buses in the morning. I hoped that she wouldn't do anything weird, like sleep in my room while I was gone, but it wasn't like I could stop her if she wanted to.

Two knocks reverberated through the room, originating from the front door. I let my gaze roam around my apartment one final time before grabbing the previously prepared bag and marched towards the knocking sounds.

Chiaki's bright smile, Sakura's shy bow and Sudou's excited exclamations were the first things that came to my attention as I opened the passage to the boundary between heaven and hell.

The endless summer sea, the infinite blue skies and the perfectly clear air.

Here, in the midst of the Pacific Ocean, we, the students of the Advanced Nurturing Highschool, were spared by the intense midsummer heat that should have sapped on our energy. Instead of sweating due to the sun's merciless, searing rays, a gentle sea breeze kissed our bodies and comfortably embraced every fiber of our beings.

"This is amazing!"

My classmate, Ike Kanji, also hailed as the lone idiot in our class, raised his arms into the air as he leaned against the railing. His earsplitting voice was as annoying as usual, even outside the classroom.

After Yamauchi's expulsion and Sudou's vow of self improvement due to what had happened in June, he was the only student in our class that still behaved the same as back in April, at least most of the time.

Everyone else had grown, some more, others less.

Sakura hadn't attended school for a short while after her incident with the store clerk, but Sudou kept visiting and talked to her every day. Aside from his training in the basketball club and making sure that Sakura was feeling okay, he behaved well during classes and tried his utmost to keep his temperament in check.

He didn't do a complete 180 in a matter of days or one simple month, of course, but he was earnest in his attempt to be more helpful to Chiaki, and in extension, to the class, after what she had done for him.

There were some hiccups along the way, but his progress was clear as day.

"The view is incredible! I'm honestly super moved right now!"

The parasite, Karuizawa Kei, led a group of girls out of the ship's cabin with a wide, beaming smile on her face. She wore her usual school uniform apart from the blazer, which differed to the other girls in her circle of friends who had decided to show much more of their skin due to the heat.

Even though their relationship was fabricated, both Hirata and she kept pretending to be a loving couple in front of everyone. After the progress Chiaki and I had made in ours, Karuizawa had found herself in quite a bind and announced that the two of them were kissing all the time. According to her, it was too embarrassing doing it in front of people, so they only made out in private.

"Seriously, the scenery here is just amazing!"

Kushida Kikyou, the class angel and my personal queen, supported her head with her arms as she leaned onto the handrail next to me with a breathtaking smile on her face. Her somewhat short, hazel hair was blown around by the fresh sea breeze, which only emphasized her beauty as her glimmering eyes gazed towards the horizon.

Fuka and she had found neutral ground on which both of them could despise each other without being obvious or hindering my movements due to their quarrels after they had spent some alone time in the bathroom.

My interesting senpai didn't hate Kikyou. She found her quite amusing, in fact, but Class D's radiating goddess loathed her to death and wished the worst possible calamities onto her. As long as their bickering didn't hinder or otherwise compromise my plans, I didn't mind them.

They were quite revealing about their internal thoughts, in fact.

From an outsider's perspective, Kikyou and I were close friends.

My gorgeous classmate was comfortable around me and always laughed or smiled whenever the two of us talked. This behavior stood in stark contrast to her inner workings, as she still tended to the cruel scars I had inflicted on her mind, body and soul.

There was no shortcut to heal such grievances, but she improved and recovered at a steady pace. Her rate of development increased after we had taken care of the store clerk together and advanced even more once the two of us began calling each other by our first names, much to Ike's resentment.

"This is insane! I never dreamed that high schoolers could take a trip on such a luxurious cruise. For two whole weeks at that! Two damn weeks of this five-star service! I can't believe how lucky I am to still be here."

Even though he had bettered himself, Sudou still had somewhat of a foul mouth if it didn't drag him into too much trouble. Rome wasn't built in a day and every individual would need some time to adapt to their new routine, so I wasn't worried about the progress he had shown.

"Look over there, S-sudou-kun! T-there are dolphins!"

Sakura raised her finger in excitement as her quiet, timid voice rang through the area. She was quite enthusiastic about the new arrivals and more than delighted by the discovery as she repeatedly tapped her camera's shutter with a carefree, relaxed expression on her face.

After the sales clerk was arrested and removed from the school's premises, another technician soon took his place. He was a kind, elderly man who was skilled with electronics despite his advanced age. Sakura's camera, for example, was repaired a few hours after the missing parts had arrived at the store, even though the previous owner had accumulated quite the backlog.

My pawn began to leave her shell, at least in front of some chosen people.

The Bottlenose Dolphins she had photographed swam closer towards our vessel, interested in the foreign object that had intruded into their territory. They splashed and jumped around while squealing and whistling to their heart's content as they played with each other like young, energetic children.

Sakura beamed upon witnessing such a wholesome scene, which caught the eyes and hearts of some boys in our class. Instead of the timid, boring girl from before, stood a shy and humble top-class beauty after she had shed her fake glasses.

Aside from Kikyou, Ichinose, Sudou, Chiaki and me, none of the first-years knew that she had been a gravure idol before. Just as planned, Sudou had kept this information to himself, which led Sakura to trust him somewhat, even before he had saved her from the vicious employee.

"Uwaaah!"

Chiaki lowered her head and yelped as some water droplets poured over her strawhat.

The beauty beside me wore a swimsuit made of two parts, a bikini and some kind of short skirt. Both had a light-blue color, which emphasized her alluring eyes. The thin, white see-through jacket did nothing to hide her natural charm, which shone even brighter in the sun.

Even less now since she was wet...

I moved behind my girlfriend and embraced her enchanting figure.

"What are you doing? Didn't we agree to only do stuff like this when no one is looking to make things easier for Karuizawa-san and Hirata-kun? Kiyotaka..."

Her ears flushed at the beginning of the sentence and it didn't take long until her whole head followed.

"I think they are occupied with the scenery."

Unable to hold myself back any longer, I planted an affectionate kiss on her smooth, cotton-candy lips. She still tasted like pineapple due to the drinks we had before, so I really couldn't stop savoring her delicious flavor, even if I wanted to.

"Kiyotaka, stop it..."

A charming, innocent giggle escaped her supple lips as she leaned further into me.

"Aren't you the one who's not stopping?"

"Shush!" She kept me locked in her embrace, with an adorable, almost captivating smile. "We really need to stop, though." Chiaki tapped my leg with her free hand and let out a dazzling chuckle as she gazed at the vast, sparkling blue ocean. "For now..."

Those last words vanished into the fresh sea breeze as sudden as they had left her lips.

The two of us became a lot more comfortable with, and around each other during our repeated dates, as well as the kissing and the cuddling when the two of us were alone, which was an unexpected yet nice feeling. She visited me almost every day with the pretext of taking care of our cactus, so we've gotten used to kissing when we felt like it. There was no longer any uncomfortable silence or finger fumbling, as we were much more in sync than before.

According to the death-glares that kept piercing the back of my head, our classmates and the other, unrelated students on the deck were not occupied with the scenery, at least not all of them.

"Sorry to barge in like that, but do you know where Horikita-san is, Kiyotaka? I haven't seen her around all day and I'm kind of worried that something might have happened."

Kikyou intruded into our togetherness, which was for the best since she had put a stop to our antics before one of the guys threw me off the ship out of jealousy. Even though I had assured her that Horikita didn't know the specifics about the middle-school incident, she was still after her and kept tabs on my irritable neighbor.

"She wasn't feeling well the last time she messaged me and said that she would try to take a short nap. That was about two hours ago, so I guess she's still resting in her room."

"What? Oh, no... Horikita-san missing out on all of this because of a sickness is just terrible..."

She glanced towards the ground with a saddened, almost devastated expression.

The surrounding students deemed her behavior as adorable and heavenly, but it wasn't difficult to imagine what she really thought behind that wonderful facade of hers. She couldn't have been any happier that Horikita suffered while everyone else enjoyed their time without her.

"We can go to the island's private beach around noon and swim around as much as we want. I can't wait!"

Ike's loud voice once again rang over the luxurious cruise ship, whereupon all the other Class D students responded with unanimous, jubilant shouts of pure joy.

At least he had kept the swimsuit part to himself this time.

Maybe he had improved after all?

Sudou, who stood beside us, furrowed his brows.

"Oi, Sakura! That's YEAH! Not y-yeah... Come on, let's do it again!"

"Eto..."

She fiddled around with her fingers and lowered her head since she felt uncomfortable about everyone hearing her voice. Not only would she need to shout in a loud volume, she would also have to deal with all the gazes that would surely focus on her after the fact.

"Do it after me." He turned away from her and raised his arms. "YOSHAAAAAA!" Sudou's violent scream rang through the whole ship before he turned towards Sakura with a smile on his face. "Now's your turn."

My favorite delinquent had a kind heart, but he was still an idiot. He meant well and wanted to encourage her future development, but he didn't consider how Sakura would feel at this moment and why she was uncomfortable with yelling like he and the other students were.

Sakura's fingers stopped trembling as she clenched them into fists. She bobbed around, as if she was gathering energy, before she raised her adorable hands towards her shoulders and opened her mouth.

"Y-y-y-yoshaa."

Her voice wasn't as loud or powerful as either of them had wished, but she managed to embarrass herself to such a degree that her whole head turned into a dangerous crimson-color even though only five people had heard her.

Sudou kept encouraging her determination and bravery while my gaze wandered towards a different girl that seemed curious about their new, blossoming friendship. Her expression was difficult to read, since she was both supportive and conflicted at the same time.

After we had a few moments for ourselves, more and more students gathered on the deck.

I hadn't seen most of them in the flesh until today and only knew them from the pictures or descriptions Kikyou had supplied me with as she was gathering information on her schoolmates.

The Class A students assembled in our general area and pushed some of my classmates out of the way to get a better position for themselves. They didn't seem to mind if they shoved us or the other students, since we were only lower-class trash in their eyes.

"You're in the way. Move it, defect."

The boy named Totsuka Yahiko elbowed my shoulder in order to intimidate me as I shielded Chiaki from their antics. Sudou, who protected Sakura, was shoved as well and turned around with an enraged expression.

"Hey, what the hell? Look where you're going, dammit."

His hands flashed forward, reaching after the Class A student that kept walking as if nothing had happened, before they stopped a few centimeters short of grabbing him. He clicked his tongue with a complicated expression and turned back towards us.

""Are you okay?""

Two voices overlapped into one as Sudou and I made sure that Chiaki and Sakura were alright.

"Yeah, thanks Kiyotaka."

"Y-yes. Thank you, S-sudou-kun."

Ike and some of our other classmates also protested, whereupon the Class A students flaunted with their superiority over us defects. The boy who had shoved me told us that we had no right to be here, as Class A kept widening their zone of influence over the deck.

What a poor excuse for a 'top' student.

"Let's go..."

Chiaki took my hand and pulled me after her. Sudou followed us with Sakura in tow while he clenched his fists, trying to calm himself down. The rest of our class trudged off the deck as well to make space for the Class A students after they felt upset and offended by their hurtful declarations.

"Arrogant jerks."

Sudou's outburst was especially tame compared to his previous ones.

He did well to realize that a physical altercation would have been bad for us and suppressed his burning anger before it was too late. Two people were liable for this change in him: one was my girlfriend and the other one was Sakura, due to her timid nature, which he grew accustomed to throughout June and July.

"Let it go, Sudou-kun. Wait until we reach Class A, then you can pay them back in kind."

Wow, my girlfriend was devious...

My favorite delinquent laughed and nodded his head with a fired-up expression. I didn't doubt for a second that he would remember that boy's words in great detail, only to return them once we had blown past their class in points.

Today was Thursday, August 1st.

Even though our classmates were bothered and felt dissatisfied with Class A's attitude, we all enjoyed the calm, idle days after working hard to pass the final exams. Unfortunately, we had gained no additional class points for our performance this time around, which was to be expected.

"Oh hey, you're all here. Huh? What's the matter?"

Upon his arrival, Hirata immediately perceived that something was off, despite his unawareness of what had happened just now. The lowered heads and dampened mood during such a beautiful summer day were enough indication that someone had ruined, or at least tarnished, the once lively atmosphere.

"Hey, Hirata! How far have you gone with Karuizawa, anyway? Matsushita-san and Ayanokouji couldn't keep their hands off each other just now. Isn't this, you know, a bad look for you since you guys have been together much longer?"

I retract my previous statement.

He hadn't improved at all...

Instead of answering Hirata's inquiry, he much rather gossiped about the state of our relationships. Karuizawa was far enough away that she didn't hear his disrespectful question, but Chiaki flushed and turned towards me.

"Kiyobaka! You said no one was looking!"

"Technically, I did not say that. I merely stated that I thought that they were occupied with the scenery. Apparently, my assumption was wrong. Sorry about that..."

"Isn't it kind of hilarious how scary she usually is if you compare it to the times when she's with Ayanokouji?"

Sudou's thoughtless comment garnered the attention and approval of the surrounding students. Boys and girls alike deemed her behavior around me 'cute' while they would describe it as 'scary' whenever I wasn't around.

"Sudou-kun..."

Chiaki's voice was indeed eerie and intimidating. The charming smile that had formed on her face didn't reach her eyes as she turned to my red-haired classmate, who jumped behind a certain someone to protect himself.

"Uwah, protect me Sakura!"

"Ehhhhhh?"

A light chuckle escaped Hirata's lips as he covered his mouth with his hand. He turned towards Ike and threw him a pleasant smile, not hiding his thoughts or opinions about his rather contemptuous statement from before.

"Karuizawa-san and I take things at our own pace. Building a genuine relationship is not a competition, after all. As long as everyone is happy with the status quo, there is no reason to rush things." Hirata's cell phone rang, which stopped the ongoing conversation. "Oh, sorry. Miyake-kun seems to have trouble. I'll be going now. Have fun!"

I'm never that lucky when I'm receiving calls...

Popular guys sure have it easy, huh?

"Guys, I have decided something."

Ike put his arms to his hips and stood in front of us like some sort of heroic instructor or a five-star general in a desperate war scenario as he made such a serious proclamation.

"I have a bad feeling about this..."

Chiaki shook her head, voicing the exact thought that had formed in my mind.

"I will confess my feelings to Kushida-chan on this trip!"

"This is hopeless..."

My girlfriends remarks were only audible to me, since I was standing right beside her, so no one reacted to the truthful words she had spoken. Sudou's and Sakura's eyes both widened in surprise as they glanced at each other with a sense of foreboding.

Someone... please... have mercy on his poor soul.

"Hey, Kushida-chan! Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Wait now?

Chiaki must have thought the same as she glanced at me with widened eyes.

"Hmm? Of course! What is it, Ike-kun?"

Kikyou broke away from her all-girls group and ambled towards us with a beaming smile on her face. She made a few small hops on her way over, which showed that she had taken no offense from Class A's mean-spirited attitudes.

I could count myself lucky that we didn't have rooms for ourselves on this ship, or I would have had to listen to her ramblings for today, which would have turned out quite distressing.

"So it's like this... It's been about four months since we met, right? So... I was wondering if it might be okay for me to call you by your first name now. I mean, if you don't mind, of course..."

My queen beamed in response to Ike's request.

"Of course you can call me Kikyou. Should I call you Kanji-kun then?"

Ike's eyes began to sparkle like the night sky lit by fireworks during the Sumida River Fireworks Festival. His previously timid and insecure complexion did a complete 180 as his whole body began to radiate in bliss.

"Whoaaa! Kikyou-chaaaaaan!"

Our love-struck classmate prayed to the heavens above as he kneeled in front of her.

The goddess before him let out a cute chuckle in response as she covered her beautiful smile with her palm. Her divine hand reached down into the mortal realm, pulling the boy off his knees with an expression of pure divinity.

My girlfriend leaned closer towards me as we watched this unbelievable scene unfold in front of us.

"I'm confused... Didn't he want to confess?"

"I'm as perplexed as you are. Let's just leave him be for now. As long as he's happy with that much, we can be satisfied." I shrugged and peeked at her for a moment. "If you really want to push the confession, though, I could meet her at some abandoned place. Maybe behind —"

Chiaki tapped my foot, displeased with my teasing.

The others didn't understand my joke, since we had told no one how the two of us became a couple. I wasn't even sure if they knew that Chiaki had confessed to me and not the other way around. The only ones who knew were the four Class B students we had lunch with the day after.

I understood that my girlfriend felt uncomfortable about how the confession had played out, since it could have been a lot more romantic, or whatever girls were looking for. But in the end, it was just a single sentence spoken in fear of being too late.

If one thought about it properly, her confession was romantic in its own way.

"You're so bad! I was honestly worried."

I stuck out my tongue and hugged her from behind. She leaned back into my loving embrace while savouring the sun's comfortable rays and fresh sea breeze. Her smooth, peony scented hair tickled my shoulder as I felt a pleasant feeling spread through my entire being.

While Ike was floating on cloud nine, Sudou wrestled with something himself. After factoring in the current circumstances, I concluded that he was curious about Sakura's first name as well. Not because he liked her this much already, but because he began to care about her as a genuine friend and wanted to know more about her.

"It seems like we're almost there."

Chiaki nodded towards the island as the ship sailed closer.

The vessel steered away from the pier and circled our destination. My girlfriend noticed this weird behavior and felt that something was off. She pulled out her phone and started a recording as I began to scan the island like a hawk.

There were multiple landmarks that stood out from the rest. The surface area of the island was about 0,5 square kilometers, which was barely larger than Vatican City. There was a tower on the island which should be the highest point at about 230 meters above sea level.

The ship slowed down as it kept circling around the island, which revealed even more landmarks of potential importance.

"Such a mysterious sight! It's beautiful! What do you think, Kiyotaka?"

Kikyou's amazement was obvious, but her heightened mood vanished as she realized that my mannerism had changed once the ship began to circle the island.

"Yeah, you're right."

She gazed at me, then back at our destination.

This sequence of actions repeated a few times before it clicked.

Previously, her beautiful eyes had sparkled as she watched the island in anticipation of our long-desired vacation. Now, however, only distrust towards this unfamiliar place was left.

"We will disembark in thirty minutes. Please assemble on the deck. All students should have changed into their jerseys. Make sure to check your designated bag and your luggage, and do not forget your cellphone. Please keep all other personal items in your room. There is a possibility that you cannot use the bathroom for some time, so please do so now."

This announcement was broadcasted through the PA speakers and repeated another two times.

Our class split up as we made our way towards our respective rooms. There, I put on a jersey that I used for gym classes and messaged Kikyou with preliminary instructions. Afterwards, I returned to the ship's deck and waited until we reached the island.

As we drew closer, the first-year's enthusiasm reached its peak, but Chiaki was still nowhere to be found.

"I still have a bad feeling about this. It's just too good to be true." I turned towards my classmate and glanced back at the ocean. "And that we circled the island was far too suspicious..."

"It'll be fine, Ichinose. Even if something happens, I believe that Class B can handle it."

"You're right..."

Kanzaki-kun's reassurance calmed me somewhat because he was correct. We, as in Class B, could handle everything that came our way. Even if we weren't able to overcome difficulties on our own, we could get through them together. That was our strength.

The two of us separated to change into our jerseys.

Since our groups stood rather far away from the living quarters, it took a few minutes until I reached our temporary rooms. I opened the door and made my way inside our accommodation. The interior of the cabin was rather luxurious, just like the whole ship. Even though we had enjoyed this extravagant and comfortable cruise for some time already, I still couldn't believe that all of this was prepared for us to enjoy.

My gaze wandered through the room before it stopped on my bed, whereupon I couldn't help but blush.

Stop it, Honami.

You're overthinking this.

We are just friends, and he has a girlfriend as well.

He was just being nice and considerate.

I nodded again and again as I chanted those words in my mind. With not much time on the clock, I undressed and began to change into my jersey. With two light thumps, my top and skirt dropped onto the soft bed.

Did they get bigger again?

Either that, or my bra shrunk...

I shook my head as our eyes met once more. Specifically, mine and the panda plush toys', the one I had received from Ayanokouji-kun on my birthday. Since we had celebrated quite far away from the dorms that day, I didn't completely unwrap his present in fear of it getting dirty. It was only after the fact that I realized that the panda was holding onto a stuffed heart which read 'Happy Birthday'.

And then there was the necklace as well...

The engraving on the wave pendant read 'Honami'. Knowing Ayanokouji-kun, this was most likely a pun on the second Kanji in Honami (波), meaning 'wave' and the fact that most of the Kanji in my name have something to do with the ocean.

It was quite unexpected to be receiving presents from everyone in my class, as well as Ayanokouji-kun. The necklace had already been a beautiful, well-thought about present from the heart but the soft toy surprised me even more. Not only had he bought me the necklace to my birthday, he even purchased one of the panda's off someone because I was heartbroken about not getting one on the day of the sale.

Apparently, he had messaged Kanzaki-kun two days after I had talked to him and informed my classmate that he had managed to buy one of the pandas, which is when everyone in my class must have stopped trying to get one.

As far as they had told me, none of them knew which design he had purchased. Due to this I had hidden the panda under my blanket at all times, because I would die from embarrassment if anyone saw the full plush toy. I already felt weird when I decided to bring it with me, but it just pained me to leave it back at school.

Those two gifts had been undoubtedly the best ones I had ever received.

From anyone.

My heart had jumped straight out of my body when I had seen the panda with the heart for the first time. I had rubbed my eyes — to no avail. After the strange flutters in my chest had calmed down, I had realized something. I had felt strange as I thought about Ayanokouji-kun, our friendship and him as a person, but I didn't know what these feelings meant.

Upon changing, I sat down on my bed and pulled out the cuddly toy.

The other girls in my room were already gone and wouldn't return because their jerseys were already missing, so it would be fine to pull him out of his hiding place. Looking at him was still embarrassing, but at least no one else had seen him.

Leaning back against the wall, I embraced the fluffy panda one last time.

It was ridiculous, and completely impossible, but I had the feeling that the cuddly toy smelled like him as I buried myself inside its soft head and breathed in. His present soothed me, even more so now that I was assured that this 'vacation' wouldn't be that straightforward for us students.

I leaned further into the panda and closed my eyes.

Just what was wrong with me?

Surprised by my own actions, I placed the soft toy back under the blanket and stood up. I clenched my chest at this weird throbbing which once again surfaced. Confused about what this unknown feeling that was blooming inside of me was, I hid the necklace beneath my jersey and walked out of the room, ready for whatever might happen on this island.

I sat on the bed and typed out a message, hoping Fumei would see it before we had to leave the ship. A moment later, I sent him the video I had recorded and began to change into the specified jersey.

Fortunately, it didn't take long until my phone vibrated.

[07:12:53 AM[Fumei] You have seen all the suspicious locations, I presume?

[07:13:34 AM] Yes. Since we circled the island at such slow speed, it is safe to assume that those spots are important somehow. The school must have wanted the students to take note.

[07:13:51 AM[Fumei] Which one is the most important then?

I thought about his question for a moment and compared the landmarks under specific circumstances that might come to pass once we disembarked. Since we didn't know what we had to accomplish on the island, I tried to narrow it down to the most useful location in consideration to the likeliest scenarios.

[07:15:59 AM] According to the layout and the points I have identified, the best spot should be the cave. There are multiple other landmarks nearby if they are important and we would be safe from the sun, rain and winds if we need to stay on that island for a prolonged amount of time, which seems possible due to an announcement that was made before.

[07:16:32 AM[Fumei] Then you don't need my help anymore. It's not like I could do much in this scenario anyway, but you already seem to have a firm grasp on the special exam and what might happen. One last advice, however, keep your class in check. The teachers won't interfere at all and it's up to the students to overcome this challenge on their own.

Special exam? Challenge?

'Summer vacation', she said... It had been strange from the beginning, so I had doubted her words the moment they left her lips, but this was even worse than expected. Chabashira-sensei sure enjoyed tormenting us with disinformation...

Could the other classes already have an advantage over us because of this?

With little time left, I began to create a temporary game plan with important things to keep in mind during certain scenarios we might be up against. After what felt like seconds, my alarm went off, informing me that I had around five minutes left to make it back to the others.

I sighed and strolled towards our meeting point to look for my classmates. It didn't take long until I ran into the other first-year students on the deck. Another announcement left the speakers all over the ship just as I was about to reach them.

"We will disembark now, beginning with students from Class A. Cell phones are prohibited on the island. Please hand your phone to your homeroom teacher as you leave."

The students walked down the stairs in an orderly fashion.

"Hot..."

I wiped the sweat off my forehead while ventilating the jersey that was even worse than the school uniform because of the blazing sun that shone down on us. My eyes caught sight of Kiyotaka's lean figure near the back of our class, which led to an affectionate smile on my face.

As I was about to make my way over, Horikita-san stopped beside my boyfriend with a pale complexion.

According to him and what I've seen so far, she wasn't very well versed with people, so I left the two of them alone. I shouldn't interfere as long as she was opening up to Kiyotaka, at least. He had also managed to help me with Sakura-san, so I had faith in his social abilities in front of certain people.

Horikita-san would be a great asset to our class if she decided to participate in discussions properly. The only one who was close to her was Kiyotaka, and I didn't mind sacrificing a bit of our time to gain her cooperation in the future. If our class was doing better, then my boyfriend would be happy as well.

It was only a few minutes anyway...

And we would have more time for us if he managed to persuade her...

"Are you feeling better?"

He glanced at her face with his usual blank expression as I remembered that Kushida-san had asked Kiyotaka about Horikita-san. I hoped that her sickness wouldn't lead to a problem during this so-called special exam, but a queasy feeling made itself home in my stomach.

"I'm not perfectly healthy, to be honest. But I'll be alright. I've taken some medicine and I believe that I should improve over the remainder of the day, so you don't need to worry about me, Ayanokouji-kun."

Disembarking took quite a long time, so the two kept chatting with each other as usual. I never listened to their conversations before, but they had a rather interesting dynamic of taunting each other.

The responsible homeroom teacher for each class guarded the only way off the ship and scrutinized every student's belongings with an austere look. Class A's inspection went without a hitch, but there seemed to have been a problem with one of Ichinose-san's items.

"Honami-chan, I'm sorry, but you have to keep this here."

Class B's troublesome homeroom teacher, Hoshinomiya-sensei, put out her left hand with a sorrowful look. Ichinose-san glanced up at her with a lowered-head and a somewhat pleading expression.

"Sensei... it's just a necklace..."

I didn't understand why she seemed so attached to the necklace that she wanted to keep it with her. She wouldn't need it on the island, and it was much safer back on the ship where it couldn't get lost. Depending on what we might have to do, it was possible that she could lose it in the water or somewhere else during a challenge or similar physical activities.

"I'm sorry. Rules are rules."

"I understand."

Ichinose-san heaved a deep sigh and handed Hoshinomiya-sensei the necklace she had hidden beneath her jersey. The latter inspected the pendant for a few seconds before throwing her a knowing, teasing smirk.

"Oya, oya Honami-chan ~ who's the lucky guy?"

Her voice was rather potent as it rang through the whole deck for everyone to hear. This must have been her plan to prompt a reaction by the person who had gifted her this necklace, but no one aside from the Class B students reacted.

The instructors at this school are really quite something...

Their homeroom teacher stored the necklace in some kind of collection box for illegal items while the color on Ichinose-san's face turned into a deep shade of crimson. She began to stutter, in order to defend herself from this unexpected attack, but she didn't manage to form any coherent words.

Her classmates looked at her with complex, yet cheerful expressions. They all seemed to have been aware of what all of this was about and tried to encourage their leader with delighted smiles and low shouts.

"Wha — hahaha... Please stop with your jokes, Hoshinomiya-sensei. It's just a... l-lucky charm."

Her teacher, who had seen the hidden jewelry in the first place, was far too observant to believe this obvious lie. Ichinose-san felt rather uncomfortable right now, which should mean that this necklace was, in fact, a present from someone she cared about quite a lot.

After this small incident, the searches continued with the rest of Class B, followed by the Class C students until it was our turn. Kiyotaka still talked with Horikita-san, while I waited for my turn to leave my phone with Chabashira-sensei.

I was once again surprised by my boyfriends ability to soften people up, since she carried herself differently around him compared to other people. Rather than being jealous, I was glad that Horikita-san could build a friendship with someone in our class, because she might have ended up as a complete outcast otherwise.

My inspection finished rather quick, whereupon I left the ship and glanced back to Kiyotaka and the other boys who were still on deck. Horikita-san was one of the last girls that left the cruiser as she ambled past me. Just before it was Kiyotaka's turn to be inspected, he pulled out his phone with a surprised expression and backed up from the line.

His blank complexion hadn't really changed that much, but I could read him rather well now that I became more familiar with him. He retreated behind Sudou-kun and glanced around before locking eyes with me for a second. My boyfriend wanted to ask me something, but must have deemed it a bad idea due to everyone listening and turned away.

A few minutes later, everyone got off the boat.

While most of my classmates were excited and found nothing weird about our current circumstances, I looked around, wary about anything that seemed out of place. Tents, computers, tables and other provisional pieces of furniture were positioned and constructed on the beach.

Anyone with a brain should have realized that something was amiss, but my classmates were so occupied with having fun and spending their time in leisure that they only talked about what they wanted to do all day.

Chabashira-sensei's loud voice rang through the vicinity a few moments later.

"I will now start roll call for Class D. When you hear your name, please reply loud and clear."

Our stern and serious homeroom teacher began to take attendance with her usual clipboard in hand as my classmates formed a line as per her previous instructions.

She wore the same jersey as us students, which meant that she would likely spend time on the island with us. According to the temporary beds that were built inside the tents on the beach, the instructors and support staff would stay here with us without returning to the ship at night.

"Oh, come on. I want my free time already. The sea is right there. I can almost touch it!"

The background noises from the other instructors and students were rather loud, so I could barely perceive Ike's voice since he was standing somewhere behind me. This, however, didn't change the fact that he was as annoying as usual.

A tall teacher stepped onto a previously prepared platform after Chabashira-sensei was done taking our attendance. The man was Class A's homeroom teacher, Mashima-sensei. He taught English and was known for being strict, as well as his somewhat stubborn disposition.

Even though he didn't look like it, he was quite intelligent.

It was always a mistake to judge a book by its cover, and he was one of the best examples for this sentiment.

"First, I would like to say that I am happy that you've all arrived safely. However, it is unfortunate that one of you was unable to take part in this excursion due to illness."

Looking around, I could confirm that the missing student was a girl from Class A.

All the other classes had the number of students per gender they should have had. Class B was the only class with a full line-up of forty people. Class C took part with thirty-seven while we and Class A attended with thirty-nine each. There were only nineteen females on their side, which meant that one of them should have been the sick girl.

It took quite a while, but even my classmates began to realize that something was amiss as more and more students noticed the equipment that was being set up around and behind us. They kept whispering to each other, whereupon multiple hushed questions reached my ears.

Mashima-sensei's dominating voice echoed over the whole beach not long after.

"Well then. We shall commence the current academic year's first special exam."

"Huh? Special exam? What do you mean?"

"Wasn't this a vacation?"

I almost died from shame after complaints and questions such as this were tossed around by my classmates while every other class listened in silence. They either knew what was going on or they could read the mood and perked their ears instead of making fools of themselves.

Class B's Ichinose-san and Kanzaki-kun, as well as the man I assumed to be Ryuuen due to the other students gazes, seemed to have expected something like this. A wide sneer appeared on the man's face while the Class B students seemed troubled by the news.

Not a single student in Class A stood out as leader, but every single one of them seemed to have noticed that this whole vacation was a scam before their teacher had announced it. Either someone had already informed them about this special exam beforehand, or they were just that outstanding.

"The exam commences now and lasts for one week, concluding on August 7th at the year's end. This exam will determine if you can live on a deserted island together as a group. In addition, I should warn you that this special exam is both practical and realistic, designed on real-world corporate training."

"Wait, 'living on a deserted island'? Does that mean we are not staying on the boat?"

Some Class C students voiced their obvious concerns.

According to their reactions, not all of them knew the truth behind this so-called vacation, which revealed that their class wasn't cooperating as commendable as Class B did.

"You are correct. During the test, you may not board the ship without a suitably justifiable reason. It will be necessary for you to fend for yourselves on this island while you are here, from creating a place to sleep to preparing food to eat. Once the test starts, each class will receive two tents and two flashlights. You will also be provided with one box of matches and there is no limit to the amount of sunscreen you can have. Besides that, each student will be provided with one toothbrush. As a special case, the girls may have as many feminine sanitary products as they'd like, with no restrictions. Please ask your respective homeroom teachers for those. That is all."

With that lengthy rundown behind us, the teachers began distributing the items.

This was much worse than I had anticipated.

Living on a deserted island for a week wasn't easy, even if we were supplied with certain items to help us. Two tents, for example, were a stretch for twenty people and not even close to enough for thirty-nine of mixed gender.

If we gave both tents to the girls, the boys would be furious. But if we divided them equally, then both the girls and the boys who couldn't sleep in a tent would be displeased. If we split up into two groups and changed the students who could sleep inside the tents each night, then everyone would be irritated to a certain degree.

The girls, in particular, would be the biggest pain during this exam, since some of them would demand the tents and other 'luxury goods' on their stay, which would provoke the boys. Their arguments could easily spiral out of control not only due to our situation, but also because we would need to be living with each other for a whole week.

Living in dorms during a school setting was alright, since every student had their own room to retreat to in case they got into an argument. There was no way we could withdraw from a dispute somewhere on an island, however.

The queasy feeling in my stomach turned into a full-blown headache before the exam had started.

This was a problem only our class might face.

Every student in Class B was taking care of the next person and they had a much better class climate than we had. They wouldn't fight amongst themselves, even if someone tried to make them turn against each other. Ichinose-san and Kanzaki-kun were more than capable of keeping their class afloat for a week.

Similarly, Class C was led by a supposed tyrant called Ryuuen, which is why nobody would demand anything stupid or ridiculous during their stay on the island. If someone acted out, they would be beaten back in line.

This is the conclusion I arrived at after Sudou's trial.

Compared to them, our class wasn't a tight-knit group. We didn't have someone to keep us in line, no matter what happened. This didn't mean that I was supporting Ryuuen's dictatorship, of course, but I couldn't deny that it was effective to keep his classmates on course during such occasions.

Hirata-kun was trying too hard to please everyone, which meant that I would have to make the hard decision and stand by them for the next seven days and the rest of our time at this school. Since I wasn't a bully like Ryuuen, I would struggle much more with the choices that may have to be made for the good of our class.

I really should have just ignored Fumei's initial message...

"Huh?! So we have to live like survivors on a deserted island? That's insanity! Are you nuts? We are not in some kind of anime or manga. How are we supposed to sleep together in two tents? And what are we supposed to eat? This is unbelievable!"

Rather than concerned, Mashima-sensei seemed surprised and somewhat amused by Ike-kun's complaints.

"You may say that this is unbelievable, but that's because you lived a short, superficial life. There is an actual, prominent company that holds training sessions on uninhabited islands."

"Huh? But this—"

"Stop talking, Ike, you are lowering the IQ of anyone in the vicinity. It hurts. What Mashima-sensei said is only a small part of it. There are, in fact, many companies that go through different training activities. This is just one of them. There are workplaces without chairs in the office and others who decide the salary with dice rolls. Stop living in your naïve bubble."

Chabashira-sensei was undoubtedly sick of Ike's blabbering.

She didn't hold back, which proved her clear disregard for his feelings. Some of the Class C students kept laughing at him. They were probably not the only ones, but since we were positioned according to our class rank, they were right beside Class D, which made it hard for us not to hear them.

"In other words, you are ill-equipped to distinguish between what is reality and what isn't."

"I assume you're all thinking something like, 'What does this test mean?' Or perhaps some of you doubt the existence of such training programs. However, students who remain at such a base level of thought are unlikely to become anyone promising in the future. What is your basis for determining this to be 'unbelievable' or 'ridiculous'? You're just students. You're all equally worthless. What kind of insignificant person determines that they can criticize a leading company? That's bizarre. Were you a president in charge of one such notable business, then you might have some right to deny our claims. However, there shouldn't be any grounds for someone of your station to do that."

Without missing a beat, Mashima-sensei backed up our homeroom teacher.

"But isn't this supposed to be a summer vacation? We were brought here under the pretext of a relaxing trip. Don't you think this is unfair, considering our position?"

Yukimura-kun was at least trying to reason with the teachers instead of just complaining, but this approach wouldn't help us either. The school had already decided that this special test would take place now, and all we could do was adapt to the current circumstances.

"Please do not worry. It would make sense for you to have complaints if you were being forced into a harsh situation. However, even though we're calling it a special exam, there's no need to think about it in such unhappy terms. In the coming week, you can go swimming or hold a barbecue. It wouldn't be a bad time for you to have a campfire and chat with friends, either. The theme of this special exam is 'freedom', after all."

"Now I'm confused..."

Yukimura-kun's soft voice vanished as he fell into a trancelike state in order to process the information he had just received, since they opposed Mashima-sensei's previous claims about this trial.

"As a major part of this test, we've decided to distribute 300 points to each class. By using these points well, you might enjoy this week's special test just as you would a normal trip. We've also prepared a manual for said purposes." Another teacher handed Mashima-sensei a book. "This manual lists all the ways you can get points. It also explains where to get drinking water and food, as well as essential necessities. If you decided to hold a barbecue with your class, it explains how to prepare the equipment and ingredients. We also have many tools for you to enjoy playing in the ocean to the fullest."

Most students calmed down after listening to his explanation.

With these goodies, they thought it wouldn't be that bad to spend their time in leisure. Since this was a test, however, things wouldn't be that simple. If I had to guess, then the points we had at the end of the vacation would be added to our class points.

This would also explain the theme called freedom, since we were free to choose whether we wanted to tackle this trip as a vacation or confront it like an exam and be awarded based on that.

"So we can do whatever we want with the 300 points?"

"Yes. It's possible to arrange for anything using your points. Of course, it's necessary for you to use them systematically. With a solid plan, you can spend your week without difficulties." Mashima-sensei stopped his explanation for a moment, to draw emphasis on the next words that left his mouth. "When this special test period is over, the remaining points of each class will be added to their total class points. Your points total will reflect the change once summer vacation is over."

A gust of wind blew across the beach and kicked up a cloud of sand.

I checked whether there was a wind machine somewhere, because this had been too convenient, but couldn't find anything that explained this fortunate accident, which made this statement seem surprising and more impactful.

The shock in the first-years' faces was apparent.

I glanced over my classmates and breathed a shallow sigh of relief after the last one, as most of them seemed to think that harboring the points made more sense than having fun this week. With this unspoken decision, one of the hardest hurdles had been overcome.

Now I 'only' needed to make sure that the boys and girls wouldn't start a war.

"So if we endure this for a week spending no points, we would have 300 additional class points next month?"

Ike-kun's question was ignored as Mashima-sensei turned to all the students gathered on the beach.

"Each class will receive one copy of the manual. If the manual is lost, you may have another copy. However, it will consume points, so please be careful. Also, the student who was marked absent from the class was from Class A. According to the rules of this special test, any student that leaves due to an illness will incur a thirty-point penalty for their class. Therefore, Class A will start with 270 points."

This rule was a disadvantage for Class A, and presumably just as bad, if not worse, for us.

Horikita-san had been feeling unwell already. If this worsened during this exam, she would cost our class thirty points. She was already disliked by most of our classmates, but this would be the final nail in the coffin for her.

But she wasn't the only problematic student...

My gaze fell onto a blonde, well-built boy who expressed himself as arrogant as ever, unfazed by everything that had happened or was discussed around him. Since he was known for his uncaring attitude, I didn't doubt that he might decide that this test was a hassle and retired halfway through due to a sudden 'illness'.

The other classes were similarly shocked by this harsh punishment.

After finishing his explanation, Mashima-sensei told us to disperse. Another faculty member took the stage and informed us via loudspeaker that we would receive supplementary instructions from our homeroom teacher.

The whole first-year assembly split up and walked into four different directions to keep some secrecy from the competing classes. We gathered where Chabashira-sensei stood and began our discussion.

"It's obvious what we are doing, right?" Ike looked at each of our classmates with glistening eyes. "We are going to save every single point possible! Thirty-thousand points next month! Let's go!"

"I can finally buy that jacket I had my eyes on for the last two months."

"We can eat all the new sweets Palate is offering!"

Conversations like this started up all around me.

"I will now hand out wristwatches to every one of you. You are not to take them off until the end of the test. If you remove your wristwatch without permission, you will be punished. This watch doesn't just tell time, but its sensors also check your body temperature, your pulse, and even your movements. On the off chance that something bad does happen, this watch comes equipped with the means to notify the school. If you find yourself in an emergency, please push that button."

The watches were stacked in boxes next to Chabashira-sensei. She instructed each student to put them on while watching over us to make sure that everyone followed the school's procedure.

"When you say emergency, do you mean, like, if a bear shows up?"

This question alone was so nonsensical that it could have only originated from Ike-kun. This is what I would have thought if the voice hadn't been a female one, at least.

Chabashira-sensei stared at Shinohara-san with her usual deadpan expression.

"Even if that was a joke, the test has already begun. I cannot answer questions that might influence your results."

"That's a kinda scary answer..."

"I don't think there are any wild animals here. If one of the students were injured, that would be a big problem. They probably gave us the watches solely to manage our well-being. Don't you agree? The school has to ensure our safety somehow."

I had to concur with Hirata-kun on this.

The watches were useful in emergencies when someone stumbled or slipped and received a serious injury that way. There was simply no other viable option to monitor all students in the first-year with only four teachers and a few technicians. It would have been difficult to set up cameras throughout the forest, so these watches were the optimal solution.

While we were all placing them on our preferred arm, a multitude of questions followed.

"Is it okay for us to get in the water with these?"

"There shouldn't be any problem, since they are waterproof. Should they malfunction, however, immediately report to a test administrator and exchange it for a replacement."

"Chabashira-sensei, is it possible to get by without spending points?"

This must have been everyone's dream scenario, but that was all it would ever be. There was no way that we could survive a whole week without spending a single point, not with our non-existent cohesion.

"Hmm. Well, the school isn't involved in the test process at all. That means that you must prepare your own food and water. Thinking of solutions to resolve the issue is part of the test. I don't know any way of doing so without points."

I could understand the perplexed gazes from the girl's side, since none of us looked like we had been camping before. We just didn't know how uncomfortable the nights would be, or if we could get enough to eat and drink. It would be especially troublesome for someone who might have her period during this week.

"Don't worry. If we catch fish and pick some fruits in the forest, we'll be totally fine. We can also use leaves and trees to make tents and stuff. And if you start to feel sick, continue to do your best and don't cost us points!"

The last sentence hadn't been necessary, but all the things he said before sounded like he had experienced a few days of camping before. Back at school, Kiyotaka had also mentioned that Ike-kun knew his way around the outdoors as we stumbled into the topic on one of our dates due to a movie he wanted to watch.

Even with his help, we wouldn't be able to make it through this week without using points, but if we could save just a little, we might be able to overtake Class C in overall points after this week.

Chabashira-sensei told us to open the manuals and went with us over the rules of this special exam. The whole conversation took a while due to some questions from the surrounding students but the rules essentially boiled down to this:

Each class will be granted 300 points to purchase items listed in the manual.

Bonus points can be gained by fulfilling certain conditions. They will only be added after the test, however, so we cannot spend over 300 points in the test.

In case our points reach zero and someone retires, there won't be a negative penalty to our points.

...

Students will receive set penalties under the following conditions:

1. Those unable to continue the test due to poor health or injury will cause a 30-point penalty and their retirement.

2. Pollution of the environment will cause a 20-point penalty.

3. Each absence at 8 AM and 8 PM daily roll call will cause a 5-point penalty.

4. Violence, theft, or destruction of property against another class will cause immediate failure for the class to whom the offending student belongs and the forfeiture of all that student 's private points.

...

Each class has to choose one student as the leader. This leader cannot be changed without a legitimate reason.

There will be spots on the island, which can be occupied using a special card only the designated leader can use.

Each occupation of a spot grants one bonus point to the class.

Said occupation rights, expire every 8 hours, and each renewal grants the previously specified bonus points.

Use of another class's occupied spot without permission will cause a 50-point penalty.

...

At the end of the exam, each class may guess the leader of the three other classes.

For each leader guessed correctly, that class receives 50 bonus points.

If the leader is guessed incorrectly, the class loses 50 points as a penalty.

In addition, a class whose leader is guessed correctly loses 50 points as well as all bonus points gained during the test as penalty.

After we went through the rules together, she explained how we won't be having toilets other than a cardboard box, which shocked most of the girls in our class.

As much as I would love to save up points, we needed a proper toilet.

Not only for the other girls' peace of mind, but also my own. If the others were fine with the box, I would survive for a week, but I couldn't see someone like Karuizawa-san or Shinohara-san making concessions.

For now, I had been quiet and listened to my classmates thoughts on the different topics that arose during our discussion. This was necessary preparation to create a proper plan for the upcoming days.

There will undoubtedly be conflicts about the hygiene aspects, especially between the boys and the girls, which I would need to take care of. Chabashira-sensei informed us that we had some time to designate a leader and left us alone to discuss our plans for the upcoming days.

Hirata-kun was the one to take charge in our precarious situation.

"We'll have time later to think about who the leader should be. First, where will our base-camp be? Do we camp somewhere around here, on the beach? Or do we go into the forest? We need to weigh our options. What do you think, Matsushita-san? You have been awfully quiet all this while."

The manual included a simple map of the island, with only its size and shape drawn. Things like the total area of the forest and the topography were unknown to us.

I received both the manual and a ballpoint pen from Kushida-san, who had held onto the materials we had received from Chabashira-sensei during her detailed explanation on the exam.

"Yes, I've been listening to all your opinions first, since I want everyone to know that you were heard. With this out of the way, I've concluded that —"

"Who cares about that? I need to take a leak! I've been holding it the whole time."

Seriously?!

Sudou-kun grabbed the cardboard box and began to set it up before carrying out his business while the girls observed the situation with startled and somewhat disgusted expressions.

I cleared my throat, attracting the attention of my classmates and circled some spots on the map.

"These were all the landmarks I've spotted from the ship as it kept circling the island. Since they were standing out, it is safe to assume that each of these circles is one spot we could occupy. With this in mind, the best place to set up camp would be around here." I pointed near the center of the island. "This spot is a cave which is quite close to two other spots, with one of them being a lookout. If we play this right, we could gain at least three points every eight hours and we would have a roof in case it rains. I'm not sure how deep the cavern itself is, but if we could at least sleep in there, it would already bring everyone peace of mind."

My classmates complied with my suggestion, since it was the most plausible solution to the problems they had come up with during Chabashira-sensei's descriptions. Yet, not everything went according to plan.

"Matsushita-san, Hirata-kun! What about the toilet? We need something different! Definitely! We can't use this thing."

"Huh? Just bear with it. It's just a week."

"Shut up, Ike! Just because you can use this thing doesn't mean we can."

Hirata-kun skimmed through the manual I had handed him and seemed to have found a solution to the problem while Shinohara-san and Ike-kun kept hissing at each other like two territorial animals.

"There is a temporary toilet which can be purchased for points. According to this manual, the functions are quite reasonable, and so is the price. I think this is worth considering for everyone's peace of mind."

The flushable toilet he had found in the reference book wasn't perfect, but the girls would be content with such a solution. The boys would get mad for wasting points for such a 'luxury item', but I had some ideas to calm them.

"We absolutely need this! I don't like to spend points either, but this thing is impossible."

Shinohara-san pointed at the cardboard box with a disgusted complexion.

"Hold up a minute! Those are twenty points for a damn toilet. Are you insane?"

Ike-kun and some of the other boys reacted in horror and it didn't take long for a small fight to break out between the two fronts. Shinohara-san tried to pull the influential Karuizawa-san to her side, but she seemed unexpectedly fine with using the box for a week if it meant more points in the long run.

"Could you all shut up for a second?"

I hated raising my voice, especially when my boyfriend was around, but these petty fights wouldn't help us, so I needed to nip them in the bud. My classmates frightened faces turned towards me.

"We are 39 people and we need to come to a satisfying agreement for everyone. Ike-kun?"

"Y-yes?!"

He stood attention and saluted, as if I was some kind of commanding officer in the army.

Was I that scary?

I should ask Kiyotaka about this later...

"You said something about fruits and fish before, correct? Do you have experience in outdoor activities?"

"Y-yeah. I've been camping with my family a lot when I was younger, so all of this isn't really a problem for me."

It was important for my classmates to know this as well because Shinohara-san and everyone else would have a higher hurdle to climb if they wanted to refute him now. Even if he was only in the woods behind his home, it was still much more experience than any other person in our class had.

"Good." I handed him the manual, the pen and an empty piece of paper from the back, which was reserved for notes. "I know you want to save up points, but we won't be able to hold out with nothing. For example, the girls wouldn't want to drink river water, even if you boys might be fine with it. Since we can't be sure if it's clean, a water purifier is the most obvious choice for this problem. Not only for the girls peace of mind, but also to make sure no one gets sick during our stay here. Since you have experience, could you write up some items from the manual we might need? It doesn't mean we have to buy them, but we might be able to replace them with natural things from the island by combining our knowledge. I just want an estimate of what items would be necessary. Can I trust you with that?"

"Ah... y-yes. Of course."

Ike-kun nodded and began to flip through the book. When I saw him take the first note near the beginning, I was assured of his earnestness and turned around to review our next steps.

"Now, about the class leader. We should decide soon so we can start occupying spots. The other classes seem to make more headway than us, which is why I propose Kouenji-kun as the leader."

"""What?!"""

Everyone beside the boy in question was taken aback by my suggestion.

"Quite a shrewd plan, Princess-girl. I'm sorry, but I won't be accepting the leader's position, no matter how much you want me to. Discuss this between yourselves and leave me out of this, children."

The most narcissistic person I had the displeasure of meeting flashed me a toothy smile, left our gathering and relaxed on the beach nearby, while I could only click my tongue in annoyance.

Even though I had expected such a reply, it was still worth the try.

Binding Kouenji-kun to the leader position would have stopped him from retiring, which might have saved us thirty points. But maybe his blatant refusal was for the best. If he didn't care if anyone noticed that he was the leader, the other classes might have found out about him too easily and we wouldn't have won anything, either.

It was rather difficult to find someone who was fast, trustworthy and inconspicuous.

Since each occupation would net us points, the leader needed to be on the run rather often to renew them. Depending for how many spots we aimed, this would be quite taxing. Sudou-kun would have been a good choice in this situation, but he wasn't trustworthy enough to handle this role with care. If he slipped up, everything would have been for naught.

Hirata-kun faced a similar problem.

As a soccer player, his stamina should be top-notch. He is also one of the most trustworthy individuals in our class, but due to this, not at all inconspicuous. If just one class guessed Hirata-kun because of his popularity and standing in Class D, then everything would be over.

Yukimura-kun seemed both trustworthy and unobtrusive, but his stamina and speed weren't up to par.

Ahhh, dammit!

"What was your plan, Matsushita-san?"

Some of my classmates wondered about my intentions after Kouenji-kun's answer, but I had no time to deal with this right now. I needed someone else who fit my criteria or came as close as possible.

I bit my thumb when I realized something.

Wait! What about Kiyotaka?

He was trustworthy and low-key, that much was certain. His physique, which I've seen back in the pool, was also fantastic. Even if he said that he didn't train and only had good genes, he should be more capable than most of our classmates, which made him the best candidate out of the limited options.

The only problem might be to convince them that he was the right person for the job. If they thought that I was pulling favorites because he's my boyfriend, then I might lose their trust, which would make it more difficult to act.

"Okay. Our leader —"

"Huh?! What do you mean our leader was already designated Chabashira-sensei?"

Kushida-san's dumbfounded voice rippled through our class like a wildfire.

What?

"Exactly what I said. The leader is already designated, so talking about this topic any further is nothing but a giant waste of time. There are more pressing issues you should worry about. Like the dangerous 'bears', for example."

"What? Who's the leader?"

Multiple students looked around for anyone who might have taken the position. Even I was surprised by this sudden revelation and glanced over my classmates until I realized something.

Kiyotaka was gone.

Ding!

The metallic device in the cave produced a satisfying sound that echoed through the cavern. I had heard a similar sound three times today when I was on my way here. The first spot on the list was timed in such a way that we wouldn't lose any points during our daily roll call if we made the cave our base of operation.

It would have been rather disheartening to lose points every time I went out to retake the spots, after all.

I ran outside and glanced around for a suitable hiding spot for later.

The cave was relatively easy to see from the ship and should be on at least one class's top list. If my calculations were correct, I should be able to make it back before any other class could get here, even if it was just a small group that could cover more ground.

I didn't need to take all spots I had seen before they arrived at the cave, as long as I took the important ones that were close-by, since I was faster than everyone either way.

Sprinting through the forest wasn't as easy as it sounded.

Due to the uneven terrain and the high chance of stumbling or hurting oneself because of roots or loose branches, one needed to be extra careful were to step. I doubted that anyone aside from Kouenji could follow the timings I had set for the first few spots.

The third time I'll have to renew the spots will be around 12:22 AM and onwards, meaning that it'll be dark. Fortunately, I had two whole runs before that case occurred, which gave me enough time to get familiar with the terrain on the island.

The lush, dense foliage of the forest zoomed past my eyes as I kept running.

I didn't really take note of the surroundings, as I was wholly devoted in gaining all the spots on the island before anyone else could. After reaching the lookout, I claimed the spot, climbed up to check if I had overlooked some spots on the ship, and ran for the next one. Similar situations reoccurred until I had occupied all the nearby spots I had noticed from the boat and outlook. There could still be some hidden ones, but it wasn't worth going out of my way for such a low yield.

After taking the final spot in this rotation, I turned tail towards the cave.

Since I was sure that someone would want to take it due to the two adjacent spots and the otherwise perfect location, it was an almost surefire way to narrow down the leader of at least one class.

It didn't take too long for two people to show up on the clearing in front of the cave.

Two Class A students, Totsuka Yahiko and Katsuragi Kouhei, looked around warily. Neither of them were carrying a card, but they went inside the cave and came out a few moments later in a somewhat sour mood.

Or at least one of them did.

"What are we going to do now, Katsuragi-san?"

The boy was frustrated upon finding out that the spot had already been occupied by someone. Katsuragi should have been just as disappointed as his classmate, but he managed to hide his emotions well.

"Stay calm, Yahiko. We'll go to the tower next. If we can catch a glimpse of the Class D student there, we can invalidate all of their points on the first day."

Katsuragi nodded towards the lookout as he held the leader's card in his left hand.

"Wouldn't it be better to get another spot?"

"Not in this case. The Class D student should act alone or in a small group at most. If we lie in hiding near the watchtower, we can catch him red-handed. There are enough spots to occupy, and one person simply isn't fast enough in unknown terrain to occupy all of them in such a short amount of time. Just like us, he should prioritize the most important ones, meaning the cave, watchtower, and the hut near the water. The cave is the obvious first choice, and due to the tower's elevation, it is a close second to take before the other classes catch wind of it."

"Then let's hurry, Katsuragi-san."

The two of them ran off, not knowing that all of their efforts were doomed from the start as I made my way over to the remaining spots on my to-do list.

"Class Rep, I found the spot!"

Yui-chan's excited voice reached my ears while Kanzaki-kun and I were browsing through the manual on our way through the forest. I glanced up and caught sight of a metallic apparatus on which she tapped with a smile.

We figured that occupying spots was more important than figuring out what to buy, so our first course of action after designating a leader was to find a good base camp with our whole class.

Our initial strategy held up, thanks to the cruise ships suspicious circling of the island before we had to disembark. At first, we wanted to get to the cave, but Class A managed to move faster than we did, which is why we settled for a suspicious location in the nearby forest.

"Great! Let's occupy it immediately."

I handed Kanzaki-kun the manual and walked over to the machine to take a peek at it. Chihiro-chan, our designated leader, walked over with a suspicious gaze as she glanced at Yui-chan.

"Honami-chan! There's a note pinned on it with a stone."

"A note? Did someone already claim the spot?"

Kanzaki-kun's surprised voice rang out from behind as he hurried to our position.

"No... Strangely, it's not claimed."

"Let's form a circle when claiming the spot, just to be sure. Maybe it's some kind of trap and someone is observing us from inside the forest. Can we all gather around for a moment?"

I nodded towards Kanzaki's proposal, even though it would have been weird to leave a note to make us aware of the potential trap. We couldn't rule out that it was some kind of reverse-psychology, however, which is why it was better to be safe than sorry.

While Chihiro-chan claimed the spot, I received the sheet from Yui-chan.

The note was a torn page from the manual or somewhere similar. There wasn't much text, but the message conveyed everything that was important in a short and concise manner.

Kanzaki-kun also read through the text as he peeked over my shoulder.

The bottom of the torn page was signed with a temporary token, one a student would see when they had been sent an anonymous message from another student's phone. I remembered the specified token, because it was the same as on the message that had informed us about the old mid-term papers.

And I believed that I knew who this mystery person was.

The Class D student I had been looking for scaled up the watchtower.

As expected, the device was on top, which made it much easier to spot the person who climbed the ladder. It was quite naïve to take the spot under such circumstances, but the Class D student must have thought that taking the chance at least once should have been fine.

Yahiko should be close to the hut right about now.

If everything worked out as planned, he should be able to take the spot with no one noticing. Since I came prepared for every eventuality, I've sent a few trusted people to each of the important spots in case we didn't get the cave. This way, Yahiko would have two distractions with him, which would make it difficult to guess the leader, even if someone managed to narrow them down this far.

After what had happened between Class C and D in June, they must have become arrogant. They tried too hard to get the spots without thinking about the consequences of their actions. It didn't matter if they managed to hold the spots for the whole exam, since we could invalidate all their points on the last day.

Still, just to be sure, I should check the claimed spot.

Since Sakayanagi-san and I didn't see eye to eye, I had to use this one chance. If I could capitalize on this exam, her followers would defect and turn to me instead. She wasn't a bad leader per se, but her approach was misguided.

I intended to lead this class towards glory without fault.

"Hey, Chabashira-sensei! Who's the leader?"

"Yeah! Tell us, sensei."

The confused students kept repeating their questions while Chabashira-sensei leaned against one of the tents and observed the headless chickens in my class with an amused expression.

Why would he run off as the leader without talking to me first? Did he have a plan? If he did, why didn't he tell me? Was this going to be okay? What should I be doing now?

"Well... there's also a positive connotation to your current predicament." She let out a ridiculing laugh as my classmates eyed her in surprise. "If even you guys don't know who the leader is, then the chances of the other classes finding out is next to null, right?"

She did nothing to help her class and only made fun of us in the process. I really couldn't understand why she treated us like garbage since she also wanted this class to ascend to A before our graduation.

I took a deep breath and faced my classmates.

"Calm down, please. Everything is going according to plan."

Even though I didn't know the plan, or if there even was one, I had to cover for Kiyotaka. I trusted him, not only because he was my boyfriend, but also because I had faith in him. He wouldn't do anything that would harm me or the class. As his girlfriend, it was my duty to have his back, no matter what.

"What kind of plan?"

"Matsushita-san? Do you know who the leader is?"

"Why didn't you discuss with us?"

"Tell us who the leader is!"

My classmates repeated complaints focused on me after I assured them that all of this was prearranged.

He ran off, which meant that he had an idea where to start with the spots.

Had he noticed them as well, or did Horikita-senpai contact him?

Was this why he pulled out his phone as he was about to disembark?

Since he knew that I was hiding my abilities, he should know that Kiyotaka is athletic.

"Guys, please... if you keep screaming around like that, the other classes will realize that something is off. What do you guys think who the leader is? It should be plenty obvious by now."

While they looked around in confusion, I checked the attendance of the other three classes. One after another, they were all moving into the forest. Some Class A students had already vanished into the forest some time ago, while the rest split up in smaller groups similar to Class C. Class B pursued a different strategy, as they left the beach together without splitting up.

As I checked back on the progress of my class, Hirata-kun's eyes opened in realization.

"Ayanokouji-kun is missing."

"Uhm... R-ryuuen-san. This spot is already taken by Class D..."

This Matsushita girl was really pissing me off. So she sent her boyfriend ahead to grab all the spots before the other classes could make their moves, huh? This wasn't a bad maneuver, if she could back it up before the exam ended. It was the correct decision to have them followed throughout July, since I could confirm some things that would prove useful.

But getting rid of her own boyfriend by using the twisted rules of this exam?

That chick was colder than ice.

A woman after my fancy...

"Kukuku..."

"Ryuuen-san."

The condescending grin that had formed on my face vanished because of the annoyingly feminine voice that addressed me from my right. I turned around and observed Mio as she walked closer towards my position with Ishizaki and a few others in tow.

"What?"

"I don't know what your initial plan for this exam was, but it doesn't seem to go well according to the face you were making just now. Thanks to Ibuki-san, I am mindful of your opinion towards this topic, but please use me properly from now on. We already lost three students, but I trust your abilities as Class C's leader. You are just as aware as I am that some of our classmates don't look too favorably upon you after everything that happened. I also know that you don't care in the slightest, but I want to be included in your plans from now on. I can handle it, so please."

Those stupid morons didn't know that they'd get slaughtered without little old me taking care of them. Argh, I'm just too goddamn nice for this class of nitwits.

"Shiina..."

Matsushita led us to the cave she had mentioned before after those fucking idiots finally figured out that Kiyotaka was the leader. It was pretty ballsy to tell us that she instructed him to occupy the cave as fast as possible, since she didn't know what he was doing.

Was she just that naïve and stupid, or was this how people in love acted?

I doubted that Kiyotaka loved her anyway.

What a bunch of fucking morons.

Like the idiots they were, everyone believed the lies Matsushita fed them.

Honestly, I couldn't stand that girl from the beginning and I didn't know why he chose her, of all people. I mean, she wasn't even that good looking. Compared to someone like me, she was average, at best. It's not like I wanted to be with him or anything, but fuck, I didn't get this guy at all.

If she knew what kind of monster he was, she wouldn't stay by his side.

Not like I did...

Matsushita trusted him, but love was blinding, as they say. She even lied to the whole class without knowing what he was doing behind the scenes. I had no difficulties to see through her bullshit, of course, since I knew who held the reins.

I was the one being instructed by him while she was only being used until he didn't need her anymore.

Yes, I differed from her.

I was important.

Precious.

I was a queen.

His queen.

Even though he lied whenever he opened his mouth, I believed him. Because he would protect and cherish me as long as I served him well. His actions and words were proof enough that I was more important than her, which is why I could trust him.

No one else in this school knew more about him than I did, and he depended on me enough to spy on this second-year bitch for him. Yes, we had a bad start, but that was my fault. If I hadn't acted against him, he wouldn't have tortured me. He almost raped me, yes, but this had been because of my misdemeanor.

I pulled the dragon's tail and got punished for my transgression.

"There it is!"

That perverted piece of shit Ike was delighted upon reaching the clearing in front of the cave. He jumped around with the energy of a fucking preschooler and examined the different plants that grew around our sleeping place for the next week.

I knew little about camping or the outdoor scene, but this spot did indeed seem like a perfect place to settle down. Well, at least she isn't completely useless since she had discovered this spot as well. That sick bastard that dared to ask to call me by my first name also seemed to know what he was doing, which surprised me somewhat.

Fuck those disgusting eyes when he looked at me. I should have thrown this disgusting piece of garbage off the ship for daring to even ask such a stupid question. Who the fuck would ever want to be close to someone like him?

Urgh, at least we reached our destination, because my feet hurt like hell.

Our group strolled inside the cave in order to check its size and the spot's status, but Kiyotaka was nowhere to be found. The place itself was huge and could house all thirty-nine of us without problems.

We wouldn't even need to leave the cave if we didn't want to.

A large contraption stood a few feet inside, near the end of the cave. The panel on it displayed a ticking-down timer and the information that this spot had been occupied by Class D. Upon realizing this, everyone cheered and congratulated Matsushita for formulating such an exceptional plan.

My ass.

That bitch kept nodding amicably, as if she was the one who deserved this much praise before we walked back outside and discussed our future expenses while working through the list Ike had created. He noted some things we would need to survive for a week and even added the toilet since Kiyotaka's girlfriend told him to write it up as well.

And fucking bless her for that.

If I had to piss in that shitty cardboard box, I would have killed someone for real.

Kiyotaka would have taken care of the body, right?

"I'm done Chiaki. Can I rest now?"

The devil's weak, exhausted voice reached my ears as I turned around to see him leaning against the wall near the cave entrance. His whole hair, face and the jersey he wore were drenched in sweat from running over the island. Even though he was wearing his ever-calm, indifferent expression, he seemed exhausted.

His labored breaths and weak complexion underlined this even more.

Yet only I knew that this was nothing but a hoax, a scheme set up by the devil himself without everyone's knowledge. It didn't matter how much they struggled or tried to wriggle themselves out of his vicious grasp, because the students on this island were nothing but rats, pitiful test subjects that tried to escape the wicked labyrinth he had set up.

Neither of those clowns in Class D were his friends. They were nothing but trained monkeys on stools that danced to the devils wicked tune, unable to comprehend that their insignificant lives lay in the malevolent hands of none other than the prince of darkness himself.

They hadn't yet fathomed that escape was impossible.

- Word Count: 15087 / 69420 Characters

Released 30.07.2022

Chapter 21 - Domination

Hirata-kun began to distribute miscellaneous tasks like gathering wood, dry leaves, berries and mushrooms in the surrounding area. We pushed the decision about which things to purchase back for the moment, since we still needed to check if some items couldn't be supplemented with cheaper alternatives. Kushida-san was very helpful with appeasing the boys and girls for the moment, but the decision would have to be made today.

Going over Ike-kun's notes to narrow down the list of items should have been my task now, but since Kiyotaka just came back from his exhausting trip, I wanted to make sure that he was feeling alright first.

Both Hirata-kun and Kushida-san convinced our classmates that this was the only correct decision at the moment, so not even Shinohara-san pushed back because of the toilet that hadn't been bought yet. Since everyone but Sudou-kun had managed to visit the bathroom on the cruise ship, it wouldn't be a problem to discuss our sanitary situation later.

I ambled into the chilly cave and waved at Kiyotaka, who was leaning against one of the walls.

His whole body was drenched in sweat as all the exhaustion that had accumulated due to the heat sapped on his strength. This was one of the reasons for his labored, strained breathing as well as his rather pale complexion.

"Are you feeling better, Kiyotaka? You didn't need to push yourself so hard..."

My handsome yet defenseless boyfriend gifted me with one of his rare, faint smirks as I sat down beside him. I wiped the sticky, damp hair out of his face and checked the temperature on his forehead to make sure that he hadn't caught a sunstroke or something equally bad.

Even now, his usual calm facade didn't waver.

"Don't worry Chiaki, I'm fine. But I guess I've put you in a difficult position, huh?" He leaned against my shoulder and took a deep breath. "They'll surely think that you are a demon now, even towards your boyfriend. Maybe I should have taken it slower for your sake."

At least he could still crack jokes...

"Come on..." I tapped on my lap, brimming with confidence. "Lie down and rest for a bit."

Satou-san said that this was a so-called 'lap pillow', and that every boy was thrilled to receive them, especially from their girlfriends. According to her, it was as simple as him placing his head on my lap and relaxing while I was supposed to stroke his hair while he either slept to recharge or talked with me to tighten our bond.

I hadn't heard about this before, but I didn't mind spoiling my attractive boyfriend once in a while. Now that he was exhausted and tired, it was the perfect opportunity for us to experience this new first together.

Kiyotaka glanced at me before his captivating gaze swayed towards my thighs.

Although I was wearing my jersey, which was much less revealing than the swimsuit I had donned on the cruise ship, I couldn't help but feel aware of him and the way his eyes shifted after my proposal.

He leaned forward, and the scent of his fresh sweat drifted into my nose.

It didn't smell bad, but it wasn't as pleasant as his usual body odor that I learned to love over the past few months. I didn't need to wrinkle my nose because of it, but I wouldn't lean into him to take a whiff, either.

My heart stopped thumping inside my chest as he rested his head on my lap.

His soft, warm breath, which shouldn't have been able to penetrate the thick fabric of my jersey, tickled the smooth skin of my thighs as a strange tingling sensation traveled through my whole body. The unfamiliar, fuzzy feeling spread from my lower limbs through my upper body and into my brain, where it lingered until the next jolt arrived.

Thank you, Satou-san, but this is kind of dangerous...

I cleared my throat to stabilize the chaotic thoughts that began roaming through my mind.

"S-so what happened? Why did you designate yourself as the leader?"

The only plausible explanation for his action was that Fumei had messaged him before he disembarked. Since I had left my phone with Chabashira-sensei beforehand, it wasn't too far fetched to believe that Horikita-senpai would have texted Kiyotaka instead of me. He was my boyfriend and thus, the most confidential person in Class D, aside from me.

He rubbed his head against my thighs as if he was some kind of cat.

This simple yet adorable action led to a deep blush as I began to caress his handsome face.

"I received multiple messages from an anonymous number as we stood in line to leave the ship. The first instructed me to take the leader's position and race towards the cave in a certain pattern, while the second was a map of the island, similar to the one that was drawn in the manual. That person said that he wasn't able to reach you, which is why he contacted me. I didn't trust this individual at first, but when I realized that your words and his coincided, I followed the instructions to the letter."

So it was as expected...

Horikita-senpai must have known what kind of exam this would be and re-watched the video in order to draft us a path through the island, which rewarded us with the highest amount of points if the leader was fast and tenacious enough to pull through.

Reviewing the footage had taken him some time, of course, so he must have finished his examination after I got off the cruise. Since he had promised his support at the beginning of our partnership, he must have felt the need to get this information to me, despite saying that he couldn't do much to help.

"Chiaki, who was that person?"

Kiyotaka rolled over and gazed into my eyes.

Even though his expression was the same as ever, I could gleam some sort of sadness from his unusual countenance as he awaited my answer with bated breath.

A sudden stabbing pain assaulted my heart as I glanced back into his brilliant golden orbs.

I trusted him, but I wasn't sure if I could tell him everything.

If someone like Ryuuen found out that Class D had support from an upperclassman, he might try to gain additional information by going after Kiyotaka in order to hurt me. The thought that he might be injured because of my dealings with Fumei wasn't something I could handle, and I doubted that I could function properly if this possibility ever occurred.

But if I lied to him now, and he somehow noticed my insincerity regarding this matter, then he might draw the wrong conclusions. I could never forgive myself if he thought that I was cheating on him.

In the end, I decided to be partially honest.

He was my boyfriend and shouldn't feel left out, but I couldn't bring myself to tell him the whole truth, since this knowledge alone might endanger him. The person in question wouldn't need to be Ryuuen, since even Fumei might deem Kiyotaka untrustworthy and decide to act against him if push came to shove.

"I don't know... but he has been helping me. Do you remember when I saved Sudou-kun from expulsion during the midterms? He gave me those points for free. He was also the one who sent me the video during the incident with the Class C students in June."

Would he be disappointed, knowing that I hadn't done all of this on my own? What if he thought less of me, now that he learned that all these miracles hadn't been mine alone? What would I do if he said that he couldn't be with me anymore because I've been keeping this secret throughout our whole relationship?

This single terrifying thought tore my heart to shreds.

My whole body felt numb and paralyzed as I awaited his answer.

"I'm glad..." He rolled to the side and shut his eyes before the first teardrop in mine could take form. "At least that person was really on our side. I was worried that I might have messed things up for you by trusting that stranger."

"No, you did great Kiyotaka."

I played with his smooth brown hair, wearing a loving smile on my face, before I rewarded him with an affectionate kiss. A jolt of electricity sparked through my body every time our lips intertwined like this. Today it was even stronger than usual because of the relief I felt after those heartfelt words.

The sensation of his gentle warmth on my skin made me euphoric, and I couldn't contain my pleasure as our tongues began to dance around each other like Sakura petals in the fresh spring breeze.

Our lips parted after a few seconds, revealing a long, steaming hot string of saliva that snapped as I averted my gaze in embarrassment. My heart kept throbbing against my chest like a thunderstorm as I peered into Kiyotaka's golden eyes, which seemed to illuminate the cave with their mysterious, mesmerizing luster.

"Can you give me the map?"

He broke the ensued comfortable silence with a simple question that brought us back on track.

"Yes, of course."

I nuzzled his smooth cheek one last time before standing up. After strolling outside, I grabbed manual and ball-point pen from Hirata-kun, who held onto everything important while I was occupied.

"Is everything okay out here?"

"Yes, the preparations are proceeding effortlessly so far. Kushida-san said that she had discovered a fishing hut from the ship and left with Inogashira-san and Mii-chan to check it out. The rest of our classmates are nearby, gathering resources as needed." He glanced over towards a small pile of mushrooms that had amassed on the foot of a tree. "I think we should ask Ike-kun to look over them just to be on the safe side. It would be bad if some of them turned out to be poisonous."

"That's a good idea, even though I'm not sure if Ike-kun would know much about the vegetation on an island in the middle of nowhere. Were there any complaints about the items yet?"

"No, but we won't be able to hold out much longer without buying at least the toilet. The boys don't mind the cardboard box, but the girls disapproval is obvious."

"Understood. I'll go over the list soon, but Kiyotaka wanted to see the map of the island first. He must have occupied quite a few spots, so maybe he had found some I hadn't seen from the ship."

Hirata-kun nodded with a complex expression and was about to open his mouth but stopped midway. An earnest smile spread over his face, instead of the words that should have followed.

"I presume Ayanokouji-kun is alright then? I'm glad."

I nodded and walked back into the cave, where I sat down beside my boyfriend.

Kiyotaka flipped the book open and took the pen that Hirata-kun had pinned between the pages. He circled five spots that I hadn't marked and began to draw lines from one location to the next. Upon finishing his rough sketch, he tapped the spot where his path began.

"The message instructed me to start here and run this way while occupying all the spots along this route." He retraced his steps, using the lines he had drawn onto the map in the reference book for visualization. "I heard voices a few moments after occupying the cave and dove into one of the thickets around the clearing. Two Class A students tried to claim this spot and headed off towards the tower after realizing that we already possessed ownership over the area."

Surprise colored my face after listening to his explanation.

Horikita-senpai was indeed worthy of his spot in Class A. Even through video, he managed to gleam at more suspicious locations than I could identify on-site, which wasn't an easy feat to pull off.

"Do you know who they were?"

He shook his head and wrote something on the free space around the map.

"Do you remember the one who pushed us around on the ship this morning, the one with green hair? He was one of those guys. The other was a burly bald man I haven't seen before. I would recognize him again, but I don't know either of their names. The sturdier student held onto the card when they withdrew from the cave."

My eyes opened wide in astonishment.

This was incredible news!

It wouldn't be strange that a top student from Class A might have anticipated someone hiding in the forest, so our bald schoolmate might have just been miming the leader to protect the other person. Even though we couldn't be certain who the leader was, we had already narrowed the potential suspects down to two people, since they traveled towards the cave in order to occupy the spot for their class.

"Matsushita-san?" Onodera-san stepped into the cave and dumped an armful of firewood into the corner by the entrance before she turned around to us. "Ichinose-san and Kanzaki-kun came to visit. They wanted to talk to you."

Her curious gaze danced over Kiyotaka's body, as if she was checking him out.

She must have been surprised, huh?

Most of my classmates wouldn't have understood how overwhelming the physical burden on Kiyotaka must have been. Not only was the terrain difficult to navigate through, it also harbored hidden dangers like roots and branches one could easily stumble over. Keeping up a certain pace during this heat and despite the challenging topography wasn't easy.

An athlete like Onodera-san would have recognized this.

"Yeah, I'm coming."

I gave Kiyotaka a quick peck and strode outside.

Ichinose-san wouldn't pay us a visit this early into the exam if she didn't want to talk business, so I had to prepare myself beforehand. She was a good friend who might turn into a formidable enemy under certain circumstances.

It was in our best interest that we kept good relations with Class B.

"Your stamina is incredible. Have you practiced a sport focused on endurance?"

I glanced up at the brown-haired girl that eyed me with an inquisitive look.

Onodera Kayano was a kind, good-looking member of the swimming club, as well as someone that was quite popular among the girls in Class D. She didn't stand out like Karuizawa or Kikyou did, but she was respected and relied upon by her close friends. The boys talked little with or about her since she had no 'redeeming features' like huge breasts or an overly cute face, but the consensus was that she was a kindhearted classmate.

"Not really. Both of my parents are rather athletic, so I guess I had luck in the gene lottery. I also competed against them when I was little. They never went all-out on me, of course, but every time I beat them I felt all fired up. That's the only practice I can think of, though, if you could even call it that."

"Mhh... have you thought about joining the swimming club? We could use someone with your endurance in our line-up. The senpais would be thrilled to welcome you before the tournaments begin."

She threw me a genuine smile while doing her best to recruit me. Onodera must have already assumed that I would decline since I had made no efforts to join any clubs before, yet she couldn't help but hope that I might consider enlisting.

"Thank you for the offer, but I'm not interested in joining any clubs at the moment." I moved to stand up when a lightly tanned hand appeared in my field of view. Onodera smiled as I accepted her support before she pulled me up with a rather powerful tug. "Thanks."

"No worries. Tell me if you reconsider!"

A toothy grin emerged on her delicate face before she waved me goodbye and strolled out of the cave to continue the errands she and the other students had received from our two leaders.

"Will do."

Even though she was too far away to hear me, I felt obligated to acknowledge her final appeal.

I ambled out of the cavern after my short but fruitful conversation with Onodera, just in time to watch Chiaki as she walked away from Hirata, who held onto the manual and continued his chat with Ike. I observed the three students exchanging their greetings and slumped down near the cave entrance.

Ichinose waved at my girlfriend and threw me a bright smile while Kanzaki regarded me with his usual nod. The small gathering of leaders began their discussion while Kikyou sat down beside me, wearing a worried expression.

"Did everything work out?"

She was the only person on this island who knew that my behavior was a false front, so her acting needed to be genuine according to my current condition, which is why she pretended to feel troubled in case I had overexerted myself during the trip.

"Something like that."

"Wait, it didn't?"

Her surprised gasp was understandable.

I couldn't fault her for repudiating such a shocking statement because she was aware how meticulous I could be when I wanted to. It unsettled my queen that the beginning of this examination deviated from the initial plan.

"There is nothing to be concerned about. I told you that I assumed something was off when she saved Sudou during the midterms and once again when she revealed that video. Since I wanted to see how capable Chiaki was on her own, I didn't interfere in either of these cases and just kept my eyes on her. Both the points and the video she had received in her times of need were too coincidental, don't you think?"

Kikyou leaned back against the wall and tapped her legs on the ground.

"Matsushita-san said that someone anonymous had sent the video, right? I tried to dig deeper after you shared your thoughts, but I couldn't find anyone who might have supplied her with these points without revealing my knowledge. Both situations combined are indeed weird, but you seem to have a theory."

A few of our classmates walked by with branches and leaves in hand, so the two of us began to chat about trivial topics in order to keep our discussion a secret. They greeted us and went their way, since our goal was to prepare the most crucial items for our camp before sundown.

"People look out for their own interest. It's a law of nature, same as gravity and conservation of momentum. There is not a single reason to help our class via anonymous message without receiving something in return."

"What are you saying?"

My queen snickered and tapped my leg as if I had cracked a joke. For our classmates who were roaming around in the vicinity, we were two friends that relaxed for a moment after completing their tasks.

"An upperclassman is helping her, and I have a pretty good idea who it is. I had planned to leave their dealings alone for now, but that person informed me of the spots and the fastest routes to get to them, with map and everything. It was quite difficult to determine the island's layout with video, which is why I believe that this person had insider knowledge. Thanks to Kiryuin's intel about the second- and third-years, only three people with such privileges come to mind."

It wasn't hard to believe that someone took control of people that they deemed useful, just like I did. Even though our methods might differ, the outcome would be a similar one.

"Are you serious? But isn't Matsushita's source dangerous then? If even you aren't sure about their identity, doesn't that mean that this person was influential in the school?" She narrowed her eyes for a moment and peeked into mine. "Don't tell me, someone from the student council?"

Kikyou was sincerely worried about the third party that had intruded into our special exam, but she was also quick on the uptake. She realized that only a few chosen people would have enough control over the school to get information about the current exams.

"I'm not omnipotent, so I wasn't able to narrow it down for certain, but my line-up is stronger than his. That person's only piece is Chiaki, otherwise he wouldn't have messaged me when she was unavailable. I could take her away from him anytime I wanted, so there was no need to be worried. We are still on track, because I could leave Ichinose the note as planned. The only thing I'm curious about is what he told Chiaki about the exam and why he keeps helping us. Other than that, it's quite relaxing to follow someone else's commands for a change."

My beautiful classmate stared at me in confusion.

"So we are staying on course for now and keep observing what this mystery person is doing?"

"Yes. I'll notify you once I need to adjust something but until then, act as we have discussed."

I ran my hand along her back in reassurance.

She didn't jerk back or displayed any other sign that she found this act repulsive or unpleasant. Instead of rejecting my goodwill, she regarded me with a blissful smile on her gorgeous face.

"Ichinose-san, Kanzaki-kun!" Matsushita-san waved us as she walked over after talking to Hirata-kun. "It's nice that you guys are visiting this soon into the exam. How are you doing so far?"

"We are doing fine, thank you. Class D's base seems to take shape as well, huh?" I glanced at the busy students that roamed the vicinity. "You even managed to claim the cave, which should give you some nice advantages during the day."

Kanzaki-kun nodded as both of us peered over to sate our curiosity.

They had bought no items from the manual so far, which was within our expectations. Most of the Class D students gathered mushrooms and branches before asking Hirata-kun where to put them.

A brilliant smile surfaced on my face as I caught sight of Ayanokouji-kun, who rested near the cave's entrance. Kushida-san sat down beside him before the two began to talk. Even though we couldn't hear their conversation from here, it was obvious what they were talking about after examining his pale complexion and her concerned facial expressions.

This brown-haired boy who had offered us multiple olive branches until today was the sole reason that Kanzaki-kun and I made our trip towards Class D's base this soon into the exam.

The two of us, being enemies, felt wrong, especially after all the time we had spent together. It was weird regarding him as a competitor for any student in Class B, since we've all been friends since April.

I quenched my lingering desire to talk to him, because it was more important to establish our partnership with Matsushita-san, who was calling the shots in their class.

"We are still ironing out all the details, but we got pretty lucky with the cave." A shy chuckle escaped Matsushita-san's lips as she pointed towards a few logs which have been repurposed as benches and stools. "Please, why don't we sit while we talk."

Kanzaki-kun and I nodded, whereupon the three of us walked over.

My classmate disapproved of the deal I was about to propose, but he trusted my judgement in this matter and observed our dealings to make sure that we would come out on top.

If it weren't for Ayanokouji-kun, we would have followed our plan to take part in this exam safely in order to gain one or two hundred points without fighting for the leaders identities or multiple spots.

I may not have been very experienced, but I wasn't stupid.

After remembering the talk I had with Ayanokouji-kun on the day that Chihiro-chan confessed to me, I realized what this feeling inside of my heart was and how I could mend it. The only person capable of doing so, however, was already in a happy relationship with someone.

Kanzaki-kun knew that those sentiments were dangerous for my reasoning, which is why he began to observe and question my actions much more than before. I was sure that he would lead me back on track if I made a mistake I couldn't recover from, or did something else that would go against the best interests of our class.

Despite his better judgement and the doubts he carried, Kanzaki-kun believed in me.

The two of us made our way over to the designated spot as soon as we received Ayanokouji-kun's message because we had figured out what his plan was. Class D's biggest flaw was their lack of unity, since their students would begin to fight as soon as they weren't on the same page. This could happen quickly out here due to the difference in living standards.

Kushida-san and Hirata-kun could take care of some arguments, but it was impossible to resolve all issues that would pop up without a class that worked together as one unit. Even I wouldn't be able to establish a class coherence without my friends wanting the same.

Fortunately, there was an easy, albeit temporary fix for their problem.

Ayanokouji-kun had detected it before anyone else could, which is why he turned to us for help. We were the only ones who could provide what they needed due to our close relationship. Both he and I wanted the best for both of our classes, which we could achieve by working together.

The current situation confirmed the doubts I had harbored about him because I believed that he was smarter than he led on. He was incredibly observant and found the solution to a problem that hadn't arisen yet.

Even though I didn't know why he kept his cards so close to his chest, I decided not to dwell on his decision too much, since I had done the same when Class C attacked them in June. The most beneficial action I could take for both of our classes was to respect his wishes to stay hidden and support his plan, since I deemed it profitable for each side.

"We would like to talk about a temporary alliance between our two classes for the remainder of the exam. Are you guys interested in something like this?"

"An alliance?" She tilted her head to the side. "Please, tell me more."

Her reaction supported the fact that she hadn't been the one who had instructed Ayanokouji-kun to leave the note near the spot device. It was beyond me how he knew that we would travel to that exact location, but I was sure that he had been the one who left the memo for Class B.

Now that everything between him and us was out in the open, I needed to make sure that this alliance would be agreed upon right here, for both of our sakes.

"If you agree to this alliance, we would offer to purchase items of your choosing for fifty points in exchange for the identities of the two other class leaders. This transaction would be beneficial for both Class B and D, because we wouldn't need to worry about each other and could focus on the other classes."

I tried to hide my surprise about this gift that had walked up to me with open arms and began to consider the pros and cons of such an arrangement. Ichinose-san must have been aware that the fifty points alone would help us tremendously in our current situation.

The girls would stop nagging after receiving their desired toilet, and the boys wouldn't complain about this 'luxury item' either since it wouldn't have cost us anything. The whole class would make some concessions about other items that they considered essential if I handled this opportunity well.

Thanks to Kiyotaka, we had almost fulfilled half of the condition that was coupled to the fifty points, which is why this deal wasn't a bad one for us. This arrangement only made sense if they had decided to ignore the bonus points for guessing the leaders and planned to take away the remaining points after the seven days.

They would receive 100 bonus points from us and give us 50 of theirs.

In a certain sense, it was fair, since they were the superior class not only in overall class points, but also in class cohesion, exam scores and everything else that came to mind. They were doing us a favor and would gain a net positive of 50 points for little risk while we had to figure out the remaining leaders.

This deal had only positive consequences for either class, if it worked out.

If we declined their offer, they could still try to partner up with Class A or C with a different contract, which they hadn't done yet since they would feed their primary enemies or deal with someone they couldn't trust. If none of the classes agreed with their plan, they could just go back to their initial intention of ignoring the leaders.

"May I ask why you want to partner with us?"

"Of course." Ichinose-san's gentle gaze swayed over our camp. "First, we are good friends, which is why I consider you as the most trustworthy class to partner with. We could decide to cooperate with Class A or C, but we are trying to overtake one of them and the other isn't nearly as ethical as you are. From a tactical and emotional standpoint, Class D has proven to be the best decision for us."

Even if we caught up to them due to this deal, they didn't mind since there was such a large discrepancy in points between our classes. From the other classes point of view, we would be 'winning' this exam, but Class B would extend their lead by a hundred points and might even threaten Class A's reign depending on their performance.

This deal was almost too good to be true.

Were they speculating that we couldn't supply all the leaders in time?

We would have to reimburse them afterwards, since they couldn't take back the initial investment they would need to put into our deal. Depending on the severity of this compensation, I might need to reconsider the proposal.

Would it be a good idea to push for even more points?

Their offer was a valuable chance to appease my classmates during this exam, but I believed that I could get a few more points out of Ichinose-san. She was kind, generous and would even be called naïve by some, so there should still be wriggle room for a better deal.

As long as I didn't ask for a hundred points, they would leave this island with more than they bargained for. Neither Ichinose-san nor Kanzaki-kun would withdraw their offer if I tried to renegotiate and if all else failed, we could still proceed with their initial bid without ill feelings.

They would understand that I had to secure every advantage I could get.

"Class B would get a hundred extra points you hadn't hoped for if we go through with this deal, while we would only increase our total by fifty or non at all, since we had planned to go after the leaders from the beginning."

Some students might interpret my remark as intimidation, but I was merely stating the facts as they were from our point of view. I could only hope that the two spokespeople for Class B wouldn't take offense at those words.

Kanzaki-kun narrowed his eyes and was about to speak before Ichinose-san opened her mouth.

"This is indeed correct, but we are taking a fair slice of the cake, don't you think, Matsushita-san?" Her gentle smile turned somewhat twisted as she stood up and moved beside my ear. "Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. We already know who your leader is." She sat back down and interlaced her legs while the blood in my whole body froze. "We are friends, so I feel quite terrible about forcing your hand with a threat like this, which is why we'll give you seventy-five points you may use as you wish. See it as a gesture of goodwill from Class B, since we only have the best intentions in mind."

I had completely miscalculated.

Ichinose-san was indeed a kind and generous girl, but she also had fangs and wasn't scared to use them when the situation called for it. This deal would set a precedent for the ones to come in case we decided to continue our partnership. If she had backed down here, I wouldn't have hesitated to renegotiate terms on every upcoming arrangement between our classes.

This was a warning, coupled with a single concession.

But one question still lingered in my mind.

How?

Had they seen Kiyotaka occupy the spots?

No, that was basically impossible since he had left the beach much sooner than everyone else.

And that must have been the problem...

Since he was friends with them, it wasn't weird to assume that some Class B students glanced over to our class from time to time and might have seen him leave ahead of everyone else.

This, however, revealed yet another question.

Why would they offer us such an opportunity when they could get a similar deal without forking over any points? Was it because of their relationship with Kiyotaka?

If Ichinose-san hadn't disclosed her knowledge about our leader throughout the whole exam, they could have invalidated a majority of our points in one fell swoop. If they were after even more points, they could have led with their observation during our negotiation and I wouldn't have had any choice but to accept the deal they proposed.

Her considerate, almost charitable behavior in such a favorable position demonstrated what sort of person Ichinose-san was. She wanted to keep this information to herself in order to protect us and felt genuinely bad about coercing me to take a deal that would save our class from certain doom while also looking out for Class B's best interests.

Not only had she our concerns in mind as well, she also opened my eyes to a glaring flaw in our current strategy that I had completely forgotten about due to everything that had happened ever since the exam began.

There was a decent chance that Kiyotaka would be seen by another student every time he reoccupied a spot. His trip over the island might have been fine the first time, but he couldn't maintain all the spots during the upcoming days without taking a considerable risk.

I took a deep breath and smiled at our guests.

"Even though we have little choice now, we'd like to partner up with you as well. Those points would prevent a lot of trouble on our end, as you have already realized. We still have to discuss the case in which we cannot provide the leaders to you, however. What were you thinking of as reimbursement if we failed to deliver our end of the bargain?"

This question should answer some of my previous doubts, because there was a chance that we wouldn't be able to keep our promise, depending on the plans and strategies the other classes pursued. The renumeration in case of failure should be their safety net for making this deal with us.

"Oh, that's right." Ichinose-san clapped her hands as a bright smile blossomed on her face. "I trust that you will handle your part of the deal perfectly, so there is no need for a harsh penalty clause. All we ask is that you help our class in an upcoming exam of our choosing."

Just what was she thinking?

I couldn't understand her thought process at all.

Their proposal could barely be considered a penalty, since it wouldn't hurt us that much. Ichinose-san also hadn't mentioned what she would do with our leader in case we failed to keep our end of the bargain. After her threat just now, I couldn't tell whether she would write us up or leave it as is.

"Could you keep Kiyotaka's role in this exam a secret?"

"Yes, of course."

Ichinose-san understood my worries and nodded without missing a beat, as if she had expected this question. Kanzaki-kun also acknowledged my plea with a faint smile before we shook hands and concluded our deal.

If this had been an arrangement with any other class, I would have insisted on drafting a written contract in order to protect our side in case the other party tried to stab us in the back, but this wasn't necessary with Class B.

Kiyotaka's relationship with them really saved us this time...

This whole conversation only took place by pure chance, out of consideration to him because of the ties he had formed with their class. They must have felt conflicted about what they were going to do and came up with a solution that helped both of our classes to gain an increase in points.

Our two temporary partners followed me towards the cave to be present for the announcement, since they needed to know which items to purchase. Presenting them like this would also show my classmates that we came to an agreement that both parties were pleased with.

"Could we all gather around for a moment?"

The whole class assembled, curious about what I had to say.

"Now that everyone is here, I wanted to inform you that Class B and I made a deal which is going to benefit us greatly. Aside from forming a temporary alliance during this exam, we can use seventy-five of their points to purchase items of our choosing."

"What?! For real?!"

"Yeah!"

"The toilet!"

Conversations like this began to pop up around me as boys and girls alike cheered in satisfaction because both of their conflicting demands had been met a few hours into the exam.

"That's nice and all, but what do we have to give them in return?"

Yukimura-kun was one of the few people that posed a critical question while the others were occupied with singing my praises, which was a rather uncomfortable feeling since I had done very little for this opportunity.

"Huh?! What does it matter? Stop brooding the whole time and just be happy that Matsushita-san worked out such an amazing deal for us. Jeez, I really don't get you. If she made the deal, then it's good for us, get it?!"

Karuizawa-san harsh words towards Yukimura-kun seemed to have touched a sore spot. He was about to protest against her naïve outlook into the matter when another one of our classmates voiced his opinion.

"Yukimura-kun, I have faith in Matsushita-san as well. If she and Ichinose-san came to an agreement, we can trust that it is favorable for both of us. It's important to maintain a good relationship between the classes, even in a competition."

"I agree as well! Matsushita-san wouldn't do anything that would be detrimental to us."

Hirata-kun's calm and composed explanation was followed by Kushida-san's reassurance, which managed to appease the small number of students who were hesitant to accept this gift. The amount of people who were happy about the free points far eclipsed the doubts of those few, so there was nothing to worry about.

"Ike-kun, what do you think about our current food and water situation? You've been camping before. Do you have any insights that could be helpful?"

I began to prepare our next steps to relay our list to Class B as quickly as possible. It was rather unprecedented to think of Ike-kun as someone qualified to answer this question, but there was a first for everything, I guess.

"Ah, sure. I saw a lot of berries and mushrooms on our way here. Most of the mushrooms the girls had gathered are edible even without cooking them, and there weren't any poisonous ones so far. About the water... there should be freshwater sources on the island. If we drink from them, we wouldn't need to purchase drinks."

A few of my female classmates seemed weirded out by the idea to drink water from a natural source on the island, which was understandable. None of them mentioned anything, however, which meant they seemed to trust my judgement for now and would only complain once their demands weren't discussed.

"Alright. Did anyone else find anything useful?" I glanced around before turning to Kushida-san. "Hirata-kun mentioned that you wanted to check out some kind of fishing hut, right? Did you find anything?"

"Yeah, there are a bunch of fishing rods inside."

"I found a cornfield and multiple bodies of water near some spots I occupied. Some are quite close to the cave, so it wouldn't take long to make a trip back and forth. I can mark the general location on the map later."

My expression brightened as I heard Kiyotaka's pleasant voice, but I needed to concentrate on the matter at hand. As it stood, we had anything we needed to survive for a week, if my classmates would play nice.

"Ike-kun, do you know how to fish by chance?"

"Well, I've been fishing with my dad a few times, but I have no clue if fishing in saltwater is the same as fishing in freshwater. I can try, of course, but I can't promise anything. If we have corn, berries, mushrooms and maybe a few fish, we should be able to spend our time here rather comfortably."

I nodded and turned towards the class.

"You heard him, right? Would this be okay for everyone? We could save up on the meal sets and prepare whatever we have for the week ourselves. If we buy a cooking pot and kitchen tools for 30 points, we can use them for our food and to boil drinking water. With this arrangement, we could waive the water purifier."

"Uh, don't we still need that, though?"

Azuma-san was unsure about the proposal, but Ike-kun seemed to have his own thoughts.

"No, the purifier is unnecessary if we have a cooking pot. All the germs will be killed off due to the boiling water. It's not only a lot cheaper, but we can use a cooking pot for much more if we need to. If we mix the water with some squashed berries, we could even make cold or warm juice. Since Ayanokouji said that there is a body of water not too far from here, we can fill the pot and pre-boil some water to drink."

It was surprising how much knowledge Ike-kun possessed about the outdoors. I wasn't the only one who thought this as his remarks and explanations began to net him some trust from the other students.

"Alright, to recap what we have for now: a cooking pot for 10 points, kitchen tools for 20 points, and a portable toilet for 20 points, which brings us to a sum of 50. Since we have two tents for around eight students each, we could get another two for a total sum of 70 points. It might be a little tight, but I believe we should be able to get everyone inside the tents."

Once again my classmates began to discuss among themselves.

Everyone was happy with our current shopping list. The boys were relieved that we didn't need to spend any of our points, and the girls had their toilet and a steady supply of clean water. Since their wishes had been fulfilled, they had little to complain about.

"Could we spend the last points for a few beach balls, then? This would allow us to take some edge off the students if we have downtime on some days or if there are any arguments throughout the week."

Hirata-kun's proposal was well thought out, as usual, since keeping everyone in high spirits was one of the most important aspects in this test. If we had some fun activities which we could collectively enjoy during our free time, we wouldn't be as stressed out and even prevent disputes between the students.

"I agree. Let's buy two beach balls for 1 point each. We can spend the remaining 3 points on water for today. Since they come with their own bottles, we can refill them with pre-boiled freshwater once they are empty for a reasonable buffer."

Ichinose-san and Kanzaki-kun verified our shopping list and left our spot a few moments later to purchase the items we had agreed upon. My classmates began to split up and continued with their current tasks.

This was a beneficial deal for all of us.

Class B only needed to make sure that their leader wouldn't be found as long as they spent their time on the island in leisure, while we had to find the other leaders. I didn't know why Ichinose-san put so much faith into my abilities, but I wouldn't disappoint her, no matter what.

But now I had to take care of the next issue that had caught my attention...

Kanzaki-kun and I ambled back to our camp as he peered at me.

The raise in points I had given Class D must have come as quite a surprise for him, since we had agreed on fifty points before we made our way over. I was glad that he put his misgivings about my decision aside until we were alone.

"Ichinose, it might be rude to ask, but what were you thinking? Seventy-five points are far too much, since we still have our own spendings to consider. Additionally, the penalty you stated in case they won't be able to name the leaders isn't harsh enough. We should have doubled down on the reimbursement because there is a good chance that they won't be able to adhere to their end of the deal, especially after you raised their allowance."

I deserved this small lecture, since I had acted outside the scope of our previous strategy. Kanzaki-kun should have known that I wouldn't change our plans on a whim and that I had something different in mind.

"Kanzaki-kun, I promised that I would do anything in my power to reach Class A with all of you, without stooping on Ryuuen-kun's level or cheating people. Ayanokouji-kun will give us the other names if we spend this week hiding our leader, I'm sure of that. The penalty was more than enough, because Matsushita-san would have realized that I would invalidate their points if they betrayed us. The looming threat is too big to ignore, so there was simply no need for another deterrent."

He grimaced, unhappy about my previous actions.

"You felt bad about threatening them, right? Is that why you raised our offer to seventy-five points?" I averted my gaze and stared at my feet in shame. "You are such a dolt."

He hit my head as punishment and let out a light chuckle.

"It wasn't just that, though. When we walked into their camp, I came up with another idea that would cut down on our spendings. If we push through for today, we won't need to waste many points on our own class."

"What do you have in mind?"

"That's a secret."

I stuck out my tongue as a light blush appeared on my face.

My classmate heaved a deep sigh and turned towards me.

"I still think we can't trust Ayanokouji-kun to such a degree. He is also my friend, but we can't even be sure if he really left that note. There's also the fact that you are not thinking straight when he is even remotely involved."

A self-deprecating smile surfaced on my lips before I heaved a sigh.

Kanzaki-kun was a sharp one as well, and he wasn't the first who noticed my... confusion. According to Mako-chan's behavior, she had seen the panda and drew her own conclusions. The rest of my classmates seem to have noticed slight changes in my behavior as well if their reactions on the ship were anything to go by.

"You are still there to back me up if I make a mistake, right? So there is no need to worry. Aside from this, you must have seen Matsushita-san's expression when I told her about their leader. She didn't know about the note. Who else in Class D has spent this much time with us? The token beneath the message was the same as the one below the midterm papers and no one but the sender would have known about this. We took off before Class D strode into the forest, so only one person could have left this note. Ayanokouji-kun ties up all the loose ends, don't you agree?"

My reasoning was sound and Kanzaki-kun should have recognized this as well. Yet, he couldn't put his trust in him the same way I did, even though we possessed the same information.

How else could I convince him?

"Let's do this: trust me this time. Follow my plan, even if you disagree with it. If my faith was misplaced and it turns out we got nothing out of this exam, you can take care of leading the class and I will support every decision you make."

Kanzaki-kun's eyes opened in surprise.

"You are really willing to bet everything on him, aren't you? I just can't understand it, but fine. Since we've already started, let's see this through to the end. But if we lose out on points because of this, I will take you up on this offer. I know that you trust him, and I do as well, but not enough to stake our whole class on such a cryptic message that might not even be his doing." He peered into my eyes with a worried look. "This isn't like you at all, Ichinose."

Assuring him that I would support his decisions if this failed was all I could do.

Staking my whole class, the people I deeply cared about, on someone other than myself, wasn't anything I ever expected to do. But I wouldn't have done so if I wasn't sure that he wouldn't disappoint me.

From the beginning of this exam, it was our plan to occupy one or two spots at most. If this new strategy worked out, we would take a huge step towards Class A. But if my own class lost all those points because of my trust in him, it would destroy me.

Ayanokouji-kun knew this as well, so he wouldn't fail me.

As this thought crossed my mind, I remembered the words Hoshinomiya-sensei had left me before I disembarked from the Speranza while she stared at the necklace he had gifted me with a worried expression.

"Be careful of Ayanokouji-kun, Honami-chan. I'm not sure that he has your best interests in mind."

Her tone was serious and grim.

Almost as if...

... as if he was lying his way into my heart.

"Kiyotaka, can we talk for a second?"

"Yeah, sure."

Chiaki and I walked towards a nearby tree, away from the other students. I had already marked all the important areas on the map, so this must have been about something else. Or maybe she just wanted another kiss. I wasn't sure anymore.

It could have been both.

"We have to talk about which spots we are going to renew from now on. The cave is an obvious choice, similar to the hut with the fishing rods. Maybe we should go for the ones along the path. So you would need to make a trip with a few others twice a day."

Disappointing, but expected.

I wonder if I'll still receive that kiss, though.

"The message said that I should keep reoccupying all the spots once the eight hours are up. He mentioned that it didn't matter whether I was seen and that I should concentrate on making sure that none of the other classes take our spots."

"What...?"

She tilted her head and began to flip through the manual, which also contained a short breakdown of the rules, with a contemplating gaze. Her clouded eyes regained some clarity as revelation struck her.

"Wow, I'm such an idiot." A charming chuckle escaped her lips as she closed the book. "But what would a legitimate reason be? Something like a sickness? But that's not reliable at all."

It seemed like she had figured it out with that hint.

"Chiaki? What are you talking about?"

She looked up into my golden orbs with a conflicted expression.

"Don't tell anyone, but there is an additional rule that states that the leader cannot be changed without a legitimate reason, meaning it is possible to change leaders. For example, if you get sick by ingesting poisonous berries or mushrooms. But don't worry, there has to be another way as well."

My beautiful girlfriend threw me a carefree grin and tip-toed to reward me with an affectionate kiss.

I wondered if she would go through with poisoning me in case she didn't find another way to let me leave the island. She was focused on the rule, which meant that I would keep occupying the spots for now. This decision might lead her down a twisted path, one that was difficult to return from.

Once I had been seen by another class, there was no going back on her decision.

Time passed and some of the Class B students brought us our promised items.

The most anticipated product hadn't been delivered to us yet, since the toilet was supposed to be rather heavy. According to the boys and girls who visited us, multiple staff members would take care of it in the coming hour.

I talked with them for a bit before they left our camp because they had their own chores to do.

None of my classmates complained that I rested in the chilly cave due to my marathon over the whole island. Chiaki, Sudou and Sakura made a trip towards the cornfield to gather a few corncobs for our dinner while Ike took the Professor, Okitani, Satou and Mori to catch some fish.

Satou apparently joined on her own volition, since she always wanted to try fishing and Mori kept her company because the girls had a distrustful attitude towards the boys.

Karuizawa and her group began to set up the tents and cooking utensils, while Kikyou and her followers scoured through the forest to gather more wood for the campfire. Ike even instructed them on what branches and leaves they were looking for, before he left for the fishing spot with the others.

I spent my time in leisure until a certain neighbor of mine caught my attention.

She leaned against a neighboring tree with closed eyes as beads of sweat gathered on her forehead. Her smooth skin shined in an ashen luster due to the few rays that reached her through the dense foliage of the crowns above.

The crunching of fresh grass seemed to have alerted her, as she forced her tired orbs to look at me. Her expression changed from annoyance to a peaceful, barely visible smile in the fleeting moments before I sat down beside her.

"Are you feeling better or worse than on the ship?"

"Is neither an available option?"

Her voice was weak, almost to a worrisome degree.

Horikita clenched her stomach as her pale face contorted in pain. The noises which originated from her gut painted a similar picture, which was a clear indication that 'neither' was a boldfaced lie.

She visited the toilet, which was just a cardboard box at the moment, rather often. I didn't know what exactly transpired behind those closed curtains, but I had a pretty good idea if the sounds she made were any indication.

I glanced over to the campfire near the cave, which was burning fiercely.

One could call Ike useless and disgusting on most occasions, but this time, he really outdid himself. With Chiaki's gentle guidance, he showed a reliable, almost cool side of himself, which improved his bad track-record. The girls didn't fawn over him or anything, but his reputation received a small, for him considerable, bump.

Horikita's strained coughs rang through the whole camp as I stood up and walked over to the cave. Her hand twitched, as if she wanted me to stay, before noticing that I reached towards the fire. She wanted to say something, but only raspy noises escaped her colorless lips.

I returned a few seconds later and held my hand out towards her.

"Eat this."

The girl glanced at the charcoal piece in my palm and grimaced.

"If you want to torture me, then do it another time. I'm really not in the mood."

"I'm not trying to torture you, but it helps with diarrhea."

A deathly glare soon found its way towards my direction.

If she hadn't been this sick, she would have tackled me into the ground and beaten me up.

A topic like this was quite uncomfortable to talk about, especially for a proud, haughty girl like her. If looks could kill, I would have dropped dead right about now, which is why I provided her an alternative method of digestion, one which may have been better suited for her current condition.

"You can also grind it into powder and mix it with some water to drink. But this is the only medicine available in this environment. It's not as efficient as pills, but still better than nothing."

Horikita's quivering spheres stared into mine.

"You are serious, aren't you?"

"Do I look like I'm joking?"

"You always look the same, so I can't tell."

She propped herself up against the tree and took hold of the charcoal before observing it with a sceptic stare. Her fingers and palm turned black from the carbon dust as she twirled it around.

"It's your choice. But it's worth a try. You can ask Ike if you don't believe me."

My lovely neighbor glared at me before an adorable pout appeared on her face. Her weak hand struck my shoulder before it slumped back to the ground. She heaved a deep sigh and put the charcoal in her mouth.

"I trust you, Ayanokouji-kun."

I was relieved that she took my recommendation into consideration and even acted on it, since charcoal was the next best medicine if she didn't want to quit, which she wouldn't do even if she was dying. The words that left her lips surprised me quite a lot, but she seemed to be dull because of her sickness.

Horikita's eyes closed in disgust as she bit down on the unfamiliar substance in her mouth. The scowl on her face grew deeper with every bite as the char cracked apart and spread its dry, black dust through her oral cavity.

Charcoal itself didn't have any real taste. The only uncomfortable matter about the whole situation was that it was dusty. The brain would keep sending negative signals, because it knew that she was chewing on charred wood, which was supposed to be disgusting.

I had proposed water for this case, but it was her decision.

"You should ingest one in this size around half an hour before and after a meal. It's not as effective as proper medicine, of course, but it does its job reasonably well. I know that you want to stay since you would feel like a hindrance otherwise. I would have tried talking you out of it, but we both know that you wouldn't listen and get angry, which would worsen your situation further."

Multiple sharp, strenuous coughs echoed through the area before she turned towards me with teardrops in her eyes. Her head had already turned crimson due to the difficulties she had with even breathing and swallowing, which worsened due to the barren substance in her throat.

"Honestly, I'm already feeling like a hindrance. I still remember complaining about Sudou-kun and Ike-kun, but even without this sickness dragging me through the mud, I would have been less helpful than them this time around."

I almost couldn't believe my ears after this genuine self-reflection.

Horikita was a proud, confident, and somewhat condescending woman, which was why I had expected her to be troubled about acknowledging her own shortcomings. Spending her time with vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pains and headaches seemed to have made her soft, almost comfortable to deal with.

Someone as ambitious and competitive as she would feel even worse.

If another classmate had been in her position, they would have already given up and retreated onto the boat to rest, but Horikita would never even think about abandoning these thirty points we would be losing. She wasn't hanging on for the sake of our class, but for herself, because she knew that she would never we able to forgive herself if she retired now.

"Ayanokouji-kun. I think that I have miscalculated."

"What do you mean?"

"I told you that I would reach Class A. Even on my own, if I had to." She choked, about to vomit to her left, before she leaned back against the tree. Labored breaths left her salivating mouth as she forced the remainder of her sentence over her pale lips. "But as things stand now, what have I really done?"

Was this her sickness talking? Or were these the self-doubts and insecurities about her own abilities after she hadn't been accepted by her beloved brother even after all the effort she had put into improving herself in order to reach him?

I was glad that she opened up to me.

Just a few weeks ago, she had surprised me with calling me 'friend'. Horikita had denied this ever since, but her behavior towards me had changed and became warmer and more gentle in the process. Instead of stabbing me with her compass, she relied on physical contact to discipline me if my teasing went too far.

This was the change I had been waiting for ever since I told her that I wanted to keep our relationship the way it was, that we wouldn't need a label like 'friends' to describe what we had. I created cracks in her almost unbreakable graphene shell with slow, methodical steps, withering her defenses down one at a time.

"You helped Sudou and the others pass. You even lowered your own score for them. If more than only a handful of people knew about this secret of yours, they would surely be grateful for what you did. You know as much as I that Chiaki wouldn't have been able to save Sudou if you hadn't botched your score in English on purpose."

She had difficulties to keep her eyes open as she peeked at me.

"I..."

"'... did this for myself.' I know."

A weak smile found its way onto my lips as I placed my palm on her forehead to check on her temperature, which was about to cross into dangerous territory. She had a terrible infection, yet still held on in order to prove her worth.

Not to anyone in this class, but to herself.

"You should go to sleep."

"But..."

Her poorly voiced retaliation fell on deaf ears as I caressed her burning cheek with my, in comparison, chilly touch. I swept her somewhat disheveled hair off her ghastly yet still charming face and leaned towards her.

"No buts. You are sick. If you force yourself, it will only get worse. You said you trusted me, since I'm such a great, valuable friend to you, so please listen and go to sleep." I rubbed over the soft helix of her ear. "I'm worried."

"You're the worst..."

Loud, dreadful coughs that even terrified some of my other classmates reverberated through the camp. Neither of them walked over, but I couldn't tell if this was a decision made of spite, or if they deemed it unnecessary to involve themselves with Horikita, since I already took care of her.

"I'm taking that as a compliment from an important friend."

"Once I'm better... I'm going to pinch you, so prepare yourself..."

Horikita's emerging laugh was drowned by another coughing fit that shook her whole body before she slumped to the side and leaned into my shoulder. Her weak fingers clawed at mine as she closed her eyes and entrusted me with her body.

"Just rest... I'll always be here for you."

I doubted that I would ever see her in such a state again, but I was touched that she had shared her inner turmoils and the toxic thoughts she usually hid from everyone. Her health was deteriorating, but I had to keep her on this island. Since it was her wish, I would make sure that Class D wouldn't lose thirty points for anyone quitting in this exam.

Her soft breath informed me that she had blacked out, so I slid away from the tree and caught her powerless body in my arms. The position she found herself in was a so-called princess-carry, which she would have never accepted if she was still conscious.

The girls, who had previously turned around due to the noise, observed us with anxious looks as I brought her over to the blazing fire. I placed her on the warmed up rocky ground and turned her face towards the gentle heat source while making sure that she wouldn't be uncomfortable due to her rising fever.

"Ayanokouji-kun? What happened to Horikita-san?"

"She's not feeling well and closed her eyes to rest. I told her to quit if her condition worsened, but she insisted on staying on the island to not burden the class. Her attitude is irresponsible, but she even shed tears because she wanted to stay."

"Horikita-san did...? Can we do anything?"

Nishimura and Inogashira glanced at the other girls around Karuizawa, who nodded as well.

"If it's not too much trouble, could you take care of her when I'm occupying spots? You just need to keep her warm by the fire and make sure that she eats and drinks a lot when she wakes up, even if she doesn't want to. I know that she can be really prickly and isn't an easy person to soften up, but she has a good heart, so please."

I bowed, showing my sincerity in the matter.

The girls, except one person who didn't look too kindly upon Horikita, agreed without a second delay. Shinohara seemed to have gotten quite the confidence boost after she 'managed' to secure the toilet for the girls, since she had kept pushing her agenda the whole time.

"Doesn't she kind of deserve this, though? Horikita is always sitting on her high horse, giving us attitude whenever she gets the chance. She calls us names and incompetent baggage, but isn't she the one who's useless right now?"

Just how worthless could one person get?

"Aren't you just jealous of her?"

"Huh?!"

Shinohara stomped forward with a throbbing vein while the others kept observing the situation without interfering. Ichihashi, Sonoda and the others didn't know me well enough to speak up, while Karuizawa and Inogashira were shocked by my unprecedented behavior.

"Seen from the school's perspective, she's worth a lot more than you. Her only problem is that she has trouble expressing herself because she is too honest and sharp-tongued for most people. She helped Sudou when he failed the midterms, but what did you do, Shinohara? Your academic competence is on par with Ike's and Sudou's. Your physical capabilities aren't even worth mentioning and both of them are useful in this special exam. Ike's knowledge about nature and his expertise in camping saved us at least a hundred points while Sudou went out with Chiaki and Sakura to gather corn and other usable things for the camp because he can lift heavy loads without trouble. Karuizawa and the other girls are preparing the cooking utensils and taking care of the fire. Kikyou, Okitani, the Professor and even the frightened Sakura are doing everything in their power to be helpful to the class. But what did you do? Aside from complaining about the toilets and now raining down insults on a sick classmate who is trying her best to stay in the game for us?"

The eyes of all the spectators turned wide in surprise, since I had never been someone to talk that much. Initiating an argument like this was even more unthinkable for a calm and reserved person like me.

"Shinohara-san, I also think you were kinda too harsh, you know? Even though she's clearly feeling bad, she wants to stay because of the point penalty. I don't like her that much either, but we should like, look past that for now. We're all in this together and blaming each other is like, super stupid. Ayanokouji-kun too, let's all calm down first, alright?"

I doubted that Karuizawa would have inserted herself into the conversation if I hadn't defended Horikita. Even though she must have known how cruel people can be, she would have ignored Shinohara's antics to protect herself. As Hirata's girlfriend, she had more power than most of the other girls, even if it was undeserved from an objective standpoint.

A school hierarchy wasn't built on facts and skills, but popularity among class- and schoolmates. Karuizawa could be considered a queen in her own right, but she still couldn't hold a candle to Kikyou's social influence, which is why I considered her and Hirata as valuable bishops.

The others distanced themselves from Shinohara's claims after their group leader had spoken up in my favor. Most of them should have felt that her words were too harsh as well, but they would have kept quiet if not for Karuizawa.

"You...! Who do you think you are just because you are Matsushita-san's boyfriend, huh? What are you even rambling on about? Horikita didn't help Sudou at all. He should have been expelled for all the trouble he put us through."

Shinohara took another step forward as her agitation reached its peak. She clenched her fists with grit teeth, eyes burning with bitterness and denial as she was forced to realize that my words were correct.

"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."

A loud, dull noise reverberated through the wide clearing after those words had left my lips. Karuizawa's indigo orbs widened in shock, while a throbbing pain traveled through my reddening cheek as I returned Shinohara's agitated gaze with my usual calm demeanor.

She hadn't held back at all, which was why my head had snapped to the side momentarily. This was where I had caught sight of three pairs of shoes that had just stepped through the shrubbery surrounding our base-camp.

Multiple muffled crashes followed as the corncobs in Chiaki's arms smashed into the ground like dominoes that had been triggered by an initial impact. Sakura gasped and covered her mouth in shock as footsteps rang through the otherwise silent area. Both Chiaki and Sudou made their way over while the latter tried to grab onto my girlfriend.

After a surprising twist, he stopped his hands before reaching her.

This single action was proof that he had learned from his mistakes. He realized that violence would benefit neither him nor Chiaki in any scenario he could think of. The only reason that he hadn't stopped her was a simple, yet fascinating human emotion.

Fear.

"Matsushita-san calm —"

Chiaki's searing rage exploded straight into Shinohara's face.

The volume alone wasn't comparable to the blow I had received as even the birds flew off the treetops in fright. Shinohara's whole body jerked backwards as she fell over with tears in her eyes due to the immense amount of force my girlfriend had put into her slap.

Her beautiful blue orbs turned dark and vicious as her face contorted with pure rage and contempt towards the pitiful figure in front of her. She clenched her fist, hiding the reddened palm and bent down before grabbing onto Shinohara's hair. As she was about to deliver her second shot at the defenseless girl on the ground, I caught her arm before the punch could connect.

"Thank you for standing up for me, Chiaki, but it's okay. I lost my cool and said something I shouldn't have, which caused her extreme reaction. It was my fault, so please calm down."

The always level-headed and calm Chiaki blew a fuse after Shinohara raised her hand against me. This wasn't at all planned, but an opportunity I could capitalize on. For most people, losing ones cool would be a valid reason, but what about someone who had never lost his cool before? The other individuals around said person would immediately find this line of reasoning suspicious.

I rubbed her arm, which was suspended mid-air, in order to soothe her burning anger.

Shinohara lay in the dirt and touched her pulsating red cheek with wide, fear-stricken eyes. Her quivering mouth opened and closed, but not a single word made it out as she began to tear up.

"Leave."

Chiaki's tone was beyond arctic, causing every single observer to tremble in fright.

This wasn't the nice older sister type Chiaki that everyone loved, but the one who stood in Sudou's trial and would annihilate someone without hesitation if they dared to attack someone important to her. Everyone knew why the three Class C students had left the school and they realized back then that Chiaki wouldn't hesitate to get rid of people in her way.

I didn't expect her to get this emotional, and I couldn't tell whether such extreme reactions were normal due to my limited knowledge pertaining relationships. My girlfriend wasn't even remotely violent, but she hadn't hesitated to avenge me, without even knowing whether Shinohara's action had been justified.

The weak and pitiful girl that received this command turned tail and stumbled away. She sobbed and sniveled on her way into the forest until she eventually crossed the boundary and began to bawl her eyes out, where no one could see.

Yet everyone could hear her pitiful wails.

My girlfriend turned around with a worried expression and caressed over my cheek with her own reddened hand. She put gentle pressure onto the minimally swollen spot as small tear-traces gathered in the corners of her eyes.

"Are you okay? What happened Kiyotaka?"

"I'm okay..." I leaned into her warm, delicate touch and glanced at the watch fastened to her arm. "The spots are about to run out, though. If I don't leave now, I can't guarantee getting them again. Karuizawa and the others saw everything, so they can tell you. We'll talk when I'm back, okay?"

"Okay..." She tip-toed to kiss me and revealed a loving smile. "Be careful."

"Well, well, Ayanokouji-boy. That was quite the spectacle. I would have awarded you with applause, a standing ovation even, but it seemed inappropriate at the moment. Please excuse my rudeness."

Kouenji followed me as I dashed through the lush vegetation.

It didn't look like he was struggling at all, so I was quite interested in his physical abilities if he decided to loosen the breaks. His body was almost as optimized as mine, which showed how incredibly gifted he was and how far he had pushed himself to reach this standard.

"I overstepped, that was all."

I began to pant, showing him that keeping up this speed was fairly taxing for me, but he didn't seem to have bought this cheap trick. He smirked in his usual arrogant Kouenji-esque way before his signature laugh rang through the forest.

"You don't need to be hiding from me, Ayanokouji-boy. We made a deal, so I will naturally oblige to the conditions we have set before. I am a perfect existence of my word, after all."

Calling this arrangement 'deal' was a rather interesting take, but it wasn't entirely wrong.

"So you decided to follow me around because you already felt bored? I thought you would just be lazing around in the camp or go swimming with the sharks. Maybe you can get us one?"

His loud holler resonated through the greenery.

"A perfect existence, such as myself, does whatever he pleases. At this current point in time, that is talking to you. You may feel honored to be in the presence of greatness, Ayanokouji-boy. I don't see any reason to help these hairless monkeys with their food, since it wasn't part of our agreement."

I stopped at the first spot on my route and occupied it before sprinting towards the next.

Previously, I left myself some small windows between the spot occupations to get familiar with the terrain, since no one would have been able to steal a spot on my first round. I also had to find all the machines first, since some of them were rather hidden.

"I'm not really. I'd much rather spend time with my friends."

"Those poor souls. With a friend like you, who would need enemies?"

"That's a harsh thing to say."

I'd like to think that I'm a pretty good friend, but what did I know?

It's not like I had much experience in those things, which is why I tried to act according to some role models I had found for myself. There was no doubt in my mind that I would improve in time, however.

Still, for Kouenji, of all people, to say something like that to me was quite bizarre. I doubted that he had a lot of friends himself. Female company and useful contacts, yes, but friends? I didn't see him being the type for such relations. He'd get bored rather soon and would run off doing whatever on his own again.

"You are interesting, Ayanokouji-boy. I'll give you that."

After Kiyotaka ran off to reoccupy the spots, I asked Karuizawa-san about what had happened for the situation to escalate to such a degree while we kept building our temporary housing for the next few days.

I was still furious, very much so, but I had to keep calm. Hitting her, even though she had deserved it, was a mistake, and I never expected to lose my composure like this.

Hirata-kun and the others soon came back with a ton of berries for us to enjoy later. Shinohara, who trotted after him, glanced around the camp with a worried expression, scared to make eye-contact.

I dropped everything I was doing and strode over.

My classmate, who had a rather obvious bruise on her cheek, hid behind Hirata-kun in fear of further retaliation.

It seemed my slap had left quite a mark on her.

Good.

That's what you get for hurting Kiyotaka.

"Matsushita-san we should —"

I glanced at Hirata-kun, ignoring his attempt at defusing the situation, and turned towards Shinohara.

"I overreacted before and shouldn't have hit you, Shinohara-san. Sorry."

Hirata-kun seemed both surprised and relieved as my apology reached both of their ears.

In truth, I wanted to slap her over and over, but now wasn't the time for infighting. If she apologized to both Kiyotaka and Horikita-san, then I would refrain from further action against her for the foreseeable future. But she shouldn't believe that I would ever forget what she had done.

"I... I'm sorry as well, for hitting Ayanokouji-kun."

She spoke in a quiet, pitiful voice, not daring to meet my eyes as she entrenched herself behind Hirata-kun's back. Her arrogant, impertinent behavior she showed the boys and Kiyotaka before was nowhere to be seen.

"Why are you apologizing to me? I'm not the one you slandered or hit. You have no clue what Horikita-san did for the class, yet you look down on her like that? Kiyotaka may not have chosen the best words, but I agree with everything he said."

Damn it...

Once again, my emotions boiled over, causing me to lose my usual cool. My boyfriend must have had similar thoughts on his mind when he protected Horikita-san. It was a human error, which showed how much he cared about her. Of course, he hated how Shinohara belittled her efforts in trying to stay on the island for us.

The girl looked downwards in shame, while Hirata-kun eyed me in frustration.

She seemed to have realized that she had been on the wrong side of the argument that ensued. Hirata-kun must have talked to her and would have reached the same conclusion. He may not have agreed that Kiyotaka called her useless, but she made a mistake by trashing on Horikita-san like this.

"W-where are they? Ayanokouji-kun and Horikita-san, I mean. I would like to apologize properly."

"Kiyotaka is out renewing spots and Horikita-san struggles with a flu or something similar. She is holed up in the cave near the fire, which helps keep her cool and warm at the same time. Despite my best efforts, she repeatedly insisted on staying, so I think we should honor her wish as long as she doesn't deteriorate any further."

The last part of my explanation was directed at Hirata-kun, who seemed worried that we would keep her on the island against her will in order to save points.

If I had been in Horikita-san's shoes, I would have left already.

Suffering through such a serious illness wasn't the smartest move, but it showed how devoted she was to the class, even though she didn't show it. This was what Kiyotaka must have seen in her as well. Horikita-san was difficult to handle, but once Kiyotaka got through to her, she must have turned out to be a really nice person.

"Umm, M-Matsushita-san? You also mentioned that I didn't know what Horikita-san did for us, so may I ask what the two of you meant? Hirata-kun and I kept wondering about it."

It came as no surprise that Hirata-kun hadn't realized what she had done, otherwise there would have been no way that he would have kept quiet about her contribution, even if she asked him to.

"I only realized it after the final exams, but I guess Kiyotaka knew it from the beginning. Horikita-san lowered her English score in the midterms so that Sudou-kun would have an easier time passing. She had kept this a secret from everyone, so it's no surprise that only a handful of individuals were aware." I stopped for a moment before breaching another important topic. "As for Sudou-kun, who you also badmouthed, I strongly disagree. Before I slapped you, he tried to hold me back. Would someone who didn't learn from their mistakes act like this? Additionally, he saved Sakura-san from the employee who tried to molest her. Are you still saying that he is useless and should have been expelled?"

She hugged her arm and heaved a deep, frustrated sigh.

The class was informed about the molestation attempt, but few people knew that Sudou-kun had saved Sakura-san. He didn't want people to talk about this for her sake, and asked everyone to stay quiet.

This alone was confirmation of his improvement.

"I know that all of this happened because of me. It's clear that I was out of line. Ayanokouji-kun was only standing up for his friend while you were defending your boyfriend. I know... that I was w-wrong, but..." Tears dropped to the ground and vanished into the soil. "But it hurt. Being called jealous and useless. Even though... even though it's true..."

She slumped down on her knees and leaned onto a nearby tree as the floodgates opened.

Only Hirata-kun and I understood what she said, since the others were occupied with the camp. They saw and heard her bitter wails, but none of them knew why. None of them recognized that Kiyotaka had pointed out the truth, which was one of the reasons she had been so hurt by his words.

Shinohara felt herself inferior to Horikita-san in every way imaginable. She was superior during lessons; she was athletic, and she was much more appealing from an objective point of view. The only disadvantage was her behavior towards her classmates since she didn't have any friends or close relations with anyone aside from Kiyotaka.

When he pointed this cruel truth out, something must have snapped.

Yet, I wasn't sure that these tears were genuine ones.

She had messed up big time, and she knew this as well. Without Hirata-kun's and Karuizawa-san's support going forward, she would end up at the bottom of the barrel. I couldn't tell if she was trying to gain our sympathy with those tears or if she truly regretted her actions.

"Then you should work hard to overcome this feeling. I don't think that Horikita-san was born and capable of solving difficult mathematical equations or could write essays in English. She did her best to improve her grades and lost the ability to empathize and socialize with other people in the process. You can learn from her mistakes and improve yourself without worsening your other qualities." I forced a smile as I gazed into the teary eyes of the girl that hit my boyfriend. "I'm sure that Kiyotaka didn't mean what he said. He was simply frustrated because you insulted his friend while she was sick and couldn't defend herself. The same goes for me when I saw you slapping my boyfriend."

She nodded and assured me that she would properly atone to both of them before walking off towards the other girls who were figuring out how to prepare our dinner. Hirata-kun and I took care of a few organizational issues that popped up before I made my way over to Ike-kun to ask him about the berries they had brought.

Kouenji left my side soon and ran off to somewhere else.

I was glad that he did, since talking to him was taking a toll on my sanity. It wasn't as uncomfortable or dangerous as the decay that Ike caused, but it was exhausting to deal with his attitude and overall behavior.

The forest was quiet, as usual, and the weather was still hot and humid. Due to this, a lot of sweat built up, which would give me a great excuse for later when I was once again wheezing in exhaustion.

A few minutes passed until I reached the next spot, around one minute before it expired. Some Class C students had settled around the machine and conversed with each other as I walked in on them.

"Uhm, excuse me... may I reoccupy the spot?"

"Huh?!"

"Isn't that a Class D student?"

"Yeah. What do you want here? Piss off."

The three stood up, flaunting their superior numbers.

According to their primitive language, there wasn't anyone worth mentioning in that group. The other ones hidden behind the trees to my right, however, should be quite interesting to meet with.

"Right... what did Chiaki say again...? Ah, yes. Am I correct with the assumption that you are blocking me from renewing the spot? I would like to extend our time on the clock, so if neither of you is the leader, please let me through."

They began to walk over and kept shoving me backwards while their loud, ear-ringing howls echoed through the forest. I stumbled back a few steps to prevent myself from falling as they began to surround me.

"What kind of moron are you?"

"That's right, we're blocking that spot."

I tilted my head to simulate confusion.

"Oh, I see. So you are fine with losing points?"

"What kind of nonsense are you spouting?"

"It was in the rules. Chiaki said that spot-misuse will cause a fifty-point penalty, or something like that. Since you are blocking the spot, you are essentially using it without our permission, or am I wrong?"

They glanced at each other, unsure about the rules, and stepped back.

The threat of losing points would make them retreat and grant me some space to move. I wouldn't even need to mention Ryuuen, who might beat them up for being morons, since this current situation was a scripted event created by the mastermind in Class C.

"Shouldn't we talk with Ryuuen-san about this?"

"Isn't he the reason that the others got expelled?"

"Still, I think we should..."

Their current act wasn't even that bad, as it could certainly be used for comedic purposes. I wasn't sure if their behavior right now was part of Ryuuen's plan or if they were genuinely clueless that they shouldn't have taken their eyes off me.

Ding!

"Eh? HEY!"

One of guys grabbed me by the shoulder and shoved me to the side. I once again stumbled backwards and hit the ground, barely managing to break the fall with my palm while they showered me with incredulous looks.

"That crazy guy seriously renewed the spot right in front of us."

"What are you fucking idiots doing?"

A deep, furious voice rang through the shrubbery as a man with shoulder length, magenta-colored hair walked out between the trees. Behind him was an African American giant with sunglasses named Yamada Albert, as well as another delinquent with green hair called Ishizaki Daichi.

Why couldn't Ichinose keep her necklace if he can keep his sunglasses?

"Ryuuen-san!"

The Class C students wobbled back in fear as I propped myself up. All four of them were pretty good actors, since these guys seemed terrified of their leader, despite acting on his behalf. He turned towards me with a sly smirk.

"I apologize for these imbeciles. They didn't mean to block your spot."

"Ah, sure, no worries, but that's already out of my hands."

The man who just arrived on the scene, Ryuuen Kakeru, glanced towards the spot machine.

His eyes narrowed as he noticed one of the cameras inside the apparatus, which would control if any spot-misuse had taken place. They would also make sure that only the leader used the leader's card to occupy the spots. Otherwise, I could have made a random person in our class the leader and just ran through the forest with no worries.

Oh, wait...

That's a problem, isn't it?

"You, idiots! Fuck off." He glanced at his classmates with the ferocious glare of a young dragon before he turned towards me with a strangely gentle sneer on his face. "What's your name?"

"Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. I'm from Class 1-D. It's nice to meet you."

"That so? Why don't you give me your leader card and we separate here in peace?"

"Sorry, Chiaki said that I'm supposed to keep the card with me at all times. If I give it away, you might break it or throw it away and I wouldn't be able to renew the remaining spots on my route."

Ryuuen's maniacal laugh reverberated through the treetops.

"Kukukuku..."

There was no way that he would believe that this was all Class D amounted to after he lost three of his classmates in June. He anticipated a trap, which was why he must have checked the rules and realized what Chiaki would have planned.

From all the class leaders, he was the only one who would consider the loophole.

"Well, I'll have to take my leave now. It was nice meeting you."

I ran off into the forest and vanished behind the trees, since I had wasted precious time talking to them.

"What do you think, Shiina?"

Ryuuen-san peeked in my direction with his never-changing grin plastered on his face.

"I think he fits into Class D. Similar to the one with red hair, he should have average intelligence. Since he was chosen for the spot occupation and did a good job so far, he seems to have high stamina and an equally decent pace. I know little about the sport clubs, but I've never seen him in either of them when I was on my way to and from the library. He has to be Class D's designated leader, otherwise he couldn't have renewed the spot. I assume Matsushita-san has something up her sleeve, but I don't know what."

"She isn't stupid, that much is for certain. There is no way that she would make a mistake like this during such an important exam. I admit that I underestimated Class D before, but that won't happen again."

But what could the plan be?

I've read through the rules a few times, but there was nothing that could give her an edge over someone who had knowledge about their leader. Did she perhaps plan to buy something with private points, or was this forbidden during special exams?

"Do you have an idea what she's plotting, Ryuuen-san?"

Ishizaki-san and Albert-san also looked at him with questioning gazes, so at least I wasn't confused on my lonesome. From the way he talked, it sounded as if he had a theory, which was more than I had managed to deduce.

"I think so, yes. There was a certain, rather interesting clause in the rulebook." He nodded and walked around the spot machine with narrowed eyes. "The designated leader cannot be changed without legitimate reason."

Ryuuen-san had emphasized 'legitimate' to point my thoughts in the right direction, since I hadn't realized the meaning behind this sentence during my read-through. I had read and understood the rules, of course, but I hadn't recognized that such a loophole was hidden between the lines.

This was the big difference between Ryuuen-san and me.

His plans had always been cunning and shrewd, while I couldn't work like this.

"So her plan is to change their leader at the end? A legitimate reason could be something like a sickness, but I can't see how she would go about that. Not to mention that we are talking about her boyfriend. If she is as twisted as you, she might try to poison him, but I don't think she would do something like this. Then again, she expelled three of our classmates, so there is a possibility." I scratched the reddened mosquito bite on my arm through the jersey before I resumed my investigation. "With this information, we could renegotiate with Class A. Katsuragi-san seemed convinced that he knew Class D's leader, so he must have managed to see him from a distance and remains unaware about the trap."

"Exactly what I was thinking." He revealed a crooked smirk as I shook my feet around, since they felt sore from all the walking. "On how many individuals did you narrow Class A's leader down to? We should compare names. Maybe we'll be able to scratch some."

"Eleven. Katsuragi-san himself is very cautious, so he wouldn't take the leader position himself, unlike a certain someone. Similarly, he wouldn't entrust such an important position to anyone who's not part of his faction. The boy with green hair seemed to be his most trusted follower, but I'm not sure if Katsuragi-san wouldn't deem this selection too dangerous as well. There is a high possibility that the cardholder is this person, though."

Class A's leader was still under the impression that Class D wasn't a threat. He underestimated them, just like Ryuuen-san did. I could only hope for his sake that he wouldn't need to pay such a hefty price as we had to. Even though I should consider him an enemy, I cared little about their class.

"I'm disappointed Shiina. I've already narrowed it down to ten, even though I'm also pretty confident in my guess that it is indeed Totsuka Yahiko. There are still too many variables to say for certain, so I'll keep having fun with them."

I heaved a sigh and shook my head as a quiet giggle escaped my lips.

"This is not a competition, Ryuuen-san."

"Huh? For me it is, so you lost. Albert, bring Shiina back to our camp and make sure she stays there. I don't need the help of a nosy brat that can't even properly narrow down on potential suspects."

"YES!"

I regarded him with a sigh as Albert-san and I turned around and began to leave.

His words were harsh, as usual, but I wasn't concerned. Ryuuen-san could take care of Class A's leader, so I didn't need to worry about him. He might have a twisted way of showing it, but I believed that he liked and even respected me to a certain degree.

"Albert..."

"Eh?"

Ryuuen-san's annoyed voiced echoed through the vicinity, which was followed up by a surprised squeal that escaped my own lips because Albert-san lifted me up. He shifted me in his muscular arms a few times to make sure that I was comfortable and kept carrying me towards our camp.

"A-albert-san. Please put me down."

"NO!"

He kept walking, disregarding my futile struggles. I glanced past his broad frame, in order to glare at Ryuuen-san menacingly, but he was hidden behind the dense foliage of the forest. Despite my eyes not being able to catch sight of him, my ears managed to pick up on his soft voice.

"Ishizaki. Get your lazy ass back to the camp before them and purchase some bug spray and ointments for bites. If anyone asks, a mosquito bit your dick, and you kept crying about it the whole time until I couldn't hear it anymore. Tell Shiina she can have some as well if she ever gets bitten or annoyed. Got it?"

"Y-yes, Ryuuen-san!"

"And send Mio to Class..."

His voice vanished as Albert-san carried me out of hearing distance.

Even though I was being sent back to the camp rather ungraciously, I was thankful for Ryuuen-san's consideration. He might have been able to word his worries a little better, but this was just the way he showed his concerns, I guess.

Didn't he realize that his voice carried quite far?

Ryuuen-san always behaved like a tough, scary delinquent, but he was all fluffy inside. Like a bear, or something similarly adorable. I should try my best to hide the fact that I had heard his directions, because it would make things easier for him in the long run.

I just hoped that he could someday be honest with his feelings.

I got back to our shelter a little after five o'clock.

Just as before, I slumped down near the cave, panting and gasping for air. After observing my busy classmates for a few moments, I closed my eyes to rest for a bit. This brief respite was short-lived, however, as a shadow soon cast over me.

"Yo."

The boy was quite surprised by my sudden greeting and sat down beside me. I peered at his conflicted expression, which betrayed his thoughts before he even voiced them.

"I should have guessed that you must have been quite athletic from your physique. I mean, we all saw you in the pool back in April, right? How did I never notice a fellow sportsman?"

"Well, it's not like I'm actively pursuing any sport. Additionally, I'm not someone who shouts everything from the rooftops. I'd like to spend my time in leisure, if possible, but since everyone in class is pushing themselves for this exam, I felt obligated to do the same."

Sudou leaned back against the rock wall and interlaced his arms behind his head.

"Yeah. I never thought I'd say something like this, but I get it. Don't change the topic, though. You could have told me that you are secretly an athlete as well, you know? I want to compete against you once we're back in school."

"I don't think I ever tried to hide it. It's just that no one ever asked. Aside from my rather high stamina and quick feet, there isn't much I'm good at, though. I can't play soccer like Hirata and I have no clue about basketball either. You would have no problems beating me."

He nodded with a prideful expression before he turned and observed Sakura, who was ambling around the camp. She didn't mingle with the other students, but she tried her best to be helpful despite being hard to notice due to her timid nature.

"How is she?"

"No idea. She seems to be fine and all, but I think that's impossible. Even though I'm an idiot, I know that it can't be easy to leave something like this behind. She's not doing too good, if you ask me."

Unlike Horikita, he was aware of his own shortcomings and accepted them. He would never try to lead the class, or insist that one of his ideas was better than someone else's, solely because he was aware of his faults. He would learn and overcome these restrictions in time and morph into a complete person who was suitable for society.

My beloved neighbor still had a long way to go, since she was insistent on being better than she was. Hers was a difficult quirk to get rid of, but it was possible with enough effort.

That's also one of the reasons that Chiaki had proven to be a much better leader for our class.

If Horikita had been calling the shots throughout this exam, it would have been utter pandemonium. She wouldn't communicate properly, and even if she lowered herself to such a level, she would step on someone's toes. Her misplaced pride wouldn't have allowed her to ask for Ike's advice, even though he knew the outdoors much better than she did.

The list of faults could be supplemented at will, proving that she wasn't fit to be a leader.

"Um, A-ayanokouji-kun, can I talk to you for a moment?"

Shinohara walked up to me before peeking at Sudou for a second. She didn't even need to indicate that she wanted him gone, since he had seen what happened before. He threw me a glance, excused himself, and strode off towards Sakura, who seemed lost on what to do.

"I'm —"

"Please don't."

Shinohara stopped me before I could voice my apology.

I had a good idea how Chiaki handled the situation after I was gone, so it was obvious what my pitiful classmate wanted to do. If I pre-empted her admission of guilt, she would feel even worse than before.

"You don't have to apologize to me. I was way out of line with what I said about Horikita-san and I should never have hit you. I'm truly sorry for everything, and I hope we can leave this behind us."

The girl bowed, proving that she felt sorry about her behavior.

Shinohara was a parasite, but not the useful kind, like Karuizawa. She was nothing but baggage and trouble for everyone she involved herself with. After listening to the whole situation, even Hirata would have told her that she was wrong. He would say the same thing to me, but that didn't change the fact that everyone would see her in a worse light.

If she apologized properly, she could remedy some of that, but I doubted that she would change. The only reason she had backed off was because that I was supported by both class leaders and everyone who stood nearby during the incident. If I had been one of the unpopular boys like Ike, Okitani or the Professor, she wouldn't have apologized at all.

"We both said things we shouldn't have. Even though you don't want to hear it, I'm also sorry for what I said. I lost my cool when you insulted Horikita and this should have never happened."

"Let's get along from now on."

"Yeah."

I took her hand, which she had offered me with a smile.

For everyone around, it would seem as if we had made up.

But I wasn't dependent on her friendship or goodwill.

Shinohara Satsuki was so meaningless that she wasn't even worth being a pawn in my game. I didn't know what the future would bring, but if there came a time when the class had to get rid of one person, I would make sure that she'd go home and never return.

I rested for a few more minutes before I strolled over to Horikita.

She was awake and rolled around on the cold rocks, unable to sleep as she took a sip from the charcoal water she had prepared for herself. A faint smile appeared on my face as I realized that she actually took my advice and rested properly.

"How are you?"

"Horrible, honestly. I just hope that I'll get better soon."

"This is your own private bottle, I hope? Since we don't know what kind of illness you contracted, you should really keep everything you drink out of far away from the healthy students."

She glared at me before multiple coughs escaped her dry, cracked lips.

"Even though I'm sick, I am aware how diseases spread. I told everyone to leave me alone."

"You didn't happen to mention that they should leave you alone for their safety, right?"

Noticing her mistake, she bit her lip in frustration.

If she kept behaving like this, it would be hard to convince my classmates that Horikita wasn't a bad person. Despite my better judgement, I found her to be quite charming if she wanted to.

"Well..." I sat down beside her and leaned against the tree trunk. "I won't go anywhere, no matter how much you torture me. Even if you go back to stabbing me with your compass after this, I'll take care of you as long as you need me."

"Why are you so nice to me?"

Horikita had a lot of time to reflect due to her current situation.

She must have gone over every single interaction we had ever since we met and noticed that she was an incredible pain to deal with. Not only was she violent, she wasn't very kind either.

Then why was I so considerate towards her?

She couldn't understand it.

My behavior was not brought by love or affection, since I already had a girlfriend and seemed happy with her. In her narrow view, it was impossible to fathom why else I would be nice to her, despite her best efforts. In the end, it boiled down to something simple.

"We're friends, aren't we?"

I tilted my head to the side and regarded her with a confused look.

Even though she despised this word and its meaning, she was the first to say it. I've been taking great care to tease her with it, but the fact remained. Horikita and I were friends, and friends would look out for each other.

She frowned, took a deep breath and averted her gaze in embarrassment.

Horikita's pale cheeks turned into a rosy color as she covered her beautiful face with her arms.

"Kiyobaka..."

Had she heard Chiaki call me that?

"What?"

"N-nothing. I'm tired. Please leave."

"Hai, hai. Ohime-sama."

I put my hands up in resignation and walked off.

It was better when she thought that I hadn't heard her. I mean, what's with that weird trope, anyway?

The mind was advanced enough to complete the sentence or the word, even if an individual only heard parts of what was being said. Around sixty percent of people wouldn't notice a removed or scrambled word in a sentence, for example, and the likelihood shrunk even more the shorter and more common the word in question was.

Even if a person noticed the missing or mixed-up word, they would still have been able to read the sentence without problems, because their brain would have automatically processed the contextual clues and only transmitted the words one would have expected.

On my way through the camp, I saw Kouenji, who relaxed on the ground and enjoyed the last sunrays of the setting sun without moving a single muscle. He looked like he owned the place while his other classmates only existed to take care of the chores for him.

They had tried to reprimand him for his frustrating behavior, but Kouenji was such a pain to deal with that they eventually buried their grudges and chose to ignore him to keep their sanity.

Sakura looked like a cute squirrel as she was stuffing a few berries into her mouth, while Hirata and Chiaki discussed their ongoing plans. Our white knight didn't glance at me with concern or broke out into a panic, which led me to believe that operation 'we might have to poison Kiyotaka' was only known to two people.

"Kiyotaka."

Chiaki's expression brightened up as soon as she caught sight of me. She waved me over to them with a beaming smile while Hirata observed our exchange with a gentle demeanor.

"What's up?"

"Hirata-kun and I have been wondering if you know where the base camps of the other classes are. Since you are touring over the island, you might have seen something, after all."

"Mh, I didn't run into their camps, but I met three Class C students here and some of Class A over there."

I pointed at two locations on the map which Chiaki had shown me.

If she didn't ask, I wouldn't tell her that both classes had already lost fifty points for unauthorized usage of our spots. This might have been a calculated act for Ryuuen's class, but the same couldn't be said about Katsuragi's.

The individuals I ran into weren't following him, but Sakayanagi, who was prepared to sabotage her own class if she could take full control in the process. I had to admit that I liked that girl's style, and I had no reason to inform Katsuragi about his impending doom.

Sakayanagi seemed like an opponent that could be reasonably entertaining, depending on the schemes she could come up with. The same could be said for the Ryuuen and Shiina combo, who had observed me when I passed by the Class C students.

The only disheartening part about this exam was that it was already over before it even begun.

Neither of the class leaders could do anything about the outcome I had already decided on. They could struggle and try to outmaneuver me with pitiful tricks and last-ditch efforts, but nothing would change the results.

Katsuragi had been doomed to fail from the start.

There was no way to win with his own class working against him. He wasn't stupid and would soon doubt the conclusion he had drawn about us being pushovers after he had seen me on the lookout. Even more so after one of his followers had tailed me when I reoccupied a spot near their encampment.

Ryuuen was in a similar state, albeit not as bad.

He knew that this whole charade was a trap, but there was nothing he could do against it. He was an oppressor that was losing the trust of his followers, due to the previous incident. Not everyone would be happy, but they would grit their teeth and listen for the moment, since they couldn't replace him with someone else.

Shiina was also helpful in keeping the class calm, since she exudes a tranquil aura, but Ryuuen needed a win to stay in control, even if it didn't look like one from the outside. He should have realized that they couldn't stop Class D's reign over the island and would soon begin to harass Class A or B.

If he tried to cut a deal with another class, Katsuragi was his only option.

He might even be able to exploit their internal dispute to sow distrust, enabling him to propose a better deal for himself. This would show his class that he was still in control, even if things didn't go his way.

As for Class B, they were struggling in my palm either way.

I wouldn't be surprised if Ryuuen managed to identify their leader in the remaining days. He might even sell his information to Class A and betray them afterwards, since he's got nothing to lose.

All I had to do was to renew the spots and feign exhaustion while I enjoyed my time.

The special exam had begun around ten hours ago, and every enemy class had been forced into checkmate.

- Word Count: 18673 / 85009 Characters

Released 06.08.2022

Chapter 22 - Advantage

"Oh, Ayanokouji-kun!"

Ichinose's mellow voice echoed through Class B's base camp as I stepped out of the undergrowth. She flapped her hands around with a dazzling smile and jumped off the dead tree she sat on.

It still felt surreal that they accepted everyone while an exam like this took place, but that was part of Ichinose's charm. Unfortunately, it was also a unique character trait that certain people wouldn't hesitate to exploit.

"Hey guys."

My gaze swayed over the surrounding students, who had also turned around upon hearing her sudden exclamation. They received me with heartwarming expressions, as per usual, while I surveyed the camp and stopped on a certain cerulean-haired girl that should have had no reason to be here.

Ibuki Mio, one of Ryuuen's henchgirls, or rather, Ryuuen's sole henchgirl, leaned against a lush towering tree and glowered at me with a rather negative complexion.

Kikyou had described her behavior as tomboyish, and I could see where her impressions stemmed from.

She wasn't much taller than my queen and even their hair was similar in length. The biggest differences between them were two medium-sized mounds on her chest and the violet eyes which adorned her attractive face. I couldn't see much due to the thick jersey, but her proportions seemed to be a little poorer than Karuizawa's.

Damn you, Ike...

I began to ventilate my clothes by pulling the collar back and forth.

This feeble action didn't reduce my body temperature, which kept climbing due to the certain thoughts that crept into my mind. Despite my best intentions, I was decaying from inside, slowly rotting away like a bad apple.

There was no saving me anymore.

"Yo! What brings you here? You missed us, right? Be honest."

Shibata flung me out of the disrespectful, obscene thoughts I had about the poor girl and offered me some of their water reserves. His teeth sparkled in the setting sun as he wiped the sweat off his forehead with an exhausted expression.

The extreme climate on the island seemed to sap on his strength, even though he was used to physical strain during warm days from his repeated training sessions in the soccer club.

Thank you. I won't ever forget this...

"Oh, yeah. That too, of course." I grabbed the half-emptied water bottle and took a small sip. "I might overstay my welcome by asking, but would you guys mind if I stuck around with you every night? Your spot is the closest one to the first on my route, so I could save some stamina if I start from here."

Instead of receiving an answer, I found myself in the crossfire of forty-one pairs of widened eyes. Shibata's look reflected nothing but bewilderment while the rest watched me with aghast expressions. Ichinose's and Kanzaki's minds were obscured by a thick layer of confusion because they had deemed it improbable that I would continue to occupy the spots after their stern warning.

The seconds passed by, but the situation hadn't improved at all.

"Did I say something weird?"

"Eh... no... of course not." A dry laugh escaped Ichinose's pursed lips. "It's just that we hadn't thought of renewing our spot until tomorrow morning. You know...? Because everyone would be asleep?"

She played it off as if nothing had happened while Kanzaki narrowed his eyes, speculating and contemplating on where he had made a mistake. They had been assured that Chiaki would stop going for the reoccupations, since they hadn't seen the loophole in the rules and were puzzled that their expectations hadn't been met.

"Oh, well... we can't do that or we might lose some of our spots. Chiaki said that I should keep up my rotation as long as I can because we could stock up on points with no real downside."

Revealing this much should assure them that their previous conclusions had been dead wrong. I wasn't sure if they would realize that the rules harbored an interesting loophole, since their class consisted of optimists that wouldn't think over such intricacies like Ryuuen might.

They would, however, recognize that Chiaki's behavior was off.

"Hey Ayanokouji-kun, are you sure that you want to run through the forest at night? If you slip and hurt yourself, then no one can help you. This is seriously dangerous, but it's your call, I guess. Just be careful, kay?"

Himeno walked up to me with wide strides and slid the water bottle out of my palm in one swift motion. She shook the cylindrical container, which caused some refreshing splashing sounds, before her supple lips wrapped around the rim, where my own had rested just a few seconds ago.

Her smooth, feminine throat bulged repeatedly as the translucent liquid poured down her esophagus. Before long, her shimmering, damp lips broke away. She exhaled, rejuvenated by the fluid, and turned towards Shibata as her moist, warm breath vanished a few centimeters short of reaching my nostrils.

Damn you, Ike...

"That's mine. Moriyama-kun has yours."

"Sorry." The boy glanced at his female classmate and clasped his hands before he spun around with restored vigor. "Moriyama! I just gave away Himeno-san's drink because of you! At least tell me if you take mine!"

I scratched my cheek, distracted by her hyacinth-colored orbs.

"My apologies, I guess."

"There was no way you could have known. You are forgiven."

She threw me a generous smirk and winked.

A short moment later, she spun around and strode off towards her friends. They continued munching on the berries they had picked up and began to whisper among themselves. It didn't seem like she cared much about this so-called indirect kiss we just shared, unlike a certain other person who was distressed by the scene.

"Well, Himeno-chan is right, though. If you run around during the night, Honami-chan would be so worried that she might not sleep. I don't even want to think about you getting hurt. She might start crying, you know?"

Their beautiful, well-developed class leader peered at Himeno and me while covering her blushing crimson-colored face. The shade intensified as her body reacted to Amikura's insidious taunts, before the entirety of Class B began to chuckle in amusement.

"Wha — M-mako-chan! That's not at all true, Ayanokouji-kun! W-wait. No. I didn't mean —"

Her flustered complexion and the stuttering made the whole situation worse, but I didn't understand what they were fretting about. It was normal for someone as kind as Ichinose to be worried for a friend. Even a cold, insensitive girl like Horikita would feel anxious during my nightly trips.

Probably.

Some time passed, but I hadn't received an answer for my previous inquiry since they were too occupied with their pranks on their adorable figurehead. Amikura was the worst of the bunch, as usual, but she had no bad intentions with her shenanigans, which is why I wasn't worried about either of them.

Ibuki Mio, the sole exception to this otherwise cheerful gathering, stared at me with narrowed eyes. I decided to be daring and glanced at her for a moment, before a faint smile appeared on my lips.

She averted her gaze almost immediately, as if she couldn't stand looking at me any longer.

Were my smiles really this bad?

Kikyou had reported that my practice was coming along, but this situation just now had suggested an alternate version of events. Maybe she had meant that my attempts at smiling weren't awful for someone with my standards, as I had difficulties expressing myself the way I wanted to due to my prior indoctrination.

"A-anyway, Ayanokouji-kun..." Ichinose smoothed her hair and panted as if out of breath. Neither her slurred speech nor the fact that she covered her lips helped me to understand her any better. "You can stay as long as you want, even if you decide to spend the night here..."

"... which I would pre—" A loud thud rang through the camp. "Ahhh, Honami-chan! Don't hit meeee!" Amikura ran off, chased by Ichinose, who held onto a random stick she found near her feet. "Tasukete kudasai!"

Their classmates observed this situation with little reaction, as their light banter was a common occurrence every time we went somewhere together. This cat-and-mouse game sufficed as punishment for the little devil named Amikura Mako. She deserved a beating for the trouble she always caused, especially when Chiaki was with us.

"Hey Shibata, what's up with those jokes?"

"Ehh... Ahaha..." He stepped backwards, breaking a random branch. Due to this sudden noise, a nearby bird flapped its wings and flew off with an annoyed chirp. "Wait! Did you hear that, Ayanokouji-kun? That was the call of an incredibly rare specimen! Sorry, I have to go!"

The boy's eyes lit up with a strange luster before he dashed off and vanished into the forest.

Huh...

I didn't know that Shibata was a birdwatcher, or that any rare avian species roamed around here. Even though he wasn't able to answer my question, I hoped that he could find the feathered rarity he was looking for, since this island seemed to have a lot more going for it than I had thought.

Maybe I hadn't given it a chance to work its magic on me.

Kanzaki, whose mistrust rose exponentially, eyed me with a suspicious gaze.

He was also worried about me running through the woods at night, but his growing doubts left him unable to treat me the same as before. His behavior would change again, depending on the conclusions he arrived at, as well as the outcome this exam would bring.

It was indisputable that Ichinose and he weren't seeing eye to eye.

She, naïve as she was, chose to trust me without hesitation, while he, a careful and inherently cautious man, did not. There was no right or wrong in either of their beliefs about people, just a clash of opposing ideologies.

I began to mingle, hoping that someone would explain Ichinose's reactions to Amikura's behavior, but no one seemed willing to supply me with an answer. The cheeky girl in question was occupied with running for her life, so there was no way I could ask her for an explanation.

Amikura fled from a beet-red Ichinose, who was flailing around with the branch she had picked up, while I ambled towards Kanzaki in order to prompt a reaction in either direction. Unfortunately, he left after we exchanged trivial pleasantries, saying that he needed to consult about their camps development with a few other students.

Alone once again, my gaze swayed over to the stranger in this familiar gathering. I wandered over towards the tall tree she was resting under as a kind smile surfaced on my face.

"Hey, I'm Ayanokouji Kiyotaka from Class 1-D."

Due to my repeated practice sessions with Kikyou, I was prepared for moments like this. Even though I wasn't able to replicate her way of addressing people as masterful as I wished to, I believed that I made huge progress compared to April in terms of my general presence and overall bearing.

According to her reaction, however, I seemed to have grimaced and barked at her in disgust and pure antipathy.

"Tch."

She turned away, revealing the left side of her charming face, which had been covered by her arm before. Ibuki's cheek was swollen and about to turn into a dark-red bruise that looked much worse than the one that adorned Shinohara's visage.

"Are you okay? This looks painful."

I reached out my hand but stopped mid-air, as the girl glared at me with a ferocious, almost intimidating expression. She had no qualms about baring her fangs, despite her moody and reserved behavior.

"The hell do you want, huh? Leave me alone and mind your own damn business."

If Ryuuen had sent her here to spy on Class B, she was doing a bang-up job.

"I just wondered what happened to you. Is it wrong to be worried for a fellow schoolmate?"

"That asshole Ryuuen happened. Are you happy now?"

"Ryuuen? I've met him when I renewed the spots, and he was really kind. Some of his classmates blocked my way and shoved me around, but he helped me by telling them to leave. Why would he hit a nice girl like you?"

Her violet, quivering orbs widened in surprise after this idiotic statement.

"Who the fuck hit you in the head? That piece of shit a good guy? Me being a nice girl? Gosh, what is wrong with you? Urgh. If you really want to know, I disagreed with him and he beat the shit out of me for it. Now piss off already. You are annoying and frustrating to deal with."

The girl held eye-contact throughout her answer, which indicated that she told the truth.

"I'm sorry if I have somehow offended you. I didn't mean it."

She clicked her tongue as I turned away from her with a lowered head.

"Ibuki Mio, 1-C."

My whole body spun around upon picking up on her soft, hesitant words, believing that she would like to talk some more. This positive sentiment swiftly vanished from my mind as her pleasant expression warped into a displeased frown as soon as she noticed my instinctive reaction.

"What are you looking at now? It wasn't nice to meet you, so piss off already."

Speak about sharp tongued.

She didn't even manage to look at me anymore, which was a clear indication that she didn't like me very much. I had no clue what I had done to incur her resentment, but I hoped that I could rectify her misconceptions about me someday.

Despite her tomboyish behavior, she was really cute.

I placed the bundle of small, dry branches I had gathered on the ground and walked over towards a silver-haired girl that hid behind a dense thicket. She might have tried to conceal her presence, but that was pretty hard with a bright red jersey when everything around us was green or brown.

A small, rose-colored bruise throbbed on her cheek while the tear droplets in her lavender spheres dripped onto the soil.

Her act was well thought-out because an untrained eye would have assumed that she had cried a lot, to where even her tears had run out. I had been in this situation myself due to my own insubordination, so I could understand how she might have felt if all of this hadn't been an elaborate setup by a certain someone.

"Is that you, Shiina-san? What happened?"

I covered my tremblings lips in disbelief as my eyes contracted due to the shock of seeing my precious schoolmate in such a state. The sheep that followed me around noticed my strange behavior and strolled over to my position with apprehensive looks.

"Did you say something, Kikyou-chan?"

"What's wrong, Kushida-san?"

These cheap parasites always stuck to my ass, but that was the price for being popular and loved by everyone. At least they weren't as disgusting as that piece of human filth Yamauchi, or this fucking imbecile of a rapist store clerk.

God, only thinking about this vermin makes me want to beat the crap out of someone.

"Kushida-san?" Shiina glanced towards the three of us with a mournful, lethargic voice. "N-nothing happened, Kushida-san... I just fell while gathering... berries." She nodded and averted her gaze again. "I'll be fine, really. Please don't worry about me."

Her pitiful attempts at deceiving us were easily seen through.

This wasn't only the case for me, but also the brainless leeches to my right.

It wasn't difficult to spot her lies since she had no container to gather fruits and had to look around the area for a believable justification to be here. If mushrooms had sprouted behind me instead of the thicket filled with maroon berries, then her answer would have been a different one.

In the worst case, she would have searched for dry branches or something.

Kiyotaka had warned me that this Ryuuen guy might send someone over to keep an eye on us, so I wasn't surprised that such a situation occurred. I didn't expect this someone to be Shiina, but her appearance wouldn't change my current objective.

She had to be taken in, no matter what.

If Matsushita, who wouldn't fall for such a trick, blocked my attempt, I was even allowed to fight her.

The devil's queen was more important than a mere girlfriend, after all.

I didn't mind dragging her through the mud if she forced me to, since I would have the moral high ground in this scenario. The respect she had earned from our classmates would plummet, depending on the severity of her disapproval. She would have to comply and follow my lead as long as I disguised my subtle deformation as concern over a cherished schoolmate.

"Shiina-san, what happened to your face? It looks like someone hit you..." I glanced at my companions, who wore appalled expressions upon catching sight of her injury. "Why don't you come with us for now? We can make some space for you, even if you can't go back to your class. Right, everyone?"

I pivoted around with my usual bright, angelic smile.

If even one of these pesky flies had some opposing thoughts, they would immediately shut their damn traps upon seeing such an exemplary, almost divine display of purehearted apprehension and the genuine affection I harbored for one of our acquaintances.

"Yeah, Shiina-san. Come back to our camp with us."

My flock acknowledged my statement as God's will and reiterated my invitation before holding out their hands to the lone Class C girl, who was still hesitant to accept our help. She seemed unwilling and torn about the trouble she would without a doubt cause, but eventually forced herself to agree due to their kindhearted smiles.

Her adorable, innocent behavior would work on most people in our class. Kiyotaka's girlfriend, however, would most likely be able to see through her charade and at least assume a potential setup due to the way Ryuuen had operated during the whole Sudou fiasco.

The golden-eyed devil himself wouldn't be fooled either.

It was easy to pull Hirata to my side if I bring her back to our camp looking like this. Matsushita would be unable to exile Shiina without damaging her reputation and the relationship with our goody-two shoes of a white knight, since we wouldn't be able to endure to send her off in such a precarious state.

I didn't know what Ryuuen planned, but I couldn't care less about his petty tricks.

Kiyotaka would handle every unexpected attack that came our way. There was no need to worry about anything with the devil on my side. As long as I did his bidding in the shadows of our radiating class leaders, he would protect me and preserve the happy, carefree life I sought to live.

Certain things couldn't be seen in the sun, after all.

"A-are you sure? I really don't want to intrude, or worse, start an argument if your classmates disagree. I couldn't fault them for their mistrust since I was part of the class that had tried to frame... one of your friends."

Did she just forget his name?

"Nonsense, Shiina-san! You are always welcome. None of us would be cruel enough to send you back to someone who might have beaten you up like this. Please, you can trust us."

Once again, I brandished the most dazzling smile in my repertoire of twisted masks and reached out towards the troubled spy on the ground. She took my hand with a faint look of happiness as I pulled her up with a firm yet gentle tug.

The other sheep familiarized themselves with the new black-woolen arrival, as I bent over and picked up the branches I had put aside prior to engaging the enemy.

"Let's go back to the camp, everyone!"

After this chance meeting, I led my flock back to the campsite, where my other classmates prepared everything for the upcoming evening. Boys and girls alike greeted me with ecstatic expressions as our group broke through the shrubbery surrounding the clearing before I could even open my mouth.

Hirata and Matsushita stood beneath the tree where we had gathered the mushrooms, while the others kept building things that would prove useful for the days to come. Ike and Sudou, for example, were constructing some kind of contraption to grill the fish they had caught over the fire.

I still couldn't believe that this fucktard was useful.

The one person who frustrated me the most wasn't even Kouenji, but that mendacious bitch of a teacher, who was relaxing in a fucking five-star mansion of a pavilion while reading a novel. I felt the need to smash her damn head in with it just by looking at her, but Kiyotaka still needed this whore, so I appeased myself for the moment.

Roll call was still a few hours off, so it was safe to surmise that Kiyotaka would come back and meet with our spying friend before the day ended. I had no clue what he did at the moment, but I assumed that he was preparing everything for the remaining days.

As long as I served and followed my king without question, he would take care of me.

There was nothing to fear if he was on my side.

Even though he was a monster in human skin, capable of... everything he had put me through, he had also never let me down when it mattered. Not even once. It was a given that I would feel anger at what he did to me; that I would have been fuming in rage when I had to watch Sakura being molested by that clerk.

But I couldn't deny that I was pretty happy because of him.

"Huuh..."

I peeked towards the ground near the cave where he sat this morning.

He might not have been around right now, but I felt like his mysterious presence still lingered in the surrounding area. I knew that I shouldn't, but I felt safe when he was around me, because I had realized that there was no one who would pay more attention to me than him.

Just what the fuck is wrong with me?

"We are back!"

Kushida-san's energetic voice reverberated through the busy camp as she stepped out of the dense forest. Following her were the two girls from our class who had decided to accompany her, and someone else I hadn't seen before.

The stranger was a silver-haired girl around Mii-chan's height.

My initial impression, which was solely based on the way she carried herself, was that she seemed like a rather calm and reserved girl that would keep to herself. She wouldn't be as outgoing as Kushida-san or Karuizawa-san, but also not as timid around strangers as Sakura-san.

If I had to compare her to someone in our class, then Kiyotaka would be the closest match.

As their group of four walked over, I noticed that the girl's right cheek was bruised. Her injury didn't look as bad as Shinohara's, but it was safe to presume that she had been beaten by someone. Unfortunately, I hadn't noticed her during the roll call on the beach, so I wasn't sure from which class she originated.

If I had to take a guess, however, then my first instinct would consider her part of Class C.

My assumption wasn't based on something she had done, but on the actions a certain someone in her class would have taken against her. Ryuuen wouldn't hesitate to slap or thrash one of his classmates who might have disagreed with him, according to the reactions of the three expelled students.

Hirata-kun, with whom I had just discussed next steps, also noticed our new arrival and peered into my eyes with a curious expression. I nodded, informing him that we would postpone our chat for the moment, before the two of us strolled towards Kushida-san and her entourage, who had just discarded the firewood.

"Kushida-san, do you know what happened to her?"

The most trusted boy in our class displayed his usual compassion for the pains and troubles of others with a quivering, apprehensive voice. His ashen face sunk as he noticed the faint swelling on the girl's cheek.

It was difficult for anyone to see a young woman being treated like this.

After Yamauchi-kun's expulsion, he tried to resolve the conflicts that arose in such a manner that every involved party would be satisfied with the outcome. When the situation about Sakura-san came to light, he was troubled and began to take note of the smallest changes in each of our classmates.

I couldn't tell if he had been this kind of person from the beginning, or if Yamauchi-kun's sudden demise had flipped a switch in him, but he hadn't forgotten how unforgiving and cruel this school would be. Right now, he wasn't only mindful of her circumstances, but also worried about the person who had slapped her.

These conflicting thoughts would someday devour him, but I didn't know what I could do to help.

"We found Shiina-san in the forest while gathering branches. She sat on the ground with tears in her eyes and that's when I saw the bruise on her face as well. I couldn't just leave her out there like this. Hirata-kun, Matsushita-san... she said that she fell while collecting berries, but..."

Kushida-san bit her trembling lip, unable to finish the sentence that lingered on the tip of her tongue.

The conclusion she had arrived at was too painful for someone as gentle and loving as her to fathom, which caused the troubled expression on her face to resurface. It wasn't difficult to discern that the girl had lied to my classmates, since the handprint on her reddened cheek was still visible.

"Shiina-san, right? I'm Matsushita Chiaki and this is Hirata Yosuke." I presented my partner with a gentle, welcoming smile. "Why don't we take a seat over there for a moment to warm up?"

The assumed Class C girl peeked at one of the neighboring campfires and nodded.

It might not have been dark yet, but a bright, blazing flame would give off comfort that would make her feel secure, especially under these circumstances. The evening air was still hot and humid, but she must have been feeling cold due to the fear of not knowing whether she would make it through the night.

The girl squatted down with trembling, pale hands and began to warm the rest of her exhausted body at the fire while Hirata-kun and I sat down on the opposite side. Kushida-san observed this scene for a moment and walked off as Shiina-san's lips parted.

"Matsushita-san, Hirata-kun, I'd like to introduce myself properly once more." She stood and gave a light, yet elegant, bow, emitting a different vibe from what I had heard from Class C so far. "I'm Shiina Hiyori, a student from Class 1-C and terribly sorry to intrude on you under such circumstances."

Substantial amounts of dirt and soil had amassed on her smooth fingers and underneath her nails. This could have happened as she raced away from their camp in order to escape Ryuuen and his followers. Sakura-san also stumbled a few times when we went out to gather corncobs, so it wasn't too far-fetched to believe that Shiina-san lost her footing as well.

There was also the faint possibility that she had hidden something nearby, but for now, I liked to think of her as an innocent victim before I jumped to any conclusions.

Kushida-san ambled towards us with a bottle of pre-boiled water and a few berries, which she handed our guest with her usual captivating smile. She and Hirata-kun were some of the kindest, most thoughtful students in this school, and I couldn't be more thankful for their support.

"Thank you very much, Kushida-san. I'm grateful for everything you have done. If you hadn't called out to me... I doubted that I would have had the courage to ask someone for help."

The bright, almost dazzling expression that surfaced on her face was genuine and radiated pure kindness. There was not a single sign of deceitfulness or duplicity when she had addressed us either, which caught me by surprise.

Maybe Ryuuen had really thrown her out?

"You don't need to thank me, Shiina-san. Everyone would have acted this way." Our benevolent classmate turned towards Hirata-kun and me for a moment. "I'll help Mii-chan and the others with the tents because they seem to have difficulties setting everything up properly. If you need anything, please call for me. I'd like to help in any way I can."

"It was the right decision to bring her here, so thank you."

Our angel nodded and strolled towards the cave.

Both Hirata-kun and I knew that he was much better suited for dealing with interpersonal disputes, which is why I was relieved that he began his line of questioning after she left.

"Shiina-san, did someone in your class do this to you?"

The girl caressed over her injured cheek and shook her head.

"No... I told Kushida-san already, I —"

"Please, Shiina-san. You don't need to lie to us. I know it might be difficult since we are in different classes, but you can trust me. I don't want anyone to be expelled ever again. Neither of us should fight with each other."

Hirata-kun's interruption was forceful, yet compassionate. He took great care to assure the girl that he didn't plan on using this opportunity to deal with Ryuuen and harbored the sincere wish to help them without further suffering.

She must have realized that her attempt at deceiving us wouldn't be fruitful, but she kept clinging onto the faint hope that we wouldn't keep digging, since her own class would be in trouble if the story became known.

The Class C student averted her gaze towards the ground and nodded.

"Was it Ryuuen-kun?"

Her two violet almonds opened wide, which was more than enough proof for the two of us to solve this puzzle ourselves. She noticed her mistake and looked away again while biting onto her lip.

I understood the trouble she had found herself in, because she couldn't tell the teachers about this physical abuse due to the way this school was structured. Ryuuen's followers might even lie to the faculty to protect their own interests, which would give him an alibi and worsen her situation.

She was a prisoner in her own class.

"Do you want to go back to the ship? We could walk with you."

Hirata-kun's offer was kind, but not one she had the luxury to accept.

Shiina-san shook in denial and burrowed her head in between her trembling knees.

"If I leave this island before the test is over, then Ryuuen-san will..."

I bobbed my head while the boy beside me clenched his fists in frustration.

Even though this poor girl was afraid and should feel a strong aversion towards Ryuuen, she had added the suffix '-san' behind his name, which demonstrated how much influence this man had inside his class.

From what I had gathered so far, Shiina-san was a compassionate girl that took great care to behave with proper etiquette around others. It was quite difficult to picture her among such violent classmates that wouldn't hesitate to do anything as long as they gained an advantage.

A fitting quote popped into my mind, one I had just recently discovered thanks to Horikita-senpai.

'It is better to be feared than to be loved, if one cannot be both.'

This was yet another excerpt out of Niccolo Machiavelli's 'The Prince'.

After the incident with Sudou-kun, I found myself interested in this book, which was supposed to be written for royalty as some sort of guide on how to behave and rule over one's subjects.

It drew me in to such a degree that I went out of my way to borrow a copy for our trip.

Ryuuen acted similar, like a proper tyrant, which is why his followers feared and thus listened to him. Most of his companions were still loyal, despite the three students that had been expelled because of his failed ploy for this simple reason.

Fear was a powerful deterrent and Shiina-san should be in a similar state.

Had this been Fumei's plan all along?

If I portrayed this doctrine onto the current class leaders, then Ryuuen was feared while Ichinose was loved. I didn't know enough about Class A's leader, but I assumed that Horikita-senpai wanted me to be 'both'.

This would also explain why he had me expel the Class C students.

"I understand your predicament, and we don't mind giving you a place to sleep if you want to stay with us. It might not be very comfortable since we are crammed into two tents, but it's better than sleeping all alone in the middle of the forest."

It wasn't this poor, innocent girl's fault that she had to share a class with Ryuuen.

Even if she was sent by him, this decision would bring me closer to being 'loved' by my classmates. They already feared me due to what I had done, so I couldn't lose sight of my other qualities in the process.

"But... aren't I bothering you? Your classmates will surely distrust me because I could be recognized as an enemy. I don't want to be responsible for any disputes between you guys."

She kept looking downward, guilt-ridden about her presence.

"Nonsense. Watch." Hirata-kun and I stood up as I winked at her. "Hey everyone, could you stop what you are doing for a moment and come over? Hirata-kun and I have an announcement to make."

With both of us backing this decision, no one would dare to disagree if they had planned to object at all.

The boys were... morons, for the lack of a better term. They would be beyond happy with taking her in after seeing such a cute schoolmate. We girls would feel some sort of companionship, even though few of us could fathom what the poor Shiina-san had to suffer through.

It didn't take long before everyone except Kouenji gathered around the campfire.

If I had wagered all my points on him retiring after a few hours, I would have lost all of them. He was far too flippant and surely thought of this whole exam as a hassle, so I had already prepared countermeasures for his withdrawal. Yet even after almost one day, he still swung through the forest like Tarzan.

"This is Shiina-san from Class 1-C. She will stay with us for the rest of this special exam. Ryuuen-kun kicked her out of their camp, so she has nowhere else to go. I know this is sudden, but think about her circumstances as well."

A short silence ensued as everyone regarded her with dubious looks.

"Oi, that bastard. How dare he hurt such a cute girl like Shiina-san!"

"This imbecile! Are you feeling alright Shiina-chan?"

"Do you need a blanket? Are you hungry? Thirsty maybe?"

"This Ryuuen guy really did something like that? Wow, what a dick."

"You are welcome here anytime, Shiina-san."

The girl in question backed up in surprise after multiple loud shouts rang through the forest.

From this subconscious reaction, I could gleam that she wasn't accustomed to large groups. She reminded me of Kiyotaka, but he had been much more uncomfortable back then. I suspected that the two would become good friends if they happened to talk to each other during our stay.

I snickered to myself before my ears picked up on another person's weird mumblings.

His quiet words should have only reached a handful of boys aside from me, but the contents of his short monologue made me shudder and pale in revulsion.

"Shiina-tan? Cute face... check, beautiful hair... check, adorable smile, check... But she's not 2D... Maybe I could commission someone...? Yes... Need to find a good artist that can capture... perfection."

The class split into their respective groups and headed back to complete their chores after this short announcement. The still overwhelmed girl glanced at me with glittering eyes before a gentle smile spread over her face.

"Thank you very much, Matsushita-san. I would also like to apologize for what Ryuuen-san tried to do back in June, even though some of my companions had been expelled. They have no right to complain since they had brought this on themselves, but it was still a shock for everyone since none of us knew what he had done."

"I understand your thoughts, but I stand by my decision, even if some of my classmates didn't like the way I resolved this situation. If I hadn't shown Ryuuen-kun that I would bite back, then he would have kept trampling over us."

The girl nodded, wearing a conflicted yet accepting expression.

"Since you were kind enough to take me in, I'd like to show my gratitude. If there is any way I can be of service for the remainder of this exam, I'd like to offer my assistance by gathering resources, cooking, or helping with something else."

"Mhh, if you want to help, then you can ask one of the girls. Most of them are gathering berries, mushrooms or branches for the fires while others keep pre-cooking the water for the upcoming days. Just offer your support wherever you feel necessary, and help yourself to some berries or drinks when you are free."

She could also support the boys, of course, but I wanted to keep her as far away as possible from Sotomura-kun, just to be on the safe side. I didn't think that he would do anything to her, but sometimes expressing one's thoughts was more than sufficient to cause severe mental damages.

"Alright. I will make sure to earn my place in this camp."

Shiina-san beamed and walked off towards Kushida-san, who she was acquainted with.

Hirata-kun and I decided to finish our discussion later, since a few questions had come up in the meantime. He walked towards Yukimura-kun, and Miyake-kun, who occupied themselves with the boys' tents while I checked on Ike-kun and Sudou-kun who had just finished building their makeshift skewers for the fish.

They impaled our dinner and began roasting them over the bonfire as Karuizawa-san and her entourage cleaned the berries from dirt and prepared the mushrooms with the cooking pot over one of the free campfires we had set up.

The girls had planned to cook some kind of mushroom soup, but I had my doubts about their success. We were missing a ton of ingredients for proper seasoning, so it was difficult to prepare something decent with water.

"Hey Ike-kun, about the mushrooms... which one did you say we couldn't eat?"

He looked towards Mori-san before he tightened the skewer on the contraption he had built.

"The ones under the tree over there. They won't kill you or anything, but they can cause bad infections. We should show them to everyone at least once, so that they know which ones we better leave alone."

Ichihashi-san stood to the side and tilted her head before her gaze stopped on the small mound beneath the tree.

"Can't we just burn them, then?"

"Are you crazy? If you burn them, they might spread toxic fumes or something. It's better to just throw them into the forest, or even bury them if we have enough time. I don't trust this Ryuuen person at all since he hit Shiina-san. He might use them for something shady if we don't hide them."

"Ehh?"

"That's a valid point, I guess."

"Then what about the berries? You told us to wait for a bit after you mentioned that you weren't sure. Did you have a sudden, useful revelation for us?"

Ishikura-san let out a chuckle after Maezono-san's joke.

"Oh, right." Ike-kun pulled up the sleeves of both of his arms and scrutinized his skin. "The yellow ones are fine, but we shouldn't eat the smaller red berries. Rubbing them over my skin caused irritation after a mere hour, so we shouldn't ingest them. They look similar to the edible ones that are also red but slightly bigger, so we should be especially careful. Let's bury them with the mushrooms later."

I glanced at the assortment of poisonous edibles before memorizing their appearance.

If there was any alternative, I wouldn't harm Kiyotaka, but I had to be prepared in case I couldn't find a gentle way to get him off the island in six days. Now that he went for his second trip, my decision was set in stone. If I had no other choice but to poison my boyfriend, then I would make sure to take care of him and apologize properly for not planning things to the end.

Fumei wouldn't have told him to renew the spots if there wasn't a normal way to let him retire. He might be a horrible brother, but he wouldn't expect me to poison my boyfriend when I was supposed to be loved and feared.

Right..?

Two warm hands covered my eyes from behind, and I couldn't help but display a beaming smile.

It wasn't difficult to work out who this person behind me was, because none other than my adorable boyfriend would have been brave enough to do this.

"Kiyotaka?"

"Wow, you are good."

My monotone voice was unable to convey the surprise I felt.

Kushida and Ichinose were easy to distinguish from others due to their ridiculous breast sizes, but I shouldn't have been that easy to recognize from behind.

Unless...

I peered down my frame to make sure that nothing was pressing into her, which left me puzzled about how she knew that I had been the person who shrouded her two beautiful chalcanthite orbs. With nothing else to go on, I assumed that it boiled down to something simple like, 'No one else would do that'.

"We should visit Class B's camp together next time. They'll also be happy to see you again."

"Sure, let's go tomorrow. I would have loved to accompany you today, but I'm just so busy with all the organizational matters, the food, drinks and even our sleeping places. There's so much to consider. It's exhausting."

My lovely girlfriend heaved a sigh and slumped into my embrace.

"You are doing great. I'm proud of you, Chiaki."

I spun her around and began to rub her shoulders from behind since they felt somewhat stiff. She let out a few satisfying hums and leaned back into me before closing her eyes.

"Mh... yes. That's the spot."

Her sensuous, satisfied moans were barely audible as they escaped her smirking lips. I kept massaging the beauty in front of me and tilted my lips towards her neck.

"Kiyotaka... e-everyone could be l-looking..."

Chiaki's voice quivered, her words swallowed by her soft breath. My lips caressed over her smooth nape before they traveled sideways around her neck until I eventually reached her delicate cheek.

"Didn't you say that I could act when I wanted something?"

"Don't use my w-words against me, Kiyobaka..."

An enticing giggle escaped her lips before she turned for a passionate kiss.

Her warm, moist tongue wrapped and slithered around mine, which was everything but helpful at the moment. My body temperature rose further as I reciprocated her seductive gesture and felt over her curvaceous hips before reigning myself in.

"If we continue, our classmates will smother me in my sleep."

"You started this..."

"You don't mind? Wow, you are cruel..."

Chiaki's soft laughter traveled through my ear canal as she peered into my eyes.

"What I wanted to ask before we drifted off... How did it go with Ichinose-san?"

"They said that they would be fine with me sleeping over, so I'll leave our camp after the evening roll call and come back at night to be here for the morning one. This way, we won't lose a single window or any points for absences." I peeked towards my classmates for a moment. "I'm really glad you are here, though. I wouldn't want to know what they'd do without you taking charge."

"I'm also glad you are here." My girlfriend leaned forward to embrace me before planting another kiss on my lips. "I wouldn't have been capable of trusting anyone else with the card, even if you hadn't snatched it. I figured that you were fairly capable back when we had swimming classes, but I didn't expect you to be this amazing."

"Well, no one really asked, so I said nothing." I took her hand and caressed over her smooth palm. "But you need me now, so I'll be doing my utmost to please you."

"Mhh... you are pretty good with that, even without all the running and sweating."

The two of us spent the remainder of our time catching up with each other and revisited the whole Shinohara situation now that we had a few quiet moments for ourselves. I glanced around while we talked and noted all the visible changes that had taken place during my absence.

Horikita, for example, moved towards a small fire further into the cave's entrance.

Ryuuen's spy had appeared, just as expected, and mingled with the rest of our classmates. Kikyou hovered around her with her usual lively aura and introduced her our classmates. She did a great job at making her feel at home, which didn't surprise me in the slightest.

Sae had finished pitching the enormous tent she had all to herself, which was kind of mean if we were reasonable for a moment. Her temporary housing had two entrance areas and a sleeping section in the middle that provided space for at least four people.

This was nothing short of overkill for a single teacher.

"Dinner is ready."

I sat down beside Chiaki as the whole class assembled around the campfire, forming a large circle. A few stragglers sat further away due to space constraints, but they were the ones who weren't fond of such large gatherings like Sakura, Yukimura and Miyake.

Ike's roasted fish looked appetizing, despite my previous doubts about his abilities. The fish weren't huge or anything, but the smell was still mouthwatering, which was the complete opposite to the so-called 'mushroom soup' that Karuizawa and the others had prepared.

Mushroom water would have been a more accurate description.

Sudou plopped down behind Ike to keep Sakura company while still being able to chat with his friends. Hasebe, the girl who had eyed them on the ship, sat close by and observed their interactions with a keen eye. My gaze drifted off for a moment before Kikyou's words rang through my mind.

'Mommy milkers', huh?

"I caught that one and that one."

Okitani's proud voice danced over our heads as he pointed towards two of the fish.

One of them had already been ripped apart by Sudou, while the other was carefully dismantled by our new arrival, Shiina Hiyori. Students like me, who took care of the physical labor, had dibs on the fish since they hadn't caught enough for everyone. Hirata had probably gifted her this fish due to the act she had put on for them to gain access to our class.

Even out here she behaved exemplary, just like back at school.

Shiina possessed this elegant lady-like mannerism, which was further accentuated by her overall cute appearance. She was a rather reserved student who would rather spend her time reading in the school's library or in the tea-ceremony club than to go shopping with friends.

According to the senpai Kikyou had questioned, she was a popular newcomer.

"How many did you catch, Satou?"

"Hehe... I got six!"

Satou jumped up, basking in glory, before high-fiving Karuizawa, who wore a beaming smile as well. The others began to make fun of Okitani's cocky statement from before, after they realized that their female classmate had managed to catch thrice the amount he had gotten hold of.

I wasn't a fisherman myself, but securing six fish as a first-timer was more than just impressive. If one considered the time it must have taken Ike to instruct them, they should have had even fewer chances to catch a large number.

Their private teacher revealed a faint smile before he returned to the Professor and Sudou, who were fooling around. Sotomura had apparently caught nothing, which amused our delinquent and his companions to no end. Sakura also chuckled from time to time as she kept nibbling on the roasted fish he had secured her through his privileges.

Satou Maya, huh?

I bit into my own and shared some with Chiaki.

Ike might not have any romantic interest in her and just wanted to cheer up an unhappy classmate, but I couldn't rule out the possibility that something had caught his interest. Helping them out wouldn't benefit me in the slightest, so I decided to watch over any developments for now.

"Just you wait until I leveled up my fishing skills. I shall bring a bountiful harvest tomorrow!"

Hondou's and Okitani's thunderous roars disrupted the quiet evening after listening to the Professor's outlandish statement. The girls hadn't picked up on his joke and moved away from them with queasy expressions.

He was joking, right?

Hirata and his fellowship of berry gatherers distributed their self-made juice, which they had procured from mushed fruits. They had apparently prepared them with the pre-boiled water bottles in which they had put some berries before mashing them with a branch until it was drinkable.

It wasn't difficult to do and tasted much better than plain water.

The tense atmosphere from noon was nowhere to be found, which assured me that Chiaki, Hirata and Kikyou had handled everything to utmost satisfaction. The girls even put some berries and mushroom water on the side for Horikita, who was still sleeping her fever off.

Hopefully she won't complain about the 'soup'...

Chiaki and I enjoyed my fish and some berries, which we fed each other from time to time. Since it was one of those couple things, we were being glared at by the boys for our lovey-dovey behavior. Karuizawa and Hirata were also cheered on by the girls but managed to talk themselves out of this uncomfortable situation.

Some time passed, and Ike stood up.

He was done with his meal and made an announcement in a somewhat ashamed tone.

"Ahem, so... I'd like to apologize for my behavior from before. I was too stubborn about the toilet. I wanted to save points without thinking about how the girls might feel without certain items around. It's a bit late for that, but I realized that I would have waged a small war against the girls to spend as little points as possible if Matsushita-san hadn't intervened."

I peeked at my girlfriend, who shook her head with a faint smile.

Should we lie him down beside Horikita?

"Why are you apologizing so suddenly?"

Sudou tilted his head as he pulled a few fish bones out of his oral cavity. Sakura paled, shocked by his nonchalant attitude, while Hasebe grimaced after she bit into one of her mushrooms.

"Sitting around the bonfire with you guys, well... I remembered the first time I went camping with my family. The toilet was awful. There were bugs and insects crawling around everywhere. The tent, the sleeping bag, the toilet and even my damn shoes... I was so disgusted by all those insects and the dirt that I really hated it. It was pretty unfair of me to demand the same from the girls, for which all of this should be even worse. So... I'm sorry."

He scratched his cheek and averted his gaze from everyone present.

If this Ike had attended the classes instead of the other one, then my brain might have survived this school without lasting damages. I didn't know if it was the current amiable atmosphere, or the way he reminisced about bygone times, but I wanted to learn more about the person called Ike Kanji.

My troublesome classmate had already proven his worth under specific circumstances, but to analyze and realize one's own shortcomings accurately was not an easy feat to accomplish. Saying them out loud and apologizing to around forty people was even harder.

"I'm sorry for earlier too..." Shinohara paused as her gaze wandered towards me and the sleeping Horikita. "I wasn't at all... what's the word... solution oriented. Despite my best efforts, I wasn't ready to make concessions or adjust to the current situation we have found ourselves in. Not only did I keep pushing and complaining, I also looked down on a sick classmate while doing nothing beneficial myself. But I want to change that. Someday soon..."

The few who hadn't yet heard about today's events glanced around with puzzled expressions. I heaved a sigh and was about to get up as Shinohara's voice once again echoed through the surrounding area.

"Ayanokouji-kun, you don't have to apologize for what you said. You defended your friend and in the end... e-even if I don't like to admit it... you were r-right with some things you said."

Karuizawa and the other girls stared at her in astonishment.

My remarks had been harsh and cruel, but she stood proud, admitting her mistakes, even promising improvement. Yet, I couldn't care any less about her newfound conviction because I had already determined the fate that awaited her after she dared to badmouth Horikita.

Shinohara Satsuki wouldn't survive at this school.

"This special test is a first for all of us, so I understand everyone's confusion. But thanks to Matsushita-san's leadership and the deal we made with Ichinose-san, we created a strong foundation for this special exam. Ayanokouji-kun as well, is giving his utmost to occupy and hold all the spots for us. We are all doing our best, so let's beat this exam with a lot of points!"

"I agree! If we keep working together like this, we will definitely come out on top!"

Hirata must have been inspired by those sudden confessions and rose to lighten the mood with his usual optimistic flowers of speech. Kikyou wouldn't miss such an opportunity to support our classmates with her breezy attitude, either and promptly joined him.

Class D cheered in agreement despite the doubts that should have surfaced in some of their minds. Even they must have noticed that the points I was earning were doomed, but nobody had mentioned anything.

Chiaki hadn't disappointed them until now, which was why they had faith that she would create yet another miracle.

"Ibuki-san, do you want something to eat?"

"Huh? No. Just leave me alone."

Our visitor glanced at me with an annoyed expression and turned away after saying her piece.

She was still in a bad mood because of Ryuuen-kun, which didn't surprise me. Both of them seemed to have difficulties in managing their boiling emotions, if her injuries were anything to go by.

I placed some fruits next to her before I made my way back to the campfire.

She might have said no, but this didn't mean that she wouldn't be hungry later. Ibuki-san seemed to be uncomfortable with receiving kindness, but she would have to deal with us for now if she didn't want to live in the forest all by herself for the next couple of days.

"Oh, it's Ayanokouji-kun!"

Shibata-kun waved the thin branch he was about to add to the fire, which promptly began to burn in his hand. He realized his mistake and put it back into the pit with a mortified expression.

"Yo!"

A light smile appeared on my face after his usual charming greeting.

The lively flame crackled, popped and sizzled as Shibata-kun pushed the burning branch deeper inside. Kanzaki-kun, who was still unsure about Ayanokouji-kun's intentions, greeted him with his usual smile as he told his careless classmate to be more attentive. Himeno-san, who did unspeakable things, glanced over and waved at him, before returning to her discussion with Chihiro-chan and the others.

"Sit with us!"

I couldn't help but swallow my saliva upon noticing Mako-chan's wicked smirk. If it was her, she was definitely up to something nefarious concerning Ayanokouji-kun and me.

Wait, this was terrible...

"Sure."

In a matter of seconds, everyone moved their seating position, which opened up enough space for a certain someone to sit right next to another designated individual — me. Even though they knew that I would never act on my feelings as long as he was in a relationship with someone, they kept pushing me to stay close to him.

"Mako-chan..."

A weeping voice escaped my quivering lips after I noticed her reveling face.

The handsome Class D student walked over to join our small gathering and plopped down beside me. We sat side by side in such proximity that our bodies rubbed against each other if we weren't careful.

Despite my better judgement, I had hoped that he would feel aware of my presence. He must have noticed their strange movements, which led up to this situation and might have even realized that I liked him.

How could someone as observant as him not?

I pushed these negative thoughts away and opened my mouth.

"Where do you plan on sleeping?"

"I thought of making myself comfortable near the fire until it's time to go. I would feel horrible stealing your limited space in the tent. It's just a few hours anyway, and I don't want to wake everyone when I leave."

"We wouldn't mind, you know?"

Kanzaki-kun remained true to his word and treated Ayanokouji-kun the same as usual, even though he still mistrusted him and the cryptic message he had left us. I had assured my classmate of his sincerity, yet I couldn't help but be concerned about Hoshinomiya-sensei's words, which rang through my ears like a constant reminder.

No, she was just nervous about our first exam.

Ayanokouji-kun would never willingly betray my trust or our friendship.

I knew this in my heart.

"You guys are too kind, though. It's not much space as is and I would only intrude on your well-deserved rest. I'm more than just okay with the campfire, so please don't worry or feel bad about letting me sleep outside."

"Well, you are free to barge in any time."

Hamaguchi-kun chuckled and threw some fruits into his mouth.

"You are also free to barge into Honami-chan's tent any time."

"Mako-chan!"

The resounding laughter of my classmates rang through our camp while my face flushed in an even deeper crimson color. Ayanokouji-kun, who had taken her statement as a mere joke, had a light smile on his lips.

"Just kidding."

She raised her hands and shook her head, as if this was enough of an apology.

It embarrassed me to no end that everyone in Class B knew of my infatuation for him. Every single excuse I could have come up with to convince myself that they may not have realized it yet vanished from my mind after their sudden stunt around the campfire.

My concerned gaze stopped on Chihiro-chan, who had only recently poured her heart out to me.

I was troubled about what this development might mean for our class.

If she began to dislike Ayanokouji-kun because of my feelings for him, I could never forgive myself. Chihiro-chan, just like the rest of my classmates, wanted everyone to be happy, but I felt horrible about how everything had played out.

An important friend of mine was hurting, due to the feelings I had for someone else.

There was no use in ignoring my affection towards Ayanokouji-kun, as it only worsened my desire to be closer to him. Yet, I felt responsible for Chihiro-chan's happiness, in a certain sense.

Would I be able to help her somehow?

I never asked when and why she had developed these deep feelings for me, but I realized that these weren't easy questions to answer. Now that I experienced these emotions first hand, I was just as perplexed as she must have felt.

When did I start to see Ayanokouji-kun as more than a friend?

Was it during my birthday party, or had it begun before? Could it have been the time we talked about love behind the gymnasium as I waited for Chihiro-chan to arrive? Or had it been those sincere words that still reverberated in my mind?

I remembered every single one of our interactions, but I couldn't point at any specific event where my feelings had changed from zero to one. It was a slow process over the past few months as I got to know him better than anyone else.

Our first meeting was by pure chance, as he ambled into our classroom by accident.

He might have been a little dorky, which was charming in his own way.

His face, despite being void of emotion, signaled that he had messed up and wanted to hide in his shell as fast as possible. Hoshinomiya-sensei's extroverted aura didn't help, so I was glad when I saw him a little later in the cafeteria, joking with his friends.

We hadn't known each other for long when he encouraged me to join the student council, saying that they would be foolish to reject me. Even though they had done just that, I kept trying and eventually found my place in their midst.

My approval hadn't been his doing, but I never forgot that he had believed in me.

Ayanokouji-kun had been hesitant to meet up with my classmates when I invited him, but still trusted my judgement, despite his fears. He was always kind to everyone and slowed down to match my pace whenever we strolled around together.

He was dependable and took time away from his class matters when I struggled with an imminent confession. They had a lot going on with Sudou-kun and during the midterms as well, but he always managed to meet up with us, going as far as trusting me with important information I shouldn't possess.

Without his words, I wouldn't have grasped how cruel I had been to Chihiro-chan, either.

Even though we were part of different classes, he looked out for me and was fun to hang out with. His singing might be horrible, but these small quirks were just as captivating as his usual gentleness. Despite being confessed to himself, he waited by the gymnasium to make sure that I was doing okay because he knew how painful this situation had been for me.

Then, on my birthday, he had gifted me with the best present I had ever received.

To top it all off, there was his smile.

This small, simple muscle movement that made my heart pound straight out of my chest.

I could never forget this one time when his usual impassive look broke.

If I kept listing what I loved about him, then I would be occupied with talking until he left for his round.

Ayanokouji-kun glanced over to Ibuki-san for a moment, before his concerned gaze swayed towards Hoshinomiya-sensei, who was watching us from afar. She wasn't allowed to interfere in the exam, but she was always around in case we had questions she was allowed to answer or if we wanted to purchase more items.

Her eyes narrowed into slits upon noticing his lingering stare.

"Could we talk in private for a moment?"

Again, my heartbeat sped up, causing me to fear for my life.

He had a girlfriend he was pleased with, and as long as this was the case, I could only wait and be happy for them. Still, I couldn't help but feel aware of his looming presence after hearing these words.

"S-sure."

My classmates noticed my miserable stutter, which confirmed once more that I had utterly fallen for this handsome brown-haired boy. They all revealed light smirks as he stood up and wandered into the forest.

I stood to follow him while my classmates kept talking to each other. Their voices grew fainter until they vanished between the chirping insects and the calming breeze that whistled through the forest.

We didn't walk far until he stopped at a place that felt private and comfortable.

Ayanokouji-kun sat down and leaned against a thick tree before tapping the ground beside him. I pushed all the crazy thoughts out of my mind and made myself comfortable next to him, hoping that he would start talking before he could hear my thundering heartbeat.

"Hoshinomiya-sensei doesn't seem to like me anymore. Did I do something stupid without realizing it? I mean, I'm glad that she leaves me alone for once, but receiving this sudden cold-shoulder hurts..."

His golden orbs dimmed as he turned towards me with a dejected expression.

It was a given that he had noticed the changes in her behavior, even if he hadn't been as observant as I believed him to be. Previously, she doted on him every time the two of them met, but now she treated him with indifference, or a slight aversion.

"I'm not sure. Maybe she is just anxious because this is our first ever special exam. Hoshinomiya-sensei might have just now realized that you aren't part of our class and is hesitant to stay close to you during this time."

A forced laugh escaped my lips, drowning my guilty conscience.

This little half truth was all I could muster. I felt horrible, but I couldn't tell him what she had said to me. I trusted him, maybe more than some of my own classmates, but I didn't want to throw a wedge in their relationship.

All of this might have just been a silly misunderstanding.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Whatever Ayanokouji-kun wanted to convey, it was bound to be important.

"Ibuki Mio. Chiaki thinks she is spying for Ryuuen."

"Matsushita-san does?"

I wasn't surprised that he knew about her thoughts since they were a couple. The two naturally talked about such things since they trusted each other. What amazed me, however, was the idea itself.

Was it perhaps his?

"Kikyou also brought over a Class C girl who seemed to have been beaten by Ryuuen. After I told Chiaki about Ibuki, she figured that they might be spies planted by him. To what end, she didn't know for certain, but she assumed that Ibuki was supposed to narrow down your leader and Shiina was with us to gather information on how she operated."

This was also the first idea that popped into my mind now that he spelled it out for me.

Kanzaki-kun and I had presumed that Matsushita-san wanted to pocket the first few spots to gain free bonus points before she focused on a few important places around the cave, but this theory fell through the water when Ayanokouji-kun openly stated that he wanted to sleep here because of his route.

Ibuki-san, the supposed Class C spy, had also heard this.

His girlfriend didn't seem to mind that they were broadcasting their intentions to everybody, even though it revealed Ayanokouji-kun as Class D's leader for certain. Due to some organizational matters that had come up after he had left, I didn't have enough time to think about this thoroughly, but the whole situation was more than just confusing.

Had Kanzaki-kun figured this out already?

He must have since he took a step back from managing the class for about an hour.

The puzzle began to take form as my mind began to assemble these pieces with the help of everything that had happened so far. An uncomfortable feeling began to develop in my stomach as I realized that Class D had a plan we didn't know about, which was why neither of them cared that Ayanokouji-kun was revealing himself as the leader.

Calm down, Honami... take a step back.

Without relying on guesswork or reading more into any specific situation, I began to rework through everything I knew so far and narrowed down the facts I possessed for certain, starting with the most confusing one:

Matsushita-san was surprised when I revealed Ayanokouji-kun as their cardholder.

Her mimic, gestures and reaction betrayed this. There was also the note we had received from the person who took the spots, which had to have been Ayanokouji-kun, because he left before everyone else as Class D's designated leader.

But this made no sense.

If this was true, his girlfriend should have been aware that the other classes could narrow down their leader eventually, since they didn't even try to hide his position. The Class C students, who had been planted as spies in our midst, were proof of this.

Yet, she didn't care if they found out.

This meant that our initial thoughts must have been wrong, or at least faulty, to a certain degree. Matsushita-san must have been the one who had sent Ayanokouji-kun to Class B's spot, knowing full well that it didn't matter whether his status was revealed to us.

With this, I could conclude that her surprise about our observation must have been fake.

She knew from the beginning that all classes would figure out that Ayanokouji-kun was the cardholder, because she never planned to hide this detail from us. With this in mind, my initial assumption about the note might have been wrong as well.

Could he have done all of this on his own accord, without her knowledge?

No — he wouldn't deceive us like this.

Stop it, Honami. Try to think objectively.

I like him more than I want to admit, but my classmates are also important to me.

Without listening to my feelings about him, would he have been able to pull this off?

No — there was no way that he occupied the leader position with no one noticing. If he had walked up to their teacher and asked for the card, everyone in his class should have heard him, since they were discussing their game plan with their classmates, just like every other class.

Even if he had somehow managed to accomplish such an improbable feat, it was impossible that they hadn't realized his position immediately after figuring out that someone took the leader card.

If this had been his plan, he would have sat with us during our discussion about the deal in order to make sure that everything worked out as planned because it wouldn't have made any sense to hide himself from his girlfriend, since she would have known about his plans at this point in time.

I made a terrible mistake...

'The message I had received before the midterms could have only been sent by Ayanokouji-kun.'

This was the solution I had come up with after careful consideration of the facts I knew for certain. He was the only one that had been close enough with Class B to help us. It was indisputable that he knew how the anonymous tokens worked, because he explained them to me during the incident with Sudou-kun.

Thus, the theory that he had hidden his capabilities had taken shape.

Now, with more information, a different solution revealed itself.

What if Matsushita-san used the fact that Ayanokouji-kun was friends with us to her advantage?

She must have known that the two of us were close, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to interrupt us when she believed that I wanted to confess to him. With this in mind, she could have sent us the old test papers, making us think that he had relayed this information to us.

Had he tipped us off by accident?

When I tried to pay for the information we purchased to support Class D during their troubles with Class C, he had mentioned that his girlfriend showed him how the tokens worked, which she couldn't have known about.

I glanced at the boy, who leaned against the tree with a relaxed expression.

He seemed to enjoy the silence that had ensued between us, which came as no surprise. Ayanokouji-kun wasn't an overly social person and enjoyed it much more to be alone or with a few close friends.

Shaking my head, I banished these thoughts and focused on the matter at hand.

Could Matsushita-san have planned that I would threaten her with information that had no value? Was she aware that I would feel bad about intimidating them and add some extra points to sweeten the deal further?

Had she calculated all of this beforehand?

Seventy-five points were the exact amount that allowed them to keep all of theirs untouched.

Was this just a coincidence?

No, it was too convenient.

Was she aware of my thought processes and used this to her advantage?

Did she use our relationship with Ayanokouji-kun to play me?

Right now, I had no options but to ask him and figure out if he was telling the truth. After my internal recess, I was positive that she had feigned her surprise about my threat.

If she did this once, then why not twice?

She seemed confused about the deal I had proposed, but what if she hadn't been?

What if I had danced in her palm the whole time?

"Ah, that reminds me, Ayanokouji-kun!" I buried the doubts in my heart and feigned the usual, happy Ichinose Honami that everyone knew. "I never thanked you for leaving the note for us. Due to the arrangement we made with Matsushita-san, we will gain more points than we had hoped for, all thanks to you. For the midterm papers as well, we never conveyed our gratitude."

Time seemed to have stopped, as I was never so scared to hear his voice before.

I had been so blinded by my belief that he was the person behind the token that I disregarded Matsushita-san, who joined us after she and Ayanokouji-kun became a couple, which is why she never made it on the list of suspects.

What if she had only asked him out because of his connection with us?

"Huh? I haven't sent you any midterm papers. I wanted to, but Chiaki said that it was better to keep this information to ourselves so that we could make up for our deficit after the first month. I figured that she had reconsidered after you told me that you guys had received the papers and extended your thanks to her. The note was also Chiaki's idea, so you shouldn't thank me for this opportunity."

Those cruel words kept echoing in my mind.

Just how far ahead had she planned all of this?

Matsushita-san used my connection with Ayanokouji-kun to her advantage before the two of us even knew each other. She must have seen him with us and devised this scheme to plant a false seed of trust between him and us, which she could exploit whenever she needed to.

She had used his kindness and our relationship to gain an advantage for the future.

How... was this even possible?

I took another step backwards and reevaluated everything I knew for a third time. Then a fourth... and a fifth. With every new calculation, I crossed off a potential scenario until only one was left:

Matsushita-san had orchestrated all of this from the beginning.

Her plan must have been to make us think that Ayanokouji-kun betrayed us, which would explain why Hoshinomiya-sensei mistrusted him. She noticed that something was wrong, but was unaware that he wasn't pulling the strings. Our teacher couldn't know that his girlfriend exploited him to get to us.

Class D's leader had set up this elaborate scheme in which Ayanokouji-kun would have been painted as the bad guy if he hadn't shared certain trivial information with us, which prevented her plan from succeeding.

Sadness and fear welled up inside of me.

Not only had I messed up this special exam, with which we could have made a huge step towards Class A, I also failed to realize that we had been used from the beginning. The only hope I had left was that Kanzaki-kun wouldn't step into such a trap due to his cautious nature.

He would surely lead our class better than I could.

The small tears I tried to hold back squeezed through my eyes.

My class had trusted me unconditionally, and I had miscalculated during such an important time.

"Ayanokouji-kun..."

His soothing name left my mouth, as I was unable to hold back the yearning of my deepest desires. I was ashamed of showing him such an unsightly, disgraceful part of myself. Embarrassed that he saw the weak, fragile version of Ichinose Honami that I had trusted no one with.

It was painful to see everything I had built up, all the trust, companionship and expectations I had fostered, crumble into dust right in front of me because of a single mistake.

My classmates wouldn't fault me for this, which made me even more frustrated.

This single misjudgment resulted in a plethora of wrong decisions.

The time-bomb she had placed in our midst would have kept ticking and she would have played her card eventually. If it hadn't been now, she would have done so at a later date, once an opportunity presented itself.

Was this her way of punishing me for falling in love with her boyfriend?

If she could think and plan this far ahead, then she must have noticed my feelings for him. She could be quite possessive, seen by her actions behind the gymnasium. This, however, would require her to care about Ayanokouji-kun, but I wasn't sure if this was the case or if she had only used him.

Something warm and comfortable embraced me.

My shoulders, chest and back were cradled by a gentle warmth which mitigated the whole situation. Like the scummy thief I was, I leaned further into him and burrowed my head in his gentle shoulder.

Never in my life had I felt so saved, so comfortable.

I barely managed to hold back my tears due to his reassuring presence alone.

Kanzaki-kun must have realized that we had been played, since he had taken the time to think things through a few hours ago. He should have understood everything after Ayanokouji-kun had asked if he could sleep in our camp, because he must have already assumed that Ibuki-san was a spy, while I believed her lies due to my inherent nature to see the best in people.

Was this the reason he behaved as usual in front of him?

He must have given me this extra time to figure things out for myself, since he had faith in my abilities to recognize my faults and learn from the mistakes I made before it was too late. If I hadn't realized it today, he would have informed me of his conclusions tomorrow and we would have followed his countermeasures from this point onwards.

Ayanokouji-kun's warm embrace didn't loosen, even after some time had passed. He held me in his strong, sturdy arms and caressed my back until I managed to pull myself away from his irresistible scent and the compelling warmth he exuded.

"Did something happen? With your question from before... did Chiaki go back on her word or something?"

"No..." I shook my head, forcing a smile. "I was just being silly, that's all. This whole exam is quite overwhelming, and I felt so lost and alone for a moment. Not because of something anyone had done, just because I miss school, you know?"

Matsushita-san might have messed with us, but I wouldn't use this to drive a wedge between them. This wasn't the sort of person I wanted to be. Ayanokouji-kun was happy in his relationship, but if I found out that she was playing with his feelings, then I would rain hell down upon her.

"I miss school as well. Let's go visit the karaoke with everyone once we are back."

"Mh..." My lips parted after a brief respite to collect my jumbled thoughts. "Matsushita-san, she doesn't know that you told me about Ibuki-san, does she?"

"She doesn't... We talked about it, but she wanted me to keep the information under wraps for now because she worried that they might notice changes in your behavior." He clenched his fists and peered at me. "But we are in an alliance, right? We should work together, so it would be weird to keep such important updates from you. I also know that I can trust you, and only you, which is why I wanted to talk to you in private."

I couldn't stop the beaming smile that formed on my face, even if I wanted to.

"Thank you, Ayanokouji-kun. I'll make sure that you don't regret putting your trust in me."

This piece of information was enough to put me back on my feet, because not all was lost just yet. The reason he could tell me all of this was because she really liked him. This meant that the plan I had spun up would still work.

I just needed to change my reasons for our proposal to form an incentive to agree, which wasn't difficult.

She was the same as me, after all.

Ayanokouji-kun was her blind spot.

Ichinose and I ambled back to Class B's bonfire after our short, yet fruitful talk.

She must have been busy throughout the day, or she would have realized what I had prepared for them sooner. Kanzaki had already figured it out but hadn't informed her, which was an interesting decision.

Did he believe that she could figure it out herself or was there another motive?

The beauty beside me nodded towards her classmate, who returned her gesture in kind. They had found an understanding through this wordless conversation, which assured me of their continued support for each other.

Even though Class B was still in the midst of the game, they thought that they had secured an advantage, now that both of them realized that they were being attacked by 'Chiaki'.

Would her pacifistic approach change after this revelation?

The atmosphere inside their camp was as pleasant as usual. A myriad of things could be said about Class B, but their trust and solidarity was on another level, which was both a blessing and a curse.

I sat down beside Ichinose and glanced over their current setup.

They still had most of their points left, just as planned.

To my surprise, she had bought less than anticipated, which meant that she must have come up with a similar solution to their point troubles. I was quite surprised that they hadn't purchased a toilet, but she must have shared her ideas with the class and they agreed that it would have been a needless expense.

Nothing but the campfire illuminated our surroundings, since the last remaining rays of the sun had long since vanished. The Class B students were rather lively as we kept talking and laughing for a while longer before the first students went to sleep.

One after another, they found their own cozy spot inside their tents or around the camping spot. Kanzaki, Shibata and a few other boys were fine with sleeping outside and tucked themselves in with leaves and scrub, which explained why they had only bought one tent for the boys.

We continued our idle chatter until only Ichinose and I were left at the blazing campfire.

Despite having all the space in the world, neither of us had moved to increase the distance between our bodies that rubbed against each other when we moved. Most of her classmates weren't asleep just yet, and I could feel the gazes of the boys sleeping outside hovering over us, as if watching out for their precious leader.

"This calming silence is really nice as well, isn't it?"

Ichinose's alluring voice was a lot softer than usual, as she took care not to bother her companions.

The dancing flames supported her delicate features and kept reflecting my appearance in her mesmerizing oceanic orbs. A captivating smile appeared on her face and I was unable to move my gaze off her enticing figure that shone through the darkness like a guiding light.

"Yeah, it's pretty cozy here."

I pushed one of the prepared branches into the fire and listened to the calming crackles.

Even though the girls had invited Ibuki into the tent multiple times, she kept refusing and was now leaning against a far away tree with closed eyes. I doubted that she was asleep, but that wasn't my problem to deal with.

"There's really nothing that beats the smell of nature, the cool breeze after a hot day and the warmth of a bright bonfire at night." She snickered and reached forward to warm her hands. "What do you think, Ayanokouji-kun?"

I tilted my head and began to think about the answer to her question.

This was my first day camping outside.

Due to the books I have read, I knew how trips like this one worked in theory, but to experience such a scenario had some different elements to it that couldn't be gleamed from black ink on a white page.

Back in April, when I began to attend this school, almost everything was new to me.

Since then, I had made memories and experienced an endless amount of new things that mere books were unable to teach me. I tasted ice cream, chocolate, cake and other confectionaries. Some were too sweet or bitter, while others were perfectly balanced, as all things should be.

To understand all the different aspects behind the concept of 'love' was another one of my goals.

For this, I had hoped to get a smart and beautiful girlfriend with whom I could share these sentiments. If someone had told me that I would find such a person this soon into my adventure, I wouldn't have believed them.

This school was also the first place that allowed me to utilize some things I had only learned in theory.

It wasn't easy, maybe even impossible, to break all those new experiences down into a single event I would consider 'the best' or 'unbeatable'. Sitting here with Ichinose by my side was heartwarming, but most of the interactions I had in this school were special to me in certain ways.

I was glad that I had taken Matsuo's help.

Without him, I would have never learned about the things that I now considered dear to me. I would have never gotten to know people I looked forward to seeing again day after day.

"This is difficult to answer. I can't really narrow it down to a single best moment. Hanging out with you guys, playing with my classmates and just visiting this school are already experiences I cherish. I'm just happy and thankful that I get to experience so many new things after being homeschooled for such a long time, I think."

Ichinose's beaming laugh echoed through the silent night before she covered her charming mouth in fear of waking her classmates. She kept chortling into her palm before she wiped a tear off her glistening spheres.

"That's such an Ayanokouji-kun answer."

Hey...

What's that supposed to mean?

We kept goofing around for a few more minutes until a cute yawn escaped her pursed lips. She rubbed her tired eyes and regarded me with a gentle, yet worried expression.

"I'm sorry, Ayanokouji-kun, but I think I'm going to head to bed as well."

"Don't worry about it. Sleep well and have a good night, Ichinose."

Her whole body wobbled, which meant that she had reached her limit for today. She must have attempted to stay awake as long as possible so that we could chat just a little more. Besides being worried for my health, she loved spending time with her friends, so I wasn't confused or surprised by her behavior.

"Mh, you too. Please be careful out there, alright? If you need anything, you can always wake me. Do you want to have one of our flashlights? I don't want you hurting yourself because it's dark."

"Thanks for the offer, but I have everything I need."

I tapped the flashlight that I had stashed in the pocket of my jersey.

"Alright then, if you say so." She stood before stretching her arms out. "Have a good night once you are back. Sleep tight."

Ichinose walked off into the tent and zipped it back up.

I pushed a few more branches into the pit and lay down. Since I had some time to sleep, it would be a waste not to use it. Staying up wouldn't be a problem either, but there was no need to do so right now.

My biological clock soon informed me that it was time to begin.

I stood, dusted myself off and glanced at Ibuki, who feigned a deep slumber. After a profound yawn, I stretched my arms, similar to Ichinose, to make the spy believe that the current situation was putting a strain on me, before I dashed off towards the first spot on my rotation.

There were around four minutes left when I reached the first metallic device that waited for me in a small clearing. Bored, I grabbed a stick and played a few rounds of tic-tac-toe against myself, losing twice.

Once the timer ran out, I renewed the occupational status, which was confirmed by a pleasant audio cue. The display began to count down from eight hours once more, showing that Class D held the rights to this spot.

Similar scenes repeated throughout the night as I kept renewing one apparatus after another. Soon a small detour into our camp was in order, since I had to occupy the base out of route, to make sure that no one else took it before me.

Everyone except Kikyou was asleep when I strolled into the dim cave.

She stood at the back of the cavern next to the spot machine and raised her head when she picked up on my footsteps. Her complexion seemed rather moody, as she was probably tired from this exhausting day.

Walking through the forest and attending to chores was different to hanging out with friends or learning, so it came as no surprise that most of my classmates were especially tired today.

"What's wrong?"

"Why the fuck couldn't we have done this early in the morning?"

Kikyou's irritated voice was quiet, almost impossible to understand if I didn't stand right in front of her. The tents were rather far away from our position and Horikita slept near the entrance, which made it impossible for anyone but the insects to listen to our conversation.

"Aren't you happy that you got out of that stuffed tent?"

I glanced at her half opened tracksuit and parts of her dark-blue underwear that had been revealed because of this. Beads of sweat kept trickling down her enticing cleavage and stained her bra, coloring it in an even deeper shade. The pants she wore had been pulled down on one side, exposing her smooth skin and the side wings of her turquoise panties.

My queen seemed unaware of this, so I assumed that her slacks had lowered when she was asleep. The friction of the girls' bodies rubbing against each other due to the limited space was more than enough to accomplish this.

After realizing where on her body my gaze lingered, she glanced downwards into her own cleavage. A small sigh escaped her frowning lips as she faced me with an unreadable expression.

She didn't seem angry, but not surprised, either.

"You really are a pervert, aren't you?" Kikyou rolled her eyes and leaned back against the wall without zipping up her jersey." It's fucking hot inside. Without airing out my clothes, I'd probably die."

"There was a slight change of plans, just giving you a heads-up."

"No surprises here. You probably came up with something to fuck over whoever is helping Matsushita, right?" She stopped and heaved yet another sigh. "My eyes are up here, you know?"

"I do. Let's talk about tomorrow, though..."

The fresh nightly breeze brushed past me as I reached the next spot.

A branch cracked in the darkness somewhere to my right and something shuffled through the treetops to my left before flying off. The winds howled through the thicket behind me, which sounded as if someone had walked through the undergrowth.

Ryuuen hid in one of the bushes in front of me, without making a single sound.

His eyes were fixated on the machine like a predator that stalked his unsuspecting prey. A loud, thought-provoking tingle echoed through the eerie night as the spot accepted my card without complaints, proving once again that I was indeed the cardholder in this exam.

The boy, hidden in the dense thicket, kept watch as I vanished into the darkness.

This was his way of checking whether I would keep occupying the spots throughout the night. He could also verify that I had done nothing suspicious, since he hadn't been close enough to be sure of this when he observed me at noon. The night vision cameras would have also picked up on my person and double checked if I was the designated leader before reserving the spot for Class D.

Would he play with me and lay a trap on one of the upcoming days?

I couldn't help but anticipate such a move, as it would allow me to annihilate the person known as Ryuuen Kakeru until not a single speck of him was left. The possibility that Chiaki had also foreseen that he might attack me during the night was the precise reason that he wouldn't go this far during this exam.

Katsuragi Kohei was the next person I ran into during my trip.

The bald man stood behind a lush tree and observed me as I occupied yet another spot on my list. Little did he know that the shimmering moon reflected off the small pond to his right, as well as his smooth hairless head. This entanglement of circumstances made him stark visible, even through the darkness that consumed the island.

Should I call out to him?

I decided against such a drastic action, since he was already bald and about to lose his position in Class A. There was no reason to kick people while they were down if I couldn't gain any advantages by doing so.

After completing my round, I arrived back at our camp.

The bonfires that Ike and the others lit up had long since sizzled out or barely smoldered. It would have been a hassle to start them all up again, so I took care of the one next to Horikita before slipping into the cold cave where we had deployed our tents.

A mixture of sweat and other uncomfortable odors that should not be named drifted into my nostrils as I opened the tent I was assigned to. It might have been fine going in with all of them, as this would have given my body enough time to acclimate, but this was disgusting.

I backed off, zipped the tent up and walked away.

The night wasn't freezing or even cold, but I didn't want to sleep outside if I didn't have to.

Horikita had repeatedly stated that she wanted to sleep alone in front of the cave, so not even Hirata could complain about her decision. She was fast asleep, which I had confirmed when I relit her fire, so I had no qualms about walking towards another tent in the distance.

My body and mind were cleansed as I stepped into the rather comfortable anteroom.

The structure was well ventilated through some openings that were covered by nets to keep bugs and other potential visitors outside. I glanced over our camp one last time and closed the entrance before taking off my shoes, which I placed next to the other pair of sneakers.

The zipper to the sleeping compartment was rather noisy, however.

"What are you doing, Ayanokouji?"

The pleasant voice of the tent's owner was as freezing and stimulating as always.

Her head was the only part of her body that stuck out of the comfortable sleeping bag she called her own. Beside her lay a thick book with a white cover, titled 'How to deal with your rebellious teenager'.

She wouldn't mean me, right?

"Do you seriously have a sleeping bag as well? The world really is unfair."

"Stop with your games and get out."

Did she take lessons to sound this intimidating when she was younger?

This dismissive behavior must have been something deeply ingrained into her being, since she adopted her usual derogatory aura as soon as she woke up from her slumber.

"I didn't mean to wake you, sorry."

The brown-haired beauty kicked my leg and tried to shoo me away like an annoying insect.

"That's not the problem. Leave and go to sleep already."

It was kind of amusing seeing her flustered again.

Was her clipboard around here somewhere?

"Why do you think I'm here? You are occupying perfectly usable space for almost three people in a four person tent. What's up with that? Be a good sensei and let your beloved, hard-working student sleep here for a night."

Her tired eyes widened when she realized that I wasn't kidding.

"Get out. This is the teachers' tent. Students aren't allowed here."

"I won't tell if you won't tell."

I sat down and moved some of the stuff she had stored on my 'bed' away from her while she kept kicking my shin. One of those items was a blue gym bag with her clothes inside. I couldn't help myself despite my best efforts and took a peek.

"Ayanokouji!"

Sae raised her body and rolled over, pushing the bag with her black underwear aside. In the same motion, she pressed down on my shoulder, towering over me as the sleeping bag around her slipped off, revealing her black see-through balconette bra and fitting non-see-through underpants.

"Be serious for once. If anyone sees us like this, we are both in trouble. Now. Get. Out."

"You mean if someone sees how you pushed down a poor, defenseless student wearing nothing but see-through underwear to ensnare him in your seductive grasp? Hee~... Sae-chan-sensei you perv~."

I injected some rare Amikura-essence into my acting to bring this rewarding scene to life. If I was being honest, I was trying to distract myself from her two bouncy peaks that hovered in front of my eyes.

This was my first time seeing breasts, areolae, nipples and everything else that was exciting about a woman's secondary sex characteristic in the flesh. The exposed children I had observed during physical checkups in the White Room couldn't be compared to the wonders I had just caught sight of.

Back then, I felt no sexual stimulation as I examined every nook and cranny of boys and girls alike to evaluate their physical prowess. I thought about how to subdue and injure them if I was ever ordered to. It didn't matter which gender you had in the White Room, everyone was a subject and thus treated the same.

Sae reached out to a thin white crop top that she had draped over a cord and put it on to hide her assets before she karate-chopped my head again and again. She soon noticed that I deflected most of her hits and stood up with a sigh.

"Do what you want, but don't get me into trouble." She pivoted around in one swift motion, aiming her ruthless kick straight at my head, which I barely managed to stop. "And stop looking at my butt while I'm talking to you."

The deep purr of her voice was intoxicating.

"Get you into trouble? Never would I ever inconvenience my beloved Sae-chan-sensei."

She shook her head and heaved an exasperated sigh before she turned around and slipped back into her sleeping bag.

"If you touch me, I will murder you."

"What if I touch myself?" Her movements halted momentarily before she turned around with a sinister grin. She took a few steps towards me before raising her hand with the most artic glare I had seen to date. "Wait, Sae —"

I rubbed my tired eyes and crawled out of the stuffy tent.

The clock displayed 7:12AM, which meant that I woke up sooner than expected, likely due to the warm and smelly situation inside. Even though the fresh breeze blew into the cave, it wasn't helpful against the sweat of twenty girls who were crammed into such a small space.

"Good morning, Matsushita-san."

Hirata-kun strolled towards me from the cave's inner part where the spot machine was located. He reached into the boys' tent and grabbed the toothbrush we had been supplied with from his bag.

"Good morning, Hirata-kun. Is Kiyotaka inside?"

"No, he seems to be around here somewhere. I checked the spot machine, and he occupied the cave at night as planned, but he wasn't in the tent when I woke up. He's probably outside gathering berries or brushing his teeth as well."

My tiredness was replaced by worry.

Could something have happened yesterday?

Hirata-kun might not know this, but the cave wasn't Kiyotaka's final destination. It was one of the earlier spots in his rotation, which meant that he could still be outside. If he ran into a problem somewhere on his route, we would need some time to find him, even if we knew that he occupied the cave.

I gazed around in a frenzy.

Calling out to him was another option, but I didn't want to alarm and wake the whole class if he had just slept outside or really went to gather berries early in the morning.

My eyes stopped on our instructor, who was already awake.

"Good morning, Chabashira-sensei. Have you seen Kiyotaka by chance?"

Her intimidating brown orbs stopped on my person. She glared at me, as if she had stepped on a bee or something. Even in a school-issued jersey, she was professional and scary as always.

"He's fine. I saw him this morning."

Her voice was freezing and much more sinister than usual.

Maybe that was to be expected, though. She also had to stay here on this island with us, even though she could have had a great time at school. This exam is almost as bothersome for our teachers as for us students.

"Thank you."

I took a deep breath and cleansed my face with some pre-boiled water. After brushing my teeth and taking care of some other sanitary measures, I caught sight of Kiyotaka, who ambled back into our encampment with a handful of fresh fruits.

"Good morning Chiaki, Hirata."

A sigh of relief escaped my lips.

There were no injuries, scratches, or other signs that he wasn't doing well. This knowledge alone relieved me to no end, since I had been worried about his health due to the sudden pressure that weighed on him.

Kiyotaka's trips rewarded us with a good amount of points.

Knowing him, he would begin to push himself past his limit if it meant helping me and the class. I told him that he shouldn't wear himself out, but which boy would tell his girlfriend that he was exhausted and couldn't continue?

The three of us spent our time with small chores until roll call drew closer.

Hirata-kun and Kushida-san, who had joined us some time ago, began to wake our remaining classmates. Kiyotaka sat beside Horikita-san and felt her temperature to make sure that she wasn't getting worse.

I remembered something that Mori-san had told us once as I saw how close she was to him.

'Did you know that Horikita-san can fight? Ike-kun tried to put his hand on her shoulder and she did some karate-like moves and locked him up. He kept wailing that it hurt the whole time while she ate without batting an eye.'

She was sick and Kiyotaka went out of his way to take care of her, so I hoped that she wouldn't beat him up for such a petty reason. Despite her low popularity in class, she seemed to be a kind girl. Otherwise, Kiyotaka and she wouldn't have been such close friends.

"Good morning everyone."

Shiina-san gave an elegant bow before she brushed her teeth and helped with the assignments. Kushida-san jumped over to her as soon as she awoke and began to chat with the poor girl to make her feel welcome with in our group.

"Does anyone know where Kouenji-kun is?"

He was still the most dangerous wildcard that might throw the whole class into chaos if he retired. I didn't doubt that he would leave as soon as he felt bored or bothered by something, because that was how he had always behaved.

My classmates shook their heads, which caused my stomach to churn.

Kiyotaka tapped my shoulder as I was about to assume the worst-case scenario.

"He said he wanted to sleep on the beach. And something like, 'the stars should be thankful to bask in the glory of a perfect existence such as myself, Ayanokouji-boy'."

"So he's still at the beach?"

"I'm not sure. Why?"

His inquiry was acknowledged by none other than our homeroom teacher, Chabashira-sensei, who strolled towards her tent with a clipboard in hand. The woman cleared her throat and gazed over us.

"Well, it's eight. You guys know what that means. Roll call begins now."

She kept calling us one by one, ticking off our names each time one of us confirmed our presence. This went on for a few moments until she eventually reached the missing boy.

"Kouenji Rokusuke."

An unnerving silence enveloped the base camp as everyone glanced around. It took a small load off my mind that she had even called him, since this meant that he hadn't retired just yet.

"Kouenji Rokusuke?"

Once again, her stoic voice rang through the area.

My classmates became agitated, some downright frustrated due to his continued shenanigans. Chabashira-sensei ignored these laments and was about to scratch off his name when his annoying manner of speech cut through all of their complaints.

"I'm here sensei-girl."

His body was dripping wet, staining the soil in what smelled like salt water. He caressed over his wild mane, wearing nothing but a speedo, which caused some girls to salivate due to his well-toned body.

Kouenji-kun was narcissistic and annoying, but no one could state that he didn't possess a well-trained form. He wasn't necessarily my type, both behavior and appearance wise, but I could understand that girls would hover around him due to his looks and martial status.

"I'll let you off the hook this time, but if I have to repeat myself more than once, there will be consequences for the class." She ticked off his name and glanced at him. "Is that understood, Kouenji?"

"Please, do not worry, sensei-girl. I properly educated the cheeky bottlenose dolphin that stole the fish I have procured for these naked apes. He won't dare to trouble me again. You may continue with roll call now, even though I would understand that you might feel smitten by my perfect appearance."

Chabashira-sensei rolled her eyes at him.

"You caught a fish, huh? How? We stored all the rods in the cave."

Ike-kun grimaced in ridicule, as if he had caught Kouenji-kun in a lie.

"Fishing rods?" His cordial laughter shook the treetops around the clearing. "A perfect existence has no need for such crude hunting tools. I'm not a cave dweller like you poor chaps."

His conceited smirk grew wide.

Should I stop them?

It was undeniable that he was joking, but did Ike-kun really have to challenge him?

"How'd you do it then? Caught them with your hands?"

Ichihashi-san's sarcasm was difficult to overhear. The others soon followed up with a round of applause and stifling shrieks. The boys chimed in as well, increasing the volume further.

Our instructor only pinched her nose in desperation.

"I did indeed. That rather insolent little sea creature tried to steal my prey, however, so I had to wrestle with it. A perfect existence won't bow to anyone, much less an arrogant aquatic mammal. Due to my quarrel with this defiant animal, I almost arrived late to roll call. Be thankful, children."

"Of course you wrestled with a dolphin, Kouenji. Did it also swim out into the ocean? Did you have to paddle away from sharks, or did you fight them off as well? Maybe you brought one with you?"

I couldn't understand why he kept amusing our classmates with his nonsensical comments just to infuriate them. No sane person would have believed his words anyway, so why were they trying to start a fight?

"It swam a few miles, yes. I stopped chasing the dolphin as it realized that it offended a perfect existence and apologized by returning the fish it had stolen. There was no need to hold a grudge since it had learned its lesson."

"So it left the fish for you and swam off, huh?"

Ike-kun and the other boys almost rolled around in the dirt due to their contagious laughter. Most of my classmates had long since joined them while Hirata-kun, Kushida-san and I observed the situation with complex expressions.

"It did, which is why I dumped the fish right there."

Kouenji-kun raised his thumb and pointed backwards.

My eyes, just like the ones of my classmates, moved towards the spot he indicated.

The jaws of every Class D student dropped because of the unbelievable sight that awaited us.

Near the end of the clearing, under one of the many trees, lay a salmon with a length of almost one meter. It had to be said that the fish Ike-kun, Satou-san, and the others had caught yesterday had only been a pitiful fraction of this one.

Silence descended onto our base while Kouenji kept blowing onto his nails, cleansing them from the dirt that had amassed due to his struggle with the dolphin. Chabashira-sensei gave up calling out names and just ticked off every student she could see, as none of my classmates were responsive.

This guy...

"Nagumo-kun from second-year Class A. Please come see Fujikawa-sensei in the faculty office."

This announcement repeated twice before the speakers turned off with a frizzling, static sound.

My gaze swung over to Nagumo, who was occupied with student council work. His busy hands stopped as he put down the ballpoint pen before he glanced at me with a questioning look. After a slight nod from my side, he excused himself and left the room with quick, purposeful strides.

The door shut, and my phone began to vibrate.

Another second oscillation rang through the room, originating from Tachibana's phone.

[03:47:12 PM[Kiryuin Fuka] You don't want to miss this.

Tachibana peeked at me for a moment before showing me the message she had received.

[03:47:14 PM[Insolent Kohai from the second year #2] Tell Manabu that he doesn't want to miss this.

A deep sigh escaped my pursed lips as I pinched my nose. My classmate, the student council secretary, dodged my following stare with an embarrassed blush during the time it took me to readjust my glasses for proper seating.

"Tachibana, your naming sense is... how should I put it? It needs getting used to. Please don't show your phone to anyone from now on or rename your contacts to reflect the position you hold at this school, would you?"

"I-I'm r-really sorry, President."

She should have understood her mistake, which is why I left it at that.

"Let's humor her then, shall we?"

The two of us stood and strolled towards the faculty offices where we found Kiryuin leaning against the adjacent wall. She surveyed the surroundings with her usual twisted smirk and regarded the two of us with a slight nod.

"Well, here I am. So what is this about?" I peered at the shut door in front of us before turning back towards her. "Not even I have the power to walk into the faculty offices as I please."

The sneer on her face grew wider and morphed into a terrifying laugh.

"You don't need to. Just perk up your ears and listen to the music."

The current situation amused her to no end, so I decided that the business she had with me was worth the wait, even if it took a minute or two off my busy schedule. With not much to do aside from talking to her, I leaned against the windowsill beside one of the most interesting Kohai's at this school.

Tachibana glared at Kiryuin for her usual disrespectful attitude towards me, whereupon the latter stuck her tongue out with a playful demeanor. My classmate flushed in rage and tapped the ground with her heels, ready to pounce at her Kohai.

As I was about to reprimand her once again, Nagumo's despairing voice resounded through the eerie hallway.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN I'M EXPELLED?"

Authors Note:

Since the teacher's name was never specified, I'm dubbing Nagumo's homeroom teacher, Karuho Fujikawa (藤川 軽保). If we'll ever get to know their real name, I will edit this chapter.

- Word Count: 18861 / 87082 Characters

Released 13.08.2022

Chapter 23 - Forfeit

My eyes shot open in surprise as his angered voice echoed through the empty corridor.

I glanced at the president, whose complexion was similar to my own. It had to be known that this was one of the few times his expression had visibly changed from his handsome resting face into a surprised one. He wouldn't usually show such a feedback to unforeseen actions or discussions, but listen and process everything that was going on.

But this... this was a first.

The heated argument inside the faculty office continued, but it was almost impossible to hear anything due to the thick walls and hushed voices inside. It was barely possible to understand a few angered words that escaped Nagumo-kun's mouth, but it was hopeless to piece their meaning together without the proper context.

"How did he do that?"

Horikita-san's trembling voice was colored in astonishment, while the receiver of said question, the insolent second year Kouhai, only smirked in response. I was about to reprimand her for not answering the president's question when a loud slap disrupted my focus.

Nagumo-kun must have hit the table, or a similar wooden object, with a considerable amount of force for such an echo to reach outside the room. His fury of being expelled in such weird circumstances was warranted, however.

What kind of ridiculous situation was this?

"Whoever could you mean, Manabu-senpai~?"

How dare she be this insolent?!

Note to myself: teach her a lesson before graduation.

"Stop with the jokes, Kiryuin. You know as well as I do that such an event is unprecedented. How did he manage to attack Nagumo, the student council's vice president, without even being on the school premises?"

I glanced at Horikita-san with widened eyes, unable to believe my ears.

The face of my handsome classmate was covered in genuine confusion as he posed this question to the girl in front of us. Horikita-san, the person I followed, the one I admired and cherished more than anyone else, was unable to process the current situation.

His stern demeanor was replaced by interest, intrigue and wonder.

Wait, someone expelled Nagumo from outside the school?!

Only after recovering from the shock that Horikita-san's behavior had sent through my spine did I realize what an impossible remark he had uttered. Such an act was inconceivable, even for someone as smart and resourceful as him.

I was about to inquire further when the insolent Kouhai's phone vibrated.

She took it out and glanced at the Caller-ID before a sneer surfaced on her face. Nothing but contempt and ridicule reflected in her eyes while she looked at the vibrating device in her palm until the pulses stopped.

"That damn bitch! Why isn't she picking up? Fuck!"

A loud crash rang through the hallway as something heavy smashed into the ground and broke apart. There weren't many objects like this in the faculty offices, which narrowed the potential victim down to vases, flowerpots or printers.

If my eyes could physically open any wider, they would have done so by now.

Even though Nagumo-kun could be considered Horikita-san's enemy, he was a highly capable and rather calm student. He had never reacted this severely when something important in the student council didn't go his way.

"That was fun. Let's set him on silent again..."

I might not have liked this contemptuous female Kouhai, but Horikita-san had assured me that she was one of the most capable students in the current roster. Nagumo-kun seemed short on points and wanted to borrow some from her. It would only make sense that he tried to nullify his expulsion, but gathering twenty million points wasn't easy. He should have had quite a few saved up, but apparently not enough to protect his position at the school without outside help.

Once again, a phone vibrated.

Horikita-san didn't even glance at his pocket and ignored the oscillations without hesitation. Instead of answering the call for help, he occupied himself with the insolent Kouhai that leaned against the windowsill.

"You don't know either, do you? He informed you that something would happen and you might have even done something for him since he isn't here, but you still don't know how he managed to pull this off."

The dragon's grin grew even wider, as if she was baring her fangs.

"You are awfully calm for someone who might lose his vice president. Don't you feel pressured, or a little worried for your beloved Kouhai? I thought the two of you were besties?"

She supported her stomach as a vicious laugh escaped her lips.

Horikita-san's expression didn't change at all, while I was getting more annoyed by the second. This woman wasn't only making fun of Nagumo-kun, who I couldn't care any less about, but she was also mocking Horikita-san, who couldn't figure out what happened, even though she had no clue either.

But who is 'he'?

The only students who weren't at school at the moment were the first-years who conducted the island exam that Horikita-san had informed me of. Still, they were only that — first-years. This wasn't a battlefield where any of them could just —

"Ayanokouji Kiyotaka..?"

My quivering whisper was barely audible. Both Horikita-san and the insolent Kouhai picked up on my mutterings, however. She tilted her head while he glanced at me, unsurprised by my conclusion.

"Kouhai-kun? What does he have to do with all of this?"

This disrespectful woman didn't even try to hide her mockery as she tapped her lips with her index finger and made an expression that conveyed deep thought. Her gestures supported this 'confusion', but even a blind man would have realized that she was messing with us from the tone of her voice alone.

Horikita-san's phone stopped vibrating before mine began.

I pulled it out of my pocket, just to make sure that it wasn't something important that concerned our class. The Caller-ID read [Insolent Kouhai from the second year #1, confirming my initial assumption that he tried to reach Horikita-san through me after being unable to get hold of him.

"Ignore it, Tachibana."

He should have known that there was no need to mention this to me. The moment Horikita-san had decided not to pick up the phone was the moment I resolved myself to do the same.

The woman's face turned even more sinister.

"You two are seriously cold-hearted. Poor Miyabi..."

Her acting worsened with every word that left her mouth, as she was unable to hide her amusement.

Neither of us cared much about Nagumo-kun's looming expulsion.

The president was disappointed in him and knew that he wanted to change this school for the worse, while this woman had cherished nothing ever since I have gotten to know her through the president. Yet, we were all curious how this boy managed to endanger his steadfast position.

Like Horikita-san mentioned, she didn't know what the insolent first-year Kouhai did.

"Kiryuin, you should really tell him that it's not a good personality trait to play with one's food." His thumb caressed over his nose, readjusting his glasses. "It may come to bite him someday."

Was this a threat?

Apart from him, I was the only student at this school who knew that Matsushita Chiaki from Class 1-D received help from Horikita Manabu from Class 3-A. He had felt out Ayanokouji Kiyotaka and Kouenji Rokusuke as well, but neither of them seemed willing to reveal their abilities or work with him to help their class.

He was such a good brother, looking out for his sister like this.

"Come to bite him?" The insolent Kouhai grinned and took a step forward. "And how's that going to go, huh? 'Hey! I know who did this to you. It was a first-year Class D student that wasn't on the school premises.' Who'd even believe such a thing? Rather than that, shouldn't you be just as afraid if you were to tell someone?" Her crimson orbs turned arctic as she leaned forward, ready to pounce on him. "I will put you down like a sick dog if you dare to inconvenience him."

The sentence that stared out with a lighthearted laugh turned serious in a matter of seconds.

"How dare you —"

"Tachibana."

"I'm sorry..."

I gnashed my teeth, holding back my boiling anger.

"You seem to have misunderstood my intentions. I have no intentions to reveal Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's abilities to anyone. I merely stated that it is dangerous to play with one's prey, as even a rabbit bares its fangs when cornered. Nagumo won't be any different." A faint smile adorned his charming face. "The weird part, however, is that you hadn't noticed this obvious fact. I couldn't believe the report that you knocked out a student in front of so many witnesses until I found out that Ayanokouji had found himself a girlfriend two days prior. You were cold and rather brusque before you met him, but something changed. You are worried that he is making too many enemies and might not be able to handle them. You are afraid that he might be expelled — that he might desert you. Doesn't that mean you are in trouble, Kiryuin?"

My eyes began to sparkle as a wide smile spread over my face.

This was the Horikita-san I respected more than anyone else in this world.

He always knew what was going on in other people's heads, which allowed him to be one step ahead of them at all times. Even this capable Kouhai wasn't an exception. Now that she had made this blunder, he would point out and exploit her weakness without a shred of hesitation.

Still, one question remained.

Why didn't he understand what was going on inside my head?

Or had he chosen to ignore it?

Even though this was a valid possibility, I denied it.

Thinking about such a hypothetical scenario hurt enough as is. There was no reason to torture myself any further. I would just keep following Horikita-san until the day he hopefully notices the feelings I had developed for him.

"Heh, I almost forgot that you had teeth as well." Kiryuin seemed much calmer than before as a deep sigh escaped her lips. She leaned forward and stared at the maple leaf pendant that dangled around her neck before a complex smile spread over her strangely charming face. "Yeah, you are right... I'm in trouble."

After the commotion about Kouenji's catch settled, we kept whipping our base into shape.

It felt more and more like a comfortable temporary home where we could relax, and less like a stressful exam where we had to give it our all to survive. Chiaki and Hirata were the exception to this rule, as they had to coordinate everything with the different groups we had formed.

I had the most free time since none of my classmates troubled me with any tasks. They were all under the assumption that I was working more than enough for the class during the reoccupation periods and decided to let me rest in between my exhausting trips.

Right now, I was sitting at a creek around 200 meters from our campsite.

A few fish swam around in the clear water, and I wondered if there was a good way to catch them. I didn't want to kill and eat these innocent aquatic animals, but I was curious how their scales felt to the touch. Back in the White Room, I had read that they were slimy, but I didn't know what kind of slimy they were talking about.

I set my shoes and socks aside after taking them off and rolled up my pants to around the knees. I did the same to the sleeves around my arm and slipped into the water. The fish soon noticed the fluctuations in their natural habitat and scattered around, curious but fearful about the foreign body that invaded their territory.

My repeated attempts at catching them with my hands ended in failure.

Disappointed by my inability to touch them, I sat down on the edge and paddled with my feet as I observed the fish with a faint smile. They played around in the cool, comfortable water, which refreshed my entire body through my legs alone. This was a nice change from before, where they felt warm, sweaty and trapped beneath my pants. The splashing sounds weren't loud, but more than enough to let the person behind me think that she would be able to sneak up on me.

The girl stopped in her tracks and halted just as she was about to scare me.

Instead of continuing her previous plan of action, she discarded her own shoes and socks. The crunching of the meadow was much softer when only her bare feet pressed down on the blades of grass as the girl tiptoed towards me. A faint hint of berries drifted into my nostrils as two tanned legs slipped into the water to my right.

"Mhh... that has to be the first time I've seen you smile, Ayanokouji-kun. But no wonder that you feel happy having this cool creek all to yourself. Gosh, this is so comfortable. I wouldn't have minded if it were just a little deeper, though."

She stretched her arms and lay down, which emphasized the curvatures of her well-defined body. The jersey, which was a rather tight fit, slipped upwards, revealing a smooth yet developed stomach as it was expected for an athlete. Onodera's cup size was similar to Horikita's, which she could be thankful for due to the lower resistance she would have to work with.

"Knowing you, you would have swum laps around the island." A gentle laugh escaped her lips as she sprayed me with river water by flapping her feet around. I defended myself from her sneak attack and showered her with a handful of the cold, comfortable liquid in retaliation. "What brings you here? Are you taking a break as well?"

"Ah, no." She shook her head to get rid of the stains on her face before pointing at some gathered berries behind her. "I went out with Kushida-san and Shiina-san when I ran into you. They should be somewhere around here as well. Here's hoping that they are not worried about —"

"There you are, Onodera-san and Kiyotaka too!"

Kikyou and Shiina walked towards us, each holding their own set of berries.

Ike had carved some containers from tree bark and small branches, which made it easy to carry decent amounts of berries or mushrooms. The girls were so impressed by this that they sang his praises yesterday evening before I left, because they had gathered them with their hands or some of the kitchen tools before.

"Hey Kikyou. And you must be Shiina. It's nice to meet you. I'm Ayanokouji Kiyotaka."

She executed a light, yet elegant, bow.

"The pleasure is all mine. I'm Shiina Hiyori."

"Should we all head back together?"

Onodera and I nodded upon receiving Kikyou's offer.

The two of us dried our feet with grass and leaves as thorough as possible, before we slipped back into our socks and shoes. She grabbed her own wooden container and the four of us made our way back to the campsite while talking about trivial things.

During this chat, Kikyou informed me about her current progress with certain keywords we had agreed upon beforehand, which assured me that everything was developing smoothly. I also got to know Onodera better, and we agreed to exchange numbers once we were back on the ship.

"Argh, my back hurts like hell! If I have to sleep like this for the whole week, I'm gonna die."

Sudou's complaints were the first words that attracted our attention as we stepped back into our camp. Some girls, including Sakura, threw a few glances at him before continuing with their tasks.

My favorite delinquent became much calmer, which was due to her good influence.

She got scared easily, and he didn't want to be the cause for any discomfort, which was why he tried to improve himself. The changes in his behavior weren't quick or without fault, but he made steady progress. I had hoped that Sakura could escape her shell with Sudou's help, but it was still too soon to see any major changes in her nature due to what had happened with the clerk.

Horikita was still out of commission, which wasn't strange after how lousy she had been feeling.

Her temperature this morning wasn't much better than yesterday, but she wasn't getting worse either. She must have caught a terrible cold, which was quite unexpected. The Professor had mentioned that Japanese colds were especially disastrous, but I still had everything under control despite these unforeseen circumstances.

I said my goodbyes to Kikyou and the others before walking up to my lovely neighbor.

"How are you feeling?"

She gave me a quick, tired glance as I sat down beside her.

"Awful. Thanks for asking. This tastes disgusting as well."

The sick girl shook her bottle, which contained a mixture of pre-boiled water and small bits of charcoal, while I leaned towards her forehead to check on her temperature again. She glared at me as usual when I confirmed her wellbeing, but didn't complain. Even though I was pretty sure that I would get this back tenfold, I had to have an eye on her health since nobody else was allowed to touch her, apparently.

"It doesn't even taste like anything special. If you weren't so focused on the charcoal and how disgusted it makes you feel, you wouldn't even notice that it was inside. Just close your eyes and take a sip. Maybe tape a few leaves around so you can't see what you are drinking."

"You know that I will take revenge for this once I'm feeling better, right?"

"Duly noted."

I caressed over her head, which annoyed her quite a lot.

She reached out to hit me while hiding her blushing face, but her pitiful attacks had no way to reach me since she was sick. I doubted that she would have put all her strength into smacking me if she hadn't been impaired because Horikita had finally realized that she liked me as a friend.

At the moment, she just didn't know how to deal with these new, unfamiliar feelings.

"Don't do that. Otherwise, people might talk."

She observed the surrounding students — our classmates — with watchful eyes.

I wasn't sure what she meant by her remark, but she seemed to be serious. She must have been worried about being seen as a warm and caring person who enjoyed getting head pats from people. Such a stigma would ruin her whole ice-queen persona, and the faint smile that had formed on her charming lips wouldn't help deny this rumor.

Or was she worried that Chiaki might get jealous?

"Hey guys!"

Thirty-nine other students and a glowing laugh accompanied this beautiful, soft voice that traveled through my eardrums and enlivened our whole camp. I couldn't see Ibuki anywhere, but she was probably trailing after them and kept hissing or tch'ing at some birds and insects who looked at her the wrong way.

That reminded me...

Had Shibata found the rare bird he had been looking for yesterday?

"Oh! Ichinose-san, what brings you all here?"

Kikyou's surprise was warranted but just an act for the rest of our classmates. She was the only one who knew that Class B would visit us this morning since I had informed her about this step of the plan last night.

"Are those tents they are carrying?"

Rino pointed at Shibata, Beppu and Hamaguchi, who were indeed carrying tents after their classmates. The girls and the rest of the boys were hauling berries, mushrooms, and the bottled water they had bought yesterday.

Chiaki and Hirata must have heard the commotion as they strolled out of the cave. Just like everyone else, their faces were colored in curiosity because of Class B's sudden visit. Our leader pair glanced at each other for a moment before regarding our new arrivals with confused but welcoming smiles.

"Hey guys. What are you doing here with all your stuff? Did something happen?"

My left ear eavesdropped on the trivial matters between the class leaders, while my right was drawn to a second, more important, conversation between two teachers that took place to my right.

"Nee, nee Sae-chan~. Let's sleep together, shall we?"

The radiating Hoshinomiya pressed her well-endowed body against Sae's back. She slung her arms around our instructor and winked, as if they would have a great time tonight. Sae didn't seem too convinced about her offer and pushed her colleague aside with an annoyed expression.

"I don't know what you are planning, but stay in your own tent."

"Buuh! Sae-chan you meanie~!" She slapped her back with a sobbing voice before doing a complete one-eighty in a matter of seconds. "I'm going to set up my tent right beside you then! Tehee~."

Thus died my comfortable sleeping place for the rest of our vacation.

"I could invite someone cute over as well... someone like..." She surveyed her surroundings until her two violet orbs stopped on me, a mischievous grin forming on her fascinating face. "Like Kiyotaka-kun!"

Maybe my comfortable sleeping place just got a lot more friendly?

"Stay away from my students, Chie."

Or not.

Sae-chan really was a meanie, huh?

I doubted that Hoshinomiya's mistrust towards me had waned, but she had no difficulties to hide her thoughts and feelings behind a false front, just like Kikyou. She must have concluded that it would be more beneficial to stay close to me as opposed to keeping me away from her class, which had proven to be rather troublesome despite her best efforts to sabotage me by making up restrictions that didn't exist.

"Well, our base camp doesn't belong to us anymore, so we left."

Ichinose let out a light chuckle, which none of my classmates could understand.

If their spot had been stolen during the night, they would have been furious, so they were unable to fathom that she just laughed about the whole ordeal without feeling frustrated or conflicted by that fact.

"Did Class A or C snatch your camp while you guys were asleep?"

"Something like that, but it wasn't them."

Her smile grew livelier as she pointed at me.

"Kiyotaka took your spot? Why?"

Not only Chiaki and Hirata were shocked by this sudden revelation as the whole class turned towards me. They weren't talking in private, so my other classmates had heard them as well. The boys and girls began to whisper amongst each other because this unexpected 'betrayal' could mean the end of our cooperation with Class B.

To my surprise, they weren't as quick to slander me.

I doubted that they had enough brain capacity to stay calm because of Ichinose's smile and her positive attitude, so the only other reason that came to mind was my girlfriends outburst yesterday. Even though most of them hadn't been present, word traveled fast after Shinohara's apology during dinner. My classmates must have chosen the safer wait-and-see approach, to make sure not to anger her by accident.

Chiaki threw me a confused glance and tried her hardest to make sense of this situation.

Why would I jeopardize our partnership?

What would this mean for the remainder of the exam?

Was Class D doomed?

The answer to these questions was simple and promptly delivered by Ichinose.

"Because I asked him to."

"""Eh?"""

These confused sounds originated from most of my classmates, including our hero, Hirata, himself. It seemed as if this discovery had caught them so off-guard that neither of them managed to formulate a proper response. Only a handful of people could keep their surprise in check.

One of them was Chiaki.

"Then you are here because..?"

"Because I wondered if we could all camp together."

Class B's figurehead clapped, wearing a smile that could put Kikyou to shame.

"Wow, this cave really feels like a secret base or something!"

Ichinose-san's awe upon seeing this cavern the first time was similar to my own.

Hirata-kun and I walked her and Kanzaki-kun into the base to provide a bit more privacy for our upcoming discussion. I didn't distrust my classmates, or Class B's, since we were in an alliance, but I was worried about Shiina-san and the other girl that trudged into our camp after them.

One person exiled from Class C that found shelter in another class was already suspicious, but two?

In different classes at that?

It was indisputable that they were on some sort of mission, just as expected. They should have also found it weird that a Class C student happened to stumble upon them during all of this and must have known for sure after Kiyotaka informed them about Shiina-san. Both Ichinose-san and Kanzaki-kun were kind, but neither of them was stupid or naïve enough to believe that this was just a coincidence.

The four of us sat down near the spot apparatus.

"Ichinose-san, if I get this right, then it was your idea that Ayanokouji-kun reoccupies your spot, yes?"

"That's correct, Hirata-kun."

She flashed him a smirk in confirmation.

"But why? You'll be losing out on almost twenty points because of this."

"No. We would most likely be losing out on much more than just twenty points if we kept our spot." Ichinose-san and Kanzaki-kun both gazed towards me with a knowing grin. "Right, Matsushita-san?"

"What do you mean, Ichinose-san? Why would you lose more than that?"

Hirata-kun was still blinded by his hope that every student in this school deserved the benefit of a doubt. Even though Ichinose-san seemed quite naïve on the outside, she was much more calculating than my innocent classmate. She was kind and generous, but there was no way that she would let someone trample over her.

I had learned this just yesterday.

"Because of Class C."

I peeked at the confused boy, whereupon our partners in Class B nodded.

"If we had kept renewing our spot, we would have risked Ibuki-san finding out about our leader. A combination of our two classes would be much harder to crack, even if their numbers had doubled due to our alliance. We could keep our leader safe, and you would receive extra points from the spot we had Ayanokouji-kun occupy. Besides that, we would also help with anything that needs to be done over the next couple of days, since we are the ones intruding on your spot."

"What do the two of them have to do with all of this?"

He still couldn't see why we were doubtful about them, even though he was smart enough to realize that there was a high possibility that both of them were spies that had been sent our way by their puppeteer.

This blind faith in people should have been his 'defect'.

According to Fumei, every single student at this school was sorted into the classes according to the severity of their flaws, which Chabashira-sensei had also mentioned when she had called us defects on May 1st.

"Are you really that naïve, Hirata?" Kanzaki-kun raised his head and stared deep into his eyes. "Doesn't it strike you as weird that both of our classes have taken in a stray Class C student that had been kicked out by Ryuuen? It almost feels like they were sent here for a reason, don't you agree?"

My classmate wore a shocked expression, unable to believe in our conclusions.

"You think they are spies? That's not possible. Ryuuen-kun wouldn't..."

He stopped, finding fault in his own reasoning.

"He wouldn't do something like that, huh? I harbor great respect for you, Hirata. I've seen the disaster that was Class D. You kept trying your best and eventually managed to unify everyone with the help of Matsushita and Kushida. But believing that two Class C vagrants wandered into our camps by accident? Your line of thinking is flawed beyond belief."

Hirata-kun searched for the right words in retaliation to Kanzaki-kun's harsh comment, but in the end he only lowered his head. My dejected classmate glanced at each of us before heaving a pained sigh.

"All of you share that sentiment, right?"

The three of us nodded in unison.

It was clear as day what we thought about them, but it was also a fact that neither Ichinose-san, Kanzaki-kun, nor I would abandon them because it was better to keep them close and watch over their movements. If the situation demanded it, we could even feed them with false information to confuse Ryuuen further.

"They might be spies, but we aren't planning to chase them away. We can't leave them out there to fend for themselves on the miniscule, almost non-existent, off-chance that Ryuuen really threw them in front of the wolves. That's why you are here. Am I wrong, Ichinose-san, Kanzaki-kun?"

"It's as Matsushita-san said. We can't just kick them out of our camps. Kanzaki-kun and I didn't tell our classmates about our assumptions, because there is no reason to alienate Ibuki-san from us in case we are wrong. When Ayanokouji-kun was with us yesterday, he mentioned that it would be nice if we could all camp together someday, which is why I came up with this idea. As you know, we are really easy to talk to and he also agreed that our classes might benefit from befriending one another. At first, I wasn't sure if we weren't overstepping our alliance, but Ayanokouji-kun was sure that you'd be fine with it since we are all friends. He was looking forward to it, even."

Ichinose-san smiled, laying out her reasons for visiting us.

Strangely, I felt some sort of malice from them.

It wasn't obvious, but Kanzaki-kun's subtle glances were less friendly than usual. I figured that he was still a little irritated by my threat yesterday, which was more than justified after I challenged their kindness.

Since I couldn't see any apparent disadvantages to deepening our alliance with them, I was inclined to agree. Not only had they once again taken a step towards us despite my previous misjudgement, they also wanted to make Kiyotaka happy.

How could I say no?

He was very close with the students from Class B, so it was only natural that he wanted his friends in Class D to get to know them as well. Hirata-kun and Kushida-san would also be on board with this decision, since both were outgoing and always looking out for the other classes despite our competition.

Just as expected, Hirata-kun bobbed his head after a moment.

"Well then, please make yourselves at home."

I beamed, whereupon Ichinose and I shook hands, confirming our union.

It didn't take long for the four of them to return.

Chiaki and Hirata announced that Class B would camp with us from today onwards. The foreign students pitched their three tents around the clearing, since the cave was already filled with ours, while most of my classmates applauded the decision. Hoshinomiya cheered the loudest, whereupon Sae slapped her with a clipboard.

This scene brought back fond memories, in which I indulged for a moment.

My classmates were also rather happy with the decision. The minority that had doubts about our two classes working together, was silenced by Kikyou and Hirata in their common angel and knight in shining armor fashion.

Most girls were overjoyed that they could get to know some of the more popular boys, like Kanzaki and Shibata, while the guys were fawning over Ichinose, Amikura, Himeno and a few others. Chiaki must have already noticed that they made a killing with this deal, since they didn't have to worry about equipment for their classmates.

Now that we had another spot, she wouldn't mind letting them stay.

If Ichinose managed to protect their leader from Class C, they would leave this island with a comfortable, well-deserved second place while enjoying their time in leisure. They still needed to take care of the chores, but aside from this, they had a lot of free time since we would supply them with the leaders at the end of the exam as per our agreement.

Ichinose and Kanzaki soon vanished into the woods.

The other Class B students began grouping up with some of ours to get familiar with the surrounding area. With this surge in numbers came an increase in form of our food consumption, which we planned to offset by gathering more berries, mushrooms and corncobs.

Hoshinomiya flapped around with her usual cheerful atmosphere and annoyed every student that came her way. Most of them didn't mind because she was cute, but some girls felt irritated by her chummy attitude towards the boys.

Sae, my beloved homeroom teacher, strolled past me with a deep frown on her face.

"If this was part of your plan, I hate you."

Kanzaki-kun and I walked a few hundred meters into the deep forest, where I surveyed our surroundings to make sure that no one else was nearby. He just stared at me as I turned towards him, aware of the thoughts that spiraled through my mind.

I took a deep breath and faced him with a serious expression.

"I'm sorry for failing so miserably yesterday." Together with those words, I bowed to show my sincerity. "And thank you for always having my back, despite your misgivings about this plan."

A warm grin appeared on my classmates face.

"You don't have to be so formal, Ichinose." His hand reached for my head as he executed a light karate-chop. "We are a team, aren't we? If one of our friends messes up, we will have their back. That is Class B's, our, strength."

I shook my head, denying his words.

There was no way I could continue without apologizing properly, without assuring him that I had learned from my mistakes. He needed to hear, to understand that I was sorry and that he could keep putting his faith in me.

"Still... I told you to trust me and you did, but —"

"But everything worked out in the end, didn't it? I knew that you would realize what had happened once you had enough time to clear your head. Your plan about joining up with them still worked, despite your previous doubts. I had come up with my own strategies after recognizing that we had been played with, but your solution is much better since she might not have noticed that we learned about her betrayal." Kanzaki-kun heaved a deep sigh and peered into my eyes. "Rather than you, I should be the one to apologize. I mistrusted Ayanokouji-kun until the very end. I thought that he might have been aware of her plans, that he contacted us in order to help her, but his actions throughout our time at school didn't match up."

I clicked my tongue in frustration.

"That's what I'm talking about. The first thing I did when I realized that Matsushita-san had tricked us was to exonerate Ayanokouji-kun, even though I should have thought of Class B before everyone else. You guys should have been my top priority, no matter what."

Kanzaki-kun leaned against a tree and regarded me with a pleased expression.

"I told you that we will have your back if you mess up. Mistakes, as well as emotions like anger, doubt, and love, are human. They cloud our judgement and make us act in erratic, downright absurd ways. If you fall, we will catch you. Amikura, Shibata, Himeno, Shiranami, and I... every single one of our classmates will support you because you would do the same if one of us screwed up."

A faint smile formed on my lips.

"You are right. Please lend me your support a little longer."

"For the next three years, I presume?"

'Be careful of Ayanokouji-kun, Honami-chan. I'm not sure that he has your best interests in mind.'

Those words once again reappeared in my mind as Kanzaki-kun's loud, cheerful laugh rang through the lush forest. They kept persisting, repeating in my swirling thoughts as we wandered towards the berries and branches we had stashed prior to visiting Class D.

At that point in time, I had ignored her words. I had told myself that Hoshinomiya-sensei must have formed the same wrong conclusion we had come up with and fell into Matsushita-san's wicked trap.

Had I known what was to come, would I have been able to beam at Kanzaki-kun with such an expression?

"Kiyotaka!"

Chiaki waved me over with a faint grin on her face.

I strolled towards her while observing Ichinose and Kanzaki, who came back from their trip a few moments after Kouenji dashed off to wherever he was going. Class B's adorable figurehead had gathered quite a few berries while Kanzaki brought firewood to hide that they've been scheming around Chiaki, who had betrayed them.

"Whats up?"

"I was thinking of visiting Class A and C to run some reconnaissance on their progress. You mentioned that you saw a few students around certain areas, but have you seen something akin to a base where they would sleep?"

This was a great, albeit expected, procedure.

Since neither of them held a single spot, they were unable to camp around the decent places, which would provide them with water, food or even just a place to cool off like the cave. I wasn't sure how stringent the spot misuse clause was, but if they were punished for stealing fruits or water from the occupied locations, they would be doomed even without deceiving each other.

Ichinose and Kanzaki delivered their goods and walked into hearing range.

"Class A set up their camp somewhere around here." I circled an area on the map between two spots I had renewed at night. Despite his careful nature, Katsuragi was quite easy to tail due to the moonlight. "I saw fire and smoke around there after midnight, but I'm not sure about the exact location since it was too far away. As for Class C, apart from my run-in with some students on my second trip, I haven't seen them anywhere."

Our partners picked up on my words and moved towards us.

"Sorry for the intrusion, but we could ask Shiina-san or Ibuki-san, right? Even though they were kicked out, they should know where their camp is. They would only draw suspicion to themselves if they denied us this information."

Chiaki nodded upon hearing Ichinose's proposal and walked off towards Ibuki, who sat beneath a tree and glared at everyone that talked to her. She was rather unfriendly, so it didn't surprise me that he had sent her to Class B, because they would take in anyone, no matter how mean or snarly they were.

My girlfriend returned with the information we needed not long after.

"Class C's base camp is at the beach, quite far from any available spot machines. It's no wonder that you haven't seen them around anywhere. According to Ibuki-san, we wouldn't be able to miss the spot because of the noise. I'm not sure what she meant, though, since she was unwilling to elaborate."

It was impossible for any class to gain points besides the ones they had received from the school, because I was rotating through every spot as soon as the last occupation wore off. I wasn't surprised that they settled down near the beach, as they would at least have a decent view over the ocean.

"May Kanzaki-kun and I join you? We'd also like to see how they are doing."

Chiaki glanced at them with a hint of surprise before she nodded.

"Yeah, sure. We should make our way to Class C first, since they are closer. If we keep our pace at a somewhat reasonable walking speed, we should have enough time to gather intel at their camps before it gets dark." She turned and threw me a charming smile. "What about you, Kiyotaka? Do you want to join us, or would you like to rest a bit before your trip?"

I took a quick peek at the map she was holding onto.

"Class C's camp seems closer to my starting location than the cave, so I'll walk with you. I'll probably be too tired to meet you at Class A's spot, but I wouldn't be helpful with gathering intel anyway."

I scratched the back of my head in embarrassment to underline my useless nature in such scenarios. Both Chiaki and Ichinose seemed to disagree, as they voiced their opinions on this matter without delay.

"That's not at all true, Kiyotaka! You are giving your everything for the class. Don't say something like that again."

"I agree, that's total nonsense, Ayanokouji-kun! You are more than helpful."

Well, at least they agreed on one thing...

After informing our respective classes about the plans for today, we went ahead towards Class C's spot.

The way was pretty far, so we hiked on the rugged, uneven terrain for quite a while and had to make some substantial detours because of the dense foliage and descents that seemed too dangerous to slide down on. This was the first time I was outside of the camp without looking for a specific resource, which led me to observe my surroundings much closer.

To think that Kiyotaka had to run through here every eight hours...

I couldn't stop worrying about what might happen at night when he couldn't see well, especially after realizing how treacherous some slopes were. A flashlight wouldn't help much with the speed he was running to catch all the spots.

These dark thoughts made me grab his hand.

Before I noticed this sudden subconscious action myself, I felt the warmth of his rugged palm travel through my body. He glanced at me, whereupon I looked away in embarrassment. We were dating, so I loved doing lovey-dovey things like this with him, but right now I should concentrate on the exam and not my handsome boyfriend.

As luck would have it, Ichinose-san and Kanzaki-kun walked beside Kiyotaka and hadn't noticed my movements. Since he was always calm and levelheaded, they wouldn't be able to gleam anything from his never-changing, yet charming, facial expression, so I wasn't worried.

Even I still had trouble reading him from time to time.

He squeezed my hand as if to reassure me after having read my mind.

Chiaki grabbed my hand, which surprised me.

We both enjoyed doing couple stuff, so this wasn't a strange occurrence. She was usually the one who would hold back when we were in close company with other people, since she still felt shy. Back on the ship, she was quite frustrated that people had seen us, and this hadn't changed on the island.

Maybe she had just lost her footing?

Whatever the reason may have been, she clenched my hand in a somewhat awkward position. To fix this, I squeezed her palm in order to reposition mine, without having to let go of her. Due to this action, she blushed and leaned into me.

I should probably keep Kanzaki's watchful gaze a secret from her...

Class D's cold, merciless leader, who had already expelled three students and tried to cheat us with her deal, was nowhere to be found, as she kept blushing like a maiden in love after grabbing Ayanokouji's palm.

I glanced at Ichinose, hoping that she was unaware of the former's acts.

Everyone in Class B realized that she had feelings for him, even before she herself had recognized it. This awareness might have been a blessing in disguise, as she understood Matsushita's weakness better than anyone. Despite her cruel nature, she also felt love towards this brown-haired, expressionless boy.

He was utterly clueless about the schemes that were carried out behind the scenes. I felt sorry for him, apologetic that he had been entangled in this mess, which would eventually turn into a fight.

Somewhere down the line, our classes would separate and clash.

When that inevitable reality hit him, how would he react?

If I were him, I would side with my girlfriend, even without knowing all the facts. Ichinose would be heartbroken if this ever happened, but she wouldn't be the only one. Shibata, Amikura, the others and even I, we would all feel hurt if we had to regard him as an enemy.

He had been with us ever since April and felt like part of our class.

I cared a lot about the person next to me, not in a romantic sense, but as a close friend and important partner. She was amiable and unable to see the dark, insidious sides that some people hid behind their kind facade, which is why I needed to look out for them and protect her from people like Ryuuen and Matsushita.

If she wouldn't finish them when the time came, then I would do it for her.

It took longer than expected due to the detours we had to make, but we reached the supposed camping site of Class C before Kiyotaka had to leave. Even though Ibuki-san had mentioned that we would hear where they were, everything was silent. Nothing aside from the sound of the waves and the fresh sea breeze that carried the sand across the beach entered our ears as we stood at our desolate destination.

"This was definitely the area Ibuki-san mentioned..."

I glanced at the map in my hand with a confused expression.

"Maybe they moved somewhere else?"

Ichinose-san surveyed the empty coast and began to walk around. The four of us split up to find any remnants of a supposed camp that should have been here, or any indication to where the students might have vanished.

"Hey, what's that over there?"

Kanzaki-kun squinted his eyes and pointed into the forest.

It was difficult to make out, but there was a shiny, reflective object that shone through the dense foliage. The three of us joined back up with him and ambled towards the foreign gadget, since we had nothing else to go on.

"Isn't that the barbecue grill from the catalogue?"

Her surprise was warranted, as I was similarly bewildered by our discovery.

"They wouldn't have left it here if they moved camp, right?"

"Well, they hid it, I guess? Maybe they plan on coming back for it?"

"That wouldn't make much sense, though. With thirty-five people, assuming that no one else was cast out, they should be able to bring it along without trouble, no matter where they were headed."

"Um... couldn't they have just... quit?"

The three of us turned towards the uncertain voice behind us, unable to believe the words that left Kiyotaka's mouth. Even though it was far-fetched, this was a viable conclusion to arrive at after seeing this scene, one I never would have considered without him.

I was assured that every class would do their utmost to gain the maximum amount of points out of this exam, since we all needed them to reach Class A. Even they themselves would try their best in order to increase their lead.

But what if that wasn't the case?

Ryuuen was a tyrant who led his class with an iron fist.

Not a single one of his classmates dared to go against his directive, otherwise they would be punished. The only person who might have argued with him was Ibuki-san, who was rather irritating to be around. If she was sent away due to their dispute, then Shiina-san would have surely tried to negotiate with Ryuuen to keep her in their camp.

Could their conflict have been about the points?

There was a high chance of this being correct, due to Ibuki-san's remark from before. Ryuuen had his class under control, but that didn't mean that he still had their full support. Because of his attack in June, Class C had lost three people. Three of his classmates who had trusted him and his plan to the bitter end were expelled.

What if doubts began to spread through their class?

He needed a win, or another way to pacify them for the time being.

Thanks to Fumei's quick thinking, Kiyotaka hoarded all the available locations that would gain their class additional points. This left him unable to win this exam in such a manner that his class would forget about his previous failure. The only thing he could have done was to pacify them with a relaxing week while the other students kept working their butts off.

But that couldn't be everything... there had to be something I was missing.

Ryuuen wouldn't just give up like this, right?

Sakura and I were out on our daily chore: gathering berries.

Usually, Matsushita-san would have joined, but since she was preoccupied with class affairs, Hasebe decided to accompany us today. It was quite surprising that Sakura was fine going out with just me, but our current companion deemed this too dangerous and said that at least three people should be in a group.

I would have done nothing to Sakura, of course, but I could understand Hasebe's doubts about me, as my past behavior was everything but exemplary or even reassuring. Despite being seen as a scary delinquent, I was glad that she had found someone that was looking out for her aside from Ayanokouji, Matsushita-san and me.

"Sudou-kun look! There are nuts. Do you think they are edible?"

My gaze swayed over to the bushes she pointed at and stopped at some tiny brownish objects. Our blue-haired classmate glanced over as well and regarded me with a questioning look.

Why would she ask me a question like that?!

I didn't even know that nuts grew in bushes, damn it!

"We should grab a few and ask Ike before we eat anything. He said that he was camping before and Matsushita-san also asks him about those kinds of things, so I think we can... trust... him on that. Can you two grab a handful while I pick the berries over there?"

It was really strange putting my faith into this idiot, of all people.

""Sure.""

One of the girls beamed while the other just nodded and began to harvest some fruits before putting them into the wooden container Ike had crafted for us. They began to chat as I walked over to the berries, which grew around twenty meters away from their current position.

My heartbeat sped up due to her breathtaking expression before I had time to focus on the task at hand. I could feel my body temperature rising as their soft voices reached my ears while I tried my hardest not to eavesdrop on their conversation.

Sakura was an incredibly cute girl.

She was sweet, kind and shy — the total opposite from a brute like me. We were, by far, the most terrible match there could be if we ever were to become a couple, but I couldn't shake these thoughts of wanting to make her happy. I didn't have a crush on her. I would be fine with just being friends, as long as she could smile more.

My feelings differed from the time I thought that I was in love with Horikita.

Kushida had probably been right in saying that it was a fleeting feeling of thankfulness because she had been, in her way, somewhat warm and kind towards me. In the end, she helped and complimented me for her own reasons. Even the apology she had uttered wasn't for my sake, but to make herself feel better.

Maybe this was also the case for Sakura and me.

Ike, Yamauchi and the others had talked about her giant breasts a lot, even though the latter was only part of our class for around a week. Those were the only impressions I had of her for the longest time: big-breasted but otherwise bland and boring. Yet, I couldn't have been any more wrong.

Both she and Hasebe were —

""Ahhhh!""

"Sakura?!"

I spun around, knocking over the container with berries, which scattered on the ground, before I dashed to where the shrieks originated. Only a tree and two thick thickets separated the three of us, so it didn't take long to reach them.

"What's wrong? Are you —"

"Behind you!"

Hasebe's scream rang through the forest while Sakura's whole body trembled in pure dread. Tears kept pouring out of her eyes as she clawed onto our classmate, scratching her in the process.

I turned, shielding them with my torso, as I caught sight of the giant who stepped towards me. He was both larger and broader than me, but that didn't mean I would back down. Trained from the previous fights I had experienced through my school-life, I shot a quick jab towards his chin as he was about to open his mouth.

Contrary to my expectations, my strike didn't connect.

The giant stopped my attack with his left and grabbed my throat with his right before lifting me up. I couldn't see his expression as his eyes were covered by sunglasses, but he didn't seem to grimace even a little as he held me up.

What the hell?

How strong is this guy?

"S-sudou-kun!"

Sakura's cry woke me up from my stupor.

I angled my legs upward and kicked into his face.

Even though I couldn't put much force behind my attack due to the unstable position I had found myself in, he should have trouble defending against such a swift blow, as he was occupied with lifting my whole weight.

Yet again, my enemy surprised me.

He grabbed my leg with his free hand and threw me onto the ground like a sack of spoiled rice. A stinging shock jolted through my body upon impact, which I ignored to the best of my abilities before standing back up to protect the girls behind me.

I groaned as a dry and painful cough escaped my lips.

This guy was only playing around, and I still couldn't do shit against him. If he had slammed me into the ground with full force, I would have fainted without a doubt. There was no one aside from him, so I might be able to buy some time for Sakura and Hasebe to escape to safety.

"Why did you attack me? I'm sorry if I scared you, little girls."

What the hell did that guy say?!

"Um.. we is sorry? We apologize?"

I turned around to Hasebe with widened eyes.

Were they talking English?!

"Sudou-kun I'm not sure, but I think he didn't want to scare us."

"S-sudou-kun!"

I stumbled backwards and fell due to the pain in my leg before the teary-eyed Sakura embraced me from behind. The stinging, burning sensation in my limb got replaced by embarrassment as my temperature rose yet again.

Her br-br-breasts... Too close!

"Ah... th-thank y-you, Sakura, but I'm o-okay now."

The panicked, scarred girl trembled as she wrapped her arms around me even tighter. This situation must have reminded her of back then, which was why she was unresponsive and terrified more than a normal person in this position would have been. She might not even have realized that her warm grasp had changed from Hasebe to me.

My classmate tried to calm her down, while the giant in front of us observed the situation. She managed to separate her from me, revealing the warm tearstains that had accumulated on my shoulder. Hasebe hid the scratches she had received from Sakura beneath her jersey and embraced the quivering girl.

"Do you people know where Shiina-san is?"

Since I sucked in languages of any kind, I didn't understand what he tried to convey to us. The name he had uttered stood out, however, and was familiar to all three of us. Hasebe glanced at me for a moment before she faced the tall man in front of us with a surprised look.

"Shiina-san?"

"YES!"

Kikyou, do this.

Kikyou, do that.

You should look after them, Kikyou.

I need you to do something, Kikyou.

Every time I heard such a command, I felt relieved — glad that he needed me. I marveled at his quick thinking and enjoyed hearing his voice close to my ears. Even though I should have hated him, I felt safe and comfortable in the devil's soothing embrace. This warm feeling that was slumbering, growing inside of me, was what he had been after the whole time. I knew how to play with people's hearts the same way he did, so I realized which emotions he tried to stir up.

After my near-rape experience and his psychological torture, he was kind, courteous, even. He listened to my problems and took care of everything that needed to be done to make me feel at ease, to show me that he cherished my presence. I wondered why and soon arrived at a conclusion.

From this point onwards, I had tried my hardest to resist.

Until Sakura.

The devil noticed my defiance towards his laid out plan and began to torture me anew. He realized that there was no need to expose me to the whole course he had prepared, since I had already understood his goal. Kiyotaka would have been able to deal with the whole situation differently, but he chose this strategy, knowing that I would relive my own suffering — that I would reunite with my demons.

When I once again broke down in my own vomit, I was assured of this. If I refused to comply, to follow the path he had prepared for me, then I would suffer the most horrible consequences and would still obey in the end.

So I gave up and let him have his way with me.

Because it would hurt so much less.

Contrary to everyone's expectations of sunshine, rainbows and colorful flower fields, these were the thoughts that spun through my mind as I surveyed the Class B and D students that mingled around the camp.

Whenever Kiyotaka wasn't here, I was assigned to observe Shiina, and now Ibuki, while making sure that our two classes didn't implode because of our classmates. Luckily, I wasn't alone in this endeavor and could count on Hirata to take care of every ember that threatened to spark a blazing fire.

After I returned with Shiina and Onodera, I kept playing my part as Class D's lovable angel and observed the two Class C spies in our midst. One of them was smiling, helping wherever she could while the other leaned against a tree and glared at everyone that looked at her.

"Are you feeling unwell by chance, Ibuki-san?"

Shiina's trip with the Class B girls was a perfect opportunity to get a closer look at Ibuki and see how she ticked. I had my own share of run-ins with Class C, but those were rare even for me, since Ryuuen kept a tight leash on his close subordinates, which this sullen tomboy was a part of.

"Kushida, huh? It's nothing."

She turned away, hiding her bruise in the process.

"Does your face still hurt? I'll get you a wet cloth to cool your injury!"

"I don't —"

"I'll be right back then!"

I gifted her a beautiful smile straight out of a fairytale and received a frustrated glare as I dashed off towards the girls. They supplied me with one of the few rags we had found next to the fishing rods and soaked them in water for me. Thanks to their help, it didn't take long until I returned to the tree Ibuki rested at.

"Here you go."

"Th-thanks..."

She averted her gaze and held the cloth against her cheek as I sat down beside her.

This wasn't the time to push for information, but to wait until she opened up herself. I needed nothing specific, but the longer she talked, the better I could understand her. I've had a lot of chats with Shiina before the exam, so a superficial investigation like this wouldn't help me. Ibuki, however, was different because she was shut off from the rest of her class.

Ryuuen's henchman were the only ones she had frequent contact with.

"Let's have a little chat, shall we? Apate?"

Who's Apate?

My face was colored in surprise as I glanced up at the boy before us. He was, as usual, not wearing very much and showed off his well-developed muscles for everyone to gawk at. Quite a few girls couldn't get enough of him, but I only found this guy irritating and revolting.

"Kouenji-kun? Do you want to talk to Ibuki-san?"

This was a fair assumption, since he might not have known her name and decided to call her with one of his weird nicknames, like everyone else. Ibuki was as puzzled at I was, as he shook his head.

"The confusion is understandable. I could have meant either of you, after all. But I'm more interested in talking to little miss Kushida right now. I would ask if I may have a moment with you, but you should be honored that a perfect existence such as myself stoops down to the level of mere mortals. In other words, chop, chop." He clapped twice. "I don't have all day to waste with someone like you."

Gosh, what a fucking piece of shit.

"Urgh. Why is this school full of weirdos?"

Ibuki frowned and walked off with an annoyed expression.

"I apologize, her remark wasn't very nice, but I'm sure that she didn't mean it like that Kouenji-kun! What do you want to talk to me about, though? You never initiate a conversation with either of us..."

Contrary to my kind words, I was livid that he had bothered me as I was working on Ibuki. For now, I had to keep my friendly girl act up, but I would let Kiyotaka know that Kouenji is a disgusting, narcissistic piece of shit that deserved to drown here like a fucking monkey.

Our proud classmate strode through the camp in his bulging speedo, as if he owned the place and led me to a somewhat secluded section past our base. If I screamed and claimed that he tried to touch me in certain places, the others would still hear me. I didn't mind destroying his reputation further, depending on what he had planned.

"What are we doing here, Kouenji-kun?"

He leaned against a tree, which was located just past my zone of influence.

Lucky bastard.

"It's quite the beautiful island, isn't it?"

Ibuki was right...

This school is full of fucking weird people.

"Well, it's certainly quite a sight. Living on an island and spending so much time on a luxury cruiser are once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for many, including myself. The nature and good mood of everyone brings so many positive feelings as well. Don't you think, Kouenji-kun?"

"Indeed. It's a shame that you can't enjoy this vacation to your heart's content."

Enjoy?

Wait... he wouldn't mean Kiyotaka, right?

No, that's impossible. No one should know. This was just Kouenji being Kouenji, spouting nonsense, as always. There was nothing to worry about. He knew nothing, otherwise Kiyotaka would have done something about him already.

"Mhh, what do you mean, Kouenji-kun? Of course I'm enjoying my time with everyone to the fullest! Now that my friends from Class B arrived, we can have even more fun together!"

His deafening laugh echoed through the forest.

"Of course you do. I just meant that you had so many things to take care of, you know?"

Fuck.

Did he know?

How?

Why?

Did Kiyo—

"Like gathering food and all those boring chores you have to occupy yourself with. You can't properly enjoy your time like the perfect existence that stands before you. Don't you just want to lean back and relax on the beach from time to time?"

Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!

Calm down, Kikyou.

Stop jumping to conclusions that make no sense.

"It's true that we have to do quite a lot, but it's also fun since we can all gather food together! But relaxing on the beach sounds like a great idea, Kouenji-kun! Let's make sure to enjoy our time before the exam is over!"

"I knew you would understand what I was hinting at. There is no need to praise me for such an excellent idea, as I am already blessed with good fortune, even without their acknowledgement. I'll be taking my leave now, Apate."

"Wait, who's Apate?"

Kouenji strode off without sparing me another glance.

Fuck this guy, I'll just ask Kiyotaka later.

After heaving a deep sigh, I went back to our camp, wasting no more thoughts on Kouenji and his weird behavior. A large gathering of students drew my attention as I stepped into the clearing, however. The commotion didn't die down and only grew louder as I inched closer towards the source.

"He said that he was sorry for scaring you, Sakura-san, Hasebe-san. Yamada-kun is also miserable that he hurt you, Sudou-kun. Apparently, he was looking for Shiina-san and got lost until he found you guys. He was shocked when the girls screamed and only defended himself from your initial attacks."

"YES!"

A loud affirmation followed Mii-chan's initial explanation.

The giant in their midst, who towered over everyone, nodded at the two girls before he turned to Sudou and Ike. The former glared at him and winced in specific intervals, while the latter kept smearing some crushed herbs on the wounds on his back.

"Hold still, damn it. I know it hurts, but this'll help."

Kiyotaka's Rook grumbled and squirmed in pain as both Sakura and Hasebe peeked towards him with worried and thankful expressions. The two flinched every time Sudou's anguished voice rang through our camp because their excessive reactions were the reason that he was hurt.

"Sudou-kun, what happened to you?"

My surprised gasp separated the sea of people as they made space for me to walk through. Every single student that had gathered here could see the apprehension in my quivering orbs as I stared at my precious classmate.

"Nothing, it was just a misunderstanding."

"Kikyou-chan! He tried to punch Yamada and got his ass whopped."

"Ike! You damn traitorous simp!" Sudou turned, trying to hit him, before he winced in pain. "Please don't tell Matsushita-san. She'll seriously kill me. I thought Sakura and Hasebe were in trouble and didn't think straight. Just... please do me a favor and keep this a secret, Kushida."

Sudou cupped his hands in prayer and bowed.

She really wasn't the one you should be afraid of...

"Well, it's hard to keep this a secret with so many people around, but I will talk to Matsushita-san and explain the situation to help you out, so please work on your behavior, alright? I don't know how she might react if the class gets into trouble because of you, and I don't want to find out."

I clasped his dirty hands in between my palms and observed him with two upturned puppy eyes that would make anyone fall for me. He glanced away in embarrassment while this other disgusting pig ogled me like the fucking pervert he was.

Thank you jersey, and fuck you Ike.

"Albert-san! What are you doing here?"

Shiina, who just came back from gathering firewood with some Class B students, gulped in confusion. Around a third of my idiotic classmates didn't understand what she said, but Mii-chan happily worked as a translator for the ones who were totally lost by this conversation.

"Ryuuen-san and the others retired, so you can come back too!" The giant took a few steps towards the girl before he pulled bug spray and ointments for insect bites out of his jersey. "The ship is more comfortable than here, so let's leave once you have protected yourself from the mosquitos."

"They all retired?"

The silver-haired girl couldn't believe her ears, which led her to answer in Japanese instead of English. Around fifty pairs of eyes widened in unison, since no one could fathom what Class C had apparently done.

"YES!"

"We shouldn't go back, Shiina." Ibuki sat down beneath an adjacent tree with a frustrated frown. "Ryuuen will beat the shit out of us if we dare to retire. I don't like it, but we better listen to him."

"Is this true, Albert-san?"

"YES! But I'll protect you!"

Class C's very own angel heaved a sigh before shaking her head.

"It's not up for debate then. I won't go back. You shouldn't fight Ryuuen-san to help me, because I don't want either of you to get hurt. I stood up to him and got punished for it, which is why I deserve to stay here on this island, Albert-san."

"NO!"

Even the dangerous, daunting titan seemed sad as he peered at the girl through his sunglasses. His facial expression told as little as the devil's, but his distressed tone of voice was enough to convey that he felt horrible about leaving her here.

"Please go back to the ship Albert-san." Shiina beamed and tiptoed to reach upwards, which still wasn't enough. The giant bent down, whereupon she caressed over his head. "I don't want Ryuuen-san to get mad at you. Ibuki-san and I are fine here, so please don't worry about us and follow him back to the ship."

"NO!"

He sat down where he stood and didn't move another muscle.

"Wandering through the forest is more exhausting than I thought. I really hope that Ayanokouji-kun doesn't push himself too hard because of the spots. He should already be worn from all the running, right?"

Ichinose-san's hushed mutterings ripped me out of my turbulent thoughts concerning Ryuuen and his strategy for this special exam. No matter how I looked at it, I couldn't believe that he had given up like this.

"The trips should be quite the physical and mental burden on him, since he has to run over the whole island three times a day in a specific amount of time. Everyone would feel worn out after two or three days at most. Every trip afterwards is just a bonus."

This was our first real challenge, but I had to admit that the two of them made a pretty good team. Where Ichinose-san thought about and solved problems using her emotions, Kanzaki-kun approached them with cold, hard logic, which was just as important. Their different approaches complemented each other and formed a strong, united front that would be difficult to breach for any enemy class.

"Well, he said that he is fine, but now that you guys mention it again... Do you think I should be worried about him? I told Kiyotaka to take it easy and leave a rotation out if he can't handle it, but I'm not sure if he would listen."

"Mhh..." Ichinose-san tapped her cheek. "Usually he's pretty calm and collected, no matter what happens. I don't think he would overwork himself, so I wouldn't worry. But that's only my opinion."

"I would have to agree, though. He's not the type to do something he can't accomplish. It took him quite a while to grow close with us, since he was terrible with any social interaction imaginable."

A heartfelt laugh escaped Ichinose's lips.

"Do you remember how Mako-chan and the other girls scared him out of the karaoke room the first time he was with us? If you guys hadn't helped him, he might have never come back to hang out with us afterwards."

"How could I forget? Shibata and I got an earful because we let him go."

Even the stern Kanzaki-kun chuckled while reminiscing about bygone times.

It pained me that I didn't know about their exchanges and meet-ups in which he made his first steps out of his little turtle shell. I was glad that he had fun with his friends in his own time, but I couldn't help but want to learn more about his first interactions with them.

Since the three of us were friends, I decided to inquire about a certain topic I was curious about.

"That reminds me, when we disembarked the ship, you wanted to bring a necklace onto the island. Right, Ichinose-san? Do you have a boyfriend or a secret crush of sorts?"

"Ehhhhhh?!" Ichinose blushed and turned into an ancient teapot as she hid her face. The jersey was a bit too long and covered half of her palms, which looked adorable, even from a woman's perspective. "Wawawawawa..."

Kanzaki-kun forced a dejected smile upon seeing this scene.

"A secret crush fits the bill rather well, but it's complicated."

"Mhm... is this complicated secret crush from Class A or another class?"

Ichinose-san reacted strongly towards the latter half of the question, which narrowed the person of her affection down to only two classes. Since no one from Class A had been on the ship, I chose to check if the mystery person was one of them. If Hoshinomiya-sensei had stopped her to bait out her secret flame, then I should have noticed his reaction on the ship.

But I didn't...

"Another class, hmm... which one could it be?"

I smirked at the pair with a teasing expression.

"K-k-kanzaki-kun! Tasukete!"

A giggle slipped my lips due to her cute reactions.

"It's fine. I won't dig any further... for now."

It wasn't easy, but I stopped Ichinose from letting any more information slip as I observed the woman named Matsushita. On the surface, her banter seemed like innocent teasing to get a few laughs in order to have a fun time together while we wandered through the forest. The current conversation was much more sinister, if one knew about her hidden agenda, however.

She knew that Ichinose liked Ayanokouji.

This was the definitive conclusion I had arrived on after studying her throughout the conversation. She was merely playing with us for her own amusement. Right now, she was in a position of power. Both in a romantic sense and in this current class competition. She had indirectly attacked us once already, so there was no reason to believe that she wouldn't strike again if a chance presented itself.

Meanwhile, she could throw Ichinose off without meaning us harm.

If we were unaware of her moves behind the scenes, then she and I would have evaluated this whole conversation on the surface level. We wouldn't have faulted Matsushita for it, since it would have just been gossip among friends. But this could not have been further from the truth.

Even though I had warned my classmate that she might use cheap tricks to get under her skin, she wasn't prepared to be asked about her crush outright. She didn't have enough time to prepare herself mentally for such vicious attacks, which was why she was easily swayed. If she had been aware of her feelings before this trip, then this whole situation would have played out differently.

Ichinose wouldn't have shown such an opening.

We switched topics after my successful teasing.

Somehow, we began to talk about leading our respective classes, whereupon I could only marvel at Class B for their unity. If I had tried something like this with my classmates, well, then Yamauchi-kun wouldn't have been the only expelled student. Compared to theirs, our class was indeed filled with misfits. Horikita-san's words might have been mean, but they fit perfectly to describe most of them.

I heaved a deep sigh.

My time at this school would have been so much more comfortable if I had been placed in Class B, since I wouldn't have had to spend so much time leading the class and could have still met Kiyotaka. Maybe it had been a mistake to grasp the position as Class D's leader under Fumei's banner.

The three of us soon arrived at the base Kiyotaka had indicated.

Class A's campsite was simple, almost crude, but definitely economic. Just like us, they had bought two additional tents to combat potential conflicts between students. Aside from that, they didn't seem to have bought anything else from the catalogue.

They had placed undergrowth and moss or something similar underneath their tents, which would make the ground more comfortable to sleep on. This was a strategy we could emulate, as we hadn't thought about something like this. These soft materials would help against the back pain most of us experienced after waking up this morning.

The weather also didn't feel as oppressive as in our camp, aside from the cave, which always maintained a comfortable temperature. Their tents were placed in the shadows of the trees, which would ease some of the heat, but it should still have been quite uncomfortable because of the blazing sun.

Similar to us, they had amassed a small mountain of firewood for the night.

I kept looking around, but couldn't find any food or water storage. It didn't seem like they had bought any drinks, so they must have settled for the small river that was flowing through the island and originated a few hundred meters north from our current position.

"Hey! Who are you guys?"

The green-haired Class A student that had pushed my boyfriend on the ship ambled towards us with an annoyed expression. His classmates soon turned around and examined us with curious looks. I hadn't planned to start a conversation with them since I wanted to explore their base on my own, but that wouldn't work out as hoped due to my company.

"Ohh, it's Ichinose-san!"

"Hey Ichinose-san, how are you doing?"

"Ah. Hey, Kanzaki-kun!"

Both of them seemed quite popular, which wasn't a surprise. Ichinose-san was rather famous because of her outgoing and friendly attitude towards everyone she came into contact with. Kanzaki-kun's reputation didn't surprise me either, since he was quite handsome and thus favored by the girls.

"Hey, everyone. How are you guys doing?"

I redacted my previous statement about my plans not working out because of my company, since Ichinose-san and Kanzaki-kun were doing a perfect job in attracting attention. The Class A students were so captivated by them that no one noticed as I closed in on one of their tents to take a peek.

"Hey! You, stop that! What do you think you are doing?"

The green-haired eyesore must have heard the tent's zipper and pushed me backwards, blocking my view. Fortunately, I saw large amounts of vinyl bags and sheets that were supposed to be used for the cardboard toilets before I stumbled back to keep my balance.

"I'm just looking around. There is no need to get so worked up."

"Did anyone permit you to do as you please? I think not. You shouldn't overstep if you don't want to lose fifty points."

He was quite the squaller, so everyone turned around and observed us.

A multitude of glares gathered on my person as my distractions lost their effectiveness.

It was quite peculiar, but some of his classmates didn't seem as mad as he was about my rather rude actions. Usually I wouldn't have pushed this far since I wasn't a person who confronted people head on, but this cretin pushed Kiyotaka.

"Losing fifty points, you say? I assume that you are referring to the penalty for unauthorized use of another class's spot, right? Well, could you show me the machine that marks this spot, then?" My voice turned a tad colder than anticipated, but this accident only seemed to help me. The guy stepped back and began to stutter, so I pushed further. "As I thought, there is no device. Can you guess how I knew that? Because my class took all of them. This means that you have no right to tell me to stop looking around. This may be your camp, but you have no exclusive possession rights over this location, since this isn't a spot you occupied."

I strolled past him towards another tent in the back.

Despite my best efforts, I got angrier the more I talked to him, but this might have worked to my advantage. This boy was someone who couldn't keep his ego in check, even on the ship. Now that I had humiliated him and his class, he might get physical towards me, which was exactly what I aimed at.

'Violence, theft, or destruction of property against another class will cause immediate failure for the class to whom the offending student belongs and the forfeiture of all that student's private points.'

Since he dared to push Kiyotaka, I wouldn't hesitate to get back at him.

"You! Damn —"

"Stop it, Yahiko!"

Judging by his commanding voice, the new arrival should have been Class A's leader. I turned around to face him, but was surprised to see how close he was. The man's hand grasped onto Yahiko's clenched fist, which was about to reach me.

"We may not have the right of exclusive possession, but it is still our camp. For the sake of mutual respect and social norms, I'd like you to honor this and don't barge into other people's property without permission. We have no qualms about you coming over and saying hello, but opening our tents is overstepping social boundaries which we should all strive to respect. Don't you agree?"

Hidden beneath his words was a rather cunning ploy.

With his statement alone, he couldn't stop me from looking through their camp if I wanted to, but these remarks weren't for me, but Ichinose-san who was righteous and wanted everyone to enjoy their time together, even if that wasn't feasible. As long as Class A didn't attack them first, Ichinose-san wouldn't retaliate.

If I kept pushing, I might create a rift between Class B and us, which might be hard to mend in the future. This bald student had noticed all of this in such a short amount of time and laid out a trap, which left me no choice but to comply.

"I'm Matsushita Chiaki. May I know your name as well?"

I drifted away from the tent, burying my previous plan.

There was no reason to make a scene, since I had done more than I wanted because of my boiling feelings. Getting a glimpse into the first tent was more than enough for me. Everything afterwards was just a bonus in order to upset the student named Yahiko.

Before Kiyotaka, I hadn't known that I could turn into such a pitiful person. I didn't like to employ underhanded tactics like this one to get rid of a competitor, but I couldn't help myself after seeing this guy again due to how angry I got.

"My name is Katsuragi Kohei. It's a pleasure, Matsushita-san, but I would like you people to leave now. Class A has some matters to discuss that are of no concern to either of you."

"That's alright. I was done looking around, anyway."

I turned and made my way over to my companions.

"Sorry for the intrusion, Katsuragi-kun." Ichinose-san bowed, a faint smile on her lips. She was apologetic for my rather insolent actions and tried to smooth the situation over. "We just wanted to see how Class A was doing. If you have matters to attend to, we'll be taking our leave."

"Thank you, Ichinose-san. And congratulations on joining the student council. I had hoped to talk to you sooner, but with so much going on in school, I hadn't found the right time. Maybe we could talk over coffee or tea after this exam?"

He was looking forward to this potential chat, but he didn't seem like someone who wanted to build a friendship with her. The only other conclusion I could come up with was that he had also applied for the student council, but was rejected by Horikita-senpai. It would make sense if he wanted to get some input on what went wrong with all of this in mind.

"Yes, that sounds very good. I'm looking forward to it, Katsuragi-kun."

The three of us withdrew after our farewells. It was already late, so Kiyotaka should be at the camp resting after his trip from before. The day was quite exhausting, so I was looking forward to spending some quality time with my boyfriend once we were back.

A healthy blush appeared on my face as those thoughts entered my mind.

- Word Count: 14088 / 65015 Characters

Released 20.08.2022

Chapter 24 - Control

Around an hour later, the three of us arrived back at the camp.

We were quite surprised since the visitor count in our base had once again increased. Just like before, it was a Class C student, one I had seen on the beach. It was rather difficult to overlook him because of his immense height, which should have eclipsed every student in the first-year with ease.

The giant in question sat next to Shiina-san, who munched on a handful of red berries.

Kushida-san ambled over to the pair with more fruits in hand and offered them to our new guest. He took the bowl-like container Ike-kun had crafted from tree bark and thanked her for our hospitality before decanting the fruits into the silver-haired girl's bowl.

Feeling a headache coming, I surveyed our surroundings for Kiyotaka.

Much to my regret, I couldn't find him anywhere.

Sudou-kun ambled out of the cave and performed a few exercises to loosen his strained muscles. His back pain seemed to have worsened compared to this morning, at least if his expression was anything to go by. The rest of our classmates were doing much better than him and continued their chores despite the confusion about our new arrival.

Hirata-kun discussed something with Karuizawa-san and a few other girls, while Ike-kun started the fires around the camp. Class B's leadership excused themselves and wandered towards their own comrades to go over some related matters. Horikita-san rested near the cave as usual and glanced around the area with a weary, tired complexion.

Our gazes met for a moment before she averted her eyes.

Was she also searching for Kiyotaka?

I wasn't sure if I should speak to her, because it was a well-known fact that she didn't enjoy talking with our classmates. In case she had to, she was rather prickly and a nightmare to converse with, at least according to Ichihashi-san, Azuma-san, and a few others. I had only spoken to her once, so I couldn't read much into her overall bearing, but my exhaustion was quite pronounced, which was why I decided against addressing her right now.

My energy reserves to deal with her antics were too low.

"Hey, Kushida-san. Do you know if Kiyotaka made it back?"

The girl carrying around a dozen small branches stopped in her tracks and bounced over with a bright, cheery expression that could burn the repressed fatigue away before it managed to affect someone.

"Um, he returned quite a while before you guys and is resting in one of the tents at the moment. Kiyotaka mentioned that he was tired and that he wanted to get some sleep before his trip tonight. I think he's in the second boy's tent close to the cave's rear."

"Thank you, Kushida-san."

She nodded, hopped back and dumped the firewood next to one of the pits.

"Kanji-kun, this is enough, right?"

"Ah, thank you Kikyou-chan! This should..."

The two of them had a lot on their plate, so I left them alone.

Kushida-san and Hirata-kun were the biggest reasons that our class worked as efficient as it did, and I was more than thankful for their help. Without our own private angel and knight in shining armor duo keeping the class cohesion high, I would have had a lot more trouble supervising my classmates.

This could also be said about Ike-kun, who had improved our chances at winning this exam without spending points by leaps and bounds due to his prior knowledge, which was not only helping us, but also his own damaged reputation.

Thoughts like these offered me a brief respite from the worry I harbored for Kiyotaka.

I could tell that he would overexert himself to reoccupy the spots in our name, and the action I would have to take against him near the end of this exam made the whole situation worse. Almost two days had passed, but I wasn't any closer in figuring out how I could retire Kiyotaka without hurting him.

He knew what was going through my mind, since I had shared these details with him, but nothing changed the fact that I might have to harm the person I treasured dearest in order to win this exam.

Would I really be capable of poisoning my boyfriend?

A good girlfriend should have never thought about such a decision.

The answer should have been an obvious, resounding no.

But could I go against Fumei's orders?

"Ah, Matsushita-san, I have a question about..."

"You are back, Matsushita-san! There's something I'd like to..."

The barrage of questions that reached my ears dragged me out of this toxic downward spiral, for which I was grateful for. There were still some other problems that needed to be addressed right now, and it would help my mental health if I concentrated on them for the moment instead of despairing about Kiyotaka.

"Yes, Miyake-kun, could you take some people to gather moss and leaves? I'd like to pad out the space underneath our tents to make the upcoming nights more comfortable for all of us. We will need quite a lot, but if we begin now, we should be able to cushion most of our tents before we are going to sleep."

"Eh, yeah. Of course, Matsushita-san."

My classmate glanced over our camp, looking for someone to share this task with, as Class B's female leader ambled up to us with a bright smile on her face. She turned towards Miyake-kun, exuding her usual helpful atmosphere.

"You could also use the vinyl bags and sheets from the school for the moment. They won't be as comfortable as a large quantity of soft moss, but we can just ask our teachers for more without limit. Putting the collected plants inside might be a good idea as well, as they would act like a pillow of sorts."

Their class had apparently come up with their own idea to combat the rough terrain, even before we had seen a similar strategy in Class A's camp. I hadn't noticed this before since I was busy, but they had decked their three tents in large quantities of these bags to soften their sleeping places.

"That's a good idea, thank you Ichinose-san. I'll get right on it."

Miyake-kun nodded and strode off as the next person in line came up to me.

"Matsushita-san, do you have any idea what we could do against the heat in the camp? The nights are fine since we have the cave, but the clearing where we spend most of our time during the day is just horrible because of the humidity."

This was one of the issues I didn't have an answer for yet.

Hirata-kun and I had already discussed this problem after Karuizawa-san's complaints, but neither of us had any viable ideas apart from moving everything into the cave, which wouldn't work out as the heat would just gather there instead. Ike-kun, who had helped us on multiple occasions, was stumped as well, because he never had to deal with such a climate during his camping trips.

"Um, we tried sprinkling water around our camp with moderate success." Her face was adorned by a sweet smile as these god-sent words left her lips. "It's not cool by any stretch, but definitely better than doing nothing. Scattering water near our beds and onto the ground removed some of the heat, at least."

"Let's try what Ichinose-san suggested, then."

"Mh, sure. But how much water do I need? Do I sprinkle it around with my fingertips or do I have to dump like entire bottles everywhere? It would also be fine to use river water, right? Wasting our water reserves for this would be bad, depending on the quantity..."

Class B's leader surveyed the camp on her side and waved someone over.

"Himeno-san, do you have a moment?"

A girl with violet twin tails peeked over before striding towards us. I had seen her before when we went to sing karaoke, but she was a rather quiet girl, so we had talked little. Aside from her name and her beautiful singing voice, I knew next to nothing about her.

"What's up, Class Rep?"

"Could you show Inogashira-san how we sprinkled our water around?"

"Eh..." The girl peered at my classmate as if she was a complete idiot, but neither she nor Ichinose-san had noticed this. "Yeah, sure." She turned around and signaled one of her friends. "Shiranami, something came up. I'll be with you in a sec."

"Okaaay."

Just like that, a major headache was mitigated.

Even though I didn't like to admit this, Class B was a force to be reckoned with, and I was overjoyed that they had decided to partner up with us during this exam. If Kiyotaka hadn't developed such a good friendship with them, we would have been in much more trouble due to the deal I would have had to accept.

"Thank you Ichinose-san. You really helped us out."

"Don't worry, we're a team, aren't we?"

She flashed me a bright, sparkling smile before wandering off towards Kanzaki-kun, who was looking for her input on some things he didn't want to decide on his own.

Calling her the kindest, most benevolent person in this whole school might have been an understatement. The more I got to know about this girl, the better I understood why so many students were looking up to her. She was similar to Kushida-san in that regard, but still several magnitudes more popular due to her position in the student council.

Could I ever become as reliable as her?

I thought myself superior in some aspects, while I couldn't even hold a candle to her in others. The previous issues that plagued our camp were perfect examples of this. While I had trouble dealing with these circumstances, she solved everything in a matter of seconds, without breaking a sweat.

"Tired..."

My languished whispers were meant for no one in particular.

This whole exam had put a much bigger toll on me than anticipated.

Even asking for a few seconds of rest was too much, as my duties increased by the minute. I still had to discuss our plans for the upcoming days with Hirata-kun and Kushida-san before I figured out what kind of story our newest arrival brought. As if this wasn't bad enough, I had yet to find clues about Class C's leader.

Would I need to care about them in the first place?

There was no reason to look for their card if they had quit. The problem, however, was that we could neither confirm nor deny whether this was factual. For all we knew, all three could have been sent here and lied to us for Ryuuen's sake.

In the improbable case that they had quit, it would be impossible to fulfill our part of the deal because of these strange circumstances. I saw no reason to reimburse Class B for our failure if this situation occurred, but this sentiment might damage our relationship with them.

We would need to find a common ground after the exam ended.

Giving them Class A's leader wasn't a problem, because I've seen enough about Katsuragi-kun in their camp to conclude that he was a smart and careful man. He wouldn't have made a rookie mistake like walking around with the card in his hand if there was a miniscule chance of him being seen. When he noticed that the cave was already occupied, he must have taken the card from the person named Yahiko, the real leader, in order to confuse potential observers.

Huuh, I want to see Kiyotaka.

A deep sigh escaped my lips as I slipped into the cave.

There were always two sides to a coin, but I hadn't been aware that leading a class would be this difficult before I took the job. Talking to my classmates, acting like I was close to them, having to plan ten steps ahead and think of everything that the other classes might do was draining.

Both physically and mentally.

I felt like a damaged battery with a gaping hole that desperately tried to function.

Was this the same for the other class leaders?

Unfortunately, I couldn't ask any of them. I didn't want to appear weak, or to complain about something I had decided for myself. Since I had taken the plunge; this leap of faith with Fumei, I had to see it through to the very end. Not to mention that all class leaders could be considered competitors.

The silence in the cave was interrupted by the zipper that slid down the tent.

My first reaction upon glancing inside was uncontrollable — flushing like a tomato would have been an understatement. He wasn't sleeping naked or anything similar that would warrant such an extreme reaction, but I couldn't help but feel appreciative of the cute smile that adorned his handsome sleeping face.

I was all alone with him, far away from our classmates.

His muscular, well-defined chest heaved up and down with every breath he took. The muscles in his face contracted and relaxed, each time his faint expression of happiness changed, which made this scene even more precious and memorable. I felt myself incapable of finding the correct words to formulate how charming he was.

My heartbeat sped up as my gaze wandered down his frame.

He must have been having a nice dream, one where he could relax, recharge and forget the toll Fumei and I had put on him. Even though I had told my boyfriend that it was alright to stop, I knew that he would keep pushing himself in order to make me happy.

Yes...

Kiyotaka exhausted himself for me, while I planned to poison him.

Was there any human more despicable than I?

"Kushida-san, do you know where Matsushita-san is?"

"Sorry Karuizawa-san, but I haven't seen her since she came back from scouting out the camps with Ichinose-san and Kanzaki-kun. Have you asked them? Or maybe she left to gather resources with someone?"

I loved being relied upon, as usual, but their constant questions annoyed me quite a lot. It would have been easier for her to ask her damn knight in shining armor, or that big-breasted goody two-shoes that ambled through Class B's camp. Both of them had multiple conversations with Matsushita, while I talked to her twice.

FUCKING TWICE!

"Mhh, I checked with Class B, but she isn't with them. Everyone aside from her and Ayanokouji-kun is here because it's almost meal time. I don't think she'd run off on her own either, since she told us to leave in groups, y'know?"

Don't bother me with your pointless shit and shut the fuck up.

Why is this cheap knock-off so damn irritating, huh?!

For fuck's sake, all those bitches are so frustrating.

But Matsushita asked where Kiyotaka was, right?

Different from his usual behavior, he was pretty obvious when he stared at my tits last night. Wait... Don't tell me... If he's screwing his girlfriend in that damn cave while I'm playing babysitter for eighty people, I'm gonna murder someone for real.

"Oh, I guess that makes sense... but I don't know where else she could be. Let's wait for a few more minutes before we send someone to look for her. I'm sure she's close by."

I rounded up my cutesy answer with a light, charming and refreshing giggle.

"Mhh, 'kay. Guess you're right."

Karuizawa strolled back to her friends, which prompted a sigh of relief. Since I got rid of the most recent nuisance that kept me from visiting the restroom, I was fucking ecstatic. This euphoric feeling lasted only a second, as it was soon snuffed out by yet another annoying fly that began buzzing around me.

"Kushida-san! There you are. You need to help me! Please!"

The Sudog prayed, kowtowing in the dirt.

Hah, lick my shoes and I might.

"What can I do for you, Sudou-kun?"

I folded my fingers and threw him a pleasant smile before helping him up from the ground. His whole complexion regained the previously lost color as he scanned our surroundings for anyone that might overhear our exchange. He lowered his voice and pointed towards a rather desolate spot at the edge of the clearing, far away from our companions.

"Not here... come with me."

Despite my thoughts about beating him up for ruining my visit to the toilet, which I desperately needed, I followed him as he led us away from the crowd. Envisioning his demise was fun, as it calmed my wrath that had only risen the past three hours.

Because every fucking time I wanted to piss, someone needed me.

Was it too much to ask for five minutes of peace?!

"Okay... here's fine."

Sudou peered over the clearing one last time and took a deep breath.

He either wanted to confess to me, which I doubted because of Ike's disgusting existence, or he had maneuvered himself in such a predicament that he had trouble to find the right words for how much he had screwed up.

"So, you know how I was doing chores and stuff all day like a good classmate, right? Hirata told me to rest for a bit since my back kept hurting after our run-in with Yamada and that I should wake Ayanokouji when it's meal time. I was like, 'Yeah, sure', and slid into the tent to rest. I couldn't really sleep because of my back, so I went back out, performed a few exercises and helped with some small stuff around the base. Since it's getting dark now, I figured that it's almost time to eat, so I wanted to wake Ayanokouji..."

"It's great that you are doing so much for our class Sudou-kun, and I'm overjoyed that you are growing closer to everyone, but where is the problem with waking Kiyotaka? It's not like he would bite."

If push came to shove, he'd devour him whole.

"Yeah, I know that. HE won't. But Ayanokouji's not alone in the tent."

Karuizawa's words and the discussion with Matsushita resurfaced in my mind before I could even word the question that lingered on the tip of my tongue. My complexion turned ashen in bewilderment as I looked at this damn asshole, who put me into an impossible situation with widened eyes, as my previous joking statement seemed to have come to life.

"Wait... Matsushita-san?

Sudou nodded in tears.

"You gotta help me! She's scary!"

I'd love to strangle him with some vines and order him to leave me the fuck alone, because I was even more terrified than he was, but that was something I wouldn't get away with despite my cute looks. That stupid piece of shit didn't even know that he was afraid of the wrong person in that tent.

Kiyotaka won't get mad if I wake them, right?

Fuck, Sudou! I'm gonna punch the shit out of you someday.

"I'll take care of it, alright? Just go back to the others and never speak about this again."

"Thank you, Kushida-san! You're a lifesaver."

The dog took my hands and squeezed them between his own in thanks. He felt terrible about putting me into this position, which was the least he could do after throwing me in front of a fucking dragon. Sudou kept shaking my hands and assured me of his eternal gratitude multiple times before running off with his tail between his legs.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!

This was everything my mind could produce as I walked towards my potential execution. The need to relieve myself had long since vanished and was replaced by unease, as yet another unpleasant thought popped into my mind.

Those two were decent and would have done nothing two lovers of the opposite gender shouldn't have been doing on a goddamn deserted island in a tent people wanted to sleep in tonight, right?!

No, calm down. Sudou would have freaked out even more if that had been the case.

Okay now, cautiously...

I zipped the tent open with utmost care and took a peek inside.

Kiyotaka, who wore a faint smile, lay sideways and slept peacefully. The devils muscular chest heaved up and down in a calm rhythm, which was strangely satisfying to look at. His girlfriend dozed behind him. One of her arms was slung around his waist, while the other grasped his jersey from behind, as if she was pulling him closer towards her.

"Oh, Sudou really brought you."

My feet moved on their own volition, stumbling backwards as I was nearing a heart attack. This sudden, involuntary movement escalated to such a degree that I shuffled into the tent's walls, caving the whole structure.

"Fuck! Don't scare me like that."

I took a deep, calming breath and recovered from this unfortunate situation before the tent came crashing down on us. Kiyotaka observed the whole scene with a unique teasing smirk, proving that his efforts in becoming more expressive had already paid off.

"Pretty bold to talk like this while we're not alone."

"Stop with the teasing! You wouldn't have said anything if she could hear me."

It was unusual, but I felt calm and safe despite his girlfriends presence. His existence gave me a peace of mind I had never felt before, which might have had something to do with the games he'd been playing with me.

"Who knows?" He shrugged, wearing his usual blank stare. "I'm glad he got you, though. He was cursing Hirata on his way out, but this situation is a lot more enjoyable. Wake her up and tell Sudou to get me in around five minutes."

His expression sent shivers down my spine, even though he neither looked grim nor angry. Knowing what this innocent-looking boy was capable of shook me to the very core every time I laid my eyes on him.

"Sure... but can we talk later? Just the two of us?"

"Is something troubling you?" My gaze wandered to Matsushita, who slept behind him. "Relax, her breathing is shallow and steady. She's asleep and won't wake up anytime soon without external help."

"It's about Kouenji."

He closed his eyes for a moment, almost if the mention of this name annoyed him. There was no reason for me to interpret emotions into his behavior, however, since they were almost impossible to decipher.

"We'll talk later. Get it done."

"...shita-san. Matsu... Matsushita-san?"

"Nghhhh."

Such a sound escaped my dry lips as I awoke from my deep slumber.

I rubbed my eyes, still pretty disoriented because I was woken up while I was fast asleep. Despite my best efforts, I couldn't remember when and where I had dozed off. The why, at least, was simple: I was exhausted.

The remainder of my weakened senses began to kick in as I took my first breath.

Kiyotaka's delicious scent traveled through my nostrils and straight into my brain, causing me to experience a slight state of arousal. This was what it would feel like after spending a night with him in one of our rooms. Waking up beside my handsome boyfriend, right next to his tempting odor, embracing his broad, muscular torso as my fingers...

My eyes shot open.

Without thinking about my current position for more than a second, I backed up from the warm, comfortable feeling I had been leaning against the whole time. The safety his back had granted me vanished in a snap, as my shocked gaze met the surprised look of the worried Kushida-san, who must have come in here to check on me.

My heart, which was still throbbing like a train engine, threatened to jump out of my chest as I glanced back down at my sleeping boyfriend and the deep imprint my frame had created behind him. The warmth my body produced amplified ten, no twenty-fold, until I felt like a boiling water tank.

A water tank with a leak, to be specific.

The moist sensation between my legs spread into my underwear ever so slightly as my nipples hardened further. My current impassioned state made my whole body flush in an even deeper crimson color. I covered my face and bent forward, praying that Kushida-san's presence was nothing but a bad dream.

How did I end up like this?!

I just wanted to take a quick peek!

"Um, Matsushita-san?"

"Please don't talk to me right now..."

Shame and embarrassment were the two most vocal emotions that resided in my turbulent mind, next to the stimulation I had felt before and after the initial shock at being found in bed with my boyfriend. I took deep breaths, trying to ease these feelings and urges that began growing inside of me. Each inhalation worsened my current complexion, as I picked up on my own arousal and the associated stimulating thoughts.

This arousing odor wasn't unfamiliar. Neither were the images that entered my mind, but it was the first time that such a situation occurred without me actively masturbating in order to orgasm. I was assured that I didn't touch myself either, because I wasn't wet enough for this to be probable.

Had I dreamed something weird?

"It's okay, Matsushita-san. No one except me saw you in here." Kushida-san's smooth, soothing voice danced around my ears as she rubbed my head. "Let's get you out of here before anyone looks for Kiyotaka."

I glanced at her bright, almost blinding smile and grasped her hand.

"You can't tell anyone! Absolutely! Please, Kushida-san! Promise me!"

"Of course. No one will ever know."

A sigh of relief eluded my lips as I realized that she didn't know about my current state.

"What time is it?"

"It's almost time for dinner. I heard Hirata-kun asking Sudou-kun to wake Kiyotaka before the food is served, so we should get out of here before he arrives." I lowered my head, embarrassed about the whole situation, but Kushida-san stopped me in my tracks. "It's normal that you want to be with your boyfriend, especially when you have so much going on. This could have happened to any other girl as well, so there is no need to feel uncomfortable."

Even though I hadn't voiced my thoughts, she knew exactly what troubled me. She realized that I felt awkward, and that this situation would have been even worse if Sudou-kun or one of the other guys had found me like this.

I would have died in shame.

"You are right. Thank you, Kushida-san. I owe you big time."

A heartfelt laugh escaped the beige-haired angel.

"You don't owe me anything, Matsushita-san. You are doing more than anyone else for our class, so please let me protect you this once. Let's leave before someone else arrives."

"Y-yeah. Let's do that."

Together with Kushida-san in tow, I sneaked out of the tent.

This was the first secret I would share with anyone, aside from Fumei and Kiyotaka. I wasn't someone who showed her cards, not even to people that were 'close' to me. Even now, I would have tried my best to hide this from her if she hadn't seen me.

Kiyotaka was the only one I could tell everything, as long as it didn't endanger him.

Kushida-san was one of the most trustworthy people in the entire school, so I was glad that she had found me. I could rest assured that nobody would ever hear about this mishap, since she always wanted the best for everyone.

During the short trip towards our joint campfire, I thought of things I had taken care of, in case someone asked me about my sudden absence. I checked in on Miyake-kun's progress in gathering moss and sat down with the others just as Sudou-kun and Kiyotaka ambled towards our meeting place.

"Hey Chiaki."

All I could do was squeal in a high-pitched tone before stuffing my mouth with berries in order to buy some time to think of words to say to him. He tilted his head, confused by my weird reaction, as I began to blush yet again. I averted my gaze, since I was in no condition to talk to him right now.

Kushida-san noticed my behavior and spoke to Kiyotaka in my stead.

I occupied myself by glancing over the meal our classmates had lain out and noticed that we had a much larger quantity of fish than yesterday. This wasn't solely Kouenji-kun's colossus of a catch, but also the smaller ones the fishing group had caught while we were visiting the other classes.

Previously, we had more rods from the hut than volunteers to fish, but this changed as we included the Class B students into our camp. We might have needed more food, but we also had more hands to acquire our nourishments.

Ichinose-san seemed somewhat absentminded the whole evening.

The only reason I could think of was her secret crush, who might have been part of our gathering. Seeing Kiyotaka and my relationship with him must have contributed to some longing thoughts of her own. Maybe she also wanted to feed and share fish with him. Maybe she also wished to be hugged in front of the fire.

Even though it was embarrassing, I truly loved him.

I felt my temperature rising and averted my eyes towards the three Class C students.

The giant's name seemed to be Yamada Albert. Contrary to his looks, he was a kind person, at least according to my classmates that had spoken to him. It was hard to communicate with Yamada-kun since he had trouble understanding Japanese, but he always answered the questions he understood and thanked us for the food and water.

We cleaned up after dinner and gathered around for roll-call.

Afterwards, I rounded up Hirata-kun and our visitors for a talk.

The fresh grass kept crunching beneath my feet as I followed Kiyotaka into the forest.

I didn't expect us to wander this far away from our camp, but he kept his course without stopping, even after ten, fifteen minutes. He reduced his speed whenever he noticed that I was getting slower and helped me down some dangerous-looking slopes when I struggled with traversing them.

Yet neither of us talked.

We were just one person leading and another one following. The two of us were neither close to each other, nor were we far apart. A certain, comfortable distance had gradually formed between our two bodies. I wouldn't have any trouble reaching out to him if I wanted to, and he was close enough to catch me in case I stumbled and fell.

Time passed until we reached the end of the forest area and arrived on the eastern beach, far in the distance. We left the towering, dense green foliage behind us, and gazed up towards the vast ocean of bright stars that glimmered atop of our heads.

A quiet, almost inaudible gasp left my quivering lips.

The waves surged over the beautiful dark blue sea as the water splashed against the shore, leaving its mark in the sand. High in the sky shone the moon, in a mysterious, yet mesmerizing light, unreachable for any human being on earth. For the last two days, I had neither the time nor energy to enjoy this breathtaking scenery for what it was.

Simply fascinating.

Is this the reason he brought me here?

I wasn't sure if this boy could have such romantic thoughts, but I liked to think that he had planned to show me this view. There was nothing wrong in wanting to believe that the person closest to you would move heaven and hell in order to spark happiness and joy in your fragile heart.

"What are we doing here?"

The sweet voice of my everyday persona traveled over the ocean.

"You don't need to keep your guard up around here. Wearing your mask the whole time, it's draining, isn't it? I brought you here so that you could let go of all your worries for a moment, while the two of us enjoyed this view together. The bright stars reflecting off the dark ocean... don't you think such a sight is quite beautiful?"

Kiyotaka slipped out of his shoes and placed them on the beach.

'Are you serious?'

Is what I wanted to return, but couldn't bring myself to.

I followed his example and took off my sneakers.

The sand beneath my feet was still warm, even though the sun had already ceased to leave its mark on this side of the world. I couldn't deny that this moment, this brief downtime the two of us could spend together, was important to me.

"It feels nice, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, it does... but what exactly are you planning?"

The devil sometimes mimed an angel, kind and caring, charming even, but his generosity came with a steep price. I knew this better than anyone, because I've seen both sides of the person known as Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. The circumstances on the island had changed, and he wanted to mitigate my unfavorable reactions towards something he would tell me.

And the worst part was that his method was working...

The brown-haired, golden-eyed boy heaved a sigh and lay flat on the beach, folding his fingers behind his head.

"Despite your thoughts, I know that you are doing your best, even if I don't always show it. Worry, unease and hesitance. All these emotions occupy your mind. They stress you out and make you unhappy. Right now, I want you to relax a little, to be yourself and release all those negative feelings you have trapped inside your heart. I will listen to your grievances as long as you need me and I will stay by your side, no matter what."

I raised my brow to these surprising, yet frightening accurate words.

"Here? Out in the open, where everyone could hear me?"

"You trust me, right?"

In a certain sense, I trusted him more than anyone else. But I could never answer this question with a wholehearted yes. Committing to someone I couldn't understand, someone who could have secrets from me, was impossible. Because I wouldn't be able to stop wondering about what might happen if he abandoned and discarded me.

"No." I took a deep breath and peeked at his calm, never-changing expression. "But also yes."

"I'm glad."

He shut his eyes, a soft smile on his lips.

"Why?"

His words confused me, since such an answer should have displeased him. The only reason that came to mind was the honesty about my feelings I met him with. Maybe he was glad that I answered him without hiding my sincere thoughts.

"Come on." He tapped the sand beside him, signaling that he wouldn't respond to my question. "Lie down and relax. Tell me what bothered you on the ship and about the people here. We still have time until I have to start my trip, so you can complain all you want."

I heeded his command and made myself comfortable on the sandy beach, right next to him. The warm sand and the cool ocean breeze that brought a whiff of fresh, salty air were reassuring and drove away my previous doubts.

"Alright... let's start with the first day of this fucking cruise ship, then. I mean, I was looking forward to this trip a shit ton, but do you have any sort of understanding about how fucking annoying my roommates are? They can't stop fucking bitching about..."

Similar strings of words left my mouth for what felt like hours.

Every single student, the teachers, the ship's crew, everyone managed to annoy me at least once in the past few days. Some of them were miniscule things, like one of my roommates snoring worse than a fucking train crash, while others were majorly pissing me off. I told him everything that I had been bottling up.

All while gazing at those beautiful stars above us.

The two of us were close. I wouldn't need to stretch very far if I wanted to touch him. His presence was pleasant, and he exuded an atmosphere that gave me safety, made me feel at ease, even. We had quite a terrible start, yet now I was so comfortable around him.

The scars he had carved into my flesh were still fresh, still oozing blood. There was no way that I could feel something akin to love for someone who did such terrible things to me. Both he and I were aware of this. We were not in love. We had something twisted, something much darker, more sinister.

It was really strange...

Kiyotaka had found me because I couldn't hold in my pent-up frustration that had reached its boiling point because of a certain someone. It had always felt wonderful to voice my resentments and misgivings in screams and shouts. I needed my voice to be loud, wanted to beat the shit out of anything that was in sight, because talking alone had never helped me.

So why..?

Why did it feel so wonderful to disclose my thoughts to him?

"Are you done already?"

Before I realized it, a calm, comfortable silence pervaded our surroundings. Without his words, I wouldn't have noticed that I had stopped complaining, ceased ranting about the bad habits of my classmates.

"Huh? Uh... y-yeah... I guess."

"I'm glad that you are feeling better now." He tilted his head and grinned at me for a moment before he gazed at the stars. "What happened with Kouenji today? You wanted to talk about him."

I recreated our conversation as faithful as possible since there might have been some clues hidden in his words. Even though I hadn't memorized everything, I was quite proud of my achievement in remembering so much of this guys nonsense.

"Apate, huh?" It almost sounded as if he was snickering, but that was impossible. "In Greek mythology, Apate is the embodiment of deceit. That's also why he mentioned that it was fitting for both you and Ibuki, as she is currently tricking everyone as Class C's spy. The same would be the case for Shiina and Yamada as well, though."

His voice was tranquil, but the words that left his mouth weren't assuring at all.

"Wait, back up a minute. You're telling me he knows? How? What are we going to do?"

I jumped up, whirling a bunch of sand around.

"Calm down Kikyou."

Nothing but a self-pitying laugh escaped my lips.

Of course, he said my name, knowing that it would appease me...

"Kouenji is not a threat. If he ever dares to become one, I'll handle him."

"How?!"

"Permanently."

His voice was arctic, so void of emotion that I couldn't swallow the saliva in my mouth. A bone-chilling, blood-freezing shiver traveled through my entire being as I glanced into those desolate golden orbs that no human could possess.

I took a breather and expelled the memories that began to surface from my mind.

"How long?"

"Ever since the first day, I assume. That's also when I became suspicious. Back on the bus."

A self-deprecating chuckle was all I could manage to produce after such an unexpected answer.

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

"Kouenji is a master at cold reading. Even if you hadn't shown a red flag back then, he would have known that you are hiding something by now. The good thing is that he doesn't know what you are suppressing. Due to my involvement, he thinks that it has something to do with me, which should reassure you, as he shouldn't know how twisted you are."

Cold Reading?

Didn't Inogashira's weird show have a main character that uses this as some sort of superpower?

"Isn't this all bullshit?"

"I can't speak for the source of your information, but cold reading is far from unreliable, as you must have discerned. He hadn't only figured out that you were untruthful, he also knew that the school was withholding information after analyzing Chabashira's body language and micro expressions during her introduction on the first day."

So it was safe to assume that he wanted to read me during our sudden conversation. He kept talking about my chores and how I wasn't able to relax because of them in order to lead my thoughts towards Kiyotaka and what he might have done to me. Kouenji knew that I was working for him, but he wasn't privy to the extent of our relationship.

Or had I already accidentally revealed something?

That bastard...

"Then isn't he dangerous?"

"Not at all." Kiyotaka shook his head and signaled me to lie back down. "First, Kouenji is still Kouenji. He doesn't care about what we are doing as long as it doesn't inconvenience him too much, and even that is up for debate, as you must have surmised due to his presence on the island."

What he said made sense, as Kouenji cared little about this school or anyone that wasn't him. I had been surprised that this monkey stayed on the island, but this new information explained his unusual behavior. Kiyotaka and he must have made some kind of deal behind everyone's back.

"Is he able to read you as well?"

If it's Kiyotaka, then I'm sure Kouenji's cold reading couldn't hold a candle.

"Yes."

Fuck...

"You don't need to worry about Kouenji, or anyone else you might be concerned about in the future. There is only one thing you need to remember, no matter what happens, so listen carefully."

I glanced at him with perked ears, as it was quite unusual for Kiyotaka to talk like this.

"I'm always in control. Even if it doesn't look like it, everything is proceeding according to plan."

Even though this claim was arrogant, preposterous and totally outrageous, I couldn't help but to cling onto those words, and view them as the truth. The Kiyotaka I knew was always multiple steps ahead of his enemies and had backup plans for backup plans in case the backup plans of his backup plans had failed.

Even when something unexpected happened, he adapted and seized control with little effort.

A prime example of this rule was the initial day of this exam, when he was contacted by the person Matsushita worked for. He adjusted his plans, using the person behind her as the mastermind as soon as he learned about their involvement. I wouldn't even be surprised if he had already narrowed them down.

He was always calm, always collected.

I'd love to see a crack in his composure just once...

With such a sinister thought in mind, I rolled over to my left. Since he was lying beside me, it took only a fraction of a second to mount him. He wore a completely unfazed expression, even though my face closed in on his own. His two golden orbs were focused on my eyes, despite the cleavage that had formed by my breasts pressing into his chest.

"What would you do if I wanted to kiss you right now?"

Even Kiyotaka shouldn't have expected such a move.

"Would you want to?"

His calm demeanor didn't change despite my best efforts.

Somehow, I felt angry, hurt in my pride as a beautiful woman. Every other guy would have killed for such a situation. They would have payed me to lie atop their chests, to hover over their lips, to look at them with a charming grin. Yet he didn't bat an eye. The devil didn't even answer my damn question, nor was he getting excited by my charms.

"That's not an answer to my question."

My voice turned cold.

I knew that this wouldn't intimidate him, since my change in expression hadn't helped me on the rooftop either, but I realized something after spending so much time with this courteous devil.

He admired those eyes.

"I'd probably tell you that I have a girlfriend and that you'd be a bad girl."

This answer was even more ridiculous than the first one.

Almost as if he dared me to kiss him.

"Heh? Then tell me, Kiyotaka... am I a bad girl?"

I flashed him a smirk and moved my face closer to his. Our noses touched a few moments later, and I angled my head to the side. My lips and his, the distance between them diminished rapidly.

"So both Shiina-san and Ibuki-san aren't allowed to retire before the exam concludes, or they will get beaten up by Ryuuen once they are back on the ship because they would have disregarded their punishment?"

"That's what it boils down to..."

Hirata-kun scratched his cheek.

A conversation between the three Class C visitors as well as Kushida-san and Hirata-kun took place, while Ichinose-san, Kanzaki-kun and I were looking for the base camps of the other two classes. Everyone, including Ryuuen himself, had already retired, according to Yamada-kun. He returned to persuade Shiina-san to come back to the ship, but the latter was intent on sitting out her punishment as requested.

"Okay, just to recap this: Ryuuen decided that he'd ignore this special exam in favor of a few relaxing days because all the spots had already been taken by us. Ibuki-san threw a tantrum and demanded that he takes this test seriously without messing around. Ryuuen then beat her up because of this defiant attitude and exiled her from their camp. Shiina-san couldn't take the violent behavior anymore and asked him to rethink his approach in leading the class, whereupon she was beaten and banished as well. Correct so far?"

"Yes, Matsushita-san."

"Tch."

"YES!"

Since both of his classmates agreed with my words, Yamada-kun seemed to be alright with what had been said, even if he understood nothing. He always communicated in English, so I wasn't sure if he was proficient enough in Japanese to interpret my words correctly.

"Yamada-kun came to get the two of you after everyone retired, because he thought that it would be hard for you girls to stay alone on the island. He hadn't known that you were residing with us and looked for you all over the island to make sure that you were safe, right?"

"Yes, Albert-san is really kind."

"Still don't understand why he's following that piece of shit."

"YES!"

If what they said was true, we couldn't send them back to the cruise, even if it would make things easier for us. In case I insisted on them leaving our camp, they would just stay somewhere else for the remainder of the exam, which would be a huge disadvantage. As long as they were here, we could at least monitor their movements.

The only thing I'd be doing if I isolated them was garnering bad attention.

Assuming that these three told the truth, one of them had to be the card holder. Yamada-kun was the last to arrive, so it was possible that Ryuuen changed the designated leader, just like we had planned, and told his classmate to bury the card somewhere. If he was ordered not to look at the back of the card where the name was engraved, then neither of them would know who the current leader was.

This was as strong as any defense could get.

How in the world were we supposed to figure this out?

And all of this would only be the case if there was no other Class C student perched in some thicket, waiting for his time. We couldn't just blindly guess either, since we would lose points for every wrong choice.

Argh, this sucks...

What would Fumei do in such a situation?

Would he give up?

Or would he somehow find a way?

"Well, we can't just leave you on this island to fend for your own. The three of you can stay, provided you earn your keep. Judging by yesterday, however, this shouldn't be a problem, as neither of you was slacking off."

"Yes, this won't be an issue at all, Matsushita-san. We are thankful that we can stay with you for the rest of this exam, even though we could be considered enemies. It's only natural that we would help, now that we are intruding on your hospitality."

Shiina-san performed a graceful bow, while Ibuki-san and Yamada-kun nodded.

Hirata-kun and I helped with stashing moss into the vinyl bags after our discussion with the Class C students. Aside from this, we took care of a few other tasks until it was almost time to sleep. I wandered over the clearing in search of Kiyotaka, but it seemed like he was already gone.

He was chatting with Kushida-san the last time I saw him, so I decided to ask her if she knew anything about his current whereabouts. As luck would have it, she finished up with Horikita-san and ambled over to her tent, where I intercepted her.

"Kushida-san? Do you know if Kiyotaka is already gone?"

"Oh... yeah. He said it was better to leave sooner since he could walk to the first spot, which would allow him to keep some more stamina for the rest of his trip. He wanted to talk to you, but left after he noticed that you were busy."

My heart bled a little, since he hadn't said goodbye, but I understood his reasons. Kiyotaka was considerate towards me, in case I was occupied with something important, but he didn't seem to have realized that he was the most important person in this camp. If he wanted to talk, I'd drop everyone and everything in a heartbeat.

"Mh, okay. Thank you. Good night, guys."

""Good night, Matsushita-san.""

Kushida-san, as well as the remaining girls in the tent, waved as I trudged back outside.

I hope he's doing alright.

Should I check if he forgot his flashlight?

No, he wouldn't... stop worrying so much Chiaki.

A coughing fit pulled me out of this downward spiral, for which I was quite thankful for. The perpetrator was none other than Horikita-san, who I had barely talked to in the past four months. Even though I wasn't convinced whether this was a good idea, I resolved myself to chat with her for a bit.

"How are you feeling, Horikita-san?"

The sick girl turned around upon picking up on my voice. Despite sitting right beside one of the fires, she seemed to freeze, as she had pulled the padded vinyl sheets deep into her face.

"I'm fine." Her answer was short and concise, as well as an obvious lie. "T-thank you for asking, though."

I shook my head.

"There's no need for you to thank me for something like that. Just tell someone if you are getting worse or feel you need a doctor. I'd much rather lose thirty points than endanger a classmate's health."

She choked again before a weak, quivering voice escaped her lips.

"I've already decided that I won't be burdening Class D this way. I'll remain here until the end, no matter what."

Since she was this fixated on staying on the island, I could only help to keep an eye on her when Kiyotaka wasn't around. Horikita-san didn't catch me as the person who would tell others if she was feeling worse, but maybe she would open up to him, since their relationship seemed to be quite good.

I deemed it unnecessary to talk to her any further, as nothing would come of it. She probably wanted to sleep anyway, so it was better to withdraw and leave her alone for now. Her fragile, sickly voice once again reverberated through my eardrums as I was about to say my farewells.

"Do you know where Ayanokouji-kun is?"

"He's already off on his tour. Should I let him know that you wanted to talk to him?"

She twisted back around, which left me unable to read anything from her expression.

"No need."

Total impenetrable darkness.

Those were the only words that could describe the night inside this island's forest. Not a single speck of light found its way towards me through the dense foliage that towered high above. The bright moon's shining silhouette wasn't intense enough to change anything this deep into the jungle.

The flashlight bumped around in my pocket as I jumped over a thicket filled with poisonous berries. I slid down a slope and climbed up a tree in order to overcome the difference in altitude on the other side of the small ravine. The way to Class C's camp was quite comfortable without the detours we had taken.

My eyes had long since grown accustomed to the darkness, so I wasn't worried about slipping or hurting myself. It was more important to stay beneath the radar and not to announce myself to anyone that might have hidden themselves around here.

Small waves clashed against the beach in a natural rhythm, which gave this place a comfortable, soothing feeling. The view was similar, yet different, to the one on the other shore where I spent time with Kikyou. I shook my head, dispelling the thoughts about what had transpired and began to scrutinize the surroundings.

There were multiple deep footprints in the soil, right next to the beach.

Chiaki hadn't noticed them hidden beneath all the grass and shrubbery, different to our two companions. Most of these prints were leading towards the ship, except for one pair that moved into the opposite direction. This wasn't surprising, since we had indeed welcomed yet another guest today.

But the size didn't match Yamada's shoes.

I removed these prints, which originated at the campsite until a certain point where they were barely visible and returned to the grill that Class C had hidden in the bushes. This was another false lead, one which only Ichinose had picked up on. Contrary to popular belief, she was incredibly observant if she wasn't blinded by her emotions.

Those fickle psychological states hindered her from achieving her true potential.

This was true for most people at this school, but Ichinose took the crown with ease.

She was swayed by her friendships, the naïve optimistic outlook into human nature and on this world that she had fostered even before she arrived at this school. No one here knew how vile and disgusting humans could be. There are, of course, the ones who went through their own patch of darkness like Karuizawa, but these pitiful remembrances didn't even scratch the surface on the monstrous actions by some people who called themselves 'human'.

I was comparable, yet contrasting, to these horrors.

Everything I had done and would do from this day onwards left only one conclusion. It emphasized one important fact that would remain unchanged for every potential future that awaited me and the students at this school.

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka was a horrible human being.

No — he was the worst of them all.

A deep yawn escaped my mouth as I rubbed my tired eyes.

The back pain from yesterday hadn't worsened, which assured me that Matsushita-san's strategy with the moss and vinyl bags had worked wonders, despite my previous doubts about cushioning our tents with dense green clumps of, well, moss.

I didn't even need to look around the tent to notice that I was one of the last boys to wake up, since I had so much space to sprawl my arms out as far as I wanted. It shouldn't have been this late or someone would have woken me up by now, but I still decided to get up.

With nothing else to do, I stood and made my way over to the entrance.

"Damn cold..."

A cool gust of wind immediately squeezed itself through the barely opened zipper and sent goosebumps over my entire body. The temperature wasn't that bad since we were still on a tropical island, but the cave's interior was rather chilly after sleeping in a tent with ten people for the whole night.

"Sudou! Get your lazy ass out of here! It's eight in five minutes."

The first words I heard at such a beautiful morning were none other than Ike's, which immediately soured the mood for the remainder of the day. If he hadn't been this useful during this exam, I would have put him in the worst headlock he had ever experienced.

"Yeah, yeah. Stop yelling, my ears are bleeding."

I stretched my tired limbs and performed a few light exercises to stay awake.

Chabashira-sensei, who seemed much less irritated than yesterday, called everyone over for roll-call. This exact situation repeated next to us with Hoshinomiya-sensei and the Class B students who had joined our camp. My gaze wandered over our classmates and stopped on Kouenji, whom I still distrusted after his stunt with the fish.

How the hell did he do that, anyway?!

After roaming past him, my eyes met Sakura's.

She gifted me with a cute smile and waved me good morning. Before I could repay this kindness, she spun away and turned towards Hasebe, who she had become much closer with since the incident with Yamada.

I kept repeating and recreating the fight between him and me multiple times, but couldn't find any way to win. It didn't matter whether I used my fists, legs or even tried to bite him, the result was always the same: I lost.

What kind of monster was this Ryuuen guy to beat someone like him?

I couldn't even imagine.

Ayanokouji leaned against a tree and yawned, still half asleep. He glanced at me for a moment and regarded me with a weak nod before Chabashira-sensei confirmed his presence. A second later, he turned around and dashed off towards the first spot on his morning trip.

Not only was his whole rhythm royally messed up, he couldn't even rest comfortably during the day. Lack of sleep, nutrition and the burden of carrying our points on his back would lead to even worse exhaustion and might contribute to him stopping his rounds altogether in a few days.

Neither of us would complain if he gave up.

He did more than anyone could have ever asked for.

Matsushita-san, Ichinose, Hirata and Kanzaki assembled near the cave area while we commoners ate breakfast with each other. The nuts we had brought yesterday cracked apart inside my mouth, before I swallowed these strange fruits and rinsed my mouth with water to get rid of the small pieces that stuck between my teeth. They were edible, according to Ike, but I didn't know what exactly they were.

He told us, but I forgot.

Either way, they tasted pretty good.

We kept chatting and laughing with the Class B students as we all mingled and had our fun during breakfast. The only girl that hadn't been included into these festivities was Horikita, who kept resting throughout the whole exam. She was lying down at her usual spot, buried inside a thick blanket we made from vinyl bags and moss.

Should I go over and talk to her?

I decided against this, as I would only get insulted, even though she should have been bored.

"Sudou-kun, could you gather some corn later? We've already used everything up."

Our leader walked over with a vinyl bag in hand.

Despite my best efforts to screw things up with her, she pulled me out of each mess I had slithered into. Both Kushida and Hirata had spoken out for me yesterday, after I had attacked Yamada. Matsushita-san wasn't mad, since I fought to protect our classmates, but she still told me to speak before throwing punches.

I was really glad that she didn't wake up in that tent...

"Sure, leave it to me."

She handed me the prepared bag, which I folded up.

They were supposed to be used for the toilets, but they had so many other purposes that it was almost weird that the school had given us an unlimited quantity of them. Collecting corn was a lot more comfortable due to the volume of these bags, since Ike's bowls were too small for even one or two corncobs.

"If you need help, you can ask Miyake-kun and Shibata-kun from Class B."

"No, thanks. I'd rather do this on my own."

She should have known that I didn't mix well with people, especially ones I didn't know. There was no need to scare off that poor Class B guy and whoever Miyake was. He was one of our classmates, of course, but I didn't know which one.

"You know that I'd feel reassured if everyone walks around in groups of at least two to three people, right? At least take someone with you." Matsushita-san glanced around before a mischievous grin appeared on her face. "Hey, Sakura-san? Could you come over for a moment?"

Huh, are you serious?!

Our timid classmate was so surprised by this sudden spotlight that her whole body shrunk. She shuddered for a second and trudged over with slow, uncertain steps, despite the scare she had to tolerate.

"H-hello, Sudou-kun, Matsushita-san."

"Would you mind accompanying this guy when he leaves to gather corn for us? If you go with him, I don't have to worry about him getting lost, so please keep an eye on this idiot, yeah?"

Hey... I'm still here, you know?

"Ehh? Y-yeah. I g-guess..."

"You don't need to force yourself."

Matsushita-san revealed a faint smile, which calmed Sakura's nerves.

"N-no! Ah, I... I mean um... if it's S-sudou-kun, then..."

I was unable to understand most of the words that fled her trembling lips as she got quieter with each word that passed through my eardrums. Our brown-haired savior didn't have the same problem and promptly paired us up before she strode off.

"W-well... I'll be in y-your care. S-sudou-kun."

"Uhh, yeah. Likewise."

Just like Sakura, I bowed before wondering why in the world I was offering her such a senseless performance. I asked myself why Ayanokouji and Kouenji could walk around alone, while the two of us fumbled around each other. The latter was self-explanatory, since no one wanted anything to do with him, but Ayanokouji was pretty popular with the girls.

Ohh, now I get it...

I hadn't been aware that Matsushita-san was the jealous type.

That explained a lot, actually...

Surprised by my sudden increase in logical reasoning, I took off with Sakura. We had been to the cornfield with Matsushita-san before, so it didn't take too long until we arrived at our destination.

That would have been the case if Sakura wasn't so damn slow, at least. Physically speaking, she was pathetic and began to struggle not long after we had left the camp. Her huge breasts kept heaving up and down as moist, laboured breaths escaped her mouth.

I pinched myself in a desperate measure to forget about these giant lumps of happiness.

God dammit Ken, what is wrong with you?

"Let's take a break for a moment. My stomach needs some time to digest the food, haha..."

Sakura nodded and slumped down against a tree in exhaustion.

It was better if she believed that I was at fault for this pause, because she would likely throw a small fit and complain that she didn't want to drag me down. She may even want to continue and would push herself until she collapsed, which I couldn't take responsibility for with a good conscience.

I sat down beside her, not too close to make her feel uncomfortable, but also not too far away to make it awkward. Unfortunately, the ensuing silence had botched my initial plan of not making things weird between us. We had talked a lot during the time after the incident, so there wasn't much I was still curious about.

"It's a shame that you couldn't bring your camera." I grabbed onto a lone branch and drew circles in the ground beside me. "I bet you would have enjoyed this trip a lot more if you could have taken pictures of everyone."

"Mmm..." She nodded and interlocked her arms in front of her legs. "I already saw some great spots I could have taken photos at. It's a shame that we are only allowed to buy a camera with points and weren't allowed to use our own."

"What? You can buy something like that as well? Damn, this school is horrible..."

I had only skimmed over the manual, so I had been unaware that even a camera could be bought, which was akin to forcing conflicts in various classes. If the person who enjoyed photography wasn't the shy Sakura, but a narcissist like Kouenji, the class would have started a war without a doubt.

"Well, it's alright. I can still take great pictures at school."

Sakura held both of her hands in such a manner that she was creating a frame around my face. She closed one of her eyes, mimicking a professional photographer, before we both blushed and turned away.

What the hell?

That was so cute!

"W-what about you, Sudou-kun? Do you miss basketball?"

"Yeah... it really sucks. I've played a bit on the ship's court, though. So there's that I guess. You also took a lot of pictures back on the cruiser, so I guess we have something in common."

She tilted her head to the side with a confused expression.

"There's a basketball court on the ship?"

"Yeah! I couldn't believe it myself at first. But I gave it my all, even outside the club!"

I slapped my chest, looking forward to the time back at school.

The summer tournament was the current goal I had set my sights on. If I did well in my first event with the basketball club, I might gain enough points to buy myself a passing grade once or twice, depending on the amount of points I was missing. Maybe I could even gain class points and everyone would apologize for badmouthing me.

"I guess there's..."

A few quiet words drifted off Sakura's lips and vanished into the deep forest.

"What did you say? Sorry, I couldn't hear."

"Ehhh wawawa..."

She spun around and burrowed her head in between her arms before shaking left and right. I was too mesmerized by two other objects that wobbled around and forgot the topic we had talked about before.

Curse you, Ike. You've tainted my thoughts!

I had to find another subject before my mind went to more forbidden places.

"How are you getting along with the others?"

"Talking with Matsushita-san is always nice, but she's so busy that we barely had time to chat ever since we docked on the island. Ayanokouji-kun is the same, since he either runs around or sleeps. I really hope that he isn't pushing himself too hard for the class. Hasebe-san is really considerate as well, and we are even going to exchange numbers once we are back on the ship." Sakura beamed at her knees with a faint crimson complexion. "The others are... they are kind... but I never know what I'm supposed to say. Even when they are relaxing and not talking about the exam, I feel out of place and constantly wonder whether I should say this, that or just stay quiet..."

The pink-haired girl scratched her head and stared into the forest.

Even though she seemed uncomfortable about holding eye contact for long, she tried to glance at whomever she was speaking to. This time, however, it was different. Instead of peering at me, she averted her gaze towards the ground and tried to escape any contact.

I punished her with a playful karate-chop to the head.

"Ouch, w-what was that f-for?"

"I've decided. Every time you are this insecure, I'm going to hit you like that."

"Ehhhh?! Y-you can't do that S-sudou-kun!"

She shielded her head while rocking her body back and forth. Her small hands turned into fists, which she swayed up and down beside her. Her complaints, even though adorable, fell on deaf ears.

"Watch me!"

Once again, I hit her head.

Sakura was insecure, but I wasn't smart. Even though I knew that her fearful behavior was a problem, I couldn't come up with a solution like Matsushita-san would. In the end, I was nothing more than an idiot.

So I'll help her the only way I know.

She was really attentive and compassionate, but no one had seen this yet. Even with those fake glasses she wore before, she was quite beautiful, but no one had noticed this yet. Her insecurities were quite charming and sometimes super annoying, but no one was aware of this yet.

I'd like to support her, at least for the time an idiot like me can spend with her.

Before she realized that she was too good to waste time with a brute like me.

I wanted to make her smile.

At least once more.

A loud sneeze echoed through our camp.

"Which one of you bastards is talking shit about me?!"

Ike-kun expected answers, whereupon the rest of our classmates began to snicker. The Class B students also took his words as a repeating joke and surveyed the surroundings for anyone that felt guilty of this crime.

"You paired up Sudou and Sakura, huh? Do you really think this is going to end well?"

My boyfriends charming voice traveled through my ears.

I spun around, delighted by his return and jumped straight into his athletic arms. He was surprised by this sudden attack, since I usually held back on such lovey-dovey actions in front of people, but I couldn't help myself. I took a sharp breath, savoring his sweet, somewhat sweaty scent.

"You're back!" I rubbed my face into his chest like a lonely, forgotten kitten and looked up into his tired, golden eyes before planting a loving kiss on his luscious lips. "About those two, I think they'll be fine. They like each other, so Sudou-kun wouldn't do anything weird. Sakura-san also feels comfortable around him."

"You are kidding, right?"

"Well, they are not at couple level of liking each other, but I believe that they will be good friends if Sakura-san manages to jump over her shadow. Sudou-kun kept looking out for her, ever since... that day, and I'm sure that she noticed that he is putting effort into being calmer to make her feel at ease."

"Wow. That's surprising."

A laugh slipped my lips as I caressed over his soft hair.

"You don't look surprised at all, you know?"

The faint smile on his face deepened before he leaned towards me. His warm breath tickled my earlobe while I tried my absolute hardest to not think of yesterday when I slept next to him.

"May I ask you something?"

"A-anything."

My eyes darted around, wishing that no one was looking towards us, as I felt my body temperature increase. The blush that extended from my head to the rest of my body increased in intensity as my thoughts began to run wild.

"Would it be unfair of me to ask you to spoil me a bit?"

There was no way that he really asked me to s-spoil him, right?

"W-what?"

Yes, I was going crazy.

Surely.

"I want you to spoil me..." He leaned into my neck and began to nibble on my skin without prior warning. "According to your silence throughout this exam, I assume that I will be poisoned in the upcoming days. I might develop a bad fever, my stomach might kill me and I might feel as miserable as Horikita. The least you could do is spoil me, don't you think?"

His calm, gentle tone and these cruel words ruptured my heart.

Despite knowing that I would have to endanger his health, he clung to me, the most dreadful girlfriend anyone could have ever had. He wanted to feel my warmth, experience my touch regardless of the cruel things I would do to him for something as trivial as class points.

I felt embarrassed and disgusted by myself for exposing him to such danger.

"Okay... but I... I'll spoil you a-afterwards. Promise..."

My gaze swayed around, surveying the surroundings while he was occupied with kissing me. We had done this before, but I didn't want anyone else to see Kiyotaka's adorable side. And I still hated being watched while... doing it.

God Chiaki!

That sounded so wrong!

Get a grip already and stop fantasizing!

This momentary excursion into dreamland didn't help my complexion, that neared a dangerous crimson. I leaned forward until our lips met again. He tasted so much sweeter than usual, but I didn't know why.

Maybe this addictive taste was part of my emotions and proof that my thoughts ran wild. Altering my perception to such a dangerous degree wouldn't be a weird side effect after my yearning for him grew.

Even though I wanted to keep our embrace short, I couldn't find the courage to separate my lips from his.

I was truly a horrible human being.

- Word Count: 12152 / 55262 Characters

Released 27.08.2022

Chapter 25 - Decoy

The third day began just like the ones prior.

Kanzaki-kun and I left the camp after the morning roll call and our subsequent discussion with Matsushita-san and Hirata-kun. Just like yesterday, we wandered through the jungle for quite a while, until the two of us stepped out of the shrubbery, entering the beautiful yet desolate beach area that had once been Class C's base.

Our union with Class D held strong, at least for the people unaware about the procedures behind the scenes. We agreed to let our classmates know about Matsushita-san's betrayal after the island exam, since we couldn't risk this information spreading at the moment. It would be dangerous if too many people knew about her schemes, because even a subtle change in behavior might alarm her that we possessed knowledge we weren't supposed to.

I felt awful, hiding such important information from my friends, but Kanzaki-kun assured me that we were keeping this under wraps for the good of the class. A stinging, burning pain assaulted my heart every time I kept this secret from Mako-chan and the others, despite my acceptance and approval of Kanzaki-kun's arguments.

"So, here we are. But why exactly are we here?"

My classmate sheltered his eyes from the blazing sun, squeezing them shut. I didn't supply him with an immediate answer and moved towards the grill he had found hidden in the bushes when I noticed something peculiar.

"The footprints are gone..."

His eyes widened as he inspected the area for remnants to pick up the trail.

"Seems like someone noticed that they made a mistake."

We looked at each other and nodded in unison.

""Ryuuen-kun.""

"With this, we can assume that he's still on the island. But where?"

Kanzaki-kun heaved a deep sigh as he surveyed the forest.

It was almost impossible to find a lone student on this island, especially if he didn't want to be found. One person would need little food and water. If he limited his movements over the upcoming days, he would need even fewer nourishments. Ryuuen-kun, or whoever this mystery person was, could have hidden inside any thicket, behind any tree...

I wiped over the grate and glanced at the residue on my finger.

"As I thought... it's not enough."

"Enough what?"

"Grease. Or any other persistent remnants. I don't have that much experience with barbecues, to be honest, but this grill was supposed to be used by around forty people, right? The amount of buns, patties and sausages they would have needed to feed all of their classmates should have been much more than the leftovers on this rack indicate."

I may not have been an expert in cooking related topics, but I knew my way around the kitchen and certain utensils. There was no way that a large amount of meat or other provisions were barbecued on this grill after considering all the different residues that should have been there from a logical standpoint.

"You mean the points don't add up, right?"

He acknowledged my doubts, realizing that something was amiss.

"Yeah. Aside from the grill and the food they must have bought to feed themselves, there is nothing nearby that would indicate any other purchases. Doesn't this strike you as weird? If Ryuuen-kun really threw the exam, like Shiina-san and the others claimed, then he would have emptied their points without a doubt. So what else did he buy, and where are the items? According to my rough calculations, and the assumption that they were really generous with the amount of meat and sausages they had bought, Class C should still have a large sum of points left."

"He probably stockpiled items to survive the remaining days without needing to rely on anything in particular. Food and drinks, maybe even a toilet?" He glanced around before shaking his head. "No... that wouldn't make any sense. It would be difficult to stay low key if someone found a random toilet in the middle of the forest." Kanzaki-kun rubbed his chin as he thought about probable use-cases for the remaining points. "Could he have made a deal with Class A?"

This was a possibility, but we neither knew enough about Ryuuen-kun nor Katsuragi-kun to affirm this theory in any reliable capacity. He was cunning and well informed, so he must have identified that there was a rift in Class A, due to the two opposing factions that had formed back in April.

Could he have used this to his advantage somehow?

"It's a good but difficult to prove theory because of Katsuragi-kun's defensive behavior. Let's take a step back and think this over. What do we know for certain? Someone returned to erase the prints after we found them. It was none of us and we observed Matsushita-san the whole day, so there was no chance that she had done something."

My classmate leaned against a nearby tree, scratching his forehead.

"With this in mind, only Class A and C would remain as suspects. Most of Ryuuen's followers have already left the island, otherwise Ayanokouji would have had a high chance of running into them during his trips. This meant that only Shiina, Ibuki and Yamada could have hidden the prints. Neither of these theories is viable, however, since they were always accompanied by someone from our classes when they left the campsite."

"Class A could have hidden the prints to sow chaos, but that would only work if someone like us had seen them before and would return here. Such a move wasn't worth considering because the chances were simply too low. The only applicable reason would be a potential deal between their classes. From this perspective, they would have cared if someone in Class C missed such a crucial detail as they would have covered their tracks regardless. The same goes for the mystery student who remained on the island, who we expect to be Ryuuen-kun. But would he make such a mistake? What if he observed us yesterday and covered his tracks to cause confusion in our camp?"

Kanzaki-kun and I kept passing an invisible baton to one another while we tried to decipher any potential clues from the information that were available to us. The more we thought about feasible scenarios, the more confident we were in our assumptions.

"That reminds me... where are their tents? Every class had received two at the beginning of the exam, but they aren't here. What if two of the four tents in Class A's camp were gifts from Class C?"

All the evidence we found led us to such a solution.

This giant snowball of clues and conclusions that kept tumbling down the mountain was created by a single change in these surroundings over which we had stumbled by sheer accident. If the prints had still been here, we would have only been concerned about the small amount of residue on the grill.

But what was the correct conclusion to draw from this?

Had the mystery person found these footprints incriminating enough to clean them up?

Or was someone in the forest presenting us with a false lead?

The two of us soon reached our joint camp.

It was a real shame that we had to find the other class leaders ourselves, since we couldn't refute the possibility that Matsushita-san might feed us false intel when it was time to take our guesses. She might have thought ahead and wanted to string us along further after her initial plan had failed, but betting on such a low probability was far too dangerous.

If she suspected that we were aware of her betrayal, she wouldn't hesitate to tell us wrong names because we hadn't written up a clear, irrevocable contract that prevented this, thanks to my naïve outlook. Our current situation was my fault, and I took full responsibility for my actions in case we lost this exam due to my decisions.

I had failed my class during this exam, so I had no right to lead them in the following ones. This was the reason I would leave the leadership position to Kanzaki-kun in case we left this island with an inadequate amount of points. He wanted to talk me out of my resolution, but this was an arrangement I wouldn't budge on.

Kanzaki-kun and I discarded the alibi-fruits we had gathered to explain our absence before we mingled with some other students who took a break around the firepits. The girl side began to gossip about everything that came to mind, while the boys discussed sports, games and other such topics as we shared drinks and berries among each other.

Our two classes had an amicable relationship, and I was glad to form new friendships with some of them. The Class D students weren't bad people, and it was apparent that their leader took these unscrupulous steps against us without their knowledge.

The person in question was nowhere to be found.

A certain classmate of mine would have interpreted her absence as 'planning another ambush', but at this moment, I could only agree with his pessimistic outlook. I would have loved to treat his thoughts as a bad joke, but we couldn't rule out the possibility that she was scheming against us.

My gaze swayed over the camp until I caught sight of the frail boy who had stolen my heart.

His complexion was much worse than yesterday as he leaned against a nearby tree in exhaustion. Deep, dark rings had formed beneath his golden eyes, which were distinct signs of overexertion and lack of sleep. Ayanokouji-kun's chest heaved up and down with each calm, relaxed breath he took during his comfortable slumber in the sun.

Gosh, he's so adorable...

A loving smile spread over my face as I felt the temperature rising. I grew restless and glanced around, hoping that the demon called Mako-chan hadn't seen this affectionate expression. Kanzaki-kun regarded me with a pained grin, aware of the hopes I harbored.

How could his girlfriend just sit by and let him do this?

I clenched my fists, contemplating whether I should speak to him.

My desire didn't stem from any self-centered thoughts, but the wish to tell him that it was fine to take it slow, to assure him that no one would fault him for stopping now. It was only a matter of time until an accident occurred if he kept overworking himself like this, so I opted to let him sleep for as long as possible before I shared my concerns with him.

Matsushita-san's actions led me to doubt the legitimacy of her feelings towards Ayanokouji-kun. If she cared about him even half as much as I did, then she would have never let him deteriorate this far. His health was far more important than any amount of useless points for the class.

So why..?

Ayanokouji-kun's drowsy frame began to move as a yawn slipped his captivating lips. He rubbed his tired eyes, which only barely opened as he peeked around the camp. Our glances converged, whereupon I averted my gaze, surprised by this sudden spectacle.

How could anyone wake up in such a charming manner?!

Feeling bad for breaking eye contact, I turned towards him.

He regarded me with a puzzled expression due to my weird actions before a smile appeared on his delicate face. I raised my hand and waved while my feet carried me towards him on their own.

"Heya, sleepyhead."

I beamed and sat down beside him.

Upon leaning back, I realized that this was one of the most comfortable spots in the entire camp. No roots or other scrub ran along the ground, which made this location enjoyable to rest at. The sun shone in its usual bright luster, but both our faces were covered by the leaves of the tree, as if they had grown just for us.

"Hey Ichinose. How's everyone doing?"

His cumbersome eyelids fell twice as he pronounced these few fleeting words. Anyone could see that he was overexerting himself. When my classmates brought this up with him, he only ever rubbed his chin, saying that he was fine and that he would stop before his health worsened.

So why wasn't he stopping?

"Everyone is doing fine, but you should catch some well-deserved sleep while you still can, so II'll leave now. Please, just promise me that you won't exhaust yourself if you feel too tired, okay? None of us want to see you get hurt. Those points are only temporary. Your health is much more important, so you should take care of yourself."

I couldn't do much, despite letting him rest.

If I had been his girlfriend, I would have told him to stop, and made sure that he listened, even if I had to drag him back to the camp thrice a day. But right now, I was in no position to demand this from him, despite my best intentions. Matsushita-san was the only one who could stop him if she really wanted to, but she did nothing.

His warm, soft hand grasped onto mine as I was halfway up.

My whole body jolted as the enamoured heart in my chest began to drum so much louder, betraying the emotions I was so desperately trying to hide. His fingers were so warm, strong yet frail as they clasped onto mine, startled by my movements. I wanted to embrace him, order him to stop this nonsense and sleep, show him much I cared and wanted him to be happy.

But please don't let him hear!

The quick, powerful heartbeats pounded through my ears as my complexion turned crimson. My hands, which he held in his gentle grip, began to secrete sweat as my nervousness grew. If I could, I would have turned around and kissed him to prove that this subtle action made me one of, if not the happiest, girl on this planet.

"Stay, please."

Ayanokouji-kun's soft, almost pleading voice ripped my heart apart.

Why would you say something like this..?

He must have noticed that his actions could be misinterpreted and pulled back. The warmth around my fingers was replaced by cold, lifeless air, which stripped away the last remnants of his soothing presence as he averted his gaze.

Despite this, I could still feel him close to me.

I sat down, hiding my flushing face, concealing the pain that coursed through my veins whenever I looked at him. Other than scrutinizing the ground to distract myself, nothing came to mind. I watched the blades of grass beneath my legs waving in the soft breeze and kept counting the steps of the small ants that wandered over the ground in order to control my quivering heart.

"W-what is it?"

The comfortable silence broke as those words crossed my lips.

"It's just you looked really pained just now, and I wanted to make sure that everything is alright."

He began to scratch his thumb, fidget around with his fingers. Such a nervous display was unprecedented and showed how much impact this tiring exam had on him and his state of mind.

A dejected laugh almost escaped my mouth as I sat back down.

I was such an idiot.

He was wearing himself down for the sake of his class, which made me worry. Due to my inability to hide these lingering feelings, I put even more pressure on him, since he was concerned about my well-being as well. Instead of troubling him, I should support his decision to follow Matsushita-san to the best of my abilities, even if I didn't like it.

"Everything is fine..." A chuckle hummed through the camp as I shut my eyes. "I was only worried about you, so you better promise me that you don't push yourself too hard when you go on your upcoming trips, Ayanokouji-kun!"

A rare, subtle smile surfaced on his face as he nodded in affirmation.

"Promise. I really don't want to be responsible for any wrinkles on your forehead."

"Eh?"

I don't have wrinkles on my face, right?

Right?!

"Oh, I heard that overly worrying about things causes wrinkles. Is that wrong?"

He tilted his head to the side like a curious cat, whereupon I couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Let's make sure neither of us get any wrinkles then."

"Mh. Let's do that."

He bobbed his head, closing his eyes in the process.

Since he was tired, I narrated him some amusing incidents he had missed out on during July because of his rather busy schedule on some days our class had met up. I wanted him to sleep, but yearned for his warm presence, just as much. Due to these conflicting sentiments, I opted for the first thing that came to mind: lighthearted stories.

They might help him fall asleep while I could spend a little more time with him.

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.

His emotionless facade was as impressive as it was annoying. Unlike everyone else, I wasn't buying his whole 'growing tired' scheme that he had been building up ever since we arrived on the island. He was following a coherent, structured path, but I couldn't tell where it was leading just yet.

I've been observing him with great interest for the past few days, but I didn't know what the objectives behind his performances were. He spent an awful lot of time with Class B, especially their leadership characters like Ichinose and Kanzaki. When he was free, he had multiple short conversations with the Class C girls as well.

Much to my regret, he wasn't as involved in his own class as I had hoped.

Would he betray me for them?

Did he even plan to lead Class D to the top?

What if he left this school before his three years were up?

Our conversation from before the special exam still resonated in my mind, but I had no clue whether he was truthful or just playing another angle. Kushida, despite her advantage over him in anything social, fell victim to the monster he had concealed behind his calm, commendable exterior. Both Sakura and the store clerk she had a run-in with could never return to normalcy because of the actions he had taken in the background.

What if he manipulated me just like everyone else he had put his fangs on?

...

A loud chime rung through the school, whereupon I ended the current history lesson.

The students in Class D stashed their supplies and ran off with their friends while I organized my materials. Both pleasant and uncomfortable memories surfaced as I glanced after them, since I had been in their position in this exact room some years ago.

Only a few students were left as I finished sorting my files. One of them was a brown-haired, jaded looking student near the window. He closed the textbook in front of him before stashing it in his bag. The student in question, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, didn't merely look bored — he was disinterested in anything the teachers taught.

I wasn't aware of the full extent of his abilities, but I perceived that he wasn't paying attention throughout class and only feigned his engrossment into the subjects to keep the class points consistent.

He discerned the meaning behind my unusual behavior and peered over. A subtle twitch was more than enough to signal him that I wished to talk. The strange boy didn't acknowledge my appeal in any capacity before his girlfriend's arrival in front of his desk broke our eye contact.

"Let's grab a bite, shall we?"

Matsushita sparkled brighter with every word that she enticed her own lips.

Her affections for him reminded me of feelings that had long since passed.

A handsome face, his pleasant scent, the sound of his contagious laughter, those charming eyes and the warmth his presence emanated whenever he was with me. All these recollections returned, resurfaced in my mind, before they vanished in an instant, replaced by nothing but animosity and aversion.

"Sure, I'll be right with you."

The boy's monotone voice traveled through the room.

There was no fluctuation in his emphasis, no change in his cadence and not even a hint of emotion in any of the syllables that had floated off his lips as he regarded his girlfriend with a hollow, detached stare.

"Well then. Take care, Ayanokouji-kun."

"Ohh, yeah. See you."

His head turned as he followed Horikita's receding back.

My initial plan to advise her about Ayanokouji's peculiar scores had backfired, but I still wondered how my strategy would have unraveled if she knew that he was masking his capabilities. Her first reaction to this sort of information should have been denial, according to my observations about her behavior, but I couldn't be sure about the subsequent developments this knowledge might have led to.

I grabbed my tablet and left the classroom.

Since the faculty offices were on the way to the roof, I didn't mind discarding the educational materials that shouldn't carry the smell of tobacco during my next lesson. Fifteen minutes were more than enough time for a cigarette or two before I was expected to meet up with Mashima and Chie.

Lunch with her, of all people — let's make it four cigarettes just to be safe.

My heels clacked against the stairs with every step I took towards the rooftop.

The door leading outside was leaning against the frame.

Heaving a sigh, I pushed it open.

A lone boy stood near the railing, watching over the school's enormous campus with a melancholic gaze. His soft brown hair danced in the fresh summer breeze while his uniform fluttered in accordance. He turned around and matched my distant stare before he applied himself to examining the students that wandered below.

I shut the door with the stilt of my heel and pulled out a pack of cigarettes.

One of said smokes made its way into my mouth with swift, well-practised motions before the lighter in my other hand clacked. My lungs kept inhaling the warm, comforting smoke with great pleasure, as I made my way over to the most interesting student that this year offered.

Ayanokouji reached for the cigarette between my lips and pulled it out before I could even exhale. His pupils didn't lose focus of the bird he had discovered while gazing over the school grounds as he stubbed the stump on his palm. He flicked my beloved smoke away with his usual aloof expression.

"What do you want, Sae?"

The cigarette sailed over the siding in a high arc and plunged into one of the wastebaskets that were situated all over the school premises. My eyes widened for the fraction of a second, as I had deemed it impossible to execute such a maneuver because of the varying external influences like wind speed, direction and humidity as well as other factors like the mass of the object, its air resistance and the velocity of his finger during the snapping motion.

Was he only this disrespectful towards me?

Or was this a general fault in his upbringing?

"Something came up, and I thought that you'd be interested."

Rather than that, I was sure that this was a thought-provoking piece of information he wanted to receive as it concerned him as well as his future at this school. Despite his apparent indifference during the lessons themselves, he seemed to appreciate the time he could spend with his classmates and other students.

"I'm listening."

"Curt as always, huh? Very well..." I leaned against the fencing beside Ayanokouji and scrutinized his face. "I overheard a conversation between the principal and the chairman. It sounded like someone inquired about you and demanded your expulsion. Chairman Sakayanagi respectfully declined this request and sent the man on his way."

Trying to discern any visible change upon such a shocking revelation was impossible, since he hadn't reacted at all. Instead of apprehension, concern or surprise, a hint of ridicule flashed in his eyes as an unbelievable sequence of words slipped his lips.

"He's getting old."

"Did you know that someone would contact the school?"

"You could say that, I guess. Everything is progressing according to plan, so there is no reason for you to panic. Don't think about doing anything unnecessary or you will learn what it means to be on my bad side."

Despite his meager status as a student, he didn't hesitate to intimidate me. This action, as well as the previous statement, were outrageous coming from a mere child. It was absurd that an adolescent boy acted in such an antagonistic fashion. Regardless of such thoughts, I couldn't help but take this threat as a stern warning not to interfere in his business.

I heaved a sigh and pulled out another cigarette.

He snatched it away and flicked it off the roof before I could slip it between my lips.

Ayanokouji's antics annoyed me to no end, as he wasted two perfectly usable cigarettes that I could have enjoyed. My eyes followed the object of my desire, which once again flew in a soaring arc and sank into the same wastebasket the previous one had vanished into.

This second flick was even more impressive than the first one, since the wind speed and direction had changed as the cigarette passed through the air. Yet, despite such a severe handicap, he had no trouble hitting the mark.

"Smoking stinks and kills you. There are better ways to waste your money." His brown orbs peered into mine, as if he was clawing away at the secrets I kept hidden beneath my facade. "Or end your life, if that's what you wish."

A dry chuckle left my lips.

"Well, I guess that's all I wanted. I thought that this information would prove helpful and might put me into your good graces after I had sought to reveal your entrance exam scores to Horikita, but this is quite disappointing."

"Chiaki is waiting, so I'll be taking my leave now."

I acknowledged his words with nothing but a dry nod and pulled out a third cigarette after I confirmed that he was far enough away. Ayanokouji must have heard the click of the lighter as his footsteps ceased.

"Your regrets... I'll wash them away."

My heart fluttered upon hearing those unexpected words.

Despite my best efforts, I could not suppress my involuntary reflexes due to the surprise I felt at this moment. I spun around with widened eyes, which were colored in disbelief and confusion. The door to the staircase shut, leaving me alone on the rooftop before I could see his expression, let alone ask him about this sudden, unexpected statement.

Few people would know about my regrets.

Where had he obtained this information?

What else had he figured out?

A deep, frustrated sigh slipped my lips as I glanced at the fuming cigarette in my hand.

He'll wash them away, huh?

With a snap, I flung the cigarette off the building before taking a single puff. The object of my supposed salvation flew in a high arc and dropped towards the ground, where it slowly sizzled out next to the students' busy steps.

"Hey, what's up? Chiaki said that you wanted to talk to me."

The black-haired beauty raised her head and stared at my tired eyes with a somewhat annoyed expression. The muscles surrounding her mouth moved, but instead of forming words, she had bitten her tongue in frustration.

"I informed her not to relay any messages."

"Really?" I brushed my chin. "She must've overheard."

"You are a horrible liar, you know that?"

"Mh... doesn't that make me an honest soul, then?"

I reached out towards her forehead to check on the ice queen's temperature. She knew better than to defend herself and just endured my concern for her well-being with an adorable blush. Her bottle was empty as well, which I rectified by filling the container with water and some charcoal.

"Thank you, Ayanokouji-kun..."

"Didn't I already tell you that you don't have to thank me for something like this? You are sick, so it's only natural to take care of you until you feel better. That aside, what did you need from me yesterday? I wanted to check in on you before I left, but you seemed to sleep."

Horikita turned and covered herself with her vinyl-bag blanket.

"It was nothing... just forget about it. You look tired. Rather than talking to me, get some rest."

"Is that a worried undertone I'm picking up on, Ohime-sama?" A light smirk crept up my face as I began to caress her head. The patient retaliated almost instantly and slapped my hand away before I reached out to her again. "I'm going to keep patting your head until you tell me, you know? You'll punish me for this anyway, so I might as well tease you as long as I still can."

"St-stop this at o-once, A-ayanokouji-kun! I'm serious."

She began to struggle and rolled away, past my reach. Even though Horikita should have known that she couldn't escape me like this, she breathed a sigh of relief before my palm once again slid over her smooth, silky hair. The crimson color in her face deepened as she began to flail at me. Each motion was accompanied by a cute squeaking sound which echoed through parts of our camp and made her sound like an unhappy squirrel that had its nuts stolen.

"Wow, our classmates are really loud. I can't hear you at all."

"F-fine, I'll tell you, okay. So please s-stop already."

Pleased with what I had achieved, my hand stopped rubbing over her head and returned into my pocket. Horikita's arms straightened her now ruffled hair as she hid her flushed face from view.

"I'm listening."

"It's just..." She burrowed her head in the makeshift pillow and drew her legs in to make herself smaller and thus, more comfortable in this current sensitive position. "Last night, I've felt a little better, and wanted to ask you if you could take a walk with me. I wanted to go alone, at first, but the girls said that I shouldn't leave. A few of them offered to accompany me, but I wanted nothing to do with them. I realized that if I asked you I would be a bother, since you have a lot on your plate, so just forget about it."

Horikita glanced at me with a somewhat awkward expression.

"You really are troublesome, Ohime-sama." I stood as she bit her lip in frustration. Her eyes widened in surprise just a moment later, as I reached out my hand to take hers. "Let's take a walk then."

"Anywhere in particular you'd like to go?"

The girl to my left jolted in surprise as she glanced around the area with an embarrassed complexion. Aside from trees, bushes and other greenery, there wasn't much to see. I found quite a few nice places during my trips, but I didn't know if she preferred anything specific.

"Not really. I just wanted to get some air and walk around a little. Doing nothing but sleeping for the better part of the last three days was exhausting in its own way. Thank you for listening to my selfish request, Ayanokouji-kun."

"You don't need to thank me."

"I see... could I appeal to your kindness once more, then?"

"Sure, what can I do for you?"

"You could let go of my hand, for one."

Horikita averted her gaze, unable to watch our arms that swung in tandem.

"You are sick and I can't be sure whether you collapse. Since you trusted me with your concerns, and your wish to walk around the island, I have to make sure that we both return to the camp in excellent condition."

"But not like this..."

"Should I carry you then?"

Her steps halted as she peered at me with a peculiar glint in her eyes. She gripped my palm with more force than a sick person should have been able to, as a terrifying grin surfaced on her pale lips.

"You are enjoying this, aren't you, Ayanokouji-kun?"

"I'm just worried about a friend."

My statement was followed up with a deep sigh and a weak kick in the shin.

Her palm was quite sweaty because of the hot and humid climate on the island. This sensation wasn't uncomfortable to me, since it was a normal function of the human body, but Horikita seemed quite unhappy with the current situation.

She tried her best to widen the distance between us, but I followed her steps wherever she went. Aside from walking with outstretched arms for a few seconds, she had accomplished nothing noteworthy before I closed in on her again. The discomfort she felt increased as the minutes passed by.

"Okay, you won. Now please let me go."

"What did I win?"

"Everything you want if it gets you off my back."

"Isn't that really cruel towards someone who cares for you?"

"Fine..." She took a deep breath and faced me with a serious look. "I haven't showered the last couple of days, so I stink. It's uncomfortable having you so close because I feel conscious about my bad body odor."

Her sincere expression didn't waver as we glimpsed in each other's eyes. It took four, maybe five seconds, until her usual fair complexion turned crimson. The shade deepened further until she was unable to face me anymore.

Teasing her like this was quite amusing.

"There's a water source behind those trees over there."

She followed my finger and nodded.

"Let's go then, Ayanokouji-kun."

Horikita began to move, pulling me after her.

"Hey... I'm just kidding. Cold water would worsen your current condition, and I really don't want to carry you all the way back to the camp." She turned around and glared at me with a pair of arctic eyes. "Not because you are heavy or anything, it's just that I'm very weak and exhausted from my trips."

I kept nodding as I let go of Horikita's hand. Instead of the expected joy on her face, I felt her fingers grasping onto mine. The ice queen's nails dug deep into my palms as she forced a kind, yet twisted, smile.

"Ayanokouji-kun, I am once again appealing to your kindness here."

"Sorry, no can do."

"Alright... my throat is very sore and I'm thirsty, Ayanokouji-kun. As luck would have it, I discovered a water spring behind those trees over there, and I'd like you to take me there."

"Your sudden urge for water is quite suspicious, if you ask me." I reached into my pocket with a faint smirk and pulled out Horikita's charcoal water bottle. "I'm glad that I brought this with me if such a situation arose."

A deep frown surfaced on her face as she took the bottle. She opened it up and stashed the cap in her jersey before she threw the flask towards the water source in our vicinity.

"I'm really sorry, Ayanokouji-kun. I seem to have slipped."

Our little back and forth had long since stopped being about anything either of us wanted. Horikita felt frustrated by my teasing behavior and wanted to torment me back. Her worry about her own and even my health had ceased to exist, as she wished to see the look of defeat on my face.

Step by step we kept one-upping each other.

"You are childish, Horikita."

"Right back at you, Ayanokouji-kun."

The two of us ambled towards our destination in silence.

I picked up the bottle in which only a small amount of water remained and removed the dirt as well as the blades of grass that stuck to the rim. Horikita watched this scene and bit her lip, disheartened by her own actions. We proceeded past the trees until a small, circular pond with clear water stretched out before us.

"I'm sorry for just now."

"It's not your fault. I took my teasing too far, so I'm sorry as well."

With those words, I let go of her hand once more.

Horikita sat down just a moment later and rested her head on her knees. She tapped the ground beside her three times before closing her eyes. I made myself comfortable next to my classmate and peered over the water.

"Don't laugh... but I'm feeling dizzy."

"I figured you might."

It wasn't weird that she had circulatory complaints after doing almost nothing for the last couple of days. Her extended sickness only worsened these symptoms, which was one of the reasons why I was opposed to leaving her side the whole trip.

The black-haired beauty reached towards the water and moistened her fingertips before she kept sprinkling water in my direction. I reciprocated her gesture and scattered the refreshing liquid in her face, whereupon she turned away.

"Bathing would be a bad idea, right?"

"I understand your desire, but yes, it's a terrible idea. If you still feel compelled to take a dip, however, I won't stop you. There's no one around here, so you wouldn't need to worry about anyone walking by."

She glanced over with a teasing smirk.

"You just want to see me in underwear again, don't you?"

"Hadn't we put this behind us as an accident? If I remember correctly, you were the one —"

"... who said that we will never talk about this again."

That's not what I wanted to say, but yes.

Horikita slid forward and slipped out of her shoes, ignoring my advice about this bad idea. My capacity to react ceased after this unexpected display. I spread over the ground and shut my eyes to respect her privacy before a deep sigh rippled the water.

"If you peek, I will kill you."

"Hai hai, Ohime-sama."

She must have noticed my lackluster nod as I heard the jersey rubbing along her pale skin. The pants slithered along her smooth legs before I picked up on two almost inaudible 'tap tap' sounds. I felt her gaze on me, despite my nonexistent vision. Her fingers pulled down the hem of her top in order to conceal her panties as she took the first steps inside the water without moving her attention away from me.

My eyes were closed, but the sounds she produced painted a picture in my mind.

The zipper of her jersey traveled downward before the slider left the teeth with a light click as it collided with the bottom stop. Her shoulders and arms brushed against the fabric as the hem of the top dipped into the water. Horikita noticed her mishap and pulled it up in a hurry, causing water to sprinkle onto my covered ankle.

After folding her jersey, she placed the different pieces on her shoes and slipped further into the pond. The refreshing liquid splashed against her skin and pelted along Horikita's enticing frame. She trusted me to a certain degree, as seen by her current actions, but she wasn't brave enough to shed herself from the material that covered her private parts.

I had seen her like this before, albeit by accident.

Could this have been the reason she was so calm around me?

Time passed as Horikita bathed in the water. She noticed a glaring flaw in her previous strategy, whereupon her movements halted. The girl's eyes moved towards me as she covered her bra with her hands and kneeled into the pond to conceal her panties.

"Ayanokouji-kun I —"

Her words hushed as she noticed my sudden movements.

I stood up, eyes still closed, and took off my own jersey. Horikita, who was surprised by my actions, understood my intentions when I stretched my arm, offering her the top as a makeshift towel.

"Thank you."

Her soft voice danced through my ears as she took the jacket and began to dry herself off. My scent must have lingered in her nose as she smoothed her hair and rubbed over her skin before she stepped back onto the firm ground.

"Not for this."

She finished up and clothed herself a few moments later.

"I'm sorry about your jersey..."

"It's just fabric." I opened my eyes and took the jacket. "Your health is more important." She averted her gaze, somewhat uncomfortable about the inconveniences she had burdened me with because of her selfish decision. "Do you want to go back now?"

"Yes..."

I reached out to her forehead and grabbed her arm as she faltered.

"Your companion should have told you that this was a terrible idea."

"I seem to surround myself with the wrong crowd then."

"Sorry to disappoint." I took three steps before peering back. "You don't like it when I hold your hand, so at least stay close. Tell me as soon as you feel uncomfortable and we'll take a short break."

She nodded as the two of us strolled through the forest.

Horikita's hair was still wet, which must have been quite uncomfortable because of the breeze that swept past the trees and shrubs. The feverish girl tucked her hair inside the jersey, hoping that it would lessen the burden her frail body had to endure on our way to the camp. She began to wobble and slow down from time to time, but she voiced no discomfort due to her inherent pride.

A sick individual would revert to a state of comfort as they wished for warmth and relaxation. This wasn't always possible, however, and might lead this person to voice certain thoughts — definite longings that were hidden deep in her heart.

This trance-like fever state was further enhanced because I walked in front of Horikita, without considering her current health. She saw nothing but my broad back, similar to back then. When she faltered and reached out to me, I increased my pace by a subtle, yet distinct, margin to evade her grasp by a hair's breadth.

She tried to reach me, struggled to gain my attention, but failed again and again.

The dazed, unsteady girl remembered identical scenes from her early days whenever she kept following her cherished sibling. Due to her sickness, past and present collided, creating something new — a condition I could exploit. My frame overlapped with her brother's as she sought my concern for her impaired health.

"Nii-san... I'm cold. Can you hug me?"

Her smooth fingers pulled on the back of my jersey, causing me to stop.

If anyone aside from me had walked with her, they would have continued on their way. Horikita's voice was so quiet, so frail, so easily consumed by the surrounding noise, that it was almost impossible to hear her pained whispers.

Almost.

"Did you say something?"

My calm speech weakened the misconception she had found herself in.

"No, nothing."

Dazed, Horikita began walking and bumped into me.

She rubbed her nose due to the discomfort the collision caused as I turned around. Her moist hair framed her charming face, which drew me in, consumed my attention more than I liked to admit. I grabbed her hand and pulled her towards me with a quick, sudden and entirely unexpected tug, which shattered the last remnants of this cruel illusion.

Her small frame quivered as my arms snaked around her, leading to a calming embrace. The pressure of her own grasp increased as she tightened her arms, squeezed as if I had been her long-lost brother, the one she wanted to hold so dearly that she had followed him all this way.

"Sorry, I must have tripped."

"I'll forgive you this once, Ayanokouji-kun."

She leaned into me, closing her eyes, a faint smile on her face.

From my point of view, it was only fair to increase Horikita's dependence on me. It was justified to use her pain, her longing for her beloved sibling and to mingle in your business since you were advancing in my territory.

You would also see it that way, right?

Horikita Manabu.

"Hey boys. Can you all gather around?"

What's this about again?

I had slept rather comfortably in my bed until I was woken up by Shinohara's annoying shouts. The only positive observation I could take from this whole situation was that we had all slept well, which meant that the vinyl bags, moss and grass had shown their intended effect during our third night on this island.

Hirata-kun and the others might have thought that I had forgiven her for hitting Kiyotaka, but they couldn't have been more wrong. My initial aversion towards Shinohara was multiplied by her irritated voice, which meant that I would have work on my hands. Due to my impatience with her, I assumed that she was bothered by something irrelevant and felt compelled to intervene on the boys' behalf, no matter what they did.

Most girls had already left, while the rest woke because of Shinohara's repeated calls. I rubbed my eyes and staggered over to the tent's entrance, dodging the ladies that were leaving their own trance. Sudou's frustrated voice reflected from the cave's walls before I could reach my destination.

"What the hell, Shinohara. Be quiet, we're tired."

I should hurry before he does something stupid again...

Dead tired because of all the organizational matters I had to take care of in the past few days, I heaved myself out of the tent's warm embrace and stumbled into a gathering of around thirteen girls who stood behind Shinohara, glaring at the boys.

"What's wrong?"

Hirata-kun climbed out of his bed the same time I did.

I was glad that he intervened in such a timely manner, otherwise I would have slapped her again as she had nothing better to do than to scream through the whole cave while Kiyotaka needed to rest in order to keep his demanding rotation up.

His worsening complexion was proof enough that he kept pushing himself past his limit. He received more fish than anyone else, since he worked the hardest during the exam and everyone had noticed this. Despite my best efforts to stop him, he kept torturing himself for the good of our class.

Yet she couldn't even let him sleep.

"Good morning Hirata-kun, could you please wake up the boys? It's serious."

It better be, or you'll regret it.

"Of course."

His reaction was a lot calmer than mine as he just nodded and began to wake everyone who had the mental capacity to sleep through her annoying speech. The boys complained about both Hirata-kun and her, but I couldn't really fault them for their reactions after being confronted with this unpleasant reality.

"Matsushita-san, did something happen?"

Ichinose-san ambled towards our gathering, rubbing her eyes.

The cave must have created a rather loud echo which travelled outside and woke our guests. I felt apologetic towards Class B and somewhat ashamed for my own classmates, since they caused such an inconvenience for everyone. A few other students, including Kanzaki-kun, also peeked into the cavern after their leader.

"No idea. But I guess we'll find out soon enough."

The Class D boys stood in front of their tents within a few minutes, each one looking worse than the last. I understood their frustration and resentful expressions, since they had been ripped out of their comfortable dreams by none other than the most annoying individual in the class. Our visitors had arrived with their full assembly of forty people, intrigued by this commotion.

Two boys were missing from this gathering: Kiyotaka and Kouenji-kun.

The latter never slept inside the tent because 'a perfect existence wouldn't surround himself with hairless monkeys'. Usually, he swung down from atop one of the trees that surrounded the clearing once it was time for the eight o'clock roll call, so I figured that he was outside.

But where could Kiyotaka be?

Did Hirata-kun let him sleep?

"What's going on, Shinohara-san?"

The boy in question took the lead, regarding the girl with an amicable smile.

"Sorry Hirata-kun, this has nothing to do with you, but... we wanted to gather everyone to confirm something." This was the first time I had noticed the clear look of contempt in Shinohara's eyes. "This morning, Karuizawa-san's underwear went missing. Do you know what that means?"

"Her underwear?"

My classmates took a step back, visibly shaken.

Hirata-kun clenched his fists before his quivering orbs met with mine. The looming darkness vanished, replaced by light as he drew a deep, calming breath to refocus on the matter at hand. We had been working together for a few times by now, so he knew that I wanted to gather information before I inserted myself into this argument.

"How is she?"

"Karuizawa-san is crying inside the tent right now. Kushida-san and the others are comforting her, but..." She glared at the boys who had gathered behind Hirata-kun. "Wasn't one pervert in our class enough?!"

Since something similar had happened before, she didn't even suspect the Class B or C students. The latter would have had more than enough reasons to act against us, but it was unsurprising that she couldn't look past her anger. I had expected foul play when Yamauchi-kun was expelled, and this sentiment hadn't changed.

The three Class C visitors observed this scene from the sidelines.

"Huh? Why are you glaring at us, then?"

Ike-kun frowned, unable to understand the situation.

"Isn't that obvious? Someone went through her bag in the middle of the night and stole them. Since our luggage is placed outside the tent, it would have been easy for you guys to remove something."

"Then why the hell did you put your shit outside, huh?" Sudou-kun took a step forward and scowled at Shinohara with an aggressive posture. "You could have placed your damn stuff in the tents just like we did. Stop accusing us of things just because you screwed up. We had nothing to do with this."

"Yeah, what Sudou said! Aside from that, why are we the bad guys? It's not like I want to pull them into this mess, but wouldn't it have been possible for the Class B or C guys as well? Why are we the only suspects?"

Discontent with the hostile treatment they received, Ike-kun supported his friend.

Our guests were taken aback.

They didn't seem angry or willing to complain about this sudden accusation, but a look of understanding surfaced in their eyes. Class B knew that my classmates didn't mean to attribute this petty crime to them, and just vented their frustration the only way they could, which showed why they were ranked so high in the class hierarchy.

Kanzaki-kun leaned towards Ichinose-san before his lips began to move.

It was impossible to understand anything due to his hushed voice and my classmates' complaints that reverberated through the cave, but I assumed that they were concerned about this sudden incident and began to suspect that Ryuuen's spies had made their move.

"Come to think of it. Didn't you take quite a while to come back after heading for the toilet, Ike?"

Are you serious?

I pinched the bridge of my nose, unable to believe Sotomura-kun's statement.

"What? N-no. I was just struggling... because it was dark."

"You stole the underwear, didn't you?"

"No, I didn't damn it. What about you, though? Weren't you after me? That's damn suspicious!"

Instead of covering each other like normal boys should, they decided to pin the blame on someone else. The accusations shifted from one boy to another, without a single trace of remorse. The complaints and insults grew in intensity, as neither of them wanted to take the fall for this.

Having had enough of this whole circus, I whistled.

My classmates turned around, eyeing me with expectations.

"First, Shinohara-san. Stop throwing accusations around as if they were free candy. This whole problem can be taken care of a lot sooner if everyone properly discusses what happened instead of pushing the blame on others. You guys as well. What is wrong with you? Take a deep breath and calm down."

Their frustrated reactions alone were enough proof that none of them had stolen the underwear, since they wouldn't have come up with such a stupid idea on their own. Boys like Yukimura-kun wouldn't support such a plan, but Ike-kun, Sotomura-kun, Okitani-kun and their whole group would have agreed to cover for each other if they had removed the panties from our luggage.

"But Matsushita-san, they —"

"What did I just say?"

Thanks to Fumei's support, I was in a rather powerful position in my class. Everyone had caught wind of the three expulsions in June and knew that I wouldn't shy away from ruthless actions if I deemed them necessary. This mixture of respect and fear must have been Horikita Manabu's plan from the very beginning.

"S-sorry..."

Shinohara lowered her head.

As a girl myself, I wouldn't let such a serious crime slide.

If one of the guys stole Karuizawa-san's underwear, he would be punished accordingly. This alone was an enormous 'if', since I suspected that one of our unwelcome visitors had performed this wicked act. Ibuki-san was the most suspicious person in the bunch, since Yamada-kun was too big and clumsy, while Shiina-san was too kind and earnest to indulge in thievery.

"You are sure that the underwear was stolen, right? It wasn't just displaced?"

"Of course." Shinohara huffed, hurt in her pride. "Karuizawa-san checked twice before asking around the tent. And everyone of us went through their luggage as well in case they got mixed up somehow."

"Okay. Let's assume that the underwear had indeed been stolen then." I turned towards my classmate with a concerned expression. "Hirata-kun, do you know where Kiyotaka is?"

"I haven't seen him since yesterday evening. He's not in the tent either."

"So he's not here? That's certainly suspicious."

"Ayanokouji-kun would never do something like that."

"Yeah, what's wrong with you, buddy?"

"Are you serious? Don't you just want to move the suspicion away from you and blame it on the next best person who can't defend himself? What kind of classmate are you?"

"Accusing someone who can't defend himself is a really low blow."

"Disgusting is the word you were looking for. He'd never steal underwear. Maybe it was you, though?"

My boyfriend received assistance from a completely unexpected direction before I could even glare at Ijuin-kun for this remark. Ichinose-san was the first to speak up in his defense, followed by Shibata-kun, Kanzaki-kun, Amikura-san, Himeno-san and most of their other classmates.

"Hey you bastard." Sudou grabbed the boy by his shoulders and glared at him with an angry expression. "Ayanokouji would never do this, Capiche?" He backed up and rubbed his nose with a strange expression of pride. "The only underwear he'd steal would be Matsushita-san's, so maybe he grabbed the wrong bag."

His joke, albeit inappropriate, brightened the mood.

"Sudou-kun..."

A vicious smirk appeared on my lips.

Even though I should have thanked him for improving the strained atmosphere, I couldn't look past the fact that he portrayed Kiyotaka in a bad light with this statement. He wouldn't steal anyone's underwear for such base motives.

Class D's lone delinquent jumped behind Hirata-kun and begged for his protection, as Mori-san, Satou-san and a few other girls in our class spoke out in Kiyotaka's favor. This came as no surprise, since we'd often hang out together in our free time when we weren't on a date or visiting Class B.

The two camps began arguing with each other.

While some were assured that my boyfriend would never have stolen a girl's underwear, others began to accuse him because of his rather suspicious absence and the fact that the Class B students defended him despite them being in different classes. They didn't seem to care that he was renewing the spots three times a day to keep our point game strong and concentrated on his 'questionable' relationship with our guests.

"Guys, I know you feel that it's unfair that you are being suspected of such a crime, but it's in all of our interest to clear this misunderstanding as soon as possible." I glanced at the wristwatch we received on the first day, which displayed the time as seven-forty. "We have around twenty minutes left until roll call, and I want to have this whole mess sorted out by then. That being said, I would like all the girls who haven't checked their luggage yet to make sure that no underwear is missing, and that nothing got mixed up by accident. While I will oversee this procedure for the girls, I'd like the boys to check their stuff as well under Hirata-kun's supervision."

My female classmates were unhappy that I threw them into the mix of potential suspects, but this was the most comfortable solution to pacify the boys to a certain degree. If the underwear was found with the girls, which I doubted, then the boys could rest assured that we would apologize for these unfounded accusations.

The girls trusted Hirata-kun, which was why he was the perfect choice to lead the inspection on the boys' side. Similar to them, I could count on his discretion if he were to find the stolen underwear, because he wouldn't reveal his knowledge to keep the peace in our class.

This would provide me enough time to find the real perpetrator.

Ichinose-san clapped twice, attracting the attention of her classmates.

"Alright everyone, you heard Matsushita-san. Let's get this done quickly. For our class I will take charge of the girls while Kanzaki-kun will check the boys' luggage. I trust that this arrangement is fine with all of you."

""Haaai~ Class Rep.""

"Shibata, you are up first for the boys. As for the rest, please prepare your luggage and line up behind him. We only have about nineteen minutes left before roll call, so let's get this done."

Class B's tight-knit bond was as impressive as always.

The girls agreed and jumped into action without wasting a second, while the boys moved along according to their directions. They lined up without complaints, forming a single file with their bags in hand.

Despite us being part of different classes, Ichinose-san kept supporting me. Her instructions wouldn't only prove their innocence, but also helped me to control my classmates. The quick agreement to this decided procedure pressured the Class D students, who didn't want to feel inferior to their competition.

The boys swallowed their pride, just as expected.

Since our visitors hadn't protested against this 'unfair treatment' even once, they would only embarrass themselves if they decided to oppose the ongoing procedure. They could also leave a better impression on their schoolmates after they had tarnished their reputation by blaming the theft on Kiyotaka.

Hirata-kun led with a positive example on our side and dumped the contents of his bag for everyone to see. Both boys and girls confirmed that he had hidden nothing suspicious, which established him as a reasonable overseer.

Ike-kun and the other boys groaned and cursed under their breath as they grabbed their own luggage. They lined up in front of the tent Hirata-kun had designated and entered one by one. The girls also queued up in front of my tent with little lamentation, despite their obvious discontent.

The wristwatch displayed seven fifty-five when the last person entered.

"I'm surprised that you are fine with this."

Horikita-san glanced at me with her usual weak complexion and sat down. Her whole body shuddered as she massaged her forehead with her thumb. She emptied her luggage in front of me and closed her eyes to relieve the apparent pain.

"I'm not, because I understand why you are doing this. Checking up on the girls is a waste of time. Hirata-kun, our visitors, as well as you and I know that the underwear won't be in our luggage. This is nothing but a charade for the boys, as they are less likely to complain if the girls are treated equally."

A chuckle echoed through the tent.

She was the first girl who had noticed this, or at least mentioned it to me. I knew that she was a smart student, since she helped the so-called idiot-duo study and had a major part in Sudou-kun's success during the exam period, but I was surprised about her candor.

"I wonder if the others also figured it out."

"That's doubtful. At best." A few deep, raspy coughs resonated through the tent before she shook her head in apology. "Sorry about that. I saw a silhouette at the bags last night."

I heaved a sigh of relief as my wish came true.

With her witness statement, I might be able to narrow down the list of suspects. Since she was relaxing the better part of the day, it wasn't weird to assume that she might have woken up during the night. Despite my best efforts to talk her out of staying, she didn't budge and insisted on sleeping outside.

"Could you tell anything?"

"It was hard to see due to the distance and the lit fire behind me, but the culprit was of slim stature. Size... I'd say around 1,60 meters. But that's only a rough estimate since I was lying down, so take it with a grain of salt. I couldn't see their face as the person had their back to me. The hair was medium, neck to shoulder length. I couldn't really make out the haircut, though."

"What happened afterwards?"

"No idea. I turned around and tried to sleep since I thought this was one of our classmates who simply forgot something or wanted to grab a tampon because she was having her period or a myriad of other things. The thought that someone might have been stealing underwear didn't even come to mind, to be honest. If I had known that something like this would happen... well. There's no use in crying over spilt milk."

Even if she would have acted on a sudden hunch, I doubted that she could have stopped the person in her condition. She was similar to Kiyotaka, not really interested in other people's business.

Maybe that's why the two are so close?

As the thief, Horikita would have been my biggest concern, whether I needed to sow discord in Class D and B or just craved to steal it for personal enjoyment. She wasn't in the tent with the others, and could, in theory, witness everything that happened during the night. The culprit might have just been bold and moved ahead with the plan despite her presence, hoping that she would react and let them know that they were caught in the moment.

Someone in Class C wouldn't know what kind of person Horikita-san was.

The three spies only arrived here after everyone had decided to take care of her, which could have led to the wrong conclusion: that she was quite popular and outgoing. If such a person witnessed this situation at night, she'd surely call out to them, even if it was just a kind gesture.

A simple mistake caused by the superficial knowledge they had gained after infiltrating our camp.

"May I ask why you are giving me this information? It's unusual for you to speak up on your own, even if you have knowledge about certain incidents. During Sudou-kun's trial, for example, you hadn't mentioned Sakura-san's involvement either."

She grabbed her clothes and folded them together before placing them in her bag.

"Well, Ayanokouji-kun... no. I feel it's the least I could do after being nothing but a burden throughout this trip. I'm not sick by choice, of course, but I reprimanded Sudou-kun and the others for being useless to the class before. All I'm doing is standing true to my words while trying to be at least somewhat profitable."

"You have a weird sense of responsibility, but I understand why Kiyotaka defended you."

"Defended me?"

Horikita-san stopped and tilted her head as she was about to leave the tent.

"Haven't you heard what took place between him and Shinohara-san?"

"I noticed that something happened because Ike-kun and Shinohara-san apologized during dinner that one time, but I'm not really interested in either of them. Ayanokouji-kun mentioned that it was nothing, so I left it at that. It's not like I'm talking to anyone aside from him, so you shouldn't be that surprised about my unawareness."

Kiyotaka kept this to himself?

He probably didn't want to worry Horikita-san while she was sick. Despite his busy schedule, he took care of her whenever he could, which might lead her to feel indebted to him. This appreciation would only increase if she knew what he did for her, but Kiyotaka wasn't the type of person who would reveal such things. Others might have acted this way to curry favor with her, but he actively tried to hide it so that she wouldn't feel bad.

I peered at my wristwatch.

"It's almost time for roll call. We'll talk later, okay?"

My boyfriend wanted to keep this a secret, so I wouldn't interfere. He must have realized that she would stop asking after he said that nothing happened and hoped that she would never come to know what he did. I could only imagine how uncomfortable this situation would be for him, since he had lost his cool for the first time since we've known him.

Horikita-san was taken aback by my sudden change in attitude, but left the tent without complaints or further questions. I followed her outside where Ichinose-san and Kanzaki-kun already waited, done with their own investigations. According to their expressions, nothing had been found on either of their sides, which meant that Hirata-kun must have drawn the short straw in this lottery.

The boy in question joined us a few moments later with a relieved expression.

"How did it go?"

"Everyone's bags were clean, same with the tents and pockets."

The girls looked at each other, confused by this outcome.

They had been sure that one of the guys was the culprit, so this situation was surprising, impossible, even. Hirata-kun didn't seem to hide anything either, which worried me, since I was convinced that he should have found Karuizawa-san's underwear during his search.

Did the Class C student keep it?

"Huh? But then where's Karuizawa-san's underwear? It's not like she's been imagining it."

"Yeah, it has to be somewhere, right? Maybe one of the boys hid it in the forest."

Shinohara and Maezono-san had difficulties believing this situation and began accusing the boys in a desperate last-ditch attempt. It wasn't difficult to imagine that the boys would get angry over such an absurd allegation.

"The hell is wrong with you? First you accuse us of hiding her damn underwear in our luggage and now that this was debunked, we suddenly climbed on a tree and used it as a flag or what? Are you fucking crazy?"

"Exactly. How about you apologize first? We had to wake up sooner and had to go through this whole ordeal because of your allegations, yet neither of us was the culprit. Tell them Hirata! We're innocent!"

Shinohara glanced towards me, folding her arms.

"Isn't there still one person's luggage we haven't searched?"

"I showed mine to Kushida-san. You may ask her if you don't believe me."

"That's not what I'm talking about, though. Your boyfriend isn't here, so his bag hasn't been searched yet, right? The same could be said about his pockets. What if he's off burying her panties right now?"

"What did you just say?"

My voice turned cold and this excuse of a woman immediately realized that she had misspoken. Hirata-kun's mouth moved as she stumbled a few steps back, but I couldn't hear a thing over the boiling rage that painted my view red.

The circumstances were indeed weird, so I could have understood her worries if she had presented them in a calm, non-contentious manner. His bag hadn't been searched, and he hadn't turned up even now, barely a minute before roll call. It would have been simple for Kiyotaka to slip in and out during his run while everyone slept.

I would have accepted her concerns.

But not like this.

"That's indeed suspicious! Maybe he — OUCH! Sudou!"

Ike-kun's piercing scream was so discomforting that I had to close my eyes to stop my ears from ringing. Sudou-kun tapped his back as he glanced at me with a worried expression. I took a deep breath and nodded in gratitude.

Huh, what am I doing?

Getting saved by Sudou-kun and Ike-kun of all people.

How embarrassing...

"Hirata-kun, could you go through his bag? He'd understand."

"Sure, I'll —"

A loud whistling sound cut straight through our conversation.

"It's time for roll-call. Everyone line up."

"Everyone, let's line up!"

Chabashira-sensei couldn't have been any more different from Hoshinomiya-sensei. While the former ordered us in a bored, almost antagonistic manner, the latter called out to her class with a bright, sparkling smile on her face.

Both homeroom teachers went through their respective list of students. As always, everyone answered once their name came up. I glanced around, hoping that Kiyotaka was nearby and would still make it in time.

"Ayanokouji Kiyotaka."

The camp was silent as everyone surveyed their surroundings for the missing student.

"Absent."

She made a note on her clipboard and kept going through the rest of our classmates. The entirety of Class B and most of the Class D students began to worry, because it was unlike Kiyotaka to miss roll call, which meant that something must have happened.

Chabashira-sensei dismissed us after she was done with the list.

I called out to my classmates, seizing the initiative.

"Since Kiyotaka is still gone, I assume that he had an accident during his trip at night. Let's form groups of two or three and go look for him. We'll search along the path he should have taken, only in reverse, hoping that he's closer to the end. Is that alright with everyone?"

Ichinose-san and her classmates were done grouping up before I even finished talking. Hirata-kun and the other boys also agreed that Kiyotaka should be on top of their to-do list and began forming groups as the first pairs from Class B vanished into the forest.

"Hey, wait! What about his luggage? We still haven't checked it."

"Shinohara-san, can't this wait a bit? Isn't a missing person more important?"

Kushida-san stumbled back in disbelief, tears forming in her eyes.

The heartless actions of her ruthless classmate were enough to make her want to cry. She shook her head, disappointed and appalled by Shinohara's apparent disregard for a missing friend and walked off with Mii-chan and Satou-san.

"I... but... Karuizawa-san... She..."

This whole time she had tried to redeem her badly damaged image, which she broke apart further with her current actions. She led this crusade, believing that Karuizawa-san would be thankful and lost sight of how people would perceive her during the clash with the boys. She didn't realize how loathsome she behaved in order to restore her crumbling reputation.

Karuizawa-san trudged out of the tent with red swelling beneath her eyes, fuming with anger about her missing underwear. Even back at roll call, she had barely pushed her head out of the tent to confirm her presence.

"Matsushita-san, is it alright if I stay here? I'm not feeling well at the moment." She rubbed her tear-stricken eyes and turned towards Hirata-kun. "There's no need to check Ayanokouji-kun's bag either. He wouldn't do something like this."

Shinohara had shoveled her own grave.

She hadn't realized that Karuizawa-san was one of the girls who knew him the longest, so she, as well as everyone else in our usual group, was pretty confident that he had done nothing that warranted this excessive suspicion.

"I'll check the bag before going. Alright, Shinohara-san?"

Hirata-kun, who always tried to please everyone, offered this compromise in order to pick up the pieces of her shattered respect. He returned to his tent to check on Kiyotaka's luggage as I looked around our camp.

All but two Class B students had long since vanished.

Ichinose-san and Kanzaki-kun must have assigned them to this position in case the Class C students tried anything during their absence. The Class D camp also emptied as Karuizawa-san returned to her tent. Shinohara stared into my eyes and took a step back in fright.

There was no need to threaten or intimidate her.

This woman was dead to me.

She wouldn't survive this school, even if it cost us points.

"Hirata-kun, could you stay here with Shinohara-san and Karuizawa-san?"

"Good thinking. Yes, I'll take care of everything here. Just bring Ayanokouji-kun back in one piece."

His voice sounded muffled through the tent's fabric, but it wasn't difficult to hear him. Aside from us six, no one was left in the camp, or so I had thought. As I was about to leave for the forest, a shadow leaped over me. The blonde, well-built boy performed a graceful, almost artistic landing and turned around with a sparkling grin on his lips.

"Isn't this quite the coincidence? Princess girl?"

Damn it, what a pathetic display...

Was anyone of us allowed to call Ayanokouji 'friend'?

While Class D was still arguing over Karuizawa's damned missing underwear, Class B begun forming groups and sent their students out to look for someone who wasn't even in their class. During our stay here, it became obvious how close he was with them and after today's behavior from our classmates, I couldn't fault him.

If Class A had walked by or listened to our discussion in the cave, they would have assumed that he was a Class B student. There was not a single doubt in my mind that they would have called us liars if we claimed anything else.

"A-ayanokouji-kun!"

"Ayanokouji-kun!"

Sakura and Hasebe wandered in front of me, glancing left and right in search of our missing classmate. The former wouldn't have screamed in such a loud volume, but her behavior clarified that she was worried about her friend. She had told me that Ayanokouji was one of the biggest reasons that she made her statement during the trial, because he kept encouraging her to do what she thought was right.

He did as much for me as Matsushita-san, and I didn't even know.

What have I ever done for him?

"""Ayanokouji-kun!"""

Multiple groups of Class B students ran around the forest in front of us. They had split up into groups of two to three and spread themselves out in a far more effective way than we did. Instead of walking over the terrain in lumps, they split their smaller groups until they were barely in sight to cover the largest area possible.

Just how fucking embarrassing was our class?

Shinohara, Ijuin and even Ike tried to frame Ayanokouji, while he wasn't present to explain himself. I joked around like a complete idiot, unaware how serious the situation was. He occupied those damn spots for us until he collapsed somewhere on this huge island, and we thanked him with mistrust and a bloody knife in the back.

What a fucking clown show.

I knew I should have had my eye on him when he grew worse.

Damn it!

He had always been there when I was in trouble, but what had I done for him so far..?

What the fuck happened?

This wasn't part of my briefing!

"Kiyotaka!"

My concerned voice traveled past the trees and shrubs without receiving an answer. Small remnants of tears slid down my cheeks before I rubbed my eyes with the sleeve of my jersey. I sniveled, portraying deep concern for my missing friend.

The words he had entrusted me at the beach still rung clear.

None of these expressions were real, since I was assured that he was fine, even though he hadn't informed me of this change in his plan. I believed his statement and followed my usual routine if something like this would have happened, as I had received no special instructions.

Still, why didn't he tell me?

""Ayanokouji-kun!""

Both Mii-chan and Satou stumbled over the rugged terrain, desperate to find him.

I knew that he went out with their group on multiple occasions, but it was still surprising to see how popular he was with everyone he met up regularly. Even the self-centered Karuizawa was more worried about him than her missing underwear, despite the fear that one of the guys had stolen it.

Fuck, why do I feel so uneasy?

It's not like anyone could have hurt him, even if they tried. He was Kiyotaka, after all. Back when he beat up that store clerk, I had seen how brutal and unhinged he could be, yet regardless of this violent display, he was calm, collected and always in control of his body. Proof of this was the knee-feint against me where he had stopped just millimeters before it would have hurt, despite the initial velocity of his attack.

There was no way someone like this would lose a fight.

""Ayanokouji-kun!""

Why didn't he notify me?

Did he leave me in the dark because of Kouenji?

This was the only explanation I could come up with after our talk. Kouenji would misread my reactions and might get a wrong impression of our current relationship. He would have realized that I didn't know about Kiyotaka's supposed accident, because I acted in genuine surprise when he hadn't shown up for roll call.

Just how far ahead had he planned?

"Ayanokouji-kun!"

"Ayanokouji!"

The anxious voices of my classmates drifted past me from everywhere around the forest. The Class D students, who were around fifty meters behind us, kept calling out to him as well.

"Where are you..?"

My concerned tone was distinct, so it wasn't difficult to deduce that I was falling apart as I thought about Ayanokouji-kun who could lie on the ground covered in dirt, all alone and hurt. If this search remained unsuccessful for much longer, I didn't know what would become of me.

"He could be everywhere... Wait!" Kanzaki-kun's sudden statement granted me the hope I had already lost. I peered into his eyes, filled with expectations. "The wristwatches we received during the schools introduction of the exam. How did we miss this?"

This sudden realization struck me like a lightning strike during a thunderstorm.

Hoshinomiya-sensei explained that the watches doubled as our lifeline if something were to happen during the test period. We would need to push a button to call for help, but the device itself should still be locatable because of the built-in GPS.

They also came equipped with sensors that monitored our health during the trip, which meant that his vitals hadn't dropped below the acceptable threshold. The helicopter back on the beach would have already taken flight if his life was in danger, so I felt somewhat relieved by not hearing the rotors above us.

Matsushita-san must have forgotten about the watches as well, otherwise she wouldn't have been this anxious. Someone who could plan this far ahead and around specific actions people might take wouldn't be shaken up by Ayanokouji-kun's absence if she had remembered the trackers.

Or was this part of her plan?

What about the apparent anger towards Shinohara-san?

No, stop it. Ayanokouji-kun is more important right now.

"I found him!" My eyes widened as I turned to the right where Shibata-kun's voice originated from. "Ichinose-san, Kanzaki-kun!" He waved and jumped up repeatedly upon seeing our figures. "Here!"

Mako-chan and a few others came running from his right and gathered around the injured boy, who lay motionless in the dirt. His face and parts of his arms had scratches spanning over multiple centimeters. The jersey was ripped in various places, including his legs, arms and even the chest area.

"Ayanokouji-kun?"

I raced towards him and kneeled down.

His rib cage was moving up and down, proof that he was still alive.

Without thinking too much about anything, I lifted his head and placed it on my lap. The repeated calls of my weak, trembling voice weren't answered, no matter how often my fingers slid over his peaceful face. Teardrops followed and mixed with the dirt and grass in his smooth hair as I kept caressing over him, trying to wipe away the bloody trails that span over his cheek.

"Hamaguchi checked the top and told us there were signs of someone slipping. Add this to the marks along this descent. It's obvious what happened. The initial impact on the ground must have knocked him out cold on his way back."

Shibata trailed his finger along the path Ayanokouji-kun fell.

"Any signs of foul-play?"

Kanzaki-kun narrowed his eyes and walked up the small ravine.

"It doesn't look like there was anyone else beside him."

"Ayanokouji-kun?"

My soft voice must have eventually reached him, as his eyelashes twitched. He groaned and moved his head, seconds before his weak golden orbs peered into my tearing spheres.

"Ichinose? Why are you crying?"

His voice was feeble and raspy, which was a clear sign of his current constitution. If I hadn't been so worried about his health, I might have laughed about the fact that his poker face hadn't changed a bit, despite the pain he should have been suffering.

"Sorry that I broke my promise."

"You idiot..."

I leaned onto his forehead and shed even more tears before my whole body shook in surprise, almost as if I had been seen doing something I shouldn't have done. Almost the same as back in middle school...

"Kiyotaka!"

"Honami-chan."

Mako-chan grabbed my shoulder and gestured me to move away.

Even though I didn't want to give up on him, it was the correct decision under these circumstances. I lifted his head and carefully placed it back on the ground, just in time before Matsushita-san arrived on the scene.

"Kiyotaka! What happened?"

She flung herself around him, tears streaming down her eyes.

This single interaction was more than enough proof that she truly cared about him. It didn't matter how she tried to deceive us, or how she didn't react when Ayanokouji-kun pushed himself towards his breaking point, because her feelings for him were obvious.

Shibata-kun explained everything once again.

Multiple factors had led to Ayanokouji-kun's current condition. It was dark and he must have been exhausted from continuously running the whole course three times a day. Even now, he struggled and fought to renew all the spots and only collapsed on his way back to our camp.

"Sorry that I missed roll call."

"Kiyobaka..."

She rubbed away the tears in the corners of her eyes and bent forward to kiss him.

I coiled away, as this wasn't something I wanted to see if I could help it. The Class D student who was with her seemed bored, as if he was too good to be here. I had heard about Kouenji-kun from the upperclassmen, but this was my first time meeting him outside from the daily roll call before he vanished into the forest.

"Well, princess girl, we found your prince." He glanced at his wristwatch as a smirk appeared on his face. "Unfortunately, it's getting late. Are you prepared to lose the spots from now on?"

"What? Are you kidding me? How is he supposed to occupy the spots in that condition. His health is far more important than a few stupid points. What is wrong with you people? You are horrible!"

Mako-chan raised her voice and regarded the boy with an angry expression.

"I agree with you that those monkeys are quite horrible people, Shark-chan, but please don't lump a perfect existence, such as myself, with those primates. Factoring me into this equation changes everything."

""Huh?!""

None of the present Class B students could fathom what this person said.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'll carry him to the spots for the rest of the exam. How's that?"

I couldn't think clearly.

How could I, after finding my boyfriend like this?

Even though I was handicapped, there was no way that Kouenji-kun would offer me such a deal without a considerable price. If it were in my hands, I would retire him on the spot, but he wasn't hurt enough to warrant a withdrawal since he was our designated leader, otherwise the school would have already reacted.

Kouenji-kun had an impeccable timing, offering me such a deal. The class was in danger of splitting up due to the underwear incident. Shinohara aside, the other girls were just as unhappy and worried about their own clothes. The class climate would go down the drain if we lost the reassurance of these points.

Everything played in Kouenji-kun's favor.

Was this just a coincidence?

He was without a doubt a capable man, but could he plan something like this?

Would he be able to pull this off?

No... there was no use in suspecting him. Not because of his abilities, but his stature, that differed from the one Horikita-san had made out. Unless he was working together with Class C, which was a possibility. He didn't care about any of us and would rather save up twenty million private points to assure his position in Class A at the end of the third year.

Was this the reason he stayed on the island?

"What do you want?"

"500.000 private points per trip. Additionally, if there is a special exam where we have to vote out one of our classmates, then you will protect me and make sure that I'm not the one being left behind. I don't care who is expelled as long as this person isn't me. These terms are nonnegotiable. Take it or leave it, princess girl."

A sudden gust of dizziness assaulted me upon hearing this insane number.

If Kiyotaka retired as planned, this deal would still cost me about two to three million private points. The additional term wasn't a problem, since I doubted that the school would force a class to vote out one of their own. Even if they did, I could sacrifice Shinohara and be done with her for good.

Would Fumei help me come up with these points?

I clenched my fists.

"250.000 per run."

Horikita Manabu assured me that he would help Class D ascend to the top, no matter what and he already paid a hefty amount of points to 'introduce' my abilities to my classmates, which meant that he was prepared to fork out points if I needed them. But his asking price was too high.

"Goodbye."

Kouenji-kun turned and ran off.

"Wait!"

He stopped in his tracks, not even turning around.

If I didn't pay him now, my classmates would lose their momentum. Fumei would understand this reasoning if I asked him for points. In the worst case, he could lend them to me, even though I wasn't sure whether I could repay him in less than a year before he left.

"500.000 per run. But you'll take care of something else as well."

A thundering laugh echoed through the forest as a knowing smirk appeared on his face. The bodies of the Class B students as well as the trees shook in accordance to his rhythm.

Due to Class B's presence, I couldn't tell him to find the leaders for me. It was already bad enough that they were aware of such a wildcard in our class, but this couldn't be helped anymore. At least we had a good relationship with them, otherwise they might be able to utilize him to their advantage.

"I'm aware of your conditions and they are not a problem for a perfect existence, such as my humble self. I'll take Ayanokouji-boy for his first trip while you set up a contract for the two of us, yes?"

"That's fine with me."

He lifted the still dazed Kiyotaka and piggybacked him before vanishing into the forest.

Thanks to Class B's quick thinking, we had no trouble gathering our classmates.

When Ichinose-san's companions saw that we found Kiyotaka, they spread out in the different directions to inform everyone that was looking for him that they could head back. The information about the accident spread like a wildfire and everyone knew what happened before we returned to camp.

I opened the manual and ripped out two of the empty pages that were reserved for notes and calculations before setting up a contract between Kouenji-kun and me, as well as the leader of Class D. In the improbable case that the leader were to switch, he would want to be assured of his promised insurance. At the end, I added a final penalty clause that voided the points I needed to pay, in case he failed to deliver the correct leaders.

If Fumei decided not to thrust out the points for me, I would have a big problem.

But I would cross that bridge when it was time.

After signing my name on both copies, I rolled them up and waited for his return as I strolled through the camp. The atmosphere in the class was still on edge because the theft remained unresolved, despite our previous efforts.

"Matsushita-san, could we talk for a moment?"

Hirata-kun walked up to me with a serene yet worried expression. He was confused because of the smile that formed on my lips, but this was the only reaction I could muster after realizing that he must have found the underwear we were looking for.

This thin piece of fabric was one of the most important objects to get our class back on track. I was relieved that my trust in Hirata-kun hadn't been misplaced, and that he sought me out. According to his expression and the timing, he must have discovered it in Kiyotaka's bag.

"Of course."

The two of us strolled out of the camp and into the nearby woods. He turned around after the voices of our classmates fell silent and surveyed our surroundings to make sure that no one had followed us.

"I found this in Ayanokouji-kun's bag." He pulled out a piece of pink underwear, which must have been the one we were looking for. "Karuizawa-san confirmed that her underwear was pink after I asked her. I didn't mention that I'd found it, of course, since I figured we should decide what to do together."

His face was colored in surprise as I heaved a sigh. It took only a few moments until he realized that I already expected his discovery and didn't believe for a second that this was Kiyotaka's doing.

"I'm glad that I trusted you with this information, because I don't know how to proceed from here without starting another civil war. I might be able to convince Karuizawa-san that I stole it, but I'm not sure if this is the correct move."

A laugh escaped my lips as I leaned against a nearby tree.

"This whole exam... it's just too much. I thought I could handle it, you know? But that couldn't have been further from the truth. I'm just so tired, sick of all the lies and the scheming..."

It was strange that I trusted him with these thoughts, but Hirata-kun exuded a calming atmosphere that made it easy to share one's opinions, concerns and miseries with him. I couldn't fault the girls for believing in him.

"You are doing a great job at leading the class, Matsushita-san. You shouldn't sell yourself short. Things don't always work out the way we want them to, but you aren't alone either. You can depend on your classmates."

It was difficult being a leader.

This was the second time during this exam that I seriously contemplated about just quitting. I realized that it would be exhausting to keep a class like this afloat, but this was so much worse than I could have imagined.

Class D was in a difficult position and I still needed to consider our wildcard Kouenji-kun, who might have set all of this up in order to accumulate private points. I could neither trust nor depend on him, since I couldn't know whether I was the highest bidder.

Aside from him, I had to deal with the spies and whatever Class A was doing behind the scenes. Finding Class C's leader was almost impossible since I didn't have a single reference point to start from and Katsuragi-kun wouldn't think himself safe after such a pitiful misdirect.

He had to have prepared something.

I was too arrogant, thinking that I could pull this class on my own.

This was the first time Fumei wasn't available to help me out and everything went wrong. My plan was still on track, but I gambled on every single deal I had made. If a single cog failed, the whole contraption would collapse and bury me alive.

Was this something a suitable leader would do?

"Could you get Kushida-san and bring her here? We'll need her help."

"As expected, you already have something in mind. I'll be right back."

The clock hit nine-thirty as Hirata-kun vanished between the trees.

Kouenji-kun's demands revealed what he was after.

Even though I didn't know how many points he possessed, I was assured of his plans going forward. The problems I faced were the additional deals he might have finalized with the other classes. Even if Horikita-san saw the perpetrator only at night, she shouldn't have been too far off with her observation.

The closest student matching this description was Ibuki-san.

If he made a deal with them, he might have ordered her to frame Kiyotaka while he was throwing him down that ravine. I needed to expand on the initial contract and add a clause that forbade him from damaging Class D for the remainder of this exam, which would lift one more burden off my chest.

I wasn't confident in these assumptions, but every viable scenario should be reviewed.

Aside from him, I still had the three Class C students to worry about.

Ibuki-san must have set this incident in motion, but I wanted to talk to her first to gather more information as she or one of her classmates might have been the reason for Yamauchi-kun's expulsion as well. Shiina-san and Yamada-kun also needed to be questioned, just in case they had been involved in any capacity.

Class A had been a mystery from start to finish.

They weren't doing anything but sitting around, which unsettled me. The remaining classes forged alliances for the future, or made deals and moves behind the scenes, but Class A seemed to do nothing but observe us from the sidelines.

Would they be this pacifistic?

Once Hirata-kun came back with Kushida-san, I would let them deal with the tense situation for now. Socializing was their strong suit, so they would surely come up with solutions that would allow me some time to conclude my investigation into the incident. Kouenji-kun would take care of the spots, while I could spend the rest of my free time to analyze potential targets for upcoming external attacks.

Now what about Kiyotaka?

I felt awful — no, horrible and disgusted by myself because of the plan to poison him. He did everything in his power to aid the class, and I couldn't even protect him from... me. Despite the cheap excuses I had prepared to defend my behavior, I couldn't bear my horrid reflection in the mirror.

What kind of sick girlfriend was I?

Kiyotaka didn't deserve any of this.

From the next exam onwards, I would do anything to keep him out of harm's way. Not only this, but I would make sure to repay him for everything he had done for this class and me. I would spoil him until he could forget all of this.

Definitely.

Hirata-kun returned with Kushida-san in tow, a few moments after my mental vow to my boyfriend. At first she was following him with a questioning gaze but understood the implications as soon as our eyes met.

"Let's get to work."

Authors Note:

It always baffles me when Checkmate reaches a new milestone that I never believed to be possible. This time we are celebrating over 50k reads and 4k votes on the story! Such an insane amount wouldn't have been feasible without you, and I am more than just thankful to have found such incredible readers on here.

I'm grateful for every single one of you, whether you just read the first chapter or enjoyed this story to this point right here. There is so much more to come and I can't wait until you guys and girls find out what I have in store. From the interested ones who put Checkmate in their reading lists for later, to the silent lurkers, the talkative commenters, the diligent voters and the kind souls who recommended this story to others:

Thank you very much for taking the time to read the chapters! 3

- Word Count: 16014 / 74779 Characters

Released 03.09.2022

Chapter 26 - Endgame

Around an hour later, we arrived back at our camp.

Kouenji-kun, who had already made it back with Kiyotaka, walked up to me after our return. We found a quiet spot in the cave and went through the contract together. He signed both copies without hesitation, regardless of the clause that forbade him to betray the class, and kept one for himself, while I took a hold of the other one.

"You seem to mistrust me, Princess-girl."

"One can never be too careful, don't you agree?"

A loud, charismatic laugh shook the walls of the cavern.

"Indeed."

Neither of us could back out of the terms we had agreed upon without severe repercussions. With this irrevocable contract in hand, I could rest assured that he wouldn't betray us during this exam. I gambled once again, hoping that Fumei would come through for me, contrary to Kouenji-kun, who would most likely deliver after everything I've seen him do the past few days.

It couldn't have been a coincidence that he brought this giant fish a few days ago, but proof that he wasn't only spouting nonsense in order to make me consider this deal. His actions were a clear demonstration that he differed from the remaining Class D students, who wouldn't have been able to act in such a brazen manner, and a hint that he might have caused my boyfriend's accident on purpose.

After this problem was taken care of, I made my way over to Kiyotaka.

Now that he was hurt, I wouldn't let him do anything during this exam. I was furious that he continued running, kept renewing the spots, and worked himself to exhaustion, despite my repeated pleas to slow down and rest when it became too much for him. But this anger couldn't compare to the relief I felt when I saw him again. Aside from a few scratches, a light bump to the head and a sprained leg, he was fine, according to him, at least.

I opened the tent and dove into my boyfriend's muscular chest.

Hirata-kun and Kushida-san were busy stopping any fires from spreading, while I took time I didn't have to be with him. This wasn't only out of a deep, lingering desire, but necessity, as I couldn't function anymore without charging myself with his everlasting, warm presence.

This exam on unfamiliar ground was too harsh for the current me.

The previous time I had spent with him alone in a tent led to a rather uncomfortable situation, but I couldn't have cared any less about the arousing thoughts that flooded my mind. I just wanted to hold on to him, feel his tempting body heat, breathe his seductive scent, hear his humming heartbeat, taste his luscious lips and study his sweet smile.

Kiyotaka's spheres widened in surprise when I snuggled into him and closed my eyes to rest.

The two of us talked about trivial stuff, none of which had anything to do with the task at hand. I just wanted to escape from this current situation and enjoy our intimacy as we were embracing each other for as long as we could.

My head, which rested on his broad chest, heaved up and down, following his calm breaths. The relaxed pulse below his rib cage was slow and rhythmical, guiding mine. His rugged, yet gentle hands caressed over my hair and neck, before massaging my shoulder and back, making me feel loved, cherished and cared for.

I slid up and planted a kiss on his delicious lips.

This should have been all there was, yet neither of us stopped as our tongues entwined. They moved and glided along each other as his palms took hold of my slim hips. An electrifying static jolted through my body as his fingers touched the bare skin my previous upward movement had exposed.

The muscles in my body convulsed as I grabbed onto his jaw, deepening our still ongoing kiss. His palms stopped at the waistband of my tracksuit trousers, unsure if it was acceptable to proceed any further.

I broke our stalemate just long enough to take a breath.

"It's okay..."

Our tongues collided, coiled around each other as his hands slipped into my pants. Muffled, gentle moans bounced off the tent's fabric, back into our ears as he grabbed my buttocks, tugging me closer towards him. His enticing smell blended with mine as my palms traveled over his athletic chest.

My heart had long since stopped beating in its usual calm rhythm as the two of us accepted each other. The temperature in the tent kept rising, not only because of me, but also the heat Kiyotaka radiated as his frame brushed against mine.

None of this could compare to the severe changes my body went through, however.

Even though it was impossible, I could smell the excitement, feel the moist sensation between my lower lips as his hands traveled back up and hear the passion in his own heartbeat.

Kiyotaka raised his upper body and bent to the left, reversing our positions.

His hot, steamy breath tingled my neck as he began to work his way down.

I grabbed his smooth hair, pulling him closer into me as my continued gasps vanished between his lips. His palm roamed upwards, past my stomach and waist, until he approached my chest. They brushed against the fabric before he slipped his fingers behind my back, trying to undo my underwear.

He fumbled for a moment until a defeated sigh grazed my ears.

"Chiaki..."

A giggle left my lips as I leaned into him again.

"Try the front."

I was the only one who was allowed to see this cute, clumsy Kiyotaka.

My heart pounded against my chest as I lost myself in his dazzling golden eyes. An inaudible click must've sounded through the tent as the bra popped open. Despite this, I could perceive nothing but our moans, our lips brushing against each other, and the wet sounds our tongues produced when they collided.

An aroused purr slipped my mouth, as his fingers rubbed over my nipples.

My boyfriends breathing grew heavier before his hands slipped out from beneath the tracksuit. His two brilliant spheres shone in a mysterious luster, as his fingers grasped the slider. I crossed my arms over my burning face, realizing what he was about to do.

"Kiyotaka wai—"

My voice vanished, drowned by the sliders journey southward.

A cold gust of air brushed over my chest and stomach before it clacked and came loose. Even though I couldn't see him due to the arms that blocked my vision, I could feel his passionate, intense gaze hovering over my exposed breasts.

"What are you doing?"

His tone was so much softer, so much more delicate than usual.

"It's embarrassing..."

"Why?" His tongue, which was soaked in our combined saliva, brushed against my nipple, sending another blissful jolt of electricity through my already trembling frame. "You are beautiful. There is no need to hide."

His lips swept over my chest, up to my neck as his head began to break away my crossed arms. I gasped in excitement, whimpered in bashfulness and immersed myself in his warm, comforting scent.

My eyes once again met with his.

There was no one but me. The bags, luggage and all the other belongings around the tent had long since vanished from his view, as only my oceanic orbs reflected in his two shining spheres.

"It's unfair..."

"What is?"

Our lips met once again as his hands caressed over my chest, pinching my nipples.

"That..."

I averted my gaze, unable to utter a single coherent sentence as my heartbeat reverberated through my ear canal. The thoughts, worries and doubts I had harbored before faded, replaced by pure euphoria as our gasps molded into one.

Kiyotaka leaned back before he took off his own tracksuit, revealing his chiseled abdomen, which I had seen once before, back at the pool. My palms were pulled towards his chest, as if we were two opposing poles that attracted each other. The trembling fingers on my hand slid along each and every intricate lining his muscles formed as my tongue danced around his neck.

He squeezed my breasts, forcing a loud stimulated moan from my lips.

His palm ran along my skin, slipping into my pants. The muscles along my lower body tensed as his finger slithered between my legs. My whole being burned in passion as I felt his fingers tapping against my slippery entrance. I leaned against him, pressing my chest against his.

We fell over, he backwards, and I dove right after him.

His eyes widened as we had once again swapped places.

Warm, moist gasps ran along my lips as I peered down at the boy below me.

My core pulsated stronger than ever before.

Juices continued oozing out of me, drenching my underwear. Heat kept traveling through my body as my pulse sped up, and the ability to think had long since left my person, as only instinct and lust remained.

I shut my eyes and took a deep breath before sliding down my pants.

The sticky substance formed translucent threads as the panties slipped down my leg. Kiyotaka lifted his upper body as something hard slapped against my thigh. He paid this sensation no mind and began to fondle my breasts as our tongues entwined once again.

His warm, sticky palm that was coated in my essence drifted along my moist inner thigh before he approached my drenched passage. My boyfriend's gentle fingers shifted upwards, massaging the silken pearl above my sopping entrance as I grabbed onto him.

Passionate pants and sensuous moans covered the tent, originating from the only occupants inside. My hands brushed past his erection, which exuded its immense heat even through his tracksuit before I pulled down his pants in anticipation. He kept moving, passionately kissing and pleasuring me with his fingers, as my whole body froze in astonishment.

There was no way that this was going to fit.

I grew dizzy thinking about taking this in, as this wasn't a size that could just slide inside without resistance, even with enough lubrication. Yet despite this, my body grew boiling hot, fascinated, and eager to try. The longer I stared at it, the more I wanted to feel him inside me.

My fingers reached out, grabbing onto his rigid part.

His warm, almost burning hot shaft pulsated again and again.

It's getting even bigger?!

My heart stopped as Kiyotaka pushed me over.

"Chiaki..."

"W-wait, this won't fit."

"I'll go slow..."

"Kiyotaka, I'm serious. This isn't —"

My whole body was set ablaze as his searing hot member pushed into me. The tip slid inside without trouble as I closed my eyes and waited for the pain that never came. Kiyotaka's warm breath caressed over my cheek as he planted a loving kiss on my lips.

"Should we stop?"

"I'm okay... j-just go slow, alright?"

"Tell me as soon as it hurts."

Faint, weak whimpers escaped my lips as he advanced.

My arms wrapped around his head, pulling him into my embrace. Kiyotaka slowed down, sometimes stopping altogether, when my pained gasps increased in volume until I signaled him to proceed. He was so gentle and worried about hurting me that he would rather stop during our first time than continue causing me discomfort.

"Are you okay?"

"Mhh..."

A gentle, almost weak hum was all I could muster at that moment.

My boyfriend brushed over my lips as he slid further inside. The mild lingering pain soon subsided and was replaced by pleasure. The whimpers turned into delicate moans as our two bodies became inseparable. He began to increase his pace, but never stopped to evaluate my reactions in case I felt uncomfortable.

The faint scent of blood entered my nose, as I was growing more and more dizzy. I felt something shifting inside me, as the pleasure kept building up like a bubbling soft drink that was still unopened. My deepening moans entwined with his sharp gasps as our lips coiled around each other.

Deafening, wet slapping sounds reverberated through the tent every time he pushed further into me. The muscles in my lower body began to spasm, following his stimulating, visceral motions.

Two distinct names were repeated as our lust and longing intensified.

A newfound feeling blossomed inside me.

The ecstasy, the euphoria I felt, couldn't be described with just words. Our moans as we kissed, the muscles that rippled and tensed in my body, my breasts that tingled with his every touch, and his warmth that kept moving in and out of me for the last few minutes kept building up the sensual pressure that would soon be released.

My body felt weightless as I leaned into his firm embrace. Our frames brushed against each other as the pleasure we felt reached a new high. His firm, yet delicate, hands held onto my cheeks and back as our tongues entangled, danced like two figure skaters.

"Kiyotaka, I'm..."

A gasp for air fled my lips as I felt pure bliss.

The racing, tempestuous heartbeat in my chest increased in intensity as he reached deeper inside. My legs quivered and convulsed as I wrapped them around his back. Leaning forward, I grasped onto the hair on the back of his head and pulled him deeper into my lips.

"Chiaki, wait —"

His voice melted, drowned by the pleasure I experienced. My boyfriends shaft trembled as all the muscles in his body seemed to clench and release over and over. A warm, comforting liquid spread inside of me as I lost all power and leaned into him for support.

"I love you, Kiyotaka."

'I love you.'

Those were three of the most influential words a human could utter.

I understood the meaning of 'love' in a literary sense, but I still didn't know what 'love' felt like. Replying with these three words would have been nothing but a lie, a deliberate strategy to deceive her, which was why I wouldn't state them.

Maybe I was on my way to fall in love, or perhaps it was impossible.

Ever since I've left the White Room, I learned a lot about human qualities.

Their darker sides, their brighter, more gentle personalities and everything in between. Emotions were complex, yet simple. They were frail, yet unbreakable. Predictable, yet unexpected.

Despite my doubts, I was looking forward to someday expressing those words.

Two pairs of heavy breaths circulated through the room as we lay on top of each other, exhausted yet full of energy. The magic had ended and reality hit like a truck that did 150 on the freeway.

We screwed up big time...

Sweat, semen, blood and vaginal fluid kept oozing out of me, staining the tent and, possibly, some bags in my surroundings. The stuffed feeling inside of me lessened as Kiyotaka pulled away.

"I think we messed up..."

His voice was as calm as usual, which almost prompted a laugh if not for the pain that assaulted my back due to the uncomfortable position I was lying in. I pushed the luggage out of the way and stared at one particular bag in horror.

"Whose is that?"

"Ike's..."

"Couldn't this have been yours?"

Kiyotaka kissed me before resting his head on my chest. Despite our current precarious situation, I caressed over his smooth hair, a faint smile on my face. Our breathing calmed as we began to realize what a mess we had made.

"It should be fine if we swap the clothes."

"Okay... what about the smell?"

"Open the tent and hope for the best?"

"Sounds like a plan."

A gentle giggle flew off my lips as I raised my upper body.

This was the first time I saw the entire aftermath of our escapade. Kiyotaka and his body were more or less fine, but the same couldn't be said about the tent or me. A mixture of blood and semen decorated the upper end of Ike's bag, which was only half as bad as the puddle that formed on the tents surface.

"I need to get to my bag."

"Like this?"

He glanced at the blend of multiple substances that still trickled down my thigh.

Shit...

What if I get pregnant?

No, my period just ended, so we should be fine...

Do I tell Chabashira-sensei that I need a pill?

Would I even get one here?

Could we get expelled for this?

My dad is going to kill us...

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, just a little worried."

I leaned forward and brushed past his chin before planting a kiss on his sweet lips.

There was no need to think about any of this now. It was already too late to go back, so we needed to deal with whatever would happen later. Whether this was trouble because we got found out, our parents murdering us for being so irresponsible, or an unexpected child.

The most important step was to clean ourselves up as thoroughly as possible. Neither of us was at fault for this situation, as we both failed to realize what repercussions we had to face after our sexual intercourse. I made this even worse by clinging onto him when he was about to climax.

What was I thinking?

"We need running water..."

"There's a creek around 200 meters from our campsite."

"Alright. Let's go there then. The others are occupied with blaming each other, so we should be able to slip out for a bit. I still need to deal with the whole underwear situation, so we should hurry."

"Your underwear situation?"

"No, Karuizawa-san's."

He tilted his head in confusion, which looked adorable. I shook my head and stood up before I winced in pain and slumped back down. The stinging sensation between my legs lessened after a few deep breaths.

"Does it still hurt?"

"A little. Can you help me up?"

Kiyotaka took my hand and support me until I felt more comfortable standing. He grabbed Ike-kun's bag and swapped the contents with his, before he tucked it in the farthest corner of the tent. I put my bra back on and peeked outside before limping towards my bag while my boyfriend grabbed some of the moss and grass we had stashed beneath the tents and wiped our mess away.

My dirtied pants slid down my legs before I wiped the juices trailing along my inner thigh with the already stained underwear. We had no tissues, so this was the best I could come up with in the current situation. I hid both items in an empty vinyl bag and buried them deep inside my luggage before slipping into my new pants.

"We should be good as far as the tent is concerned."

"Good. Here." I handed him my new panties, which he just stared at with a dazed expression. "I have to make sure that my pants won't get dirty again, and the underwear in my pockets would only be a bother. Don't act like you haven't seen them before."

I slid out my tongue in gentle banter, which backfired immediately as I blushed in embarrassment.

Kiyotaka and I really did it.

We had sex.

Our first time as a couple.

The whole situation still felt surreal, but I was beyond happy. Having unprotected sex during an exam inside the boys' tent might have not been the best place to lose one's virginity, but I was fortunate to have done it with the person I love.

'I love you, Kiyotaka.'

Those four words still echoed in my mind, since I could never forget the affectionate kiss he had put on my lips afterwards. He must have been as surprised as I was when this unforeseen phrase slipped through my teeth.

While he came inside me, no less...

How adorable would a small Kiyotaka be?

"Chiaki, are you feeling alright?"

His warm palm rested on my forehead, taking the temperature.

"Never better." I pecked his lips, taking his hand in mine. "Let's hurry."

The two of us strode out of the cave as if nothing had happened. We slipped past Horikita-san, who glanced at us for a short moment before she continued staring at Ibuki-san, who I believed stole Karuizawa-san's underwear.

I limped through the forest, while my boyfriend, who had sprained his leg, supported me. The pain wasn't unreasonable, but walking caused more uncomfortable stinging sensations than I had hoped.

We soon reached the aforementioned creek and stopped near the source.

"Here."

Kiyotaka pulled out a bottle of pre-boiled water, which he must have grabbed as we wandered past our stockpile. I took the pure liquid and cleansed my inner thigh from any residue that stuck or still oozed out of me. Our pre-arranged reserves had the benefit that I wouldn't contract any unwelcome diseases if I rinsed my private parts with it, as they were clear of any natural germs that would swim around in the creek.

"Let's not do this in a tent next time..."

His hands stopped cleaning his own lower area as he glanced at me with a surprised expression. I didn't mean to say anything weird and just blurted out my thoughts by accident, but I really wanted there to be a next time. The cleanup right now might have been annoying, but I would suffer through it again if I had to.

He bent forward, which caught me by surprise.

"It's slimy."

"Kiyotaka, you pervert..." I slapped the back of his head in mild frustration before I covered my private parts with my hands. "Please don't call it slimy. It's embarrassing."

"What? No, I didn't mean you."

He raised his hands, which had grasped onto a helpless fish that had been attracted by the new, unknown substances that coursed through the creek after our arrival. It flapped around in his palm, struggling to break free as we stood half-naked in the ankle-deep water. Kiyotaka glanced at me with a curious expression, like a small child that found something interesting.

"It really feels slimy. Do you want to hold it too?"

Everything had changed.

Not even half an hour had passed, but our relationship had evolved, matured after the two of us shared such an intimate moment. I hadn't noticed it back in the tent because of the scare I had received, but I grew more comfortable around him even now. Not that I felt troubled before, but I wasn't the least bit embarrassed about what we had done or talked about continuing once we were back at school.

My focus shifted back to the exam as we returned to our camp.

The person who tried to frame Kiyotaka was still around and needed to be taken care of in order to reassure the class. Katsuragi-kun might have something up his sleeve as well, but I didn't know from which angle he would attack an enemy. Ryuuen's modus operandi was clear after taking the incident in June, as well as his classmates' terrified reactions into account.

Our three schoolmates took a break and ate some berries beneath one of the many trees. Neither of them was surprised when they caught sight of me, since they must have predicted that I would pay them a visit because of this incident.

"Could we talk?"

"Of course, Matsushita-san. We already expected that you would eventually come by."

Shiina-san executed a faint bow, kind and understanding, as always. Yamada-kun turned around and stared at Kiyotaka and me, while Ibuki-san nodded, apparently upset that we suspected them of foul-play. She didn't make any eye contact, as if she was feeling guilty about something, but this might have just been her usual 'friendly' attitude.

Ichinose-san and Kanzaki-kun mentioned that her behavior was the same in Class B's camp, so it could have been her usual demeanor. This, however, was one of the reasons this whole scheme confused me. A proper spy should have operated like Shiina-san, agreeable, kind and under the radar.

Was this their ploy?

Using Ibuki-san as the scapegoat while Shiina-san gathered intel?

The silver-haired Class C student was an elegant, yet private girl who wasn't paying much attention to the class conflicts. She preferred reading books over conversing with her schoolmates, as she hadn't found someone she could share her passion about novels with.

Her cerulean-haired friend was a similar lone wolf, but she was both impudent, bordering on hostility and difficult to deal with. It made little sense that Ryuuen would use such an obvious, disagreeable character to spy on a class, especially since they had clashed with each other multiple times throughout the last few months.

According to Kushida-san, this was their usual conduct.

"Well, there's no need to beat around the bush, then. Did one of you steal the underwear from Karuizawa-san's bag? I would prefer honesty over lies, in which case we could part ways without bad feelings. I am not unreasonable, so I would understand your actions if Ryuuen forced you to sabotage our class."

From their point of view, I offered them an easy way out.

Using my convenient excuse, they could hide behind Ryuuen with little to no repercussions. The man in question had already retired, or that's what everyone was supposed to believe. Their reactions might present me with some hints I could follow in order to figure out whether he was still on the island.

Shiina-san forced a wry smile.

"As expected, you believe that one of us had a hand in causing such a commotion. It's only natural to see us in such a bad light because of Ryuuen-san's influence. I'd like to thank you for keeping this between us, since a sudden accusation would have strained our remaining time here, if we can stay, that is." She executed another delicate bow before turning to Yamada-kun. "Albert-san, do you have anything to do with the missing underwear?"

"NO."

A simple one-worded answer followed her question.

It was difficult to get a consistent, meaningful read on him since he talked little, but his behavior around the camp portrayed a pretty good picture of what kind of person he was. Yamada-kun was rather compassionate and took great care of his two classmates while following every instruction we had given him, despite his intimidating size.

When Mii-chan and Mori-san struggled with a large branch, he helped them without being asked. Even though one could get the wrong idea about him due to his large frame and muscular body, he was as docile as a well-trained dog. He possessed a looming presence but was a really kind and sympathetic person, which made me wonder how he fit into Ryuuen's group of delinquents.

"I also haven't seen or done anything, but I would understand if you had to kick us out of the camp for the good of your class. We are already thankful that we could stay here for this long."

The girl was quite direct in her approach.

She knew what must have been going through my mind and made no efforts to hide her honest feelings about this matter. Whether she was especially insightful was impossible to figure out with this little information, as even Sudou-kun and Ike-kun could have guessed that the odd-people from a different class would be the most suspicious.

"I did nothing either, but it's not like you'll believe us anyway so stop playing saint and just kick us out. We would have been fine without your charity so don't think you did anything honorable by picking up a bunch of outcasts."

Ibuki-san glanced at me from time to time throughout her speech.

She never held eye contact for too long and was more aggressive than usual, which differed from her natural behavior. This indicated lying behavior as the perpetrator would subconsciously hide themselves when they had something to withhold. These signs, coupled with the stature and haircut which fit Horikita-san's description, assured me that she must have been the underwear thief.

It made sense that Kiyotaka was the victim of her prank, as his luggage was the easiest to reach. The other boys used theirs as pillows, while his bag was unused most of the night because of his trip around the island. She wouldn't have had any trouble to check if everyone slept before she slipped into the tent and hid the underwear.

This plan was similar to the ones that expelled Yamauchi-kun and endangered Sudou-kun. Ryuuen was acting out, just like your usual delinquent, but he was careful and had enough patience and foresight to come up with ruthless plans that were difficult to trace. He wasn't just a dumb offender like most of his class, which explained how he took the leader position with such nonchalance.

Even though I felt somewhat bad about sending her out into the forest on her own, there was no way that I could let her stay after what she had done. She might have been easier to observe in the camp, but the rest of the class would never understand such a reasoning. Kushida-san and Hirata-san might help me persuade my classmate, but Karuizawa-san and her followers would never support this decision, as she was the victim of this theft.

"First, thank you for being so accepting. We tried our best to include you into our camp to make you feel at ease, but Class D, especially, had some qualms due to Ryuuen's previous antics. Shiina-san and Yamada-kun, the two of you may stay. Ibuki-san, I have to ask you to leave for stealing Karuizawa-san's underwear."

Shiina-san looked taken aback and turned to her classmate.

"The hell are you talking about? I did nothing wrong!"

"Chiaki, she seems pretty angry... are you sure it was her? Even though she's a bit... well, difficult, I don't think she's a bad person. I don't believe that one of them did it."

Kiyotaka's voice cut into the conversation, surprising me and the three Class C students.

"Ha?! What's your damn problem now. Mind your own business."

"Sorry?"

I was quite surprised that she was so angry at him, despite his best intentions to help her. Kiyotaka was compassionate and sometimes a little too naïve. Getting to know the Class B students might have been an accidental lucky encounter, but his attitude wouldn't help him around the Class C guys.

"One of the girls saw a silhouette matching your description at Karuizawa-san's bag."

"What kind of nonsense are you spouting? I didn't do shit last night. Tell her to get some glasses, would you?" Her narrowed eyes surveyed our camp before she stopped on a certain someone. "Wait... It's the sick one, isn't it? That's why she's been watching me the whole time. Are you fucking kidding me? That girl had some sort of wasted fever-dream and you're kicking me out? Screw you!"

Ibuki-san's angered reaction was rather loud.

Some of my classmates turned around, whispering among each other. Our guests from Class B also observed the situation as they tried to figure out what I said for her to explode into my face with such a volume.

"She —"

My words halted as I felt a warm grip on my shoulder.

"I'm really sorry to interrupt again, but do you think the person in question would behave like this?"

"Dude, what is wrong with you? Could you stop defending me?! It's annoying!"

"Um, I'm really sorry?"

Kiyotaka lowered his head and backed away.

Why would Ryuuen send someone like her to us?

No, that's wrong.

He didn't send her to us, but to Class B.

Her behavior wouldn't have bothered them since they were all about being friendly and getting along with everyone, which was why Ryuuen had sent Ibuki-san to them and not to our class. His hold of the leader position should have been weakened because of the three expulsions, which might have not left him a choice but to use her.

What about Shiina-san?

If she was uninvolved in the class affairs like Kushida-san said, then she might have not understood that Ibuki-san was exiled for a specific reason. That all of this was just an act to get information about Class B's leader. From Shiina-san's perspective, everything she had told us could have been the truth.

She saw how Ryuuen hit her classmate without knowing that the two had planned this. When she began bothering him about it, he threw her out as well. Shiina-san could be one of the few people Ryuuen had no control over, because she didn't care about reaching Class A.

According to Kushida-san, she just wanted to enjoy her time in the library.

Ryuuen was cautious around us, which was why he never planned to send someone our way. It was entirely possible that Shiina-san accidentally wound up here as she was pulled into their scheme. Due to their uncoordinated movements, we figured out that they might be spies and grouped up, foiling Ryuuen's plan.

Ibuki-san would have a terrible time to find Class B's leader in this constellation, which is why she tried to frame one of us to sow chaos in our camp. This would provide her a chance to figure out Class B's leader, especially if they were arguing against my class to protect Kiyotaka. I would have a hard time interfering with them, since he was also my boyfriend.

Luckily, she hadn't foreseen Hirata-kun's willingness to sacrifice himself.

This line of reasoning also explained Yamada-kun's arrival.

A kindhearted person like him would have worried about Shiina-san, who got pulled into this mess against her will. If Ibuki-san's plan failed and caused all three of them to be exiled, then he wanted to be there to protect her from the fallout.

Even if not every conclusion was on point, the gist should remain the same.

Had Kouenji-kun used this maneuver to advance his own plan?

"You are the only person who fits Horikita-san's description. She is sick, yes, but she has no vision impairment or a weakened mental state. The decision has been made. Whether you leave in silence is up to you. Shiina-san and Yamada-kun are welcome to stay, of course, but if you feel that it is necessary to leave with your companion, then I won't stop you. I'll let my classmates know what Horikita-san saw in ten minutes. You should be gone before that happens."

"Tch. Screw you. Didn't want to be here anyway."

She stared deep into my eyes before strolling off into the forest.

Ten minutes after our talk, Matsushita-san summoned her classmates.

I managed to convince Albert-san to take care of Ibuki-san, since I wouldn't need any support as long as I could stick around in Class D's camp. They were generous enough and saw me as a victim more so than an enemy, which must have been an unexpected boon my behavior had caused. I could never forgive myself if something happened to Ibuki-san, now that I was in charge of the exam.

But still...

"This is all wrong..."

A frustrated whisper crawled through my lips as I nibbled on my thumb.

Matsushita-san's train of thought was easy enough to follow. She must have concluded that Ibuki-san was sent by Ryuuen-san, tasked with finding Class B's leader. Because of my usual disinterest in the class competition, which she should have been aware of through Kushida-san, she should have also assumed that I had stumbled into their plan by accident, which was why she let me stay. The trail she followed from thereon had one glaring flaw, however.

Ibuki-san had no reason to sabotage their class.

She had stolen and presented Shiranami Chihiro's leader card to Class A during our first night on the island. As far as she was concerned, there was nothing to do but relax for the next few days, in case Ryuuen-san had assigned the leader's position to her.

This was our final play that might cost her some points.

Not even we knew who the leader was.

But who had set Ibuki-san up, and how?

Depending on the credibility of her statements, there were less than a handful of people who could have pulled this off. One of which was Matsushita-san herself. She might have put this whole scheme into motion to separate us from each other. This would give her a better opportunity to narrow down our leader while we couldn't communicate.

At least in her mind.

Ibuki-san's exile was both an offensive and defensive mechanism, as she couldn't know for certain that Ryuuen-san had left the island. It was even more impossible to assume that she would figure out which one of us possessed the rights after Albert-san had thrown the card into the ocean.

Could she have caused her boyfriend's accident?

According to Ryuuen-san, she planned to poison him. If she was prepared to go to such lengths, it wouldn't be a leap to presume that she might have provoked an accident to happen by draining the batteries of the flashlight or something similar.

But why?

My eyes opened wide in realization.

She used this unfortunate circumstance to comb through the forest.

It would have been a giant pain to locate Ryuuen-san if he was still hiding on the island, so nothing was more effective than a search party of close to eighty people who scoured their surroundings for another schoolmate.

Was this her plan, or part of X's handiwork?

Thanks to Ryuuen-san's expert negotiation techniques, we could name the leaders of Class A and B, while retaining the advantages of the contract with the former due to a loophole in the terms. I was entrusted with figuring out Class D's second leader after Ayanokouji-kun's retirement. This simple task was expanded upon after a rather interesting turn on the second day of this exam.

...

"Ah, Shiina-san. How are you feeling today?"

Kushida-san's amiable voice entered my ears as I munched on some red berries.

I felt somewhat bad, intruding on them with ulterior motives, but I had decided to help Ryuuen-san for the moment. Supporting the class during the competition was only a secondary objective, since I was far more concerned about protecting my remaining classmates and solving the mystery of the three expulsions.

It almost felt like acting out one of my favorite books.

A gentle smile formed on my face due to this thought. Kushida-san seemed to have misunderstood this involuntary movement as a beam surfaced on her lips, before I had enough time to open my mouth.

"I'm already feeling much better. Thank you for convincing everyone that I could stay. Even though I said that I would have been fine on my own... well, I really don't think that this would have been the case."

Ryuuen-san and Albert-san were still on the island, handling the final preparations for our deal with Sakayanagi-san's group. He postponed his schedule to leave for the ship in case I ran into trouble convincing Class D. If everything worked out as planned, then Albert-san would arrive later today.

"You don't have to thank me for something natural, Shiina-san. We would never have left you on your own out there. I just can't believe that Ryuuen-kun hit you. Does it still hurt?"

She caressed over my red cheek, cautious not to injure me by accident.

It stung a little, but Ryuuen-san seemed to have been in as much pain as I was. At first, he refused to slap me until I was about to run against a tree in order to injure myself. He complained that no one would have believed such a stupid wound and cursed my inability before smacking me.

What a tsundere.

"Somewhat. I'm just glad that Matsushita-san allowed me to join you. After what happened with Kondou-kun, Komiya-kun and Kimura-kun, I doubted that she would let a Class C student near your camp."

Kushida-san nodded in understanding before a laugh slipped her lips.

"She isn't the type of person to hold a grudge. Even back then, she only planned to save Sudou-kun and pushed for a suspension for your classmates until she received that video."

What?

My eyes widened for a split second.

Ryuuen-san and Sakagami-sensei hadn't mentioned a recording. The three were gone from one day to the next, and none of their friends knew why. He only informed Ibuki-san, Ishizaki-kun, Albert-san and me that Matsushita-san was the reason for their expulsion.

"Ah, right... The one she received during the trial."

Kushida-san was a good conversationalist, but she would never think badly about anyone, which gave me an advantage in this exchange. Assuming that the video made its first appearance that day was relatively safe, otherwise Ryuuen-san would have known about it and prepared a counter. The Class B and D students also kept asking around the whole time, which wouldn't have made any sense if they were assured of their victory.

"Mh. It was quite a shock, right?"

Matsushita-san pushed for an increased penalty after seeing the contents, which meant that it should have shown that our classmates started the fight or something equally detrimental. My following words needed to leave room for interpretation while convincing her that I knew about the subject matter. If this was something even Ryuuen-san hadn't been aware of, I had to gather as much knowledge as possible.

"Yes, I've heard it from Ryuuen-san after our classmates were expelled. The video was proof that Sudou-kun was framed. No one in our class had known about this before, but we couldn't really fault you for retaliating in such a manner."

"Oh? So he didn't tell you that they tried to set Sudou-kun up at first? Matsushita-san and a few others thought that most, if not all, of Class C was in on it. I tried to convince them otherwise, but not everyone believed me when I told them that you are not bad people."

She lowered her head with a wry smile.

Where did this evidence come from?

Ryuuen-san presumed that Matsushita-san had trapped them, but if she received support during the trial, then someone else had outplayed him. We were so focused on her that we failed to realize that another party might have pulled the strings back then.

This unknown individual could be even more dangerous than Class D's leader.

...

In the end, Ryuuen-san had known about the video, but he hadn't been aware that Matsushita-san received it from someone else during the trial. We narrowed the perpetrator, which he dubbed 'X', down to someone in Class A or D, as Class B was, in his words, too occupied with jazzing in each other's pants or something.

I didn't know this word, but Ryuuen-san refused to enlighten me.

He even apologized...

Our leader could be rather irritating and obscene when he got excited over something, but I doubted that I could change this in any meaningful way. I would try my best regardless, since he was a kind soul at heart.

During my stay in Class D's camp, I had more than enough time to observe them. The only students who had caught my attention were Kouenji-kun and Horikita-san. There was also the possibility that Matsushita-san thought ahead and feigned the whole thing to lead us down a wrong path, which would buy her some time.

The rest, as well as people such as Kushida-san and Hirata-kun, could be ruled out because they were too sympathetic, similar to the Class B students. Ayanokouji-kun, Sudou-kun, Miyake-kun and Onodera-san were physically quite capable, but that was all there was to them as far as I could see.

Horikita-san was a wildcard.

Since she was sick, I hadn't been able to observe her as much as I wanted to, but it was quite suspicious that she had seen Ibuki-san during the night, even though this should have been impossible. Even if she wasn't the mastermind, she must have helped Matsushita-san with her scheme.

Kouenji-kun was an odd-ball.

I had not the slightest idea what this person was doing the whole time, but he was more than capable of pulling something this intricate off. Despite not talking to Ibuki-san, he realized that she was a spy, calling her and Kushida-san Apate. I didn't know why she was included in the list of deceitful people, but I should inform Ryuuen-san about this information once we are back on the ship.

Class D found a consensus while I was occupied with my thoughts.

The girls, especially the loud one who seemed really hated, apologized to the boys who had been caught in the crossfire of a fight they couldn't have seen coming. The victim in this whole scheme behaved brazenly and chose not to retract her hurtful statements because they were 'perverts either way'.

She was fancy and loud, but the other girls swarmed around her.

Ayanokouji-kun walked up to their homeroom teacher to grab a handful of vinyl bags while the other students in his class spread out to gather more materials and food for tonight's dinner. He walked into the cave and returned without the bags, which he must have used to pad out the tents again, since the moss would become less effective with time.

Matsushita-san and her boyfriend took a small break and fed each other berries. Sometimes one by one, other times a handful after the other. They even began swallowing a few without chewing because of some bet about who could finish the bowl faster. Ayanokouji-kun grabbed a few berries and took a sip from his water bottle.

"Hey, Kiyotaka! Stop that! Drinking water is cheating!"

"I can't recall having set any rules."

In the end, he won by a narrow margin of around three berries despite Matsushita-san's best efforts in gulping down the water and berries faster than her brown-eyed boyfriend.

Her behavior confused me, as she seemed very close and loving towards this boy, yet she didn't mind poisoning him, at least according to our assumptions. We could be wrong, but Ryuuen-san didn't find a comfortable way to leave this island. The only ways back to the ship for the leader was sickness or an injury that warranted retirement.

The fourth day concluded without additional surprises.

That's what I had thought when I climbed into my bed, at least.

"Which one of you disgusting pigs jerked off in here?!"

I buried my throbbing head into the tent as the other girls began to grimace in disgust. Ike-kun's vehement complaints reverberated through the cave for everyone to hear, which only worsened the headache that had built up throughout the latter half of the day. If he somehow figured out what really happened, I would melt and perish in shame.

"God, those guys are disgusting."

"I can't fault Karuizawa-san for not apologizing, after all."

"Thank you for resolving the issue, Matsushita-san. If Karuizawa-san's underwear had still been missing by now, I would have burned all my stuff as soon as we are on the ship. Why are boys so nauseating?"

How would they react if they knew that the perpetrator was in their midst?

"I'm just doing my job to keep the class together. Don't worry about it."

My voice was quiet, muffled by the tents surface.

Despite my best efforts, I couldn't stop the faint blush that appeared on my fair skin. This was one of those times I would have loved to possess Kiyotaka's unfathomable poker face. Maybe I should ask him to teach me someday.

"Shut up, Ike. No one but you can smell anything."

Sudou's complaints were impossible to overhear.

The other guys soon chimed in, supporting his statement. Everyone was tired after such an eventful day. All they wanted was to get some well-deserved sleep before they had to wake up tomorrow morning. The girls also told him to shut up, but Ike-kun wouldn't go down without a fight.

"There are trace amounts! Trace amounts, I tell you!"

What kind of scary superpower was that?

Evening on the fifth day.

Time had passed in the blink of an eye for the first time during our stay, as nothing unexpected happened. The girls were still careful around the boys, because of the 'information' Ike-kun had supplied us with while we wanted to sleep, but our class atmosphere had returned to a reasonable level.

Karuizawa-san's attitude hadn't changed from yesterday, as she was beyond furious, which caused some small disputes which Hirata-kun and Kushida-san handled with ease. Luckily, one of them was her boyfriend, who managed to appease her somewhat.

The bonfires crackled as we assembled around them in our class groupings.

Ichinose-san and Kanzaki-kun understood that I wanted to separate our classes for the moment, as we had to remedy some mild internal struggles between each other. Some of my classmates had been quite irritated by Class B's behavior before, during and after yesterday's morning roll call, which I couldn't let them know.

Kiyotaka had friends in our class, but they couldn't compare to the relationships he had forged with the Class B students. This became even more obvious when they began to scour through the forest to find him, while we still quarreled about Karuizawa-san's underwear. The ones who knew him well thought nothing of this, but some others began to distrust him because of his close ties to an enemy class.

They backed off because of my reassurance, but they wouldn't forget their doubts.

I leaned back into his chest and angled my face upwards to kiss his cheek before I grabbed a few berries from the container he was holding and put them in my mouth. He returned my gesture and emptied the bowl with a gentle smile on his face.

It was strange, but I didn't feel as embarrassed as before.

He tapped my butt, prompting me to stand up. None of my classmates had seen this, of course, and his actions didn't seem out of place at all. Before yesterday, I would have jumped up and blushed, but our relationship was different now.

We were different.

The two of us ambled over to our storage area to grab some more fruits. Kiyotaka and I were the only people that knew that today would be his last proper dinner, so he vowed to eat his fair share.

Tomorrow's feast would be laced with poisonous berries, after all.

He glanced over towards Class B, who chattered and laughed, with a hint of longing as he grabbed one of the bowls Kushida-san, Onodera-san and Shiina-san had brought back, before he turned around.

"I'll join them. Are you coming with?"

"You shouldn't go. Not today, at least. Class D is unstable enough as is, and if you keep hanging around Class B, then they might think you'll betray us someday. I already talked sense into those idiots, but their doubts will only grow worse."

"I just want to spend a nice last evening with my friends. Is that too much to ask?" His voice felt bitter and lonely. "Horikita told me what happened while I was gone. I understand that you had your reasons for not telling me, so I'm not mad or anything, but..." He peered at our class with a pained expression. "It not like I don't have any feelings, just because I have trouble showing them."

I embraced him, unable to offer any comforting words.

He was my boyfriend, so there was no way I wouldn't understand his thoughts and concerns, but visiting and socializing with Class B would only alienate him more from our classmates. I could deal with the ones who doubted him, but not in such a short span of time. At least for this exam, it would have been best if he stayed clear of them.

But how could I deny his wish to meet up with his friends?

Class D still distrusted him after everything he had done for them. While Class B went out of their way to look for him, they accused him of thievery. I really couldn't care less anymore. Kiyotaka was more important than the class or this exam. If those idiots couldn't grow up, then so be it.

After all of this, I realized why they were defective.

There was no other way to measure their stupidity.

Common sense alone should have been enough proof that Kiyotaka wouldn't betray our class. Yet, they didn't even put his actions throughout the exam into consideration as they denounced him.

What more was he supposed to do?

"You're right." I rubbed over his smooth cheek. "Let's all eat together, okay? If anything comes up, I'll just deal with it. You should have at least one nice meal after everything you've done for the class. I'm sorry that I failed to find a suitable alternative, but I promise that I'll make it up to you as often as you want."

"I'll hold you to that promise."

I tiptoed, rewarding my handsome Kiyotaka with an affectionate kiss to seal our deal.

We began gathering our classmates and joined Class B's assembly, which was in a much more festive mood than our class. The saying that 'fun was contagious' was, in fact, true, as it didn't take long until the dampened atmosphere on our side skyrocketed. Since everyone was here, they couldn't fault Kiyotaka for hanging out with them either.

Maybe it had been a mistake to split our classes up.

Kiyotaka roamed on his own, because I didn't want to intrude on how he wished to spend his last proper evening. If our classmates had a problem with that, they could complain to me all they wanted. It didn't matter how often I would need to assure them that he wouldn't deceive us.

I would always have his back.

"Honami-chan."

A tired groan escaped my lips as I forced open my eyes.

"Mhm, Mako-chan?" I glanced at my wristwatch, which displayed the time at seven twenty-five. There should only be one reason for her to have woken me up this soon into the new day. "What happened?"

"Chihiro-chan is sick. She said that she felt feverish when we went to bed last night and now she's sweating and vomiting the whole time. The fever got worse, and she looks really pale. What do we do?"

The drowsiness I had been feeling vanished in an instance.

"Where is she?"

"Still in our tent."

I shot up without hesitation as the two of us made our way over. The fresh morning breeze was quite cold and no one but Horikita-san was outside. The whole camp was silent, giving off an almost eerie atmosphere.

We reached the tent beside us in just a few steps and climbed inside.

"Chihiro-chan?"

My classmate lay in the center of the tent with eight girls hovering around her.

Two of them were holding open one of the vinyl bags, which gave off a nauseating scent while the others offered her fresh water to cleanse her mouth. She peered at me with an apologetic expression, unable to hide her tears.

"Honami-chan... I'm... sorry..."

I couldn't understand her apology as I looked at her in confusion. It took a few moments until I realized that Chihiro-chan felt horrible for falling sick, as her retirement would cost us thirty points.

"Don't be silly Chihiro-chan. Let's get you back to the ship immediately." I turned towards the worried girls to my side. "Mako-chan, help me get her out of the tent. Himeno-san, could you wake Kanzaki-kun and Shibata-kun?"

"Okay."

"Sure, I'll be right back."

Both girls sprung into action. One stumbled out of the tent, while the other switched positions, which would make it easier for us to get her outside. The nauseous patient wasn't happy with this arrangement, however.

"No... wait, Honami-cha... It's j-just one more... day..."

I shook my head, denying her wish without hesitation.

"No, you are sick. I'm not letting you suffer for a few lousy points."

Mako-chan and the remaining girls agreed, showing their full support for my decision.

We would always think about our classmates first. The ascent to Class A was secondary. If I had to decide between graduating with everyone from Class B, or with thirty-nine of us from Class A, then I would choose the former ten out of ten times.

"But... Horikita-san too..."

"That's Class D's decision to make." I pressed my palm against her boiling forehead. "You're burning up like crazy. There is no way you'll stay here, not even for half an hour. We'll take you back to the cruiser as soon as possible."

Everyone grabbed on as we helped Chihiro-chan out of the tent. She wasn't stable on her feet and her nausea worsened as soon as she tried to stand or even kneel. Himeno-san soon arrived with the two boys in tow. She had already explained the situation to our classmates, which was why they were ready to go.

Kanzaki-kun lifted her into a princess carry as they hurried towards the beach.

Neither of us mentioned the points we'd be losing, as we all agreed that our classmates — our friends — were more important. I couldn't have been any happier with the school's decision to put me into Class B. After everything we have been through together, there was no one I trusted more than them.

Chihiro-chan needed a doctor as fast as possible. I wasn't sure how long the procedures for her retirement would take since she was our designated leader, but I hoped that the school wouldn't dawdle too long due to her high fever.

A simple flu wouldn't break out this sudden, but increase in intensity over multiple days. The only explanation for her explosive illness would have been the ingestion of poisonous fruits or mushrooms that grew all over the island. But we had dinner with everyone and no one aside from her seemed to be sick.

Was this just an accident?

If she had consumed something toxic, then one of the people beside her might have slipped her something. I usually wouldn't think this way, but I couldn't discount any possibility with Matsushita-san hovering over us.

Who sat beside her?

I shut my eyes and reflected on yesterday evening.

Recreating the scenes around the bonfire wasn't too complicated, but assigning places to the different students was quite the challenge after everyone joined. Most of us moved around during our dinner, which made the situation even more convoluted. Mako-chan was to my left, followed by Yonezu-kun, next to him sat...

The images in my mind took shape and turned into people, voices and actions that my schoolmates performed. These recollections sometime faded into a cloud of smoke as the position I had put them didn't overlap with my memory.

"Chihiro-chan, Chihiro-chan, Chihiro-chan..."

Silent, almost inaudible whispers escaped my mouth as I tried to form her silhouette around the places she could have been. The imaginary illustration expanded with more and more people until I narrowed down Chihiro-chan's spot. Himeno-san sat to her left, the whole time, which should put the perpetrator to her right.

Shibata-kun sat beside her for a while, but he switched places with the person next to Kanzaki-kun some time during our dinner. Hitomi-chan also swapped places with Beppu-kun, who traded his position with Hamaguchi-kun afterward. The girl called Mii-chan sat beside Chihiro-chan for a bit because she was interested in her cute hair clip. Once their conversation concluded, she traded places with...

... Ayanokouji-kun?

No, there must have been someone else.

He held one of Ike-kun's bowls in his hands, but he sat beside multiple of my classmates, including Kanzaki-kun, Himeno-san, Watanabe-kun and me, who all ate some berries. Even more of us if I continued throughout the evening. Him being the perpetrator wouldn't make any sense, as Ayanokouji-kun would never hurt —

Could he have been the target?

His accident during the previous day...

What if it hadn't been an accident?

Everyone should have realized that Ayanokouji-kun was Class D's designated leader. Poisoning him wouldn't accomplish anything, aside from increasing the difficulty for the other classes, as they would need to find the newly appointed card-holder after he retired.

And this solved all of our questions...

"Did everything work out okay?"

Shibata-kun lay on the ground and spread his limbs, panting as if he was dying. Kanzaki-kun, who wasn't part of a sports club, was in an even worse condition, barely able to stand as he emptied two water bottles in one swoop. His whole body trembled as he collapsed into a seating posture.

"Yes, Shiranami-san was taken to the doctor immediately, so she will be fine. We might have lost thirty points, but at least she is in good hands now. We also made it barely in time for roll call."

Both guys had trouble even moving as they drew deep breaths due to their immense exhaustion. Himeno-san brought another two bottles, which Shibata-kun gulped down without hesitation.

"How the hell did Ayanokouji do this for three days?"

"His stamina is off the charts..."

Two pitiful laughs slipped their glistening lips as they regarded each other with wry smiles. Even though Shibata-kun was in the soccer club, he had a difficult time with a trip that was only a fraction of Ayanokouji-kun's.

To think that his classmates still doubted him...

Kanzaki-kun signaled me to move closer towards him before he slipped the new leader card out of his pocket. It was only a small, almost invisible gesture, as far as anyone else was concerned. The engraving read 'Hamaguchi Tetsuya'.

The leader's identity didn't matter, now that we had decided not to occupy any spots. Chihiro-chan used the card twice, and we surrounded her both times. Ibuki-san joined us before our first and last renewal, but she would have had trouble figuring out who used the card, even if she had x-ray vision.

"I'll keep it safe with me until the end of the exam. If someone notices the card, they might reach the wrong conclusion, which would buy us some peace of mind. This maneuver is doubtful, at best, but the most we can do at the moment."

"We can't go wrong with trying."

The rest of our schoolmates woke up one by one.

Hoshinomiya-sensei and Chabashira-sensei began morning roll call a few minutes later, at the usual time. Kouenji-kun took Ayanokouji-kun on his back and ran off to occupy the remaining spots after each student had confirmed their presence.

Matsushita-san strolled into the forest with Sakura-san and Hasebe-san, which was a new and quite unexpected combination. Sudou-kun, who usually walked around with them, left the camp with Horikita-san. He stared a hole into the ground, as if he was begging for help, before the two vanished behind the treeline.

"Hirata-kun, do you have a moment?"

I walked up to one of the kindest and most helpful students in their class.

He turned around with a surprised expression, as I had interrupted him during his usual routine of checking up on everyone's progress. Over the past few days, I had seen that he always tried his best for the class. No matter how difficult the situation got, he tried to keep their cohesion high and acted with peaceful solutions in mind.

In short, I could trust him.

At least to a certain degree.

"Of course, Ichinose-san. It's been a while since we talked, hasn't it?"

His smile was pleasing and set the mood for a calm, amiable conversation.

We had exchanged pleasantries during our stay here and confronted him about Ibuki-san's status as a spy, but the last time we had talked one on one was back in June, when we ran into each other while shopping for groceries.

"It's about the incident two days ago. Could you lend me your ear for a moment?"

A wry, pained expression formed on his face as he acknowledged my plea with a nod. The two of us walked into the forest, away from our classmates. I singled him out specifically, since I believed that he would share my thoughts about wanting to help Ayanokouji-kun.

"I honestly don't — argh, Horikita! My ear!"

"Don't weasel yourself out of this and answer my question, Sudou-kun. What did Shinohara..."

Her soft, yet somehow terrifying, voice vanished as we walked past the hearing range. Hirata-kun only scratched his cheek and told me not to worry too much about it, before we stopped at a red berry bush. He plucked a few to eat and turned around, regarding me with an attentive glance.

"May I ask where you found Karuizawa-san's underwear?"

"That's something I can't discuss with you. I'm terribly sorry."

Hirata-kun bowed in apology.

He wouldn't budge on this, but I needed him to trust me right now. If he decided to deny his support after my request, then I would be back at the starting point. With his and Kushida-san's help, we might be able to do something.

"May I take a wild guess, then?" I surveyed our surroundings to make sure that no one would overhear our conversation and proceeded in a quiet voice. "Did you find the underwear in Ayanokouji-kun's bag by chance?"

He appeared rather shocked.

His silence was enough evidence to prove my assumption.

"How did you know that?"

Should I tell him about Matsushita-san's plans?

Or would I be overstepping?

I drew a deep breath and decided to inform Ayanokouji-kun first, before I involved anyone else. He had the right to be the first to know, since he was the one in danger. Hirata-kun shouldn't know everything, but it would be fine to warn him that someone was targeting Ayanokouji-kun.

"It's nothing more than a loose hunch at the moment, but I think that someone is trying to get Ayanokouji-kun off this island, by any means necessary. First was the stolen underwear in his bag, then the accident while renewing the spots at night. And now... now we had to send Chihiro-chan back to the ship because she ate poisonous berries."

"What? But..."

Hirata-kun stopped and went over everything he knew. He must have also understood that this sudden need to force him into retirement made little sense for everyone but Class D.

"Chihiro-chan sat beside him yesterday. I think she ate some of his berries and fell sick."

The boy's bright, friendly eyes turned somber.

He was still looking in my direction, but not at me. His gaze was focused at something behind my person, something, or someone that wasn't present. The surrounding atmosphere changed, causing me to take a step back.

"Ayanokouji-kun... he mentioned stomach pains this morning." His palms crushed the berries he had harvested as their fresh juices trickled down his fingers and sank to the ground. "Why? Who could do something like this? Just why can't we all get along?"

Hirata-kun showed me a sight of him that none of his classmates should have seen so far. Even though his eyes were different, I could gleam at certain similarities between us. There must have been something in his past that had shaped him, similar to the anguish I went through.

"I'm available if you ever need to talk. Shouldering so much on your own... It's painful."

There were people aside from me who could support him. It didn't need to be me, or Shibata-kun, who he knew from the soccer club, or even Kushida-san, who was a close friend and classmate to him. I was sure that he would someday find a person whom he could entrust this burden with.

"Thank you, Ichinose-san. But I don't know who I can trust anymore."

"You can trust Kanzaki-kun and me. We are Ayanokouji-kun's friends as well."

Once again, he wore a wry smile.

After the underwear incident, he should have realized that Class B cared more about him than his own class did. The actions each of us took spoke volumes. They demonstrated and underlined that we cared about him, no matter what.

I couldn't hear what they talked about since Ichinose had lowered her voice, but I recognized his reaction. Perceived the pain, the struggle, the small ember of distrust in his quivering, once bright brown orbs. They lost their color and dimmed like a smoldering, dying flame that was about to go extinct.

Just as I remembered from my middle school days.

Hirata was plagued by deep regret, tormented by his own self-loathing for something he had or hadn't done, similar to all the people who had put their faith in me. Who had shared their deepest, darkest secrets with the character I had shown them. This scene must have been the reason Kiyotaka told me to observe Hirata throughout the exam's final phase.

Ever since we stepped foot on this island, they danced to his tune, unbeknownst to everyone.

I leaned against a thick tree between some shrubs which separated them from me. A sigh left my lips before I glanced at the treetops above. The wind brushed past the leaves, producing gentle, almost soothing sounds as I thought back to the night at the beach.

...

The distance between us kept diminishing, but my body froze short of touching his lips.

If I went through with this act of rebellion, everything would change. I could no longer be the Kushida Kikyou I had been, the one who distrusted the unknown and everyone around her. He must have felt my struggles, known that I wouldn't kiss him. His confidence annoyed me, or rather, I was livid that he had been correct once again.

What the fuck am I doing?

The devil's golden eyes shone in the moonlight, glimmering with my reflection.

My hazel-colored hair danced in the soft ocean breeze and brushed against his forehead while I observed my own trembling crimson orbs. We were so close that I could feel his warm breath on my lips, listen to his steady heartbeat, which hadn't increased in frequency even once.

Fuck... I really want to kiss him.

I pulled away and rested my weary head on his chest.

This boy had done the most horrible things to me. Despite everything he had put me through, I wanted to hold him, feel his pleasant, comforting frame close to mine. Both my mind and heart were essential for Kushida Kikyou 's survival. Right now, they were out of sync, striving to understand each other.

I should have hated this person.

My body still quivered when I thought about him or listened to his words. The scars he had imparted into my mind and soul weren't healed, and they wouldn't improve for quite some time. Yet my heart rate increased whenever I was close to him. Before, this had been the influence of my fear, but now something different took its place.

And this was all his doing.

He wanted these feelings to blossom. His actions had sown the seeds and his efforts towards making me feel cherished, nourished certain emotions he had prepared to develop. There was a reason for his loving embrace, an intent behind calling me his queen, comparing me with this one of a kind piece on the chessboard.

"Kiyotaka?"

His gentle hand caressed over the back of my head.

"Mh?"

I took a deep breath and made sure to remember this beautiful evening.

"Nothing..."

...

Since I had my tasks to accomplish, I knew a lot more about what was going on than everyone else. Despite this huge advantage, I couldn't wrap my head around most of the things he did. The steps he took, they weren't only to win this exam. He prepared for something bigger that was still out of reach.

Ichinose and Hirata separated, with her going back to camp and him aimlessly wandering around. The general direction would lead him back to the camp, but it didn't seem like he wanted to spend his time there at the moment. Our impeccable knight in shining armor stopped in front of a thick tree.

His fists smashed into the bark over and over.

"Why... why is this happening? It's just like back then..."

His punches were relentless and increased in intensity until the skin over his knuckles eventually cracked. Blood flowed out of his wounds, which mixed with the dirt from the tree before it trickled along his fingers and palm. Droplets of his crimson body fluid scattered through the air as the remnants poured down the bark and oozed into the ground.

"Why was I doing this? Why was I doing all of this until now?"

He smacked his head against the tree once, twice...

I wondered if he had continued, if Mii-chan hadn't called out to him.

After my conversation with Hirata-kun, I returned to the camp.

Kanzaki-kun still worked off his exhaustion while I informed him of my findings. I withheld my own conclusions, since I wanted him to have a fresh, untainted view about everything I had figured out. My feelings for Ayanokouji-kun had blinded me once already, which was why I trusted his judgement more than mine.

If an inherently careful person like him reached the same conclusion as me, then I could be more certain about my own convictions. This time I would have an even easier time messing up the facts since this issue involved Ayanokouji-kun, Matsushita-san and Class D's fate.

I couldn't blindly throw around accusations without being certain.

"What do you think about all of this, Ichinose?"

"That's what I'd like to hear from you first."

A wry smile spread over his face as he understood my concerns. Kanzaki-kun was aware of my insecurities, which stemmed from my jumbled emotions. He nodded and brushed along his chin.

"I've also felt a little uncomfortable this morning. I thought that I might have caught a flu or something, but some berries being poisonous would explain this. It seems they weren't too toxic as both Ayanokouji and I only have very weak symptoms. Shiranami-san must have grabbed more of them, which is why her condition worsened to such a degree. This was probably the real reason Matsushita-san wanted our classes to stay separate."

"Yeah. She is dangerous and Chihiro-chan became an accidental victim in her ploy."

I clenched my fists, both angry and deeply saddened that Kanzaki-kun arrived at the same conclusion. We glanced around the camp, trying to discern how to proceed from now on. There wasn't much we could do without shattering Class D's cohesion.

"Do you have something in mind?"

"I think it's best to tell Ayanokouji-kun first. He deserves to know what Matsushita-san is up to behind his back. Maybe he can talk her out of this plan. She cares about him. I truly believe that, so it wouldn't be strange if he could change her mind. Class D might lose most of their points in this exam, but they still have enough time to make a comeback."

Kanzaki-kun said nothing and nodded in agreement.

Even though Ayanokouji-kun's girlfriend turned out to be a bad person, I felt relieved. I didn't like these newfound petty emotions in me and tried to bury them beneath all the bad I had done. If she wasn't trying to hurt him, I wouldn't have said anything. It was not my place to interfere in their relationship as an outsider.

But if his health was in danger, I couldn't just sit by.

He deserved to be happy above all else.

The two of us joined up with some of our schoolmates to help with the chores that needed to be handled. Aside from those daily tasks, we had little to do on this island. Some of us went to the beach yesterday and played with the balls Matsushita-san had us buy. but that was about all the fun we had aside from talking and relaxing.

Around half an hour later, Ayanokouji-kun and Kouenji-kun arrived at the camp.

The latter wasn't out of breath, despite running around the whole island with a person on his back. We knew next to nothing about him, but his stamina and physical prowess seemed even more ridiculous than Ayanokouji-kun's, who eclipsed both Shibata-kun and Kanzaki-kun.

According to himself, Kouenji-kun only helped them for personal benefits.

How did Matsushita-san stockpile so many points anyway?

Even I had only around 2.6 million, and I was acting as our bank.

Class D's most peculiar student strode off into the forest as Ayanokouji-kun limped over towards a nearby tree where he sat down. His complexion was much paler than this morning as he pulled up his jersey and examined the scratches that had amassed on his body during the fall.

I excused myself and walked over.

My heart kept beating faster and stronger with every step I took towards him. This was an occurrence I had grown familiar with during our time on the island. Unfortunately, the reason for my increasing pulse differed from my usual elation.

What would I do if he didn't believe me?

What if he began to hate me?

Should I have let Kanzaki-kun talk to him?

Should I get him?

Just to be safe?

Such thoughts swirled through my head like a raging tsunami before I stood in front of Ayanokouji-kun. A charming smile formed on his lips as he glanced up at me, not bothered by my frame that prevented the warm rays from reaching him.

"Hey Ichinose."

"Can we talk?"

My voice sounded stiff and uneven, prime evidence of my nervousness. He must have picked up on my weird behavior, as his expression changed into confusion. I became so accustomed to him that I could tell, even though his face had barely shifted.

"Yeah, of course."

Ayanokouji-kun propped himself up on the tree, careful to not put any additional pressure on his left leg, which seemed to be rather painful. He flinched as he stepped on a thick root that forced him to readjust his posture.

"Here, lean on me."

I held onto his side and slung his arm around my shoulder.

"No, it's fine. I —"

"Ayanokouji-kun, don't be like that and lean on me."

Regret formed on my paling face after I managed to squeeze out this sentence.

While I didn't mind having him near me, I hadn't been prepared for what this meant for my heart. He was so close that I perceived the heat that his body emanated. This influx of stimuli was too much for my body to handle, as I felt myself disintegrate into a puddle of strawberry-colored goo.

An undescribable, sweet scent tickled my nose.

One would think that his smell should be off after six days on an uninhabited island and lots of sweating, but that wasn't the case at all. His odor was more than just pleasant. I couldn't find the words. My mind stopped working in that exact moment, or rather, it went into hyper-mode.

Oh my god, how do I smell?

It's bad right?

Right?!

What if he thinks I smell bad?

What do I do?

"Ichinose?"

"HAI!"

A high-pitched squeal escaped my lips as he peered at me with a blank stare. Those golden eyes gleamed in the sunlight and I lost myself in their mesmerizing luster. Neither of us averted our gazes. I couldn't fathom his reason for not doing so, but mine was obvious to anyone but him.

One seconds, two seconds...

I lost track of time, as my eyes refused to blink. Almost as if they were concerned that he would be gone once they opened up again. My face flushed in a deep crimson and began to heat up. I wouldn't be surprised if I turned into a second sun if I stared at him for just a little longer.

Who am I kidding?

My heart would have jumped out of my chest way before then.

"Ichinose? Ayanokouji?"

A familiar voice drew me out of this trance-like state.

"Eh? Ah? Yes, Kanzaki-kun?"

Thank you so much!

"The girls said that they'd heat some water and put berries inside for some sort of tea." He pointed towards our classmates, who waved us with bright, beaming smiles. "Do you guys want some as well?"

"Ah, sure. Thank you for asking, Kanzaki-kun."

"If it's no trouble, then I'd take some as well. Thanks, Kanzaki."

He nodded and strolled back to the group, which began to squeal upon receiving our answers. I glanced around, hoping that none of the Class D students saw their far too obvious behavior. Kushida-san was the only one around at the moment, and she wouldn't get the wrong idea over something like this.

Hopefully...

I was thankful that my classmates wanted to help me, but this wasn't the proper way. Ayanokouji-kun had a girlfriend with whom he seemed happy with, so it wasn't my place to intrude. Our friends also noticed that he was treated with mistrust, despite everything he did for Class D, so I understood where their invigorated intentions stemmed from.

Ayanokouji-kun and I walked into the forest.

We stopped after barely twenty meters, as I didn't want to put any more strain on his leg. I wiped away the leaves and dirt from below the tree before the two of us sat down. He was hurt, so there was no reason to let him stand the whole time.

"What are we doing here?"

"I have to tell you something."

I averted my gaze, still concerned about the negative reactions he might have once I briefed him about what we knew. If he took this the wrong way, then our friendship would break apart with no chance for salvation.

"That sounds serious. What's wrong?"

"Promise me that you won't freak out... or hate me..."

He peered into my eyes with a puzzled expression.

"How could I ever hate you?"

His smooth, warm voice convinced me that I made the correct decision.

"Okay... I'm not sure how to tell you something like this, and I wouldn't if I had any other choice, but I think that Matsushita-san wants to feed you poisonous berries to let you retire from the exam. I know that this sounds horrible, and that you might not believe me, but everyone knows that you are Class D's leader. She wants to change this before the final day to keep all the points you've gained. If you hate me now, that's okay. I'd understand, but please. You need —"

"I know."

"Eh?"

His calm, unemotional voice freaked me out more than a scream or glare for badmouthing his girlfriend. Realization struck me once again, as the words he had spoken were even more astounding. For a few seconds, I wasn't able to grasp a clear, continuous thought.

Much less form a coherent sentence.

"W-what?"

"Chiaki told me about her plan on the first day. She also said that we should keep this a secret, because our classmates would freak out while she assured me that she would look for another way, one which didn't endanger my health. We both racked our brains, but neither of us came up with a viable solution."

I grabbed him by the shoulders and joggled him.

"What? But... that's your health, Ayanokouji-kun. This... this is not right. You shouldn't have to do something like this! She shouldn't even have had the idea to poison you! That's not normal! She's your girlfriend!"

How could he not understand that her way of doing things was wrong and dangerous for him?

A normal person wouldn't just poison another!

"You think I don't know that?" He lowered his head and played with the blades of grass around his feet. "It was too late to do anything. Rather than telling everyone and damaging the class, I swore myself to go through with her plan and keep the peace. I sincerely thank you for telling me, really. But this is Class D's problem, so please let us handle it."

My heart shattered into more and more pieces the longer his sentence went on.

Ayanokouji-kun protected his class in every way imaginable, despite his classmates' doubts about him, their disregard for his condition and their attitudes when he was missing. He ignored the glances, the badmouthing, and the danger this plan posed towards his health and put himself between Matsushita-san and their classmates.

Just so that no one but him had to suffer.

It wouldn't be right to tell him that he was just being used, as Ayanokouji-kun already made up his mind. He accepted his girlfriends plan, his classmates' cruelty, and began to bottle all these twisted feelings up in order to protect them.

Would I have had the same strength in his place?

"Do you know when you were supposed to eat the berries?"

"This evening, why?"

"Because Chihiro-chan got sick today."

"Shiranami? But —" He went silent as his pale hands began to rip out the grass along his feet. "I sat beside her... Shiranami, she's sick because of me? Why? That's not what I wanted..."

I couldn't help but embrace the suffering boy in front of me.

Wow, they are so much softer than Kikyou's and Chiaki's...

I couldn't even fathom the emotions and the torturous pain he must have been experiencing at this moment. After everything he had accomplished to safeguard his classmates, one of his friends in our class got sick. He must have felt horrible for wanting to be with us yesterday as this was the only reason that Chihiro-chan ate the berries.

Neither Kanzaki-kun nor I faulted him, but he must have blamed himself.

How could he have known that Matsushita-san would enact her plan sooner?

The only thing I could gift him was comfort.

"It's not your fault, Ayanokouji-kun. None of us think this way. You couldn't have known that, so please... don't blame yourself anymore. Don't lift this weight all on your own. We will always have your back."

He must have felt the sincerity in those words as he tightened his grip around me.

The pain and the suffering, I would help him carry it, no matter how long it took or how difficult our path would be. Right now, not all was lost. If he had trusted us with this sooner, we might have been able to come up with something to help him.

Maybe we still could.

"Kanzaki-kun and I will think of something, so please. Don't let her poison you."

"I can't. Not without risking the class. If I don't ingest the poison as planned and you guys couldn't come up with anything, then my class would break apart. It's not that I don't trust you, but this isn't your burden to carry."

"Then I'll make it mine. I don't care what you say." I loosened my embrace and stood, before stretching my hand towards him. "Let's go back. Kanzaki-kun and I have some thinking to do. I don't want to see you get hurt."

Sixth day, evening.

I leaned against a tree as the clouds tore, sharing my current state of mind. The translucent droplets smashed into the ground and splattered over the green grass that grew around me. I held out my hand, catching and staring at the tears from heaven.

"It's only going to get worse. Are you coming?"

Kanzaki-kun stood up and dusted off his back with a similar, defeated expression. His frown grew deeper, as he noticed that I had no intention of moving anywhere.

"No, not yet. I'll stay for a bit."

"You should eat... and not get wet."

"I'm not hungry and it's just water."

Despite our best intentions, we couldn't come up with a solution without severing Ayanokouji-kun's trust in us. He would never forgive us if we didn't honor the sacrifices he had already made. All we could wish for was that he put his faith in us sooner the next time he planned to torment himself for the good of their class.

A deep, frustrated sigh echoed through the dark forest.

"Can't really fault you for that. Just make sure that you come back before the weather gets worse, okay? I'll have to head back or Matsushita-san might grow restless. We can't let her realize that we know."

"Sure, I'll follow you in a few minutes. Don't worry."

The crunching sound his steps produced softened until they died out.

I raised my head and observed the rain droplets that dowsed the island in their comforting, somewhat melancholic smell. With weather like this, everyone would move into their tents, or the cave, but I liked it here. The sky understood how I felt and mirrored the miserable feeling that spread through my soul like a cancer.

"It's a terrible day for rain."

A lone tear slid down my right eye.

"My, my. Being a maiden in love seems to be quite the undertaking."

Surprised by the sudden voice, I jumped and almost stumbled over my own feet. The boy from whom this statement originated from strode out of the underbrush to my left. He swept his golden mane towards the back and displayed his sparkling white teeth.

"Kouenji-kun, you surprised me. What are you talking about?"

"Please, it's quite difficult not to notice your infatuation with Ayanokouji-boy."

My heartbeat stopped as the blood in my body froze.

"Ayanokouji-kun has a girlfriend. We are just friends."

"You do realize that you are deflecting right, bank-girl? Please don't treat me for a fool like those Class D monkeys do. It's unbecoming for someone that has reached a certain threshold above primates."

Bank-girl?

How could he have found out about that?

No one aside from my classmates knew, and they wouldn't have told him. He couldn't have seen my phone either, since we had nothing to do with each other until this exam. Ayanokouji-kun was an exception as well, but he was the same as my companions and wouldn't share this information with anyone.

"What do you want? There's a reason you showed up, right?"

"Me?" An explosive laugh rang through the forest, scaring the birds as the trees began to shake to the pace of his voice. "There is nothing I need from you, but something I can offer."

His words were as mysterious as usual.

"And what would that be?"

"Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. How much is his well-being worth to you, maiden-girl?"

August 7th.

After a hellish week on an uninhabited island, the special exam was about to end. I hadn't expected how bad this week would be after we had first stepped onto this island that might have as well been purgatory.

My eyes opened to the same ceiling I became familiar with the past week.

This voyage had been my first of its kind.

We didn't have that much money back home, so I had never slept in a tent outside of school trips, neither had I spent days on a luxury cruiser. Despite all the memories I had made, I wanted to forget that the past seven days ever existed.

The tent opened up when one of my friends peeked inside.

"Ohh, our sleepy Class Rep is finally awake, huh?" Mako-chan stuck out her tongue before a beam emerged on her face. "Morning roll call is in five minutes, so you should get up! It's the last one as well, so no need to mope around."

I regarded her carefree greeting with a silent nod.

She slipped out of the tent and informed my classmates that she had successfully managed to wake the slumbering beauty that wanted to keep sleeping 'just five more minutes' for the last hour.

A pained frown drifted over my face.

I rubbed my eyes and slapped my cheeks to gain some color in order to conceal my pale complexion before I staggered out of the warm bed and joined them. Our usual gathering followed the same pattern every morning: a student's name was called, and they answered if they were present.

The same scene took place right beside us.

"Ayanokouji Kiyotaka."

Chabashira-sensei's gaze flew over Class D. Even Hoshinomiya-sensei had silenced for a moment as she glanced over, searching the assembly for the boy in question. The same went for Kanzaki-kun.

"Present."

His telltale monotone voice danced over the clearing.

I peered over at the brown-haired golden eyed boy, whose ashen disposition had recovered from yesterday. My chest began to hurt, sting and burn in excruciating pain as I bit down on my lip. Kanzaki-kun's expression was colored in surprise as I averted my gaze to the ground.

Was this the right decision?

I had betrayed my class, my friends that were akin to family, in the worst possible way imaginable. All for a guy I couldn't even be together with, a person who cherished someone else, despite their flaws and dark tendencies. I entered this school to change, to turn a new page, far away from the memories of my past.

Yet even now, they still haunted me.

I was still the same disgusting person I had been before.

Nothing had changed.

Tears began to gather in my eyes.

The memories, my recollections of bygone times, overlapped with the new scars that formed yesterday. I deserved this stinging sensation that assaulted my heart and earned the searing pain that traveled along my limbs. This punishment for my contemptuous actions was more than justified.

Would my classmates react the same?

I clenched my fists and bit my lip harder until it began to bleed, trying to hold the tears I already felt on my cheek. The pain in my heart intensified for every millimeter the salty droplets covered. They trickled along my cheek, dripped onto my hands and onto the ground below.

"Honami-chan? Are you feeling unwell?"

This sentence cracked and tore the hole riddled dam apart. With no advanced warning, or prior signs that something was wrong, I burst out into a fountain of tears. I collapsed, succumbed to the pain, and cried because of what I had done.

"Present."

Chabashira-sensei ticked off my name as I felt a loving, yet troubled, gaze linger on my person.

Ichinose Honami hadn't been sorted into Class A, which was reason enough to assume that she as well had some sort of defect. Something must have happened in this spotless record she called her own, and I was intrigued by this possibility. She was a sweet girl, unbelievably kind, compassionate and selfless — altruistic, even.

Could this be exploited under the right circumstances?

"Honami-chan? Are you feeling unwell?"

Amikura's voice was soft, full of concern for her classmate.

Ichinose's expression, her pale face and the pain that reflected in her quivering, yet beautiful ocean blue orbs betrayed the unstable state of mind she had found herself in due to her actions.

Her breakdown began slowly with sniveling, followed by deep sobbing. She collapsed onto her knees and began to cry, bawl her eyes out in front of everyone. Her friends, our classmates and the two teachers. The Class B students, as well as Hoshinomiya-sensei, surrounded the angel in genuine apprehension.

"Honami-chan?"

"What happened, Honami-chan?"

"Honami-chan..."

Every time one of her friends voiced their concern, the cries intensified. The anguish she suffered deepened as her guilt grew, devouring her like a lost lamb on a sweet summer day. Her closest friends, who cared and worried about her, exacerbated the self-loathing that consumed her like a spreading sickness.

Kanzaki's gaze swayed towards me, surprised by my presence.

The Class D students also voiced their worries and concerns over Ichinose's well-being. Not only had they been our partner during this exam, but she was also one of the most popular girls in the school. It came as no surprise that everyone was distressed when someone like her broke out into tears.

Ichinose didn't seem to mind that she bawled her eyes out in the presence of so many people. She cried and suffered in such a humiliating, almost pitiful position. Her betrayal, which wasn't even known yet, stung so deep that she couldn't help but let these negative emotions. out of her system, handing them free rein over her body.

Would Ichinose Honami tell her class of this shameful act?

Or would she carry this secret to her grave?

I couldn't wait to find out.

Kiyotaka and Kouenji-kun came back from their final trip after morning roll call, as most of our items were packed. At first, I had planned to skip the last chance to take over spots since it would have been too dangerous for our newly appointed leader, but this was of no concern now.

I glanced towards them in relief.

One sat down and leaned against a tree, while the other strode off into the jungle without breaking a sweat. Kouenji-kun was really built differently that he could shrug these trips off as if they were nothing. Trusting him with tying all those loose ends was quite the gamble, but he assured me that I wouldn't need to pay him and that he would owe me a big favor if anything went wrong.

I still have a lot to learn...

Kouenji-kun revealed himself to be incredibly capable, which was why I chose to trust him this once. It was a real shame, however, that he didn't plan on participating for the class. He declared that he wouldn't help in future exams and that he just lent us a hand this one time because we had been so pitiful, wriggling around like helpless worms.

The rest of the morning went by as swift as the first one.

Our group wandered back to the shore at around eleven.

We wouldn't need an hour to get to the ship, but we had to submit our guesses before noon, when the exam officially concluded. The huge tents as well as the helicopter still stood on the beach, next to some new constructions.

Four tables had been set up at the end of each row, right in front of a small stage area that had been erected some time during our stay. The columns were labeled A through D, assigning each class to a certain spot.

One of the faculty members walked up the wooden stairs on the left side of the stage with a megaphone in hand. The device produced a loud beeping noise, attracting the attention of every student on the beach.

"You may take your guesses from now on until 11:59. Any submissions thereafter will be invalid."

Each table had one additional person standing by. None of them were our homeroom teachers, but other personnel that had no affiliation with either of us, which meant that even our teachers weren't allowed to know who was chosen, at least before the results were announced.

Our instructors left their respective positions behind us and boarded the ship.

Hoshinomiya-sensei wore a relaxed expression and ran up the stairs, yelling for alcohol while Chabashira-sensei and Mashima-sensei displayed their usual stern countenance as they shook their heads, shocked by their colleagues behavior. Sakagami-sensei slithered up the stairs like a snake as he watched over the assembly of students.

"Let's get this done, shall we?"

Kanzaki-kun turned towards me, whereupon I nodded in agreement.

We walked up towards our designated tables to write up the names of Class A and C. To make this procedure safer for them; we decided that I would show Kanzaki-kun our final guesses before submitting the paper.

This should have been Ichinose-san's role, but she wasn't feeling well.

I took the pen the school had prepared for us and noted down the names Kouenji-kun had given me, even though I didn't know how he arrived at the conclusion for Class C's leader, as there had been no leads. Kanzaki-kun walked over and peeked at our submission, as per our agreement, before we both handed the paper to the staff member in front of us, who folded it into a thick envelope and left the beach.

We returned to our respective classes after our transaction concluded.

Class C's minimal lineup consisted of Shiina-san, Ibuki-san and Yamada-kun.

The former thanked us and left our group upon reaching the shore, while the other two joined her a few minutes later when they arrived at the beach. Class A was so surprised by their pathetic display that most of them broke out into contagious laughter, due to Class C's usual haughty attitude.

Katsuragi-kun paid his classmates no mind and filled out the paper in front of him while Ibuki-san took care of this step for Class C. Shiina-san and she didn't talk about anything before she left to complete the procedure, which once again emphasized that she really wasn't interested in the class competition.

Each class talked among each other as we waited until noon.

I couldn't help but overhear that most of the students talked about Class C's disappearing act and that they hadn't taken the exam seriously. A few Class A boys and girls were also surprised about Kiyotaka's presence, as they had rightfully assumed that he shouldn't have been here any more.

"We are now tallying up the results. Please wait a moment. Feel free to use the rest area if you'd like, or have a drink."

This announcement was broadcasted three times through the ship's loudspeakers.

I couldn't help but breathe a deep sigh of relief after having survived this week. It was finally over — a done deal. No more scheming, lying or thinking too much about any statement. Just some time to relax.

My gaze swayed over to Kiyotaka and Horikita-san, who was doing much better than before. She wasn't back in perfect condition, but a good, nutritious meal on the cruiser would work wonders for her constitution.

"Let's get you something to drink and some snacks, maybe."

"Ayanokouji-kun, I appreciate your help, but I can walk over there by myself."

"You are so not cute at all, you know that, right?"

A small smile formed on my lips as I saw that their relationship hadn't changed at all.

Both of them had the time of their life teasing and making fun of each other. Horikita-san was one of the few good friends he had in our class, who was comparable to the likes of Ichinose-san, Kanzaki-kun, Shibata-kun and so on.

"I am perfectly aware of the fact that it's hard to refer to me as cute, because of my behavior, but you shouldn't say something this harsh to a poor, sick girl, you know?"

"Didn't you just say you were fine?"

"I remember no such thing."

I couldn't help but laugh after listening to their exchange.

Some of the other girls also noted that she wasn't that bad of a person, which assured me somewhat. Horikita-san managed to warm up to Kiyotaka, so I hoped that this would be the case with the girls as well, now that they knew that she wasn't just mean, arrogant and condescending. Not everyone had changed their opinions, of course, but I had hoped that they could at least accept her in time.

Our relaxation period continued for around thirty minutes until Mashima-sensei disembarked the ship. He walked up to the podium, megaphone in hand, just like the previous staff member. Everyone turned around as another loud beeping sound echoed over the beach.

In a matter of seconds, silence descended over the venue.

"Over this past week, we have closely watched your efforts in this special test. Some students took the challenge head-on, while others devised schemes or forged alliances to tackle the test. Many things have happened, but overall, the test results were splendid. Good work."

After his honest praise, everyone was relieved.

"Well then, to get straight to the point, I would like to announce the outcome of this special test. Before I reveal the points, however, a word of caution. We will not accept questions regarding the results, without exceptions. We would like you to accept the information you have been given, analyze them, and use them to help you for the next test. It is what it is. Don't wet yourselves over these results. You must accept reality."

The tension was running hot as the students listened to every word that left Mashima-sensei's mouth. He lowered the megaphone and opened the sealed white envelope he received from the staff member next to him.

"Now for the rankings. The lowest class is Class C, with zero points."

Nobody laughed or was at all surprised by this revelation. The group in question consisted of three people, so it wasn't unusual to assume that they had placed dead last. Ryuuen had left with most of his classmates and enjoyed their dream vacation on the cruiser while we slept in the dirt.

From a certain point of view, they might have even won the exam.

"In third place is Class A, with zero points as well."

The whole beach was deathly silent.

No one believed what Mashima-sensei had just announced.

Class A, the ones that towered over all other classes with over 1000 points and a lead of around 300 points in front of Class B, placed dead last together with the group of three they had laughed at before. The commotion that should have followed this ridiculous declaration never followed, however.

"Second place is Class B, with 315 points."

"Yes!"

"Wuhu, we did it, guys!"

"Yeah! Let's throw a party in one of the karaoke rooms!"

"Great job, everyone!"

Class B was elated since they gained fifteen extra points due to our deal. Even though Ichinose-san cheered with everyone else, her smile didn't shine as bright as it usually did. She must have been feeling really unwell, otherwise she wouldn't have been this despondent after such good news.

The Class A students eyed us with suspicion, as we were the only ones left.

"And then class D —"

Mashima-sensei's movements stiffened.

The students who waited on the searing beach were confused by this sudden spectacle. Class A's homeroom teacher turned to the staff member, who had given him the list with an astonished expression.

"You are certain that this is correct?"

The representative wasn't caught by surprise. Neither was he curious about Mashima-sensei's change in behavior. A dry, dejected laugh escaped the man as he nodded.

"There's no doubt. We checked it multiple times."

Their exchange was almost comical.

Even though they whispered, their voices were easily discernable due to the megaphone in the teacher's hand. He had failed to lower it due to his surprise and forgotten to take the thumb off the button as his muscles had stiffened. Sweat built on his forehead and his eyes quivered in incredulity.

The sum written on the note was too much.

Yet I couldn't understand his bewilderment.

This difference was inevitable.

What did they expect after throwing a fox into the henhouse?

After letting a god play with mortals?

I shut my eyes, ready to listen to the orchestra of reverence that was about to unfold.

"First is Class D... with 787 points."

"HOLY SHIT, WHAT?!"

"Are you for real?!"

"Seven... what?"

"We did it, everyone!"

Class D broke out into a celebration that was hard to describe with words.

Shouts of joy, amazement and sheer exhilaration rang over the sandy beach as they embraced each other and jumped up and down in pure happiness. Their partners during this exam gasped in silent admiration, congratulating their allies with cordial smiles. They might not have achieved such an insane amount themselves, but they were content with the 315 points they had received.

"What's the meaning of this, Katsuragi?!"

Someone in Class A's camp wasn't as delighted by the news.

Katsuragi-san stood in silence, unmoving. He neither raised his head to show the boy that he had heard him, nor did he glance over at Class D's festive atmosphere. All he did was contemplate in silence, wondering where he had gone wrong.

Ryuuen-san stepped forward and leaned onto the ship's railing with a wide grin on his face. We might have achieved no points during this exam, but we had stabilized the overall mood that predominated the class. While the other students suffered for seven days, Class C had spent the time of their lives on the cruisers many establishments.

Not only had we made a deal with Katsuragi-san, but also with the students who followed Sakayanagi-san. Ryuuen-san really was a twisted and cunning person to think of such crooked schemes. I knew that we would lose out on points after Shiranami-san miraculously fell sick, but the 787 from Class D were just ridiculous.

There was something else, however, we had learned.

Ichinose Honami, Kanzaki Ryuji, Matsushita Chiaki, Hirata Yosuke and Kushida Kikyou were key figures in their respective classes. Every single one of them peered towards a certain person as this unbelievable amount of points was announced. Ryuuen-san's grin grew as wide as a dragon's maw as he noticed where these glances led us.

We got you, X.

Or should I say, Kouenji Rokusuke?

Authors Note:

I left Ichinose's backstory pretty vague here since I wanted to change it up a little. It was pretty anticlimactic in the canon novels as the 'stealing is super horrible' aspect didn't translate too well for western audiences, so I thought about building and improving her past on these roots.

It won't be drastically different or as dark as Karuizawa's or Hirata's, but I have a few ideas that would fit into her character and personality, which would make the scene more impactful, so you might look forward to that later down the line.

- Word Count: 18184 / 84734 Characters

Released 10.09.2022

Chapter 27 - Grandmaster

After the commotion about the points died down, we were allowed to board the ship and stashed the luggage we had taken with us back in our rooms. My fellow occupants had already gone off to do their own thing, which led me to enjoy some alone time with no one bothering me.

Hirata was out, roaming the ship with Karuizawa and a few other girls, while Kouenji mentioned that he would be working on his tan. Yukimura left the room after he grabbed some study materials, but I didn't know where he went afterwards.

During our stay on the island, my phone had been bombarded with so many messages that I could only marvel at her consistency in writing me at least ten times every day. Most of the texts were random, telling me what she had done during and after school hours and what else had happened.

Others were a little more interesting.

[12:20:26 PM] Were you bored or something?

[12:20:49 PM[Fuka ] Finally! What kind of torturous exam was this that you had to leave your favorite senpai alone for an entire week? If I find out that you weren't busy and ignored me, then we are going to have a serious chat once you are back at school. You are aware of that, right?

[12:21:23 PM] We had to leave our phone on the ship, but I left you a present, didn't I?

[12:21:52 PM[Fuka ] It was almost as good as the necklace you got me on my birthday. He didn't stop cursing and brooding the whole day. I died laughing. Even Manabu seemed amused, which means a lot. He's even worse than his sister, with his stern and serious expression all the time.

[12:22:12 PM] Manabu, huh?

[12:22:32 PM[Fuka ] Heeeh? You jealous? There's no need, darling.

[12:22:51 PM] Not at all.

[12:23:21 PM[Fuka ] That reminds me, Nagumo is still here. His reputation has suffered even further setbacks after your attack, as more students began to doubt him and his abilities after his near expulsion and then dropping back to Class B. He had lost them 400 points and was so distracted during the ongoing exam that my class achieved a win. We are not that far apart in points, but his demotion should have hurt him and his influence a lot.

[12:23:29 PM[Fuka ] What happened on your end?

[12:23:49 PM] Unofficially, we are Class C now, but the school said that the rankings will only be updated once we are back at school. So for the moment, we're still Class D defects or something like that.

[12:24:19 PM[Fuka ] I guess congratulations are in order then.

[12:24:27 PM] It wasn't much trouble, but I got to go now.

[12:24:35 PM[Fuka ] Wait! Hey! Don't leave me!

The phone kept vibrating a few times as I switched to a different chat.

[12:21:27 PM[Chiaki] You said that you want to visit the doctor to look at your leg, right? Could you ask them for an emergency contraceptive pill? If they ask, just tell them that we were caught up in the heat of the moment and that we should have been more responsible before such an important decision.

[12:24:49 PM] Sure, I'll take care of it.

I threw my locked phone onto the bed and stood up.

The tracksuit was still covered in sweat from the waiting period on the irradiated beach, but since we were back on the cruiser now, we were allowed to wear whatever we chose. I ambled over into the bathroom and took off my clothes before taking a cold, refreshing shower.

Icy water ran along my frame as I scrubbed it clean from any sweat and dirt that had amassed over the past few days. My heart began to beat faster to balance the sudden decrease in body temperature, as the invigorating liquid pelted along my person.

Wasn't it too easy to gain points?

Even though I doubted that anyone else could have pulled this off, it was too simple to advance in this school if one was capable to a certain degree. I understood why Fuka grew bored with the competition, since we could reach Class A with another exam that awarded such a generous amount of class points.

People like Kouenji, Fuka and I were outliers in this school.

Others might have depended on the employment guarantee that Class A granted, but neither of us would have difficulties in our careers after the graduation. Kouenji was the heir to his family's conglomerate, and Fuka could go anywhere she wished with her abilities.

And I might not have a future beyond these walls.

A deep, moist breath escaped my lips.

It's time...

I turned the knob until the water stopped, dried myself off with the nearby towel and left the bathroom after opening the window. The fresh sea breeze surged through the room as I put on my underwear and slipped into the trousers Chiaki had picked for me.

There had been quite an extensive selection of white shorts, but I had to try around seven or eight until she said that I could purchase a pair. Apparently, it was very important that they had the right fit. All of them had been my size, but some of them were baggy, which looked sloppy while others were too tight, which Chiaki considered bad as well, despite her inability to stop looking at me when I wore them.

Before meeting her, I wouldn't have considered such things.

The shirt I threw on was dyed in a light grey, which matched the white shorts better than I had anticipated. Afterwards, I put on a light blue jacket to finish the outfit. My girlfriend said that layering different pieces of clothing was important and would enhance my appearance. Accessories would further emphasize the look, but I wasn't the type to wear a necklace or bracelets, similar to most guys in our year.

She was the fashion conscious person in our relationship, so I trusted her.

I grabbed my phone and read Chiaki's last message before switching to the anonymous account I had contacted Ichinose with before the midterms. Knowing that her betrayal put an immense strain on her well-being was enough for now, because I couldn't risk her retirement from the position as Class B's leader.

Let's play Ichinose Honami, just you and me.

My classmates swarmed around me like a group of carnivorous predators as soon as we had been allowed to return to the ship. I convinced them that I was tired and wanted to crash in my room, as I didn't know how to answer some of their questions at the moment since Kouenji-kun hadn't briefed me about anything.

As soon as I unlocked the door, I dove into my bed, face first.

A sharp sigh escaped my lips as I wriggled around and cuddled my pillow.

Despite all the dread I felt, I had to message Fumei sooner rather than later. I would have to tell him about my failure during the exam, before he managed to figure something out on his own. He was the student council president, so it wouldn't be weird if he could just buy some information about the exam.

I messaged Kiyotaka since he was on his way to the doctors anyway.

We should be fine according to my current cycle, but the pill was another layer of emergency protection, just in case. Both of us would be in trouble if I got pregnant, since sexual intercourse was forbidden according to the school rules. Despite this looming danger, it was safe to talk to the physicians as they still had to abide to the doctor-patient confidentiality.

After this was taken care of, I informed Horikita-senpai about what had happened.

[12:21:24 PM[Fumei] Congratulations on reaching Class C then. What complications are we talking about?

[12:23:44 PM] I may have had to promise someone five million private points...

I shut my eyes and buried my head into the soft cushion.

There were no means to word such a failure in a way that wouldn't make me look like a total moron. Being open and honest was the best way to deal with this current situation, since he could only help me if he knew all the facts. I only hoped that he wouldn't abandon me now, otherwise my deal with Kouenji-kun would be in danger.

[12:23:52 PM[Fumei] You did what?!

[12:24:01 PM] (・_

[12:24:32 PM[Fumei] Okay... whom? And why was such an expenditure necessary?

My phone vibrated a few seconds after Horikita-senpai's message, informing me that Kiyotaka had replied. I switched to his chat and texted him a quick, 'Thanks. See you later ', before I returned to the conversation I really didn't want to be having due to my guilty conscience.

I explained him everything, from the exam, to its structure and rules as well as what had transpired over the past seven days, without leaving out a single detail. If he realized why this investment was required, then he might supply me with the points I needed.

Even if it was just a loan, I wouldn't care.

My stomach ache grew worse during the time my wall of text increased in size. He must have had better things to do than read this retelling of the past week, but he had to know everything in order to decide whether he would support me. If he thought that I didn't take this serious and pushed the work onto Kouenji-kun, he might deny my plea.

[12:35:41 PM[Fumei] I knew that Kouenji Rokusuke was an odd one, but this exceeded all my expectations. Rather than helping you win for the class, he is trying to amass the twenty million points to reach Class A on his own, in case you fail. I predicted this behavior due to his inherent nature, but I didn't think that he would go out of his way to work for his points since he had already established contracts with some third-years.

He formed agreements with upperclassmen?

Could he be purchasing points from them?

If I could prove this somehow...

But none of them would talk to a nobody from the first year. They only dealt with Kouenji-kun because everyone knew who he was and that he had enough money to fulfill his end of the bargain. If I asked them to reveal him to the faculty staff in order to get Fumei's points back, they would only laugh and shoo me away.

[12:36:21 PM[Fumei] Points don't grow on trees; there are only so many in circulation. Since one point is worth one yen, it means that there had to be a cash injection in the beginning, which boosted the economy inside the school. You should have realized where I am going with this, right? Did you at least form a contract with him to protect yourself?

[12:36:49 PM] Yes, of course.

I never thought about this before, but Fumei was right.

There shouldn't be an unlimited amount of points available to the school or the students, since the wares the stores sold had to be purchased from outside. They couldn't just 'print' more money if they didn't have enough funding. The government might have been quite generous with their backing, but they wouldn't throw cash into an insatiable pit that couldn't sustain itself or wasn't worth the investment.

[12:37:03 PM[Fumei] Send me the contract then. As soon as I confirm the amount and your security I will forward you the points. Keep in mind, however, that this will be the last time that I will spend such an amount to fix your mess.

A deep sigh left my lips as I took a picture of the contract. Afterwards, I made sure that everything was readable and forwarded him the file. Horikita-senpai was silent for a few moments as he read through the agreement we had reached before I received the five million points in a single transaction.

[12:39:09 PM] Thank you... This won't happen again, I promise.

[12:39:21 PM[Fumei] If it does, you are on your own. Don't forget to use an anonymous account to complete the deal with your classmate. It will be harder to prove that you sent the points if he tries do so something shady with the information after the fact.

"Phew."

My head slumped to the side as I stared at the insane number of points that were displayed on my screen. Even though I didn't know what Kouenji-kun could do with the transaction details, I decided to listen to Fumei's advice, since he had attended this school for much longer than I had.

With a heavy heart, I messaged him to meet up.

The sooner all of this was done, the better.

My friends told me to leave for the cabins and lie down for a bit as soon as we could board the ship. Even though I didn't want to, they left me no choice. Kanzaki-kun also thought that I might have ingested a small amount of poisonous berries and told me that I should visit the doctors if I was getting worse.

A kind-looking staff member in his thirties stopped me as I boarded the cruiser. He handed me both my phone and the necklace Ayanokouji-kun had gifted me for my birthday. My gaze seemed to have betrayed my yearning as the man regarded me with a gentle, yet somewhat pained complexion.

"It's difficult, isn't it? Having an unrequited love."

"Eh? What..?"

Two quivering orbs reflected in the man's glasses.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. It's just that I know how these feeling can gnaw at you and wanted to offer my consolation. According to your expression, I presume that he is already spoken for."

I put up my hands and shook them in denial.

"Please don't feel bad. I was just surprised. Your assumption is correct, though. These feelings are quite new for me, so it's really hard at the moment, but my friends stand firm by my side whenever I need them."

A bright smile spread over his face, similar to the one that adorned my own as I received the necklace after this horrid week. That man, despite not knowing me, realized that I was in pain, that I was struggling with these unresolved emotions that kept piling up, gathering into a muddy black lump that stuck in my throat and refused to move.

"They sound like good people, so please cherish them."

I walked off after this punch in the gut, almost shedding another tear as I clutched onto the wave pendant and pushed it against my chest. He couldn't have known how much these words had hurt after what I had done to my companions.

It felt like a giant piece of flesh was clawed out of my bare skin every single time I looked into their eyes — as if my heart was squashed into a thousand pieces, when they inquired about my health and worried about my well-being.

It didn't take long until I reached my room.

My body fell forward in exhaustion as I plunged into the cuddly toy I had brought along. I cradled the stuffed animal as a replacement for the person I really wanted to embrace as my tearing and tired eyes shut. Covering the soft toy, hiding my feelings from him and the others... I didn't want to deal with all of this any longer.

Would he think badly of me for what I had done?

The phone in my pocket pulsated twice.

I wouldn't have paid this any mind because of my current condition, but I was surprised and intrigued by the pattern. One of the vibrations informed me that I had received a message, while the one thereafter alerted me that a transaction had taken place. In simple terms, someone had rewarded me with points.

My fingers tapped over the screen, unlocking the device.

[12:32:35 PM[Anonymous] I appreciate what you did for Kiyotaka.

[Anonymous] has sent you 1.000.000 private points.

A dejected laugh fled my lips as I studied the token beneath the message.

Once again, I ran into Matsushita-san's trap and did exactly what she wanted. Chihiro-chan's poisoning wasn't an accident like we assumed, but a calculated move to get me to investigate how she got sick. During this examination, I would have figured out that Ayanokouji-kun must have been the target.

All according to her plan.

But why was she helping me now?

Was this a threat?

Another scheme?

She knew exactly how I would act on every intersection that came up during the exam and used this knowledge to her advantage. Even her deal with Kouenji-kun might have been just for show in order to confuse me and the rest of Class B. These one million points confirmed that he had misguided me about his reason for contacting me on the sixth day, as Matsushita-san would have had enough points to purchase Ayanokouji-kun's safety herself.

They cornered me, but for what?

Just to see how far I would go?

My head sank deeper into the stuffed animal as I took a deep breath.

His imaginary scent surged through my nostrils, just like before we departed the ship seven days ago. It was still impossible, even more so now, after a week had passed, but I could have sworn that his odor lingered in every fiber this adorable panda was made of.

I just wanted to hold him again...

Was this too much to ask?

My phone rang for the first time after about a week.

Had I missed this sound?

The conversations following it?

I thought about this for a moment as the ringtone danced through the room.

If I took everything into consideration, then I hadn't really longed for these phone calls. They had been quite boring, in fact, but the caller wasn't to blame for these unfortunate circumstances.

"How have you been, Masumi-san?"

The white knight I had just placed on f7 took the black one, checkmating the king in the process, thus solving my daily chess puzzle. Today's problem had been derived from a match between Garry Kasparov and Vassily Ivanchuk from the USSR Championship in 1988, a brilliant game indeed.

"Class A got stomped a little harder than expected."

Oh, my...

I grabbed my cane and walked over to the cupboard where I had placed another, still packaged chess set that I had purchased at the beginning of this year, hoping that someone could entertain me. My step felt much lighter and quicker than before as I strolled towards my bedside table with renewed zeal.

The bed's soft embrace was relaxing, yet unfamiliar, as my heart began to thump just a little faster. I unpacked the board and ripped the polythene bag with the pieces apart, like a child looking forward to its first present. So far, the year had been disappointing, discouraging even, but this seemed to have changed now.

For Masumi, to tell me something this exciting...

There was only one person who could have increased my current elation further.

My heightened mood dropped as I thought back to the day my love of chess blossomed. A single boy, a mere child, kept playing four games simultaneously and checkmated these so-called grandmasters one after the other. Each of his moves was designed, laced with intricate thoughts before he performed them, similar to the ones of his opponents. This fake genius stirred something inside and established this deep affection between me and him.

The aspiration to achieve victory.

"Please tell me what happened. I'm all ears."

"Well, first Ryuuen tricked Katsuragi into a monthly payment from all Class A students. I don't know how much they have agreed on, but I'll find out soon enough. Aside from this, Hashimoto and I also made a contract with him for a onetime payment, just like you asked."

I began to set up the board with both the black and white pieces.

Had the infant dragon managed to outsmart everyone?

Katsuragi was a careful man, but he must have overlooked some pretty major loopholes if his partner could stab him in the back with such ease. Ichinose and Class B wouldn't present any problems as they were too pacifistic in their nature. From what I had seen and heard from them so far, they would seek reconciliation before trying to harm their enemies.

Class D was a mixed bag.

On one hand, there was the expulsion in April, barely a week after school had begun. I had already given up on them as the news reached our class, since only morons would be this capable of sabotaging themselves to such a degree. Yet, they had warded off Ryuuen's attack with great success, which came as a big surprise.

Without outside help, they shouldn't have been able to survive this offensive, which was why I assumed that they had received guidance from someone. Class B wasn't part of this equation due to their gentle style and Katsuragi was a weak person who wouldn't push for expulsions, so he and his faction shouldn't have helped them either.

This left only the second- and third-years.

But would they have a reason to interfere with the lower classes?

"Fufufu. It had to be expected that someone like him would play both sides if the situation allowed it. A shame that you paid him, however. This investment seemed to have been for naught, according to your previous words."

"We learned about their deal too late since Katsuragi kept most of the information with his trusted followers while leaving us in the dark. Hashimoto and I decided that this expenditure would be fine, so it's on us."

"There is no reason for you to take the blame, Masumi-san. I gave you free rein since I was tied up due to my ailment. You did the best in your situation, I'm sure. What about Class B and D? How did they fare?"

"They joined hands..."

The tone and pitch of her voice changed.

She sounded hesitant and uncertain, which couldn't have been because of Ichinose and her merry band of gummibears, but the other class that came up in my previous sentence. They must have done something that exceeded all expectations.

"What happened?"

"They crushed us, so bad that it's not even funny anymore. Class A and C came in last place with zero points each. Class B finished second with a total amount of 315 points while Class D..."

She mentioned that it was bad, but this much was unbelievable.

Katsuragi's foolishness was even worse than anticipated. To be played with to such a degree was nothing short of embarrassing for an elite student in Class A. If I had known that he was this incompetent in advance, then I wouldn't have told them to sabotage him.

"Masumi-san?"

"Class D... they finished with 787 points."

The smile on my face widened.

Splendid.

Despite my doubts, there was someone to play with in this school.

I didn't care whether my opponent was a first-, second- or third-year as long as I could have an exciting competition. My dear friend Katsuragi was finished, even without my interference, which meant that I could take over my rightful place as leader and concentrate on Class D once they were back.

"Fufufufufu..."

"Are you feeling alright?"

"Yes, Masumi-san. Thank you for concerning yourself with my well-being."

"Well, I'm not really —"

"The only reason that Class B hadn't been annihilated was that they teamed up with Class D during the exam. Whoever called the shots knew that Ichinose-san wouldn't be a threat to them, which is why she and her entourage were singled out as partners. I want a list of every student in this class, as well as the name of the person who led them."

With the current results in mind, I had to achieve some wins to increase our lead. Ryuuen and his delinquents came in dead last with 220 points as they were overtaken by Class D's new, surprising total of 880. We still sat on the top spot with 1037 points, but Class B managed to close in on us with an overall number of 1024, because of Katsuragi's defeat.

From this current line-up, Class D was the most dangerous.

While I was occupied with the calculations and preparations for the future, Masumi called out to Hashimoto, who took a picture of some sort of class list they had received from the staff members. Seconds later, my phone vibrated against my ear, informing me of an incoming message.

I put the device on speaker and checked the file in question.

"Hashimoto just sent the list. The one leading the class is a girl named Matsushita Chiaki, but she had help from Kushida Kikyou and Hirata Yosuke. There's also her boyfriend who is physically quite gifted but seems to have weaknesses on the academic side. Aside from him, there is this one strange guy called Kouenji..."

Her voice faded into obscurity as I discovered a certain name on the list.

The weak, rhythmical pounding in my chest ceased as the cane slipped out of my hand and rolled a few centimeters over the carpet. I studied, observed and scrutinized that name to make sure that I wasn't hallucinating, but no matter how often I opened and closed my eyelids, it didn't vanish. My heart, this fragile muscle in my chest, began to roar like a thunderstorm as I fell back into my bed.

The memories of my childhood flooded my mind.

Back to a certain place — a certain boy.

"Fufufufufufufu."

"H-hime?"

Hashimoto's concerned voice rang through the speaker as my trembling fingers caressed over the letters that formed his name. I kept chuckling, exhilarated by the information I had just obtained. My chest began to tighten, muscles appeared to quiver, and a beam formed on my lips as my eyes zoned in on these two words.

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.

He was here. Somehow, he had made it to this school. For some unknown reason, he had been placed into Class D. My father must have known, but he hadn't told me that we — him and I — were first-year students and wandered through the same halls every day. I could see him again, after all those years, talk to him for the very first time.

And then I would annihilate the false genius, this so-called masterpiece.

"The boyfriend. May I know his name?"

"It's Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, Hime."

"Hey Hashimoto, back off already."

"Fufufufufu..."

They didn't know that a monster slumbered in their midsts.

None of them realized that the lone survivor of the so-called demonic fourth generation had concealed himself, camouflaged his presence as that of a mere sheep. But it didn't stop there. He had found a 'girlfriend', maybe even 'friends' and 'companions'.

This wasn't the Ayanokouji Kiyotaka I had seen back then.

He was changing.

Whether he evolved or regressed, remained to be seen.

"I hate being fucked over by the same person twice."

"Ryuuen-san, please behave properly."

"Tch, just let him be."

"Shiina-san sure is a nice person..."

"YES!"

My room, which should have been empty for my conversation with Shiina, turned into a kindergarten as she brought these morons with her. Albert was fine since he didn't talk anyway, but Ibuki and Ishizaki could be damn irritating with their aggressive behavior and stupid questions.

"Shiina."

"Yes, Ryuuen-san?"

The silver-haired girl tilted her head to the side before a puzzled smile spread over her face. She stared into my eyes in anticipation, wondering what I was about to say as the fresh scent of her barley tea drifted through the room.

Different to her classmates, she didn't show the slightest bit of fear as she regarded me as a normal human being, unfazed by the violence and disregard for people's well-being I had shown ever since the year began.

She didn't condone my behavior and never shied away to tell me her true thoughts. If she found my actions and practices cruel and disapproved of them, she would complain, even going as far as glaring at me with those violet puppy eyes.

"Good job back there."

"Thank you very much."

Her expression turned into a bright, almost dazzling beam of light as she clasped her hands. Shiina took her steaming hot tea and blew inside, creating small circular ripples that traveled towards the cup's edge in specific intervals.

I couldn't fault her for anything that happened while I was gone, since she had accomplished her goal, which had already proven useful. We might not have gained any points due to Class D's unexpected move at the end, but the war wasn't won until the last battle concluded.

We were merely warming up.

"What about me, huh?"

"Shut it, Mio. You screwed up."

"Fuck off! I didn't do shit, you bastard."

Albert reached for Shiina's teacup and raised it just in time before Ibuki's foot clashed with the tabletop. She stepped onto the stand and trampled towards me, huffing and puffing like a small, angry animal as Albert placed the cup back on the dinner table for his classmate to enjoy.

"Thank you, Albert-san."

"And stop calling me that!"

"YES!"

"What do you mean, Mio?"

"You fucking piece of shit!" She threw a powerful kick in my direction, which my giant bodyguard blocked with his non-dominant hand. Despite the force she had put into her attack, he didn't flinch. The cerulean-haired girl lowered her leg and threw another tantrum. "Damn it Albert! Why are you protecting that asshole, huh? He deserves a fucking beating!"

"Don't hurt the boss. He's the boss."

"Kukuku... listen to him, Mio."

She grumbled and sat back down with a 'tch' before her raging complexion subsided as Shiina began to pat her head. Albert sat back down while Ishizaki opened up a can of soda and stared at this situation in confusion.

"Honestly, I understand nothing. What are we even here for?"

As dumb as ever...

"Class D is the enemy we have to crush. I don't know what this Arisu chick can do, but she can't even walk without support, so she shouldn't be too troublesome. Worst case, I kick her cane and leave her to drown in a puddle, kukuku. As long as she and Katsuragi keep each other busy, their importance is less than secondary. Honami and her group of flower maidens won't ever be a threat as her class will implode eventually."

Everything built on friendship would crumble under pressure.

Shiina shook her head and placed the cup on the saucer.

"What Ryuuen-san was trying to say is that we have to be extra careful when we are dealing with Class D, while the other classes are of secondary and tertiary importance, respectively. Albert-san, please help Sakayanagi-san if he really wants to drown her in a puddle. I assume that this was one of his tasteless jokes, but I can't be sure with him."

"YES!"

Shiina had switched languages midway, which caught both Ishizaki and Ibuki off-guard. The latter must have managed to understand a few words, at least, while the former scratched his head and sat down in defeat, unable to figure out what was being said.

"Let's start our discussion with Matsushita-san, the class leader. She had presented herself to be quite competent on her own, but I don't know to which extent due to the help she may have received from outside sources. The only complications she ran into while managing her class were the rare occurrences when her boyfriend was in trouble."

Chiaki hadn't poisoned her sweetheart, proving that she had something else up her sleeve. The illogical behavior that Shiina observed throughout the exam confirmed that she had feelings for this boy, which was why I doubted that it was her scheme that had endangered him in order to check whether I was still on the island.

Kukuku, how adorable.

Emotions were so easy to exploit.

If I played with this Ayanokouji-something to gain her attention, she would bite. According to Shiina, she lost her cool multiple times when it involved him, which I could use to my advantage in the upcoming exams. Together, they formed quite a good team with her brains and his brawn, a shame that their enemy was someone who had both.

"Aside from his above average physical abilities, he seems to lack in overall intelligence, similar to the one with red hair you tried to set up in June. He was much calmer than the latter, but also more naïve, rivaling Ichinose-san and her class. This might have been a side-effect from their friendship, in case he is easy to influence."

"Yeah, that guy is a moron. He kept trying to persuade his girlfriend to keep me in their camp. I mean, I didn't do shit, but how can anyone outside of Class B be this stupid? God, that guy is so frustrating."

"Aren't you happy that he was nice to you, Mio?"

"Fuck you Ryuuen!"

She hadn't noticed that I sent her to Class B's camp in order to mess with her. I knew how Ibuki reacted to kindness and she would have become furious in between those goody two-shoes that wanted to be nice to everyone. She must have been even more frustrated once they joined up with Class D because of Hirata and Kikyou.

What I would have given to see this.

That reminds me...

"Who's next?"

"Hirata Yosuke and Kushida Kikyou, they —" Shiina stopped for a moment before realization dawned on her face. "Ryuuen-san. Are you making me repeat their names on purpose because you know that I'm bad at remembering them? You know better than I do who the important people in their class are."

The girl pouted and propped up her hands like a small teacher that scolded a student who had messed with her educational materials. Ibuki and Ishizaki glanced at each other, confused by her sudden accusation since none of them saw me in a good light due to my previous behavior.

"Kukuku, no idea what you are talking about."

My classmate heaved a sigh, shaking her head.

"Anyway, those two seem to excel at social interactions. We —"

"Boring. Next."

Another deep exhalation followed my words.

"Kouenji Rokusuke, he's a mystery. From what I could see, highly intelligent and physically more capable than anyone in our two classes. I don't want you to pick a fight with him because he might hurt you, Ryuuen-san."

"Hey now... You can't expect a guy to miss out on so much fun."

Upon returning to my room, I received an invitation to a play later this evening.

I agreed and asked if I should spruce myself up, but the lady didn't reply, which must have meant 'don't bother', or something along those lines. Our date was at six, so I had more than enough time left for my prior engagement.

My classmates relaxed on the deck, played in the game center, swam in the giant pool, ate grandiose meals or drank their well-deserved ice-cold drinks, as they enjoyed and experienced their dream vacation after this horrible week-long exam they had to endure.

Despite one or two hiccups, they had behaved well, like good pieces should.

Horikita invited me to dinner to show her gratitude for the time I had spent with her on the island while I was waiting for my guest. We agreed to meet up a little after her initial suggestion, since I would be occupied with the stage play for a bit.

Two gentle knocks reverberated through the cabin.

I stood up from the bed and walked over before opening the door for the girl in question. Kikyou regarded me with a bright smile and ambled into the room. My curious classmate bounced around, wondering whether we were safe here.

This was the first time she visited, since she felt weirded out by Kouenji.

She spun around and inspected me from top to bottom.

"Not gonna lie. That looks damn good on you. But this isn't something you would usually wear... you are boring, for the lack of a better word. Matsushita picked this outfit for you, didn't she? Do you guys have a date after this?"

"We are meeting up, but I only have to give her something."

"Mh... I see. Where are your roommates?"

"Yukimura is in the library, Hirata is out with Karuizawa and Kouenji is swimming in the pool. He was pretty dejected that the staff didn't allow him to swim in the ocean, apparently." I strolled over to the kitchen area and opened the fridge to see what refreshments we had. "Please sit or lie down, whatever you prefer. Would you like something to drink or eat?"

"No thanks, I'm fine. I had my fill at the bar."

The cute, defenseless beige-haired beauty shook her head and sat on my mattress, which she must have recognized because of the bag that protruded from beneath the bed. Kikyou should be thankful that I wasn't like Ike, who would have tried his best to get intimate with her in such a situation.

"So, what the fuck happened on that island?"

Her curiosity after such an insane amount of points was warranted. I had assumed that she would be interested, and I didn't mind telling her certain things that had transpired. Since she was working for me, she deserved some insights into the whole exam, which would not only assure her of my abilities, but also erase some doubts she may have harbored.

"Where do you want me to start?"

"The beginning, please."

"Okay... it all began before we boarded the ship, because I knew that some kind of special exam would take place. The school wouldn't simply gift us such a dream-like vacation without strings attached. That being said, I hadn't known about the contents of the test, which was why I grew suspicious as soon as I noticed that we were setting course towards the island I spotted on the horizon."

My hand operated the water faucet as I began my lengthy explanation.

The kettle soon filled up, whereupon I placed it on the nearby stove.

Since this would take a while, I had more than enough time to prepare and drink some tea. Kikyou might also change her mind since it was easier to digest all this information while sipping on such a delicious beverage.

"You knew that far ahead? Are you kidding me?"

"I wasn't the only one who presumed that something was off. When the announcement rang through the ship, it just confirmed their suspicions. Chiaki knew for certain that something was about to happen and the same should have been the case for Ichinose, Kanzaki, Kouenji, Ryuuen and Katsuragi, at the very least."

The girl supported her head and peered at me in surprise.

"So those six also knew that something was amiss? How?"

"I can only assume that they all had their doubts because of the way this school is structured. If you think about it for a second, it's close to impossible to take over another, higher-ranking class with only midterms and end of the year exams. There was bound to be some other way to earn large amounts of points, or at least level the playing field with multipliers or other boons. All seven of us assumed that something would happen, but no one could be sure what exactly."

Kikyou crawled over the bed and lay down on my pillow while I slipped the tea bags into the now boiling water. I turned around, whereupon she shot me a gentle, playful glare as she snuggled into my blanket.

"It does make sense if you think about it. If I hadn't been so occupied with what a certain someone had done to me during the past few months, I might have even figured this out myself."

I didn't doubt that Kikyou would have realized what the school was up to if someone had given her a hint to jumpstart this thought process. She was smart enough, different from most of our classmates.

"While we were disembarking, I received a message from an anonymous number." I took my phone and browsed through the message history before strolling over and showing her the contents. "They were clear instructions about which path to take for all the spots I had detected when the ship circled the island. The sender even provided a sketched map for visualization that wasn't too far off from the real thing."

She read through the texts and nodded in realization.

"This was the person from the student council you told me about, right?"

"Yes. This was the exact route I had mapped out as well. The sender had to have been aware of my physical abilities, which I had previously hidden, or he wouldn't have messaged me. Aside from myself, there was no one else using their phone in Class D, and the other students had already disembarked. This meant that the sender must have been a teacher or a student from the second or third year."

"Wait, a teacher?"

Kikyou stared at me, unable to believe my words.

"I've confirmed back in May that teachers would help students to a certain degree because they had to gain if their class managed to establish itself on a top spot. Hoshinomiya affirmed this once again, when she stopped Ichinose from leaving the ship with the necklace I had gifted her."

"Why did she stop her?"

"Because Hoshinomiya realized that I lied to her and wanted to warn their precious yet gullible leader. She used the pendant as an excuse to talk to her and figured that I must have been the one who gave her the necklace since none of the students reacted in any capacity when she asked around for Ichinose's 'crush'. This hypothesis was verified multiple times on the island, as Yamada, Shiranami and a few others had been allowed to keep their accessories."

I reached for the wall cabinet and pulled it open to see whether we had some snacks lying around. The first edible products my two orbs caught sight of were nuts, which wouldn't go too well with the tea. I rummaged about until I found a pack of cookies that fit my requirements.

"That means you already ruled out that sadistic bitch of a teacher because she is working with you, right? Or at least, you are cooperating to a certain degree that is favorable to you both, which is how you narrowed the mystery person down to the student council. Have you found out who they are yet?"

"I have a pretty good idea since Chiaki managed to pay her debt to Kouenji, but first things first." Opening another cupboard, I pulled out a plate and prepared the cookies for us to enjoy. "During my first trip through the forest, I left the paper you had ripped out of the manual on the spot closest to Class B's position. Our other two opponents were considering the cave, since it was the most strategic option due to its location. Both of them reached the conclusion that Ichinose would, at most, occupy one or two spots, so they didn't mind leaving her the ones near the ship, which would be bothersome to keep up over seven days."

"Analyzing people you've barely met to such a degree is terrifying as fuck." A dry laugh escaped her pursed lips as I fetched two cups and closed the cabinet. "That note was for the deal you wanted us to make, right?"

"Correct. I had planted this seed just before the midterms, when I supplied Ichinose with the old test papers via anonymous message. It wouldn't take a genius to figure out that Class D had access to the old solutions after the results were announced. For someone with connections, it was easy to determine whether any other class knew about them."

"Wait, wait, wait. Hold up. I get that this built some sort of trust between her and the anonymous account, even if she hadn't realized that it was you. But how the fuck did you plan to such a degree? The midterms were months ago!"

"Back then, I wasn't sure how I would use this connection, but I knew that it would come in handy eventually. Ichinose had difficulties seeing the whole picture when it involved me due to her feelings, which was why I was confident that she would agree to the terms which weren't unfavorable towards them."

I ambled back to the kettle and pulled the tea bags out of the water before throwing them into the trash can. Once again, I glanced over to my guest, wondering whether she had reconsidered her previous choice.

Having changed her mind about the drink, she nodded.

"If she knew how fucked up you are beneath your facade, then she wouldn't want to spend any more time with you than necessary. Hell, even your damn girlfriend wouldn't be an exception to this rule."

Receiving such cruel words would have unsettled, maybe saddened, any normal person. But nothing had changed for me, because I was aware of how horrid I could be under specific circumstances. Kikyou had tasted a small sample of my darkness and lost herself in the abyss I called my home.

I wouldn't fault her for these thoughts.

"Is someone jealous?"

"Shut up!"

She averted her gaze and hid her face behind one of the pillows.

"After leaving the note, I occupied multiple spots until the estimated time to observe the cave arrived. As per my calculations, two Class A students showed up to take the cavern not long after I reached my position."

"So you narrowed their leader down to two people in a few minutes?"

Her mouth opened in disbelief.

"No."

She closed it again and exhaled in relief.

"Yahiko was their leader, since Katsuragi was holding onto the card when they returned from the cave. He must have hoped that someone was watching them and took the card from his classmate to confuse anyone who may have been observing." The pleasant aroma of green tea wafted through the cabin as I poured Kikyou and me a cup before I made my way over to the bed. "Katsuragi isn't stupid enough to make such an obvious blunder, which is why I ruled him out."

"You could have led with that. I looked like a total idiot!"

"Why? I enjoy teasing you."

"Tch."

The longer I looked at her, the more she reminded me of Ibuki.

Both were difficult to deal with, but at their core, still two girls who want to be treated with kindness and respect regardless of their flaws. They had their own views on this world, and wouldn't back down while doing whatever they deemed necessary to reach their goals.

"Anyway, once they were gone, it was time to cause some confusion." She took one of the cups I had placed on my nightstand and blew inside. "The tower at the center of the island held a spot which was easy to occupy and even simpler to see from afar. Now that the students had enough time to spread over the island, I climbed the ladder to reveal myself. The witnesses would think that I took the spot just then, or got greedy and scaled the tower since it was the perfect vantage point to scout the island for the remaining machines."

"You really enjoy screwing with people's heads, don't you? First me, then Sakura, Ichinose and now this... I wouldn't be surprised if you were the reason she bawled her eyes out on the last day. God, you are so fucking awful."

Contrary to her harsh words, she enjoyed this situation more than she admitted, at least according to the smile that formed on her face. Ichinose's misfortune delighted her to such a degree that a genuine laugh slipped her sweet lips.

"I waited near the cave until you showed up and smeared myself with some dirt to emphasize the look of exhaustion. This, coupled with Chiaki's actions against Class C, solidified her as someone who could be relentless, which was important in her following negotiations with the boys and girls."

"You realized that problems would arise, since the girls would demand a comfortable stay. If we wanted to save up on points, the boys would have been made to suffer, which would have led to arguments. The fear and respect Matsushita's actions garnered stopped them from purchasing items behind her back. This, coupled with the deal you had prepared between Ichinose and us, would strengthen her position further, right?"

Kikyou took a small sip of fresh tea and placed the cup back where it belonged.

My thought process in this case wasn't difficult to deduce for an expert in human relations like her. She had a lot of friends in our class and treasured even more secrets, so she would know better than anyone how each person would respond in such a situation.

"Bingo."

"You really do nothing unnecessary, do you?"

"During that time, I told Chiaki about the message I had received. She only confirmed the bare minimum, but it was good thinking to keep me in the dark. Only the dead could be trusted to keep secrets, after all."

"Hold up. Why are you telling me all of this, then?"

She shrunk back and bumped against the wall behind her.

"You wanted to know, didn't you?"

I tilted my head as a faint smile emerged on my lips.

"Stop smiling like a creep. This isn't funny!"

She grabbed one of the pillows on my mattress and threw it towards the bottom end of the bed, where I sat. The soft cushion crashed into my face before it slid down and dropped into my lap.

Kikyou could be strangely adorable sometimes.

"The discussion with Ichinose went as expected. She offered us the earnest, kind-hearted deal I had specified because she believed in a positive exchange for everyone. Her feelings towards me became more prominent during this time, which influenced her thoughts and decisions going forward. Kanzaki agreed to this, since they wouldn't only gain a decent amount of points, but also deepen our relationship for future exams that might require trust and teamwork."

Kikyou grew discontent every time I spoke about Ichinose and her affections towards me. She was still angry at her for the whole 'she ranked higher than you' incident I had engineered to analyze how she operated, but I doubted that she would bury her grudge even if I told her that the positions I contrived were lies.

Ichinose's breasts were actually bigger, and she knew this.

"Even though Chiaki saw this as a beneficial arrangement, she was wired to get a better one. When she tried, Ichinose retaliated with a threat of her own, which gave her a false sense of security because of Chiaki's surprised reaction. Feeling remorseful for her performance, she gave us a small bump in points to ease her guilt."

I had expected that we would gain more points than specified in consideration to the actions Ichinose would take. She thought that we were helping each other while I exploited her own nature against them. None of our schoolmates realized that they were being manipulated while they acted according to my script.

"Fuck, what a naïve way of thinking. It's disgusting."

She stole the pillow she had thrown at me and hugged it.

"Chiaki was worried about my leader status being exposed, but I assured her that this was the mystery person's plan. This was a lie, of course, as he couldn't have known about the rules. She believed my claims despite these contradictions, which reassured me of my previous conclusion."

"And the poisoning never happened because of the deal with Kouenji, right?"

"Correct. The contents are an unnecessary detail, but the important part was that he remained on the island, since I needed a scapegoat for the grand finale. This plan was further built upon as I realized that I could cause some damage to the person behind Chiaki."

Kikyou rubbed the sides of her forehead with a pained expression.

"Wait, you used Kouenji? I thought this was impossible?"

A vague smile surfaced on my face.

"When Shinohara began to badmouth Horikita, it provided me an opportunity to single her out as the villain. This was a step I had taken in order to prepare for future developments, since her situation would proof useful someday."

"Like Ichinose, right? Okay, I understand."

She reached for one of the cookies and began to eat.

Crunching sounds echoed through the room as I mentioned my run-in with the Class C students on my first reoccupation and the fact that I made sure to mime the idiot during that time. Renewing the spot right in front of them would have caused even more confusion in their ranks.

Ryuuen had tried to mess with us once and received a huge blowback, which was why he would have realized that Chiaki must have had something up her sleeve. He was cunning enough to have seen the loophole in the rules and would have assumed this to be her plan until my surprise at the end.

"I left them alone, noticing that someone important had listened to our exchange."

"Who?"

"Shiina Hiyori. Class C's queen."

Kikyou's two spheres quivered in incredulity.

"What?! There's no way that she is interested in all of this."

She had reported that this interesting silver-haired girl wasn't involved in the competition, which was why she couldn't believe that I had assigned such an important position to her. Despite her best efforts, she made a mistake in her analysis of Shiina, which made her the perfect queen for someone like Ryuuen.

And he knew this as well.

"You are right. She isn't obsessed with reaching Class A like some others, but she is a kind girl who wants to protect her classmates at all costs. This was reason number one for her interference. Reason two is, well... have you ever cared to inquire what she reads during her time in the library?"

"Mystery novels, right? I'm not really into that stuff, so..."

My classmate averted her eyes, as if she was embarrassed by this.

"Exactly. Shiina sought to unfold a mystery. She loves the thrill, not knowing but trying to figure out what's going to happen and who did what during each scene. Wasn't it strange how three of her classmates vanished? Wouldn't she be even more intrigued once you told her about the video? Her willingness to partake in the competition stemmed from these simple reasons. She wanted to figure out the truth before the author revealed his plans to the audience."

"Wait... did you watch her as well? Since when?"

"Before the midterms..."

"God, I can't believe you."

Her body fell backwards into the second pillow while she embraced the first one. Kikyou peered at me as I took a sip from my tea before she stretched towards the nightstand to grab onto her own. A smile made its way onto her face as she mirrored my actions and lay back down.

"It's all in the surroundings. If you know how people act when they are confronted with certain scenarios, then you can start every encounter in a favorable position, even without preparation. For example, what would someone like Ryuuen do when he had no way to fight back?"

"Exploit someone else to his advantage, maybe? Wait... Class A?"

Ryuuen Kakeru would always choose confrontation.

If this was impossible, he would opt for the next best thing.

"They were already vulnerable to his antics because of the rift in their midst. Shiina and Ibuki were sent to our camps in order to gather information, which I confirmed when I checked up on Class B. Sleeping in their camp to shorten the distance wasn't necessary, but allowed me to assist them in realizing that Chiaki had lied to them."

During my stay, I had also figured out Class B's leader.

This wasn't difficult since I had spent close to four whole months with them. I knew the baselines for their behavior and how they acted and spoke when they were stressed or hiding something. Shiranami Chihiro was even easier to read than the rest, because she had been uncomfortable around Ichinose before, when the latter rejected her confession.

Her conduct this time was similar, betraying her importance.

"So both Ichinose and Kanzaki determined that Matsushita had betrayed them because of your preparations, right? You led them to this conclusion, knowing full well that they wouldn't inform their classmates, as they perceived her as a dangerous threat who might act unpredictable once she caught wind of their knowledge."

I took another sip of tea and went on with my explanation.

"Yes. From this point onwards, they were enemies. Ichinose trusted my words and began to doubt everything that Chiaki did. I could feed them information that would never reach her ears, pitting both of them against each other. Class B's leader wasn't someone who would take aggressive actions, which was why everything worked out without a hitch. Ryuuen did the same on a smaller scale between the two factions in Class A."

"You are letting the girl that likes you and your girlfriend fight each other..."

I couldn't help but notice the giant smile that appeared on her lips as she began to understand my steps throughout this exam. She loved the thought that both girls had been played with while she held one of the biggest secrets in the entire year, which made her even happier.

My detailed answers reassured Kikyou of the trust I put in her.

"Ichinose came up with the plan to join up with us, which allowed them to monitor Chiaki, who was, to their knowledge, planning against them while they could make sure that Ibuki would have a harder time figuring out their leader. Now that Shiina knew about the video, she would inform Ryuuen and they would look for the person who might have set them up during the trial."

"Okay, so far, so good. Even though it's hard to wrap my head around some things you did, I gradually get it. But what the fuck was Class A doing all the time? Ryuuen reacted to your moves by planting spies, taking some measures behind the scenes and forming a deal with him, right? Ichinose also realized that she was betrayed and responded with her own plan in mind. The fuck did Katsuragi do?"

"He couldn't take any risks or act with aggression in any shape or form after his initial plan had failed, so he went for a defensive strategy. It was better to leave this island with 270 points instead of trying anything because he hadn't realized that Yahiko was already revealed as their leader."

"So this is how they lost all their points in the end?"

She grabbed another cookie as she nodded in understanding.

With my explanations as a basic framework, she began to understand how the other classes maneuvered themselves into their inevitable doom, as everything they did was within my expectations. Her body shuddered for a moment, as she must have remembered the things I had done to her and how she had always danced to my tune.

"Yes. After Class C left the island, we visited their spot and noticed footprints leading away from their camp. I got rid of these prints during my nightly run, which was why both Ichinose and Kanzaki thought that someone, namely Ryuuen, remained on the island."

"They would assume that he was the leader, right? But how did that help you?"

"I waited around after Ichinose and the others had left since I still had some time and noticed Class A students at the site. The prints were a misdirect for both of them. I only made it more believable than Ryuuen alone could."

Katsuragi's trusted companions would have checked the location again, just like Ichinose. They would have informed him about this sudden change, and he concluded that Ryuuen must have betrayed them. Class B's leadership was also confused and occupied with searching for someone that wasn't on the island. This would have given me some leeway in case I had to take risky actions that weren't as well hidden, which never came into play.

"What about Yamada? Why was he with us?"

Kikyou emptied her tea and took another sip from my cup.

If she had asked me, I could have just poured her another drink, but it seemed like she was too occupied with the explanation and stole mine. She fixed a strand of hair behind the back of her ear and sat cross-legged before me.

"Yamada joined us to take care of Shiina, in case something went wrong. He must have been tasked to get rid of the leader card after Ryuuen retired as well, since both her and Ibuki were with us all the time."

"So Ryuuen really was the first leader?"

"He was a proper tyrant and wouldn't have trusted anyone else with this, but his plans had changed because of my movements. He had to put his faith in someone, and Shiina, his queen, was the most trustworthy person now that she took part in the competition. Once all three of them arrived at our camp, it was time for your performance."

"Miming Ibuki for Horikita..."

A smile surfaced on my lips as I nodded.

Kikyou was never in any danger since she had stolen the underwear during the day and placed it in my bag while everyone was busy with their chores. At night, she walked out and rummaged through her own luggage until she was sure that Horikita had noticed her.

Their heights were similar enough with Ibuki at 1,59 meters and Kikyou at around 1,55. A few socks and clips to fix up her hairstyle were enough to create the illusion that someone that resembled Ibuki had stolen Karuizawa's panties during the night, even though they had been missing for half a day already.

This caused a chain reaction which doomed both Ibuki and Shinohara.

"But what if she had stood up? Or had seen that —"

"... your breasts are too voluptuous to be Ibuki's?"

"Yes, damn it!"

Once again, the pillow flew in my direction.

"I'd never do something I'm not 100% sure of. You are too important to endanger."

"So why exactly did I play Ibuki in the middle of the night?"

"Future reference."

I tilted my head and scanned over her body.

"Be serious for once..."

"Shiina would have realized that Ibuki had no reason to steal the underwear and would have concluded that this was a ploy by either Chiaki or the mystery person to comb the woods for Ryuuen. To top it off, I could separate her from Ibuki and Albert, two headless chicken without someone to listen to."

"And that accident of yours? Was it part of your deal with Kouenji?"

"Yes. I told him that he could earn easy points by showing off his physical abilities once throughout the exam in order to assure Chiaki that he would be a safe bet to carry me around. She wouldn't have enough money to pay him, so she was bound to haggle. Kouenji wouldn't budge, so she would try to get a better deal by including the identities of the class leaders. He agreed, since I had already supplied him with the names in advance. This would not only damage the mystery person's funds, but also move Kouenji into the sights of Ryuuen and Shiina, who were looking for the mastermind."

"But wouldn't he have seen this setup coming?"

"Yes, he would have, but it wasn't a setup. He agreed to follow my directive during this exam because he lost a bet against me. His pronounced narcissism led him to believe that he was better than everyone in this school, since no one in his past had even come close to his capabilities. He trusted his talents, unaware that someone in his vicinity was superior."

"Wait! He lost a bet?"

Kikyou had difficulties to believe that Kouenji, who could cold-read anyone in this school and possessed one of the most impressive physiques in our year, had suffered defeat in something as benign as a simple wager between two people.

Yet, there was nothing strange about this.

He might have been able to read me like a book, but I was the composer of the volume he tried to decipher. I wouldn't let him know something he shouldn't and presented him the information I wanted him to have on a silver platter.

Due to his loss, he respected my abilities.

I humbled him, which was an unprecedented occurrence in his life that had been filled with success and triumph over other people. Thanks to me, he had uncovered a flaw, an imperfection in his perfect existence he could improve upon.

Kouenji and I — we were even.

My queen already knew how the end of the exam played out, since she had informed Hirata that she overheard the conversation with Ichinose and that Kouenji had decided to help me. Both of them, and the other important students in our classes glanced at him in surprise during the announcement, so that Shiina and Ryuuen falsely assumed that he was Class D's invisible benefactor.

"Okay... what happened with Ichinose?"

"She looked into the poisoning we had caused and concluded that Chiaki wanted to get rid of me for the points. This sentiment was reinforced due to the previous 'accident' and the underwear theft. Afterwards, I had Kouenji approach her with a proposal to protect me and my well-being, if she forked over one million private points."

"Where did she get such a huge amount?"

"Ichinose plays the treasury for her class."

"When did you..? If you say before the midterms, I'm going to strangle you."

"It was after, during the Sudou incident."

An exasperated sigh escaped her lips as she shook her head.

Kikyou realized what I had forced Ichinose to do, since she understood how Class B's naïve idiot operated. Without consulting her classmates, she spent her points and decided to save me, someone that was not directly affiliated with them.

They would have probably agreed to provide these points to help me, but she hadn't asked them and went through with the transaction behind everyone's back. This decision destroyed her and so might the consequences of her actions.

All because I wanted to see how far she would go for me.

"Those poor girls... they have no fucking clue." Kikyou lay down on the pillow that was placed on my lap and stared into my eyes. Her crimson orbs shone as her lips began to move. "So, who was our designated leader? We didn't lose any points so it couldn't have been you, right?"

I pulled out the card which was engraved with 'Ayanokouji Kiyotaka'.

"No one dared to write me up. Class A was playing defense and Katsuragi assumed that they would still receive at least 270 points. Ryuuen had warned him about me to get an advantage, so he chose to be careful just in case. Class C also knew that we had something up our sleeves after Shiranami's sudden retirement. They were content receiving at least 50 points because they assumed that no one knew their leader."

"Wait... that's it?!"

"That's it."

A loud, heartfelt laugh echoed through the cabin as she held her stomach.

Such a situation would have been hard to accept for anyone, since the whole plan would have fallen apart if just one of them acted out of line. Yet it was already set in stone that none of them would see through me and the traps I had set up. Only a lunatic would dare to play poker with such an insane number of points.

They could have struggled all they wanted.

There was no way to beat me.

Kikyou calmed down and kept peering into my golden orbs as her fingers caressed over my cheek until her palm grasped onto my head. Her heartbeat became audible as she pulled me towards her in a smooth, yet hesitant, motion.

"What are you doing?"

Despite my question, I hadn't put up any resistance.

She was quiet for a few moments, before her eyes flickered in a peculiar light as I once again observed my reflection in her crimson spheres. Her irises darted around, scanning my face as her fingers rubbed against my skin.

My classmate bit her lip and pulled me closer.

"I'm your queen, right?"

Our noses touched.

Just a little more and she would have continued past her last attempt, past the point of no return. She knew that there was no going back once she kissed me, but she was assured of my trust in her, now that I had described my plans.

'If he committed himself to me, then maybe I could as well...'

Those thoughts must have swarmed her mind.

"Yes, you are."

"Then I'm serving my king."

Kikyou pulled me closer as the answer to my previous question vanished between the sounds of her explosive heartbeat. Her soft voice lingered in the room as her warm, tea-scented breath brushed against my nose moments before they slid past each other. With each millimeter, she grew bolder and convinced that I wanted the same thing as her.

Our lips met for the first time, tasting like green tea and cookies.

After my excursion with Kikyou, I left our room at around six in the evening.

I might have been running late, but my date would understand that I had been indisposed for a little while. My queen had walked me through everything that had transpired on her end after I finished my explanation, which opened up some new and interesting possibilities for the future.

Hirata, who had been the content of this conversation, returned to our room at around four and played cards with us while we enjoyed the rest of the tea together. It was relaxing to spend time with him and my heroic sacrifice for our class had brought us even closer.

Because he saw himself in my actions.

My light blue jacket fluttered in accordance to the gentle sea breeze that drifted over the Speranza. One of the caretakers greeted me with an amiable smile as I ambled towards the open-air stage that was illuminated by the setting sun. I had already predicted that the play would barely be patronized since this wasn't the sort of entertainment high-schoolers would be interested in, but I was shocked to see only a single person.

Sae sat in the fifth row on the first seat of the right-hand side.

I was relieved to see that she wore her usual, provocative business-oriented attire, otherwise I might have felt bad for not changing into something more fitting. Her outfit looked fantastic, as always, but I couldn't help but wonder how much more attractive she would be in an evening dress.

A red one maybe, or a purple low cut open back dress?

Something that revealed her slender legs.

"May I sit?"

My beloved teacher glanced at me with an unconcerned expression before a faint frown decorated her otherwise smooth and charming face, due to my lack of etiquette. Her problem wasn't my attire, but the hands which I had tucked into the pockets of my shorts.

She retracted her legs and made some space for me to walk past.

The stage play that was shown wasn't anything groundbreaking or new, but a Greek myth I had already read before. I figured that she knew the story as well since she appeared to be interested in classics. She also must have seen the performance once before, since her attention had shifted towards me.

Maybe she wanted to tell me something with her choice.

Time passed as we sat in silence.

Ten, twenty, thirty minutes went by as the performance on stage went on, yet neither of us produced a sound. If I had realized that it would take her so long to open her mouth, I would have told Horikita to meet up tomorrow.

"Thank you."

These two words slipped her charming lips.

Sae's tone differed from her usual stern, sometimes even sadistic, disposition. She hadn't turned to face me, despite her interest, but I could glimpse at her shining eyes, which exuded hope for a better tomorrow. Three years — this was the time she had waited, hoped for a special individual in her next class who might be able to help her.

"I did nothing that would warrant your thanks."

A faint smile surfaced on her alluring face.

Neither of us talked about the deal we had established in May. She had thanked me for something else I had gifted her, but there was no need for such pleasantries. We both understood, any more words between us were unnecessary.

The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away.

Her hand slipped into her blazer pocket before she pulled out the pill I requested. My favorite instructor glanced at the packaged emergency contraception and handed it over without questions or any worried remarks about the danger our intercourse could have brought upon us and her.

This wasn't the first time, after all.

Chiaki might have still been concerned about conceiving, but her fears were unwarranted. I had tracked her cycle and slipped her a pill on the island when we bet on who could finish the bowl with berries faster. Sae had handed me the first one together with the vinyl bags, so I just had to squeeze it into a fitting fruit which my girlfriend needed to swallow without chewing.

"May I ask you something?"

She was rather hesitant, which was unlike the Sae I had grown accustomed to.

This change in treatment was to be expected after she had seen first hand what I could do for her. Unfortunately, this behavior didn't fit my charming homeroom teacher, as I didn't want her to lose her charm just to curry favor with me. I preferred her this way and believed that she would realize this as well.

The reason for her hesitance was the nature of her question.

"You are curious why I hadn't asked you for condoms, right?"

A silent nod followed, as she kept her eyes peeled to the play.

Sae was the only one who knew that my sexual intimacy with Chiaki was pre-arranged since I had asked her for the emergency contraceptives before we departed for the island. I hadn't known how the exam would turn out, but preparation was key. Thanks to this test, I had no difficulties to follow my initial plan.

Why risk a pregnancy, if there was no need to?

"The rewards far outweighed the risks."

Now that she had considered the 'maybe', she would never forget this fantasy. Her imagination had already run wild as she thought about how we might break the news to our parents, their reactions and her worries about the school's backlash when they found out. She had daydreamed about a small Kiyotaka, or a little Chiaki, which increased her investment in me and this relationship.

"She already loves you. What's more to gain?"

"That's none of your concern."

We relapsed into silence as both of us peered at the stage, following the magnificent performance of Daedalus who managed to create wings using the branches of osier which he connected with wax. He taught Icarus, his son, how to fly and warned him to keep away from the sun, since the heat would melt the wax he had used for the wings.

Sae was worried, now that I denied her more information about my plans.

Both she and I still remembered our meeting on May 1st, when the S-System was revealed. We recalled how she wanted to threaten me, sell me out to Horikita, which might have caused certain aversions towards her person.

Back then, she hadn't known how capable I was.

Now, she was concerned about my attachment to Class B.

The doubts in her grew over time as she couldn't be certain whether I would betray her down the line. Her suspicions deepened further since I made sure that Ichinose and her class left the exam with the highest amount possible to keep them relevant in the point race to the top.

My beloved homeroom teacher voiced neither of these apprehensions, as she couldn't reveal her insecurities in front of someone whose intentions were unknown, a person who knew what pained her — what she desired.

She wore her mask like a crown, hoping that no one saw the truth.

How beautiful would she be with tears streaking over her face?

"Say, how does it feel to be Class C's homeroom teacher?"

The faint smirk on her face intensified as she peeked at me.

"Ask me again when I'm Class A's homeroom teacher."

"Why would I ask you how it feels to be Class C's instructor when you are in charge of Class A?"

I tilted my head to the side with the most puzzled expression I could manage.

A sweet chuckle slid off her lips before she focused back on the stage.

The performers who portrayed Daedalus and Icarus soared towards the heavens as they escaped the labyrinth below. Both, father and son, defied the laws of nature and beat gravity. His offspring, young and too enthusiastic got carried away by the freedom his escape had rewarded him with.

He ascended, higher than any other mortal ever did.

Until his wings began to burn.

"You wanted to remain under the radar, right? Why did you stand out this time?"

"Chiaki is the class leader, at least as far as everyone else is concerned. If her boyfriend was useless during such an important time, they would wonder why and poke around. Even though she had asked me out without knowing about my abilities, I couldn't be certain that others would believe this."

Rather than standing out because I did too little, I showed just enough to be similar to Sudou's physical level with more stamina but clear weaknesses in academics and overall intelligence. I adopted a naïve stance during my time on the island to demonstrate myself as a kind person, someone a girl like Chiaki might have felt drawn to.

My physique had already been examined once, back at the pool, as the realization that my developed muscles might be abnormal struck too late, just like I needed some time to notice that I was apparently good looking. Back in April, I hadn't been aware of my popularity with the girls, with which I could have maximized my advantages early on.

According to that man, every other institution aside the White Room was a waste of time.

But he was a fool to think this way.

I couldn't deny that I had gained a lot during my time in this place, but the numb emotions and gaps in my behavior were hard to supplement and correct, even now after I had fled. In the White Room, everyone was equalized. It didn't matter if you were handsome or ugly, whether you were a boy or a girl.

Disposal was the only future for the subjects that didn't perform.

In the real world, I had benefits because I reached certain standards.

My esthetics alone granted me certain perks which someone like Ike didn't have.

That man hadn't realized that my growth stagnated in the White Room.

The curtain for this play was about to close, which was the perfect time to exit the venue. I excused myself and walked past my homeroom teacher as she stretched out her arm, stopping me in place. She held something in her palm which kept rustling due to the pressure her grip exerted onto the item.

I accepted the trash and heaved a sigh.

"That's not something a teacher should give their student."

"Could you throw them away on your way out?"

Sae pulled back and folded her arms as I nodded.

My feet carried me past the empty rows, over the carpeted entrance hall and out of the door until the voices in the theater vanished due to the distance between me and the performers. I walked up to the garbage can on my right and stared down at the pack with seven unused cigarettes she had given me.

I dumped them in the trash and texted Chiaki to meet me.

The get-together with Chiaki was short-lived.

She knew that I was going out with a friend and didn't want to intrude on me for too long. My girlfriend was prepared and had brought a half-empty, or -full, bottle of sparkling water to wash the contraception down.

We split as she walked back to her room while I strolled towards a rather fancy establishment on the third floor. The ship was gigantic, nothing I had seen before. The measurements of its length, width and even the height made it one of the largest ships in Japan, maybe worldwide.

The restaurant she had invited me to, was the most expensive one available to us.

Horikita was already waiting when I arrived.

I glanced at my phone, which displayed the current time as six fifty-seven, three minutes before our agreed upon time. Due to Sae's long-lasting silence, I had cut it quite close, otherwise I would have arrived around ten minutes prior.

Much to my regret, I had practiced the phrase, 'I didn't wait long', for naught.

According to my research it was custom that the guys arrived before the girls and waited for them. They were apparently also allowed to be late because it was cute when they apologized, but I didn't understand this sentiment. It only signaled disorganization, and the excuse that 'it took her so long to find something to wear', was pitiful, at best.

My personal experiences differed as well, since Chiaki was usually the first to show up when we didn't meet in front of our rooms. She always said that she had just arrived as well, but I was educated by Karuizawa that this was a phrase I should learn, understand and internalize as it was one of the so-called ten commandments in dating.

I researched them but came up empty, so I assumed they were her own creation. Despite my interest, I hadn't found the right time to ask her about the other nine just yet, but I planned to extend my horizon when the opportunity arose.

"You look much better."

"Thank you for telling me that I looked awful before..." A light frown appeared on her appealing face, which was pretty charming in the right light. "You don't look bad yourself, for being Ayanokouji-kun, that is."

Would it have killed her to compliment me once?

For all she knew, I could have dressed up like this for her, yet she still concealed her praise with an insult. Well, I may have done the same, so I guess I should forgive her this time around.

"Let's go inside?"

"Sure."

The two of us stepped away from the railing and strode over to the entrance side by side. I reached out towards the door handle and pulled, to clear the space for my lovely company. Her brows rose in surprise, but she regained her stride and walked into the restaurant with a casual, thankful nod.

We weren't the only students that visited this place, as I could see some schoolmates from the other classes as well. Four of the patrons were from Class A, while I recognized three familiar faces in the back, where Himeno and two of her friends enjoyed their meal.

They glanced over as we made our way towards the reception, whereupon I greeted them with a small wave of hands. All three class B students returned my kind gesture, before they committed themselves to their dinner.

This was one out of the three upper-class restaurants on the cruiser. It wouldn't be out of place for one of the meals to cost as much as the minimum wage of any normal white-collar worker, since not only the food, but also the service, interior and location were top-notch.

"Table for two."

The server performed a gracious bow after his brief conversation with Horikita and led us to a free table at the window front. It was quite the romantic spot, with an assortment of lit candles and the whole nine yards, which surprised me somewhat. The view outside was extraordinary, but this was similar to the unoccupied tables to our left and right.

Did he perhaps get the wrong idea about our relationship?

My company was also perplexed by the man's behavior and the date-like table we received, since none of us wore anything overly fancy that would have outed us as a couple. There was also no handholding, or deep, ensnaring gazes, which the man could have misinterpreted.

Both of us arrived under-dressed for such an establishment, since we had brought nothing special for this trip, aside from our casual attire and the rather large selection of clothing we could purchase on the cruiser.

None of which would have prepared us for this place.

The surrounding students were the same as us, dressed in their usual informal style and I had to wonder how someone like Kouenji would have shown up. His choice of wardrobe was nothing but a speedo, after all. He also didn't strike me as someone who cared about man-made rules, so he would probably try to dine with a dripping wet body while the staff frantically wiped the floor after him.

Should I invite him to dinner just to check?

Since we could enjoy the pleasure to visit such a top-class establishment without proper apparel, I decided that I could at least act like a proper gentleman and pulled Horikita's chair back to make it easier for her. A quizzical expression surfaced on her fair skin as I slid it into a comfortable position when she sat down.

"Thank you..?"

Her confusion alone had been worth the trouble.

The attendant brought the menu as I placed my bum on the soft and ridiculously comfortable chair. We both thanked him, which he acknowledged with a quick, yet graceful bow and vanished like a ninja.

I peered out of the window, intrigued by the view.

Horikita opened the card and read over the available options.

"You seem awfully comfortable in this exquisite environment, Ayanokouji-kun. I had counted on the fact that I might be able to catch you off-guard in retaliation for your behavior on the island. Guess I'll have to try a little harder."

So there was a catch after all...

"I learned basic etiquette and such things while I was homeschooled."

The White Room took these matters seriously, as it was important for their 'product' to function and prosper in any setting that they might encounter in their adult life. This was more theory than truth due to the high quantity of disposals and the low quality of superior subjects.

Her faint amazement was impossible to refute.

"Please, choose whatever you like."

She worded this matter of fact as if she rewarded me for my services on the island. This, however, would require her to pay for this dinner, which was difficult since the school provided the meals, catering and drinks for free. If this hadn't been the case, only a few students could have reveled in such an establishment.

"You do realize that this won't cost us a dime, right?"

My neighbor narrowed her eyes in astonishment.

"Who told you? I thought I could weasel myself out of feeling indebted."

"Wow, this is stooping low, even for you." I stopped browsing the menu and glanced at the girl with a disappointed, almost pained, expression. "The school prepared multiple announcements before we departed."

"You remembered? I underestimated you, Ayanokouji-kun."

Just how little did she think of me?

A deep sigh slipped my lips as a victorious smirk surfaced on hers.

Her change in expression was a rare occurrence on its own, but I still couldn't get over her beauty when she smiled like this. I believed that I could count myself lucky that we were seatmates, despite the attacks and insults I had to endure at the start of our relationship.

Every beginning is hard.

"Jokes aside... Thank you for taking care of me, Ayanokouji-kun."

The string of sweet words that left her mouth was sincere, filled with emotions she wanted to convey but couldn't due to her inherent nature. It was an unusual sight, a strange yet warm feeling when she behaved this way. I found myself mesmerized by her glistening wet lips and captivated by those fiery red eyes which were framed by her raven-colored hair.

A faint, charming blush began to adorn her cheeks as I kept staring.

"Don't sweat it. We're friends, right?" A dull thud reverberated through the interior of this top-class establishment before a gentle stinging sensation moved from my ankle up to my leg. "Why did you kick me?"

"I don't particularly like this word. You know this better than anyone, so please consider my circumstances and stop using this phrase in my presence, or to address my person whenever you talk with someone else."

She was much stricter than usual, which confused me.

This scene got even stranger when she clicked her tongue, annoyed by her own words. It seemed like she had realized that she behaved rather unsympathetic, which was a sign that she tried to better herself. If this was an overall improvement or just revolved around me remained to be seen.

My leg slapped against hers, whereupon she retaliated in kind.

"Are you sure you want to keep this up?" A sly smile appeared on my lips as I supported my head with my palm. "The other guests started watching us around a minute ago. If we continue, they might think we are playing footsies."

Her movements ceased as she glanced around the room.

The waiter behind me observed the whole situation with a melancholic smile on his face while the schoolmates I had mentioned stared at us with curious expressions, since the repeated thuds had caught their attention. Some of the Class A guys glared at me, even though we never met.

My 'date' grew ashamed and ducked into the menu.

Wow, Horikita is adorable...

I mirrored my neighbor and browsed through the available cuisine, now that I had annoyed her a little. Some prices were so over the top that I could only gasp at the amount, which grew even worse the further we advanced down the available meals. The cheapest course one could order was 50.000 yen, which was about 350 dollars.

The whole first-year would have been broke if we had to pay during this trip.

They offered multiple Kaiseki courses, with the cheapest starting around 53.000 yen and the most expensive totalling around 97.000 yen, which would be a whooping 680 dollars — give or take.

That students like us could feast on such expensive meals demonstrated how much the government valued this school and the graduates it produced every year. The vacation and the cruiser were already more than impressive, but their treatment for us freshmen was the cherry on top. I doubted that we would have such a chance again, and since the school was fitting the bill, I decided to enjoy myself and let them bleed.

Horikita and I seemed to be on the same wavelength, as we both ordered the most expensive course this restaurant offered. The waiter noticed that we concluded our selection process before either of us called him and took our order before he executed a respectful bow and left.

"This is my first time eating such a course. What about you?"

"Same for me, but I couldn't help myself after knowing that the school would pay."

A bewitching smile emerged on her luscious lips.

She glanced over the ocean with a sanguine gaze while I couldn't help but marvel at both her and the reflection the light cast into the window. My classmate was truly beautiful, there was no reason to deny this sentiment. Her elegance, which she rarely displayed, shone even more radiant in such a refined setting.

Even though she wasn't wearing a fancy evening gown, she fit into this scenery, as if it had been her role all along. A rose-colored dress would have enhanced her lithe and slender frame while emphasizing her red orbs. She was already good looking, but she would have blown most of the girls out of the water.

"What?"

Horikita turned towards me, narrowing her eyes in suspicion.

"Nothing, what did I do?"

"I had a feeling that you thought something stupid."

That again?

Today seemed to have been one of her esper days. I was a rather unlucky fellow to meet the psychic Horikita on such a lovely evening, but I was still happy to have taken her invitation, or rather, that she had approached me at all.

Could this have something to do with her period?

Maybe I should keep track of these extraterrestrial outbursts...

"I just thought you were quite beautiful."

Her complexion changed into a soft-crimson color after this compliment left my mouth. She cleared her throat and took a sip of the aromatic tea our waiter's colleague had delivered us after we ordered our courses.

"Thank you, but you shouldn't flatter me, or any other girl, since it could be misinterpreted by your interlocutor. I understand your platonic praise but other, inferior people might get confused since you have a girlfriend."

Inferior, huh?

I was aware of such rules, but it would have been a shame not to mention it.

"Mh, I'm just telling my friend that she's beautiful, I see nothing wrong with that. When I saw Sudou in the changing room for the first time, I also complimented him for his well-developed physique. It's not like I meant anything by it."

"No, I know... but I mean... Could you stop calling me friend, please?"

Horikita's frame shrunk further as she tried her best to weasel herself out of a conversation she couldn't handle. It was cute how she tried to return to our previous status quo, before she shared all her troubles on the island. My neighbor had been vulnerable and showed me a sight of her that should have been hers alone. I doubted that anyone aside from her brother had seen and heard her in such a defenseless state.

"I'm just joking, seatmate-chan."

"Huuuhh... you are the worst." She shook her head in exasperation as a smile appeared on her face. She caressed over her cheek and leaned into her smooth palm. "Next time, I'll be thinking twice about inviting you."

Her lying needs some work...

"You are so mean."

I held both hands in front of my heart to show her how deep a wound she had inflicted on my frail spirit. Horikita chuckled, hiding her mouth behind her hands or fingers. She grasped the cup with two hands and blew into the steaming hot tea, which prompted a flushing response in her body.

My companion took a few sips, trying to hide her charming expression.

The waiter soon returned with the first course consisting of appetizers.

We enjoyed our meal and held multiple conversations throughout our leisure time. Some were serious as she wanted to hear about what she had missed on the island, while others were interesting as I told her how slippery fish were and that I had managed to catch one with my bare hands.

She laughed and smiled which soothed my heart.

The two of us breezed through the topics we came up with while we joked and bantered as usual. Neither of us felt bored or uncomfortable for even a second as we always found subjects that just clicked. It was enjoyable to hang out with her, when she wasn't hitting me, and the warmth she exuded reminded me of my friends in Class B.

I could get used to this...

"That reminds me, I'm glad you are feeling better."

"Yes, me too. It was quite uncomfortable and nauseating, so I hope that something like this won't happen again. I must have eaten something bad when we went out during one of the days before, so I'm glad that you were spared, at least. Without you we probably wouldn't have scored this high. How is your leg?"

"Better, it still hurts sometimes when I make a wrong move, though. The doctor said that I should take it easy for the next couple of days to make sure that the pain won't worsen. Other than that, I'm in tip-top shape."

She threw me a mischievous smirk.

"That shouldn't be too hard for you. Lazing around, I mean."

"Says the girl who was sick throughout the whole exam."

"You're so mean."

She mimicked my gesture from before and folded her two delicate hands in front of her frail heart. The pained, appalled expression on her face was far more believable than anything I could manage at the moment. Horikita peered into my eyes, awaiting my reaction with bated breath.

Should I ask her for pointers?

"I always thought that you suck at social interactions because of your blatant honesty, but past me was awfully wrong, it seems. You can be quite charming if you want to. It's a shame that you keep this side of yourself hidden."

She brushed through her hair with a prideful expression.

"Well, I told you that I had no interest in making friends on the first day we met. It is a given that I know how to behave on certain occasions, as I would have been a disappointment to my family otherwise. I don't even want to imagine how embarrassed Ike-kun's parents must be to have raised such a pervert."

That poor guy really deserves a break...

"So, this is a certain occasion, yes?"

My teasing was rewarded with a kick to my shin.

We were the only two people left in the restaurant as the ninth course was brought to our table. With everyone else gone, this situation really felt like a romantic date in the moonlight. Truth be told, it was an unforgettable evening.

"Do you remember how many there were?"

She checked the time on her phone, worried that they would close and ask us to leave before we were done. I doubted that such a well-known restaurant would just kick us out, especially since they were paid by the school, which was funded by the government.

Treating such a customer badly would be suicidal.

"Ten, so we should be alright."

Horikita calculated how long we needed for every course until this point and verified whether we would make it until the official closing time of the restaurant, which was ten pm. Concluding her estimates, she nodded and committed herself to the fruits in front of us.

The last course was green tea and fitting confections.

We spent our remaining time chatting and laughing until we were done with our meals. She was much more relaxed now that the other guests had left and rewarded me with more samples of her charming laughter. The waiter walked up to us and removed the tableware before asking if the meal was satisfactory.

Neither of us could complain since every course had been better than the previous one. The quality this course had displayed was worth every single yen, which came as no surprise, but still needed to be mentioned. Each meal was pleasing to the eye and tasted even better than anticipated.

All of this was accentuated by the breathtaking view.

"That was a nice meal with a fr — I mean, seatmate-chan."

I expected a well-deserved kick to the shin and prepared myself for the impact but nothing followed. My gaze swayed towards her in mild surprise as I noticed Horikita's uncertain expression. She rubbed her fingers, which betrayed her nervousness before she took a deep breath.

"Since we are neighb... fr-friends... you can call me S-suzune. I mean i-it's not like you h-have to or anything. It's just, you know if you... want... then I wouldn't mind... if it's you, I g-guess."

What was happening right now?

Despite my best efforts to find the hidden camera inside this establishment, I came up empty. No matter how much I twisted and replayed her words in my mind or went over all their potential meanings, I had trouble dealing with her sweet voice and couldn't understand the adorable, almost captivating sheepish expression on her face.

Horikita was so worried about opening up that most of her words were difficult, maybe impossible to decipher. Her complexion, however, painted a clear picture over the gorgeous canvas this evening provided her with.

Was this another daydream in which she whispered me sweet things?

Or was it alright to agree?

"If that's okay with you Suzune. You can call me Kiyotaka as well."

I bit the sour apple, assuming that I hadn't misunderstood, or worse, imagined the previous conversation. It wouldn't have been the first time that Horikita, no — Suzune said strange things in my weird fantasies.

"Okay then... Kiyotaka..."

With our friendship now officially established, we left the restaurant after saying our thanks to the staff who had handled our service. I accompanied her until we reached the point in our journey on which we would have to separate. We could have continued, of course, but both she and I knew that this would have been a detour for me and that other students might misunderstand if they saw us together this late into the evening.

"I guess that's far enough."

"Yeah, let's call it a night then, Suzune~."

She pouted as an angry, yet precious crimson-colored complexion developed on her face, which again — just in case I hadn't mentioned it yet — was incredibly cute to look at. Her velvet-colored eyes began to quiver as she became more and more frustrated with my lacking reaction.

"Aright, I'm revoking your right to call me that effective immediately."

"That's not how this works, right?" I tilted my head, feigning confusion about something that no person had ever heard before. At least not five minutes after they had reached first-name basis. "Goodnight, Suzune."

A giggle escaped her enticing lips.

"Goodnight Kiyotaka... and once again, thank you for everything you did for me back on the island. I mean it. I was... no, you were..., you are a good friend, and I'm glad that I opened up to you. Albeit a little."

I couldn't help but smile after listening to her kind, genuine words.

My classmate noticed this change in expression and celebrated her victory with a prideful, 'Ha, got you!' face. She turned around and walked off with large purposeful strides. A faint rosy-tint surfaced on her cheeks while my eyes followed her receding back.

But Suzune, I was the reason that you were useless in this exam.

Your contemptuous attitude stood in the way of using you properly, which is why you needed to be educated. You considered yourself worthless, miserable and pathetic by design because of the diluted pesticide I had blended into your meal during our last dinner.

That's right, Suzune. You did this to yourself.

If you had listened and complied, none of this would have happened.

I've never once thought of you as an ally or a friend.

Not you. Not Kikyou. Not Chiaki.

Even my girlfriend you all thought I cherished due to the way I behaved around her was nothing more than the means to an end, she was expendable just like the rest of you .

Fuka, Ichinose and them — all other people are nothing but tools — pieces on my board to move as I please.

It doesn't matter how it's done.

It doesn't matter what needs to be sacrificed.

In this world, winning is everything.

As long as I win in the end...

That's all that matters.

Authors Note:

Once again a huge shout-out and thanks to u/Iviera on Reddit for allowing me to use his amazing Arisu coloring in this story. If you haven't seen his colorings before, you are missing out and I highly recommend you to look at his other posts as well!

This chapter concludes the third volume. See you all in Volume 4 ~

- Word Count: 17418 / 75909 Characters

Released 17.09.2022

Chapter 28 - Piece

Remnants of hot water dripped down my bare skin after I turned the shower control to its default position. Faint squelching sounds reached my ears as I took two small steps towards the moist door handle. I opened the misty stall panel in order to snatch the white bath sheet I had hung over the cold, metallic rack outside and heaved a sigh.

A chilly breeze crept up my skin, causing goosebumps to form.

My whole body shivered before I began to dry myself off.

The soft, comfortable towel slid along my fair skin as I rubbed my back and upper body to regain some of the warmth I had lost as soon as I turned off the shower. I swabbed my stomach and finished up with my slender arms and legs, which were the least affected by the cold, numbing sensation.

Multiple muffled squashing sounds rang through the bathroom as I trudged towards the foggy mirror. My eyes focused on the blurry, unrecognizable reflection that was disrupted by beads of water that dribbled along the steamed up glass, the frame and even the smooth white walls which spun around me.

How often had I thought about smashing it into pieces?

An uncomfortable squeak followed my trembling fingers, which drifted along the misty panel, revealing my despondent expression. The queasy frown on my face deepened and turned into disgust as I peered along my torso.

My weight shifted forward as I propped myself against the sink.

The miserable weakness in my arms and knees was neither caused by the heat in the bathroom, nor that I had showered with hot water for such a prolonged period. It was induced by my own reflection and the following revolting memories that made my insides squirm like worms, bugs or other abominable vermin as a dizzy, nauseating feeling spread through every fiber of my being.

This brief vulnerability was followed by awful retching noises, which were accompanied by a repugnant stench that invaded my nose — a constant reminder of the things I wanted, yet couldn't forget. Heavy, putrid breaths escaped my quivering mouth as threads of fresh vomit dangled off my pale lips.

"Haaa..."

Even after all this time, nothing had changed.

Neither the past, nor I.

My unsteady fingers reached for the faucet and pushed against the handle various times until I managed to apply enough force for the water to flow from the spout. I rinsed my mouth to get rid of this nasty, lingering taste, which I should have grown accustomed to by now.

A dejected, belittling laugh slipped my lips as I stared at my own shadow that kept making fun of my weak, pitiful self with the same mocking expressions that adorned my face.

This thought alone demonstrated how broken I was when I didn't mime the lively, cheerful girl. Despite my dearest wishes, there was no way to revive the parts that had died a long time ago.

I heaved a sigh and dried my hair.

Why did I have to go through such an awful experience?

Why did I still have to suffer after such a long time?

Those questions swirled through my mind each day, yet I never found an answer.

Most of the boys and girls didn't like me, but I couldn't care any less about their opinions and aversions. Those abhorrent, almost childish thoughts didn't hurt me anymore because they were nothing compared to the things I had endured over weeks and months during my middle school days.

Nothing — in face of this one nightmarish day when I lost everything.

My youth, my friends and even myself.

At this moment, I had realized something important.

There was no need for friends. I also didn't have to experience a proper youth like any other teenage girl. The most important thing was protecting myself, so that I never had to go through similar horrors again.

For this, I would do whatever it takes.

Because I am a parasite.

A weak, miserable creature that couldn't survive on its own.

Three pleasant days had passed since the island exam ended.

During this time, I had shared a meal with Onodera and her friends, after I declined her invitation to swim a few rounds together because of my accident and the resulting, albeit nonexistent, injuries. Frustrated by my inability to compete against her, she made me promise to revisit this conversation once we were back at school.

I didn't mind hanging out with her more, so I agreed.

Chiaki and I had planned to wander over the ship and visit all available establishments to enjoy our victory, but she soon led us into a nice, secluded coffee shop to take a break, since she had noticed my worsening limp throughout our date. The remaining plans were scratched out of consideration and she even rewarded me with a, in her words, comforting massage because there had been no other customers around.

Unfortunately, her technique was lacking — or downright terrible.

Suzune also texted me a few times, but we decided not to meet up because she was worried about my condition as well. She had phrased this in her usual roundabout, yet strangely charming way, but acknowledged her concern for my health after I was banned from calling her 'Suzune' another three or four times.

Ichinose was still beating herself up over the choice she was forced to make on the island. Amikura said that she hadn't left their cabin even once and holed herself up underneath her blanket when someone was around. She and her other roommates brought meals and wanted to keep her company, but their mournful leader denied their kind gestures, telling them not to worry about her and have fun for the rest of our trip.

Aside from this, there was a small matter that kept bugging me.

"Kiyotaka?"

Another cute girl glanced at my expressionless face.

She lay beside me and used my right arm as a pillow of sorts, while she tapped around on her phone. Instead of chatting with her friends like usual, she scrolled through multiple shopping apps to check the stores in our school for clothes.

I wasn't sure if she wanted to purchase a new outfit for herself, or if she was tasked with helping someone who had a similar size, but I wasn't curious enough to ask, so I just let her browse in silence.

We hadn't seen or talked to each other for the past few days until she stood in front of the door this morning. Her face had been adorned with her usual bright smile as her skirt and snow-white shirt danced in the fresh ocean breeze, emphasizing her mesmerizing figure.

She had asked to enter, like a beautiful starving vampire that was about to suck its victim dry.

Kikyou had taken some time off and worked through the jumbled up emotions that had swirled through her mind after our kiss. I didn't know how long she waited for Hirata to leave, but she had lingered around until I was alone, which meant that she arrived at a satisfying conclusion.

Despite her usual vigilance, she seemed to have overlooked that her current position allowed me to examine her cleavage and the light blue bra that had difficulties to hide her voluptuous breasts. She hadn't brought the uniform's blazer either, since it was too hot outside and would have hampered the airflow of her rather loose clothing.

Or maybe she had done this on purpose.

It was possible that she wanted to be more relaxed around me, now that our relationship had progressed past a certain point. A near-rape victim like her wouldn't just forget what I had done during May, but she did her best to work through these problems by staying close to me in an environment she considered safe.

The shared rooms on the cruiser were enough to assure her mind that it would be fine to stay in proximity to me in such revealing attire. Her fears would dwindle in accordance to the amount of wholesome contact we had, even though these deep-seated scars would never heal.

My adorable queen recognized that I would take a peek, at most.

She used this knowledge to influence her subconscious, and instruct it to feel secure around me in such a vulnerable, rather intimate state between us, proving to herself that the kindness and affection I exhibited towards her hadn't been a dream and could be relied upon in the future.

"Mh?"

Kikyou pressed the power button on her phone and placed it on my pillow before she rolled over towards me. Her right hand stretched over my chest and reached for my left arm. She dragged it towards herself and placed my palm around her shoulder.

A faint smile surfaced on her face as she curled up into me.

"You seem off. Distracted, somehow. Is everything okay?"

Was she worried about our new relationship?

The actions of my lovely classmate differed from her usual behavior.

This must have been the reason she misinterpreted my distractions as indifference towards her, or even remorse for what we were doing to Chiaki. Such a conclusion was not sound or reasonable in any form, but she must have had a lot of thoughts about this new normal, which might have unsettled her.

Had I become complacent?

Was I getting too used to her?

"Just a bad feeling."

My queen tilted her head and crawled up to my chest with a pure smile. Her smooth palm reached out to my cheek before she leaned forward and acknowledged my dark foreboding with a tender kiss filled with affection and warmth.

"Because of this?"

"No, this has nothing to do with it."

The sweetest giggle escaped her lips as they brushed along my own.

"How about I kiss you until this unease is gone, then?"

Kikyou repeated the same adorable motions again and again. Once, twice and ten times over until I pulled her closer and massaged the back of her head, whereupon she shut her eyes and snuggled into me.

Any normal person would have fallen in love with her after such a passionate display of devotion. If someone had told me that our screaming, cursing and deceitful class devil could be this pure and tender, I wouldn't have believed them. Without my torture and the psychological warfare thereafter, I might have never seen this wonderful side of her.

But she was still suffering.

"I'm pretty sure that something is going to happen soon."

"Please don't tell me it's another fucking exam."

And there she goes again...

Her loving side might be new and interesting, but Kikyou wouldn't be herself without the curses and profanities. I wondered whether she would try to change herself if I said that I preferred one over the other. This could be an interesting experiment for later, but we had more important things to take care of right now.

"Well, that would be a lie."

"Again? Seriously?"

"It's just a hunch."

"If it's yours, then it's practically confirmed, right?"

Just who did she think I was?

My classmate took a sharp breath before her crimson orbs peered deep into mine. Her arms snaked around my neck as she spread out on top of me, unconcerned with the two soft mounds that pressed into my chest like clouds or servings of fresh cotton candy. These actions wouldn't lead to anything romantic, as they were her attempt to overwrite some scenes from the horrible night back then with newer ones where she was in control over the situation.

Kikyou understood her condition and knew how to solve it.

If I were to grab onto her waist now, she would shake in fear.

Me touching this region would trigger dreadful memories, which was why my palm wandered towards her back in reassurance. She noticed this supporting gesture, realized that I perceived and encouraged her earnest attempts to change our relationship for good, and tilted forward.

My queen trusted me, despite the inhuman things I had done to her.

"Shh... it's okay. I won't hurt you anymore."

Time passed as we cuddled like this, with her in the 'dominating' position and me below. This was necessary to convince her mind that she was in control and safe from any further attacks. These adjustments weren't a one and done deal, but the false and distorted feelings of 'love' that had blossomed inside her would reinforce and speed up the process.

The charming girl rolled off my chest and leaned into my shoulder.

"How did you get that hunch of yours?"

"Have you seen Sae around the past few days?"

A frown surfaced on her face.

"I haven't."

The current situation made me speculate whether she would have realized what I was hinting at if her thoughts weren't disturbed because I called our 'sadistic bitch of a teacher' Sae instead of Chabashira. She disliked most of our classmates, or at least parts of them, but I was saddened to hear that one of my favorite instructors was included in this list.

Was she jealous, perhaps?

"Have you seen her before the island exam?"

"Um, yeah. She always relaxed at —" The remaining words stuck in her throat as she recognized the intent behind my question. There was only one reason that Sae wasn't relaxing at her usual spot, after all. "Oh, fuck no!"

Kikyou cursed before her head slumped on my chest.

She moved closer and embraced me as if we had been together for months or years already. Her heartbeat was much calmer than Chiaki's whenever she was this close to me, but this didn't mean that she cared for me any less. Where my girlfriend got excited and giddy, Kikyou remained calm yet still affectionate in her own way.

Both girls cherished me.

One was sincere and pure in her love, while the other was indoctrinated to like me through a combination of fear and kind gestures throughout our time at school. My queen wasn't stupid and realized what I had done, which is why I had crushed her psyche once again when I dealt with Sakura and the store clerk.

Afterwards, she had stopped resisting.

"At least it's not a remote location. The teachers have to prepare something in advance and there is no island or anything similar near our current position. I also doubt that they would give us a similar exam twice."

My charming classmate had been stressed out over the last exam.

She had received multiple important tasks in making sure that no one would use points behind Chiaki's back and keeping the overall mood of the camp high until I began to enact my plans. Hirata had helped her, of course, but it was still a lot of pressure, since she didn't want to fail and disappoint me.

I took her into my arms and closed my eyes.

The almighty internet was quite knowledgeable, if one knew how to use it. My dark past with this technical achievement still loomed over my head to this day, but it was helpful when I dealt with things involving the opposite sex. Especially about making them feel comfort in a stressful or uncomfortable situation.

Kikyou's breathing calmed as she nuzzled into me.

This broken relationship we had, this entirely twisted, warped and corrupt thing between us, there had to be clear limits. Both of us would be weakened if rumors — or worse — confirmations about us were to spread.

Her usefulness would plummet below zero, while I might lose Chiaki and her trust in me, which would compromise my arrangements going forward. My girlfriend still had a purpose to serve, but I wouldn't need to keep her around any longer once she fulfilled this objective.

I had no qualms about cultivating this relationship with my queen a little as her current longings and wishes were emotions I could use to my advantage. Deepening our bond now would prove useful in the long run and would never come to bite me. The girl who was known and loved as Kushida Kikyou would rather carve her own heart out before she betrayed me, as I could extinguish the angelic goddess she had established with a simple snap of my finger.

She grabbed the blanket and pulled it over her head, as if she wanted to hide. Her legs flapped around as she tucked them underneath the newly acquired cover. The whole bundle wriggled closer to my head before it came to a sudden halt as a crimson-colored face revealed itself.

"Hey, Kiyotaka..."

Kikyou averted her gaze and covered half of her face with her arms.

"What is it?"

"K-kiss me, please..." Her body temperature sky-rocketed as she grabbed onto my fingers. "You aren't engaging with me at all, unlike the times you kiss Matsushita." She caressed along my hand and embraced it like a treasure. "It's not like I'm needy or anything alright? It's just that I feel worried? Fuck... I don't know. This is so weird... I never had to deal with something like this, so I don't understand shit, but your behavior... It's frustrating, I guess."

A sigh crept through the room as I bent forward.

Her lips felt different, but not by much.

They were a little softer than my girlfriends and tasted like toothpaste instead of tea. I felt as if I compared two nearly identical products that had been manufactured by two different companies. Their taste might be similar and even the ingredients might have been the same, but one would still differ from the other.

"Did you just sigh before kissing me?"

I couldn't marvel at her pout for long as she leaned in again.

At least she wasn't aware that I was comparing their lips while trying to figure out what exactly felt different between them. If she realized that I analyzed their skills and characteristics, then she would drown me in the pool.

"Hey, how far did you and Matsushita go?"

My classmate bent over and reached for the water bottle on my bedside table. She unscrewed the cap and drank a few mouthfuls of the transparent liquid before placing it back where it belonged.

Go where?

Oh, there.

"We had sex."

Kikyou squirted her water straight into my face.

Wait, no — dangerous territory.

Kikyou sprayed the water, which she just drank, into my face.

"YOU WHAT?! WHEN?" Her two crimson orbs widened in realization as she lowered her voice. "It was after your accident, wasn't it? That's why you told me to make sure that no one walks into the cave, right? You are fucking unbelievable..."

I used my shirt to wipe away the cold liquid that trickled down my hair and face while she sat on my lap with an unhappy expression. My queen averted her gaze and mouthed a silent 'sorry' before she slipped to the side. Standing up, I took off my shirt and hung it over the towel holder in the bathroom to dry.

"Hey Kiyotaka... what is she to you?"

Her quiet voice traveled through the room as I made my way back to our shared wardrobe. I opened the door to the section I was allotted and grabbed a new shirt. Upon turning around, I couldn't help but notice Kikyou's gaze on my chest.

This was the second time she saw my naked upper-body, aside from the swimming lesson we had in April. Back then, her gaze had changed little as she mimed the pure and angelic classmate that could do no wrong. This time, however, it was filled with curiosity, intrigue and wonder.

Wait, was this so-called fan service?

Shouldn't she be the one standing here half naked?

Wait... was I being lewded?

Was this reverse fan service then?

I shook my head, banishing those thoughts. This was a difficult question to answer for someone like me, who didn't have first hand experience on how the entertainment industry used this technique to garner fans. Sotomura would be a safe person to ask, just to make sure that I hadn't misunderstood.

"She is the means to an end, nothing more."

"Uwah! That's what I'm talking about."

The blonde gyaru leaned back and stretched her arms into the air, enjoying the freedom and dream-like vacation this ship granted us after our struggles on the island. This action was rather imprudent, as she revealed certain captivating curvatures along her slender body which would be visible to everyone at this table, including me.

Maybe she had forgotten that she took off her blazer?

"It's been too long since we hung out together, right?"

"And whose fault is that, mhh?"

Satou glanced at Chiaki in harmless banter while Karuizawa lowered her arms. The triplet of objectively beautiful girls began to laugh, spreading their cheerful mood towards the surrounding tables. All three sipped on their orange juice from time to time, while I got ready to dive towards the ground in case another classmate turned into a makeshift fountain.

Please people, don't drink and laugh.

"Sorry, sorry..." My girlfriend held up her hands in an apologetic gesture before a warm smile spread over her charming face. "I didn't expect to be this tied down by my position as class leader, but you could have come over to talk anytime."

Karuizawa and Satou glanced at each other.

According to their expressions, they had qualms about this offer, but were unsure if it was a good idea to inform Chiaki about their concerns, as she might get mad at their reason for not hanging out with her. They averted their gazes towards my girlfriend simultaneously, almost as if they had trained this or communicated their intentions via telepathy.

"No way. I keep my distance when you are in class leader mode."

"Yeah. You're hella scary. Like for real."

Chiaki was taken aback by this sudden accusation.

She must have realized that her classmates respected and maybe feared her a little, but she didn't expect that two of her closest friends would rather stay far away from her when she was dealing with class matters. This should have been a predictable outcome, however, after Shinohara had received the stick treatment during the last exam.

"Eh..? Am I that intimidating? Kiyotaka?"

"Mh, I don't think that you are particularly scary, but I'm your boyfriend, so I know sides of you that others don't. Sudou and most of the guys fear you, though, so I wouldn't be surprised if this was the consensus in our class."

"See? Even Ayanokouji-kun knows."

Am I that clueless?

Both girls held their bellies, which seemed to hurt from all the laughter, while Chiaki glanced at each of us, confusion written all over her face. She seemed somewhat uncomfortable after this revelation, as she must have thought that her kind older sister vibe from before hadn't been forgotten.

Talk about a rude awakening.

"Our classmates were like totally terrified of you after that whole Sudou-thingy because of the three expulsions. It's similar to how everyone listens to this Ryuuen person because they are scared, but also different because you care about us."

Did Karuizawa just compare her to Ryuuen?

I began to pat Chiaki's head to calm her down.

Chiaki kept whispering and repeating the phrase 'Similar to Ryuuen...' over and over, as if she was caught in some kind of horror loop or a deep trance, which could spiral into something even worse. This should have been one of the most painful comparisons a human being could have made, especially for a young and charming woman like her.

Did she want to traumatize my cute girlfriend, or what?

"Well, it's not a bad thing, you know? They respect you, which is good, right? After our victory on the island, they basically idolize you, so you don't need to worry about anyone outright hating you. Except for Shinohara-san, maybe..."

"The most important thing is our advancement to Class C!"

"Yeah, two more to go!"

Satou's last statement was overshadowed by Karuizawa's loud cheer, as if to spare Chiaki from another heart attack. I doubted that this would have affected my girlfriend, but my classmates began to cheer and bump their drinks together to forget the last few words we had exchanged.

Neither of them noticed that my phone vibrated due to this sudden victory celebration. My hand slipped into my pocket with subtle, covert movements as I checked the pop-up notification I had received.

[Kikyou] Do you want to join us at the pool tomorrow?

"Hey Chiaki, I'll go back to my room. My leg is acting up again."

A well-practiced apologetic expression surfaced on my face.

"Oh, okay. Have a good rest, Kiyotaka."

My girlfriend was unhappy that I had to leave so soon, but understood that I was still hurt and needed to recuperate. She helped me up and made sure that I could stand without trouble before she planted a loving kiss on my lips.

"Yeah, I will. Thank you."

"Hey, what's wrong with his leg?"

Karuizawa-san supported her head and glanced past me.

Even back on the island, she had still distrusted the boys, despite my best efforts to reveal Ibuki-san as the underwear thief. The only ones she hadn't been angry with and talked to were Kiyotaka and her boyfriend Hirata-kun.

I thought that she trusted him since we were all friends, but after realizing that everyone feared me to such a degree, I wondered whether she was mad at him as well and just said nothing to protect herself from my potential wrath, in case I got angry with her for his sake.

The slap Shinohara received must have been fresh in her mind, so maybe she decided to play it safe. Their feelings disheartened me, especially since Karuizawa-san and Satou-san were two of my closest friends. We always had fun when we hung out, even though it was difficult to talk about serious topics with them.

Was I the only one feeling this way?

Being both feared and loved was more difficult than expected...

"It's still the injury from the accident. The doctor said that it's just strained, but the pain seems to flare up in random intervals. She said that it's nothing serious and that it will improve over time if he takes it easy for a few days."

"Right... he fell down a ravine when he was renewing the spots at night. I didn't even ask if he was okay because I was so pissed with the guys that I just surrounded myself with the girls all day. Ahh mou..."

She looked down and pierced her fingernail into the drinking straw.

I guess she wasn't angry at him after all.

The pleasant aftermath of his accident replayed in my mind as I followed his receding back. This memory would continue to accompany me until I died of old age. I still couldn't believe how careless we had been, but when we started to kiss, I couldn't hold back the yearning that had increased over the course of our relationship any longer.

We were still young — in the prime of our lives even — so I hadn't been worried about our first time or things like this. But I could have never expected that we would do it this soon, this sudden, without warning or preparation.

I hadn't even properly showered...

And I said that I loved him...

He hadn't answered — neither confirmed nor denied his feelings for me while I blurted out my affections because of the atmosphere and the pleasure I had felt during this wonderful moment. Even though he had kept silent, his kiss was so much more loving and tender than usual.

Kiyotaka had assured me of his feelings in his own way.

Ahh, I want to do it again...

"What's with the sudden blush, mhh?"

Satou-san's mischievous smile deepened as all color left my face.

"Oh, I was just happy that he wore the clothes I chose for him."

"Heh, really?"

"Really..."

The girls glanced at each other and shrugged.

I doubted that they believed me, but I was glad that they weren't pushing the issue. It's not like I could tell anyone that I had sex with my boyfriend during an important exam. If word got around, we would both be in trouble, so I couldn't let this slip under any circumstances.

Kiyotaka had an easier time since he was impossible to read.

The day I confessed our first kiss to my classmates still slumbered in my mind. Acting as a constant reminder that I had failed at keeping this secret in the worst possible way. At least I had made progress in this department as time passed. Kissing was one thing, but what we did a few days ago was another matter altogether.

"Ah, Matsushita-san, Karuizawa-san and Satou-san!"

Two indigo buns bobbed up and down as our companion bounced towards the table. The three of us greeted our new arrival, as well as Mori-san, who walked through the door a few moments after her. We offered them to sit, since we still had enough space for two people.

I leaned into my palm and sipped on my juice as I thought about how this exact group went out with Kiyotaka and Hirata-kun on our second day at school. If Karuizawa-san's boyfriend hadn't invited him, we might have never gotten to know each other. It was funny how these small choices affected all of us and led to this current situation.

We discussed a few girl topics, switching from clothes, accessories and makeup to boys, relationships between the student body and other stuff. Most of my female classmates seemed to have noticed that Kiyotaka and I had become more intimate over the course of the island exam, but they didn't know why. It was alarming to see how they picked up on such insignificant changes, while neither of them could wrap their head around the important problems in this school.

If my lying hadn't improved, we would have been done for.

"Ah, that reminds me, Matsushita-san." My eyes focused on Mii-chan, who regarded me with a mystified expression. "I was curious how we received so many points compared to the others, but my calculations seem to be off."

"What do you mean?"

"Okay, so we started out with 300 points and had to use none of them to purchase items, thanks to our deal with Class B. Guessing the two leaders correctly brought us another 100 points for a new sum of 400. Then I asked Hirata-kun about the number of spots, which he confirmed to be twenty-one. Ayanokouji-kun held all of them for the full duration of the seven days, except for the one Class B gave us during the first night. He renewed the spots after eight hours throughout the exam, which leads us to nineteen reoccupations. Two of these for twenty points each and seventeen for twenty-one points per trip. Adding these numbers brings us to 397 bonus points for the spots and a grand total of 797 points from which we have to subtract 5 points for Ayanokouji-kun's absence during morning roll-call. Do you know why we only received 787 points even though we should have obtained 792?"

"Heeh... that's indeed — wait, I don't get it."

"Me neither."

Karuizawa-san and Satou-san burst out into laughter.

Oh, that...

"Yes. You remember that Chabashira-sensei mentioned that Kouenji-kun was a close call, but that she wouldn't deduct any points since he answered the second time, right? The school saw his GPS location at eight, which wasn't close enough to our camp, so they subtracted them to keep it fair."

"Ah, I see... so it was something like that, after all."

The lie was sound, and the string of words slipped my mouth as smooth as if it had been a fact. Pulling Kouenji-kun into this dilemma might have not been fair to him, but he never told me how he managed to keep my boyfriend on the island without losing points, so he deserved some harmless payback.

My classmates wouldn't be mad at him either way, since he took care of the spots after Kiyotaka's accident. Suffering a five point penalty was nothing more than a single drop in the ocean in comparison. Chabashira-sensei was also on board with deceiving them after a small payment, so I had all bases covered in case someone investigated.

I couldn't tell anyone that I bought sweets for Kiyotaka...

Silence followed my repeated knocks.

She must have assumed that the person in front of the door would leave if no one responded to the inquiry, but this cheap trick wouldn't work on me, since I knew that she was all alone in her room due to Kikyou's message.

My knuckles hit the wooden frame another three times.

"Yes?"

A weak, yet charming voice enchanted my ears.

The volume of her speech was so much quieter than usual. Her articulation sounded frustrated since I kept knocking despite her indifference and lifeless because of her current depressed mood. She lay in bed, buried in her warm, comforting blanket, which wouldn't do her audibility any favors either.

I was surprised that I could perceive her bewitching murmurs at all.

"May I come in?"

Something, likely the lamp on the bedside table, crashed into the ground. This noise was accompanied by a cute squeal and followed up by hasty steps which carried the occupant away from the door, towards the bathroom. Another commotion followed as multiple synthetic and metallic items smashed onto the floor before the door opened up.

Ichinose's hair was disheveled and stood up in numerous places.

Moist, heavy breaths escaped her stunning lips as she smoothed the protruding strands by caressing over them with her palm. The fruity scent of strawberries embedded itself into my nostrils as a fresh summer breeze surged through the opened bath window towards our position.

Her face was colored in a mild crimson, which betrayed her state of mind.

"W-what are you doing here, Ayanokouji-kun?"

She stood in front of the entrance and leaned her arm against the frame in a rather uncomfortable position for her height. Peering past her enticing figure rewarded me with a glance at her previous clothes, including a pink underwear set, which had been sprawled out over the bathroom floor.

The door should have closed as she was on her way over, but it was obstructed by a pair of trousers, similar to the ones Ichinose wore. The faint odor of flowery detergents tickled my nose as I stared at the lavender-colored top she threw over herself before she dashed to the entrance.

Her appearance was enticing, so inviting that I couldn't help but wonder whether she had given herself enough time to put on a bra. According to the clues I found behind her, I wasn't even sure if she was wearing panties right now.

No, she had certainly put on underwear.

Ichinose wouldn't answer the door like this.

"Um, I came here to check on you, since Kanzaki and the others mentioned that you haven't been feeling well. There's also this key-chain I found in a giftshop on the seventh deck, which reminded me of you. It wasn't expensive or anything, so don't even think about paying me back for it. You deserve a gift from time to time."

I revealed a small panda that was holding onto a thin bamboo pole.

This present was nothing special, but I knew that she loved those little creatures, so I thought of her when I spotted this assortment on my date with Chiaki. The key-chain would fit to the cuddly toy, which peeked through the cracks in Amikura's blanket. She must have hidden it on her classmates bed, embarrassed about the fact that she had brought it with her.

Anything coming from me would have cheered her up.

"Whoa, he's soo cute! Thank you so much."

A bright, almost blinding beam spread over her face.

Heartfelt, genuine happiness reflected in her big, ocean-blue orbs as they sparkled in the sun, like stars on a night sky. This short-lived delight soon subsided as her depressed mood shoved it aside and took over. Once again, she was reminded how affected she was when I was around and how easily 'Chiaki' had used this weakness to manipulate her.

"Ah, Sorry, sorry... please come in and make yourself at home."

I nodded and stepped inside after her.

Despite her invitation, it was weird to tread into a bedroom where four girls slept. The scent inside their cabin was sweet, fruity and pleasant, unlike the one in the boys' quarters. Our lodging was heaven compared to Sudou's, which reeked of sweat and other substances that Ike must have shot into his tissue collection when he was alone.

The interior design was the same throughout the ship, so their room was furnished similar to ours. Even though this was the case, I felt more comfortable in here than in my own cabin. The atmosphere was congenial, which must have been because of my lovely company, who shut the door and turned around, facing away from me.

Ichinose froze as she peered into the bathroom.

She had planned to lead me into the room to sit so that we could talk, but this thought evaporated into a cloud of pure panic as she saw her dirty laundry on the floor. My eyes would move there if she sprinted over now, which she couldn't take responsibility for. All she could do was to distract me for a prolonged amount of time, until she could just close the door to the bathroom in passing, without attracting unwanted attention.

"Ahh, do you want something to drink? We still have MAX coffee or —"

Her smooth, crystalline voice vanished as the jittery steps of her feet came to a sudden halt. The reason for this change in demeanor was my hand, which clutched onto her arm as she tried to walk towards the kitchen area to our right. She spun around with a startled expression, unable to hide her rosy cheeks and reddish ears.

"A-ayanokouji-kun?"

She was going through a rough patch because of my actions and the decisions these activities forced her to make, as both would have led to the same conclusion. I wanted to stay by her side during such a terrible time because the damages I had caused were nothing compared to the appeasing feelings my warmth could offer.

My delicate, fascinating schoolmate felt disgusted by the steps she had taken at the end of the island exam, and her strong reactions were proof that something had happened in her past. These recollections left a deep, uncomfortable wound that hadn't healed just yet.

And I had torn it open.

I pulled her closer with a light tug, not too forceful, almost as if she had decided to take these steps on her own. My palm slid along her smooth lavender-colored top and grasped onto the back of her head as I nudged her into my shoulder with a small, gentle amount of pressure.

The love-struck girl leaned further into my warm, comfortable embrace. Slowly and with great care, as if she was tip-toeing on a razor's edge. Her heartbeat quickened and increased in intensity as the muscle in question drummed against her chest. Both excitement and embarrassment spread through her frame, disguised as a fuzzy feeling.

Ichinose closed her eyes and adjusted her head until she found a more comfortable position before she entrusted me with her body and all the pain, all the sorrow that dragged her down, bound her to the bed. Her hot breath tingled my neck as she rubbed against me like a lonely kitten that sought attention, love and solace.

She wanted more than this, but wasn't selfish enough to take it.

This was all she could allow herself without betraying her ideals. Despite everything 'Chiaki' had done to her, Ichinose decided to stay true to her beliefs and suffered in silence while the girl who endangered me and betrayed them flaunted her happiness.

If I were to kiss her now, she would self-destruct.

This suffering, unhappy and naïve maiden would return my gesture without thinking of the consequences. Unable to hold herself back, she would take what she desired and wouldn't be able to stop herself until our lips brushed against each other at least once.

Other than Fuka or Kikyou, who would have continued despite, or even to spite, my girlfriend, she would have pulled away and faulted herself for this unintentional infringement of trust.

Neither of them knew that I couldn't feel love.

I may be a monster and might not deserve a happy ending.

But I wanted to try, at least.

"I don't know what happened on the last day of the exam, but you are beating yourself up over something you did for me, right? I may not be the person you want to talk with or open up to right now, but please know that I will always be here for you, no matter what. Whether you are laughing or crying, sad or angry, happy or worried, I will always have an open ear if you need it. Kanzaki, Amikura and the others feel the same way. So please, cheer up Ichinose."

My palm caressed through her hair as I closed my eyes.

A thick white mist obscured my senses whenever I tried to feel the emotions I sought to convey. My shallow, battered husk, a few years of age, stood in the cold abyss, all alone.

No one would ever come to save me.

Back then, I had realized this truth. I began to shed all obstructions, all the weaknesses that had tied me down, in order to survive the harsh, unforgiving environment of the White Room.

Sympathies, desires, affections and concerns were poison.

They infiltrated the human body like an infectious virus and weakened it from the inside, similar to a cancer cell that metastasized — spread through every essential organ — and caused tumors to sprout like colors in a mixed flowerbed until your miserable life withered away.

Even though beautiful, they extended the pain, the suffering and the misery until you died.

Individuals that don't operate on cold, hard logic were doomed to fail.

The girl in my arms said nothing as she listened to our synchronized heartbeats. Her hands grasped onto my shirt, squeezing, pulling it closer towards her to feel my warmth, the compassion and the kindness I was ready to share with her when a sudden wet sensation flowed over my shoulder.

Warm tears trickled onto my shirt, one after another.

Both of us lost track of time, as we felt comfortable in this embrace.

I would stay with her as long as she needed me, keep whispering sweet lies into her ears as often as she wished and hold on to her supple yet delicate and frail body until her heart's deepest desires were fulfilled.

Her trembling grip alternated between loose and intense as the minutes flew by. She wanted to let go, more than once or twice, but decided against it before committing to her resolve, afraid that this might be the last time that she could allow herself to be this close to me without feeling remorse or self-hatred for her actions.

Ichinose wouldn't tell me the reason for her current depression, because she was hesitant to show me this ugly side she wanted to keep hidden, buried behind the girl she presented everyone with. Unlike Kikyou, she never wore a mask — she truly believed in utilitarianism, but threw her ethical conduct overboard to protect me.

She stole from forty people to help one.

One person who she classified as more important than her friends.

If she had asked her companions, they might not have said yes. Kouenji had put her under additional pressure as the time of my demise drew near. This uncertainty about their decision and the ticking down timer had forced her to decide in a moment of vulnerability. She put her own desire, her love for me, before the feelings, opinions and happiness of her friends — her family.

I thought this to be quite the charming gesture.

Class B's loveable leader pushed her crimson-colored head deeper into my embrace. Her sweet, inviting lips opened and closed a few times as she breathed against my neck. She managed to forget the pain for a fleeting moment because of the compassion I demonstrated towards her self-inflicted suffering.

"Thank you, Ayanokouji-kun."

"You don't need to thank me."

"Mh, I do. I also need to apologize for showing you my lame side."

"It just confirms my assumption that you are a human."

A sweet, melodic chuckle sneaked its way into my ears.

I was glad that she could relax, even if it was just a little.

Me being here in this room, embracing her like a lover might, was both soothing and heart-wrenching. It was painful and unfair, but also wonderful and coveted. Ichinose cherished me, just like Chiaki, but she would never voice these feelings, not while I was in a relationship with someone else.

This was her charm, and what made her so interesting.

Ichinose always thought about other people first, which was why her actions were predictable. She would have tried to keep me safe from Chiaki even if she hadn't loved me, but she would never have spiraled out of control like this. Her actions would have been calmer and better thought out before she talked to her classmates.

And they would have decided together.

Another deep breath followed.

This time, she loosened her embrace and let go.

The lingering warmth my body had been enveloped in faded as she took a step back. Her soft, comfortable chest had stopped caressing mine as the last remnants were blown away by the breeze that still swept through the bathroom window. I could still feel her arms clenching onto my back, even though she had interlaced them in front of her.

"I appreciate your concern, but I shouldn't have hugged you for such a long time. Matsushita-san would surely be mad at me if she knew this, so we should stop being this close to each other when we are alone."

She had noticed how dangerous our situation had been.

Ichinose had a line she wouldn't cross and this decision would help her keep this in mind. Now that we had shared such an intimate moment, she realized that she couldn't trust herself around me. One wrong step from her, or my side, would have led to something she wouldn't have been be able to recover from.

"She knows that I wouldn't let down a friend in need, so I believe she would have understood. You were there for me when I needed it, so I'm just returning the favor. I know that we are in different classes and thus supposed to be enemies, but I hope that you two can put your differences aside someday. Chiaki may be my girlfriend, but you and the rest of Class B are my important friends as well. I don't want to lose any of this, just because the school wants us to compete."

She lowered her head as a weak whisper escaped her lips.

According to the frightened expression she wore, I hadn't been supposed to hear these words. She gleamed at me and my immediate reaction as if she had just committed a tremendous blunder. My demeanor remained unchanged, which eased her worries and dispelled the tense atmosphere that had appeared.

The question I shouldn't have picked up on, was sincere.

"Why couldn't you have been placed in Class B..?"

I returned to my room after the talk with Ichinose.

It was an easy endeavour to dodge all the students that knew me given the enormous size of the cruiser. The bespectacled staff member that cleaned the area around our cabin regarded me with a courteous nod and emptied one of the wastebaskets that were affixed all over the ship.

Kouenji just stepped out of the shower as I shut the front door.

"If it isn't Ayanokouji-boy."

"Could you put something on maybe?"

A thunderous laugh escaped the naked boy, which made his manhood dangle around due to the movements of his body. He didn't seem to mind this sudden exposure, as he wasn't even walking towards the speedo on his bed.

"That reminds me, your little scheme has worked, which was to be expected. The baboons you wanted to distract visited me a few hours ago, but do not worry, I have dealt with them appropriately. They had been rather impolite in front of a perfect existence such as myself, so I advise you to avoid their presence at all cost."

"That was my intention."

He slipped into his speedo as I walked towards kitchen area.

I didn't mind his company, as long as he was dressed, at least. Previously, I had found him to be rather irritating, but we had gotten somewhat closer after the exam and our wager. We even exchanged numbers, but similar to Fuka, he demanded something quite ridiculous in return.

My arm reached for the cupboard as a gust of wind brushed past me.

Kouenji who had been standing near his bed around six meters away, dashed towards me before his right leg came flying for the back of my head. His speed was beyond the human limit, leaving me no time to dodge. My feet shuffled over the ground as I adopted a defensive stance and deflected the kick towards my right just in time.

A loud thud reverberated through the room as skin collided.

His leg was the superior tool in this current confrontation. Not only did he have enough time to strike out, he also held the advantage in strength against an arm. If I had blocked the attack, my bone would have bent out of shape and snapped like a frail twig in a hurricane.

He's strong.

"I must admit, I underestimated you yet again."

A rare compliment fled his lips.

"No, you were once again putting too much faith in your abilities."

The toothy grin on his face widened as he lowered his leg. He eyed me with expectations, wondering whether I would return the favor and attack him as well, but there was no need to reveal more of my physical abilities at this point in time. One would have been able to tell that we were evenly matched from this short-exchange alone.

"Take care now, Ayanokouji-boy."

Kouenji strode out of the room as elegant as ever.

He was indeed a man of his word, and I was glad that I could rely on him. For this one misdirect, at least. I doubted that he had any problems dealing with Ryuuen and his henchman as neither of them could touch him if he didn't want them to.

I lay down on my bed to rest, as I received a message.

Since I had some time to kill, I grabbed my phone and read through the contents. Upon realizing that Sudou invited me to the pool tomorrow, I almost let out a chuckle. He was a good guy, a great friend even, if one desisted from the bad behavior he exhibited from time to time.

His outbursts had decreased thanks to Sakura, and it was about time to make him and Onodera acquainted. I was friends with both of my classmates, so it wouldn't be weird that their names came up in our conversations and that we might decide to hang out with each other. Both of them were fellow athletes, so they had lots to talk about, even without me.

Everything proceeded according to my arrangements.

It was a shame, however, that Sakura's room was filled with the worst people a girl like her could live with. Aside from the self-explanatory waste of oxygen that was Shinohara, there were also Ichihashi and Maezono, both of which were rather unpleasant girls. They would have been decent roommates for Karuizawa, or even Satou, but Sakura couldn't deal with their meanspirited attitudes.

Shinohara kept slipping further down the class hierarchy, since she had done something a few crocodile tears and lame excuses couldn't fix. I doubted that she'd do something to Sakura in her current condition, but she wouldn't help her either as she was occupied with resolving her own mess.

Her actions made her usable, and not only for me.

Ichihashi was fine but somewhat of a 'Villager A' figure in our class. She didn't stand out and wasn't good at anything in particular. She just existed. Maezono was quick to pick a fight if someone bothered her. She also knew when to stay low, as seen during the island exam where she hadn't argued with Chiaki or Karuizawa due to their high standing in the class.

Sakura won't find happiness in her room, but she wouldn't be bullied either. I had already damaged this sweet and affectionate girl more than necessary in order to teach Kikyou a lesson. If I had swooped in instead of Sudou, she might have eventually developed feelings for me, so I was comfortable letting that man do what he wanted without interfering.

Even though she was good looking and easy to manipulate, she was useless to me, so I never considered getting closer to her. My favorite delinquent needed a voice of reason and she was good enough for the job, if she managed to convey her feelings someday, that is. Our gravure idol was easier to influence than Onodera, but both of them were manipulable.

Sudou was a colloquial handbag dog, after all.

I doubted that he would hit a girl if she wasn't fighting him with malicious intent. His threat to Suzune on the first day should have been a bluff as well. He was angry and easy to irritate, but he would never lash out against a defenseless woman. Similar to a small annoying dog, he was all bark and no bite.

My phone rang as I was about to take a quick nap.

A sigh escaped my lips.

This sound was proof that my assumption about another, incoming exam had been correct. The loud ringtone would only play if the sender was the school itself, which meant that it was important and affected everyone on the cruiser. If it had been a normal message my phone would only have vibrated conforming to my notification settings.

Maybe we crashed into an iceberg?

"Attention. This is an announcement to all students. All of you should have received a message from the school. Please check your individual mobile devices and follow the instructions..."

Another notification popped up as I listened to the broadcast.

[Kikyou] Why are you always right? 。・゚゚*(д)*゚゚・。

I marked it as read and focused on the important information.

[ANHS] A special test will begin soon. Please gather at the designated room at the provided time. Anyone who arrives later than ten minutes after the specified time may be penalized. Please gather in room 204 on the second deck by 17:00 today. Because it takes about twenty minutes to reach the area, we ask that you use the restrooms now if necessary. Either silence your phone or turn it off and make your way over.

The room was too small to fit a whole class, so the school must have split us up in different groups. The only variables in this equation were the rooms and the time, which could differ depending on the person receiving the text.

[04:37:47 PM] Forward me the message you received.

[04:37:59 PM[Kikyou] A special test will begin soon. Please gather at the designated room at the provided time. Anyone who arrives later than ten minutes after the specified time may be penalized. Please gather in room 202 on the second deck by 20:40 today.

[04:38:21 PM] We are being split up, so I need you to memorize everything they tell you once inside in case we get different explanations. Also, get me a list of rooms and their times according to the messages our classmates received. Don't forget to designate one person in each group to memorize or write up the names of everyone taking part, if such an action is allowed. Coordinate with Chiaki and tell her you'll take care of the organization.

[04:38:29 PM[Kikyou] Consider it done.

The school would have multiple viable reasons to separate us, but it was impossible to narrow it down at the moment. We might receive different explanations in case we had distinctive roles assigned to us according to our rooms and the time, for example. Gathering more information beforehand could prove beneficial to the problem's solution.

[04:38:30 PM[Chiaki] Kiyotaka, can you give me the time and location you received from the school?

[04:38:36 PM] Sure. 17:00 in Room 204.

[04:38:44 PM[Chiaki] Thank you (‿)

My girlfriend had her own thoughts about how to tackle the exam, so it was to be expected that she would ask around as well. With Kikyou helping her she would have an easier time to figure out our game plan, depending on the exam.

I stood up from the bed and was about to head to the indicated location as I received another message. Aside from Chiaki and I, she was the third party interested in taking an active part in this exam, due to her promise with her brother.

[04:38:59 PM[Suzune] What was in the message you received? Mine says Room 204 at 20:20.

[04:39:20 PM] Mine is 204 at 17:00.

[04:39:45 PM[Suzune] Your meeting is soon. I'll leave you to it then. Tell me what you found out later. Good luck, Kiyotaka.

[04:39:50 PM] Thanks.

The intervals seemed to be blocks of twenty minutes each, according to the data available to me. Since my queen had a different room than us, there was no specified cabin per class, which meant that the rooms themselves weren't important. If Kikyou's meeting was the last, then we would form twelve groups for this exam, which would put our member count per room at three or four, depending on the allocation.

I strolled towards the second deck, just as instructed.

My steps halted in front of the door, around ten minutes prior to the designated time. No one aside from me was here, which was to be expected as I hadn't been too far away and didn't need to change my clothes. The adjacent rooms could be the gathering place for other classes, which was why I leaned against the railing and tapped around on my phone.

Two Class A students walked up the flight of stairs a few minutes later and stopped at the room labeled '202'. The purple-haired girl glanced around and caught sight of me, whereupon her tanzanite-colored eyes quivered for a moment. Her classmate, a boy with long, black hair stared at me upon noticing her reaction.

Scary...

The pair mirrored my actions as they waited outside the room and leaned against the railing. I focused on my phone and kept typing on my notepad to make it seem like I was busy chatting with someone while the new arrivals began to chat about what they did today and similar trivial topics.

Kamuro Masumi and Kito Hayato.

Together with the boy called Hashimoto Masayoshi they were part of the Sakayanagi faction and close companions of their leader, similar to Ibuki, Albert and Ishizaki for Ryuuen. Kikyou also mentioned that the girl was Sakayanagi's right-hand woman and stayed with her throughout most of their time at school.

"Oh, what a pleasant coincidence, Ayanokouji-dono!" Sotomura walked up to me with a brilliant smile. He glanced around the area, nodded at the two Class A students and stopped beside me. "This development is most agreeable."

"Professor, what have you been up to these days?"

"Ahh! I'm glad you asked, Ayanokouji-dono! I've been grinding with my recently promoted SSR character in this new game that released a few days ago. It's the long-awaited mobile variant of the popular..."

He leaned over and showed me the game on his phone.

The minutes flew by as the Professor informed me how he managed to spend his time in the game as efficient as possible, without losing out on his progress in other games when his finite energy reserves ran out, whatever that meant. I kept nodding and engaged in the conversation since I was interested in what he had to say.

There was so much to learn about this world, and Sotomura had extensive knowledge in topics like history, information technologies and everything that included gaming, anime and manga. The latter part offered a whole new realm of knowledge as I had never read or seen anything like it during my time in the White Room.

Some people might have been put off by him and his quirky manner of speech, but I was intrigued on how he could spend so much time with games and similar sources of entertainment that were essentially useless.

Few of his hobbies would make him a valuable person.

Yet, despite this, he was pleased.

Should I try to play some video games as well?

It's not like I was lacking points...

"Excuse me for a moment, Ayanokouji-dono."

He pulled the pulsating phone out of his pocket and glanced at the display. At first I thought that it might have been an important event in one of his games, or an alert he had set up as a reminder for something, but this sentiment vanished as he took the call and brought the phone closer to his ear.

"Oh, Kushida-sama! I'm in front of room 204 with..."

Kamuro and Kito kept listening to our conversation as they mimed their own. He finished his exchange with Kikyou before we continued our previous chat about this game of his. Another one of my classmates walked up to us during this time. She greeted me with a quick wave of her hand before she entered the room we had been assigned.

Her name was Azuma Sana.

I knew little about her, but she was one of Kikyou's followers. She was decent in both academics and sports, but aside from this she had no qualities that would interest me or anyone else in this school. Similar to our other classmates, she had a defect, but due to her lacking skills she was neither worth fostering nor exploiting.

"Yo, Ayanokouji-kun."

"Heya, Ayanokouji-kun."

Beppu and Himeno walked up the stairs a few moments after Sotomura finished his explanation. The pair stopped in front of the room next to us, which confirmed that every class from A to D had one group meeting at the specified times. No one from Class C had shown up yet, but three out of four is enough to draw a sound conclusion.

"You guys are here as well, huh?"

"Yeah, but I don't want to..." Beppu held onto the metallic railing and stretched his arms out towards the blazing sun as if grasping for something. "... just when we attained freedom once again. Reality, what a cruel mistress."

Himeno heaved a sigh and slapped his head.

"Stop messing around. There's only a minute left."

"Hai ~ Hai. See you later Ayanokouji-kun!"

I waved them goodbye as the two walked into their room.

The three awaited Class C students arrived as well and vanished into the room labeled '205', just as I decided that this was enough reconnaissance for the moment. Judging by the traffic around the area, most of our groups should be complete by now. At least one person from Class B was missing, which should be Ichinose or Kanzaki.

Both would have a lot to settle and organize as soon as an exam was announced, so it wouldn't be weird if they were cutting it close, or arrived after the official meeting time. Since the school had given us ten extra minutes, they had some leeway to discuss their strategy and create a temporary plan.

"Let's get in as well?"

I turned my phone off as per our instructions and glanced towards the Professor who kept exiting his games and clicked away a multitude of notifications that wanted to convince him to stay online, before he turned towards me.

"Yes. I shall follow you bravely, Ayanokouji-dono."

Still couldn't believe that he said this out loud...

Even though he was quite the nice guy to be around, the girls felt creeped out by him and his behavior. Everyone had their own circumstances and beliefs, so I appreciated that he could stick to his hobby so openly. Some of our classmates didn't accept him, but he never cared about their mean words and enjoyed his life the way he preferred to.

I knocked on the door, just like Azuma before us.

"Enter."

A reply came immediately.

It was a man's voice, a familiar one.

If I wasn't mistaken, it was Mashima-sensei's.

The Professor and I strode into the cabin and glanced around. The person in charge of the room was Class A's homeroom teacher, just as expected. He wore a tailored suit which fit him like a glove. I had to admit that he looked professional in both his business-oriented attire and the training jersey he had donned on the island.

Whatever this special exam was, our teachers either knew the solution or would have an easier time in figuring it out, which is why they had been tasked to inform the other classes about the test. A cunning teacher like Hoshinomiya or Sakagami wouldn't be able to drop any subtle hints this way, assuring a fair competition.

A shame that I couldn't see Sae today...

Pens and papers had been placed on a small, round table.

I couldn't help but notice that we had four chairs as the two of us sat down. Azuma widened the distance between her and the Professor while I observed the room for anything out of the ordinary, like cameras or microphones.

"We are still waiting on one more. Please sit quietly."

My mind began to work as we waited for our classmate.

Even though I had few hints to go on, I could theorize which would at least speed up my perception of time. Due to the materials that had been prepared beforehand we might be tasked to complete some kind of group practice. Our member count would fit, but the process itself was silly, and I doubted that this elite school would stoop so low.

The task I had read about was to build the highest structure with the materials provided, which were pens and papers in this case. Maybe there was some kind of twist to it, like it had to be so and so high or had to carry a load of x kilograms. Thinking about it this way, I doubted that a group that consisted of Ike, Okitani and Wataru could accomplish such an assignment.

Two knocks resounded through the room, while my mind was architecting the Leaning Tower of Speranza. The time was 17:04, meaning that the person in question was late, but not too late to be penalized. Mashima-sensei told the individual to enter before Karuizawa strode in with her head held high.

She wasn't the worst partner, but also not the best.

At least I was on good terms with her, and she would listen to Chiaki's plans. I didn't even want to imagine how disgusted her face would be if we hadn't become friends throughout our time here. Getting her was a couple hundred times better than having to deal with Ike, Maezono or Shinohara, so I wouldn't complain.

"Pardon the intrusion! Oh, hey! What's going on Ayanokouji-kun? Do you know why we are here? Wait..." She took two steps back towards the door. "What is he doing here?"

Her voice changed from a respectful tone in front of the teacher, to delight when she caught sight of me, before it turned into a deep repulsed frown when she glanced over to the Professor. She hadn't even mentioned Azuma, but I wasn't sure which reaction was worse.

I felt bad for the two of them, truly.

When I first entered this school, I believed that the girls would treat me like that. But Hirata had saved me from this dark prospect. He was a great guy, and I owed him my gratitude for inviting to join them that day.

"I believe you were told that punctuality was key, and yet you're late. Hurry and take your seat."

Mashima-sensei didn't seem angry, just disappointed.

According to his reaction, he wasn't worried that he might not have enough time for the following explanation, which assured me that the school had expected some students to arrive late, despite the ample time we had to prepare.

"Okay."

Karuizawa wasn't particularly affected by his words and glanced at the free chair next to the Professor. She grimaced in revulsion, peeked at Azuma and moved the chair over to my side since she knew me the best of everyone here. Yet I still had to wonder what she would have done if we hadn't been friends.

Would she have just walked out again?

She didn't sit as close as Chiaki would, but also not too far away from me. The distance between us mirrored our current relationship as friends who respected each other and had fun together from time to time. We might never have gone out with just the two of us, but she was one of the girls I had spent the most time with after Chiaki, Kikyou and Suzune.

"Sotomura, Karuizawa, Ayanokouji and Azuma from Class D." Mashima looked at each of us as he said our names. "I will now explain the special test to you without further ado."

Please don't let me build a tower with them. Please don't let me build a tower with them.

These chants reverberated through my mind, scarred by the simulations I ran ever since she had entered the room. I would have been able to build a tower with one of them, but all three would be a nightmare. Even though it was impossible, I could already hear Karuizawa's appalling insults towards Sotomura when he stood to touch the paper she wanted to use.

"Woah, wait a minute. What do you mean explain a special test? Wasn't it already over? The one on the island where your class finished with zero points, you know? And what's with that guy anyway? I don't like him."

She's harsh, as always...

Karuizawa seemed like the person who only skimmed a message for underlined or bold words since she was too lazy to read the whole thing as 'A special test' had been the first three words in the text we had received.

How could anyone have missed this?

"I will not answer questions. Be quiet and listen."

He glanced at her with a rather cold expression, as if he understood that she wouldn't shut up without a stern warning. Sae and Mashima-sensei were rather similar in their overall appearance as neither would have problems to earn respect in front of the students. If Hoshinomiya had been explaining the exam for us, we would sit here until midnight.

Or worse...

"Jeez, all right. I'll shut up."

My classmate crossed her arms and legs, as if she had been offended by his words. She seemed annoyed and kept twirling her foot in circles as if she was bored and sick of this whole meeting barely a minute and three seconds in.

"In this special test, all the first-year students will be divided into twelve groups based on zodiac signs. Everyone will take part within their respective group. This examination tests your thinking."

We're doomed.

"What do you mean by 'test our thinking'?" Karuizawa held her head, turned off by this whole situation. "That makes no sense, like at all. Right, Ayanokouji-kun? Tell him that this is nonsense."

Why would you pull me into this mess?

I nodded, hoping that this would appease her without angering Mashima-sensei, who was about to pop a vein. This was an understandable reaction, and nobody in their right mind could fault him for wanting to just kick her out again.

"I've already told you that I won't be answering questions."

The gyaru realized that messing around any further would lead to a penalty after his stern second warning. She leaned further back into the chair and stopped sitting straight, still discontent with the whole situation. Instead of an adolescent girl, she looked like a small child that got her lollipop stolen.

"Society needs three fundamental qualities in order to progress: action, thinking and teamwork. Those with the necessary qualities will become wonderful adults. The previous exam on the uninhabited island focused heavily on testing your teamwork. However, we shall now test your thinking in four ways: your ability to process information thoroughly, which is an essential component of this test. Your ability to analyze information and clarify the task at hand. The ability to solve the problem after you've clarified the process and identified the task. The ability to utilize your imagination, and the ability to create new values. Those are the qualities you need."

That's such a long-winded explanation for thinking.

Couldn't he just have said, 'Think, Mark. Think!' and everyone would have understood?

I didn't know where this originated but it was funny, according to Fuka.

"As I've said, in this test, we have divided you all into twelve groups. Are there questions?"

Why would he ask this?!

"I don't get what any of this means." Karuizawa sat straight and stared at Class A's homeroom teacher as if he had run over a group of children. "Can you explain it in a way that's, like, easier to understand? Like I get that we are divided into twelve groups, but why am I together with that guy?" She pointed at Sotomura with a dissatisfied expression." What about Hirata-kun? Or the other girls? At least kick that guy out and get someone else. Come on. Please?"

If my theory was correct, then the four of us were part of a bigger group, just like the students from the other classes that were listening to another teacher's explanation now. If this weren't the case, they could have just grouped us up in the theater and explained it to everyone at once, like they did on the beach.

This meant that the groups of three to four people would expand into a bigger one of twelve to sixteen. If we take the class sizes and missing students into consideration the average would be pushed down to around thirteen. This, times the number of zodiac signs would leave us with 156, meaning that every group should have thirteen people, except for one with twelve. This way, all 155 students present on the ship would be part of one of the twelve zodiac animals.

So far, so good.

"You four gathered here will be in the same group. At this very moment, students in the other rooms adjacent to this one are receiving the same explanation as you from the other homeroom teachers."

"If that's true, wouldn't it be easier if you just gathered all of our classmates together in one place and explained it? Also, what's the reason for putting me with that guy? Why? He's gross! Ayanokouji-kun and Azuma are fine, but he? I hate him."

Karuizawa couldn't stop raining complaints down on Mashima-sensei solely because of Sotomura's existence in our group. Her reactions were quite funny to me, as she would have never complained if he had been a good-looking guy like Hirata. She would have just sat here with a smile and listened to the teacher's explanation without worries.

The Professor kept quiet.

He wasn't the type of guy to start a fight, even if he had done nothing wrong. I was friends with both of them and wanted to get this explanation over with. My classmate might not agree with my reasons for keeping quiet now, but she would at least understand my thoughts and calm down.

"Karuizawa, we are still in school and one of their examinations just started. Even if it doesn't look like it right now, the teacher might note down anything that happens, similar to back when the school started. We should be careful as to not leave a negative mark on our records, don't you agree?"

She didn't meet my eyes, but turned to the side.

"F-fine. Sorry about that, Mashima-sensei."

A rather adorable pout formed on her face.

I had known that she had a cute side to her, since she sometimes revealed it when we were out playing with Chiaki and Hirata, but it was strange to see it without them around. She had her quirks and wasn't a very nice person to most of the other guys, but if you were lucky enough to be in her good graces, she was a great friend.

"Listen. Your group assignments are a done deal. If you want a good evaluation, you must get along."

"Tch."

Would she and Ibuki get along as well?

"Well then, please let me continue the explanation."

"Wait! I still don't understand why only the four of us are together and not the whole group."

Her words were at least impartial, now that she had stopped to trample over Sotomura's feelings. Even though it didn't sound like it, she took my advice to heart, which made me somewhat happy.

"It would appear that you cannot help but be concerned by this small gathering. Therefore, I will try to provide an answer. The groups don't consist of members from just one class; they comprise about three to four individuals collected from each class. If we didn't explain things in advance, we would risk confusion."

I'd say Karuizawa is still confused, despite him trying his best to avoid it.

"W-wait a minute! What do you mean? I still don't get it at all? Why are we going to be grouped up with the other classes? Isn't this crazy? They are supposed to be our enemies, right?"

How on God's green earth did they get 787 points?!

"We grouped up with Class B in the last exam, didn't we?"

I tried to reason with Karuizawa in order to help the teacher, whose sanity seemed to perish every time she opened her mouth and revealed another question. Despite my best efforts to mediate between them, she shut me down immediately.

"That's beside the point, Ayanokouji-kun."

"Right now, you shouldn't spend your energy on trying to understand this test. Rather, focus on how to think. Your group assignment is 'Rabbit'. Here is a list of members. You will be required to return this list when you leave the room. If you feel it's necessary, I would recommend trying to memorize it now."

He passed a sheet of paper to us.

On the note were thirteen names, three from Class A, B and C, and the four of us. Just as Mashima-sensei said, we were the Rabbit group. The name was written in both Chinese and Japanese, which was placed in parentheses on top of the paper.

Class A: Kito Hayato, Machida Koji, Kamuro Masumi

Class B: Ichinose Honami, Beppu Ryouta, Himeno Yuki

Class C: Manabe Shiho, Yajima Mariko, Nishino Takeko

Class D: Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, Sotomura Hideo, Azuma Sana, Karuizawa Kei

So it really was Ichinose, huh?

"Don't worry, I will answer every question you have. I believe you will understand everything afterwards. Probably..." His words ceased for a moment as he glanced at Karuizawa, having lost all hope in her ability to process this information. "The point of this test is to ignore the prior fraught relationships between Class A to D. If you do, you'll have a shortcut."

"What does that mean now?"

Karuizawa was undoubtedly annoyed.

I didn't think she was stupid, but she wasn't paying attention at all. She wasn't this distracted during lessons or when we hung out with each other, so she must have still been trapped in a shock-induced paralysis because of Sotomura's mere presence, which disgruntled her to a terrifying degree.

"From this point on, you are no longer acting as four members of Class D, but as a part of the Rabbit group. Whether you pass or fail this special test depends on each group."

It wasn't a bad thing to stay grouped up with those people for a few days, as I might learn a thing or two about Kamuro and Kito. The Class C students were no-names, aside from Nishino, who seemed to be a close friend of Ishizaki, according to my most-trusted source. She might be worth taking a peek at as well, depending on how their relationship turned out.

"There are four available outcomes that can be achieved in this special test. No exception. We have also prepared handouts with the grade items so that you may better understand them. However, you are prohibited from taking these handouts, snapping photos of them, or anything of the sort. You should verify the contents here and now."

There they go, my materials for the tower...

The sheets themselves smelled of fresh ink, meaning that they had just been printed and that we were the first students that got to know about this special exam. I skimmed through the basic rules, which were spread out over a few pages and familiarized myself with potentially available loopholes and achievable outcomes.

The assignment centers on a VIP, which will be assigned to each group.

The exam starts at 08:00 AM on the first day.

This is where each student will receive a message from the school, informing them whether they had been assigned the VIP position in their corresponding group.

The exam ends at 09:00 PM on the fourth day.

Each group has to gather twice a day for one hour each at a predetermined time and place to discuss matters with their groups. The contents of the discussion is in our discretion, so we don't have to talk with our members if we don't want to.

At the end of the exam, the VIP students of other groups must be identified.

This will be done in between 9:30 PM and 10:00 PM on the final day.

Each group may answer only once. If more answers are given, only the first one is valid. The answer must be sent to the faculty members through a certain address that will be provided to our mobile phones.

If the answer is sent from someone outside the group, it will be marked as invalid.

The VIP student can't send an answer.

Details of the results of the exam will be mailed to students by 11:00 PM on the final day.

One of the four outcomes will be triggered by providing answers to the school.

...

Outcome 1: Share the identity of the VIP and clear the exam together as one.

If the answers of the VIP student and the other group members are all correct, they will all receive private points (500,000 private points for members and 1,000,000 for the VIP).

Outcome 2: Answer incorrectly and the group loses, but the VIP still receives points.

If there are incorrect answers or unanswered questions by people other than the VIP student, only the VIP student will receive 500,000 private points.

Outcome 3: A traitor uncovers the identity of the VIP.

If anyone besides the VIP answers the question correctly before the allocated time has passed, their class will be awarded 50 class points. Additionally, the individual who provided the correct answer will receive 500,000 private points.

Classes whose VIP have been identified will receive a penalty of -50 class points for their whole class. Once this has been achieved, the test will be over for the group.

However, if a member that belongs to the class of the VIP answers correctly, the previous result will be made invalid and the examination for that group will continue.

Outcome 4: The traitor disregards the judgment of the VIP.

If an individual other than the VIP provides an incorrect answer before the designated time has elapsed, their class will be subjected to a penalty of -50 class points each, but the VIP will still be granted 500,000 private points. Moreover, the class to which the VIP belongs will be awarded with 50 class points.

If the answer is given incorrectly, the group's exam will end.

However, if a member belonging to the class of the VIP is the one who answered incorrectly, the answer will be invalid and will not be accepted.

Deafening gasps rang through the cabin, due to the insane amount of private points we students could receive if we worked together during this examination. It was difficult, almost impossible to achieve outcome number one in either of the groups, however. This was brought by the existence of a single individual who couldn't be trusted to keep his word.

Ryuuen Kakeru.

Since he had full control over everyone in his class, he would know all his VIP's for certain. Even if his classmates denied telling him their status or attempted to lie, he could just check everyone's message for himself. The ones who didn't comply would be beaten into submission until they revealed the passwords to their phones.

If he gave the command, his subjects would listen.

Each class could walk out of this exam with a huge gain in private points, if all students adopted Ichinose's sentiment. The amount we could receive was enough to save a student from expulsion, provided they had lost no students as of now, or had enough VIPs to offset this loss in manpower.

'Equality' would dictate three VIPs per class.

"The school will take anonymity into account during this test. At the end, only the outcomes for each group and the increase or decrease in points for each class will be announced. We will not disclose the name of the VIP students or those who submitted an answer. There is also the possibility to have a temporary ID assigned to you, to which you can transfer the points afterwards. It is also possible to divide up the earnings and receive them that way. If you yourself remain quiet, there should be no fear of discovery after the test. You may also receive your points openly if it's unnecessary for you to hide your identity. Each decision is perfectly fine with the school."

So many possibilities...

Sae might have her promotion to Class A sooner than she had expected. My favorite instructor might get into trouble once we were back at school because of this sudden rise to the top, but neither of us needed to worry, as she had nothing to hide.

"There should also be a list of prohibited actions on the sheet. Make sure to survey them."

The list he mentioned consisted of obvious things like stealing another person's cell phone and submitting an answer with them, as well as using threats or violence to get information related to the VIP's identity. The highest level punishment was expulsion, but very few people would be stupid enough to risk getting caught. It was almost impossible to hide such actions as they would open a thorough investigation into the matter.

Another rule limited the discussion among students from other classes, which were forbidden during the examination period. If you broke that rule, you'd be expelled. This policy required us to be heavily monitored, which was rather difficult on this giant ship. The strict methods the school applied reminded me of my previous home.

Out of the frying pan and into the fire, huh?

"Tomorrow you will go to your designated room at 1:00 PM and once again at 8:00 PM. Your group's name will be displayed on a nameplate outside. Be sure to introduce yourselves properly when you meet the other members for the first time." He glanced at Karuizawa, who didn't notice his gaze. "Leaving the room during the examination is prohibited after you've entered. Please use the restroom ahead of time. In the event of an illness or that you can't endure it any longer, please contact your homeroom teacher immediately and make a request."

Karuizawa slid her chair over to me and bumped my shoulder with hers. She pointed at the different sheets with rules, regulations, outcomes and forbidden actions on the table in front of us with the most overtaxed expression I had seen from her to date.

"Hey, Ayanokouji-kun. Do you understand any of this?"

"Not really. I guess I'll just do what Chiaki tells me to."

"Hmm..." She supported her head with her palm. "That's not something a man should say, you know? That's also one of the ten commandments of dating, so keep this in mind for the future. But yeah this time, I get it. Like it's so much easier for the ones who understand all of this stuff. It should be fine if we let them take care of it, after all."

She nodded multiple times, pleased with her analysis.

"Hey um... Mashima-sensei, right? How long do we have to stay in the room if we can't leave, anyway? I don't want to spend a minute more than necessary with...out Hirata-kun. He's my boyfriend, you know?"

Her quick reaction speed was impressive.

I was touched that she had taken my advice to heart and began to warp her words into something that sounded considerate, even though it wasn't. As far as I could see, the school had placed no cameras or microphones in the room, but Mashima-sensei might still take notes about our behavior, which could impact our monthly evaluation.

"The explanation is written on the sheet. The discussion period is an hour."

"That is far too much to read..."

She grumbled into her palm before she propped herself up. I assumed that no one but me had heard these words, since Sotomura and Azuma were distracted with the rule set and the instructor hadn't sighed in defeat. My classmate must have seen the giant wall of text on the pages and just shut down to protect herself from too much information.

It was already decided that Chiaki and Hirata would take care of this test from her point of view, so she didn't even feign interest in this assignment. She would just follow the directive of Class D's leadership, similar to our previous exam. Everything had worked out well the last time, so she wasn't worried.

Mashima-sensei concluded the meeting and told us to vacate the room before the next group arrived. Both the Professor and Azuma went their own ways, while I glanced at Karuizawa. She pulled out her phone and messaged someone not even a second after we left the room.

Taking this as my cue, I turned to walk away.

"I'm going to the bar. Do you want to join Ayanokouji-kun?"

I had to admit that I was surprised by this sudden invitation. It wasn't like we never hung out, but it had never been just the two of us. We had exchanged messages in private before, of course, but that was about it. Since she had texted someone, we might meet up with Chiaki, Hirata, Satou or someone else from our usual group.

"Um, yeah sure. Let's go."

Three Class C students knocked on the room we just exited as I walked towards her. I pulled out my phone and texted Kikyou that I was done and that she should send me a report as soon as she had any news. Her answer came in mere seconds, as she had already created a table showing the times and room number, as well as the people in the group.

[05:17:48 PM[Kikyou] Kouenji didn't reply yet, and I have a feeling that he's ignoring me. I guess he's in room 203 at 17:40 with Minami and Anai since the other groups are three to four people each.

[05:18:12 PM] That's fine. These are only the preliminary groupings. Every small batch of students joins up with another group from the other classes, forming a bigger one. This formed group gets a named based on the Chinese zodiac signs, in my case 'Rabbit'. The students in my group are Kito Hayato, Machida Koji and Kamuro Masumi from Class A. Ichinose Honami, Beppu Ryouta and Himeno Yuki from Class B. And Manabe Shiho, Yajima Mariko and Nishino Takeko from Class C. Complete the table for me once you have all the info and let me know.

[05:18:55 PM[Kikyou] Okay. What are you going to do until then?

[05:19:03 PM] Karuizawa invited me to lunch.

[05:19:09 PM[Kikyou] Huh?!

Yes, it was indeed quite surprising.

The two of us walked beside each other and talked about some useless trivia. She told me that Mii-chan and Mori had joined up with them after I left and that they had wondered about my relationship with Chiaki. It didn't seem like she was digging for information, but notifying me that some of our female classmates might come to bother me with questions.

Maybe this exam wasn't too bad for me.

At first I had planned to take care of her at school because I would have had more time and space to navigate, but since she was in my group, I could scout her during this exam and might be able to accomplish my goals before we returned.

Let's play, Karuizawa Kei.

Authors Note:

Zodiac exam time!

I added a bunch of original characters to all the canon students I could find to fill the classes. I'll be using them in the future if the need ever arises, but I doubt that this will be the case often.

Sorting Japanese names in alphabetical order seems to be impossible programmatically, so I changed the solution to a different one that's on the same 'difficulty level' as the original. This way I can at least explain everything and do it myself, but you'll see when we get there, I guess.

In short, I westernized the exam, at least somewhat.

Some students in the table were colored in a light blue and very-light orange. Those are the names of the boys and girls I found in the canon novels respectively. Maezono, Onizuka and Rino didn't get any first names as far as I could tell, so I assigned them temporary ones for now. The ones with transparent background are the original characters.

- Word Count: 15615 / 71502 Characters

Released 24.09.2022

Chapter 29 - Fool's Mate

Just as surmised, we weren't alone.

Chiaki, Hirata and Satou already waited for us when we arrived at the bar area. The location was stuffed with the other first-year students, similar to the Palate back at school, which was why I stayed clear of this area most of the time. It wasn't as bad since only our grade level was on this ship, but I appreciated the peace that came with being alone much more.

Depending on the company I could make do, of course, but I wouldn't have chosen this place for our meeting if it had been up to me. Fortunately, there was no sight of Ryuuen and his henchmen because he would have certainly walked up to us in order to annoy our class leaders with his usual shenanigans.

"Kiyotaka! How's your leg? Do you need help?"

A bright smile surfaced on my girlfriend's face as she spotted Karuizawa and me walking towards them. She turned and stood up, ready to support me in case I was still struggling, since I had mentioned that my leg was acting up before.

"No, it's fine, thank you. It got better after I massaged it a bit."

It was still difficult to believe that people cared about my well-being and were worried about my health because of such a minimal, almost laughable 'injury'. I had made a habit of limping after my accident, but I wasn't used to their concern since no one had ever cared about my feelings or the pain I might have had to endure.

She beamed and tapped on the empty seat to her left.

Chiaki grabbed my fingers after I sat down beside her and caressed the back of my hand with her gentle, affectionate touch. Karuizawa didn't want to lose out in the boyfriend department and clutched onto Hirata's whole arm.

I was fascinated by her ability to feign such a close relationship and impressed by his talent to ignore the comfortable, soft feeling that must have been embracing his whole limb now that she had pulled it into her cleavage.

Both girls were similar in cup size to Suzune, which left little to complain about. Despite my large sample size of breasts, I didn't have any preferences, as everything between small and large felt comfortable and brought their own pros and cons to the table. Other departments, just as the thighs were easier to arrange. Here, I favored —

Damn you, Ike!

This might sound presumptuous after such an insolent, superficial analysis of women's secondary sex characteristics and similar enticing body features, but I believed that the inner qualities of a person were equally important to their physical aspects. Neither boys nor girls could deny that they attached great importance to an appealing appearance when they selected their potential partner.

Some were one-dimensional, only interested in good looks and the popularity of their companion. They didn't care whether their boyfriend or girlfriend was kind or made them happy, as they valued the envy of others and their newly attained social status more than anything else.

Most people who didn't know her would have sorted Karuizawa into this category.

I counted myself to the other group.

One could say a lot of things about the brother complex Suzune was dealing with, her difficult character or many other negative things, but very few people could deny that she had a pleasing physical appearance. If a batch of random test subjects was ordered to rate her and the rest of our classmates, she would be higher valued than someone like Shinohara.

Yet, I would have rejected her if she had asked me out.

The banter and our silly talks were nice, and I enjoyed the time I spent with her, but she hadn't been the person I was looking for back then. Fuka had the same problem besides my uncertainty about her motives, which was why I never took her advances seriously and downplayed her sexual actions towards me.

Chiaki was different.

I tried my hardest not to lie to her if I didn't need to protect my secrets, did my best to be a good, loving boyfriend, despite the questionable thoughts that swirled through my mind, because she deserved loyalty and happiness. The other girls I became more familiar with were beautiful, without question, but she was the one I had chosen to be with.

This hadn't been a decision I made on a whim.

Unfortunately, it turned out to be the wrong one.

After realizing this truth, she became expendable — useable — even, and I couldn't break it off with her for this very reason. My girlfriend was too valuable of an asset to throw away at the moment, and Kikyou was one of the few girls who wouldn't mind that I was in a relationship while I was with her. She didn't care that I cheated on Chiaki, because she knew that the two of us could never publicize our relationship.

But I was running out of time.

To use my girlfriend to her fullest potential, I needed to break her in the most disgusting way imaginable. This charming, kind girl, who had gifted me her love, and even her most important 'first times', didn't deserve any of the things that were coming her way. But I wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice people — including her — to achieve my goals.

Chiaki leaned into my shoulder with a loving smile, ignorant about the painful path I had established for her. I embraced my girlfriend and kissed her forehead, aware that this small gesture of affection would make her happy. A sweet, captivating giggle danced along my earlobe as she shifted towards my lips.

If I had a heart, it would have shattered at this very moment.

I snuggled into Kiyotaka's shoulder.

This was something I had disliked doing in front of people for the longest time, but it was one of the best feelings on a day that could only become more troublesome due to the exam we would have to take part in. Karuizawa-san and Hirata-kun were all lovey-dovey as well, so it should be fine for us to follow their example and enjoy ourselves a bit.

In a modest fashion, of course.

My eyes wandered towards the lone single in this constellation — Satou-san.

She might not have been uncomfortable surrounded by two happy couples, but I still felt sorry for her as she couldn't spend her time with the person she cherished. Unlike us, Satou-san hadn't found a guy she was interested in yet, but she still had ample time to experience a wholesome highschool romance, just like Karuizawa-san and I.

Maybe we could go on a group date someday?

The first confirmed couple in Class D took things much slower than we did, but I wasn't worried about them, as everyone had their own pace and feelings to consider. I was quite surprised when they started dating, since they differed quite a lot, but I wouldn't say anything as long as they were happy. Hirata-kun was kind and courteous to everyone in school, while Karuizawa-san could be mean and condescending, depending on her mood and the person she was talking to.

But I hadn't known how strange love could be.

Kiyotaka and I were also different in certain aspects, but they never bothered me. He grew out of the little turtle shell he had holed up in and maintained a close relationship with his friends from Class B. My boyfriend had made a lot more progress with his 'social ability defect' than I did with my distant behavior towards people, but he still had to work hard to overcome his never-changing poker face.

The only one I was really close to was him, as I still kept everyone else at arm's length.

My boyfriend embraced me, kissing my forehead.

This was one of those small signs of devotion he showed me once in a while whenever we were hanging out together. He still had trouble smiling, and I had never heard him laugh, but he always reassured me of his feelings in his own way. We were happy and appreciated our time together wherever we went, which made me one of the luckiest girls in this school.

A giggle flew off my lips before I leaned in for a kiss.

Hirata's resilience was indeed impressive.

Despite Karuizawa's chest touching him, he remained calm without being flustered in the slightest. This seemed to be a difficult endeavor in such circumstances, at least according to the reactions of the other boys, who lost their minds as soon as a girl walked in their general direction.

My favorite delinquent was improving due to the time he spent with Chiaki, Sakura and even Hasebe, but Hirata handled himself without exposure therapy or being an emotional wreck like myself, so he was someone I could look up to.

He even had a fake girlfriend!

Such a situation should have been much harder for him than having a real one, from a logical standpoint, at least. Their arrangement might help Karuizawa, but it should hurt Hirata and the girls that were interested in having a sincere relationship with him, like Mii-chan. He, just like every other human, must have had certain urges, needs that might grow when she closed in on him in such an affectionate way.

Chiaki was quite discerning, but even she hadn't seen through their charade.

Karuizawa was an actress, similar to Kikyou, while Hirata bent backwards to make other people happy. It wasn't strange that my girlfriend, who was preoccupied by her own happy relationship, couldn't penetrate such a sophisticated veil. She might have found their progress slow compared to ours, but she wasn't someone who would see this as a red flag.

Satou slurped on her juice and heaved a sorry sigh.

"I still have around two hours left until I need to meet up with my group, but I feel less and less inclined to go. My classmates are fine, but forming a group with other students? What were they thinking? This is so annoying. Huuh... what did you guys talk about during the meeting, anyway?"

Karuizawa and I glanced at each other.

She laughed, scratched her cheek and recounted what had happened without mentioning that she had bullied two of our classmates by treating one like air and verbally abusing the other. I cut in and corrected her whenever she said something inaccurate. My 'help' wasn't well received, however, as I stated similar wrong rules about fifty percent of the time.

A short back and forth would follow until we found the closest wording for a specific regulation on which we could both agree. We patted each other on the back, proud that we managed to convey some contents we had gone over, and kept going until her next mistake took place.

Our three classmates stared at us in astonishment, realizing that neither she nor I had any grasp about what this exam was about. Chiaki and Hirata tried to make sense of our jumbled-up ramblings, while Satou glanced around in a panic, unable to understand anything we tried to convey.

"So you are a rabbit, huh?" Chiaki's eyes sparkled as a charming smile surfaced on her face. "Rabbits are cute. I can live with your group name." She played with my hair-ends and supported her head with her free arm. "I wonder if I'll get something cute as well, like... dog maybe? The other animals aren't that cute, so my chances are slim."

Her innocent thoughts still amazed me.

I would have never worried about the creature I was assigned to, much less hoped to be in a 'cute' group. If my other classmates had heard her mumblings, they would have stopped assuming that she was distant and scary all the time. Maybe she would have been able to make some close friends this way.

We spent the next hour chatting and having a good time.

Karuizawa's haughty attitude from before had long since vanished, proving that she had a different mask for any occasion. There should have been some emotions or gestures that she wasn't faking, even if she had a false boyfriend. Her life as Karuizawa Kei might not have been that bad without Hirata and her cloak of lies.

What would happen if I were to shed my skin?

If my true thoughts ever came to light?

Hirata might try to understand my troubles. He would give me time to explain and ask questions himself to figure out what he could do to save me. The others would curse my birth, some of them might even wish me a painful death for the things I had done. Even Class B would have trouble to understand me, but they might try, at least.

Chiaki was difficult.

She cherished me, but I doubted that this love would survive my cruelty, not after everything I had planned for her. If anyone knew what I had done, what I was still doing and would do to her and Kikyou, they would loathe me. The human behind my queen was broken beyond repair, and she hadn't realized that this had been nothing but an appetizer.

Did I deserve happiness?

Had I earned the right to escape that man?

Matsuo believed that I deserved a better life.

I, however, wasn't so sure about this conviction.

He, just like everyone else, only saw the parts of me that I had shown him. Matsuo couldn't have known how contorted, cruel and disgusting I was deep inside my blackened core. No one could ever have imagined what hell he had unleashed upon this world by helping me escape my snow-white prison.

My father contacted the school before we left Tokyo on the Speranza, which meant that he must have found and tortured the man until he confirmed my location. The chances that he was still alive were slim — no, they were nonexistent.

"Oh! Hey everyone!"

Kikyou joined our gathering, followed by her own horde of followers.

The next exam was just around the corner, so everyone felt kind of depressed. After the torturous week on the island, they wished for nothing more than tranquility to enjoy the remaining days we had on this luxury cruiser, but even this was too much to ask.

Some of our classmates left after their time arrived and returned once their meeting had concluded. We kept chatting and having fun with everyone until Satou and the other girls said their farewells.

"Mh, it seems like Sudou-kun, Sakura-san and Hasebe-san are part of the Dog group. Do you think the names are relevant, Matsushita-san? Currently we have Rabbit, Tiger, Snake, Rat, Ox, Monkey and Dog."

"They might be, but I'm not sure. Kiyotaka, Karuizawa-san and the others said that Mashima-sensei specifically mentioned the zodiac signs, so the names are bound to be important, otherwise it could have just been a group exam. For example, we started with Rabbit, which was followed by the Tiger group. These are the fourth and third zodiac sign respectively, if we were to order them in their usual arrangement. Maybe this is some kind of hint?"

Her initial thoughts were similar to mine.

Our groups were named after the zodiac animals, so there had to be a clue we might not be able to see without more information, like our VIPs. It was also highlighted that we were using the Chinese version and not the Japanese one, which couldn't have been a coincidence.

""As expected of Matsushita-san!""

Multiple praises followed her evaluation.

Kikyou didn't dislike Chiaki, which informed me that she thought herself to be superior, otherwise she would have reacted similar to back then, when I told her that Ichinose's position in the cuteness and breast size rankings was above her own.

She wasn't wrong about the objective view on her predominance.

There was no one in this school who wouldn't call her beautiful or charming, due to the way she carried herself around people. Chiaki was good looking as well, but seven out of ten people would prefer Kikyou because of her bubbly feel-good attitude. Her superiority complex was further supported by my actions as I cheated on my girlfriend for her, which conveyed the misguided feeling that I cared about her more.

I got myself a refill and walked back to our table.

Two strangely familiar Class A students strode into the bar and sat on the bench next to ours. In their defence, it was the only spot that was unoccupied, but they had performed the same poor maneuver that Kikyou had tried on Suzune when she ambushed us in April. The ones who had left the table had been part of the Sakayanagi faction as well, which meant that she had decided to enter the game after the island exam.

According to the rules, they weren't allowed to talk with her during the examination period, which started tomorrow at eight, but this didn't change the fact that they shadowed me. Kamuro tried to be covert, but her eyes followed my every move, while Kito observed the whole area and the people at our table.

Had Sakayanagi figured something out?

Her followers must have talked to her after the initial exam, so she knew as much as they did — which should have been nothing. Class A, B and D thought that Chiaki did most of the work, while Class C considered Koenji as the true mastermind behind her. I should have been out of the equation as nothing more than an above average athlete.

But for this girl, I wasn't.

Who are you, Sakayanagi Arisu?

"It's about time we leave as well, right?"

"Mh, yes, otherwise we might risk arriving late."

Hirata-kun replied to Kushida-san's question with a nod as he checked the time on his phone. He slipped it back into his pocket and turned towards me to make sure that I was fine with this arrangement.

"Let's."

I emptied my drink and glanced over to Kiyotaka.

My boyfriend surveyed the area with an exhausted, somewhat tired expression, glad that this extensive, prolonged gathering dispersed. A sweet smile formed on my lips before I rewarded him with a tender goodbye kiss for sticking around with us for so long.

"See you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, see you tomorrow."

Kushida-san's phone vibrated once again.

She had supplied us with updates over the course of the evening as our classmates finished their respective meetings and found out about their partners. Now that we had the second to last group's name and member list, we could discern our own by process of elimination.

"Wow... this is going to be a gathering of big shots. Some of the remaining people are Katsuragi-kun from Class A, Kanzaki-kun, Shibata-kun and Amikura-san from Class B, as well as Ryuuen-kun from Class C."

This last piece of information confirmed my previous doubts about the allocation.

At first, I thought nothing of Ichinose-san's spot in the Rabbit group, but this changed throughout the day as I received more reports from Kushida-san. Even seven and eight groups in, she had been the only class leader that was allotted, which was statistically close to impossible.

Class B's figurehead differed from the other leaders who were assigned to the final meeting. Our groupings suggested that she wasn't one of the leaders, which couldn't be the case because everyone knew that Ichinose-san managed their class with the help of Kanzaki-kun, similar to how I led ours with Hirata-kun and Kushida-san to support me.

Was Kanzaki-kun their hidden leader then?

Or did this have some other meaning?

"Is Kouenji-kun with us?"

"No, he's part of the Goat group."

"That leaves 'Dragon' for us, right?"

Wasn't there a Chinese idiom with a hidden dragon?

Even though I had heard of it before, I couldn't replicate it on the spot. It wasn't too important either way, because I doubted that a random phrase would have something to do with our current exam. The chronological order of the zodiac signs might be important, but even this might just be a false lead by the school.

"See you all tomorrow."

"See you Kiyotaka!"

"Bye-bye Kiyotaka!"

"We'll see each other later, Ayanokouji-kun."

My boyfriend nodded and turned around.

The three of us said our farewells to our remaining classmates before we strolled towards the designated room. Kushida-san tapped around on her phone and shared a picture with everyone's group name and their members as we made our way over. I skimmed through the list to make sure that I hadn't missed out on anything important.

We soon arrived at the location in question.

Katsuragi-kun and his classmates waited in front of the room next to ours, while I caught sight of Kanzaki-kun and his companions on the elevator at the end of the walkway. There was no sign of Ryuuen just yet, but I doubted that we would be spared by his antics and had to deal with his presence eventually.

"Matsushita-san. It seems your meeting is also during the 20:40 time slot."

"Good evening, Katsuragi-kun. It's been quite a while since we last talked, hasn't it?" A gentle smile formed on my face as I turned to my classmates. "You know Kushida-san and Hirata-kun as well, I presume?"

He crossed his arms in front of his burly chest.

"Yes, but who doesn't know them, really? They are the most popular students in the first year, aside from Ichinose-san, who received even more attention for her placement in the student council. I'm looking forward to working with you all."

"Likewise. Katsuragi-san!"

"I'm looking forward to our meeting as well."

Both of my companions voiced similar opinions in their own usual ways, while I glanced over to the Class B students who stepped off the elevator after reaching our deck. Katsuragi-kun exchanged pleasantries with my classmates and turned to face me with a stern disposition, similar to Mashima-sensei's.

"I'd also like to apologize for what happened back on the island. I hadn't taken either of you Class D students seriously. That was my mistake, and I hope that you can forgive me for my oversight. We should both let bygones be bygones and work together as a team during this current examination."

His apology sounded sincere even though he had nothing to atone for, so I had no qualms about accepting his proposal. I had overstepped during our previous test because of his green-haired classmate, so I was glad that he was amiable to work with, despite our preceding differences.

Class A's misjudgement wasn't their fault as it would have been a waste of resources to pay attention to a class that had lost a student and all their points during the first month of school. They had a fortunate starting position and didn't need to worry about a class that scraped along the bottom of the barrel.

Katsuragi-kun's evaluation had changed after we managed to win against all the other classes by a landslide, which came as no surprise. Achieving a lead of over 450 points to the second place wouldn't have been possible without a small assortment of talented people in our midst, after all.

"There is no need for apologies. I can't fault anyone for underestimating us after the 'capabilities' we had shown during April. This, as well as our placement in the lowest class, only emphasized the superiority of the higher-ranking classes."

"Well said."

He was easy to talk to, despite his stern appearance and the earnest atmosphere he carried around him. I felt a little guilty for clashing with him on the island, but he seemed to have forgiven me for my misbehavior. Even though he was large, muscular and looked like an intimidating brute, he was very respectful and chose his words with consideration.

If only Class C were this easy to deal with...

"Still, Katsuragi-kun. We'll be coming for your spot."

An innocent smirk surfaced on my lips.

Class A's leader chuckled, unfazed, even amused by my sudden statement. His entourage didn't seem as amiable as he was, however, as they glared daggers at me after this playful remark. Wry smiles formed on my classmates' faces, but the situation calmed down as Kanzaki-kun and his friends arrived.

"So you are finally showing your teeth?"

He must have overheard the end of our conversation, realized that I had made a joke to annoy him a bit and used his own comment to pacify the angered students that clenched their fists behind Katsuragi-kun.

"He looked down on us, so a little harmless fun should be fine."

The stern boy didn't enjoy my quips, just as expected.

If we had won the exam with a less noticeable lead, he might have written our victory off as mere luck, but that was impossible after the bloodbath we had caused on the island. Neither Class A nor C had scored a single point, while Class B achieved the second place with a solid lead and little to no risk because of our partnership.

Hirata-kun and Shibata-kun began their own conversation.

Both were part of the soccer club, so I wasn't surprised that they knew each other well. Even without their previous familiarity, it would have been easy to talk to him, because it was quite difficult not to be on good terms with one of the most popular boys in our grade level.

"Yo, Chiaki. The two of us haven't met, have we?"

Only one person in this school was allowed to call me Chiaki, but this ridiculing, unsympathetic voice couldn't belong to my charming boyfriend. I ignored his impudence, since I figured that he would continue to annoy me even more if I were to show him that his antics bothered me.

"Ryuuen? I guess we haven't. Face to face, that is."

"Kukuku, you are not even rebuking me for using your first name, huh?" His grin turned into a wild, brutish sneer as he narrowed his eyes like a vicious serpent. "That's a girl suiting my taste."

"There is no need to react to such a cheap provocation attempt, caused by frustration. Even you should understand that our dances so far ended rather painfully for you. Do you really want to go at it again?"

"I'd go at you all night long, kukuku."

The boy licked his lips after he offset my provocation with his tasteless remark. He leered along my body, as if he evaluated my physical appearance and fantasized about his previous words.

Disgust and general discomfort germinated inside me, but I couldn't show any weaknesses towards his harassment. If he realized that his comments troubled me, he would continue with more enthusiasm the next time we met.

"Ryuuen." Katsuragi-kun's amiable tone grew grim, as he also didn't look too favorably upon our new arrival. "Are you part of this meeting as well? Or were you just walking by to greet us?"

Class A's leader seemed to have been unaware of all the groupings so far, different to Kanzaki-kun and Ryuuen, who weren't surprised by certain people showing up. We held an advantage if this turned out to be important, but I was more surprised because he hadn't informed himself prior to our meeting.

Was he deceiving us to check our progress?

"Yeah, it looks like I'm with you." Ryuuen averted his gaze from Katsuragi-kun and his colleagues before he glanced back at me. His tongue slid over his lips once again. "Fortunately..."

I was sure that he would stop sooner rather than later, as long as I wouldn't open myself up for an attack. His attitude and behavior towards me was disgusting by design, since he wanted to see how I would react to threats and sexual harassment. This much was possible to surmise due to the run-in's I had with his underlings.

"Well. Originally I thought that our group would be compromised of students with high academic ability. Now that you and you lackeys are here, however, I'm not so sure about that assumption."

Did he really not know?

It was difficult to read his stern exterior.

He might have just been trying to get under Ryuuen's skin, but I wasn't sure whether he was a person who would do something like this. From what I had learned about him so far, the answer would have been a definitive no, but I couldn't believe that he had learned nothing from the previous groups.

"Academic ability? Kukuku..." A deafening laugh echoed through the area before he ridiculed Class B's pacifistic approach. "That kind of thing is meaningless. Friendship and flowerbeds, that's what counts. Ain't it, Kanzaki?"

Class B's spokesperson frowned, ignoring his remark.

If they hadn't made a deal with us, they might have received fewer points for the same effort. Without Shiranami-san's unforeseen illness, they could have saved another thirty points, which would have put them in front of the current Class A.

It was a shame that they got unlucky at the end.

"That's a rather deplorable thing to say, considering that Japan is often referred to as an academic society. This alone proves that academic success is the most important factor in shaping our futures."

Ryuuen turned around to his lackeys without a word.

Even the lone female in their group of four began to scoff at Katsuragi-kun's statement as they glared at him and his classmates in ridicule. The girl seemed to have a different opinion, but she had no choice but to comply with her tyrant's commands because she knew that she might end up like Shiina-san if she dared to defy him.

"I won't let you bring your awful attitude to this test."

"Awful attitude? What are you talking about, Katsuragi? Believe it or not, I am quite the gentleman." He peered at my chest area with a nauseating, vulgar glint in his eyes. "Don't you think so as well, Chiaki?"

Once again, I was pulled back into Ryuuen's focus.

It seemed like he wanted to provoke me until I made a mistake, but I wouldn't do my enemy this favor. Unfortunately, I had to doubt my previous conclusion that he might stop if I ignored him, as he continued with his shenanigans no matter what I did. In the worst case, I would have to deal with this harassment whenever we met.

Talk about psychological warfare...

The three of us were still spun up in this tense situation while the social butterfly Kushida-san bounced from student to student and conversed with everyone who stood around. Kanzaki-kun also ignored Ryuuen and joined the discussion between Hirata-kun and his classmates.

I was surprised by their abilities to be kind and comfortable around anyone, because I could never achieve such an equanimity next to someone like Ryuuen. Due to my deal with Fumei, I couldn't back out anymore, but I disliked standing in the spotlight. My role was especially difficult during these tests when I had to converse with students from other classes.

But in the end, it was always worth it.

After everything was said and done, I could return to Kiyotaka and fall into his warm, loving embrace. I could just close my eyes while he caressed my back, kissed me, and gifted me with his soothing presence.

There was nothing more fulfilling than that.

My hand moved towards the door we were assigned to, because I wouldn't give Ryuuen the satisfaction of answering his cheap provocation. I deemed it unnecessary to stay outside any longer, since my mood would only worsen due to him and his entourage.

"Enter."

Both of my classmates said their farewells to the other students and followed me inside. We already knew what the teacher was going to explain to us, but that didn't mean we could allow ourselves to become complacent.

My heavy eyelids flapped open at around 07:40.

For anyone else, it would have been a nice surprise to wake up a few minutes before the alarm ripped them out of their well-deserved sleep but I never had such problems since my biological clock had been tuned to perfection during my time in the White Room. Even without checking, I knew that my estimate was correct and, at most, off by a few seconds.

Hirata and Yukimura turned in their beds, still tired from yesterday's shocking revelation about yet another exam. The remaining mattress in our room was empty, but it wasn't strange for Kouenji to be gone this early in the morning.

He rose at seven sharp, every single day.

Unlike the rest of our roommates, he didn't even use the supplied alarm clock in the cabin while I always set mine to wake me at 07:55 like the other boys, in order to keep up appearances. Hirata had seen me get up sooner multiple times, but I just told him that I couldn't sleep well in a bed that wasn't mine. This was something Makida mentioned once or twice, which meant that I could use this precedent to explain my behavior, which might seem out of place.

My phone vibrated twice as I turned off the alarm.

I sat and slipped out of my bed, which still carried Kikyou's scent.

Kouenji had already picked up on our new relationship, while I had no reason to hide her presence from Hirata and Yukimura, who wouldn't assume anything weird since she was our class angel and could do nothing wrong. My finger put gentle pressure onto the power button before I glanced at the notification that was displayed on my lock screen.

[Suzune] I'm having breakfast in the Blue Ocean at eight.

[Suzune] Would you like to join me?

Wow, she was smooth.

This wording was apparently well thought out and not something I would have picked up on without Kikyou's lessons in social skills. The first message informed me that she would eat breakfast at the specified time and place regardless of my answer to the following question. My queen mentioned that this was the preferred way of asking someone out for a date, since neither of the two parties would feel bad about a refusal, nor would the recipient be inclined to agree.

[07:41:38 PM] I'll be there.

The status of my message changed to 'read' before it could even show 'delivered', yet no answer followed. If I had been starring in one of Chiaki's romcoms, I would have wondered why she hadn't replied and what I might have done wrong, just to reveal that she was so excited to meet me that she forgot or didn't know how to answer.

A dream-like, impossible scenario.

'Blue Ocean' was the name of a cafe on the fifth deck, which wasn't as frequented as some other options that were available to us. Only a few students would patronize this establishment early in the morning, similar to the high-class restaurant we had shared a nice evening in. We both valued our privacy and enjoyed the peace in the initial hours of our day, so I wasn't surprised by her choice of venue.

She knew me well, or that's what I felt, at least.

I snuck into the bathroom and took a warm shower.

Memories of my previous White Room routine surfaced in my mind as the comfortable water pelted along my skin. Back then, we had been handed a small piece of soap and a bit of shampoo before our naked bodies were hosed down with high-pressured, ice-cold water for twenty to thirty seconds, depending on the instructors mood.

The wounds we had received during our training ripped open due to the force more often than not, which caused a burning sensation whenever the chemicals in the soap and shampoo came into contact with our damaged flesh.

Following this, we had around ten to thirty seconds to clean ourselves before we were 'rinsed' for another twenty seconds to conclude our 'shower'. If one wasn't cleaned up properly — or worse — began tearing up from the pulsating pain, they received a 'fitting punishment' for showing weakness in front of the tutors.

Due to these recollections, I was quite interested in experiencing traditional Japanese bathing. We had learned that this existed and how everything worked from start to finish, but that was only in theory, as we hadn't been allowed such luxuries. The same could be said about tea-ceremonies, which we had performed with hot water instead of tea, hence my prior ignorance about this fragrant, delicious beverage.

I was accustomed to cleanse my body twice a day.

The cold morning shower had been used to wake us up, as there was nothing more effective than freezing water to shock someone out of their drowsiness. The evening one was necessary to rinse ourselves from sweat, dirt and the bloodstains after a day of training, mock fights and other events that took place in the physical department.

I trudged out of the cubicle and dried myself off.

Even something as trivial as putting on new clothes hadn't been something we could do freely. We all had white gowns, nothing more and nothing less. Sometimes they had turned into a deep crimson color, unable to be cleansed, as the amount of bleach needed wouldn't have been worth the investment.

The clothes were disposed of, just like the subjects.

Humans didn't reside in this place.

Mercy had no reason to exist, either.

Darwin would have been proud of that man's creation.

I spat the mint-flavored toothpaste into the sink and rinsed my mouth with fresh water before raising my head. The reflection of my golden eyes was still the same as before — distant, cold and void of emotion. If I didn't put the bare minimal effort into hiding them, then my classmates would have been terrified whenever they glanced at me.

Would this ever change?

After finishing up, I took my phone and tip-toed out of the cabin.

The cruiser had elevators that stopped on each deck, but exercise was important, even if it was just walking. I strode up the stairs and made my way over to the cafe we had agreed to meet up at. Only a handful of students were inside, and the interior was spacious enough to fit at least ten times the current amount.

A nice shaded spot in the corner caught my attention.

"Good morning Sir, what may I get you?"

There wasn't much traffic at the moment, so the staff members must have decided to approach the new arrivals to make our visit more comfortable. I didn't mind walking up to the counter after reserving the table, but this generous service was to be expected, considering the cafe's location on such a luxurious cruiser.

"Two breakfast specials, one royal milk and a green tea, please."

"Right away."

The employee bowed and wandered off.

My palm supported the heavy head that rested on my shoulders as I gazed out of the window. The clock on the wall showed the time as seven fifty-one as the first light-blue wave crashed against the cruiser, unable to rock this massive steel monstrosity by even an inch.

I kept waiting for Suzune for a few minutes until a giant gray sperm whale broke through the surface around two-hundred meters away from our ship. The ocean animal ejected air out of his blowhole and dove back down into the dark abyss, together with his younger companion.

This spectacle produced a small rainbow, which soon faded.

"You are early. Did you wait long?"

My classmate wore a charming smile and sat down opposite of me while she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She was quite beautiful, even though she only wore the usual school uniform I was all too familiar with.

If she had spruced herself up for this 'date', my heart might have skipped a beat or two. Maybe I was even a little disappointed by her choice of attire, which drew a clear perimeter for our current relationship.

"No, I just arrived."

Having learned from my previous mistakes, I lied straight into her delicate face.

Usually people preferred honesty, so I was still surprised and somewhat confused that it was normal and considered as good practice to lie to the girl you were meeting when she posed such a question.

My date should have been happy if I arrived sooner and had to wait a little for her, since she would have done nothing wrong if she showed up at the promised time. There was no reason to feel bad that someone looked forward to a get-together and chose to arrive early, after all.

It was a form of complimenting the other person.

Suzune eyed me with a mischievous grin, as if she had seen through my lie, felt my curious gaze along her contours and listened to the supporting thoughts that wandered through my mind.

"Mh, were you looking forward to meeting up this much?"

"Well, I believe that I was punctual compared to you."

"Really?" The raven-haired beauty tilted her head and glanced at the clock that kept ticking away on the wall. "It's seven fifty-nine. Eight in around twenty, nineteen... you know where I am going with this, right?" A victorious expression surfaced on her face. "Since I said that I would be here at eight, I am still early."

"Your orders."

Her beautiful ruby eyes widened in surprise as the waiter bowed and placed the two breakfast menus as well as our beverages on the table. The man, having worked in this profession for a long time, realized that I had been waiting for a guest and understood my faint nod as the optical hint I had intended it to be. He placed the royal milk tea next to the still perplexed girl and left for the kitchen area.

"If I hadn't come sooner to order for us, you wouldn't have had 'breakfast at eight'." I showed her my phone, which displayed the time and as seven fifty-nine and switched over to eight o'clock as soon as the last syllable left my mouth. "Alas, you were late."

My words were further emphasized by the sounds and vibrations that rang through the busy establishment. Scenes like this occurred over the whole ship as we received the long-desired message from the school, and not even Suzune could claim that I had just changed the time on my phone to tease her.

Lost for words, she stared at me.

"What would you do if I don't want any of this?"

She peered into my eyes, betraying her clear bewilderment as well as a hint of scepticism. Her fingers moved towards the spoon, which she used to stir her tea. These actions translated into 'How did you know what I wanted?' more than anything else, which revealed her previous statement as nothing but groundless banter.

"If you want something different, I don't mind taking yours."

An artificial sigh escaped my lips before I reached for her plate.

Suzune stopped my arm midway as she pinned the back of my hand down with her palm. Her grasp was warm and gentle, yet even she was confused by the movements her body had performed without her explicit permission.

My classmate pulled back and averted her gaze.

"Fine. You win. It's what I would have ordered. Are you happy now?"

Her complexion veered between defeat, wonder and pleasant surprise as she brushed through her hair. She took a sip of the steaming tea and enjoyed the comforting feeling of the hot liquid that traveled down her esophagus until it eventually warmed her enticing, silky stomach from the inside.

Suzune didn't reach for her phone, despite the important message we had received. This was but a glimpse at the progress our relationship had made during our time together and I was pleased with the outcome of my efforts so far.

She was smart, but her inability to work or even converse with other people amiably held her back. Right now she was beating herself up for being useless in the last exam, so there was a high chance that this would lead to further development. This stubborn and frail girl forced herself to change as she realized that her shortcomings were a major disadvantage, now that she had seen 'Chiaki' in action.

It wouldn't be an easy transition, but I would support her.

Our banter concluded, whereupon we checked our devices.

"After thorough consideration, you have not been chosen to be the VIP. Please remember to be a team player as your group tackles the challenges of this test. The exam begins today and will be held over three days. Members of the Goat group should gather in the Goat room located on the second deck."

Her smooth voice danced through my ears as she read the contents aloud.

The only difference to my message was the term 'Goat', which had been substituted with 'Rabbit'. Neither of us held the VIP position in our respective groups, which was rather unlucky. I could have concealed my identity with ease, while Suzune might have run into problems with Shiina, depending on her observational abilities.

"'Suzune the team player.' Never heard that one before."

She glared at me and followed up with a vicious attack towards my shin.

I might have dubbed her action as a 'vicious attack' but she took great care when she bumped into me. Not only had her kick been very gentle, almost rivaling a light teasing brush, she also made sure to spare my injured leg. Unfortunately, my lovely neighbor noticed the faint smile that formed on my lips, and slapped my leg once more.

"What about you?"

"A similar message to yours."

"Unfortunate. You would have been an excellent VIP candidate for our class. It's difficult, almost impossible, to gauge your reactions with any reliability due to your never-changing facial expression. You're a natural in such an exam."

"A compliment? Suzune, are you sick?"

My palm brushed over her smooth forehead, which felt warm but not hot enough to be worrisome. Her two crimson orbs gleamed at my own from underneath my hand, which told me that she was discontent with my concern for her.

"Kiyotaka... Could you please stop reacting in the same ridiculous way every time I do or say something nice?" She glanced out of the window where the sunlight caused a light red tint on her delicate, white skin. "It's nerve-wrecking."

"Who are you grouped up with, by the way?"

I let go of her and sipped on my tea.

Suzune took a quick bite from her meal and pulled a slip of paper out of her blazer pocket. She glanced around the cafe for a moment before handing me the note, which was warm to the touch. I might have asked for the members in her group, but I already knew everything important about the exam, aside from the VIPs identities, which I hadn't received yet.

Class A: Toba Shigeru, Tsukaji Shihori, Morishige Takuro

Class B: Yonezu Haruto, Tokito Katsumi, Watari Kuniyuki

Class C: Yamashita Saki, Yamada Albert, Shiina Hiyori

Class D: Wang Mei-Yu, Kouenji Rokusuke, Miyamoto Soshi, Horikita Suzune

"Kouenji, of all people..."

A mild, frustrated expression emerged on her face.

"At least Shiina and Albert seemed quite nice to be around. The Class B students are also easy to deal with, so you don't have to worry about them either. Mii-chan is great and really knowledgeable about everything Chinese. Miyamoto is not a pervert like Ike and the others, at least. Well, but I guess an exam like this would be kind of difficult for you."

She leaned back into the chair, crossing her arms and legs.

"What could you possibly mean by that?"

Her chest area was propped up due to the position her arms rested in and thus, more apparent than usual. I had already mentioned before that she had the perfect breast size and I concluded that this still held true in the smaller department. Since I had seen Karuizawa's curvatures yesterday, I was confident that Suzune's were more prominent.

In every department.

My gaze turned towards the window.

"Isn't it obvious? You are fantastic when dealing with people, especially strangers or schoolmates from another class. The ones in your group, however, are very problematic due to their behavior."

"Good answer. May I ask who you were paired up with?"

Breathing a sigh of relief that her esper senses hadn't kicked in, I presented her the note I created on my phone yesterday evening. I might not have known that I would meet up with Suzune today, but I assumed that someone might ask for my group members, so I had prepared everything to remain inconspicuous.

"Ichinose-san is in your group? That's weird, don't you think?"

"What do you mean?"

I tilted my head in confusion and slipped my phone back into my pocket while she took another bite. Her expression was a mixture between pleasure and disappointment as I was apparently unable to see what she could, which once again assured Suzune of her superiority over me.

"Your girlfriend is part of the dragon group, right?"

"Yes."

But how did you know?

The protective mechanism in my mind stopped me from posing this question out loud, in fear of getting kicked in the shin. She wouldn't have asked Kikyou, since she didn't trust her. Hirata was another option, but I couldn't see Suzune talking to him for something like this, which left Chiaki as a potential source.

They spoke during the exam conforming to my preparations, but this shouldn't have been enough for Suzune to reach out to my girlfriend just yet. If she wanted information she would have come to me, which only left one feasible solution.

She must have waited around once her meeting had concluded.

"The groups that received the explanations changed in intervals of twenty minutes, so I stayed behind to check on the students who showed up for the last time slot. They began to trickle onto the deck not long after my group dispersed and most of them caught my attention as they were the class leaders ranging from A to D."

I ignored my vibrating phone and listened to her.

Kikyou must have sent me the VIPs just now, but this current conversation was too important to interrupt. Suzune had picked up on the strange allocation and hadn't brushed it aside as per usual. She found it weird and thought about the potential reasons for this peculiar arrangement.

Would she surprise me?

"Except for Ichinose, right?"

"Yes. Katsuragi-kun assumed that the groups were composed of people with high academical abilities, but this couldn't have been further from the truth. The Goat group, for example, encompassed members like Kouenji-kun, Mii-chan and, of course, myself. Academically speaking, we are above average and at least one of us would have been higher ranked than Kushida-san or Hirata-kun if we were talking about overall academics."

"Ichinose is also pretty good."

I took a sip from my tea and leaned forward.

"Exactly, which is why I thought that all the leaders were gathered in the group. What if Ichinose-san is leading the class in appearance only? Maybe Kanzaki-kun is the one calling the shots and they are using her as some kind of billboard due to her high popularity among her schoolmates and peers. Do you know anything?"

This thought wasn't a bad one, but she missed out on crucial information and arrived on the wrong conclusion. Kanzaki was indeed highly capable but he wouldn't thrive in a leader position as long as Ichinose was around. She overshadowed everyone in her class with her popularity and social skills to a point where very few of them would act without her consent, which limited him in what he could accomplish.

Hoshinomiya also didn't mind playing dirty and must have used this chance to plant Ichinose in the Rabbit group to monitor my movements. Her naïve class leader was in love with me and would pay close attention to everything I did. This was a dangerous position to be in, however, which was why she had inserted Himeno as backup.

"No, Ichinose is their class leader. I'm certain."

"Then there must be something we are not seeing yet. I trust your judgement on this, which is part of the reason I informed you about my suspicions. The other one is, well... I don't like to admit it, but you are the only person I enjoy talking to aside from Nii-san." She averted her gaze with a slight huff. "Count yourself lucky, Kiyotaka."

"Well —"

"I'll kick you if you continue this sentence."

I noted the time and date of her esper outbreak for future reference and pacified her with a faint nod. Suzune knew what I wished to convey, even though I would have indeed opted for the F word to annoy her, as it might have enabled me to see her adorable pouting face once more.

Should I just poison her again?

"Do you know of any other groups?"

She finished the last bite of her breakfast and glanced over.

"No, not really. I'm not very good with this stuff anyway, so I decided to leave everything to Chiaki. As far as girlfriends go, she is not only smart but also reliable, kind, cute and pretty amazing, all things considered."

"Is that why you revealed your abilities on the island?"

This was a fair question as I had told her that I disliked standing out multiple times during our first few days. She must have been confused that I did the exact opposite now, since I could have just relaxed like everyone else.

"Maybe... I'm not sure if this makes any sense to you, but I just didn't want to let Chiaki down when she was counting on me, you know? Being in such an intimate relationship with someone you like changes you in more ways than one."

Even though I had never experienced these shifts first hand, I could take the lessons I learned from Ichinose and interpolate them into our conversation. Her feelings for me impaired both her judgement and other abilities, which became apparent through the exam as she never questioned my potential involvement and the ulterior motives I might have hidden ever since April, unlike Kanzaki who thought with a clear mind.

"Mh, a fair point. I wouldn't be aware of such a fact, after all."

Suzune glanced to her left, towards the never-ending ocean.

She must have been quite mesmerized by the view since this wasn't the first time that she stared at the water with her shimmering red eyes. A sigh escaped her moist lips a few moments later before she peeked at the message on her phone with an unhappy expression.

"What's wrong?"

I finished my tea and set the tableware aside.

The doorbell rang a few moments after my question, and two familiar students entered the cafe. One strode in with a wide, peculiar grin on his face, while the girl who followed him had to deal with a faint limp. Her expression didn't change when she put weight on her left leg, so the injury didn't seem too bad.

"The way they wrote the message. It doesn't sit right with me. It's like they say that I'm not qualified to be the VIP in our group."

Could you blame them?

A camera shutter reverberated through the area.

Both of us reacted simultaneously and glanced over at the new arrival whose mobile phone had produced this distinctive sound. Ryuuen pocketed the device and regarded us with a broad, toothy grin while his indigo-haired classmate glared at Suzune as if she wanted to murder her with a pair of chopsticks.

"If it isn't the beta male and the sick chick. Mh, you're pretty cute, actually. Suzune, right? What would Chiaki think of your little morning escapade, I wonder? I promise that I won't tell a soul if you follow me to my room. Kukuku."

Class C's leader leered at her body, trying to force a reaction.

His methods were quite crude, but well executed.

Most people would assume that he was just a disgusting, sexist delinquent, but his taunts and disrespectful remarks helped him to build a preliminary profile around her. He noted her movements, the facial expressions and would listen to the words that left her lips to affirm his conclusions.

I had avoided repeated contacts with Ryuuen and his henchmen before, but this seemed to change now that he had almost everyone in my social circle on his radar. His interest was focused on Chiaki, Suzune and Kouenji for the moment, depending on what the latter had done and how quick on the uptake my second favorite delinquent was.

"You are Ryuuen, right? The one who already lost three of his classmates? My deepest condolences for your loss, but I don't remember having given you the privilege of calling me by my first name."

Suzune's remarks were cold and crisp.

Just as expected, she didn't let him intimidate her in the slightest and confronted Class C's leader with her usual, contemptuous attitude while adding some additional fuel to the fire. Unlike Ryuuen, she hadn't done this to gather information, but to taunt him after he had used her first name. Her gaze swayed over to Ibuki for a second before she turned back to me, as if she was disinterested in her presence after what she had done on the island.

Was she mad at her for my sake?

"Tch! Hey you!"

My classmate peered at the angered tomboy.

"What? Stop bothering me."

"I'll pay you back for screwing me over."

"I don't have the slightest clue what you are talking about. We were both acting in the interest of our respective class. You just decided to hide that fact like a coward. I don't hold a grudge, and neither should you."

"You —"

The girl clenched her fists and stepped forward, ready to punch my classmate. Her upper body shifted to the side after this unexpected movement, as she had put too much pressure on her injured leg out of habit. Ryuuen grabbed her by the shoulder and shoved her backwards like a dog that misbehaved.

"Shut up Mio. The adults are talking. Follow that twat's lead, would you?" He nodded towards me and focused on Suzune. "Just wondering, but is one of you the VIP in your group?"

"Let's go, Kiyotaka."

I nodded and stood up after hearing her request.

There was no need to start a fight with them right now, but Ryuuen wouldn't let go of us after he was beaten and humiliated twice. The infant dragon would keep barking and biting at every potential instigator like a rabid dog until he gained the upper hand in this confrontation. His pride didn't allow him to ignore us until we begged and cowered in the dirt in front of him for everyone to see.

It was a shame that he hadn't inherited the instincts of a real dog, or he would have known that he was too weak to be Class D's opponent as long as I remained on their side. I assumed that he was here to check on Suzune, who was part of the reason that Ibuki was revealed as a spy, even though the underlying cause had been built on a lie.

"Why did you lie about seeing me that night?"

Ibuki took a step forward.

"What are you talking about? There are no reasons for me to lie. I told Matsushita-san that I saw you because that's what happened. I don't need to stoop to your level and deceive people who took care of me."

Ouch...

Ryuuen kept observing her moves and even glanced over to me from time to time. He must have noticed that Suzune hadn't lied after listening to the conviction and the pride behind each and every word that slipped her mesmerizing lips. My classmate saw no reason to deceive them, since she judged them inferior to herself.

He was a curious fellow.

Someone like Katsuragi would have discarded me as the muscle of the last exam, but Ryuuen still had doubts, even though I had prepared everything for him. Maybe he had noticed that this trail of bread crumbs I had arranged was too obvious — too easy to follow — and looked for someone who might have been able to stage this whole thing from the shadows.

If that was the case, I would look forward to his future.

"Not the VIP, huh..."

I slipped the phone into my back pocket and put on a thin dark-blue jacket before taking a quick glance at the full-body mirror. White jeans were prone to catching dirt, but this was the only pair I didn't need to wash right now. My fingers wiped off some lint that had gathered around the butt area before a satisfied smile flared up on my face.

Would Kiyotaka be happy if I took a picture?

My head turned crimson as I turned to the side to check how I would look. The lighting in the bathroom wasn't anything groundbreaking, but the curvatures along my body were still rather visible if I leaned into the right direction. I pushed my hips backwards, rested my fingers along my waist and peered into the mirror with an enticing smile.

Repeated shutter sounds rang through the room.

The gallery on my phone was filled with pictures of Kiyotaka and me, but none had been this suggestive. Most of them had been snapped on our dates and just featured the two of us or him alone. I also had a selection of other photos with Karuizawa-san, Satou-san, Hirata-kun and the others, but those were far and few between.

What am I doing?

I felt my temperature rise as I reviewed the pictures.

Around half of them presented me showing off my curvatures along my legs, butt and chest area in tight clothing. The remaining ones were even more provocative and emphasized my underwear, both top and bottom, as well as my silky bare stomach depending on the picture.

What if the school checked our messages?

A cold shudder crept up the skin along my back whereupon I deleted all the suggestive photos I had just taken. I took a deep breath to exile these tainted thoughts as I didn't want to imagine what might have happened if someone found my phone on the ship and figured out the password by accident.

Only Kiyotaka was allowed to see me like this.

His hands and lips had caressed, massaged or kissed over my whole body when we had sex, so I wasn't certain whether he preferred something in particular. We only wore our lame school-issued jerseys for our first time, so I wanted to put on something more inviting once we were back at school and had our single rooms back.

Maybe tight jeans that emphasized my butt?

A revealing swimsuit that accentuated my breasts?

My school uniform since it would feel indecent?

His oversized male counterpart without the trousers, perhaps?

God, I'm worse than Ike-kun...

But I really can't wait to get back...

I leaned against the locked door and heaved a sigh.

There might be more than enough space on this giant ship to find a quiet place for a few minutes, but we couldn't do it without protection. The first time was already foolish enough, but any more than this was just asking him to impregnate me. If this happened, we would both be kicked out of the school for breaking the rules and neither of us wanted this.

Stop thinking about perverted stuff, Baka-Chiaki.

It was past eight, which meant that the exam had started.

In short, I had more important things to consider and think about, but I could only begin to verify the theories I had come up with once I received the identities of our VIPs from Kushida-san, who had volunteered to organize the names, groups and lists we needed.

Our classmates would still need a few moments until they checked their status. Knowing them and their ability to think ahead, she would have to sift through around thirty to thirty-five messages, since almost everyone would text her, even if they just wanted to inform Kushida-san that they weren't chosen as the VIP.

Waiting and doing nothing in our room wasn't worthwhile, so I opted to sate my hunger with a light breakfast. The cafe of my choice was nearby and had a delicious selection of meals, desserts and savory drinks.

I strode out of my room and texted Kiyotaka.

We had arranged nothing tangible for today, so I wasn't sure if he had time. Compared to me, he had managed to form quite a lot of new friendships, so I wouldn't be surprised if he had already decided to meet up with someone.

He disliked cramped places like the bar from yesterday, but the location had already been chosen when Hirata-kun asked me to join, so there wasn't much I could do aside from spoiling my boyfriend to make him feel more comfortable. The establishment I had invited him to right now was much quieter and would fit our preferences better.

They even had some of his favorite sweets.

Kiyotaka had a sweet tooth like no one else, which was rather surprising after I had seen and enjoyed his well-trained, muscular and very tempting chest. I doubted that any girl could glance at this chiseled physique without feeling a tingling sensation between her —

God, CHIAKI!

Most of the time, he ordered sweets he hadn't tasted before, as his reactions were always far beyond adorable. I had a whole folder dedicated to the slight variations in his expressions, ranging from surprise, to bewilderment and 'this is far too sweet for any human being'.

Huh, I really am hopeless.

I left the elevator and caught sight of Kiyotaka and Horikita-san.

He held the door open for her as they exited the Blue Ocean. They stopped in front of the entrance and exchanged a few words, whereupon she pointed towards the front of the cruiser with a proud expression. My boyfriend tilted his head and retaliated with a light smack on her head, before the two ambled away.

My selfish, clingy side wanted to call out to him.

If he had left with Karuizawa-san or Kushida-san, I wouldn't have hesitated to greet them, since both were open, welcoming and could be considered friends to both of us. Horikita-san was rather closed off, however, so she might have taken my actions as a cue to leave us alone, which wasn't what I intended.

The reasonable part of me suppressed this desire.

They were on good terms with each other and I was happy for Kiyotaka whenever he found new friends or had fun with his existing ones. He had struggled a lot in the beginning, so I wanted to support him in any way I could. If this meant giving him some breathing room to meet up with his friends, then that was fine as well.

We still had enough time to spend together.

Their friendship might also be helpful for our class, since Horikita-san was smart and rather observant compared to most of our classmates. She was the only one aside from Kouenji-kun and me who had figured out that Sakura-san had observed the altercation between Sudou-kun and Ryuuen's underlings.

She would be a powerful ally, without a doubt.

The bell that was fastened on the upper door frame produced a soft, pleasant ringing tone as I stepped into the cafe. I surveyed my new surroundings as the usual older sister-like smile on my lips vanished and twisted into a frown. Reason for this sudden change in demeanor were two customers I hadn't wished to see.

"Ohhh, if it isn't the queen of the failures. Kukuku."

"Ryuuen. A pleasure, as always."

Wouldn't this make him the king of defects?

His grin grew deeper, even though he must have picked up on the distinctive hint of sarcasm in my voice. Ibuki-san's facial expression betrayed her dissatisfaction of running into me as she stood beside him like a loyal follower.

Hiding my frustration about his presence wasn't target-oriented, since my behavior wouldn't influence his plans with me either way. If he wanted to be an annoying prick, then he wouldn't hesitate to be one, no matter how laid-back or aggressive I reacted to his provocations.

I had learned this just yesterday.

"Mio and I were just thinking about you."

"What an honor. How'd I deserve that?"

The words that kept flowing out of his mouth entered one ear and exited the other as I glanced over the venue. A male attendant in his fifties cleaned up a shaded, cozy-looking place in the corner, which must have been the table where Kiyotaka and Horikita-san had eaten their meals.

It fit all of my boyfriend's selection criteria, after all.

Ryuuen's lips contorted into a wide sneer.

They must have received the hint that I wasn't interested in talking to them, but neither cared about my displeasure nor the other students inside the cafe who turned around to observe us. He ignored their curious gazes and followed me like a cheap stalker as I ambled towards the table that had just been cleaned up.

"Well, you know we were wondering if you were a cuckquean. Your boy toy is pretty close with the other beautiful girls in our year, so we speculated that you might enjoy the thought of him fucking them like submissive dogs in front of you. I was sure that you wouldn't be such a degenerate pervert, but Mio insisted that we should ask. I don't know why, but my adorable classmate here seems interested in visiting pound-town with your boyfriend."

He really was vulgar, huh?

"I'm what?! Fuck you!"

Ibuki-san glared at him with blazing eyes.

It must have been difficult to repress her rage after such a repulsive and humiliating comment. She loathed Ryuuen's actions, his words and how he treated her, so I couldn't understand why she kept following his commands. Their leader might be an annoying and violent delinquent, but Ibuki-san was quite headstrong herself.

Should I just leave again?

This thought spun through my mind for a moment, but I concluded that he would just accompany me outside anyway. His primitive attempts to shake me up didn't work, so he must have already planned his next move, which could only be yet another low blow.

A staff member walked up to me as soon as I sat down and inquired about my order. He left a short moment later to prepare the meal and drinks while Ryuuen and Ibuki-san strode off. The pleasant, surprising silence that ensued afterwards only lingered for a second before the couple walked over with two chairs beneath their arms.

"May we sit? Thanks."

He sat down next to me and leaned against the backrest without waiting for an answer. His frustrated classmate kicked against the leg of his chair to create some distance between him and her as he hadn't left enough space for a third chair.

"Alright, out with it. What do you want Ryuuen?"

"Just wondering if you are the VIP in our group."

"That's what this is about, huh? I'm not. What about you?"

My calm voice should have given him something to think about, even though he wouldn't believe me, no matter what I said. If luck was on my side, he might even talk less while he tried to figure out whether I bluffed.

This, however, was nothing more than a daydream.

"Me neither. Sucks too. I'd love to have those free points."

His wide, almost animalistic grin didn't vanish for a second as he flicked his finger to call the clerk back to the table. He placed his order and shooed the man back into the kitchen before Ibuki-san could open her mouth. The girl turned and glanced into my eyes as she felt my gaze on her person.

"What about you?"

"Tch! As if I'd tell you."

"Don't be so mean to our friend, Mio." A hearty laugh escaped his crude mouth while Ibuki-san was knocked forward every time he slapped against her back. "She's not the VIP either, but psssht."

"Ryuuen! I told you to stop calling me that, damn it."

"Yes, yes. Here, take your happy meal and shut up."

Class C's tyrant reached out for the tray the waiter carried around and grabbed a breakfast menu. Both the man in question and the angered Class A student who was about to receive the food turned around to complain.

"Excuse me Sir, this —"

"Hey, you —"

"Fuck off, would you?"

He placed the meal in front of his angered companion and glared back at both men without backing down. Our schoolmate shut his quivering mouth as soon as Ryuuen's seething voice echoed through the vicinity while the server took a step back in fright. Neither of them voiced any complaints as they continued on their ways.

"You damn piece of shit! Do I look like a fucking kid to you?"

Ibuki-san's exorbitant amount of profanities and the slight but perceptible vibrations of my phone were the only sounds that followed the sudden silence. Compared to everyone else, she didn't seem afraid of his retaliation as she kept cursing and insulting her class leader without holding back.

His behavior was disgusting and deplorable, but he had done nothing he could be penalized for. Ryuuen knew where the school had drawn the limits and stopped his antics before he violated any rules. Violence might have been forbidden, but insulting people and stealing the free food we received from the school were still inside the reasonable scope.

I understood why his classmates were terrified of him.

People like them wouldn't have realized that he still barely played within the rules the school had set. They saw the disgraceful behavior that any normal, decent human being would have label as 'overstepping boundaries' and acknowledged that he wasn't punished for anything he did.

This alone horrified them to the core.

If he could get away with this much, he would get away with anything else. He must have imprinted this false impression on them throughout the first month, and continued with this performance as 'proof' that he stood above the rules.

Such a cunning person turned out to be my enemy.

Similar to me, he should have been aware of the students that had the highest chances of knowing about all the VIPs, which was why he bothered me. The three people in the Dragon group came to mind for Class D, because Ryuuen would have realized that I would keep Kiyotaka out of the loop to keep him safe. Ichinose-san and Kanzaki-kun were the obvious choices for the peace-loving Class B while the tyrant knew everything about his own people.

Katsuragi-kun was a wildcard.

He had been unaware of important information, which both Ryuuen and I should have picked up on. This must have placed them quite low on the threat list, as it was impossible to 'solve' the exam, without knowing at least a few VIPs.

"Quite the strategy, I admit. Daring, dangerous and batshit crazy. You got balls, Chiaki. I like that. Not even I would have had the mental fortitude to pull something like this, so you earned my respect. I doubt that Katsuragi figured it out yet, but you are a gambler, aren't you? If your calculations were just a little off, your class would have lost everything."

Kouenji-kun's trick was indeed insane.

I had received a message yesterday evening, informing me of what he had done. He didn't plan to share his ploy at first, but the new exam had changed his mind, apparently. If I had known what kind of crazy gamble he had planned to keep Kiyotaka on the island, I would never have agreed to this proposal.

"We wouldn't have lost everything, just a large chunk. This strategy was my way of taking pity on you, but you haven't figured it out until it was too late. Well, I guess I expected too much from the king of defects."

Ryuuen's grin widened.

The man in front of me ceased to look like a human being as his face warped into that of an unstable, carnivorous wild beast that devoured everything in its path as long as it moved and had a heartbeat.

"A pity, isn't it? Kukukuku." His dark anthracite orbs peered deep into my soul, as if they devoured all remaining light. "You know, Chiaki. I love surprise attacks, foul play, and subterfuge. That level of strategy was totally unexpected, but your victory streak will soon end. The one behind you, the person pulling the strings. I'll have my fun with him."

"Now you are spouting nonsense." I leaned back into the chair as a faint smile surfaced on my face. "What's the problem? Can't believe that you got outplayed by a girl? Is that too much to handle for your frail little ego?"

Those words were a last ditch effort to rile him up.

If he lost his focus for just a second, he might overlook the fear, the sudden surprise and the uncertainty that welled up deep inside of me as the latter part of his sentence crept into my eardrums.

Three reasonable conclusions came to mind:

First, he tested my reaction to see whether and how I would acknowledge these baseless accusations to gain more information about a potential third party that might have supported me from the shadows.

Second, he figured out that someone aside from me took care of the heavy lifting on the island and warned me that he had seen through my deception. If this was the case, he might even know about Kouenji-kun.

Or third, he learned about Fumei, which was almost impossible.

No one aside from Kiyotaka and me knew that Fumei even existed. Kouenji-kun was indeed smart, and I had certainly underestimated him, but he couldn't read minds. My boyfriend was also like a fortress if someone tried to extract information from him, due to his unreadable expressions so there shouldn't have been any leaks.

"Someone in Class D, other than you, is quite clever. There's no mistake about that."

"If you say so."

The worst possible event hadn't occurred and I could deal with Ryuuen as long as the reason for his statement was option one or two. He didn't seem to know that Kouenji-kun helped me, which meant that he hadn't formed an arrangement with Class C on the island which I had determined to be a possibility before.

I still wondered whether those five million points had been well spent, but I figured that class points were more important than anything else at the moment. We could still save up for the twenty million we needed in case someone was in danger of being expelled after reaching Class A.

Thanks to Fumei's hint, I might even get those points back.

This current special exam came as a godsend.

If we could protect our VIPs throughout the test we would gain a massive amount of private points in one go. It might not be as much as with the 'sharing-is-caring' outcome, but this was almost impossible to achieve because of Ryuuen.

No matter what, I would get the most out of this test.

It was too dangerous to contact Horikita-senpai during this examination, since they might check our messages, if we won by such a large margin the second time in a row. The safest option was to take care of this test with the help of Kushida-san, Hirata-kun and our classmates.

"What are you thinking about, sweety? You look tired."

Even Ryuuen himself couldn't help but laugh aloud after this cheap, almost cheesy way to address me. Ibuki-san glanced at him with her usual disgusted expression, before she took another bite of her breakfast.

"I'm just wondering why you keep hovering over me, you know? You did the same thing yesterday before the meeting. Are you perhaps crushing on me? Sorry to disappoint you, but I already have a boyfriend."

"Kukuku. I'm just wondering about your capabilities and, of course, the ones your little helper possesses. Katsuragi and Honami are boring — weak even. I could crush them with ease and one closed eye. Class D is different."

I raised my brow in surprise.

"Aren't you reaching a little too high, then? Shouldn't you first prove your worth by taking care of 'the small fry' and leave me alone for the time being? As far as I can tell, you are nothing but talk."

"You wish." He tilted his head towards his classmate. She might have complained about receiving the food, but she was pretty hungry according to the speed with which she scooped it into her mouth. "We're leaving Mio."

"Tch!"

Both of them stood and walked off.

A sigh of relief slipped my lips as I would be free from any further harassment, at least for the duration of my breakfast. The server noted that my uninvited guests left and strode towards me with my order in hand. His complexion grew as white as a sheet of paper after Ryuuen stopped and turned around to face me.

"Your boyfriend. Keep a closer eye on him. He's pretty chummy with a lot of hot girls. Kikyou, Suzune... what do you think? How much longer is it going to take until it's 'Honami' and not 'Ichinose' anymore? Kukuku..."

These last parting words resonated with the doorbell.

Kiyotaka wasn't only close to girls, and I didn't want to restrict him in his choice of social company, but my heart kept hurting as those devilish words repeated in my mind. I couldn't help but feel upset and insecure about our relationship, even though I knew that he wanted to unsettle me with this groundless accusation.

The logical part in me realized that Ryuuen achieved the exact outcome he had set out to plant inside of me, but my emotional side wouldn't leave these doubts alone. 'Kikyou' and apparently now even 'Suzune'.

I hadn't known that he was on a first name basis with her as well.

He had no obligation to tell me anything he was doing with his friends, but this was the reason Ryuuen got into my head. Our relationship progressed day by day and we had never run into an argument because of something either of us did. We always talked about anything we were curious about, because communication was important and brought stability.

Both girls were beautiful.

Not only that — they were smart as well.

Despite my best efforts, I began to compare myself with them. Our appearances, grades, academics, physical abilities, social contributions and everything else that came to mind. This was stupid because Kiyotaka had never given me a reason to doubt him. I still didn't, but Ryuuen's words opened a box that couldn't be closed.

Then there was Ichinose-san.

The two of them were really close, and I believed that she liked him, more than a normal friend due to the way she glanced at him when he had been injured on the island. At first, I had thought little of her peeks and innocent smiles, but they continued and I began to recognize myself in her longing expression.

These toxic, nonsensical thoughts wouldn't leave my spiraling mind, no matter what I tried. From a logical point of view, there was not a single reason to be worried about us, but my chest hurt. The thought of losing him, ruptured every single fiber of my being, because I loved Kiyotaka with all my heart.

So why?

Why did I feel like this?

"What can I do for you, Sakayanagi?"

"Good evening, Mashima-sensei. I do apologize for disturbing you at such a late hour, yet I couldn't help but hypothesize what the teachers had decided upon hearing about my humble request."

I flipped the white king between my fingers.

"Well, I would have called you first thing tomorrow, but it seems like you are particularly eager. I talked to the school and the homeroom teachers of the first year this morning. We decided that it would be alright to share the contents of the exam with you this one time. You are also allowed to ask your classmates about the current situation and work on this test yourself. This exception due to your health comes at a cost, however. If you decide to accept this proposal, then you may not support your companions. The school will also check your message history after the examination is over in order to verify this. All communication channels between the students from the school and the ones on the ship right now have been severed this morning at eight o'clock, but we have re-enabled your phone to stay in contact with your friends. If you pick up or call one of your classmates, however, you will face immediate expulsion. We are only giving you this opportunity as a courtesy due to your congenital heart defect, so neither you nor your class will be rewarded, even if you manage to solve this exam on your own."

Fufufu...

My assumption that the test could be figured out without the groups seemed to be confirmed by Mashima-sensei's words and the fact that they allowed me to take part. If solving it were impossible, then they wouldn't have needed to talk it over for a day, as they could have just denied my appeal.

Or had they taken this into consideration?

"The terms and conditions that have been set are perfectly valid. I am very thankful to both you and your colleagues that you have given me a chance to partake in a small capacity, at least. Please convey my thanks, if possible. I know that it is already late, but would it cause you much trouble to send me the materials right now?"

"No, I will send them to you right away."

"Thank you very much, Mashima-sensei."

"Goodbye, Sakayanagi."

"Please have a goodnight."

A wide smile formed on my brightening face as I ended the call.

I placed the white king back on its initial spot and reorganized the board, now that I had solved yet another one of my chess puzzles. The book with an assortment of problems was quite thick and sat at around a thousand pages, from which I had already completed about four hundred.

My phone vibrated soon after, whereupon I opened the chat with Mashima-sensei and scanned through the rules and explanations the other students in my year had received yesterday. Masumi had already informed me about this, as she could still contact me before the exam officially began this morning at eight.

Their explanations corresponded to one another, confirming once again that I had found myself a suitable follower. She might sometimes act as if she didn't care about me, but I was sure that she would be lonely if I left or ignored her.

We were about fourteen hours into the exam, but Ayanokouji hadn't made a move yet.

[10:12:59 PM] Masumi-san, I'd like to have a list of every group and their respective members. Mark the VIPs of Class A as well, so that I have something to work with. Don't call me, I'm only allowed to text during the exam and they will read through them afterwards.

[10:13:12 PM] Are you sleeping already?

[10:13:13 PM] Are you?

[10:13:14 PM] Are you?

[10:13:15 PM] Are you?

[10:13:16 PM] Are you?

[10:13:17 PM[Masumi] Yeah! I get it alright. What the hell...

A delicate smile surfaced on my lips.

[10:13:24 PM] Ah, Masumi-san, what a nice surprise to receive a message just as I thought about you. I am so glad that I caught you before you went to bed, as I would have felt horrible waking you up because of my inability to wait.

[10:13:29 PM[Masumi] Right...

Fufufu.

[10:13:30 PM] Fufufufufu.

[10:13:42 PM[Masumi] Are you seriously typing this?

[10:13:43 PM[Masumi] Creep.

Her following messages contained the data I requested.

I scanned through the list of names to check if anything odd stood out, but couldn't find a pattern or clue on how to solve this problem. The transcript of the explanation stated that this exam would test our ability to think and that grouping up with the other classes would be a shortcut.

These circumstances revealed that the meetings weren't needed to deal with the issue at hand. They were a distraction from the true purpose of this exam, or an easy way for everyone to earn private points, if we all were to play nice. But there was no way that the exam would end like this with wildcards like Ayanokouji and Ryuuen.

[10:19:12 PM] Thank you very much, Masumi-san.

[10:19:29 PM[Masumi] Goodnight.

Ichinose Honami, huh?

An odd choice indeed.

Had Hoshinomiya-sensei pulled some strings?

Or was she hiding something else?

Chabashira-sensei was also playing with marked cards, because it was impossible that their homeroom teacher hadn't noticed his abilities. Even if he had kept a low-profile before the first special exam, she would have realized that he must have done something during his stay on the island.

I began to work the problem at hand, followed the hints we had received and tried multiple sequences until a final, feasible pattern revealed itself in front of me. There was no way to confirm my assumption at the moment, because the solution was so simple that the school could have set it up as a trap to confuse the students.

The difficulty of this examination might not be the pattern itself, but it lay in confirming a fourth VIP, with which it would be possible to find the correct arrangement for certain.

It was foolish to wage a civil war inside our own class while we were threatened by both Class B and D, so I took the opportunity that Ayanokouji's actions provided me to eliminate Katsuragi from this race once and for all.

Most of our classmates had recognized that I would make a better leader after the disaster on the island and followed Hashimoto's commands in keeping their possible VIP status secret from Katsuragi. This meant that he would have no chance to contend against the other classes since he couldn't identify a single VIP without my support.

After Hashimoto took care of his side of the arrangement, I sent Masumi to Katsuragi with a contract and the promise for the Sakayanagi faction's cooperation during this exam. For a hefty price, of course. If he wanted a chance, then he would have to promise me the unyielding allegiance of the remaining people he still controlled, including himself.

The outcome of the exam had already been written since I wasn't on the ship to stop Ayanokouji. My foolish classmate didn't know this and signed a deal that would make it impossible to betray me without facing immediate expulsion.

Checkmate on the second move — a Fool's mate.

"Huuuh..."

A deep sigh escaped my lips.

If this was all this 'special examination' offered, then it was nothing short of disappointing. Ayanokouji must have been planning something big, otherwise I couldn't understand how he hadn't verified the solution until now.

Did he become too arrogant?

It wouldn't be the first time in the history of mankind that a genius became complacent because no one reached their level of ability. He might have just been a fake, a cheap imitation, but his capabilities couldn't be dismissed.

Could he have failed to solve it?

No — that was impossible.

If Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, the 'Masterpiece' of the White Room, failed on such a trivial task, then it wouldn't have existed for such a long time. I might have been engrossed in our shared past, could have romanticized his abilities, but he couldn't be this disappointing. None of these false geniuses should be this mediocre, much less him.

My phone vibrated.

I was curious who might have sent me this message, because Masumi seemed to have been tired and neither Hashimoto nor Kito had received any orders that required a reply. My gaze ended up on the clock, which was fastened to the wall as I remembered something about our school-issued devices.

A smile crept on my face, as it pulsated again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

Few people in the first year knew that the messages we received from the school didn't make an audible sound after ten o'clock. They conformed to the usual vibrate only setting from ten in the evening to seven in the morning. This was added for the students who didn't want to be woken up by messages from school during the night.

I grabbed my phone and unlocked it.

My heart sped up as I read through the nine incoming texts. Despite my best endeavors, I couldn't hold in my laughter any longer. The ecstasy that rushed through my whole body was too much for me to handle as the excitement I tried to contain in my small vessel erupted like an active volcano.

"Fufufufufufufufufufufufufufufu..."

- Word Count: 15578 / 71768 Characters

Released 01.10.2022

Chapter 30 - Crush

My eyes fluttered open before the alarm rang.

I disliked being pulled out of my soothing, comfortable sleep, so I was used to waking up a few minutes prior. The biological clock that slumbered deep inside my body wasn't at all accurate or dependable, but my morning routine on the ship was already carved into my very conscience.

To my surprise, I hadn't been the first one to wake up.

Mako-chan, Yume-chan and Tsube-san were already awake, which was rather strange, as they would usually snore and turn in their beds until the alarm clock did its job. Even then, it was custom that they slapped on the snooze button for the traditional 'just five more minutes' plea, whereupon they wriggled around and dozed off again.

This time, they called out to me as I moved.

""Good morning, Class Rep.""

"Honami-chan, good morning!"

Their voices sounded different from usual, but I was too tired to narrow their change in behavior down to the most obvious reason. Instead, I was assured that they were just excited about how the new exam would play out and whether they had been chosen as the VIP of their group.

"Good morning everyone. You are up early." I rubbed my tired eyelids and sat straight before a yawn escaped my lips. "This has to be the first time that I don't have to drag you all out of bed, huh?"

Three joyful laughs rang through the cabin.

The girls pointed at the soft, warm and comforting object my arms had embraced with wide, teasing grins on their faces. My own grew beet red in response, as I realized that they must have seen my embarrassing and defenseless sleeping posture in which I embraced the stuffed animal Ayanokouji-kun had gifted me for my birthday.

"Mhhh..."

This low hum was all I could muster as I pushed my blazing face deep into the panda's fluffy head. My eyes began to tear up a little, not out of sadness, but because of the troublesome thought that they must have looked at me as I smiled like an idiot while I grabbed onto the soft toy that still smelled like him.

In my imagination, at least.

"Well, well Honami-chan. Now we finally know why you are always the first one to get up. You are lucky that we are all deep sleepers or we might have discovered this adorable side of our precious Honami-chan much sooner. Gosh, this cute scene is just too much to handle. My heart can't take anymore of this."

"You're the worst!"

A squeal slipped my lips as I threw myself backwards.

The mattress made multiple loud squeaking sounds as my burning hot fingers grabbed onto the comfortable, thick blanket, which I soon pulled over my person in order to conceal the crimson coloring that crept along my skin. My body gave off a searing heat, which gathered underneath the comforting layer of cotton. This sudden increase in temperature became too much to handle, forcing me to slip out of my hiding place.

We were dragged back into reality by four loud ringtones and the shrill sound of my alarm clock. The latter kept echoing through the room until I pushed my arm forward to pressure it into silence. I sat up, hugged the panda with both my arms and legs now that everyone had seen it anyway, and grabbed my phone from the bed.

"Let's go through them together."

""Yay!""

Everyone was excited about the announcement, so we had decided to look at each message with the four of us. There might not have been any deeper meaning, or any convoluted strategy involved, but it was always nice to spend such fun times with my classmates. We only had three years together, which was why we would enjoy them without regrets.

Yume-chan was the first to unlock her phone.

"It's not me..."

She lowered her head, disappointed yet relieved.

The so-called 'zodiac exam' was indeed a great opportunity to receive a lot of private points for one's own use, especially as the VIP candidate in the group. Having this role had huge upsides due to the potential payout, but brought an equivalent downside to the table, as the person in question needed to keep their status hidden at all costs.

She might have been looking forward to the chance to gain a lot of points, but she was also concerned about messing up for the class and herself. Ike-kun was the only group mate that stood out during our test on the island, but he wouldn't be someone she needed to worry about in this one.

We, as in Class B, had already determined that any points we received during this exam could be used as the person obtaining them wished. The VIP, for example, would be allowed to keep all the private points to themselves, share a part of their earnings with our classmates, or contribute a certain number of points to the class pool.

This also meant that nobody had to reveal their status.

If someone decided to part with their points for the class, then I would receive them as our designated bank. I was aware of the irony in trusting me with points after what I had done, but agreed to keep up appearances. None of my friends knew about my deal with Kouenji-kun, as I had chosen to hold on to this secret for the moment.

Matsushita-san might use this knowledge against me, but it was too dangerous to inform them during such an important examination as my betrayal might spark arguments among my friends, which would lessen our chances of winning. It was possible that she wouldn't use her cards for this test, as she was patient and cunning enough to keep her aces to herself.

At least I got the points back...

She may have given me this unexpected 'gift' to prepare another one of her schemes, but I would still save up the one million points I had spent to repent for the crime I had committed. Rather than living with the awareness that I had stolen from my classmates, I would come clean and spend extra points until all my sins were absolved.

Only then would I deserve forgiveness.

"I'm next!"

Tsube-san's excited expression vanished a few seconds after this passionate statement left her lips. Betrayed by her own heightened expectations, she lowered her head, informing us about her nonexistent VIP status. Words alone were unable to describe the sudden burst of disappointment that swept through the whole room.

"Maybe that's for the better. Your poker face is kind of..."

Mako-chan stuck out her tongue.

She was a master at teasing people, so it did not surprise me or anyone in this room that a short pillow fight broke out between the two of them. Their little brawl wasn't serious, and even Yume-chan and I joined for a bit to brighten up her despondent mood.

"Okay, okay... enough." One of the two main competitors slumped into my bed, accepting her ungraceful loss. "I give up. Mako-chan is too ruthless, nobody can win against her. It's impossible."

"Hehe!"

My friend formed a peace sign with her fingers and basked in the limelight of this victory. A bright grin surfaced on her face before she sat back down on my mattress and snatched her phone. She unlocked the device and scanned through the message we had received from the school.

"Well, it's not me either." The girl clasped her hands as if praying. "God, please don't let it be Honami-chan. She wasn't even able to stay in a room with Ayanokouji-kun without being weird, much less hide such a big secret from him."

"MAKO-CHAN!"

A loud sob emphasized my defeated expression.

It was quite uncomfortable to admit, but her statement was truthful.

The only blessing I had been granted during the last exam was the knowledge that Ayanokouji-kun wasn't as observant as I believed him to be. If he had been the mastermind, as I presumed, then he would have long since realized that I had fallen in love with him, just like Matsushita-san.

Then he wouldn't have clasped onto me like this.

This warm, kindhearted embrace...

Each passing second had been torture.

His neck had been so close that my nose rubbed along his smooth skin. I felt his moist breath brushing against my hair, listened to his heightened heartbeat as he embraced me with his strong, reassuring arms, and remembered the lingering scent before his muscular chest stopped pressing against my own.

The thought of kissing him had circulated through my mind like a bad dream before it was replaced by another, even worse, desire. This dark, unforgivable longing had almost consumed the kind, amiable Honami that everyone knew and loved. It had almost devoured the guilt I felt, because I was assured that I would be a better girlfriend.

I wanted to steal him — make him mine.

But I stopped, buried my desires, and let go of him.

My heart might have bled, but it was the right decision.

There would have been no going back if I continued this train of thought. This realization scared me to such a degree that I resolved myself to stay away from him as long as we were alone. Both my body and mind had been so close to just giving in to the temptation, but this would have been the last nail in my coffin.

Another reminder that I hadn't changed.

The movements of my fingers ceased, short of unlocking the phone.

"I can't do it. What if it's really me? If I know that I'm the VIP, I'm going to tank this exam so bad..." I squinted, typed in my password and handed Mako-chan the phone without thinking twice. "Here. You read the message."

Yes.

Without. Thinking. Twice.

"Ehh? Honami-chan, you little vixen."

She tried to hide her mischievous grin with her hand.

This, however, was impossible as her lifted lips went from one end of her face to the other. If I hadn't observed this situation with my own two eyes, I would have doubted that such an impish expression was physically possible.

"What, what?"

Yume-chan and Tsube-san prompted her with excited glances and flocked around the girl like a pack of gossip-hungry hyenas. The small circle on my bed broke as they got up and crawled towards Mako-chan's position, which was adjacent to mine. My confused, still somewhat tired complexion turned into pure horror as I recognized the gravity of my mistake.

"WAIT! NO!"

I lunged forward in a desperate, last ditch effort to save myself from the looming embarrassment, but the devil was faster. She jumped back onto her feet and let me drop face-flat into the mattress. A muffled 'ump' escaped my airways before the other girls walked behind her.

"MAKO-CHAN! DON'T SHOW THEM!"

But it was already too late.

They turned towards me with wide, horrific smiles that could only be described as diabolical. My whole body rushed through all the available shades of red, which grew deeper as the seconds passed.

"MAKO-CHAN!"

There might have been no escaping this situation, but my conscious mind didn't want to hear any of this. I felt my skin soften as I turned into a wobbly ball of goo that slumped over from shame. The liquified parts of the altruistic, 'perfect' Ichinose Honami spread over the mattress like hot pudding until I slouched along the side of the bed.

"What do you say girls, should we show this to Ayanokouji-kyun?"

"Yeah! For sure."

"I agree. I agree."

"NOOOOO!"

I woke up around three minutes before eight.

The exam would only start once we received the messages from the school, so there was no need to get up any sooner. My roommates were already awake and greeted me with bright, beaming smiles, as usual. I returned their kind gestures as we began to chat about the approaching test and who might have been chosen as VIP.

Our discussion changed to the newly available clothes we would return to, as well as accessories and makeup which we might be able to afford after receiving over 100.000 points per month. In their eyes, we had already won this exam before it even started because of Matsushita's stellar performance on the island.

But they were praying to the wrong god.

Four familiar sounds rang through the room, turning the joyous atmosphere upside down. We weren't depressed or felt gloomy, but everyone was curious and somewhat nervous about the messages they had received. The three glanced at each other for a moment, took a deep breath in unison, and unlocked their phones.

"I'm not the VIP, Kushida-san."

"Me neither."

"Not me, Kushida-chan."

You stupid fucking morons...

Matsushita had come with a strategy that would keep our VIPs as safe as possible, while it allowed some of us to work on a potential solution to this problem. The plan was beyond simple and demanded that only Class D's leadership was aware of the VIPs in our class. This way, none of our companions could leak our designated students by accident.

In theory, at least.

The whole procedure could be thrown into the dumpster and set aflame if everyone screwed up like this, as their safety would be endangered the more people knew about them. Even Kiyotaka mentioned that only a handful of people should be informed about the VIPs in order to make the approaching betrayal that would strike us more difficult.

My question about the apparent traitor remained unanswered.

Instead of supplying me with instructions that might have come in handy, I received a sly smile and a peck on my lips. Kiyotaka was sometimes frustrating to be around, but he could be so damn sweet that I wanted to kiss him even more. Our relationship might be strange or fucked up, but I didn't care about any of these negative labels because I was happy.

I unlocked my phone and skimmed through the message.

[08:00:00 AM[ANHS] After thorough consideration, you have been chosen to be the VIP. Please remember to be a team player as your group tackles the challenges of this test. The exam begins today and will be held over three days. Members of the Dragon group should gather in the Dragon room located on the second deck.

Afterwards, I rubbed my eyes and read through it once more.

Oh, fuck!

Someone else might have thought of this opportunity as a godsend since they could earn up to one million private points, but this wasn't as easy to achieve as it sounded, especially in a group like ours. I was a good — scratch that — great actress, but my instincts screamed in fear as I stood in front of Ryuuen.

My danger senses hadn't been as developed before, but I've begun to feel an imminent threat in front of certain individuals ever since Kiyotaka had punished me for my transgression. The first, aside from the devil himself, was Kouenji, back on the island. I kept telling myself that I was being crazy, that I was still affected by the things Kiyotaka had done to me, but my gut had been right on the mark.

A similar feeling surfaced when we met Ryuuen.

He was one of those dangerous people I shouldn't cross without the devil's consent. Class C's leader would pounce on me like a blood-starved beast if my behavior differed from the usual Kushida Kikyou. His claws wouldn't hurt as much as Kiyotaka's, but I didn't want to inconvenience my king.

"What about you, Kushida-chan?"

"Well, there was a sound, but there is no message." I confirmed the deletion dialogue that popped up on my display and showed them the message history with the school. "It's really weird since you all received them."

"But... that's horrible, Kushida-chan! You should hurry to Chabashira-sensei and tell her that something went wrong on your end. What if you'll get some kind of punishment because you didn't inform them?"

"You are right, Miyazawa-chan. I'm going to get ready and ask her."

I took my phone and ambled into the bathroom, where I brushed my teeth. During that time, I received multiple messages from my classmates, informing me about their status, as we decided that I would gather all the VIPs.

[08:03:43 AM[Karuizawa] I'm the VIP.

[08:04:12 AM[Satou] I'm the VIP in the Horse group.

Ike, Sotomura, Hasebe and the others texted me that they hadn't been chosen, which brought our number of VIPs up to three. We were four classes with twelve groups, so it was safe to assume that everyone had the same amount of designated students, as this would bring some fairness into the exam.

My nimble fingers flew over the keyboard as I opened and edited the table to include our three VIPs. I made sure that everything was in order, converted the chart into a picture and forwarded the new information to Kiyotaka before I began to undress.

There were no more clicks, no more light flashes when my clothes fell to the ground with muffled sounds. My body had stopped shuddering in fear, as I was satisfied with the current situation between us. The gentle rippling sounds that echoed through the room after I turned on the shower were soothing, and I knew that this tranquillity would last for a long time.

Hot water pelted along my frame, dispersing the cold, uncomfortable feeling that had slithered over my bare skin. My feet carried me backwards, beneath the comforting stream of water, which moistened my hair. I reached for the shampoo bottle, put some pressure on it to reveal a green, apple-scented substance and massaged it deep into my scalp.

Soapy liquid trickled down my neck before I rubbed over my shoulders, the chest area, including my two mounds, and the rest of my body that hadn't been properly cleansed. A second set of illusory hands began to caress over my breasts, just like before, when he had disciplined me in May.

This time, however, they were affectionate and reassuring.

They made sure that I felt safe while they cleansed my skin, as if they were my own palms. The fear of throwing up because of these illusions had subsided as they became much more gentle and cherishing in their actions. Instead of hurting me, they tried to smooth over the deep gashes that had been caused by them.

I turned off the shower and stepped outside.

The message indicator from my text to Kiyotaka had changed to 'read' just as I finished drying myself off with one of the snow-white towels that had been placed on the metallic rack outside the cubicle.

[08:16:23 AM[Kiyotaka] Good job. Thank you.

A smile formed on my face as I read his answer.

What the fuck is wrong with me?

It's just a damn text.

[08:16:43 AM] No one else knows about the VIPs, since I didn't know how you wanted to play this. The girls in my room think that I haven't received a message, so I was showering to meet Chabashira, which gave me an excuse for not informing Matsushita either.

[08:17:11 AM[Kiyotaka] Good thinking, but unnecessary in this case because we couldn't hide much without endangering your position. Let Chiaki know about the VIPs and proceed according to her plan for now.

[08:17:22 AM] Okay. When are you done solving the exam?

I doubted that he would figure it out anytime soon, but I felt the need to poke some fun at him for being right with his assumptions and conclusions all the time. It wouldn't be that easy to determine the solution of an exam the school came up with, and not even he could manage something like this in less than a minute.

[08:17:27 AM[Kiyotaka] Oh, I'm already done.

"Huh?!"

My phone slipped out of my palms due to my surprise. I bent forward and lost half of the towel, but barely managed to catch the device before it crashed into the ground. An irritated sigh escaped my lips as I tapped back into our chat.

[08:17:49 AM] Are you serious? You are screwing with me, right?

[08:18:27 AM[Kiyotaka] Of course. Putting that aside, I want you to meet with Sakura today. Walk around with her and spend some time on the upper levels. Take Sudou if you have to, but get it done. Try to involve her into a long conversation about the exam, how she has been feeling in her group, those kinds of things.

[08:18:51 AM] What kind of dubious sounding task is that?

[08:18:59 AM] And Why Sakura of all people? She's frustrating...

[08:19:32 AM[Kiyotaka] She's struggling so we are helping. Report back once you are done. About our VIPs, I'll take care of Karuizawa myself. Satou... inform Ichihashi to play decoy for her if anything comes up. And you should be able to fend for yourself. If you are worried about Ryuuen, don't be. Remember what I told you and keep in mind that he will know about 'Apate' because of Ibuki. Don't feel pressured by him, I'll deal with this problem when the time comes.

[08:19:52 AM] Understood.

Yet another smile surfaced on my lips.

Even though he acted like he didn't care, he looked out for me, his queen. He paid attention to my needs and watched over me in his own distorted way. His attitude might seem cold and unloving, but he knew that I was concerned about Ryuuen and assured me of my abilities to keep him at bay.

Kiyotaka would protect me if I ever needed him.

That was what his mysterious presence felt like.

My secrets and general mental state had been a barrier to open up to another person for most of my life. It wasn't in my nature to put my faith into other people — to share my most cherished secrets — but Kiyotaka was different. He took everything by force and tended to the remnants of my broken self until he had formed them into something unique.

I had difficulties putting my thoughts into words, but I believed that I could trust him. Not because he was friendly and kind, strong and reliable, or anything positive a girl would look for in a boyfriend she could entrust herself to. He was — he could be — all of those things and so much more.

But none of it was real.

Due to this, I felt some kind of twisted understanding between us.

His actions were harsh and unforgiving.

Not anyone could follow him, knowing what kind of monster he had hidden beneath his 'nice guy' facade. I had shed my doubts because this man could be an angel, or worse than the devil, depending on your conduct around him. There was another detail about Kiyotaka that was the most important one to be aware of if a person wanted to survive in his vicinity.

If you were useful to him, he would move heaven and earth to protect you.

This truth assured me of three things:

As long as I believed in him, I would be fine.

As long as I did not betray him, I would be safe.

As long as I was protected by him, no one could touch me.

12:55 PM, day one of the exam.

The Professor and Azuma already waited inside the 'Rabbit Room' when I joined the group. She sat around three arm-lengths away from him and stared at me with a confused expression that betrayed her current distress. He kept talking to her with his usual peculiar zeal, unaware of the damages he was causing this poor girl.

"Hmm, if 't be true, t isn't Ayanokouji-dono." Clear excitement flashed over his face. "Art thee at least interest'd in mine own linguistic idiosyncrasies? Azuma-san doesn't seemeth fond of mine, but what doest she knoweth?"

"Ayanokouji-kun, could you help me?"

Azuma's plea resonated through the cabin.

She buried her head into her palms, unable to comprehend what Sotomura wanted from her while the boy in question began to embroider his narration with gestures and a fitting mimic to emphasize his notions further.

It must have been quite the struggle for her, considering that this was their first time exchanging such pleasantries. She wasn't too fond of most boys, for obvious reasons, but she didn't mind conversing with Hirata and me, or even Yukimura and Miyake, who weren't as perverted as the rest.

At least publicly.

Maybe Ike had corrupted them as well.

"We are not really interested. Thanks for asking, though."

He wasn't stupid and should have realized that neither of us were interested in his Shakespearean act. His negligence might have been caused by a new game, anime or novel he was reading. Sotomura was what they called a 'Chuunibyou', according to Karuizawa, who knew her way around the different factions in a classroom.

"From anon on, I shalt beest like the protagonist who is't appears weak but secretly hast massive strength. I normally has't nay motivation, but I'll becometh a completely OP cheater as lief as the time is right."

If his words were anything to go by, he must have read one of those isekai or game style novels that were popular at the moment. I've never seen one myself, but Ike and the others talked about how bizarre the reincarnations had been getting for some time. We Japanese seemed to be vulnerable to trucks and prone to being reborn into the strangest items.

Even Ichinose didn't manage to greet me.

She must have been so perturbed by the Professor's ramblings that she only managed to glance at me with a hint of second-hand embarrassment which shone through her rosy complexion. Himeno and Beppu acknowledged my presence with an awkward smile before they continued their own conversation.

The Class A students didn't lift their heads after I walked in, but Kamuro's guard went up by a notch. She was tense and changed her seating posture to reflect her involuntary muscle movements. Neither Kito nor Machida were fazed by my appearance as they busied themselves with their phones, which revealed that she was the only person who 'knew' me.

Manabe and the other Class C girls grimaced in disgust after walking in. They were taken aback by Sotomura's incoherent statements and chose not to interact with him. Yajima and she seemed to be decent friends according to their proximity to each other, while Nishino came across like a lone wolf type, similar to Ibuki.

"Could we concentrate on the exam, please?"

Azuma was quite diligent.

She was someone who'd mess around with people she was close to all day long if nothing major happened, but she would concentrate on the matter at hand as soon as something like an examination came up. Since she was one of Kikyou's followers, I noticed her behavioral patterns and thoughts in our current situation better than others might.

Karuizawa soon strode into the room.

The girl regarded me with a gentle nod, peered at Azuma for a moment and disregarded the Professor as if he didn't exist. She grabbed the last remaining chair, which stood next to Sotomura and pulled it towards me without paying the dazed reactions of our group mates any mind.

"Could you move?"

"Eh, uhm... sure."

Azuma slid a few centimeters to her left, where the modern Shakespeare sat, which gave Karuizawa enough space to sit beside me. This action destroyed the perfect circle that one of the staff members must have created with immense effort, which was quite painful to think about.

Ichinose sat to my right and peered at our gyaru.

Her warm breath tickled my earlobe as she leaned over. She placed her hand next to my ear, covering it and her lustrous lips, which drew closer. She was about to open her mouth when the cruiser's loudspeaker system came to life.

"The first group discussion begins now."

A disappointed sigh escaped her lips.

Before I could ask or wonder what she wanted, she switched into class leader mode, if one could call it that. Ichinose cracked a gentle smile and stood, attracting the attention of all students in the room with her shining presence alone.

Could they also smell her shampoo?

"Hello everyone. I know most of you, even if some are just familiar by name, but I think it would be a good idea for everybody to introduce themselves for the members who are still unfamiliar with each other."

She was impressive, as always.

Unlike her, I wouldn't have been able to stand up and take charge like that, even if I knew the people in this room. It was even more extraordinary if one considered that she would have acted the same way if these people were complete strangers. This behavior reflected what kind of person the girl named Ichinose Honami was.

No one in this group was better suited to take the lead.

"Is it really necessary to introduce ourselves? I don't think the teachers were serious and just threw around empty phrases. If people want to, then fine, but I see no reason to force the ones who don't feel like it."

"Mh, I can't force you to do anything, of course, but there is also no reason to believe that the school hasn't put microphones in each of the rooms prior to our meetings. If someone decided not to introduce themselves, the whole group might face a penalty. We should at least try to minimize the risks we can control, don't you agree?"

If someone like Ryuuen said those words, they would have come across as a clear threat, but out of her glistening lips, they sounded like genuine worries. Unbeknownst to most, she was quite astute, which was proven by this more or less ridiculous claim, which served another purpose aside from making everyone acquainted.

The sweet smile that surfaced on her lips after their nonexistent reactions confirmed that my theory was correct. None of our group mates were shocked by such a statement, even though a normal, ignorant student would have had a reason to be surprised. This feedback, or lack thereof, assured Ichinose that everyone in this cabin was aware of the hidden cameras in each of our classrooms.

With this, she arranged the board.

A group of students who reacted with surprise or bewilderment would have been out of competition, or at least, lower ranked on the danger scale than the others. Kamuro was the only one who noticed Ichinose's little trick, which meant that she held more information than anyone else in this room.

Would either of them use this during our discussion?

There was little to no indication that this would prove useful, but she attempted to check everyone's situation to gain a feeling of how the classes operated behind the scenes and on how many intricacies they might have picked up on.

Ichinose was the first one to introduce herself after this short disagreement had been put to rest. I hadn't expected to be surprised and fascinated by such a simple act, but she was even more remarkable than Hirata. Her smile was extensive, comforting and gentle, while she spoke in a loud and clear tone. She glanced at everyone for a short moment, which made each student feel like she was talking to them in particular.

Even her eyes beamed like two dazzling stars.

Would I ever be able to replicate such a genuine warmth?

The students after her paled in comparison.

Her charisma was off the charts and none of the other beautiful girls, like Karuizawa, Kamuro, Nishino, or Himeno, could beat the blinding example she had set. Neither of them tried to be fair, as the first was annoyed by this meeting while the second and third were in a bad mood for reasons I couldn't pinpoint.

My introduction was much better than my first.

The improvements could only be seen by the ones who saw and remembered the whole debacle during April, however, so I assumed that Azuma might have been the only one who was as proud of my accomplishments as I was. One point I had improved upon was the chair, which didn't rattle this time around. The second and third revisions were a more fluent pronunciation and the faint smile that spread over my lips as I stood in presence of everyone with great confidence.

"Alright. Now that we've finished with the introductions, how do you think we should proceed?" Class B's leader paused for a moment, whereupon my eyes had some time to wander along her fascinating thighs. "Please tell me if anyone disagrees with me taking the lead during our group sessions."

Due to my 'accident' on the island, I had been gifted the rare chance to feel their heavenly embrace. I had already expected that they felt wonderful, just by looking at them once or twice, but to experience these soft, pleasant, almost luxurious wonders of nature first hand was a miracle in its own right.

It was quite difficult to push back Ike's black-purplish miasma that crept forward and corrupted my brain, so I had no time to dwell in those fond memories any longer. At least not now, since it would be bad if she caught me staring at her.

I had a girlfriend, after all.

"Well, since no one seems eager, I'll take the lead. To begin with, I wanted to make sure that everyone understood the rules and regulations of this exam. If we are not all on the same page, things might get difficult further down the line."

She peered at each of us one by one.

This way, she made sure that she would pick up on the people who felt insecure and didn't want to voice their troubles. If just one person showed hints of uncertainty, she would explain the test again. Karuizawa and I weren't as clueless as yesterday, since we asked Chiaki and Hirata to explain the exam to us when we met up.

What would we two dorks do without them?

"Okay, with this in mind, I'd like for all of us to work together to clear this examination. I think Outcome #1 is the result we should aim for in this group. Does everyone agree with my opinion so far?"

"What the heck are you talking about? Isn't that obvious?"

Karuizawa was the first to voice her view on this idea. Her words were followed up by the Class C girls, as well as Azuma and the Professor, who were fine with cooperating for the first outcome. Himeno and Beppu, who must have spoken with Ichinose beforehand, nodded as well and supported her decision.

Her charming gaze darted towards me.

"I agree as well. We are a group now, and Mashima-sensei said that we should work together to solve this exam. Aside from this, I believe that we could all use some private points for our own expenditures."

"We —"

Machida opened his mouth before Kamuro cut him off.

"Yeah, we agree with what you said, but Class A won't answer any more of your questions from hereon out. You people may discuss on your own on how to proceed, if that's what you want, but leave us alone."

Another defensive strategy, as expected.

Katsuragi was easy to read, especially after the fiasco on the island. His position as class leader was already doomed after he lost all points during the previous exam, which allowed Class B and D to decrease the gap. Sakayanagi's influence would have risen as a result and he might not even be aware of his own VIPs, depending on who was designated.

Could she have cut a deal with him?

This was a possibility depending on her personality, which I could only judge through the rift between her and Katsuragi, since Kikyou couldn't gain much. He was a stickler for principles and abided the rules of the school without a second thought. If their ideologies overlapped, there wouldn't have been any reason for them to fight over the class leader position, which suggested that she might have used the hand I had dealt her to cut him out.

Ichinose was leading her class in a true democracy.

Everyone was heard, and the majority decided after deliberating it among themselves. A similar discussion must have taken place on the island where they decided to designate two representatives who would determine their approach while the rest took care of the base, the supplies and other miscellaneous things. If someone had voiced any doubts about joining us, for example, they would have been heard and addressed.

This was Class B's biggest weakness and their sole strength.

Ryuuen was a true tyrant.

The masses were expected to follow when the monarch decided on a course of actions. This method of leadership worked for the moment, as his classmates were more afraid of him than anyone else. He was also quick to adapt to unexpected changes and tried to turn certain people and or narratives to his favor, as demonstrated by his actions on the island when he was outclassed by our scheme to keep all spots occupied.

He wouldn't stop until Chiaki groveled before him.

Our leader was, for all intents and purposes, a puppet.

A capable, smart and quite beautiful one, but a simple tool of the puppeteers behind her. In her current position, she was as good a leader as Ichinose and Ryuuen. Her classmates trusted her due to the results she brought every time she acted. She also made a habit out of listening to everyone's opinion before dismantling them, demonstrating why some ideas are better than others in a particular circumstance.

Chiaki might not have dominated the island without help, but she wouldn't have lost either. Even her accomplishments during Sudou's trial were her doing, aside from the video she had received from Horikita Manabu.

Ichinose and she were on a similar level while Ryuuen would outdo both of them due to his merciless, cold-hearted nature. Class B's head-maiden was too naïve and wouldn't see the trap coming before it was too late, while Chiaki wouldn't be able to do anything against a relentless frontal assault. She might block some of his early attacks, similar to Kanzaki in Class B, but if the dragon kept hitting, both of their defenses would cave in sooner rather than later.

Katsuragi had shown no particular qualities so far.

He had higher specs than lower ranked students, but that was his one and only advantage. If he had been placed in a class similar to Ichinose's, he might have achieved some results, but they weren't playing in the same league or were otherwise close in ability to warrant a comparison in leadership potential.

Sakayanagi was a force to be reckoned with.

This frail, half-crippled, ailing girl wasn't anywhere near the island or this ship, yet she had singled me out as a threat, which was unbelievably exciting. Her followers included Kamuro, Hashimoto, Kito and some others who were all quite capable. It was a shame that her physical abilities were subpar and bordered on nonexistence due to her condition.

"This test requires us to conclude through discussion. If the students from Class A don't want to take part in any conversations pertaining this topic, then that is their right. But why don't you tell us what you have in mind? You should be heard as well, since we are considering all possibilities."

"Which is why we propose to sit in silence until this exam is over." Kamuro looked over the group and singled out the Class C students, in particular, while Machida spoke to everyone. "If none of us say anything or answer questions that might betray the VIP, we'll all get points at the end of the exam. Aiming for Outcome #1 is naïve. How do you propose to make sure that none of us betray the other? It's nigh impossible to get the best result for everyone, with the added anonymity, which is why Katsuragi-san proposed that we go for Outcome #2. If we let the VIPs win in every group, each class will get the same amount of points. How they'll ultimately deal with those points is up to each class."

Kamuro had complied with Ichinose before and was trying to narrow down the VIP to a specific class, which was a good first step. Her classmate Machida didn't seem to be aware of her thoughts, which indicated that he was still loyal to Katsuragi, and thus not a person she could rely on. They moved into different, contrasting directions, which would only make solving this exam harder on them.

Or was this their ploy?

"I get what you are saying, but how do you know that every class has the same number of VIP students?" Beppu raised his eyebrows in confusion. "It would lead to an imbalance in private points that would be hard to recover from if Class A had six, while the remaining classes only had two each."

He wasn't privy about their VIPs.

Class B might have allowed their students to keep their identities a secret to adhere to their democratic procedures. Unlike Ryuuen, they wouldn't force anyone to share their status, which meant that they might not know about all three of their VIPs, which was a huge disadvantage during this test.

Maybe they shared it in private?

Ichinose should know about one, at least.

"The school wouldn't distribute the VIPs unfairly. They even emphasized their commitment to fairness before the test began. It's more than safe to assume that each class has three VIPs, otherwise the test would be unfair from the start. Is that possible? No, it's not. After all, the previous exam on the island was fair, wasn't it? Every Class started with equal conditions. They even deducted thirty points from us for our missing student. Do you really believe that we wouldn't get the same number of VIPs if you take all of this into consideration?"

"I'm fine with Class A's strategy. It's safer than trying to go for the first outcome and we'll be at least gaining some points. There is almost no risk involved either, depending on what the classes discussed with each other."

Azuma nodded after listening to Sotomura.

None of my classmates were against the approach that bought us the most time with the least effort, since Chiaki had already decided how we would deal with this exam. She was assured that she could solve this puzzle with the help of Kikyou and Hirata, but she may have wanted to ask Mii-chan for help as well.

She seemed like a girl who would be into this stuff, at least.

"I agree." Manabe blew against her shiny nails after she was done filing them. "Everyone sharing the same answer would be more rewarding, but the risks are too high. It just isn't realistic or feasible."

"Mh... Then how about we hear everyone's opinion on this? Would that be alright? First, those who agree with Class A's plan to aim for the second outcome, please raise your hand."

My classmates, aside from Karuizawa, raised their hands similar to Machida and the others. Manabe, Yajima and Nishino lifted theirs one by one after thinking it over for themselves. They didn't act as a closed unit like Class A seemed to be, but decided that this would be the most optimal, hasslefree solution.

Had Kamuro already excluded Class C?

"What about you, Karuizawa-san?"

"Honestly, I just want the test to be over and have fun with my friends." She shrugged, conforming to her usual easy-going attitude. "I'm fine with everything, really. If we decide to follow Class A's plan, then I'm with them, I guess."

Karuizawa was quite adept at lying and hiding her worries, which might have been one of the reasons that their false relationship hadn't been revealed yet. Her behavior didn't differ from her usual conduct, and even Kouenji might have run into difficulties narrowing the designated VIP down to her.

If he wasn't serious, at least.

"I see. Himeno-san, Beppu-kun, your thoughts?"

"We leave everything to you, Class Rep."

This was an expected response.

"What do you think, Ayanokouji-kun?"

"Well... I'm with you, but we are outvoted."

Being against Ichinose's proposal wouldn't benefit me. In the worst case, it might even hinder me from achieving my current goals. It wasn't like Ichinose to agree to these terms without questioning Class A's strategy, either. She was superior to Katsuragi, even without my help, and must have realized the hidden pitfall behind Machida's kind words.

"It's decided then."

Kito raised his eyes for the first time during this group gathering and peered at Ichinose. Machida smiled in response to his victory and was about to clap his hands when Ichinose cut through his premature celebration.

"Wait a moment, Machida-kun. Katsuragi-kun's strategy isn't bad, but wouldn't you say that only a Class A student could propose such a strategy? There may be downsides we haven't seen just yet."

"Nani?! Did we walk into their trap-card by any chance?"

The Professor jumped back, knocking over his chair.

"It's true that we might earn many points by not holding any discussions, but wouldn't that be unfair to the lower-ranking classes? After all, we have no information on how many special tests we will have to go through before graduation. If Class A always proposes a defensive strategy like this one, then their class position will never change if they are careful enough. I won't waste a precious opportunity like this."

"We agree with our Class Rep."

Himeno's lazy voice floated through the room.

"Me too. I trust her."

Ichinose and her companions smiled, while a few others wore expressions of doubt. Kamuro, in particular, seemed caught up in disbelief after my statement. Kito was expressionless, therefore harder to read than average, but his eyes darted to me for a split second before they returned to their usual resting posture. Machida was the least surprised of them, which confirmed my assumption about their internal differences.

Why would Chiaki's boyfriend trust another class?

Class B would think that I depended on them, since we have been close friends since April, while my own classmates would believe that this was one of Chiaki's strategies. Even if they wouldn't pick up on this, I could inform them about a nonexistent directive by our leader due to my unique position.

Nishino and the others were surprised as well.

None of them had been on the island to know about our previous alliance, and Ryuuen wouldn't inform them about certain things as long as he deemed it unnecessary. He might not leave the groups unsupervised, but he only relied on a few people, neither of which were part of this group.

Even if they were around, they would have assumed that we might form another alliance, which was rather difficult to accomplish after our first collaboration had almost failed. Our class points back then were nearly non-existent, not even remotely comparable to now. The only way we could team up with them again was a fifty-fifty split, and that would only be possible if Kanzaki was fine with such an arrangement.

Convincing Ichinose wouldn't be a problem, but he was a different caliber altogether. We might have been friends for quite a while already, but he would be much more concerned about potential traps the second time around. If it weren't for 'Chiaki' and her foul play on the island, I could have made a fifty-fifty split happen, but Class B's guard dog would block any attempt at cooperation between our classes as long as my girlfriend hovered over Class D.

"I understand what you are trying to say, but if we follow along with your proposal, there will only be one achievable outcome. Only if everyone answers correctly will we gain those points. Otherwise, only the traitor will. Are you perhaps planning to discover the VIP through discussion and betray us? You don't sound very trustworthy to me."

"She is to me, which is why I told her that I'm the VIP before our group gathered." My fingers brushed along my chin as I glanced over to Ichinose. "If she wanted to betray us, she would have done so by now."

"Ayanokouji-dono?!"

"Huh?! Are you crazy?"

Karuizawa's false desperation was remarkable. She was quick on the uptake, similar to Kikyou, and her acting wasn't much worse. She wouldn't be able to have as wide a range as my queen, but she was capable in her own sphere of influence.

Everyone was surprised by my sudden revelation.

Kamuro picked up on my lie almost immediately, while Kito and the others were confused. Their glances swayed towards Ichinose, who was about to open her mouth to support me. My lovely naïve idiot wouldn't be able to live with the fact that all those people thought of me as a liar in case she were to refute my claims.

A loud sneeze reverberated through the room.

"Ah, sorry about that!"

Himeno shook her hands with an apologetic expression.

Her backup arrived, huh?

Then it's your turn, Machida.

"How do we even know that he is truly the Rabbit groups VIP? For all we know, this might be a ploy the two of you had decided upon beforehand. If it's really you, then show us your phone."

Thanks to Kikyou's vast information network, I knew that he was one of the guys who talked too much and thought too little when he was caught by surprise. My sudden statement rendered him unable to wait for Ichinose's confirmation, which would never appear after she had been brought back to her senses by Himeno.

Nishino and Manabe agreed with him and commanded me to reveal the message, disregarding my prior statement. Both Kamuro and Kito didn't consider my claims to be truthful but kept quiet to see how things would play out. My classmates deemed this to be one of Chiaki's ideas, while neither Ichinose nor Himeno and Beppu called me out on the lie, as they assumed the same.

"Why would I show you my phone? You aren't trustworthy in my eyes, compared to Class B, with whom we had worked together during the previous test on the island. Class C is even worse in that regard."

"The hell is that supposed to mean?"

Was she unaware of what happened?

Or just quick to anger like Ibuki?

"Weren't Class C the ones who sent spies to the camps of both of our classes? You may not have been aware of this, but I don't believe that Ayanokouji-kun's thoughts are unfair or unmerited considering what Ryuuen-kun did."

Ichinose's voice was stern and drew a clear line.

Manabe opened and closed her mouth like a fish without water.

Neither she nor the others could say anything against this rational line of reasoning, even if they hadn't been informed about the extent of Ryuuen's plans before. With this statement in mind, they would have understood why Shiina, Ibuki and Yamada had still been on the island without them.

"This might all be true, but we can't simply take your word for it, so our decision won't change. We'll be keeping to ourselves from now on. If you want to talk among each other, leave us out of it."

The three Class A students took their chairs and broke the circle, giving us the clear sign that they were done talking with us. They moved further away, towards the back of the room, and occupied themselves by whispering to each other.

"I wanted to avoid excluding anyone, but there's nothing we can do if Class A doesn't wish to take part in the discussion." A faint smile surfaced on her delicate face. "If you reconsider, you may join us anytime."

She sat back down and turned to the rest of our group.

"So, what are we doing about that guy? We can't just take his word for it. For all we know, he might have lied to help another one of his classmates, or Class B. We still can't rule out that you are all working together."

"There is not much we can do about this right now. Ayanokouji-kun said that he wouldn't show any proof of his VIP status since he couldn't trust strangers. The only thing I can tell you is that we haven't discussed this beforehand. I was just as surprised as you were when he revealed this information."

My lovely idiot wasn't lying, but used very loose wording.

She already lamented her involuntary response to my lie since she would have deceived everyone for me if Himeno hadn't interfered with a timely sneeze. I deranged everything she might have planned with a single sentence that played with her affection towards me. Ichinose realized this and would push the blame onto Chiaki, who was aware of her feelings for me and wanted to torture her this way.

If she told the truth now, she would declare me a liar.

Once again she placed my well-being over the rest of the group, which was yet another decision that Ichinose Honami wouldn't be happy with. This guilt would accumulate and weigh her down until she eventually crumbled under the pressure. It wouldn't take long until she notified her classmates about the deal with Kouenji and the stolen points.

I was counting on this process.

Just as I was expecting Class B's leniency.

"Well, if I may..." The Professor raised his hand, and kept silent until Ichinose gave him the go-ahead to speak. He stood and bowed in gratitude before he sat down again. "The chance that Ayanokouji-dono is the VIP should be high."

This sudden comment baffled everyone, even the Class A students who had withdrawn from our discussion just a few moments prior. Ichinose and her comrades glanced at both of us, suspecting that this was an obvious play, while Nishino became even more annoyed that we kept this supposed lie afloat.

"Yeah? And how's that?"

"You may not know this, or rather, you won't, but only three people in Class D know about all the VIPs aside from the VIP in question themselves. Ayanokouji-dono isn't one of them, however. Why would he reveal himself if it was uncertain whether the VIP is in our class? If the person was part of either Class A, B or C, they would know that he was just spouting nonsense, which would turn into an advantage for that class."

"True, but this could still be a trap by his girlfriend."

"Yes, it might. I'm merely saying that from my, a Class D student's, point of view. Him being the VIP has a rather high chance of being correct due to the aforementioned reasons. Whether you believe me shall be up to you."

The conversation died down after the Professor made his case.

Everyone evaluated what was said for themselves and established an assumption that suited their current narrative. Aside from Karuizawa and I, nobody could know for certain that I was lying. My bishop would assume that I acted on Chiaki's orders, which was why she would comply without complaints.

"Hey, you. You're Karuizawa, right?"

Recognition flashed in Manabe's eyes as she glanced at her.

"What?"

She looked up from her phone's screen with an annoyed frown, which emphasized her previous story that she just wanted this meeting to be over so she could meet up with her friends. Or rather, it might not have been a story in her case, since she disliked such gatherings a lot, at least if none of her female friends were here to keep her company.

"I might be mistaken, but did you have a fight with Rika earlier in the summer?"

This was the first time I heard of an altercation between Karuizawa and some girl from Class C, which meant that Kikyou hadn't been aware of such an incident. Maybe she hadn't been around during that time, because of my activities, or she had ignored everything she heard about this afterwards, since a public quarrel everyone would have heard about might not have caught her interest.

"Huh? What are you talking about? Who's Rika?"

"A girl from our class who wears glasses. She has her hair up in a bun, like a dango. Remember her?"

What's a dango?

"I don't know her."

Karuizawa looked back at her phone.

Manabe might not have picked up on this short-lived hesitation, but my classmate remembered something after she had described the girl's features. It must have been a rather benign argument, if she didn't even know Rika's name since she hadn't reacted upon hearing it. My classmate kept acting as if nothing happened to affirm the standpoint that this incident had nothing to do with her.

"That's weird though, don't you think? I'm sure that Rika told us that she was bullied by a girl in Class D named Karuizawa. She said that you pushed her aside while she was waiting in line at the cafe."

"Do you have some kind of problem with me?" Karuizawa's frown deepened as she expressed blatant disinterest in Manabe before her fingers passed over the keyboard. "I have like no idea what you are even talking about."

"I don't have a problem. Just checking if it's true. If it is, I'd like you to apologize to her. Rika is the sort of girl who bottles everything up, so it's up to me and my friends to help her deal with situations like this."

Wait, are we the bad guys?

My new, soon to be favorite bishop seemed to have run into trouble with this Class C girl and her friends took her to task after all this time. This was good news for me as well, since I might be able to put my plans for her into practice sooner than expected. The initial timetable for Karuizawa involved talking to her one-on-one at school.

Like Kikyou, I wanted to get to know her a little before I broke her down into spare parts, which I could then mold into whatever I needed. She, just like my queen, had her own strengths and weaknesses and had to be used accordingly.

Their argument with her wasn't too bad, all things considered.

"Then you won't mind if we check with Rika, will you?" Manabe, fed up by her contemptuous attitude, pulled out her phone, ready to take a picture. "If it wasn't you, there shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Karuizawa looked up for a moment, before her hand flashed towards Manabe's phone. The latter hadn't expected such a move, and was too slow to react in time. My classmate slapped the device out of her hand and focused back on her own before it even had enough time to crash into the ground.

"What the hell?!"

Manabe's angered voice travelled through the room as her phone struck the ground with a dull sound. It wasn't loud, so nothing should have broken, but it kept spinning and bouncing around for a short while due to the force the fearsome gyaru had put into her slapping motion.

"That's what I should say to you, no? Don't just take pictures of me without permission, you got that? I already told you that you had the wrong person. Now, grab your phone and leave me alone."

Her lazy complaint was impressive.

She supported her head with her left fist without a care in the world about what might have happened to Manabe's phone while everyone else just watched this scene unfold in front of them with widened eyes. Ichinose had difficulties in determining which party was at fault for this argument, but didn't arrive at a satisfying conclusion.

Our classes had spent some time together, so she must have seen firsthand how headstrong and mean Karuizawa could be if she was in a bad mood. It was conceivable that she had pushed this Rika, but she also didn't know Manabe very well, which was why she hesitated with her intervention.

This could have been a ploy by Ryuuen, after all.

"What will you do if my phone is broken?"

"I don't know? Ask the school for a new one."

"I have some really precious photos stored on that phone!"

Nishino took a short glimpse at the two as Manabe picked up the device and checked if everything was still in working condition. She must have concluded that this situation was too bothersome for her when Yajima joined her friend in glaring at Karuizawa, and closed her eyes before leaning back against the chair.

Kikyou's notes had described her as similar to Ibuki, and the comparison seemed fair. The only advantage, or disadvantage, she held over the latter was that she wasn't as aggressive with her tongue clicking.

So far, at least.

Morofuji Rika had good friends who looked out for her. From the information I had, she seemed to be rather timid, similar to Sakura. Very few girls in our class would have cared for her like this, so I believed that Manabe had the honest intention of supporting her classmate when she confronted Karuizawa.

"Just let me take a picture."

Both spurred each other on with their behavior.

They were understandably frustrated with each other, but neither of them backed down. The irritated girl pointed her camera at Karuizawa yet again. This time, she had learned from her previous mistake and walked out of reach. Karuizawa, who was unable to retaliate for this reason, resorted to something else.

Or rather, to someone else.

"No, I don't want you to! Please say something to her, okay?" She turned to Machida with a pair of puppy eyes. "I won't forgive you if you take my picture without permission. This isn't right! What do you think, Machida-kun?"

Why hadn't she asked me for help?

Two possibilities came to mind:

One, she could have assumed that I wouldn't do anything, since she considered me to be quite tame compared to her. She must have remembered how I tried to reason with her during our meeting with Mashima-sensei and concluded that I wouldn't help her the way she wanted to be helped, which was why she opted for Machida.

Or she was scared that she might pull me into this mess, which would lead Chiaki to investigate this whole affair. If she figured out that Karuizawa had indeed pushed Morofuji, then she might get mad for 'endangering' me, as she was still worried that Ryuuen might hurt me after the still unexplained accident on the island.

"I agree with her, Manabe." Her new knight in shining armor campaigned for her, just like she had assumed. "Karuizawa told you that she doesn't want her picture taken, so please accept her privacy and stop it."

My bishop's parasitic behavior forced her to move hosts, as the previous one wasn't useful in this situation. She didn't hesitate for a second before latching onto someone who looked reliable, despite having a loving boyfriend like Hirata. Machida didn't mind clashing with Manabe for her sake, and that was all she needed for the moment.

She wanted to be protected.

That was all Karuizawa asked for.

There was no reason to go as far as I went with Kikyou, if that was the case. This poor, damaged girl only needed to see that I was reliable and she would latch onto me like a leech. She could suck as much of my black blood as she wanted, as long as she complied with certain boundaries that she couldn't pass over.

"Machida-kun, this has nothing to do with you."

"From what I heard just now, you are in the wrong, Manabe. Karuizawa mentioned that she didn't know what you were talking about, but you still tried to take a picture of her. I think it's best to confirm with your friend if the story is true."

Manabe was furious, but not smart enough to dismantle the boy's flawed reasoning. Ryuuen or even Ibuki would have been able to trample over him with brute force, or they would have ignored his flowery speech altogether. Yet, there was nothing she could do but bite her lip and sit back down in frustration.

Karuizawa had a good eye for people.

She assessed that Machida would be the best candidate for the current objective, which was getting rid of Manabe, and used him to her advantage by utilizing nothing but her natural looks. She was aware of what she did, but couldn't care less about who she needed to control as long as she was protected.

"Thank you, Machida-kun!"

The gyaru looked up at him, her eyes full of gratitude.

Her skills reminded me of Kikyou's, but their usage differed.

"All I did was the right thing."

Katsuragi's footsoldier blushed as Karuizawa moved her chair over to him. Both of his classmates saw through this cheap, almost pitiful trick to ensnare him in her grasp, but neither of them notified him of her ulterior motives. Kamuro and Kito leaned back into their chairs and observed the students in silence.

The rest of our discussion period soon passed.

Class A kept true to their word and chose not to talk with us even once, while everyone else spun around in circles, wondering whether I told them the truth about my VIP status. Ichinose brought the session to a close after the hour passed, whereupon everyone began to stand up and leave.

Karuizawa accidentally stepped onto Manabe's foot on her way out. She apologized with her usual half-hearted attitude and walked off with her phone in hand. Machida noted that she had expressed remorse for her mistake, while the Class C girl's furious shouts reverberated through the room.

Due to this, the area was rather loud.

"Karuizawa is the real VIP."

These five words slipped my mouth as I brushed past Ichinose.

Her beautiful, glimmering sapphire orbs widened for a second before she managed to calm down. She peered deep into my eyes with a quizzical look, unsure whether I was telling the truth. A bright smile surfaced on her face a moment later when she realized that I seemed to feel horrible about what 'Chiaki' made me do.

It wasn't a lie when I said that I trusted her.

At least enough to let her in on the key that could end this exam, not only for our group, but this whole year. She couldn't be certain about my honesty, of course, but her heart would assure her that my words had been truthful.

This sounded stupid, but it actually worked.

Apparently...

I left the room and walked over to a nearby cafe until a feminine hand crashed into the metallic wall beside me, obstructing my way. My body stopped by sheer instinct before my eyes darted towards the girl who had cornered me.

"What's up, Himeno?"

Our position was rather unique.

It was known as 'kabedon' among experts.

Only that it was the wrong way around.

So a 'reverse kabedon' then?

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

She seemed rather serious, and I suspected that this had something to do with my stunt during our discussion period. All three of them must have noticed that I had baited Ichinose into lying for me. She and Beppu might have had faith in our friendship, but Himeno was similar to Kanzaki in that regard.

"You are not the VIP, correct?"

"No, I'm not."

Her ametrine eyes peered deep into mine, reflecting the faint, golden luster of my own two orbs as she inched closer towards my face. She didn't move her hand, nor did she grant me any room to maneuver myself out of this situation. If she had done this without being angered by my actions, then I might have enjoyed this even more.

"Did Matsushita force you to do this?"

"Of course not. Chiaki would never pressure me to do something against my will. She might seem scary since you don't know her very well, but she is very affectionate and gentle. She is my first-ever girlfriend and I love her deeply. If that wasn't the case, I would have broken up with her a long time ago, don't you think?"

I scratched my chin, surprised by her question.

A frown appeared on her slender face.

"We are your friends, Ayanokouji-kun. You can rely on us."

"Yes, I know. Thank you, Himeno."

"Alright then." She moved her hand away and regarded me with a faint smile. "Sorry for this. I guess I wanted to try this someday. It's just weird since I should have been on the receiving end, I think."

"Maybe I'll pay you back someday."

Himeno's pleasant laugh still rang in my ears, even after she had walked off.

On my way to the cafe, I received another message from Kikyou, which informed me that she was meeting up with Sakura and Sudou now. I wished her a good time, but all I received was the picture of a middle-finger in response to my boundless kindness.

She seemed displeased with my choice of company.

Just like this morning, I ordered for two, while I waited around for my guest. This wouldn't turn out to be a long talk, but I was a little hungry since I only had a light breakfast. My guest ambled into the establishment a few moments later and glanced around with a curious expression. It almost felt like he had never been here before and was evaluating this new location.

His eyes sparkled as he spotted me.

"Ayanokouji-dono! No — SAMA!"

The boy sat down and pushed up his glasses.

"Yo, Professor. Could you stop calling me that, though?"

"Of course, of course."

A whisper escaped his lips as he glanced around.

"Don't worry, no one followed us."

The Professor, also known as Sotomura Hideo, wasn't difficult to deal with. He was rather easy to influence, in fact. I never needed to threaten, hurt or damage him otherwise. All he wanted was to be part of something special, like the characters in one of his favorite novels, manga, anime and the games he played.

"A sidekick of one such as you shan't be worried about pursuers."

"You did good today, Professor."

"Class Rep, why'd you summon us all here?"

Yui-chan was the first to pose this question, whereupon the others soon followed. The number of inquiries increased while I waited for all my classmates to arrive in the karaoke room I had rented for the next hour.

I couldn't stomach the lies I told myself anymore.

A scorching hot stinging sensation ravaged my heart whenever one of my friends came up to me and expressed their trust in my arrangements. Every single day, they put their faith in me and the decisions I made, assuming that I acted for the good of our class and each individual that was part of it.

This scathing, unbearable pain wouldn't subside.

To mend this misery, I had to be honest to myself and everyone around me. There were still certain events I would keep to myself, as they didn't concern our class, but I was convinced that this meeting was the correct conclusion. It didn't matter how this conference turned out, as long as I put my thoughts into words.

I, Ichinose Honami, am a liar and a thief.

My classmates, who were like a second family to me, deserved better than the secrets of a criminal. They had a right to know the truth about the actions I had taken on the island, in order to save the one person I cherished more than anyone. Kanzaki-kun, Mako-chan and the others that depended on me should know about this despicable version of their leader.

"Everyone is here, Ichinose."

Kanzaki-kun closed the door that was labeled '55' and walked up to me.

This was quite a large number, even on this enormous cruise ship, but I figured that the first digit represented our current deck while the second one displayed the karaoke room we occupied. From now on, I wouldn't lie to my friends anymore, and it seemed like someone wanted to tell me that everything would be alright.

"Thank you for coming, everyone."

The chatter stopped as my voice echoed through the area.

Until now, I had never faced problems when I spoke in front of people. Even back in middle school, I didn't mind the gazes of the whole student body as I delivered my speech for being elected as the student council president. None of these occurrences could compare with the current situation, however.

It was much worse than the first time.

My knees were on the verge of giving in.

Deep, heavy breaths escaped my dry, cracking lips as it got harder to swallow the vast amounts of saliva that my body produced due to my nervousness. The bones forming my rib-cage seemed to fracture under the insane pressure my drumming heart exerted on them while the encroaching feeling of dread coursed through my veins like blood.

Why hadn't I asked them to save Ayanokouji-kun?

How could I face them from today onwards?

Who would still trust me after this?

What if they hated me now?

A dark, opaque veil of toxic thoughts enraptured my mind, pulled it into its vicious cold grasp as fear slithered along my frame like a man-sized black serpent that entangled me whole. The weight of my guilt drove me deeper into the ground as I struggled to stand without faltering. This invisible force made me want to kneel, to apologize — to beg them for forgiveness.

I must have been quite horrible at hiding my concerns.

Or maybe my classmates just knew me well enough to realize that I wanted to inform them about something significant, which was why their expressions grew worried, even though they had been gleaming in silent anticipation before.

"There is something I have to confess to all of you."

After the first discussion period ended, I reevaluated my decision.

My feelings for Ayanokouji-kun were still too fresh and Matsushita-san could outplay me and my plans with his presence alone. If Himeno-san hadn't obstructed me with her sneeze, I wouldn't have been prepared to call him a liar in front of everyone, just as Class D's leader must have assumed.

He was dazed and blinded by love, just like me.

Otherwise, he might not have followed her directions.

This problem of mine needed to be dealt with, and I couldn't lead or deceive my class with good intentions in mind while I struggled with these conflicting emotions. I had to take a step back this time, work through my problems, and return to my position next to Kanzaki-kun, if they still trusted me with such an important role after my proclamation.

Mako-chan didn't ease the mood with a funny insert.

No teasing remark like, 'Oh, we know that you love Ayanokouji-kun. There is no need to be all serious about this', slipped her lips, which would have been followed by giggles, smiles and my embarrassed sobs, because they all recognized that a burden weighed on my chest.

Kanzaki-kun had figured this out during the conclusion of the first exam.

He was the only one who had known about Matsushita-san's plans during this time and must have presumed that I saved Ayanokouji-kun by paying someone to help him. The tears and cries of guilt that followed the next morning would have confirmed his assumption that I had used our pool of private points for him.

Yet, he had chosen to stay quiet.

His silence protected the class and my reputation.

"Back on the island, I made a deal with Kouenji-kun from Class D." I clenched my fists and drilled my thumb deeper into my index finger. "You might think that this is alright, that I must have done this for Class B's sake, but that is not the truth. He made sure that Ayanokouji-kun wasn't hurt or poisoned by his girlfriend for a payment of one million private points."

An eerie silence descended over the room.

Usually, I was adept at reading my surroundings and the mood of the people I conversed with, but right now, there was nothing but a blinding white void. My head burned like a candlestick and I couldn't think of anything as multiple piercing stabs ripped my heart into small pieces. These anxieties sapped the energy out of my body, rendering me unable to think.

"You used our points to help a student from another class?"

Kanzaki-kun's voice was gentle and comforting.

"Yes, I betrayed your trust."

My legs gave in before I slumped to the ground.

Long buried, uncomfortable memories of my dark past slipped into my mind. Back then, I had also fallen to my knees and prostrated on the cold, hard floor, begging for forgiveness after my misdemeanor.

But my pleas hadn't been granted.

"I'm sorry that I stole our balance to help Ayanokouji-kun." Teardrops ran over my forehead, slid along my hair and soaked the carpet, coloring it in a darker shade of blue. "I'm sorry for keeping this a secret from all of you." My voice quivered as I forced my head deeper into the rug. "I will also transfer all the points in my possession to someone trustworthy, like Kanzaki-kun. Furthermore, I promise that I will answer for the financial damages I have caused until my debt is repaid in full."

Just please don't —

"What are you talking about, Class Rep?"

"You helped the person you love. Isn't that fine?"

"He's our friend too, you know?"

"Yeah, we'll get those points back somehow."

"We would have agreed to the purchase, so don't worry."

Unable to believe their kind words, I began to cry with even more fervor. I deserved neither their mercy nor the trust or understanding they met me with, because I had once again stolen for the person I loved most. This turned me into a repeated offender who hadn't earned their friendship or this kind of consoling support.

My actions shouldn't be forgiven.

Why would they absolve me?

Weren't they angry?

Disappointed by my actions?

Why did no one scream at me?

"Is that why you were crying back then, Honami-chan?" Mako-chan's voice stood out from the rest. Her feet came to a halt next to my head before a dull pain coursed through my frame. "Are you stupid? Get up."

"But... I don't deserve..."

The next minutes were nothing but a blurry mess.

Somehow, I stood and was seated on one of the couches.

I couldn't remember how long I cried or how I got here, but my classmates kept trying to cheer me up the whole time. They embraced me, rubbed my head and told me that everything was fine. Their behavior was quite frustrating because their sympathies and kind gestures weren't warranted after my betrayal.

"In summary, we are one million points short, yes?"

Kanzaki-kun interlaced his arms and leaned against the backrest.

He must have worried about what this deficiency meant for our plans going forward. We had decided that Class B would pool a certain amount of private points into the bank to form a safety net in case one of us was in danger of being expelled. My actions had jeopardized this insurance we wanted to establish.

Or so it seemed.

"We are not. Matsushita-san returned the one million points after I paid Kouenji-kun. I assume that she wanted to use this as a bargaining chip, but we are talking about someone who poisoned Chihiro-chan to cost us points, so I'm sure that she has a few more tricks up her sleeve. Besides that, we — ouch, Mako-chan!"

My friends were equally baffled.

Their eyes opened wide as she kept hitting my head, but none of them moved to stop her. Faint smiles surfaced on their previously concerned faces as they began to laugh and giggle. Instead of hurting me, she was baffled by my unnatural behavior and took it upon herself to beat some sense into me.

In her own gentle way.

"Honami-chan you dolt! Standing there in front of us all serious and kowtowing while we didn't even lose a single point. Are you looking down on us? I was worried for your innocence for a second and you are fussing over this?!"

"Mako-chaaan! Stop hitting meee!"

Our stoic classmate in the Dragon group shook his head in an exasperated manner. He kept observing the situation, similar to my classmates, until Mako-chan stopped her attack. My teary blue orbs darted towards him for support before he slapped me as well.

"You could've pre-pended your confession with that."

"No, because I didn't know that she would do this when I made the deal. I was ready to repay the one million points, of course, but this would have taken time, even if I put all my savings into our pool. My actions might have risked one of us and I felt horrible about not asking you for support. Ayanokouji-kun's situation scared me and I couldn't think straight."

The depressed mood vanished and was replaced by our usual class climate, thanks to the conduct of certain individuals. My friends might have forgiven me without a second thought, but I still believed that I deserved punishment for my sins. I would take everything head on from this day forward, together with my classmates, and vowed to myself that I wouldn't hide anything important from my companions — my family ever again.

Speaking of which...

"There is something else we need to talk about..."

"Wait, is it really your innocence?!"

Mako-chan jumped back in shock.

If the matter at hand wasn't this important, I would have asked her what she meant by this, since she had stated her apprehension about my 'innocence' twice after I told them about my thievery. It shouldn't have had anything to do with the missing points or that I deceived them, but I couldn't comprehend what else she might hint at.

"Karuizawa-san is the VIP in the Rabbit group."

Everyone looked at me in shock.

This wasn't a weird reaction, since we hadn't shared our own VIPs with each other. Our comrades were free to choose whether they would tell anyone about their status or keep it to themselves. Aside from Karuizawa-san, I only knew the Ox groups VIP, since Chihiro-chan had shared her message with me in confidence.

Not even Kanzaki-kun knew about this.

He was also the first one to collect his thoughts.

"How did you learn this?"

"Ayanokouji-kun told me about their VIP."

"What? Why would he give us their VIP just like that?" Kanzaki-kun's yellow eyes widened. "Could he have caught wind of the deal with Kouenji? Or was this another ploy by Matsushita? We trust him and she knows this as well, so maybe she tried to set us on the wrong track. But this wouldn't make any sense..."

"He knew that I did something, so I'm sure he is trying to compensate me for the points I have supposedly lost to protect him. It should be difficult to stand up against Matsushita-san, so this must have been his way of helping us in return. I can't be sure, but maybe he is trying to get us the other VIPs as well."

"So he might be on our side."

"Yes. From now on I'd like to discuss everything without making exceptions for incidents concerning Ayanokouji-kun. Past events have proven that I'm unable to let go of my feelings, even if they are detrimental to our class. I am aware of this and I'll try my best to adjust as soon as possible, but I will need some time for that. Meanwhile, I'd like to leave everything concerning him and this exam to Kanzaki-kun and the rest of you."

"Ichinose-san, what did he do with his hands?"

Kanzaki-kun was about to open his mouth when a female voice pre-empted his own. Similar to everyone else, I turned to the girl with a confused gaze. Her curious violet orbs contained genuine interest as she peered into my own. I didn't understand her strange question, so I decided to dig deeper.

"With his hands?"

"Yes, when he told you about Karuizawa-san."

"They were in his pockets. Why?"

[10:19:12 PM[Fufufu] Thank you very much, Masumi-san.

I threw my phone on the nightstand and shut my eyes.

Thanks to 'her royal majesty' or whatever Hashimoto would have called this crazy girl, I was unable to savour the sweet dream I had drifted into before she woke me. It had been a pleasant one that took place in a two-storied thrift store, which differed from the usual department store that was filled with rows upon rows of beer.

What a shame...

But was it even possible to solve this exam alone?

Maybe the teachers just pitied her circumstances?

We were unlucky that she hadn't been allowed to join the cruise because of her illness, or we might not have lost with such an insane point discrepancy since she seemed to be aware of a certain person no one but her paid much attention to.

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.

Without her warning, I would have disregarded this individual as someone physically capable, but this conclusion seemed to be far from the truth, according to the bits and pieces she had shared with me. Usually, she informed me about some of her thoughts and the predicted capabilities of our opponent, but not this time.

A monster.

Those were the mystifying words she had labeled him with, while her voice quivered in pure excitement. The two of them must have known each other from before, and if he was even half as creepy as she was, then I wanted to stay clear of him.

But that wasn't possible.

Sakayanagi's orders were specific.

Observe, but don't engage.

This strange command alone demonstrated how terrifying this person must be, as she had paired me up with Hashimoto or Kito whenever I had to look into Ryuuen and his delinquents, since they could fight in case something unforeseen happened. Before Ayanokouji, she had never told me to stay clear of anyone with such a serious tone of voice.

Nothing I had learned warranted this level of caution.

He seemed like a normal, rather handsome student with an outstanding physique, and I assumed that this had been the reason that Matsushita Chiaki, Class D's supposed leader, was his girlfriend, as he had proven to be average in every other department from overall intelligence to social abilities.

If Sakayanagi hadn't mentioned how dangerous this boy was, I would have fallen into his trap, just like everyone else. She also mentioned that I couldn't tell anyone about him, or she would expel me for disobeying a direct order, which was also a first in our 'partnership', if one could label it like that.

I shook my head and snuggled deeper into my pillow.

Time passed, and my consciousness began to drift away.

It warped my thoughts out of shape as a drowsy feeling overcame me. The opinions and conclusions I had drawn dissipated deep into the vast expanse of my mind. Images appeared and vanished, twisted and changed until I found myself in another store — right in front of the canned beer.

My fingers reached out for the enticing goods before they disappeared in my blazer pocket. I kept looking around the store, biding my time until a line of people had formed along the cash register. None of them turned around or glanced at me as I walked past them with the beer hidden inside my clothing.

The entrance was pushed open by my palm when a cold hand grabbed me from behind. A blaring alarm resounded through the store as I had walked into the anti-theft device, that had been hidden behind a thin barrier, of sorts. Vibrations ran along the walls, warping the massive stone structure as if it was made of wet cardboard.

Once... twice... thrice...

"This damn crazy woman. Can't she just let me sleep?"

I stretch my arm towards my phone, which kept vibrating along the wooden bedside table until it plunged to the ground, which woke about half my room. One of the girls switched on the light, whereupon a groan slipped my dry lips. Instead of being bothered by my device, however, my roommate seemed to have been concerned with her own.

"Kamuro-san, this..."

Her voice ceased as she stared at her phone in disbelief.

Cold air surged into my pajama as I sat and picked up my own device from the carpet. The other girls also peered at their displays as this sudden commotion managed to alert all four of us. Similar to their reactions, my jaw dropped upon unlocking my phone and reading through the messages we had received.

Who in the world was this guy?

- Word Count: 14856 / 68180 Characters

Released 08.10.2022

Chapter 31 - Fingerfehler

My veiled fingers reached out to the large wooden double doors, which led to the cruiser's magnificent concert hall. The two cold antique brass doorknobs brushed against my thin, black gloves as I extended my arms to rotate them. A vague mechanical clicking sound followed these subtle movements as the grand entryway to the auditorium sprung open.

These gates to my past had been sealed the last time I wanted to take a swift peek inside, but a certain someone had unlocked them for me, preceding this soon-to-be exciting night. She was invited to my play, of course, and I hoped that my favorite instructor would take some time off her busy schedule to listen to my upcoming performance.

Maybe I could convince her to sing for me?

The two heavy, padded doors closed by themselves as I strode into the room. My steps were muffled by the wine red carpet, which extended through the entire hall, up to the stairs that led onto the stage. The flooring was lined with a golden pattern on the left and right side respectively, while the high, darkened walls were illuminated by small rectangular cutouts for the warm ground lights to shine through.

This area was well insulated, as one might have guessed.

Sounds weren't allowed to travel outside, past the boundary, even if the concert inside turned out to be a true work of art. Some guests weren't interested in such shows or musicals and would rather spend their time conversing with their high society friends or important business partners, depending on which group of people occupied the ship.

How long had it been since I last sat in front of a piano?

I caressed along the glossy fallboard, as if I was cradling and comforting a small, fragile infant, before my concealed hands pushed it open with gentle force. The manufacturer's logo, which spelled 'Steinway & Sons', presented itself underneath the silky key lid with a faint, auspicious luster that kept shimmering in the incandescent light.

Blood, sweat and tears must have flown during the manufacturing process of this mesmerizing, polished mahogany piano, as a mere machine could not have crafted such an intricately designed masterpiece without the support of human hands.

Our school was quite lavish — or reckless — to have allowed one hundred fifty-five teenage students on a ship that contained such an expensive instrument. The doors might have been locked, but anyone who wished to take a glimpse inside would have been able to, if they were to exert some pressure onto the center part where the astragal was located.

A broken mechanism was a cheap price to pay for this view.

The soft, leather-covered chair caved in due to my weight before my palm ran along the eighty-eight sleek keys, which felt bleak and unappreciated, even through the thin layer of silk that kept my skin from feeling the high quality plastic.

My index finger pushed down one of the many keys, triggering a procedure which caused the hammer to strike the proper strings through a complex series of movements inside the sound board, before my ears were allowed to indulge themselves in the emerging rich, yet natural sounding tone that reverberated through the hall like a swansong.

This key — the middle C — had been my very first.

Beautiful, vibrant notes followed my adroit fingers, which danced over the keys with such ease and an elegance that could be compared to pianists who had done nothing else during their entire lives. A faint smile surfaced on my apathetic face as some of the more enjoyable memories from my time in the White Room surged back into my mind.

Beethoven's 'Moonlight Sonata' was beautiful, but overplayed in such situations ever since modern pop culture discovered the many charms this piece harbored and how well it worked in digital entertainment productions like movies.

'Clair de Lune' by Debussy was a similar 'Moonlight' themed arrangement, which was the third segment in the lesser known four-movement composition 'Suite bergamasque', published in 1905.

What else did we have?

Chopin had countless classics, like the 'Nocturnes', a melodic twenty-one piece set that focused on memorable themes and rhythmic accompaniments. There were also the 'Études', a twenty-seven piece set that helped to develop a musician's technique and created beautiful music while teaching different ways of using one's arms, wrists, hands, and fingers.

Mozart's 'Requiem', perhaps?

It would be quite fitting for today, but I was short of an entire orchestra and most of the necessary instruments, if I wanted to do this arrangement justice, at least. I could interpret it, similar to a violin concert like Vivaldi's 'Four Seasons', but this would go beyond the scope of what I had planned for this delightful nocturnal performance.

Bach's famous 'Air on the G String' might also be an interesting choice if Sae were to visit. It was well known thanks to movies and TV shows, similar to the 'Moonlight Sonata', but my beloved teacher would read too much into my decision to perform this composition in particular and might amuse me with her irked reactions.

Or should I play something more modern?

[07:03:19 PM[Kushida] Can we talk? I think I found a pattern.

Multiple sharp, painful coughs escaped my lips.

"Are you okay, Chiaki?"

Kiyotaka's worried gaze ran along my face, which had long since turned red due to my inability to swallow my orange juice without choking on it. A dry laugh was all I could muster as a reply, since my throat burned and tasted a little like vomit because of the drink and stomach acids that kept whirling around inside of me.

"Ah, yeah. I'm fine. Just surprised."

"Did something happen?"

My charming boyfriend leaned into his palm and peered into my tearing eyes. His cheeks rose a few moments later, when he took a sip of his cherry milkshake, demonstrating yet again that he had an insatiable sweet tooth. The smile on my own lips faded, however, since I felt horrible about asking to leave sooner, following this sudden message.

Today should have been our first proper date without interruptions after his accident on the island, since the previous one was cut short due to the pain in his leg. Kushida-san and Hirata-kun also knew about this, so neither of them would have texted me if they weren't at least ninety percent certain that the solution they came up with was the correct one.

If she found the appropriate selection process for the hidden VIPs, then we could end nine groups in one fell swoop. Even if another class figured it out afterwards, we would lose 150 points at most. This would be nothing compared to the 450 we would have gained for the remaining nine zodiac signs.

A point difference of 300 could allow us to ascend to Class A.

Fumei wasn't aware that this exam took place, as I deemed it too dangerous to contact him and still felt guilty about the five million points he had lost. I had tapped on his contact by accident when I wanted to ask Kiyotaka to meet up, but the message I had sent never arrived, which meant that the school must have blocked our communications somehow.

Had they noticed that he was helping me?

"It's about the VIPs. Would you be mad if I had to leave now?"

Despite my wishes, I couldn't tell him more.

We decided that only the three of us should know about the designated students, since I didn't want to endanger Kiyotaka more than necessary. Not only had I been prepared to poison my own boyfriend — the person I loved more than anyone — to increase our class points, but he also received an injury because of the important position he had occupied.

How deplorable was I?

He should have been angry — furious — because of what I had chosen to do. I didn't want to argue with him since I would have been in the wrong without a doubt, but he should have told me sooner that I was too focused on winning the exam and lost sight of what counted the most: Kiyotaka's happiness and maintaining our relationship on a respectful level.

Poisoning him should have been a no-go.

Ryuuen's cheap albeit effective provocations, might not have worked as well as they did if these lingering doubts didn't cloud my judgement. I thought about my reaction if I had been in his shoes and found myself to be beyond agitated to notice myself on the receiving end of such an outrageous 'strategy'.

So why wasn't he?

Did he bottle up his feelings?

Hid them from me because I shattered his trust?

Could this have been a possibility?

These questions found permanent residence in my mind and wouldn't leave, no matter how much I wanted them to. I had been open about the possibility of having to poison him from the very beginning, but he never stopped being his usual self. We kissed, flirted and cuddled as if nothing had happened. The intimate moments we shared on the island brought us even closer together, so there was not a single reason I should feel uncertain about his feelings for me.

But these unwarranted fears took my heart hostage.

"Mh, I won't be mad, since I know how serious you are about moving our class up to A." He tilted his head before an innocent smirk appeared on his lips. "But you owe me for leaving me alone like this, you got that?"

I glanced over the locale to make sure that no one would see us from their spot and stood up before walking around the table. Kiyotaka seemed quite intrigued by my sudden movements and raised his brow in wonder. He let go of the milkshake in his hands and leaned into the chair as I sat down on his lap, facing him with a sly smile.

"Got it. I'll definitely make up for this once we are back."

His firm hands reached for my butt as this silent promise left my lips and wandered into his ear canal. He pulled me closer and bit into the back of my neck, which would be difficult to see for anyone but him, as my hair usually covered this area.

"What if I don't want to wait?"

This would put me in quite a bind.

If we had contraceptives, I wouldn't mind another round, but risking an unwanted pregnancy was reckless and too dangerous. None of the stores on the cruiser had condoms in stock, which wasn't surprising. It was more astonishing that the shops on the school's premises sold them, but I assumed that this was way more reliable than leaving the students without options to have safe sex, which would lead them to be careless or stupid, like we had been.

Maybe he was just joking?

Due to his poker face, it was impossible to tell.

"We can't have sex without contraceptives..." I peered into his golden eyes for a few seconds before I buried my blazing head in his muscular chest "If you really don't want to wait... then I'll come up with something else to make you feel good."

God, what are you making me say!

How would I even do that?

I could use my hands, but I wasn't sure if this would be enjoyable for him. It should, in theory, but I didn't know if I was capable enough in a practical scenario. This was a similar case for my... well... my... mouth. The concept wasn't difficult to grasp, but I wasn't sure whether I could pull it off without hurting him with my teeth or something.

Would it even fit?

Past Chiaki might have been shocked upon listening to these indecent thoughts, but I couldn't help it anymore. We grew together with our relationship, so there were certain things I would consider now that we had taken this first gigantic leap.

Sex with him was amazing.

It felt wonderful, almost too good to be true, but Kiyotaka would grow bored if we only did the same things every time. This might not be a problem at the moment, since we were only beginning to explore our bodies, but we would both eventually want to try different things as well, so I would be delusional if I wasn't considering these possibilities.

If he was serious, I wouldn't hesitate.

"What do you propose, then?"

My heartbeat grew more violent as I became assured of his sincerity. The heat that had risen to my head during our conversation increased in intensity and spread through my scorching hot frame. This pleasant, fuzzy sensation rushed along my limbs and produced glistening sparks in every nook and cranny of my aroused body.

He was just like me and didn't want to wait any longer for our promised continuation from the island. We might not be able to have penetrative sex right now, but we could still make each other feel good in a plethora of other ways. Neither of us was experienced in this kind of thing, but maybe I would receive a reasonable reward for my efforts.

"L-let's find a quiet place and I'll show you?"

The soft voice that slipped my lips quivered in enthusiasm.

"Don't you have something important to do?"

"Yeah, I might... but you are so much more important." I leaned into his chest, right beneath his chin and closed my eyes. "What I told you on the island, that I might have to poison you, I should never have done that. I realize that I was a bad, no — a horrible girlfriend, because you shouldn't have had to deal with these things as my boyfriend. This was a terrible strategy overall, but making you sick would have been the single worst mistake of my life. I'm sorry for pushing this onto you out of my selfish desire to win the exam with the maximum amount of points possible."

His smooth hands caressed over the back of my head.

I loved these affectionate touches more than anything in the world. They made me feel safe, treasured and just happy to be alive, together with the boy I had opened my heart to. Those moments were even better when he kissed my hair, just like right now in this very moment, because I could feel all the fondness and devotion in every minor action he took.

"Usually I would tell you that you don't need to apologize, but you wouldn't let this go until I took your worries into consideration." He angled his head to the side and leaned on top of mine. "So I'll just say that I accept your apology and assure you that there is no reason to feel bad anymore. Now cheer up and smile again, Chiaki."

God, I love him so much...

A deep breath fled my lips before I peered into his mesmerizing golden orbs. Once again, I saw my reflection on them and couldn't help but reach out to him. My palm caressed over his cheek, traveled along his well-defined jawline, down towards his neck and further southward until I reached the white shirt that concealed his chiseled, athletic chest.

"Come on, let's leave."

"Isn't someone waiting for you?"

"Yes..." My hot, moist breath brushed along his neck as I shifted my weight forward into his firm, affectionate embrace. The burning excitement I felt rose further when I noticed certain tempting shifts in his pants, which began to increase as my sensuous whispers reached his ear. "... but I'm really turned on right now."

"Katsuragi-san, everyone is following your advice."

"Thank you, Yahiko."

I heaved a sigh and sat down on a comfortable chair.

"Don't worry, I'm sure that we are going to do better this time, Katsuragi-san. Now that the students from the Sakayanagi faction are listening to you as well, you can take over the class with ease. Completing this exam with our own conditions is a child's play in comparison. The other classes won't stand a chance."

He seemed to have noticed that my mood slipped and tried to cheer me up, but taking charge of the class wasn't the reason for my worries. Sakayanagi had already won our internal strife and there was nothing I could have done if I wanted to show my worth during this examination. The number of her loyal followers had increased after my pitiful failure on the island, and I had been forced to take the deal her people had presented me with.

Without her support, I could have stopped trying.

"The battle is already over."

"What..?"

"She will lead the class once we are back at school. This is the decision I have made after analyzing my own strengths and weaknesses. My shortcomings during the previous exam were too many. I need to reflect on my mistakes and work on them if I don't want to end up like this again. Sakayanagi-san is a good leader. Even though I might not always agree with her way of doing things, I don't want you or anyone else that is still following me to disapprove of my determination. You and some of our classmates might prefer me as Class A's leader, but that is out of the question."

This wasn't a lie to protect my reputation.

If Yahiko ever found out that she had driven me into a corner and pushed me into signing this deal, he would never forgive her and might even gather the few allies we had against her faction. My words wouldn't be capable of stopping his misguided temper and she would wipe the floor with them without a single shred of hesitation.

Sakayanagi had mentioned the punishment of expulsion in our deal as well, so I never doubted her willingness to get rid of a contender or similar bothersome entities if she deemed such an action necessary to show that she was in charge.

"Katsuragi-san, we can still..."

"Yahiko." The boy shrunk as my roaring voice resounded through the room. "This is my final decision. After this exam, Sakayanagi-san will be responsible for our tactics going forward. I will inform everyone of this and once again confirm her to be our leader. Our standing in the hierarchy is of higher priority than a feud between two conflicting ideologies."

"I understand..."

My companion nodded with a hunched back.

His dissatisfaction was apparent through the frown on his face, as he was incapable of hiding his negative thoughts about this matter. He left the cabin in defeat while I leaned against the back of my chair and brushed over my shiny, bald head.

Not everything I told him was a lie, because I had indeed picked up on the mentioned shortcomings. Sakayanagi might not have been here, but I had this strange feeling that things would have worked out better if she had been present. Her supporters might listen to me for the moment, but this was only due to our deal and her momentary absence.

I checked the time on the wall clock.

Our second group meeting would begin in half an hour.

Since the strong wall technique seemed to work for the moment, I wasn't worried about losing points to the other classes in the short term. As long as none of them teamed up, we could manage for the next few days, conceal our strength, and move forward as per my arrangement once the time had come.

Class B and D had worked together before, but the point difference between them was negligible now, which would make it more difficult to finalize any similar deals in the future. Besides this exam, there was something much more important that ate away at my mind. A certain individual I couldn't wrap my head around ever since the island exam concluded.

Matsushita Chiaki.

Just what had this girl done during the special test?

Even though I should have been occupied with the current group assignment, I struggled to comprehend what had happened back then. Ryuuen and I had established a beneficial deal for both of us, which was why he had warned me that Ayanokouji Kiyotaka was just the bait leader for Class D, as Matsushita had no interest in concealing his apparent role.

My caution during the previous island examination stemmed from his information, as I hadn't been aware that he had planned to betray me by guessing our leader. This wasn't the issue I was concerned about, however, as I failed to assess the danger properly and paid a justified price, which was an educational experience.

I was a strong advocate of the fact that one learned best from the previous mistakes one had failed to see and defend against in advance. Missteps such as this remained relevant in one's mind for a much longer period than any victories or achievements, which would allow ample time to review and learn from them.

But how would I study a mistake I couldn't understand?

Everyone in our grade level knew what kind of person Ryuuen was, so I treaded with great care whenever I had to deal with him. He might have still managed to trick me in the end, but I was always on guard against him and his statements.

"Class D isn't as easy a prey as they seem."

Those had been his parting words after our transaction.

Most students were aware of what had transpired between them by now, but I hadn't taken Ryuuen's words to heart. Since I knew that he was mindful around Class D, I assumed that he might refrain from writing up their obvious bait leader, as this would have cost him points he couldn't afford to lose in his vulnerable position. Class B wouldn't have taken a guess either, because Ichinose would have never misled them during their fruitful partnership.

This could have been Matsushita's strategy.

It was possible that she had presumed that everyone would think that she might have another trick up her sleeve, even though she had planned nothing for the grand finale. This was an approach no rational or sane person would have thought about, which was why she might have used this scheme combined with simple reverse psychology to outplay us.

She just needed to wait while we defeated ourselves.

My faith in Ryuuen's honesty was minimal, and I hadn't seen Class D's cunning first hand, which was why I took this gamble in a desperate last-ditch attempt to pull them down with us. Despite his warning, or maybe because he had voiced these concerns and planted this seed in my mind, I determined that I couldn't let Matsushita get away with this many points and such a cheap, almost laughable trick, which would make us all look like absolute fools.

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka was the person I had written up.

Yet, they hadn't lost a single point.

Whatever she did behind the scenes, it worked out to absolute perfection as I had shot myself in the foot because of her prior activities. Her boyfriend, which I had seen multiple times as he reoccupied spots on his route, should have been Class D's designated leader.

But he wasn't.

So how..?

How was I supposed to learn when I couldn't decipher her trick?

"Ryuuen-san..?"

"What?"

My annoyed voice and the minimal movements I had taken to glare at him scared Ishizaki to such a degree that he sat back down and gazed at the steaming teacup and the assortment of cookies on the table in front of him in silence.

He still had trouble moving his bruised left arm after the clash with Kouenji. The former had tried to block a kick that seemed to have been aimed at Mio, which had proven to be a faint. His enemy had foreseen that he would try to help her and used this knowledge to his advantage to take him out of the fight with a single crippling blow.

That monster in human skin also injured Albert with a simple, half-assed punch to his abdomen, even though he hadn't aimed at any weak spots to increase the impact of his jab. With two attacks, he had taken down two of my best people.

Mio's injury was even more pitiful.

She had lashed out at him and tried to take revenge for Ishizaki and Albert. Despite her best efforts, he only stood around and took each strike that was aimed at him with nothing but his hardened muscles. Her leg gave in after a short bout, whereupon she slumped to the ground and began to massage the sore limb in visible frustration.

"Nothing..."

"Pussy."

"Huh... Ryuuen-san." Shiina took a sip of her aromatic, whatever-tea and placed it back on the saucer in front of her. "Please refrain from using those profanities while I am in the vicinity. I appreciate your consideration. Thank you."

Tch.

"Hey! Don't you dare imitate me, you bastard!"

Mio's angered shout roamed through the room.

Even though I hadn't clicked my tongue yet, I was about to. She seemed to have picked up on something strange in my behavior and pre-pended my action with her own. This wasn't the first time such a strange phenomenon had taken place either, but I haven't been able to conclude how she managed to anticipate some of my intentions.

My irritable and ill-mannered dog was too shortsighted to read someone's body language, unlike Kouenji, who seemed quite proficient according to what I could observe during the fight between him and the three of them. He awaited each attack in a favorable position and countered with pure, natural strength that eclipsed even Albert's raw power output.

"Why are you guys here, anyway?" Two loud slams shook the table Ishizaki's eyes were glued to, as my shoes crashed on top of it. "I asked Shiina to come, but I can't remember having mentioned any of you fuckers."

The tea inside her cup stirred up to the edge, but didn't spill.

"Mh, well... I thought that it would be fun if we were all trying to solve this mystery together!" Shiina clasped her hands with a happy smile, which turned solemn as a saddened aura surrounded her delicate frame. "Was I wrong?"

God fucking damn it.

"No, it's fine."

"Heh, Tsundere."

I darted forward before anyone could react.

It took less than a second before my flat palm smacked against Mio's right cheek and produced a thundering slap that buzzed through the area like a deafening explosion. The girl peered at me in utter shock and raised her hand up to her throbbing face. She realized what happened just a moment later and jumped at me in a fit of unadulterated, burning rage, whereupon a wide, degrading sneer formed on my lips.

"The fuck did you hit me, you piece of shit?"

Albert stopped the twig-like arm that closed in on me.

"Don't hurt the boss. He's the boss."

"Damn it Albert! Let go!"

"Ryuuen-san. Please refrain from excessive violence towards anyone, including our classmate, as long as I am around. My words won't stop your irresponsible behavior, but I don't appreciate this brutish conduct in my presence. I would also like you to apologize to Ibuki-san for your transgression, even though this plea will fall on deaf ears either way."

She sipped her tea and regarded me with clear discontent.

"Listen to the big guy, Mio. If you have time to throw a fuss, then focus on the matter at hand once you've calmed your tits. I'll even throw in another happy meal tomorrow if you behave like a good dog from now on, kukuku."

Mio, who still struggled in Albert's arms, went berserk.

"I swear to god that I'm gonna beat you up someday. Stop bringing up the correlation between the damn group I was forced into and your twisted, disrespectful thoughts about me. What the fuck is wrong with you, huh?!"

Whoever put her into the dog group is a genius.

She'll never hear the end of this.

"Sure, sure..."

The murmurs of my annoying classmate vanished into the background as I focused on the immediate task at hand. Contradictory to the introduction to this exam, we didn't need to work together in our groups to solve this assignment with a beneficial outcome for our class. Chiaki should have realized this as well, while Katsuragi and Honami might still struggle with their respective handicaps, in him being rule-bound and her being too altruistic for her own good.

Each class could earn a huge number of private points if we worked together, but none of us except Honami would even attempt to walk this route in our groups. Class D, which would rise to at least Class C after the summer, was on their way up and would never let this chance pass without a fight. The other classes had been severely damaged due to the unexpected results of the island examination and wouldn't back down either.

We needed to find the solution first and gobble up those 450 points. Playing around with them and confirming the VIPs near the end was too dangerous because of this unknown puppet master that still hid in the shadows of Class D's people.

"Ryuuen-san, I really need to ask you something."

Ishizaki stood and bowed his head in a ninety-degree angle.

"Huh?"

His whole frame quivered as he glanced at Mio, who rubbed her swollen cheek. My blue-haired tail-wagger clicked her tongue and holed herself up beside Shiina, who began to caress over her head like a generous owner. The final person in his rotation was Albert, who acknowledged his bravery with his usual silent, yet proud bearing.

"Well, um... so... you know, Nishino-san asked me about the island exam. She sounded pretty confused by your actions and wanted to know why Ibuki-san hasn't written up the obvious leader of Class D when she had the chance."

"You got balls asking such a stupid question for your girlfriend."

"What? No.. She... No, she's not..."

They weren't together, which his troubled ramblings confirmed, but they were talking sometimes. Takeko seemed to trust him to a certain degree, or she wouldn't have asked him about something like this. That moron would also have never found his balls if someone who didn't interest him had requested this, so I was quite assured of my preliminary conclusion.

"Ishizaki-san, why do you think we haven't written him up?"

Shiina's bell-like voice was gentle and much more lenient than mine would have been, even though her frustration should have lingered on a similar level after he once again demonstrated his inability to follow basic contextual clues. She managed to cut into the conversation before I could make fun of him and remained considerate towards his feelings.

What an annoying brat...

"Eh, huh? Isn't that obvious?" He shifted his head before his fingers ran through his spiky black hair. "They had so many points that there is no way that we guessed their leader correctly, even though this Ayanokouji-guy was quite conspicuous. Doesn't this mean that we haven't listed him for a reason I don't understand?"

"Exactly. Their leader wasn't guessed correctly."

"What..?"

Mio, who had written up our conclusions back then, shook her head in exasperation and chewed on the chocolate bar Shiina had handed her to appease her boiling temper. The two of them became rather familiar with each other during and after the first special test, but it was still strange to think of this puppy as a mutt that could be close with a human being without clicking its tongue every two seconds.

But a dog is a human's best friend, after all.

Kukuku.

"Ishizaki, you're a real dolt, aren't you? We merely lost the battle, but we gained invaluable information in return. These first few skirmishes are nothing more than the prelude to something much bigger. The war hasn't even started yet."

"What does that even mean?"

He sat down and leaned back with a defeated expression.

"You're such a moron, Ishizaki."

"Ibuki-san?!"

His teary voice went silent as he closed his eyes in shame.

"The name Shiina told me to put down for Class D was Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. It wasn't worth guessing Class B's cardholder after Shiranami Chihiro was removed, so I left them blank. Class A's leader was the bald guy's right hand, Totsuka Yahiko."

"Wait... then why did they have so many points?"

"Welcome to the same page."

I clapped twice to award him from graduating the 'idiot academy' as a proper fool and worked through the list of names and zodiac signs in my possession. The boy flinched as these two sounds traveled towards him, while the much kinder Shiina took a sip from her steaming tea. A faint cracking sound followed her movements as she bit down on a fresh cookie before she glanced at Ishizaki with a huge amount of patience and kindness I had never seen in anyone.

"At first we thought that Matsushita-san would make him retire before the conclusion of the exam, but this wasn't the case. If everything went according to Ryuuen-san's initial plans, we would have left the island with some points, but our objective changed after I received information about the incident in which Komiya-san and the others were expelled. The task changed from gaining points to figuring out who our primary enemy is."

We had gathered more intel than any other class.

The 'elites' finished the exam with a score of -30 points.

Their initial budget of 270 shrunk by 150 after all three classes had guessed their leader, which brought them down to 120. Another 50 disintegrated because of the cripple's followers, who misused one of Class D's spots, pushing them to 70. Katsuragi had to take responsibility for the remaining 100 points himself, as he failed to guess the leaders of Class B and D.

What a moron.

If he had listened to my generous advice about Ayanokouji being bait and checked whether everyone in Class B was present, then he could have survived the exam with seventy points instead of zero. But I guess this would have involved trusting my words after I betrayed him, which was rather difficult to do.

Sorry, not sorry.

Kukuku...

Class B overcame the test with their 315 point total.

They had bought items worth 75 points for Class D, which lowered their initial budget to 225. Their additional expenses were a tent and drinks for 12 points, from which we could remove 2 points for the spot occupation at around eight and sixteen o'clock on the first day, which led to 215. This amount increased by 100 for naming the leaders of Class A and C.

We got screwed by someone who wasn't Chiaki.

Contrary to popular belief, I hadn't tried to leave the island with points after the situation changed for the worse. Shiina's position as our concealed second leader and my preparations to make it look like I hadn't retired should have lost them fifty points each, but someone quick-witted saw through my scheme, despite all the pitfalls I had set up.

Mio guessed Class A's leader to spite them after our arrangement with the wheelchair fetishists, and wrote up Class D's to make sure that we wouldn't fall for a simple case of reverse psychology, which would have been beyond embarrassing.

No one but me knew our leader, so how had they uncovered it?

Kouenji was quite capable, but we had only met after the exam had concluded. The only person I had a run-in with was the twat, but I hadn't come up with the plan to retire at that point in time. This suggested that the puppeteer had scouted me before this exam took place and realized that I would only trust Shiina with the position now that she served the class.

But she had only decided to take part on the island.

Kukuku...

This school is fucking amazing.

The only class that didn't match our calculations was D.

Their result was off by five points, which they must have used to either change their designated leader without receiving a thirty point punishment for the retirement, or to allow Ayanokouji to use the card as if he was the cardholder. The first possibility was nonsensical, because changing the leader had the associated cost of thirty points, if one was cunning enough to spot the loophole in the rules. It wouldn't make sense to provide a cheaper option. With this in mind, we could narrow their move down to the second solution, or a potential third one I hadn't thought of.

"Aren't the other classes our enemies?"

What a retard...

"Yes, of course, the others as well, but each class harbors certain individuals we need to be wary of. We assumed that this someone was Matsushita-san for Class D, but now we know that she had just been used as a scapegoat by someone else, similar to Kouenji-san, who appears to be disinterested in this school and the ongoing conflicts."

"I don't understand any of this..."

Unable to listen to this any longer, I supported Shiina.

"Mio and I had breakfast with Chiaki. She was easy to anger and tried to get under my skin after I played with her sorry ass feelings for a bit, just as predicted. Her claim that the reverse psychology trick had worked, however, was a big screw up, because I knew for a fact that this wasn't true since this 'plan' never existed. Chiaki herself wasn't aware of this, so someone else is pulling the strings in Class D while she doesn't even know about the specifics of how she won."

"You mean this other Class D student?"

Ishizaki seemed to keep up this time.

What a pleasant surprise.

"No, after your little brawl with that guy, I'm pretty confident that it wasn't him. He did something as well, but there was someone else who used both of them as a distraction to cloak himself. That chick's poker face is damn horrible. Kukuku."

"Currently, we assume that this person might be a senpai."

Shiina took another sip of her tea, drinking the remains.

"And we'll keep digging like damn moles until we find every individual in Class D that is linked to a senior. A dirty sewer rat can only hide for so long until it has to show itself. He'll be helpless once we have worked through all the students and uncover our mystery character for sure. Then we'll have a chat with him, kukuku."

"Isn't it interesting? Solving such a conundrum?"

A sweet giggle escaped her lips as she munched on a cookie.

"BOSS!"

Albert's voice was unusually loud.

I tilted my head and noticed him glancing over the notes we had prepared. Shiina and I had been going over them for a few hours by now, but neither of us had found a clear pattern that correlated to our information. We started with simple things, like ordering the names by the fifty sounds and worked up to more complicated mechanisms like the number of vowels and consonants of the zodiac animals.

There had to be a system behind this exam.

We just needed to find it first.

"What?"

"Ah. Sorry Boss. You tried that already. Forget it."

[07:40:34 PM] Sorry, I was busy. Can we meet in your room?

[07:40:53 PM[Kushida] Yes, I'm the only one here at the moment.

I held my palm in front of my opened mouth and checked my damp breath for any revealing scents, since the aftertaste of our prolonged escapade still lingered on my tongue. Brushing my teeth and rinsing my oral cavity with mouth wash had changed little in my own perception, but no one could smell what we had done just a few minutes ago.

Provided that Kiyotaka didn't run into Ike-kun.

What a horrifying thought...

Kushida-san's cabin wasn't that far away from ours, so I managed to walk over in about two minutes. It was almost time for our second meeting of the day, but I wanted to get this conversation out of the way before the session took place.

She was smart and had good grades, so it wouldn't be too far fetched to believe that she might have found a hidden pattern. If this was true, then it was only a matter of time until Ryuuen, Ichinose-san or Kanzaki-kun solved this assignment as well, provided they were lucky enough to achieve a breakthrough.

Similar to them, I should have sought a viable solution, but Kiyotaka and I had made plans for today before this zodiac animal exam was announced. I could have moved our date, but I had already decided that our relationship was more important than this school's weird assignments and our class ranking.

My knuckles flew against the frame around three to four times before my classmate opened the door to her cabin. She greeted me with her usual bright, beaming, stress relieving smile and led me inside without questioning why I needed such a long time to answer to her urgent message, which eased my prior concerns.

"Did you really figure it out?"

"Yes, I think so. Please sit for a moment while I explain."

The excited girl grabbed one of the laptops that the school supplied us with and scooted beside me, just a moment after I sat down. Her swift fingers slid over the touchpad until the cursor hovered over the file she had created yesterday. She opened up the chart I had seen earlier and began to make some changes.

Previously, the first column had been occupied by the Rabbit group, followed by Tiger, Snake and so on, according to the times we received our instructions in. Now, however, she ordered the groups according to the zodiac signs and their respective locations, starting with Rat.

"So I figured this out by complete accident when I went out to play with Sakura-san and Sudou-kun. I don't know how reliable this is, but it lines up with the information I have, and I could make sense out of every step I took."

"Okay, I'm listening."

"So, the three of us walked around for a bit and talked about everything that came to mind. One of these topics was the zodiac exam, of course, since we are all affected by it. Sakura-san then said that these assignments are quite difficult for her, since she had trouble to converse with people, especially strangers. But this time she was overjoyed that she had been sorted in a group with Hasebe-san and Sudou-kun, who are both nice people. And then it clicked for me."

"What clicked?"

I tilted my head, unable to see her discovery.

"The pattern with which the VIPs were designated." She sat up straight and peered into my eyes. "Most of us figured that we needed to discuss things in our group to find a hint towards the VIP, but the school never said that this was a necessity. The teacher mentioned it right at the beginning of our meeting: society needs three fundamental qualities in order to progress: action, thinking and teamwork." She raised her fingers one by one. "He also added that teamwork was tested on the exam before this one, which meant that it wasn't required for our current test."

Her reasoning so far was sound.

Most students decided that the meetings were an important part in figuring out the VIPs' identities. Some others, including myself, assumed that there may be another possibility to solve the exam without the group discussions.

The teacher's words had conveyed as much, which should have provided everyone who listened and understood these tips with the same starting conditions. So far, nothing new or groundbreaking had turned up in her explanation, as she wanted to establish that we were both on the same page.

"Mashima-sensei also said that they would test our thinking in four ways. The first was 'thoroughly processing information'. This happened as soon as we realized that teamwork wasn't at all needed. Number two was 'analyzing information and clarifying the task at hand'. The 'task' was never to engage in discussion to reveal the VIP in the group. It was to find them in every way imaginable that didn't include violence, theft, usage of force, threats or other illegal acts. With this, only two ways of thinking remained: 'solving the problem after clarifying and identifying the task' and 'utilizing our imagination and the ability to create new values'. This last point was the key to solve the exam."

Even with this, there were some confusing statements.

"What about the other parts of the explanation? Mashima-sensei mentioned that working together with the other classes would be a shortcut. Doesn't this mean that there might still be something important in our groupings?"

"Well, working together was a shortcut in the sense that we wouldn't need to solve the exam. If we all ignored our previous disputes and trusted each other, then everyone would win together. Nobody would have solved the exam in the proper way the school intended, which is why he had labeled this as a 'shortcut'."

This was indeed true.

If we could look past our differences, then all students could gain an incredible number of private points. We might not close the gap to our competitors, but the school let us decide in which way we wanted to tackle this assignment.

It was almost impossible that each group would decide to aim for outcome number one, since we didn't know each other well enough to put our faith in strangers that might be hostile to us. This mistrust was further emphasized by the ongoing competition, since we could gain a lead for our class if we betrayed the group.

Using this as a second test was quite twisted.

"Then how did you solve the exam?"

"Thanks to Sakura-san! She said that she got sorted in the same group with Sudou-kun and Hasebe-san. Sorting is a form of utilizing our imagination, right? For example, why was the Rabbit group the first to get their introduction?"

"To hint at this 'sorting'?"

"Exactly, which is why I ordered the groups like they were supposed to be ordered in a 'zodiac' themed exam. This is reflected by the current state of the table. Mii-chan helped me with this, since she is quite knowledgeable."

"Okay, I understand so far. Does this mean that we just need to order the students as well? Is it really that simple?!" I glanced over to the notebook and began to arrange our three groupings of Rabbit, Dragon and Horse. "But there is still no pattern if we order them according to the fifty sounds."

The 'Gojūon' — or fifty sounds — was a traditional system which ordered 'kana' characters by their component phonemes. This could be considered as an 'alphabetical order' in most western countries which didn't use our symbols.

"That is where your words after our introduction came into play. Before we left the room, you wondered why they had shown us the Chinese reading in parentheses and used their zodiac system instead of ours, right?"

One of the zodiac signs was called 'Boar' in Japanese, and not 'Pig'. This was the only difference I knew about, which was why I had been confused that the school provided us with the Chinese reading. An institution as mysterious as this one wouldn't add a Chinese text if it wasn't important for the assignment in one or more ways.

I nodded, whereupon Kushida-san proceeded.

"After I sorted the names, I was stuck again. That's when I remembered your question, which appeared to be another hint that supported me to close in on the solution. We shouldn't only look at our language if we wanted to solve this exam, which was implied through the usage of the Chinese translation in our explanation. Once again, they tested our imagination and processing capabilities. And now, for the new values, we..."

My eyes widened in realization.

"... order them. But not like we Japanese would, right?"

If someone formulated the definition of our task like this, then it was far too simple to determine what we might have to do. This exam tested our thinking, just as Mashima-sensei stated. In simpler terms, there was no need to have any special knowledge we might or might not possess, depending on our upbringing and level of education.

The usage of names differed in western continents.

Everyone of our schoolmates would have known this, since we had learned about the differences between eastern and western culture as early as middle school. Contrary to our surname followed by given name structure, they placed their given name in front of their last name, which could be considered as a 'new value' for a Japanese person.

We were shown the Chinese spelling of the zodiac animals to prompt us to think outside of our usual comfort zone. Our assignment wasn't to think like a Japanese person might, but to take everything that was being said and provided to us into consideration, which would be expected from us if we ever visited other countries in the future.

Even Sudou, who had the worst English scores in our class, could order our names according to their alphabet. He would need some time and would scream in frustration because he couldn't read the letters, but he could get it done if he was forced to, which emphasized that even people with the lowest academic ability could work out the solution to this exam.

"So we order them conforming to the western alphabet, thus using our imagination and creating literal new values, right? According to the rules of the assignment, we also need to be mindful about the order of first and last names to create the list we are looking for. We all knew this, thus it only required our ability to 'process information thoroughly'."

"Exactly! And then the table looks like this..."

She opened up a second table she had prepared with our names in romaji. Afterwards, she colored the first name in the first group, the second name in the second ground and so forth until she finished her demonstration on the last zodiac animal. This final arrangement wasn't difficult to see, as our VIP's were close by and began to paint a clear picture.

"And that's the solution I arrived on, thanks to Sakura-san, Mii-chan and you. Since Satou-san's, Karuizawa-san's and my name line up with this pattern, it should be correct. Another indication is the number of boys and girls who had been chosen as the VIP in each group. We have six from each gender and three people per class, which makes the selection itself equal for everyone, just like you assumed."

"Kushida-san... that... You're a genius!"

My arms wrapped around her in delight.

With this explanation, we could reach the top.

As long as Class A didn't realize that such a pattern existed, we would occupy their spot after summer vacation. The solution was simple in hindsight, but most of us would have stopped after ordering the names in Japanese and not seeing a pattern before branching out to more difficult sequences.

I wouldn't have veered to the western way to write our names, and even if I did, I might not have remembered that their naming scheme differed from ours without someone who reminded me of this. Ryuuen, Ichinose-san and the others might run into a similar problem during their attempts to find the correct method.

We should end the groups as soon as possible, to mitigate risks.

If another class managed to crack the order as well, then our loss would be beyond miserable. Katsuragi-kun might not be a competitor, since he seemed to have trouble with his own classmates, which would explain his lack of information, but the other leaders should know about all of their VIPs.

"Thank you, but it was a team effort!"

Kushida-san's radiant smile was dazzling as she hugged me back.

"But we still have to decide who gets the private points in each group. There is also the matter of whether they get to keep them, or if they are to share their earnings with the rest of our classmates. I doubt that anyone would figure this out today, so we should talk again at around ten to decide on a final plan of action. This would allow us enough time to sort our thoughts and to think everything through until the end."

"Are you certain that it's a good idea to delay?" I peeked at the list and realized once again how simple the solution was if one understood the presented hints. "If we take them all out now, we wouldn't be running any risk that another class finishes the exam first. Waiting, even for just one or two hours, might be too dangerous."

"Mh, I understand your worries, but the chance is quite low if you think about it. Rather than running into trouble because of another class, we might have to struggle due to our own classmates. What would happen if we chose someone to send the name, and they kept the points to themselves? We couldn't do anything about it. We either would have to live with that knowledge, or tell the other students that we were deceived by one of our own. I don't want either of this to happen to my important friends." She grasped onto my hand with quivering eyes. "Everyone should get along. I can make sure of that by talking to them. Once I determine who wouldn't mind sharing the points, we can ask them to end the exam."

But this option would require time.

If we had met half an hour ago when she sent me her initial message, she might have had enough leeway to talk to most of our classmates before the second discussion took place. Taking my sweet time with Kiyotaka was a rational decision — okay, fine, maybe it wasn't 'rational' — but I didn't regret my choice either.

"Do you really think our classmates would trouble us?"

"We all know that Kouenji-kun wouldn't share his earnings with anyone, but this is only the case because he never tried to hide the fact that he is not interested in our class, or us as his classmates. I'm not saying that our companions might have any malicious intent, but in the end, it is currency we are talking about. We need to have a clear path to follow for everyone involved, or some students might decide that it was more beneficial to pocket a few points for themselves."

She stopped for a moment and lowered her head.

"It would be even worse if they come to regret this later, when everyone already distrusted them. I don't want anyone to be left out, which is why I'd like the chance to talk to them and make sure that the whole class gets a piece of the cake, without exceptions. We also need to consider our friends in the Horse, Rabbit and Dragon groups."

Kushida-san's concerns were valid.

I hadn't thought about the problems that could ensue in our class, since we were split up for this exam. Back on the island, it was easy to keep track of their movements, since everyone talked among each other. Here, I failed to realize that the students in those three groups might be left empty-handed, depending on their outcome.

What if the other groups didn't want to share?

If she could reduce the risks, it was worth the wait.

An internal feud like this would be a big initial disadvantage once we moved up to Class A. It was much safer to let Kushida-san handle the organization in the next few hours, compared to ending the exam now, which might lead to a civil war between certain students that might not agree with our proposals.

"Alright. Can I leave this to you then, Kushida-san?"

"Of course! I won't disappoint you, Matsushita-san!"

The charming chirps of crickets rang through the room.

Or that would have been the case if we weren't on sea.

What sounded like the inescapable birth of a terrible tongue twister turned out to be our second meeting on this fascinating first day of the exam, which began much worse than the previous one, since Ichinose couldn't have us introduce ourselves twice to the same group of people.

In a few hours, no less.

The six students belonging to Class A and C had determined that I lied and wasn't the designated VIP, or that's how it looked after they stopped stealing suspicious glances at my person once every few seconds, to check whether I was behaving in a weird or erratic way that might reveal my status.

Class B was much calmer in comparison.

Aside from Karuizawa and I, they were the only ones who were assured of our allotted student. If the rest of our faithful group mates thought about commencing a treacherous betrayal by messaging the school, they would have to take a blind guess and risk creating a rift of one hundred class points, which no rational person would do.

Ichinose was much more cheerful than before.

This sudden change in behavior suggested that she told her companions the truth about the last day of the island exam and her deal with Kouenji. My lovely, naïve idiot must have been devastated, eaten up by her own guilt, while her classmates chose to forgive her since they would have agreed to save me if she had asked them.

Not even my queen, who was nigh untouchable in the school's social sphere, knew these people as well as I did, which made it beyond easy to simulate how each of her classmates would have reacted to the news. Kanzaki, for example, would have been displeased if he hadn't already expected that she had paid someone to protect me.

She and her comrades must have suspected that I wanted to repay them for the debt I owed her. This lead to the assumption that I had informed her of our VIP without thinking about the potential consequences that might await me. They were hesitant to end the Rabbit group's exam, because they didn't know how Chiaki would react to my disloyalty.

Kikyou had also executed her mission to perfection.

Not only had she persuaded Chiaki to wait, which gave her full control over the end of the exam, she had also gotten back to me on the matter concerning Karuizawa. Apparently, she had heard about a similar incident from some second- and third-years during that time, but neither could name the people involved, which had complicated her initial investigation.

She speculated that one of the parties might talk to her if the circumstances changed for the worse, which was why she had made no moves to figure out the participants on each side. This, coupled with the fact that their little scene had attracted the attention of multiple upperclassmen, had assured her that this wasn't something I would be interested in.

Her reasoning was sound, and I was pleased with her work.

A lesser tool might have notified me about this without knowing the specifics, which would have wasted both of our times, as the whole affair might not have been important enough to warrant my interest. Kikyou, a high-class piece, knew that I would ask about this incident if it became relevant, whereupon she could begin to gather intelligence.

Unfortunately, we weren't at school.

The list of numbers and contacts I had received wouldn't do me any good, since I wasn't able to reach anyone in Tokyo. Otherwise, I could have used Fuka to approach one or two of the eyewitnesses to make them spill the beans of what they had seen. These statements could have been relayed to Manabe, who could act upon them on her own discretion.

Now I had to jump through some annoying hoops.

Risking one of my pieces being exposed was out of the question. Sotomura might just be a pawn, but he was one of the most valuable foot soldiers I had at my disposal. Endangering Kikyou was akin to committing premature suicide. Her information network was far too valuable to throw away in order to domesticate my first bishop.

Six pairs of narrowed eyes scrutinized my every move like a kettle of starving hawks as I took out my phone and typed a few quick messages. I slid the device back into my pocket without reacting to them and stretched my tired arms.

Ichinose forced an awkward smile as she glanced along my neck and noticed the bite marks Chiaki had left there during the latter part of our date. Himeno and Beppu scratched their cheeks and acted rather uncomfortable while Azuma peered at me in silent wonder, as she was quite innocent and childlike regarding such affairs.

The Professor seemed to be in a full-fledged trance and leaned against the back of his chair, facing the ceiling with his eyes shut. His muscles moved from time to time, which suggested that he took part in a battle of epic proportions, using the imagination he must have honed by playing a countless number of games. My hypotheses were affirmed by the micro movements of his hands and feet, as well as the strained expressions his face transitioned into.

Karuizawa was occupied with her phone.

Her chair stood much closer to Machida than before, almost as if she was trying to comfort herself using his reassuring presence now that her boyfriend wasn't around to protect her. The tension between her and Manabe was obvious, even outside the meeting room, which was why my concerned message to him just now shouldn't have come as a surprise.

Hirata sure was kind and reliable, huh?

Even if he was being used.

In a certain sense, I might even do him a favor.

He wasn't needed anymore once my cold grasp around Karuizawa's fragile, fractured heart took its sinister course, because I would take great care of my adorable dark bishop. With me backing her up, she had to fear no one.

All she needed to hand over to me in return was absolute, unconditional loyalty. If she broke this trust — this inevitable accord between a master and his faithful servant — then I would show her true horrors, ones she didn't dare imagine.

Kikyou's anguish would pale in comparison.

A sharp sigh escaped Ichinose's pursed lips.

She might have wanted to aim for outcome number one and tried to come up with a solution to help everyone, but she understood that a discussion between the attending students would lead us nowhere. Class B could end our group's exam whenever they wished, while the other classes were stuck at an impasse.

They didn't believe me, but it was impossible to figure out whether I had told the truth without all of us revealing the messages we had received. If one of them tried to solve this issue in such a manner, then none of Class B's or D's students would comply, which meant that the others could narrow the VIP down to the seven of us at most.

Thus, I kept talking with my friends.

Sotomura and Azuma joined the conversation as well, but it was still a rather boring hour. Nothing of substance had been said or done as we were just killing time for the sake of it. The Class C girls also threw in a sentence or two whenever Ichinose tried to include them into our trivial exchange to make them feel at ease, despite their apparent disinterest.

Machida and the others sat on their respective chairs, arms crossed and eyes shut. Kamuro sneaked a few more or less discreet glances at me throughout the whole duration, while Kito gazed over pretty much everybody in the group. Their conduct was enough evidence to determine that she had much more information than her partner, which confirmed Kikyou's report about Sakayanagi's right hand.

The cruiser's loudspeaker soon came to life and declared the discussion period to be over. Class A's three reconnaissance branch members stood up at the same time and left the room in silence. They scrambled out of the cabin even faster than Karuizawa and the annoyed Class C students, who followed them outside a moment later.

My bishop took the incoming call and walked off.

"Yes, Kushida-san?"

Assured that Kikyou had managed to reach her during the short available window, I stood up and said my farewells to the Professor, Azuma and my friends from Class B, before I strolled out of the room, back to my own lodgings. I grabbed my phone and made a few arrangements, which would establish the groundwork for future interactions.

[09:01:12 PM] I know it's already past nine because of the exam's discussion period, but I'm ordering a late meal, drinks and a few snacks from the room service since we've run out. Do you want something as well?

[09:01:43 PM[Hirata] No, but thank you for asking, Ayanokouji-kun. Karuizawa-san and I are meeting up in a few minutes, so I hope that I can smooth things over between her, Manabe-san and Morofuji-san before things escalate further. I'm very grateful for your message as well. You are a great friend.

So far so good...

Another message arrived a few moments later.

[09:02:02 PM[Kikyou] They are meeting at the Blue Ocean.

[09:02:14 PM] Perfect. Proceed according to plan.

[09:02:21 PM[Kikyou] Consider it done.

[09:02:35 PM] Sorry for putting you through so much trouble.

[09:02:46 PM[Kikyou] I won't complain if you compensate me.

[09:02:47 PM] Promise.

[09:02:59 PM[Kikyou] Good, I really need a long break after this shitshow. Ryuuen is fucking disgusting because he won't stop staring at my damn tits. Urgh, I just want to claw his fucking eyes out with my bare hands. I still can't believe that I have to be the damn VIP in this screwed up group. Why couldn't it have been someone from another class?!

Her current anger level seemed to have reached a boiling point because of Ryuuen's rather insolent, albeit expected, behavior. Similar to Horikita before, he wanted to upset my queen to see how she would act under pressure. This presented me with an opportunity to check one of the things I was curious about in our new relationship.

Would she change to please me?

[09:03:04 PM] You are not at all cute when you are cursing, you know?

[09:03:08 PM[Kikyou] Sorry...

[09:03:12 PM] I'm joking... come on.

My plan had backfired since she stopped replying afterwards.

The very first sight that greeted my golden orbs upon opening the door to our cabin were Kouenji's bare cheeks, which entered and vanished from my suspended view whenever he pushed himself up or down.

Some individuals might be elated due to such a surprising sight, but for me, it was just another regrettable meeting after I had already seen his dangling manhood when he strolled out of the bathroom the last time.

Why couldn't Yukimura or Hirata run into him?

This situation was even more pitiful when one recognized that I had seen him naked just as often as my own girlfriend, which was rather weird to think about. Aside from her, I had also seen Kikyou naked twice, but I hadn't been too interested in her during that time. My run in with Suzune was a total — but welcome — accident, even though I still couldn't confirm whether she had nothing to shave 'down there', as her own words in April had indicated.

And then there was the overnight stay with Sae...

Well, I should fix these blunders for my next girlfriend.

"You sure are diligent."

"Of course. I'm busy pursuing physical beauty."

Kouenji's deafening laugh echoed through the room while he repeated his handstand push-ups, as if they didn't put any strain on his muscles at all. He wasn't leaning against — or had positioned himself near — a wall like most would, and changed the number of fingers he pushed himself up with after every execution until he reached the lowest single digit.

Didn't he mention being a perfect existence?

Why would he need to chase physical beauty?

Despite my curiosity, I preferred not to ask, as I dreaded the potential answer he might come up with. There was no reason for him to train if he didn't want to, as he possessed riches and other advantages that normal people would kill for. His life might look 'perfect' from an outsider's perspective, but no one knew about the troubles that might plague him.

He was indeed quite intriguing.

"That aside, I'm curious, Ayanokouji-boy."

"About what?"

I sat down on the bed and examined his workout routine.

The exercises he repeated were nothing to scoff at, which was to be expected of someone with such a developed physique. No one could attain such a muscular, well-defined constitution without putting in a life's worth of effort for a prolonged amount of time. Kouenji might be a lot of things, but he wasn't lazy or undeserving of his family's legacy.

"When are you going to finish this embarrassment of an exam?"

"Mh, I don't know what you are talking about."

"Ayanokouji-boy, I don't like being taken for a fool. We are both aware that you are more than qualified for such a trivial task. I'm also not one to stoop so low as to plant a recording device in here. You should have known this, my friend."

Kouenji was a rather unique soul.

Even when he dealt with Ichinose and Chiaki during the island exam, he had never lied to them. His words and sentences had been chosen and crafted with great care, as he would deceive and mislead with structure and wording rather than fabricating an untruth that might hurt his reputation when found out.

Someone like him wouldn't plant a listening device.

"Do you know who the VIP in your group is?"

"Naturally."

He didn't break a sweat as he changed up his routine.

"The others?"

"None of my concern. I will give you until 12:59PM tomorrow before I'll end my group's exam, as I can't be bothered to listen to them for another second. They are irritating and far from perfect. It's unbecoming."

"Tell me your VIP's name, then?"

My classmate revealed a sly grin and stared at me.

A faint sigh escaped my lips as I shook my head.

He kept shifting his weight by bending, stretching or twisting his legs into different positions, whereupon certain muscles would be more or less strained, depending on his current exercise. The interior of the cabin remained silent for a moment as nothing but his calm breath and the gusts of wind caused by his movements drifted through the area.

We peered at each other and opened our mouths.

""Yamashita Saki.""

"Is everyone ready? Let's have a nice dinner!"

I launched myself off Karuizawa's bed and addressed her roommates and some of my friends who had met up with me, with a cheerful voice. All of us were glad that the discussion periods for today were over, as we preferred the free time on the ship over the annoying school-related matters that the teachers had squeezed into our schedule.

God, I hate them for this.

"Yeah, let's go!"

"Agreed, I'm starving."

"Those group discussions are too taxing."

"Let's not worry about that anymore and enjoy our evening."

An artificial, genuine sounding laugh escaped my lips.

Kiyotaka mentioned that he ate breakfast with Horikita at our destination before, which pissed me off more than I'd like to admit, but the food ought to be nice, so I had that going for me, at least. Even though I abhorred her and the thought of them having fun together, I was glad that he trusted me with this information.

Knowing this wasn't important, nor did it aid any of his usual plans for the class, but he still told me about his day without hiding the truth. This was just another affirmation that he confided in me more and more, which made me happy.

Usually, I would have been ecstatic for a different reason.

The thought of identifying private details like this, being aware of more dark secrets than anyone else, especially about someone as mysterious as him, was exhilarating. Betrayal, however, had never crossed my mind, despite my previous, rather successful, track record in destroying multiple lives and important relationships that my victims had fostered.

'I wouldn't be able to protect myself with mere party tricks', had been the first reason for my obedience. This negative connotation changed to loyalty as I began to cherish the time I could spend alone with him. Kissing Kiyotaka felt good and sleeping on his muscular chest was more comfortable than my own bed.

His warmth was my haven.

There was a time I had been afraid.

Not because of his actions, but before, whenever I had the feeling that my unstable house of cards might crumble again, in case another small mistake slipped through my fingers. This sentiment, which had followed me through the first month in high school, had changed as I reevaluated my position and the relationships I had formed with other students.

My conclusion was that I didn't need to be afraid anymore.

So what if someone revealed my deceitful persona?

Kiyotaka would take care of me.

And I would do anything for him in return.

If Ryuuen or Kouenji were to reveal my true thoughts to the outside world, he would make it all go away with a simple snap of his finger. A psychiatrist might have called me a brainwashed lunatic by now, but those were my honest feelings on this matter. My very own devil would fix everything that went wrong, whereupon I would accept the unconditional love and sincere apologies from everyone involved. They'd feel horrible and cheer for me even more after this short nightmare had concluded and was forgotten by the concerned parties.

Ahh, what fucking pieces of shit they were.

We strolled into the cafe as our group of seven sat down.

Trivial conversations began and traveled through the area for some of the other guests to hear. A few students from Class A greeted me with enthusiastic smiles that revealed their adoration for me, as I caught sight of Karuizawa and Hirata. They waved back at us and left the establishment as I peered over to the mechanical clock on the wall.

09:13 PM, around one hour until pandemonium.

Muffled sounds reverberated through the empty corridor.

The exhaustion that had built up due to today's events might have tired out my feet, but my steps were much swifter and more energetic than they had been this morning. I felt lighter and rather comfortable in my own skin, which was a feeling I could appreciate now that all the relevant secrets that weighed on my shoulders were out of my system.

Kanzaki-kun and my companions might have forgiven me without repercussions after this — in my eyes — unforgivable breach of trust, but I couldn't look past the one million private points I had stolen. We saved up for two months to reach such a high sum, even though all forty of us had pooled a generous portion of our points together.

Our class was indeed the best in the entire school.

If there was only one more person...

I ambled along the silent passageway as I picked up on unfamiliar, yet beautiful sounds that roamed through my ear canal. My light steps came to a sudden halt while I tried to discern where this fascinating, almost breathtaking melody originated from. The notes were gentle and subdued, yet still audible as I followed these harmonies to my destination.

Before long, I stood in front of a double door.

The delicate, muted sounds became more distinct as I studied the entryway to the music hall that hadn't shut due to the carpeted floor, which hindered the automatic closing mechanism from doing its primary job. Someone with a key, like a teacher or one of the ship's many staff members, must have sneaked inside to play a round on the piano.

What a wonderful theme...

My knowledge about music in a technical sense was close to nonexistent, but I loved listening to my favorite tunes, just like the next person. The genre and finer details depended on my mood and state of mind, but this specific piece stirred me in two opposing directions, as it sounded as comforting just as much as it was heartbreaking.

It reminded me of easier, bygone times.

Back then, my sister and I had chosen to take a quick break on one of our grocery shopping trips, as she complained about her feet, which were scraped after she had overworked herself during the sports festival in her school. She was beyond sleepy that day and just slumped into the fresh grass by the river before peering at the light-blue sky.

"Honami-nee-chan, look! A panda!"

A loud, excited exclamation had left her lips as she pointed at one of the many white clouds that had indeed looked like my favorite animal. With this single statement, she had trapped me in an almost endless cycle of spotting cute pets in the sky, which had prolonged our short expedition to the store for almost two and a half hours.

After all this time, I still remembered the following hour-long lecture we had to listen to once we arrived at home. Our mom hadn't been mad at us, rather she was worried sick because she dreaded that something might have happened.

Remembering these scenes was agonizing, yet delightful.

I reached out to the door and nudged it open.

No squeaking sounds or other loud and uncomfortable noises that might distract or interrupt the pianist and their beautiful play followed my movements, as I tried my best to enter the venue with a great deal of care as not to disturb them. I pushed my head forward, through the small crack I had created, as my eyes shot open in amazement.

There he sat.

His eyes were closed while his finger danced over the keys.

My heart skipped a beat.

Or two — maybe three.

I didn't know; I didn't care.

At this moment, I just wanted to listen.

This mesmerizing, spine-tingling play continued during the time my quiet steps led me into the concert hall, almost as if I had been hypnotized, captured by his brilliant act. I reached for the door and closed it as quietly as possible before all my focus turned back to him and the stage he illuminated with his staggering presence.

The wonderful, heart-wrenching melody that fluttered through the air like a pair of wings caused my dry mouth to widen. My whole body remained suspended, paralyzed behind the last row of the audience seats as I watched this inexplicable, overwhelming and spectacular performance play out in front of my eyes.

Unbeknownst to me, my hands had moved over my heart.

I might not have been aware of which piano pieces were famous or considered pleasing to the ears, or whether a pianist was good or bad according to his play, but I knew one thing for certain: this went beyond perfection.

Every single tap carried so much emotion that I almost teared up.

Another door near the stage swung open as the piece increased in tempo and intensity. Still astonished by this whole situation, my body moved on its own and dove behind the chairs next to me in order to stay hidden from this new arrival.

Was this a natural reaction?

The school didn't explicitly state that we weren't supposed to be in this concert hall, but the door had always been locked, which was why everyone had figured that this room was off-limits to us students.

A strong vibration spread through my pockets as Ayanokouji-kun began to hit the first high notes. Another tremor coursed through my whole frame with each and every following tone that his nimble fingers produced.

This had been the first time I had received messages in such a quick succession, which meant that something important must have happened. I shielded my phone to hide the screen's bright display and pressed the power button, whereupon my two shivering orbs widened once again.

These notifications were as unbelievable as the current situation.

[ANHS] The test has now ended for the Rat group. Those in the Rat group are no longer required to take part any further. Please do not disturb the other students.

[ANHS] The test has now ended for the Ox group. Those in the Ox group are no longer required to take part any further. Please do not disturb the other students.

[ANHS] The test has now ended for the Tiger group. Those in the Tiger group are no longer required to take part any further. Please do not disturb the other students.

[ANHS] The test has now ended for the Snake group. Those in the Snake group are no longer required to take part any further. Please do not disturb the other students.

[ANHS] The test has now ended for the Goat group. Those in the Goat group are no longer required to take part any further. Please do not disturb the other students.

[ANHS] The test has now ended for the Monkey group. Those in the Monkey group are no longer required to take part any further. Please do not disturb the other students.

[ANHS] The test has now ended for the Rooster group. Those in the Rooster group are no longer required to take part any further. Please do not disturb the other students.

[ANHS] The test has now ended for the Dog group. Those in the Dog group are no longer required to take part any further. Please do not disturb the other students.

[ANHS] The test has now ended for the Pig group. Those in the Pig group are no longer required to take part any further. Please do not disturb the other students.

His marvelous play halted for a second before the piece continued in a slow and harmonious manner as soon as the ninth message had reached my phone. The impeccable timing in which his play and the messages overlapped was impossible to achieve, both by accident and on purpose, since no one could manipulate another person's moves to such a degree.

Was it really so unreasonable, though?

The messages had trickled in as he reached the climactic part in his performance, mere seconds before the section slowed down again. All high notes stuck out and had been accompanied by a notification until all but three groups finished the exam. At least one of these groups housed Class D's Karuizawa Kei, who Ayanokouji-kun had confirmed to be the VIP.

They won again...

Worried that someone else might walk in through the door I had used to slip inside, I crawled away, along the row of seats that were arranged in a semi-circular fashion. I had this dreadful, distressing feeling that I shouldn't have been here, but I couldn't leave now that a third party had entered the room through the second entrance.

Even though I was concerned, I couldn't help but enjoy every passing second of Ayanokouji-kun's serene performance. If he found me, he would understand that all of this was just an accident after I explained everything to him.

So why didn't I just stand back up?

His play went on as the gentle melody picked up the pace during the exciting parts, before it slowed down again for the comfort to kick back in. A similar pattern recurred until the last note faded — dissolved into the surroundings.

Applause echoed through the hall-like room.

The steps that followed originated from a woman, a strict, business-oriented teacher, to be exact. Other passengers, aside from Chabashira-sensei, like the students or the staff, wouldn't wear high heels that would create such a unique sound.

"Impressive, Ayanokouji. I could never reach such an exquisite standard of play, even if I had a whole lifetime to learn a single song. You should feel honored. I rarely praise my students, much less with such a high-level compliment."

"Thank you for opening the door for me."

I propped myself up and peeked through the crack between the seats to observe what the two were doing. Ayanokouji-kun sat in front of the piano and caressed the instrument with his hands, which were covered in thin black gloves. He looked down at the spot in front of the stage where Chabashira-sensei stood with his usual laid-back expression.

Was it easier to play with them?

Or did they serve another purpose?

"The messages during the performance. They were your doing, I presume?"

"Haven't you checked yet? Reading them should answer your question."

What were they talking about?

His doing?

She insinuated that Ayanokouji-kun was the reason for these messages, but this was impossible. He sat here, right in front of both of us, and had played a song during that time. It was absurd to believe that he had somehow ended the exam.

But why wasn't he denying it?

"To be honest, I was unable to break free from your captivating performance. Besides, it is rather rude to check one's cell phone while listening to such a delightful piece. 'Nuvole Bianche' by Ludovico Einaudi, right?"

Ayanokouji-kun, I'm so sorry!

I didn't mean to be rude!

My head bowed by reflex as I atoned in my mind.

"It's not a difficult or complex piece, but I enjoy its simplicity quite a lot. 'White Clouds' might remind an individual of freedom, don't you think?" He cracked a faint, melancholic smile. "How does it feel? To be Class C's homeroom teacher?"

A heartfelt, genuine laugh followed his question.

Chabashira-sensei had a captivating smile, which none of us students had ever seen before. I and many others hadn't known that she could produce such a wholesome, delighted expression, since she was rather strict and professional during school hours. Contrary to our instructor, she didn't get as close to her class, nor did she want them to succeed.

Or that's how it seemed from my perspective...

His question was confusing, since they would be Class A or B after this examination, but the two of them seemed so close and comfortable around each other that I had no time to wonder about his words. I felt out of place since they acted like good friends that humored each other with secret inside jokes that no one but them could make sense of.

"It's great, but I'm still in a predicament because of you."

Why would she be in trouble because of him?

"A small timeout from your eventual spot as Class A's homeroom teacher isn't too much of a price to pay for Class D's sudden and unexpected rise to glory, don't you agree? It's only natural that the faculty would think of foul play gone wrong, but since I'm on your side, you have nothing to worry about."

What did he mean by that..?

"Such a situation never occurred before, but I assume that Class D might receive a temporary homeroom teacher, depending on how long they plan to investigate me for. Your abilities are just a little too unbelievable, so I can't fault them for suspecting me. Say, how much time did you need to figure out the pattern?"

Wait, what pattern?!

"Who knows?"

That's such an Ayanokouji-kun answer...

"That's such an Ayanokouji-esque reply. If you don't want to share any specifics, then that's fine with me, but tell me what you have planned with Class D's VIPs, at least. I assume you have taken measures to stop Class A from overtaking us?"

"This information is none of your concern, is it? I dragged you to the top, just like I promised. As long as you keep your end of our agreement, I will continue to make sure that we'll never leave this comfortable position until we graduate."

No... this can't be right...

It's all untrue... he couldn't have...

Matsushita-san won the island exam, didn't she?

And what's with this manner of speaking?

This is different...

He is different...

His voice and mannerism, the gestures...

All of it — everything is wrong.

That person isn't the Ayanokouji-kun I know.

"Of course, I wouldn't go back on my word."

"Then could you do something for me right now?"

Ayanokouji-kun glanced at her with genuine curiosity in his eyes while his instructor leaned against the seat with a taciturn expression. They stared at each other, almost as if an unseen telepathic conversation took place between them.

"What do you have in mind?"

"Can you sing for me if I play a song?"

What?!

"What?!"

"You might not believe me, but I'm serious. I was fascinated by your voice the moment I heard it during our first homeroom lesson and I always hypothesized how your singing would sound. The one I want you to perform doesn't have too many lyrics, so I would appreciate a positive answer to my inquiry."

Chabashira-sensei seemed quite surprised, but she should have arrived at the same conclusion I reached. Ayanokouji-kun wanted to hear this song from her mouth and no one else's. He must have asked her to open this concert hall for a reason and followed a clear path after she had entered. Their current conversation was inevitable, even though it sounded absurd.

And I wasn't supposed to hear any of this...

Did Ayanokouji take care of both exams?

No, we knew for certain that Matsushita —

Or did we..?

The person in front of the grand piano was a stranger.

He looked like Ayanokouji-kun, but felt like a bizarre, twisted version of him whenever he moved or opened his mouth. If everything they talked about was true, then he used Matsushita-san and me to further his goals. This meant that she never feigned her surprise when we visited them to conclude our deal, but he made us think that she did. We had never talked with her about anything that could endanger us, because we trusted Ayanokouji-kun as if he was one of our own.

Neither he nor Chabashira-sensei had a reason to lie.

Kanzaki-kun and I had made a terrible mistake.

Did he use us..?

Use me?

It couldn't be real — none of it.

There had to be another explanation.

"What do you want me to sing?"

A smile surfaced on his face as she walked up the stage.

Class D's homeroom teacher glanced at Ayanokouji-kun's phone as a pained grin streaked across her delicate face. His swift fingers began to move and flew over the keys, whereupon multiple sorrowful notes left the piano. Chabashira-sensei wasn't using his device to look at the lyrics, which indicated that she either knew the song from before or had memorized each word with a quick peek.

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me

I once was lost, but now I am found

Was blind, but now I see

′Twas grace that taught my heart to fear

And grace my fears, relieved

How precious did that grace appear

The hour I first believed

Through many dangers, toils and snares,

We have already come

'Twas grace has brought us safe thus far

And grace will lead us home

The last verse was followed up with a mournful, almost tragic piano solo that must have reflected Ayanokouji-kun's complicated frame of mind. Each keystroke, filled with emotion, brought the familiar melody to life. I recognized the piece from somewhere, but I couldn't remember the name or where I had heard it before. The chorus and theme suggested an ecclesiastical background, like a hymn that would be played at church in different western countries.

Eventually, the venue fell silent again.

"Do you believe in God, Sae?"

"I don't and never will."

"Mh, I believe in myself and the message this gospel conveys. I want to hold on to the faint notion that forgiveness and redemption are possible, regardless of the sins a person has committed. My soul may not be cleansed by the mercy of a nonexistent almighty god, but I want to think that everyone can earn a second chance in life."

"Is that why you wanted me to sing?"

"Who knows?" He shrugged and observed her annoyed complexion, which grew more frustrated whenever he didn't respond. "Maybe I just wanted to hear your lovely singing voice, which was pleasing to the ears, just as expected."

Chabashira-sensei smacked his head...

... before a loud slap reverberated through the hall.

My eyes widened in incredulity as this unbelievable scene repeated in form of an endless loop. I had to cover my mouth to stop myself from gasping in astonishment as the charming smile that had surfaced on Chabashira-sensei's face turned colder than ice in the split second after his flat palm smacked her butt.

"Are you serious? Again?"

AGAIN?!?!

"I think we're even. For now..."

The person I had recognized as Ayanokouji Kiyotaka crumbled with every action this boy took. None of the words that left his mouth reminded me of the adorable guy I had fallen in love with, but it had to be him. He was, without a doubt, the student my classmates and I had built such a strong bond with that we decided to support him in any way we could.

Chabashira-sensei leaned against the piano with folded arms.

"You won't beat someone up again, right?"

What was she talking about now?

"Whatever could you mean, Sae?"

How is he just calling a teacher by her first name?

"Come on, we both know that you assaulted the guy that molested Sakura. I heard that he looked half-dead when the security guards got to him. Chipped teeth, broken bones and a screwdriver right next to his femoral artery. The doctor's preliminary examination identified rather interesting black traces of silk in his mouth." She stared deep into his golden orbs. "Almost as if the attacker had worn gloves."

"Coincidences can be freaky, huh?"

He glanced at his veiled hands and turned back to the piano.

Once again, he didn't reply and just shrugged Chabashira-sensei's question off without batting an eye. I didn't want to believe what she said, but it was indisputable that he must have brutalized that store clerk to such a terrifying degree. There were so many things about him I didn't know, and all of them sent cold shivers down my spine.

But he did this to protect his classmate, right?

That should count for something...

Was this the reason he sought salvation?

My fractured, disillusioned mind kept coming up with noble, elaborate excuses for his current behavior, neither of which I could tell myself for long. I couldn't condone or explain his attitude while I kept ruminating about the sincerity of his words in each of our previous conversations.

How much of it was real?

Had he lied to me the entire time?

Used me because of my trusting nature?

"Well, I figured as much. You might not have faith in anyone but yourself, but I don't mean you any harm. I have a small gathering to attend to now, so please excuse my premature farewell. Let me know once you are done, so I can close up."

The door shut and Ayanokouji-kun played another song.

Similar to the first one, I didn't know its name or who had written the piece, but I felt wistful as the sounds entered and left my ears. It was saddening, yet powerful and calming. My thoughts, stirred by everything I had learned just now, couldn't help but revolve around him as his performance gave off an aura of mystery and unshakeable composure.

Time passed, and his fingers slowed down.

Another visitor strode into the room and said nothing until the last tone ceased to resonate. I couldn't tell who it was, since I wasn't brave enough to peek through the cracks without knowing where they stood. Whoever just entered might be able to see me, depending on their position. Moving or glancing towards the stage was too dangerous.

"Wow... That sounded amazing."

Kushida-san?

"Thank you. Did everything work out as planned?"

"Yes, it was a logistical nightmare, but everything worked out as per your request. I can't even imagine the dumbfounded faces of Ryuuen and the other students when they realize that they lost the exam on the first day. Every time you act, I have to wonder if anyone at this school can hold a candle to you."

"No one can beat a god, Kikyou."

"You calling yourself 'God' now? Well, I can't disagree."

Her amused laugh echoed through the auditorium, which made it difficult to pinpoint whether she had taken his words as a fact or a bad joke. The stranger on the piano shook his head, unwilling to explain the meaning of this statement.

His remark sounded genuine, however.

He was assured that no one could trump him.

Or had I also misinterpreted his words?

"The matter with Sakura?"

Sakura-san again?

Could Kushida-san know about the store clerk?

"Her roommates shouldn't be too hard on her after Matsushita explains that I solved the puzzle with their help. I altered your explanation somewhat to include things that your girlfriend and Mii-chan said as well."

So that's how they dealt with the exam this time.

Ayanokouji-kun must have solved the test, just like Chabashira-sensei said, whereupon he informed Kushida-san of the solution. She visited Matsushita-san and masqueraded as the person who had found a pattern that revealed all VIPs.

Did he do the same on the island?

If those two had worked together, then it was plausible that he might have moved all of us according to a predetermined path. She was one of the most popular and trusted individuals in our grade — maybe even the whole school. None of her statements on the island had been out of character for her, but this was the strength he must have been counting on.

"Sorry for burdening you so much today."

"You said you'd make it up to me. That's more than enough."

Kushida-san's feet carried her up the stage, where she halted her movements. A cute laugh fled her lips as she pulled out a pair of similar black gloves from her blazer pocket and presented them to Ayanokouji-kun with a proud smirk.

She knew about his violent actions as well...

"I knew they'd come in handy someday."

"Never expected that you would buy a pair... that's adorable." She slid into the gloves and sat down on the same chair as him after he made some space to his right. "Kouenji figured out his VIP as well, as predicted, I guess.."

"Are you sure he won't be a problem?"

Her worries were genuine.

Did Kouenji-kun do something as well?

No...

Don't tell me...

Had Ayanokouji-kun mentioned my balance?

But... why would he do that?

Just to hurt me?

To see how far I would go for him?

Matsushita-san had never planned to poison anyone, and she also wasn't the reason for Chihiro-chan's sickness. Ayanokouji-kun had slipped her the wrong berries to force a retirement, because he knew that we would never let her stay, like Horikita-san did. Afterwards, he mimed a symptom to incriminate his girlfriend, who we already distrusted.

Why poison her?

Because of the leader position?

No, that's nonsense...

"He won't become one. I am more certain of that now than before. Kouenji needed two sessions to figure out the VIP, which confirmed his cold reading abilities. He had no baseline from most of these people, so he didn't know how they would behave in a relaxed environment. Once he knew the signs, he just needed to find someone who wasn't as comfortable, since the VIP would be worried about being found out."

Is that why he knew about my feelings?

They knew about each other, so it wouldn't be strange to assume that they might have worked together on the island. If they planned his accident and our meeting afterwards, then they stole points from both Matsushita-san and Class B.

Were they trying to amass twenty million?

But they were in Class A already...

"Could you narrow down who is helping Matsushita?"

What?

"Yes. It's Horikita Manabu. Suzune's brother in the third year."

"Wait. The student council president? Why would he help us?"

His classmate jumped up in surprise, unable to believe his words.

If I hadn't been hiding, I would have reacted with a similar amount of astonishment, as his words were nothing short of unimaginable. I might not know Horikita-senpai as well as Tachibana-senpai or Nagumo-senpai, but I was assured that he wouldn't interfere in the competition of a lower grade.

"Do you remember the day I showed you my point balance?"

"The twenty-six million? I was shocked, so it's hard to forget."

WHAT?!

"Not all of those points had been mine. I extorted the elder Horikita with a recording I had made when he beat up his sister. Ten million private points as payment and twenty million as a one time loan, which he would get back within twenty-four hours. It took him a moment to scrap the points together, but he managed to fulfill his end of the bargain. This must have been the trigger that prompted him to approach Chiaki and Ichinose. He helped the former with information and strategies to support the class under a pretense of wanting to help his sister or something similar, and placed the latter in the student council — in his immediate sphere of influence — even though he had declined her before. I suspect that he did both things to exert some authority over them, since he realized that they were important to me."

Wait, I'm important to him?

Stop, stop, stop!

That's not what I should think about right now.

This is too much information.

Horikita-senpai hit his sister?

Ayanokouji-kun blackmailed him?

Had I just been accepted as a bargaining chip?

I slumped towards the ground and stared at my quivering hands. Tears began to gather in the corners of my eyes, since nothing that happened transpired because of the things I did. Horikita-senpai didn't reconsider my application because of the potential he saw in me, but to have a hostage for his inevitable battle with Ayanokouji-kun.

Just why..?

Why would he hurt me so much?

Scenes from our past interactions spun around my mind like an old vinyl record as waves of emotions surged through my entire being like a disastrous tidal wave that devastated everything in its path. Pain, sadness, anxiety, heartache and agony — words that all meant the same thing, buried me in a cluster of toxic, pernicious thoughts that prompted even more tears and low, muffled cries as I bit into the sleeve of my blazer to keep my voice down.

This grief was excruciating, torturous, and heart-wrenching.

'I like you, Ichinose...'

His radiant statement from back then cut through the darkness and pushed it aside like the radiant moonlight during the darkest of nights. These words, at least, were truthful. I could be assured of that much. Ayanokouji-kun said it himself. Horikita-senpai used me, because I was important to him.

'How could I ever hate you?'

Yeah, I felt the same way...

Even after knowing all of this, I still —

My thoughts stopped, interrupted by their conversation.

"Are you sure that it's wise to make so many enemies? You messed with the student council president, one of the most powerful individuals at the school, and conducted some dubious deals with Kouenji. I know better than anyone else how capable you are — I do — yet I can't help but worry. What if something goes wrong?"

"Have you forgotten what I said on the beach?"

"How could I forget that?"

A sigh fled her lips before she leaned into him.

They were close friends, but this situation felt different. Their behavior around each other seemed too familiar, almost as if she was Ayanokouji-kun's girlfriend. I should be the last person to evaluate how close he was to other girls, however, since I wasn't much better than Kushida-san. Similar to her, I also enjoyed his warmth and wanted to be close to him.

Was she also in love?

"What are we going to do about our VIPs?"

"I'll gift them to Ichinose, but I still need some time in our group. She knows about Karuizawa, and if I tell her about Satou and you in a few days, she will figure that I felt guilty for what 'Chiaki' did and had me do today. None of her classmates would think that I'd lie to her, so it's safe to assume that she'll end the groups by then. The extra 150 points from our three groups would place them right behind us in the hierarchy."

Satou-san and Kushida-san are the other VIPs?

But why would he give them to us?

Class C would be a much better choice from a tactical perspective if he wanted to give them away, which made little sense. It wouldn't be a problem to keep quiet for the rest of the exam and aim for the best outcome for their class, which would involve none of the other classes figuring out their VIPs.

Kushida-san stood and put some distance between them.

Her complexion was rather depressed, almost as if she had received bad news. She clenched her trembling fists and stared at Ayanokouji-kun, who regarded her unexpected actions with his usual apathetic expression.

"You do like her, don't you? Ichinose, I mean. That's why you've been dragging them along all this time. Leaving them alone on the island might have been part of your plan, but you aren't using them as a shield for the other classes to pound on, like you proclaimed. There is another reason, isn't there? You don't want her to fail."

"That's not entirely true."

No... he was lying.

I was sure about that.

"Isn't it? Then why else do you want to stay in the Rabbit group? It's not because of Karuizawa, I know that for certain, because I supplied you with the information you needed. I might not have known you for very long, but I learned more about you than anyone else at this school. You are changing, and you have noticed this yourself, haven't you?"

"Do you really think so? Because I don't. I'm still the same horrible, defective human being that walked through the gates on the first day of school. Ichinose is interesting and I believe that I can learn a lot from her. She experiences emotions, friendship, and trust, unlike me, who feels nothing but apathy and a faint, numb sensation. If she were to see me like this, I would be nothing but a stranger. As long as I keep the Ayanokouji Kiyotaka she loves alive and well, she will continue to teach me her compassionate way of perceiving this cruel world. Ichinose could be the light that guides me out of the darkness I've been trapped in for all of my life. While I use people like chess pieces and move them around as I please, she thinks about everyone and tries to be fair, kind and merciful. One day I will tell her about me, because I need to confirm her reaction upon seeing the monster I have kept hidden. Only then can my learning process end."

She reached out to his cheek and caressed along his soft skin.

"I can help you with that as well..."

"You know that's not correct."

Kushida-san tiptoed forward and squeezed his head into her chest.

"Just what happened to you before all of this?"

His classmate voiced my exact thoughts.

Ayanokouji-kun — this true version of him — was different to the one I met every day. He was confident, cold and calculating to the core. His actions and words were cruel, but he recognized how much he hurt everyone around him.

This boy wasn't evil, but self-deprecating.

He despised himself for the way he thought and must have decided to stay so close to me because he wished that my generosity and kindness would rub off on him. That I might somehow be able to fix his frozen heart.

"Nothing really happened to me."

I shouldn't have been aware of this side of him, but it made me care even more. Ayanokouji-kun was aware of how ruthless his actions were, but he didn't feel guilty. There was no remorse — only the wish to change — to be forgiven, and to become a better person. All this new information might have scared me, but I wouldn't abandon him, no matter what.

Maybe he was just using me to learn, but I would do my best to teach him — demonstrate that people could be considerate and sympathetic. I wanted to show him that we could spend our time together without being enemies.

"If you ever want to open up to someone..."

"I know. Thank you Kikyou."

"Haaah!" She let go of Ayanokouji-kun and slapped her cheeks until they were red. "I always wanted to play because it looked pretty interesting in movies and shows, but I never had the chance to try."

Kushida-san displayed her usual cheery demeanor.

Similar to Matsushita-san and me, she cared about him a lot and seemed to be the only one of us who knew about the real Ayanokouji-kun, in an official capacity, at least. She was discouraged and didn't want to hear the answer to the first question that started this subject, but she pushed through to help him realize his own thoughts. He might have been conscious of everything, but voicing these concerns differed from keeping them hidden.

"Let me teach you something simple, then."

He took her fingers and placed them on the piano before they played another piece together. It was slow and much simpler than anything he had performed before, but it was the proper tempo to teach someone the ropes. Kushida-san followed his lead and gave it her all, despite some rather obvious — and unpleasant — mistakes.

I'd be surprised if I had performed any better.

My phone kept vibrating like crazy as I received multiple messages from my classmates, asking where I was and what we were going to do about the exam. I assured them that I was alright, but got held up somewhere, as I couldn't tell them about anything that had transpired in this concert hall.

Once again, I lied.

But this time, it wasn't only to protect him.

Someone this calculating and ruthless was even more dangerous than Ryuuen-kun, who never hid his behavior. If he discerned that my classmates knew about him, I couldn't be sure whether they were still safe. Ayanokouji-kun had tortured a man, poisoned Chihiro-chan and might have done even worse things I didn't know about.

Endangering them was the last thing I wanted.

And the same went for him.

My classmates and the other students wouldn't understand his misery if word about his true self got out. He might be scorned and cast out by every single student due to the things he had done, which might push him over an edge he couldn't return from. I could never let this happen, because he needed to see the world through my eyes.

Despite his faults, my heart kept beating for him.

The pulsations that echoed through my veins might have gotten stronger from that moment onwards. Some might call it a woman's intuition, while others would call me foolish or blinded by love, but I saw through the lie he had uttered.

Ayanokouji-kun liked me, and didn't want this class to fail.

I will show him that I don't need his protection.

Ryuuen-kun, Katsuragi-kun or even Sakayanagi-san — I can manage them — even without his help. Kanzaki-kun, my classmates and I were more than skilled enough to handle Class B's defense and offense if we worked together as a team.

With my hand pressed on my heart, I uttered this vow.

A promise from me to him.

"I will never abandon you."

"That was fun, even though my playing sounded awful..." Kikyou's gentle giggle floated along the walls of the music hall as she hopped off the stage. "We've been here far too long. I hope that no one is worried about me."

"I'm glad you had fun. You deserve a break."

My queen plopped down on one of the audience seats in the first row and began applauding my previous performance with renewed vigor. Her adorable smile was blinding, almost painful to look at after everything I had done to her.

She could never return to the Kushida Kikyou from before the rooftop, which was a favorable outcome for me, but a disastrous one for her as a still evolving human being. Her trembling fingers would try to stick her shattered core together time and time again, but she could never escape the horrors she had been forced to endure during that day — would never outrun the devil that haunted her for the rest of this miserable life.

Yet, I didn't feel a thing.

No pity for her grim future, which would be filled with hardships and an unbearable amount of psychological pain. No regrets that I had destroyed this feeble girl's life at such a young, almost innocent age. And no love or affection, despite all the romantic and thoughtful actions I had performed to ease her worries.

I met so many kind and beautiful women...

Suzune, who had changed for the better following our first, rather unfortunate meeting in front of the gates. The initial steps in our friendship might have been quite difficult, but I was glad that we made progress during this first semester.

Ichinose, who had shown me how important friends could be to someone, was beyond fascinating and wished for everyone to be happy. In her naïve view, there was no reason to fight, as we could all graduate this school together.

Chiaki, who had gifted me her heart and her genuine, unforgettable love. It didn't matter how our story ended, because the beginning had already been written. The main part might have been drafted, but our conclusion remained unresolved.

Karuizawa and Satou could be counted as two of the first friends I had ever made. The former might not be the smartest while the latter wasn't the best looking, but both of them were important to me. We hadn't known each other before April, but they accepted me, even though I wasn't as popular or handsome as Hirata. Their warnings about Ike, Yamauchi and the other perverted guys had saved me from being sucked into their bad influence before it was too late.

Fuka, who was the first girl that accepted this vicious and disgusting part of me without being appalled, was inquisitive about the things she couldn't explain. Rather than fearing me, she wanted to know more about my mysterious past.

Sae, who fought with her own demons, was prepared to threaten a student — bend him to her will until she succeeded. She wanted to flee from her very own bird-cage — wished to leave behind the past that shackled her to the inescapable labyrinth she had found herself in. Both of us were just looking for a way out of our respective prison.

... yet none of these wonderful, generous souls had changed me or managed to mend this broken, inconceivable dark void that festered deep inside my blackened heart like a malignant tumor that clawed at the last smoldering ember.

I yearned for love — craved to feel emotions.

Both positive and negative.

But nothing could penetrate this towering, numbing black safeguard that devoured every single sentiment before I could experience just a fraction of anything that could hinder me from achieving my goals. The only objective that it stopped me from completing was the one I desired the most:

To tear this whole damn thing down.

"That reminds me... I wanted to ask you about something I didn't understand." The dazzling smile on her lips augmented her pyrope garnet orbs, which peered at me for approval. Only a monster could have refused a request that was posed in such a captivating manner. "This exam, or rather, the solution, was too simple. How can you be certain that you found the correct pattern and didn't just luck out in case the arrangements in our class overlapped by accident?"

Kikyou's question wasn't surprising, since she knew me rather well and must have realized that I would never have instructed her to end the exam if I hadn't been certain about the solution I had found, as she would be implicated in case it turned out to be wrong. It wasn't a stretch to consider that this interpretation might have been a ruse by the school, as they could have used a different sequence for each class.

"Did you know that each zodiac animal has different relationships with the others? Some of them form so-called 'best matches', while others would only be qualified as 'good' or might even oppose each other, due to their characteristics."

My queen rested her slim index finger on her chin.

Multiple low, adorable hums escaped her charming lips as she thought about a myriad of conversations she must have had with her friends and followers throughout her life, wondering whether she had ever heard similar things.

"Do you mean like those romantic horoscopes?"

"Yeah, exactly. Have you heard about the four compatible groups?"

"I've heard about physical, emotional and intellectual compatibilities, but I assume that's not what you are hinting at, right? Aside from Mii-chan and maybe Shiranami, I don't know anyone who might be interested in this stuff. Even with them in mind, I'm not sure how serious they would take these things or if they would be helpful."

"The twelve Chinese zodiac signs can be categorized into four groups of three animal allies known as 'San He', which means 'three harmonies'. It is said that those three animals live together in a group, understand each other, and bring good luck to the rest. These three are the best possible matches, according to your horoscope. If you were born in the year of the Dragon, for example, your 'San He' would be Rat and Monkey. Do you follow so far?"

From hereon out, there were multiple ways to interpret the information I had given her. One option would be to think that each 'San He' would reveal the VIPs of one class, which we could already rule out as we knew the groups of our allotted students. Another possibility was the one Kikyou would think of due to the extensive understanding she possessed.

"Is that why the teacher told us to 'ignore the prior fraught relationships'? This statement wasn't meant for us students to work closely in our group, but a hint for the zodiac signs who would have their own relations, different to ours."

"Correct. As I've mentioned, there are four groupings. Dragon, Rat and Monkey is the first. Ox, Snake and Rooster is the second. Tiger, Horse and Dog is the third. And the fourth is Rabbit, Goat and Pig. Aside from these 'San He', you can widen each signs relationship into somewhat of a compatibility chart. A horoscope of sorts, just like you said. You'll understand it better if I show you what I mean, so come back up."

Kikyou jumped off the chair and strolled up the small stairs to the stage. I moved to the side to make some space for her, just like before, but she ignored the empty area to my right and forced her way between my legs. She stuck out her tongue and leaned back into my chest as I pulled out my phone.

I opened a picture, ready to draw on it.

"This is a standard Chinese zodiac circle. If you mark the 'San He' with a number for each group, it looks like this."

"Those are their close allies, or in a romantic sense, their best matches. Since the form of the chart is circular, you can see that each zodiac animal is opposite to another one, which could be seen as a poor match, or enemy. Meaning the poor match for Rat would be Horse, while Goat would be a bad match for Ox and so on."

"Aside from each animal's closest allies and the worst possible matches, they also have a close friend, so to speak."

"Damn, your lines are skewed."

"That's not what you are supposed to look at."

My fist bumped against her head, whereupon a delighted giggle illuminated the music hall with her colorful charm. She turned around, mouthed a mischievous, reticent, 'sorry', and kissed my neck to mask Chiaki's mark with her own.

Was she envious of her?

Kikyou was about to shift back to my phone's display as I grabbed onto her soft chin and put a passionate kiss on her delicious lips. She tasted like the sweets she had eaten in the Blue Ocean and I couldn't help but continue to devour her.

For a few more seconds, at least.

"With what we know so far, we have two best matches for each animal, a close friend and one enemy. If we turned this information into a cleanly arranged table format, we would get something like this."

I opened up the chart I had created and showed it to her.

"All of our VIPs are part of different 'San He'. If we were to add this to our table, what could we infer?"

"Um..." Kikyou played with her upper lip before a cute gasp slipped through the cracks. "Wait, could it be that the signs in the zodiac column cannot share a class with the ones from other columns? It also looks like the allies cannot be the same class twice, at least according to what we have so far. Since it never happened to us, it would be fair to assume, right?"

"Correct. Now, what can we do with this knowledge? The most simple approach to narrow down a potential solution to this exam would be to create a list of groups where the VIPs cannot be in the same class, leaving ours out of the equation since it would be redundant and therefore unnecessary to display."

"Now, it's much easier to read. Let's use the pattern I noticed on this list and start with the first three to make things easier to grasp. If the arrangement I came up with is correct, then nothing will overlap."

"We can determine that the VIP in the Monkey group cannot be from Class A or C, thus has to be a Class B student, together with Ox. If we check the solution you gave Chiaki, we can see that the Monkey group's VIP is indeed from Class B. Now, if we keep expanding this, we can confirm that the chart looks like it should."

"That's how I could verify that the explanation I had discovered was the appropriate one. If the pattern turned out to be incorrect, then the table wouldn't have ended up this way, which would have informed me of a faulty method. It's not a one-hundred percent certainty, of course, but the chance that the whole table would work out like this with a wrong solution that made sense from a pattern perspective was abysmal at best. For example, if we solved the exam with a wrong method that would still fit our three VIPs, we'd come up with something like this."

"The pattern already fails on the second group, since the VIP from Snake and Ox cannot share a class. If we keep building upon this wrong solution, we can spot even more inconsistencies and overlaps in the groupings."

"This proof of concept makes it improbable that the solution I detected is wrong, since there are only so many arrangements that would be consistent with our information and much less that would fulfill both conditions."

Kikyou glanced at me with wide, shaking eyes.

Her mouth, which had already been wide agape before, opened even further. My queen's moist tongue, which wriggled around her oral cavity, coupled with the awestruck expression on her charming face, reminded me of today's Chiaki. I pushed these offensive thoughts aside, cursed Ike and tried to wake Kikyou from her shock-induced paralysis.

"What?"

Did I perhaps do something wrong?

Was there a flaw in my reasoning?

Or why would she react this way?

"Just how smart are you? No one would figure something like this out! Are you a genius or something? You've told me to meet up with Sakura seconds after you saw the list I've sent you. This means that you must have realized that this was the solution in such a short amount of time. Who in the world are you to be capable of that?"

Oh, that's what this was about.

"Just a normal human. Nothing more, nothing less."

"I just can't believe you... This is... You are a..."

... a monster.

"... amazing."

She leaned into my chest and snatched my phone.

Her fingers swiped through the images and tables as she shook her head in sheer disbelief. The last state of the wrong table reflected in her mesmerizing crimson spheres as she broke out in a fit of contagious laughter. My queen's gentle hands grabbed onto my necktie and pulled me into a deep, affectionate kiss.

Swift tapping sounds followed her prior movements as she stood up and jumped off the stage with a rosy complexion. She stretched her arms and regarded me with one of the most breathtaking smiles she had offered me to date.

"I'll make my way back to our room before my friends worry. Everyone should still be awake after our stunt, so they'd notice if I'm gone for too long." Kikyou ambled towards the door and stopped short of opening it. "Hey... it might be a little late to think of this now, but wasn't it kind of dangerous to talk here?"

Didn't she think I'd consider something like this?

"The room is soundproof because of the instruments. No one can hear us from outside, not even if they leaned against the door and tried to listen. If someone had opened the double doors, both of us would have noticed. Don't you think I would pay attention to something like this before I invited Sae and you here?"

"You are right. Silly me. Goodnight Kiyotaka."

"Goodnight Kikyou."

I performed one concluding song — a final goodbye.

My concealed hands shut the lid before I caressed over this exquisite instrument one last time. It might have been silly or nonsensical to speak to an inanimate object, but I felt the need to leave a few parting words for the grand piano that had gifted me with such a wonderful opportunity to play again after such a long break.

"Thank you for having me."

- Word Count: 21262 / 98140 Characters

Released 22.10.2022

Chapter 32 - Queen's Gambit

Our entire class, except for Kouenji, who was still unavailable due to his chase for physical beauty, assembled in one of the many accessible karaoke rooms on the ship, which were allocated on and spread out over most of the decks. The one we had gathered in was the ninth suite on the third deck, labeled '39', as per the ship's easy to guess numbering scheme.

Chiaki explained how Kikyou managed to solve the problem with the support of Sakura, Mii-chan and her, as soon as everyone arrived. My queen might have worked out most of the intricacies, but she helped the others into the limelight with kind remarks and similar charitable observations, which earned the whole squad multiple rounds of awed praises.

Sakura was still too timid, too easy to intimidate, and needed this modest confidence boost to crawl out of her shell. She had done little in the grand scheme of things, but her statements had brought us closer to the solution. Kikyou reiterated that she couldn't have solved the exam without their guidance, which prompted most of our classmates to thank them.

The VIPs were revealed, together with the secret pattern.

Class D's reward of 4.5 million private points would be pooled together in Kikyou's account after their distribution on the final day of the exam. Everybody would receive their respective cut, consisting of 115.384 points, while the remaining pocket change would stay with her, as the amount was so miniscule that nobody cared about it. These values would be adjusted, depending on the additional points we might earn from our remaining VIPs.

A short celebration followed, as the explanation concluded.

Nothing was official since the results weren't out, but none of my classmates seemed to mind this when they began to sing a few well-known songs and sipped on their orange juice. Chiaki was confident in the solution that our angel had provided us with and allowed everyone a brief time to enjoy themselves now that we had reached Class A.

Suzune and Yukimura were caught off-guard by this behavior.

The former kept quiet, as usual, while my bespectacled roommate complained about our relaxed attitude. According to him, we should have kept the solution and our VIPs a secret until the end, since the other classes were still a danger to our point balance. If the current Class A managed to figure out our leaders, then we would lose our spot and drop back to B.

His protests, albeit justified, were drowned in the festivities.

"Airi!"

Hasebe, also known as 'Mommy Milkers', if one were to ask Kikyou, jumped at our equally stacked pink-haired companion in visible delight after she had heard about the girl's crucial role in this triumph. Sakura, who wasn't comfortable around people and thus easy to scare, almost splashed her drink onto poor Sudou in front of her.

"H-hey Haruka-sa... ah no..."

"She did good, right? Tell her Sudou-kun!"

"What? Yeah, I mean —"

"AIMAI NA KYOUKI GA!"

The rest of their conversation was drowned out by Ike's deafening attempt to perform the anime opening Sotomura had chosen. Okitani and the other guys cheered him on while another group of girls was already browsing for the next song.

Kikyou shone brighter than everyone else.

Back then, I had promised to take care of her — assured my bewitching, beautiful queen that she would be even more loved, cherished and admired by her schoolmates. Now, I had gifted her a small but convincing glimpse of this rosy future. She was beyond ecstatic and hopped through the whole room with her closest friends right next to her.

The party was still in full swing as I stepped outside.

I rested my arms on the cold, metallic railing and gazed over the boundless blue ocean that stretched from here to the horizon and far beyond, where my eyes couldn't follow. Soft, graceful steps closed in on my position before my vision darkened, covered by two soft palms. The gentle sounds of the fresh sea breeze as well as the waves, which crashed against the enormous cruiser, were eclipsed by a sweet, enchanting voice that danced along my earlobes.

"Who am I?"

"Your breasts are too big, Kikyou."

Aside from her, I couldn't feel any presence in my immediate surroundings. Since she was alone, it was safe to articulate such a teasing, almost flirty observation. I was prepared to receive a barrage of insults, but they never came.

"Hmm... you think? You like them, don't you?"

A giggle fled her lips as she propped them up a few times.

Her captivating smile didn't waver as her silky smooth hands enveloped the supple sensations on her chest. She squeezed her two extra large mounds and ran her bare palms along the front until they slipped off, causing her breasts to jiggle and bounce around like a pair of delicious, fluffy soft cakes.

"What's gotten into you?"

She hadn't cursed once during our conversation yesterday, which had already been a strange occurrence due to the stressful time she must have had, but her current coquettish conduct was something even more unbelievable. According to these changes, she was prepared to adjust the person known as Kushida Kikyou and turn her into someone I desired.

Even though she was already perfect.

"You said that I'm not cute when I'm cursing..." She peered at me with a rather complex, dissatisfied expression, which betrayed her jumbled up emotions. "I wanted to prove you wrong. Weren't you proud that I behaved well last night?"

A distant pout surfaced on her lips.

My comment from the day before had been a joke. I had specified as much after her initial apology. The thought that she would take this statement to heart afterwards had never crossed my mind. If she hadn't held herself back in the music hall, I would have assumed that she was trying to mess with me right now, but her present attitude indicated otherwise.

"I don't want you to feel the need to hide the person you are around me. If you want to curse, go ahead. If you prefer to act like a pervert, then do that, but never stop to be who you are just because I told you to. You do know me better than most people, just like you said, but the same goes for me. I like the real Kikyou best."

"Woah, I think my heart just skipped a beat." My queen threw me a teasing grin and tapped against her chest in elation. This smug behavior only lasted for a moment as her complexion changed into a deep crimson. "Fuck, seriously..." She clenched the tracksuit she was wearing and averted her feverish gaze. "Can I please hug you?"

"Yeah, it's safe."

The beige-haired beauty darted forward into my chest with such a speed that I couldn't react to her abrupt movements. This sudden eagerness to embrace me stemmed from her genuine devotion towards my person after everything we had been through. Unlike most others, I accepted her whole, even the ugly side she kept hidden — tucked away from people who wouldn't understand. She as well, recognized the monster inside of me and began to appreciate its compassion.

Kikyou clung to my white shirt like a long-lost kitten.

Small but discernable tremors coursed through her body as her slender hands clasped onto me. Her heartbeat quickened for the first time since our relationship had progressed past the 'friends' stage. The usual calm thumping sounds turned into a frenzied pneumatic hammer that slammed against her ribcage as she closed her mesmerizing pyrope garnet eyes.

"Damn... this is too much."

My queen's alluring face was colored in the deepest blush I had seen to date. Her current countenance was even worse than Chiaki's during the confession, or when she failed to keep our new situation in a small circle between her close friends. Kikyou's two shivering orbs reflected my own, almost as if she peered into the deepest parts of my blackened soul.

"I want to kiss you... Is it okay..?"

"There's still no one around."

"Thank god..."

She reached towards my cheeks and pulled my head down, yearning for honest physical affection. Our lips collided as she dragged me deeper into her loving embrace, even after they had already met. This passionate kiss prompted her moist tongue to press forward with more fervor until it reached mine, which coiled around hers like a ravenous python.

Two words slipped her lips once we separated.

"A date..."

Her damp, hazy breath slithered along my skin and caused a pleasant warmth to spread over my neck. She nibbled on the bite from yesterday and left her own in its stead. My girlfriend would assume that it was still her doing, since Kikyou had taken great care to wipe out any trace of Chiaki's stamp before imprinting her royal queen's mark.

"What?"

"My compensation. I want to go on a date with you."

The reward she had thought of was a rather unusual choice, since I wouldn't have said no if she had asked me to meet up without cashing in this favor. She was important, more so than my current girlfriend, and I wanted to know how it felt to go out with her as well. Accepting her invitation was a given, so I wouldn't allow her to waste this golden ticket here.

This choice also demonstrated how far we had come.

If I had awarded her with such an opportunity before the island and the following development in our relationship, she might have used this as an excuse to get rid of Suzune once and for all. Yet now all she wished for was to be closer to me because she realized that a new way of life had opened up for her.

"You'll get that date for free. How's that?"

She tiptoed, gifted me one last kiss and backed up.

These actions established a clear resounding 'yes'.

"Oh, right... I got my phone back."

Kikyou handed me the unlocked device with an opened audio recording, ready to be played. Knowing my queen, she had prepared a suitable point and turned the volume all the way down. I tapped on 'play' and held the phone against my ear.

"... so what if I pushed her? I won't apologize!"

"Karuizawa-san... you —"

This was more than enough to get a gist of their chat.

"It's muffled since I had to squeeze my phone between the mattress and the bed frame, but I got everything you need. Forcing them into her own room and confronting her with a recording that only Hirata could have taped. You really are the worst possible enemy one could encounter. Should I send it to you, or is there a different plan?"

"Yeah, I still need to listen to the whole conversation and edit him out before I forward it to Manabe. She'll know what to do with this information, even without specific instructions, so all we have to do is wait. You did great, Kikyou, as usual."

She looked adorable with her wide, radiating smile.

Despite my best efforts, I couldn't hold myself back any longer and leaned forward to compensate her for this exquisite performance. My hands caressed along her plump butt and soon reached her thick thighs while she returned the kiss with similar dedication. A faint, satisfactory squeal sailed along her glistening lips as she lost her footing. I parked her bum on top of the railing and peered into her gleaming crimson orbs.

"This is the first time you grabbed onto me."

"Were you afraid?"

"No... just happy that you found me on that rooftop." A lone tear slid along her lovely face as she bent over until our noses touched. "It might have been painful at the beginning, but today marks the first time in my entire life that I feel free, as if all my worries and the burdens I had carried just evaporated. My false mask, the lies and the secrets, nothing is pulling me down. You accept and cherish me with all my flaws and hateful traits, which is something I had deemed impossible. Your presence alone is a safety net that none of my fears or apprehensions can penetrate."

Kikyou pressed her soft lips into mine.

It wasn't unusual that she thought this way.

With a change in my behavior, came a transition in her own. She must have despised me for the things I had done, but this sentiment had cracked over the last few months and broke apart once we shared our first proper kiss. Both of us had evolved during our bumpy relationship. We had grown and adapted to the situation we found ourselves in.

My queen wasn't scared about messing up anymore, because she knew that I would save her without hesitation. She could be more of herself, and less mindful of the version she wanted to suppress, which would also decrease her vulgar outbursts. Kikyou wasn't a crude or obscene woman, but she needed these profanities to vent her bottled-up frustrations.

This issue and its solution became apparent on the island.

The extensive scars my cruel actions had caused weren't forgotten or healed, however. They would resurface once she thought herself ready to take the next step. Kissing and snuggling on the bed of a four person cabin was one thing, but lying naked on the mattress you were almost raped on was another matter altogether.

None of her coping mechanisms would be enough.

All the securities she had worked for would cease to exist.

But I would never leave her side.

She bounced off the siding and straight into my arms.

Her contagious smile was so vivid that even I couldn't help but raise my lips as I set her back to the ground after appreciating the comfortable sensations her supple body provided me with. Kikyou pulled out her phone, sent me the incriminating file and deleted the original recording to cover our tracks.

"It's time to head back. See you later, Kiyotaka."

"Have fun with your friends, Kikyou."

I waved her goodbye and dialed a familiar number.

The beeping sounds repeated around four to five times before my ears picked up on hasty steps that grew louder by the second. Sotomura, who juggled both a digital camera in his left hand and the phone in his right one, drifted around the corner with full speed and an exhausted complexion.

"Ayanokouji-dono?"

"You need to edit another recording."

"The one Kushida-sama made, I assume? Leave it to me!"

My next appointment was right around the corner.

I was blessed with my adorable girlfriend, since a lesser, distrustful individual might have felt threatened by all the gorgeous female friends I had made over the last couple of months. This unexpected realization struck rather late, as I had considered my relationships with other people to be reasonable, from an ordinary highschool student's perspective.

Our gender didn't matter back in the White Room, and it wasn't unusual to be paired up to compete against a female subject. A lot of these young girls survived far longer than the boys did, so I never thought of them as weaker or inferior, like some people might. They had an objective, physical disadvantage if we considered the highest level strength competition, but would outperform the male subjects in terms of acrobatics and flexibility nine out of ten times.

Multiple mock fights had ended with a win for the fairer sex, as they evaded their enemy's strikes with swift movements and whittled them down by applying pressure on their weak spots. Stamina was a far more valuable resource in times like this and the girls had less trouble to adjust since they were used to being more limited in the strength department.

Due to these experiences, I had never placed great importance on the gender of the friends I found here. The female population was a lot more satisfying to look at, but this was the only distinction I could draw between them. Physical abilities, intelligence, and other values could be supplemented and nurtured in time.

The bell atop the door jingled as I entered.

"You're late, Kiyotaka."

"I'm not... are you trying to uno reverse-card me?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

The prideful girl sat on a chair in the back, her enticing legs crossed over one another. She radiated an air of clear superiority, even though she had done nothing to warrant this level of self-confidence. Her two brilliant ruby orbs were accentuated by her long, raven-colored hair, which swayed across her lithe back as she tilted her head to the side.

This brought me back to my initial topic.

Chiaki had never been worried about my loyalty, which was the appropriate position both partners should take. Loving someone was comparable to putting one's trust in another person and believing in their fidelity. If this expectation was broken by one of the two parties, then the relationship would soon fall apart. Betraying a loving, devoted companion who wanted to make you happy was the worst sin a boyfriend or girlfriend could commit.

Yet I felt nothing.

Was this a sign that Chiaki wasn't the one?

Or was I too broken to bemoan such an act?

I hoped to find the answer in time.

"Ike —"

"See? That's where you went wrong." She heaved an exasperated sigh and shook her head in disappointment. "Forget everything he told you. Or better, stop talking to him altogether. You will only be tainted by his revolting thoughts."

A brown-eyed waiter walked up to us and placed some light cuisine, as well as two cups of fresh tea, on the wooden table. He performed a respectful bow and wished us 'two lovebirds' a pleasant lunch date. Suzune, who was dissatisfied that we had been called a couple yet again, glared at the man and pulled a sharpened compass out of her blazer jacket.

"Come on... no need to get offended."

My analogy about the card wasn't too far off, but I decided to keep this observation to myself, since the attendant's thoughtless remark had decreased her mood to a new low. Her two ominous spheres stopped following the poor man's outline, before she turned towards me with a despondent expression.

"Doesn't it bother you?"

"It was just an honest mistake."

Being considered her boyfriend would never frustrate me. If I was a normal adolescent highschool student, I would float on cloud nine after such a straightforward compliment. He only knew us by physical appearance, which meant that he must have evaluated our looks to be comparable enough to deem us as an item.

Or had she classified herself as superior?

Wouldn't be strange coming from her...

"Fine... he may live. Let's eat."

"Yeah, I'll have to leave in about twenty minutes, though."

I muted my phone, sat down and faced my classmate with a faint smile. Suzune picked up on my strange behavior, speculated that I was amused due to this 'couple incident' and watched me with a dubious look. The girl leaned back into the chair, began to stir her steaming hot drink and opened her mouth.

"That's plenty."

She took a sip of her tea and eyed me with suspicion.

"What is it? Do I have something on my face?"

"No, that's not it." Her fingers tapped on the table in quick succession, as if she was nervous, or trying to find the right words to breach a difficult topic that weighed on her mind. "Did you know that Matsushita-san and Kushida-san solved the exam and were going to communicate their guesses to the school last night?"

"Not until I saw the heap of messages this morning. Chiaki had told me nothing about the VIPs or her plans because she considered my involvement as 'too dangerous' after what happened on the island. Kikyou followed her lead without asking questions and left me in the dark as well. They kept this so close to their chests that even Hirata was surprised."

Kikyou would have had trouble with that...

Damn you, Ike...

"I see."

Her reply was quick and concise, unlike her obvious negative thoughts about this matter. It wasn't difficult to estimate her dissatisfaction with the way we had managed to reach Class A. Following her brother's footsteps may have been her lifelong dream, but she had done little to deserve this spot. Suzune didn't differ from the people she looked down on.

She was just as useless.

My good friend was aware of this, which pained her to no end. Around June she had decided that it wasn't feasible or expedient to pull the likes of Sudou and Ike with us, but Chiaki had made the impossible happen and used Ike, who she would have ignored, to his fullest potential, which saved us a ton of points. Two short exams had launched Class D all the way to the top of this grade, and she hadn't been helpful in either.

Her grievances were predetermined.

"Do you trust me, Kiyotaka?"

"Yeah, I do. Why are you asking?"

"Then I trust you as well."

These cryptic whispers vanished into her tea as she used the cup to hide the embarrassed smile that appeared on her face. We began to eat our meals in comparative silence and conversed about some trivial matters that arose until I dared to break this pleasant tranquillity with a question I couldn't keep to myself.

"Are you unhappy?"

"Why would I be? If their thought process was correct, which seems justifiable, according to their detailed explanation of the solution, then we have a high chance of remaining in Class A. That's all I ever wanted to achieve."

She took another sip and glanced off into the distance.

Despite her best efforts, she was unable to hide the pain she experienced. This smile wasn't as sincere as it had been during our dinner or the last breakfast. Her voice wasn't as enjoyable and her words deceived without taking the point of my inquiry into consideration. Suzune was hurting — her pride had crumbled, and I wished that she would open up.

"Even if it means getting kicked by you in around five seconds, I need to tell you this: we are friends. I know that you don't like this word and that you keep whatever occupies your mind to yourself, but you can always be honest with me..."

"Thanks for your concern, Kiyotaka. But it's nothing."

Now wasn't the time to push her.

If she wouldn't tell me about something as trivial as her disappointment and the regrets she had to fight with, then she wasn't ready to start her journey. I could wait for her a little longer, but Suzune's time was running out.

"Hey you two lovebirds." Ryuuen's peculiar laugh rang through the cafe as he took a picture of Suzune and I. "Having yourself another nice date in the shade? Would you mind if I were to join you for a bit?"

I can't remember paying him to say that...

Class C's tyrant visited us on his lonesome today, which was a rather strange sight to see, especially now that most of his classmates had free time. Ibuki's limping should have improved by now, since Kouenji hadn't retaliated. Ishizaki and Albert had no injuries on their legs and should be able to roam around, so I assumed that they supported Shiina.

"Could you stop taking pictures of me without permission?"

... who knows what you are doing with them?

That was the vibe I sensed from her irritated voice.

"Don't be so stuck up, Suzune. You can come over to my cabin any hour of the day. I'll make sure that we both have a good time before we go our own separate ways and act like nothing ever happened. You are too prideful to admit that you enjoy my company, so I don't mind keeping this secret between the three of us."

"Sorry, but I have to decline your invitation." She brushed through her hair and faced Ryuuen with her usual antipathy, which wasn't reserved for him in particular. "I'm busy laughing at your pitiful performance."

Had she noticed how suggestive this sounded?

Or had I just been corrupted by Ike?

"Kukuku... I'm curious, though. Who solved the exam? You? I doubt it." Her proud bearing faltered for a split second, but both Ryuuen and I picked up on her insecurity before she recovered. "That's what I thought..."

Suzune clenched her fists in frustration.

She realized that there was no witty comeback she could counter with, because she had never helped the class in any significant capacity that would justify her high and mighty position in this conversation. Calling him incompetent or worthless would prompt him to an immediate retaliation she couldn't ward off due to her lack of achievements.

"It's been nice talking to you. See you around."

He waved, grabbed some food from one of the Class B students who watched our exchange and left the cafe as hasty as he had arrived. His retreat meant that he had fulfilled his objective, but angering her shouldn't have been his goal. There hadn't been a reason to announce himself at all, since he could have taken a picture from outside, similar to his cronies.

Had he figured it out already?

"You need to meet your group, right? You should go."

It was still early, so I had ample time, but she wanted me to leave right now. I was aware of her current state and that she didn't wish to share her anxieties with me, which was why I acted like a respectable friend would and withdrew.

"Yeah, wouldn't want to be late... See you, Suzune."

I left the cafe and walked off.

Our group room wasn't far enough away to bridge the time to our next meeting, so I ambled over and browsed through my phone. The cabin was vacant when I strolled in, which left me around ten minutes before the others arrived.

Now what?

Staring at my phone screen wasn't a good habit to get into, and I had nothing else to do at the moment. Sotomura would still need some time with the recording for Manabe, and I couldn't prepare any countermeasures in the short span that was available to me. Messaging Fuka was also impossible, which left me unable to arrange things on her end.

What a pain...

Class B was a wildcard.

It was improbable that anyone but Kanzaki would figure out the pattern in the remaining three days, since the rest was still following their current wait-and-see approach. I 'felt bad' about Chiaki's movements behind the scenes, so I had messaged Ichinose and him this morning to tell them that they shouldn't end the Rabbit group's exam yet.

They believed me when I told them that I would supply them with the VIPs from Dragon and Horse as soon as I confirmed them for myself. If they received news about our meeting, I could claim that Chiaki might have set a trap for our adversaries and informed the whole class of the wrong VIPs, which would ensure them of my sincerity.

The door opened as Karuizawa walked inside.

"Heya! You're early."

My classmate threw me a pleasant smile and sat down on the chair next to Class A's spot with an exhausted expression. She raised her long legs atop one of the adjacent seats, crossed them and leaned into the backrest.

"I could say the same about you."

Karuizawa was cute, all things considered.

She would have no trouble to find a real boyfriend if she wasn't as headstrong and worked on her negative personality traits. I wasn't one to talk about someone's messed up nature, but it was a shame that she was limiting herself to this degree. Our gyaru wouldn't reach Kikyou's popularity level, but she played in the major league as well.

Would she pass as a good girlfriend?

"Well, I'm just fed up with this whole exam, to be honest. Why couldn't we have been placed in another group that already finished up? It's a pain to deal with those guys from Class C twice a day. They are a serious turn off."

"The company could be worse..."

"... or a lot better. Like for real. What's up with that creep in our class?! Azuma-san is fine, I guess, but I never talked to her. If Hirata-kun and Satou could have joined instead of them, I wouldn't need to complain, y'know?"

"The Professor isn't that bad..." Karuizawa raised her brow and glanced at me with an unrelenting expression. "... but I guess he is kinda creepy if you are a girl. I can like totally understand that, y'know?"

A sweet, enthusiastic laugh escaped her lips as she covered her mouth. Her indigo orbs vanished behind her eyelids as her body jerked back and forth. She began to clap and wiped a lone tear of joy from beneath her glands.

It was a rare occurrence that she let herself go like this, even among her closest, most trusted friends, but I was touched that she decided to show me such a fascinating smile while she was alone with me.

"This sounds hilarious in your monotone voice."

My attempt to communicate with her via gyaru language wasn't producing the effect I had sought to achieve, but hearing her joyous laughter was enough of a reward. We had never spent our time one on one, but I believed that the two of us had gotten a lot closer over the past months.

The door opened as Ichinose and her two classmates strolled inside. They had been in our vicinity for less than a second, but her bright beam elevated the mood and overshadowed everyone else, just by standing in the room.

"Hey everyone!"

I was cognizant of my hypocrisy.

Even though I knew that Ayanokouji-kun was the reason for Chihiro-chan's poisoning, his own accident, and my misery, I couldn't condemn this handsome boy I cared so much for. All of our chats and meet-ups might have just been a game to him — a boring segment he had to play through to procure his advantage — but I had enjoyed every single second.

Despite all the obvious reasons to distrust him and his charming dishonest lips, I expressed my wish to follow his plan to Kanzaki-kun and the others, who discussed our next steps this morning. He still led our class for this exam, so I wouldn't complain about his decision if he preferred to gain the fifty points we could get hold of.

We knew the identity of the real VIP, after all.

Ayanokouji-kun wanted us to believe his claims and confirmed his honesty through a convoluted scheme of distinct actions that began all the way back in April, when I had insisted him to join us for our karaoke session. I still didn't know why I kept choosing a person who did nothing but lie to me over my cherished classmates who felt akin to family, but I trusted him and the unreliable words he had uttered in front of Kushida-san.

Karuizawa-san's laugh stifled.

Her complexion returned to her usual serious and begrudging mannerism as she focused on her mobile phone. These unnatural reactions suggested that our entry had interrupted a conversation between the two classmates. I was unsure about how close they were, but she had never laughed with such great amusement whenever our group gathered.

Was he cheating with her as well?

The brown-haired boy who sat on his chair had disillusioned me to a degree that left me unable to trust my eyes and ears. My gut feeling assured me that they were just good friends, but I had assumed the same about Kushida-san and him. Yet they had kissed with such passion, while I cowered behind a row of seats, worried that this stranger would find me.

An unbearable pain had ravaged my heart at that moment.

She didn't look unhappy when their lips met.

Quite the opposite...

So he hadn't threatened her?

Maybe he offered points in return?

Theories like this were disturbing to think about, but I didn't know how to classify his behavior. No one in my position would have been competent enough to narrow down where his daunting conduct stopped or began, so it was impossible to evaluate potential reasons for her contentment in his convoluted mess. Matsushita-san and he seemed happy in their ongoing relationship, but she was just another 'piece' he needed to advance.

Was it the same for Kushida-san?

Had he 'captured' her, just like me?

"Hey, Ichinose. Himeno, Beppu."

"Yo, Ayanokouji-kun!"

"Heya."

My two classmates acknowledged him without knowing that all of this was just a game — that they were nothing more than cheap marionettes with strings attached to his veiled hands. His girlfriend, Kanzaki-kun, Shibata-kun, Horikita-san and I, were just usable objects to the puppeteer. These conclusions had dawned on me after a night of thinking about him.

His words to Kushida-san had gained meaning as well.

We mere mortals couldn't beat a god.

This was his way of showing her that we weren't on the same playing field. A three-dimensional being could never beat a four-dimensional one, as it would be unable to even fathom its existence. He stated how far superior he was to us, and that none of our tricks would work against him. As preposterous as this sounded, I couldn't find a single lie.

So why..?

Why won't my heart stop beating for him?

Why did I want to feel his lips on mine?

He wasn't the boy I had fallen in love with, but he wore his charming face and had the same mesmerizing voice that called out my name when we talked. I adored a lie — a fictional construct of a hypothetical person he had created for the express purpose of exploiting us and taking advantage of me and these blooming sympathies.

"You look tired. Did you have trouble sleeping?"

The spellbound muscle in my chest skipped a beat as his words rippled through my ear canal. His golden mesmerizing orbs were sincere and, like his beguiling statements, filled with genuine concern for my well-being.

A faint smile appeared on his lips as our eyes met.

"Mh, I didn't sleep too well, but I'll manage."

I presented my most radiant smile and sat beside him.

Every single movement irked me, because this expression wasn't natural or earnest in its nature. It was born of a single, predominant, primal instinct that every human being had ingrained into their DNA: the intention to survive.

All my classmates could be in danger if I showed any weaknesses that revealed my knowledge about his true self. He was content with the way his plans were proceeding so far, but I couldn't know how he would react in case of a miscalculation.

My night had been a harrowing ordeal.

Locking away my thoughts to sleep had been inconceivable as I was too occupied with the scenes of last night, which kept replaying in my scattered mind. The words he spoke, the gestures he performed and the mysteries he kept hidden — I was unable so dismantle even one of these secrets. After a long time of twisting and turning in my cold bed, I concluded that I couldn't differentiate between truth and lies when he was involved.

His intentions were impossible to decipher.

The terrifying tactical abilities he had demonstrated so far had caused my whole body to shudder in fright. He had known how every single student from Class A to D would react when they were confronted with different circumstances and used this knowledge to his advantage. Ayanokouji-kun lifted a finger, and we acted out his prior arrangements.

Kushida-san must have helped him with this.

Her ability to gather information was indispensable for someone that wanted to remain undetected. He wasn't as social as her and would be unable to get close to certain people, which was why he sent her as an ever-charming, beloved proxy to collect intelligence and our behavioral patterns. All he had to do was to interpolate our reactions and personality.

Ayanokouji-kun was an exceptional genius.

Through his accidental tips and Class D's three names, I had managed to solve the exam in a matter of minutes. The explanation was simple in hindsight, but it took an immense amount of imagination or minute dissection of important details to solve an intricate puzzle like this in such a short amount of time while retaining reliability.

We could end the groups now, but doing so would be suicide. He would know that we had wrapped up the exam once the class point list was revealed on the final day, if he hadn't figured it out before. Ayanokouji-kun perceived that no one in our class would have been capable of solving the exam, which was why he had given us Karuizawa-san's name.

In his eyes, we were no threat.

For the moment, he saw us in a favorable light.

This was one of the reasons I could trust him for now, in a limited capacity, at least. The one venture that concerned me the most was our Rabbit gathering. He said that he wanted to keep this group unsolved for now, but I couldn't believe that he would go this far just to be with me. It made no sense, since he could come by my room any time he wanted.

I couldn't act in any capacity that could draw suspicion to me and my knowledge about this exam or him as a person. Someone with his astounding abilities could raze a whole class to the ground if he chose to do so.

"Ichinose? Don't you want to start the discussion?"

"Eh?!"

The whole group had gathered inside the room as I was absorbed in my trance. Everyone sat on their usual spot, while Ayanokouji-kun peered at me with his familiar poker face and wondered why I hadn't proceeded. Karuizawa-san was still clinging to Machida-kun, who stood up against Manabe-san the last time the two parties had argued.

Wasn't she Hirata-kun's girlfriend?

"Right." I managed to free myself from this trancelike state and brought out a deck of cards. "I'd like to play a few rounds with everyone who is open for a game or two. Time will only flow slower if we feel bored, so why not freshen it up? Anyone who wants to play can jump in anytime. Class A should also be alright with this, I assume?"

"I'm in."

"Me too."

"Me three."

"I shall play as well."

"Five people then. I thought we could play Daifugo." My eyes drifted across my fellow players. I also branched out to anyone who wasn't interested at first to see whether their opinion had changed. "Is anyone unfamiliar with the rules?"

There was no answer, which prompted me to shuffle and deal the cards between my two classmates, Sotomura-kun, Ayanokouji-kun and, of course, my humble self. The four players glanced at their hand, while I observed Kamuro-san and Kito-kun, who peeked at our table as if they wanted to join while the Class C girls tapped around on their phones.

No one talked about the elephant in the room.

Class A and C would assume that Class D had eliminated the other groups, but none of them were brave enough to write up Ayanokouji-kun's name, for obvious reasons. Ryuuen-kun would suspect that Matsushita-san had done something, but Katsuragi-kun seemed occupied with matters that were unrelated to the exam, according to Kanzaki-kun's reports.

We kept playing while I used the time to observe Ayanokouji-kun and Sotomura-kun, who was often referred to as 'Professor'. It was a bummer that only the two of them joined our game, since I might have learned what he was after in this group. His overall objective shouldn't have been me, or anyone else in his social circle to which he would have access to all the time, which narrowed his potential target down to someone from the two remaining classes.

Sotomura-kun seemed like a nice person who loved to play games. He would exclaim 'Once more!' with a frustrated expression when he lost and howl in pride when he won a round. His conduct was open and sincere, which had been the case for the past meetings as well. Thinking of him as a secret collaborator who helped Ayanokouji-kun just because of his words during our first discussion seemed premature, as he had only stated his honest thoughts, which fit his character.

Karuizawa-san had a similar transparent nature, which was seen in her apparent disgust every time Sotomura-kun's voice echoed through the room. Her attitude differed when Ayanokouji-kun opened his mouth, however, as she listened to him until his last words faded and continued to tap around on her phone thereafter, like a good friend might.

She didn't seem to know 'him'.

One of the Class A students was the polar opposite. Kamuro-san wasn't interested in playing cards, but in Ayanokouji-kun's actions throughout the game. Machida-kun wasn't attentive at all while Kito-kun observed the whole group.

Could she be his target?

I had little contact with Class A, but I knew that a small civil war raged in their forty people class. On one side stood Sakayanagi-san, who had seen a spectacular increase in her supporter numbers after the island exam. The other faction adhered to Katsuragi-kun, who had suffered severe losses due to Ayanokouji-kun's ruthless actions.

The girl who hadn't taken part in either exam was the one who had her eyes on him. This might not be as strange as it sounded if one considered his position in Class D. Matsushita-san was his girlfriend, so it wasn't unusual that some people might follow him around to find her weakness. Ryuuen-kun did the same, according to Hitomi-chan and Yui-chan, who had seen how Ayanokouji-kun was harassed by him and his cronies multiple times.

Sakayanagi-san would be a formidable foe.

Ayanokouji-kun's play style during our games was dull. He pushed ahead without worrying when he had a good hand and turned passive when the situation turned downhill. He would have been able to turn around every single game, but he hadn't won even once throughout our whole session since he kept playing like the most common person on the planet.

After Daifugo, we played old maid, which turned out similar and confirmed that Ayanokouji-kun had no intention of winning either of these games. Himeno-san, Beppu-kun and Sotomura all had certain tells, which they revealed one after another. The brown-haired boy with an apathetic expression was a blank slate in comparison.

It wasn't hard to read him; it was impossible.

Katsuragi-kun and his two classmates left the cabin as soon as the discussion period concluded. Kanzaki-kun and the rest of Class B followed suit a short moment later, leaving us, Ryuuen, and his aides alone in the Dragon group's spacious room. He and his more or less voluntary henchmen didn't seem intent on leaving the venue anytime soon, so I decided to pay them no further attention and stood up with Kushida-san and Hirata-kun in tow.

"Stay. We still have some things to discuss."

"And what would that be?"

A forced smile emerged on my face as I sat down.

It wasn't difficult to deduce why he demanded to talk to us, but I doubted that this conversation would lead to anything constructive. The facial expressions of our group mates should have notified him that we had finished nine zodiac groups, which affirmed that the VIPs in Rabbit, Dragon and Horse belonged to our class.

Would he offer us a deal?

This would be the wisest decision in his current situation, but I suspected that he wouldn't be willing to bow his head to regain some of his lost points. Contrary to the belief of my classmates, I wouldn't mind giving him one or two names if he paid a reasonable price to get them. Our class points were worlds apart, and I still had some debts to pay off.

My two companions were about to return to their seats as Ryuuen's anthracite-colored spheres stopped on Kushida-san for a moment. His soulless eyes narrowed into two dark, horizontal slits that embodied the insatiable hunger of a carnivorous predator that had found a fresh prey to slaughter. Hirata-kun didn't even enter his vision for some inexplicable reason, but I assumed that this was all part of his ploy to get under our skin.

"I'm not interested in small-fry. Move along."

"That's not a nice thing to say, Ryuuen-kun..." Our female classmate looked downwards, but stood up despite her visible discomfort. She peered at me and regarded the rest with a pleasant smile. "I'll be waiting outside, Matsushita-san."

"I'll accompany you, Kushida-san."

Hirata-kun bowed and threw me a glance.

They knew well enough that he would get more irritating the longer we tried to drag this out and headed outside with little to no resistance. I was pleased that those two were as adept at reading such awkward situations as they were, because most of our other acquaintances wouldn't have been able to take the hint, or worse, might have felt offended.

Class C's tyrant leaned into his chair and nodded.

His accomplices strode outside without hesitation.

No one but him had such a solid grasp over his own class. Ryuuen was revolting, irritating and plain offensive, but he knew how to play his cards. He wouldn't stop at anything to get what he wanted, which made him dangerous and unpredictable. Ichinose-san and Katsuragi-kun weren't as ruthless or cunning as him, and would be far easier to handle. His antics, however, would only get more contentious in the future exams that would follow this one.

A rather uncomfortable silence permeated the deserted room as we stared at each other. Neither his pupils nor his muscles moved by even an inch as he glared into my eyes without blinking. His whole body seemed to be frozen in time for around thirty excruciating seconds until he clapped his hands to applaud me.

"Congratulations on your advancement."

"Sorry, but I'm not following."

His bestial maw widened in response.

Once again, he ceased to resemble a human being and turned into a full-fledged beast that bared its sharp, bloodstained fangs. His sinister orbs clawed away at my sanity as he bent forward without breaking eye contact. These actions made me so uncomfortable that I tried to imagine him in a werewolf costume with cute ears to keep myself from trembling.

I had been wrong about him.

He was terrifying when no one was around.

"Don't play dumb, Matsushita. We both know that Class D ended the exam yesterday, so stop pretending. Katsuragi and Honami are too naïve to consider that this test might have another solution aside from talking things out in our groups."

Don't let him play with you, Chiaki.

Ryuuen wouldn't do anything rash.

"Wait... I thought you finished the test?"

My mouth opened in hollow surprise.

"You think you are funny, huh? Your little games are foolish, nothing more. I know that you aren't the one who solved this exam, because you are just not sharp enough to crack the code. Rather than hiding this mystery person and playing babysitter for your classmates, shouldn't you keep an eye out for your unfaithful hubby? He seems to fuck around a shit ton, even though he could do you twenty-four hours, seven days a week. Are you that bad? Bent over on all fours, I mean."

He pulled out his phone and scrolled through an assortment of pictures he had taken. These images featured Kiyotaka, who shared breakfast, lunch or dinner with Horikita-san, Kushida-san, Ichinose-san, Himeno-san or Onodera-san.

I pacified myself with slow, deep breaths.

This was Ryuuen, so I had foreseen that he would play dirty. He intended to toy with me, to force a furious, imprudent reaction, which would put me on the back foot. Calling me stupid was his way of verifying whether his mystery person or I had solved the exam and the remaining allegations were used to distract me from this exact strategy.

A shame that he didn't do his homework.

Kiyotaka and I were closer than ever, and neither of us would do anything to jeopardise our blossoming relationship. We were more than happy together and he had never rejected an invitation from me, which meant that he was hanging out with them when I was otherwise occupied or didn't ask him for a date. His breakfast with Horikita-san was the only exception to this rule, but this had been my fault, as I had messaged him too late.

Class C's tyrant was manipulative and used these prepared pictures to shift my perception into a negative mentality. Neither he nor his associates would have snapped any pictures of him as long as they weren't incriminating, or seemed that way, at least. I knew of multiple meetings with Sudou-kun, none of which were featured in his exhibit.

"Sorry to disappoint you, Ryuuen, but I believe that my boyfriend and I are none of your concern. Since you are so concerned about me, I can reassure you that I have complete faith in Kiyotaka and the strength of our relationship."

"Sure, Matsushita, you just keep lying to yourself until it's too late." He tapped on one of the pictures that featured Kushida-san and zoomed in on her. "If I were in his shoes, I would have banged Kikyou silly behind your back. Just look at her. Your pathetic, almost shameful features pale compared to hers."

Chiaki bolted up in a frenzy.

Her lips trembled like Valdivia during an earthquake as she raised her hand in a boiling fit of rage. The girl's erratic movements reminded me of Mio, but contrary to my dog, she had stopped on her own volition before her flat palm was about to hit my cheek. I listened to the rampaging heartbeat in her chest while she struggled not to explode into my face.

So that's another weak spot, eh?

Women were irrational, even more so when their pitiful feelings were involved. Chiaki had unwavering faith in his fidelity, which she would only have if she thought that she could back it up. It wouldn't have been strange to feel pressured by the likes of Kikyou and Honami, who had well-endowed bodies, but she kept calm until I criticized her own appearance.

They were screwing, huh?

That's why she wasn't fazed.

"Did I hit one of your soft spots? How cute."

My grin widened as I leaned back into the recliner.

"You recognized it as well, haven't you, Matsushita? You are lacking in every single aspect. There's no way that your boy would remain faithful with such an assortment of beautiful, bangable girls right there for his taking. Kikyou is a bombshell with ripe ass-cheeks that would wobble for ten minutes straight if he were to slap them even once. I've noticed that she calls him without honorifics, different to 'Kanji-kun', which is quite suspicious, if you ask me. Your good friend Honami also seems to have romantic affections for our little lover-boy and she is just as voluptuous and fuckable as your classmate. What do you think would happen if either of them voiced their desires to date him, huh? In case he's more interested in smaller tits like yours, then Horikita Suzune would be a better pick than a dumb scarecrow like you."

I just needed to change gears if attacking their relationship didn't work. Chiaki was smart enough to realize that I kept calling her 'Matsushita', while I addressed both Honami and Kikyou with their first-names. This change in behavior would unsettle the feeble girl — prompt her to look for potential reasons, which I had given her in this conversation.

Argument number one was her intelligence, which I devalued after I became certain that she was just a flesh puppet who followed someone's commands. The second explanation her girl-brain would come up with was her lacking appearance and sex appeal, now that she didn't even have the intellect to make up for this immutable shortcoming. My point was further accentuated by my mention of 'Horikita Suzune', who had someone rather gifted in her immediate family.

She was far from ugly or unattractive, but even she would feel uncomfortable and restless if someone compared her weakest physical features, with which a girl like her might not be pleased with, to other tempting women who waltzed over her in every aspect a hormone-driven highschool guy might be interested in.

My claims that these girls liked him would send her into turmoil. Both 'risks', which she had classified as non-existent, became palpable. The actual reason Kikyou called him without honorifics didn't matter. It also wasn't important whether Honami had feelings for him, since the seeds of distrust and skepticism had already been sown.

Women were fragile.

No matter how much she believed in Ayanokouji, there was a breaking point. Chiaki might not doubt him due to their 'love', but she would assess herself as less valuable the more she thought about my spiteful words. She was quick to anger when her beloved boyfriend was involved, which she had demonstrated on Satsuki and when she tried to get rid of Class A during the island exam, just because that green-haired moron had bumped into him on the ship.

Her eyes throbbed as she dashed forward.

The loud, digital clicking sound of the camera reverberated through the room as her delicate, breakable fingers grasped onto my collar. A wide, inhuman sneer crept up on my face, whereupon her whole body began to shudder. She glanced towards her right, straight at my phone and its internal camera, with a pair of fear-stricken blue spheres.

Chiaki's angered reactions revealed her knowledge.

Her irritation grew when I mentioned Suzune, even though I had complimented her less and went out of my way to use both her family- and given name. Without a connection to Horikita Manabu, she wouldn't have acted in such a panic.

I got you now, X.

"That reminds me... wasn't violence forbidden during the exam period? Wow, I can't believe that you are such an uncivilized, crude woman, Matsushita. It would be a real shame if a teacher were to see this, don't you agree?"

Two knocks banished the ensued silence.

Neither of us had time to react before one of her classmates pushed her head through the crack in the door. This unexpected new arrival noticed the strange atmosphere that monopolized the room, glanced at us with a curious expression and tilted her head in a sincere apologetic gesture.

"Um, I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to intrude at all, it's just..." She took a few steps forward and pointed behind a flowerpot that stood on a small wall rack next to the entrance. "... I forgot my phone here. Silly me."

A playful giggle accompanied these words.

Now you are showing yourself, 'Apate'?

Kikyou reached out for her phone and grabbed it in a manner that allowed me to see her display. The background was dark blue, apart from a few lines of white text on top and a red button to cut the call at the bottom. Unfortunately, I could read neither the name nor the number, which made it impossible to find the hidden witness.

This entity could render my blackmail void.

"Kukuku."

Chiaki was shocked by this revelation.

Her attitude confirmed that she hadn't known this insidious side of Kikyou. This interesting development hinted at multiple possibilities. The most obvious one was her being some kind of failsafe sent by Horikita Manabu, in case she ran into trouble. A second prospect was the existence of another player who contended for the control of Class D.

Kouenji?

He seemed more than capable enough, but was disinterested in the class competition, similar to Shiina. Without an incentive, he wouldn't raise a finger, which suggested that he wasn't the one controlling Kikyou's movements.

Apate, huh?

A double agent?

For Kanzaki or the sick chick?

"Who'd you call?"

"The Ghostbusters."

"Kukuku..."

"The unfavorable picture you just took of me when I grabbed your collar... Please delete it at once. Since you need to access the gallery to accomplish this task anyway, you may also feel impelled to get rid of all images that feature my boyfriend. If you do, we'll forget that this ever happened."

Her classmate's surprising entrance must have given her enough time to regain her calm. There wasn't much I could do to pressure her anymore, now that I was sandwiched between those two girls and the unknown individual on the phone.

Little poor me, kukuku.

"How can I trust that you and the person you called will forget about this incident once I've deleted the pictures? The receiver could have been taping our conversation once he realized that you were in trouble, which could inconvenience me."

"We are not like you, Ryuuen. We keep our word."

Kikyou displayed a radiating smile and nodded.

"Kukuku. feisty." A chuckle fled my lips as I opened the gallery and deleted the pictures for both of them to see. "Are you happy now? At least tell me who you called. That would be a fair exchange, don't you think?"

"Mhh..."

Anyone in the room could see that her apparent struggle was just her way of playing around with me. These mischievous antics continued for a few seconds before she gave in and turned her phone around for the two of us to see.

"You got me there, Apate."

She slid out the tip of her tongue as if she had just played a prank on me while Chiaki was surprised to see that the 'call' was just a screenshot of an old one she had taken in June. The time and date were wrong, definite proof of this claim. To assure me of her sincerity, she even swiped left and right to reveal the other pictures in her gallery.

Kikyou was more interesting than expected.

"Phew, that was scary."

A sigh slipped my lips as Ryuuen left the room.

Matsushita would have been in enormous trouble if I hadn't planted my phone. It was unbelievable that he had foreseen that Class C's tyrant would attack and subdue her this soon, so I had been prepared to protect her the moment she ran out of options to defend herself. Our class, as well as Kiyotaka's plans, might have been at risk if she fell here.

Probably...

Maybe not...

It would be fine either way.

Kiyotaka could manage.

His girlfriend took a deep breath and regarded me with a relieved smile as the door shut. Her complexion turned ashen as she slumped back into the chair with quivering legs. I was about to make sure that she was alright, when she clenched her fists in understandable frustration. She banged against the table, disheartened by her lack of self-control.

"Thank you Kushida-san."

"Not for this, Matsushita-san!"

"I'm serious... I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't left your phone in the cabin. He could have forced me to tell him about our VIPs, or he might have been able to invalidate all the points we received during this exam."

Wow, she's innocent...

Even though they had done it twice.

"Ryuuen-kun was in a weird mood throughout our discussion period, so I considered that he might have something planned. I never thought that I would need to step into such an uncomfortable situation, but I'm glad you are alright."

She was in a terrible mood.

It wasn't difficult to figure out who she would want to see, which disgruntled me somewhat. My time with him was cut shorter because she would need a shoulder to cry her pathetic eyes out. I knew that it couldn't be helped, but I hoped that he would get rid of her soon. He mentioned that he had a plan but didn't elaborate too much.

Would he allow me to date him?

Or would I have lost my value then?

I wasn't jealous of Matsushita, since she had nothing I desired. Yes, they were an affectionate couple, but their time together was built on a construct of lies and deceptions. My future was different, even if he declared that we couldn't date. We would leave this school after three years and he would have no diplomatic use for me anymore.

Which meant that we could go out.

"So, why do you have a picture like that on your phone?"

"Oh, that... One time, I wanted to take a call and took a screenshot by accident. We already knew that Class C wasn't playing fair during that time. I thought that this could come in handy, so I left it easy to access."

A cheerful chuckle echoed through the cabin.

This had been yet another rather deceptive action for someone as pure and innocent as me, but Matsushita didn't mind. There were no follow-up questions or dubious glances, even though I had revealed a small part of myself to her. The reception would differ depending on the person, but I was glad that she was easy to handle.

'I like the real Kikyou best.'

His words caused a faint smile on my lips as we left the room.

Chiaki told me about some parts of her conversation with Ryuuen and left certain others involving Kikyou's and Ichinose's backside to my imagination by not mentioning them at all. I had heard everything through the phone call that had been connected the whole time, but her narration confirmed that she trusted me with the relevant details.

Still, he was a pretty vulgar guy...

Aside from his unrefined behavior, he was quite adept at extracting information. He must have picked up on the outside interference and narrowed the perpetrator down to Horikita Manabu, just as assumed. He confirmed his suspicion by abusing my cute girlfriend and would have forced her to spill our VIPs if Kikyou hadn't involved herself in this mess.

So far so good.

My thumbs circulated around each other with increasing velocity as I sat in the Rabbit room and waited for the rest of my group mates with remarkable, unrestrained patience. It was a difficult, almost impossible feat to remain this concentrated on an act as trivial as twiddling one's thumbs just to make it seem as if time passed quicker.

The first ones to arrive were the Class C girls.

They ignored me as if I didn't exist and assembled on their usual spot. Their conversation revolved around conventional topics until Machida walked into the room. He greeted them with an amiable smile and strolled up to his regular chair, which prompted two of the three girls to move closer to his position.

Nishino neglected their antics and leaned back.

Manabe ambled over to the seat Karuizawa had occupied during our last meetings and sat down to chat with the well-built Class A student. Her friend joined the conversation a moment later as the two of them began to ask him a few superficial questions. Their exchange picked up speed when the two girls began to compliment the lone boy.

Machida seemed pleased with this unexpected development and engaged in their flirtatious small talk with renewed vigor. They invited him to hang out together, to which he agreed without hesitation. Manabe and Yajima squealed, delighted by his answer and drew him deeper into the trap they were setting for my adorable dark bishop.

The remaining Class C student heaved an annoyed sigh and pulled out her phone, fed up with the whole scene. It was rare that she engaged with her two classmates in any capacity that went above answering their questions. She wasn't interested in the gossip from before either and just replied with rather short statements when one of them addressed her.

Did she also click her tongue when annoyed?

Ichinose, Himeno and Beppu entered a few moments later. Their group of three was accompanied by Kamuro and Kito, who seemed to have arrived at the same time. My eyes followed Ichinose's tempting butt as she and her friends made their way over to their usual seats while the other two arrivals raised their brows, surprised by their new guests.

Damn you, Ryuuen!

""Heya, Ayanokouji-kun""

"What's up, guys?"

Her smile was as lovely and captivating as usual, but she seemed absentminded, just like this morning. I was about to ask her if there was something weighing on her mind, but Azuma and the Professor walked in, drowning my question in their greetings. They hurried over with quick steps and joined our ongoing conversation while I cursed their mistimed entrance.

Karuizawa was the last one to arrive.

"Hey, aren't you sitting in my seat?"

It didn't take long until our remaining classmate noticed that Manabe had dared to occupy Machida for herself. She laid her eyes on the group of three, glared at the two girls in spite and stomped over with an annoyed expression. This period marked the first one she hadn't greeted me, or anyone else, due to her boiling resentment towards her rival.

"I don't know what you are talking about. What do you mean, your seat?" Manabe seemed irritated and confused by her attitude. Her acting broke a moment later, when she couldn't help herself from letting out a faint, vicious grin. "Just sit somewhere else. There is more than enough space in the room."

"That's the seat I want. My spot. So move."

"Why would I? I'm talking to Machida-kun right now." The girl's smile deepened as she ceased to conceal her unequivocal dissatisfaction for Karuizawa and her attitude. "He promised that we would hang out tonight."

"Hey, Machida-kun!"

Karuizawa shuffled over and inserted herself between Manabe and him before she grabbed the boy's rough hand. She slid her smooth, comforting fingers between his own and grasped onto his palm. Her smile was dizzying, at least to the Class A boy, who turned into a blushing mess in response to her amorous antics.

"Could you please tell her you want me next to you?"

"What?! Hey!"

The battle-hardened gyaru didn't mind the surprised expressions of the remaining students, nor did she care that Manabe seemed to pop a vein as she grew beyond furious with her shenanigans. She peered deep into his eyes and enchanted him with her soundless spell. Machida didn't know how to act in such a tempting situation and averted his gaze.

I would have gone back on my word to go out with Karuizawa instead if I had been in his shoes. Her personality might not have been the best, but I had my own problems to consider. She was cute, at least. Manabe was alright, but void of any other qualities that might give her an edge over an adorable pouting girl.

They should have sent Nishino to him...

"So, how about we spend some time together, just the two of us?" Her radiant smile grew in intensity... "Or have you promised that girl that you will go out with her?" ... and turned into a disappointed frown. "I hate two-timers. If you are going to mess around with her, then that'll be the end of our conversation, I guess."

Wow, she was good...

But what?!

Times like this were the reason I was thankful for my emotionless facade. I doubted that I could have stayed sane after hearing her, of all people, utter such a leading sentence. She might not have been two-timing since Hirata wasn't her boyfriend, but nobody aside from them was aware of this. As far as everyone else was concerned, she was publicly trying to cheat on Hirata with Machida while accusing the latter of the misconduct she maintained.

This would tarnish both their reputations.

Machida was oblivious to all of this, since he kept stealing glances at Karuizawa's faint, yet inviting, cleavage without a care in the world. He either wasn't privy to the fact that she was in a relationship with Hirata, or he didn't care and coveted to perceive how it felt to two-time, which was an understandable, albeit cruel and immoral undertaking.

Just how far would she go?

I couldn't wait to find out...

"Excuse me, but please move?" Machida-kun peered over Karuizawa-san's head, which was close to being buried in his chest, and regarded Manabe-san with a stern gaze. "That's the seat she has been sitting in the whole time."

"Huh? What the hell? Urgh, this is bullshit."

The girl's frustrated voice rang through the otherwise silent cabin as she freed up the chair she had occupied. Karuizawa-san used this chance and slid onto the empty seat before she scooted even closer to Machida-kun, who had shooed her opponent away. She hooked her arm into his and leaned towards him, as if they had been a tender, long-time couple.

Why was she doing this?

What about Hirata-kun?

Did none of them care?

Usually, I would have stepped in sooner to deescalate the situation before it got out of hand. This time, however, I hadn't intervened, because I assumed that Karuizawa-san was the reason that he wished to keep this group viable. The two girls had been in conflict this whole time, but Manabe-san had never been this aggressive before.

Something had changed.

Kushida-san must have found proof of Morofuji-san's claims, which she had passed on to Ayanokouji-kun. He forwarded the information to Manabe-san, who already resented and suspected Class D's troublemaker of being the culprit behind the incident with her friend, and prompted her to act. This approach implied that he wanted both of them to oppose each other like this and affirmed that their dispute wasn't at a stage from which he could gain anything.

Could their relationship be fake?

Hirata-kun was her boyfriend, but she clung to another man she hadn't even known about before this exam. Them being a fabricated couple was the only viable theory I could come up with to explain her conduct and outlandish statements. Kushida-san and Ayanokouji-kun kept their interest in each other a secret, just like every unfaithful partner who cheated on their companion would. Neither Karuizawa-san nor Hirata-kun were dense enough to disregard such obvious facts.

Such cruel appraisals pained my heart.

My thought process had done a complete one-eighty after last night's experience, because I tried to see the world as he did. These assessments would help me understand him better. My goal to support him in his struggle to learn about love, friendship and trust required me to delve deeper into the real Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. I had to recognize him for the broken person he was, if I wanted to have any chance at fixing the gaping wounds he had carried with him all this time.

So, what could his plan be?

Chabashira-sensei and Kushida-san had both been aware of multiple occurrences in which he had threatened or hurt someone. Horikita-senpai had been useful to him because of the points he must have amassed as a third-year Class A student, while the store clerk had assaulted Sakura-san, who was involved in his plans as an innocent bystander.

Was Karuizawa-san next?

But what did she offer?

Not to be rude, but I couldn't think of anything he might need from her. Kushida-san was more than capable of guiding their classmates and gathering information for him. She also supported Matsushita-san and Hirata-kun with managing the class, which gave him access to every important person he might need. Karuizawa-san could add nothing valuable to his roster, aside from her body, which she seemed to give up on a whim.

No — what am I thinking?!

Damn you, Ayanokouji-kun!

The more I thought about this, the less plausible his actions became. He had always acted with a clear, structured plan in mind. This included the first meeting in our classroom on the second day of school, the karaoke visit I had invited him to, the midterm papers he supplied us with, the actions he must have taken during Sudou-kun's trial and his deceptive movements on the island, as well as during this ongoing zodiac exam. His acts were subtle — impossible to connect without a hint — but nothing had been done without a purpose, which suggested that she was important as well.

I glanced at the clock and stood up.

"Well, it seems like our second discussion period for today has started already. I have brought a deck of cards this time as well, so if anyone wants to take part in a few rounds with us, then you are all more than welcome to join."

A smile formed on my lips as I sat.

There was nothing else I could do at the moment.

Ayanokouji-kun had robbed me of all pathways I could have taken since he had opposing ideas to all of my solutions. It didn't matter whether I preferred to win this exam together with my group mates, or wanted to end it in a way that was beneficial for my own class. He had already chosen for me. It would be foolish to go against his plans as long as I hadn't determined what his goals were, which was why I decided that I would go with the flow for now.

It was still hard to believe that this generous, quiet boy was as cold, calculating and unhinged as Ryuuen-kun. Both of them didn't shy away from using violence if the situation called for it, but the former was much more dangerous. He didn't want to be found and moved other people to fill the holes he couldn't occupy.

What would happen if he was exposed?

Azuma-san joined our group this time around.

The minutes flew by, but Ayanokouji-kun remained a mystery, no matter how long I stared at him. He peered at me once in a while, threw me a faint smile, and focused his attention back on the cards in his hand. His responses were both easy and impossible to read, depending on whether he wanted to reveal any information.

The loudspeaker soon announced the end of our discussion.

Karuizawa-san was the first one to take off.

She jumped up and strode out of the room, disregarding Machida-kun's baffled existence and the plans they had made while he stared at her receding back in visible confusion. Manabe-san and Yajima-san brushed past us and followed her outside, while Nishino-san shook her head as if disappointed before she ambled away in a relaxed, unperturbed manner.

Again, I was assured of my theory.

Class D's troublemaker had used Machida-kun to her own advantage. Like a shield, or a powerful ally that protected her from the, in her view, annoying people in our group. Her actions should have been quite obvious, but I had never tried to understand her behavior. My naïve, rose-colored outlook on people had stopped me from thinking too badly about them.

Ayanokouji-kun had opened my eyes, in a way.

The handsome, devilish boy in question said his farewells to our group mates and chased after the girls. He was calm and didn't betray any signs of being short on time, even though he should have been in a hurry after their hasty exit.

Would it be weird if I followed him?

I wasn't sure about the right course of action.

The past, ignorant me, wouldn't have picked up on most of this, but I was different now. This chance meeting last night had revealed a world I had strived to keep away from — chosen to ignore. Without this unexpected confrontation, I wouldn't have known that Ayanokouji-kun deceived Matsushita-san and everyone else he came into contact with.

Should I stop him?

My deafening survival instincts discarded this terrible idea as soon as it popped into my mind. I still didn't know what the two girls would do to Karuizawa-san, but it wouldn't be anything amiable. Ayanokouji-kun would step into the fray if she needed him, not like the man that orchestrated these intricacies, but as his usual kind self.

All of this was part of his strategy.

Could I go with him, perhaps?

He might be even more alarmed if I pretended that I hadn't noticed the inconsistencies and changes in Karuizawa-san and Manabe-san. Concealing my knowledge about Ayanokouji-kun felt like walking on a tightrope on top of a bottomless abyss. One mistake — a single revealing reaction that seemed out of place — could spell imminent doom.

A deceitful whisper left my lips as I scurried after him.

"Ayanokouji-kun, let's follow them."

"Follow whom?"

He tilted his head, clueless and confused.

His bewilderment seemed so genuine that everyone would have believed him without a second thought. Even we Class B students, who knew about the 'lying gesture' he had indoctrinated into our minds, wouldn't have been capable to tell that he deceived us. If I hadn't been disillusioned by his usual self, I would have fallen head over heels for him once again.

Who am I kidding?

It was already far too late not to fall again.

Despite everything...

"Them." I pointed at the three girls who walked along the sidewalk to our right and turned into the corridor as soon as my mouth closed. "I'm worried that those two might do something to Karuizawa-san. The situation today was much worse than before and they seemed furious because of the matter with Machida-kun."

"Now that you mention it... Okay, I trust your judgement, Ichinose."

The two of us tailed the group of girls until they vanished behind a corner. A silent, almost inaudible 'ka-chack' sound traveled through our ears as one of the emergency doors slammed shut. We walked over to its origin, whereupon Ayanokouji-kun glanced at the handle with a quizzical look, wondering whether we should proceed.

I bobbed my head in affirmation.

He inched the door open without a sound.

This was a much easier feat to accomplish than estimated. The ship produced dozens of different noises in various, distinctive volumes while it drifted over the ocean, which were loud enough to mask our covert espionage attempt.

Was he as nervous as I was?

At least I wasn't alone this time...

Our cheeks bumped against each other as we peeked through the small crack between the door and the frame. I pulled back, surprised by his irrational comforting body heat and the wonderful smell he emanated. He scratched his cheek in a sorry gesture and glanced into the room from a higher position, since he was much taller than me.

Wait, how did this happen in the first place?

Did he do this on purpose?!

"Hey, why'd you bring me to a place like this?"

These infuriated words brought me back to reality.

Karuizawa-san didn't seem to feel too uncomfortable, which meant that she hadn't recognized her current precarious situation, or didn't think that the two teenagers would do anything to her. We couldn't see much from our position, but their body language painted an unambiguous picture. Manabe-san and Yajima-san were daunting and demonstrated themselves as the aggressors in this scenario, while their opposition folded her arms, as if uneasy.

"Stop playing dumb. You pushed Rika. We want you to apologize to her."

"Huh? I already told you, you got the wrong person."

They clicked their tongues in dissatisfaction and shoved the annoyed Class D girl against the wall. Manabe slammed her hand against the surface a few centimeters beside her head in a rather intimidating gesture, while Karuizawa-san returned her conduct with a vicious glare. She was as headstrong as always and didn't even flinch during the whole ordeal.

Her composure was impressive.

I would have been scared in an inescapable, distressing situation that seemed like it could grow violent at any moment. The plight in front of my eyes was tense beyond belief, and I assumed that at least Manabe-san would resort to physical or verbal abuse if Karuizawa-san continued to behave in her brazen, admittedly provoking manner.

Maybe she was innocent?

Could he have fabricated wrong evidence?

Manabe-san pulled out her phone with a smile.

"Yeah, this girl keeps bothering me the whole time because of her friend. So what if I pushed her? I will not apologize. It's this Rika girl's fault that she stood in the way. How come you are taking her side in all of this, huh?"

This was her telltale voice, without a doubt.

The recording she had revealed might have been muffled, but her knowledge about the incident with Morofuji-san was unmistakable. Her own statements had revealed the lies she had told them, which worsened her current position.

Karuizawa-san's complexion paled.

An anguished expression of grief surfaced on the girl's face, as she bit into her lower lip in visible frustration. Her blue eyes constricted and quivered in pure disbelief as Manabe-san pinned the girl against the wall with an expanding sneer.

"We know that you pushed Rika and we demand an apology."

Their disagreement might cool down and end like this if she were to express clear regret over her previous actions. The only problem with this straightforward and peaceful solution was Karuizawa-san, who wasn't remorseful in the slightest.

Neither of the two Class C students cornering her seemed like a bad person. Both just wanted justice for their fearful friend, Morofuji-san, who had been harassed by her in the past. Karuizawa-san wasn't being honest, despite them asking her about this incident multiple times, which prompted them to take matters into their own hands.

"No way, she was in the wrong. She's a total airhead."

"You're totally pissing me off, you know that?" Manabe-san stepped forward and slapped the girl's right shoulder. "We might have forgiven you if you properly apologized to Rika. But now we definitely won't show mercy."

"Are you sure we should do this? If Ryuuen finds out then..."

"I won't tell him. Will you? Rika's your friend too, right?"

Yajima-san was unsure about their next steps.

She wasn't disturbed or unsettled by Manabe-san's proposition, but concerned about the dominating intimidation force their infamous class leader represented. Both girls would have a horrible time for the next three years if Ryuuen found out what they had done, or rather, that they had been careless enough to let people observe them.

"I guess... you're right."

"Exactly, which is why I think that she should experience how Rika felt back then. She seems too dumb to understand this, so it's our responsibility to teach her. Why don't we bully this girl for real? This way, she won't hurt anyone ever again."

Her words were only correct in theory.

Such a relentless eye-for-an-eye approach wouldn't improve the situation, but deteriorate it further for one or both related parties. This emerging violent cycle of harassment would never stop as long as they attended this school. The two Class C students who were prepared to torment her had already stepped over the point of no return. Morofuji-san, who wasn't aware of this happening, might also be unhappy with the approach her friends used to gain justice for her, since she had been on the receiving end of such an oppression once before.

Everyone would be worse off if this continued.

Manabe-san struck her shoulder with even more force.

I had tried to steel myself for this, but my mental preparations hadn't been enough. Karuizawa-san might have been the one at fault, but I couldn't watch her get bullied and smacked with a clear conscience. It was impossible for me to stand on the sidelines and watch this tragedy unfold with my own eyes.

My fingers reached for the door.

They didn't travel far, however, as Ayanokouji-kun's warm, reassuring hand grabbed onto my arm. The brown-haired, golden-eyed boy rested his index finger on his smooth lips and peered straight into my shattered soul. He moved his pupils downwards twice in quick succession, almost as if he wanted to inform me of something important.

I followed his guidance and looked towards the ground.

His left was holding onto a phone, which was recording the entire confrontation. The faint outline of the thin black gloves he had worn last night was also visible in his blazer pocket, which affirmed that he would have acted if I hadn't been here.

What would he have done to them?

'Come on, we both know that you assaulted the guy that molested Sakura. I heard that he looked half-dead when the security guards got to him. Chipped teeth, broken bones and a screwdriver right next to his femoral artery. The doctor's preliminary examination identified rather interesting black traces of silk in his mouth.'

Chabashira-sensei's words froze the blood in my veins.

He wouldn't... right?

"Ahh... ahh..."

Karuizawa-san's pants pulled me out of my trance.

Manabe-san kept hitting her until she collapsed from the pain. Her breathing grew laboured and uneven as her hands grasped onto her head, almost as if she was suffering the most harrowing anguish one could imagine. The Class C girls kept laughing at their victim, who cowered on the ground and kept smacking her, even after she went down.

We need to do something...

But would my interference help her?

They wouldn't stop to torture Karuizawa-san, even if I were to rush into the room to protect her now. She had stated that she wouldn't apologize to Morofuji-san multiple times, which meant that their bullying would never stop. If I saved her today, they would just try again tomorrow, or the day after. No one had enough time to attend to her around the clock. Blackmailing them with this recording was the only permanent solution to keep them away from her.

My heart tore itself apart as I reflected on this.

Ayanokouji-kun's response was the correct one.

To prevent me from doubting him, he would explain his appalling behavior away with Matsushita-san ordering him to record any event he might stumble upon. His deception would continue with classified details that no one but him and her were supposed to know, which would make me feel like someone special to him.

Then this naïve notion would pop into my mind.

He was so kind, so why was he with Matsushita-san?

What if they were to separate in the future?

Could I maybe go out with him then?

Now that I knew about him, there was only one question...

Why were you so cruel to me?

"Act as girly as you want. We won't forgive you." She grabbed onto Karuizawa-san's hair and yanked her head up with a sudden, forceful tug. "I've always hated your face, Karuizawa. Hey, don't you think she's butt-ugly?"

"Yeah. Don't you just want to cut it?"

The other girl chimed in as well, hesitant yet brave in her proposal to use deadly weapons to exert physical violence. Both of them began to smile and laughed as if they enjoyed this situation. They kept snapping their fingers into her face, almost as if they were prompting a child for a reaction, before they grew more violent and began to hit her again.

No, I couldn't watch this any longer.

This was too much...

"St-stop it."

"'St-stop', she says."

Manabe-san's cold voice, which mimicked Karuizawa-san's heartbreaking cries, reverberated through the eerie, desolate chamber, causing her classmate to snicker. I began to doubt that she still thought about justice for Morofuji-san when I saw her face, which contorted in pure delight as she reveled in the pain she inflicted on her defenseless schoolmate.

"What happened to your big attitude?"

I need to help her!

"Get a teacher. I'll hold them off."

A tall shadow slipped into the room before I reacted.

"What? Ayanokouji-kun?"

The surprised whispers that had escaped my lips were eclipsed by the loud noises the heavy metallic door generated as it shut behind him. My eyes, which hadn't been able to process his sudden movements, widened in disbelief and utter shock as I glanced at the position Ayanokouji-kun should still have been standing at.

My fingers slid forward and rested on the handle.

If I leave now, he'll be alone with them.

The former Honami wouldn't have questioned his intentions, because she would have trusted every single word that left his lips. He didn't want me to find a teacher, but to leave him alone with them. I had intruded into what should have been a one-man job and forced my way into this situation in order to protect Karuizawa-san from both him and them.

I succeeded, in a way.

Ayanokouji-kun was inside the cabin and would support his classmate now that his presence was revealed. He had told me to get a teacher and counted on the fact that I would dash off to find one as soon as possible. These actions must have initiated a countdown in his head — a reminder of how much time he would have before a faculty member arrived.

He wouldn't have enough time to hurt them.

A sharp sigh escaped my lips as I hid in the area.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Manabe and Yajima jumped back in surprise.

Their faces, after being caught red-handed, were quite the sight to behold. If I could laugh or show my amusement in a different form other than smiling, I might have been incapable of keeping myself in check. Regret, fear and worry flashed over their ashen complexion, as their minds simulated the many horrible ways this whole situation could get out of hand.

They were terrified of Ryuuen, after all.

Karuizawa's eyes widened, but she was quick to react.

"Ayanokouji-kun! These two crazy girls abducted me and started getting violent. They are the worst! They were being like super annoying and kept bothering me on the way back. I told them to get lost, but they hit me!"

She stood up, grabbed her phone and ran towards me.

Her performance was fitting, and she seemed sharp enough to have realized that the tables had turned in her favor. My bishop threw defence overboard and transferred straight into an offensive maneuver by implicating them without looking for any faults in her own behavior. Even if I wouldn't act, she still had Chiaki's name to intimidate them with.

"Hey, that's none of your business. Piss off."

Manabe, high on adrenaline, dopamine and a moderate dose of norepinephrine that should just have set in, stepped forward with her domineering temperament without evaluating her present position. She examined my frame, classified me as non-dangerous entity and bared her teeth like an insignificant dog that sought attention.

How adorable...

The room itself would provide a nice, cozy place for a thorough beating, but it wasn't far enough away from prying eyes. Both Ichinose and Kamuro had accompanied me to this small, peaceful gathering, so I had no time to deal with Manabe and her antics. As long as I saved my troubled classmate, she could live to fight — or die — another day.

Karuizawa raised her phone for the two girls to see.

"Just leave me alone or I'll call someone."

"Who are you going to call? Hirata-kun? Or maybe your new toy Machida-kun?" A wide, scornful grin surfaced on Manabe's face as she made fun of her social circle. "I bet a slut like you has hundreds of guys on speed-dial."

Wouldn't that be impressive, though?

I should ask Kikyou about that.

"Azuma just ran off to get a teacher. If you don't want any trouble, I propose that you leave now."

None of them had the intention of exposing their argument to their respective classmates or friends. Karuizawa's reputation would receive irrevocable damages if her pitiful appearance was revealed while the Class C dogs would be beaten to hell and back for being foolish enough to terrorize a schoolmate and leaving witnesses to tell the tale. The easiest way for both parties was to leave the location before a teacher showed up.

"You better bow your head and apologize to Rika."

Manabe left this final piece of advice for Karuizawa before she signaled Yajima to leave. Both girls walked in our direction, towards the emergency door. One was rather frightened of the prospect that Ryuuen might learn about this and stayed clear of our position on her way out, while the other glared at my classmate, and readied herself to bump into her.

A faint gasp of surprise buzzed through the cabin.

The person responsible for this adorable exclamation peered at me in surprise. My headstrong gyaru had acknowledged that Manabe was about to run into her, but didn't plan on evading. She assumed that she would have lost this exchange if she dared to show another weakness and was prepared to face this collision from which she wouldn't back down.

"Thanks... Ayanokouji-kun."

She averted her gaze and took two steps back.

"There is no need to thank me for this." I stopped until the noisy mechanical closing mechanism notified me that the door had shut. "You don't need to worry about Azuma because I lied to Manabe. Aside from me, no one has seen anything."

"What? You serious?"

Her dim, muddied eyes shot open, lost their dull presence, and regained their wonderful indigo color. They sparkled in heartfelt relief and genuine happiness upon learning that no one but me had seen her in such a miserable state. This involuntary feedback was prime evidence that she had been distressed about her secret being discovered.

This immense fear was useable.

"Yeah, just me."

"You won't tell, right?"

My future dark bishop tilted her head.

She couldn't put her unconditional trust in me, even though I was one of two male friends she had made. Her behavior wasn't strange or unwarranted, as she knew best where Manabe's recording originated from. No one would condemn her if she doubted Hirata now, since he had been the only one in the room during their conversation. The other possibility was that one of her roommates had left their phone to record, but this hypothesis was anything but reliable.

Who was left if she couldn't trust Hirata?

"Of course not. We are friends."

"You can't tell Matsushita-san either, alright?"

Karuizawa grabbed onto my blazer and revealed a shy pout.

Dozens of gorgeous girls visited this school, and she was one of them, without a doubt. There was one aspect, however, that differentiated her from the others. She was ready to auction herself off to whomever necessary, if it meant protection. This parasitic nature became more prominent during an exam such as this, when she was forced away from her host.

"Promise, I won't tell anyone."

A faint, comforting smile surfaced on my face.

"Yawoooo! If it in't Kiyotakaaa~."

A certain carefree, brown-haired teacher clung to my neck as I was cooling my legs in the pool. Thick clouds drifted through the somber sky and covered the brilliant moon, which made it rather difficult to see in the darkness. The only visible light sources were from the ship's railing and the sidewalks, far away from the area the two of us occupied.

Some alone time was too much to ask, huh?

"You reek. Get off please?"

"Mooouuuuu~~~ That's not something you say to your favorite teacher now, is it?" She pressed her voluptuous chest into my face and smacked my head around three to four times. "Don't be such a meanie Kiyobaka~."

Could I get her expelled for assault?

It wasn't unusual that I was still on her radar.

I had presumed that she would try to feel me out when she had the chance — but I hadn't expected her to do so in a literal sense. Hoshinomiya and Sae couldn't be any more different in their character and overall attitude towards people. Our instructor was much more refined, similar to Suzune, while Class B's homeroom teacher boasted pure chaos and anarchy in true Kikyou fashion. Yet both would do anything to gain an advantage over the other.

"You're heavy."

This complaint slipped my lips as she leaned onto my shoulder with her whole body weight. Your typical average highschool boy would struggle with the additional load even in a seating posture due to the sudden one-sided increase in pressure. I wouldn't have any difficulties to remain in an upright position, but I chose to let gravity handle its task.

My frame grew weak beneath her and collapsed.

"Sensei..."

"Neee~ Kiyotakaaa~~."

These rumblings lingered as she slouched over me.

Her dizzying movements, weird expressions, slurred speech, peculiar sounds and the sharp smell that penetrated my poor suffering nose were clear signs of intoxication. Hoshinomiya's alcohol consumption, which could be labeled abuse, was horrible for one's body and mind. I knew about her iron liver because of Sae, who I had interrogated about the remaining homeroom teachers after Sakagami interfered in Sudou's trial. Due to her information, I knew that she wasn't drunk at all, which begged the question why she came onto me, pretending to be.

"Na, Kiyoka~ why are yu helping Sae-chan, ehh? It's so meaa~aan. Ne~ ne~ would yu come over tu us if we provided the points for yur tansfer? I'd take good care of yuu... Honami-chan will take great care of yu tuu. Please~ Kiyoka~."

Is she poaching me while acting drunk?

And offering me a student?

Isn't that prostitution?

"What are you talking about, sensei? I can't understand a single word." She kept rubbing her face against my own while she slung her smooth arms around my chest. "Would you mind stopping with that? I'd like to go to bed."

"Stop acting cooyy with me, Kiyoka~. I know what u's been doin~."

According to her reaction — or lack thereof — she had no intention of letting up. It wasn't strange that she, a teacher with a vast information network, figured out that I pulled the strings if we desist from the elder Horikita's involvement, which she shouldn't know anything about. She had suspected me from the moment Sae had called me into her office, and I only managed to keep her off my back for so long. But these few months had been more than enough to verify my abilities.

"Sensei, I believe that this is what one could call sexual harassment of a minor. Your intoxication level doesn't change the fact that your actions are inappropriate and a potential reason for your termination. Please, just let go of me."

My fingers clung to the pool's edge as I clawed my way out from under her. Escaping was a difficult, painful and almost unachievable venture, since she kept lolling around on my back without the intention of letting go of me. This horrible dance went on for around two minutes until I managed to free everything but my legs from her wicked grasp.

Hoshinomiya wanted me to admit what I had done for Sae and my class, but I couldn't comprehend that she would think that I might share these secrets just because she was acting drunk and might not remember all of this tomorrow. She either thought that I was dumb, or that her play was on a level that could fool even professionals. This woman's head was filled with convictions and strategies even I couldn't fathom, which was frightening on another scale.

"I'll do anything if you help Class B."

Her drunken demeanor vanished with a snap.

The vague haze in her violet orbs dissolved as she sobered up and eyed my reaction to her outlandish words. Since her previous performance fell on deaf ears, she decided to just come out with her selfish intentions. Class B's homeroom teacher hated Sae in a way that differed from Kikyou and Suzune, or Manabe and Karuizawa.

The cruise ship felt like a graveyard.

It was almost 1AM, deep during the night, when all the students were fast asleep. Most of the ship was void of any surveillance gear that would pick up on our encounter. Neither cameras nor microphones had been planted around the pool area, for obvious reasons. This could be her one and only chance to talk to the real me without interference.

I pulled out my phone and typed out a note.

'Take a swim.'

Hoshinomiya's charoite spheres widened.

A bright smile crept up her face as she took out her own device and tapped on the power button. She unlocked it with her password, showed me that no recording software was active, and handed it over to me to check for myself. The phone itself was still warm from the time in her pockets, but I ignored the pleasant sensation my palm experienced and shut it off, which was the safest option to confirm that she had pulled no peculiar stunts.

She stood up, spread her arms and fell into the pool.

"Yahooo!"

A loud splashing sound traveled along the desolate deck as her back broke the water's surface. Her wet head emerged a few moments later, followed by the rest of her soaked body. The large amounts of water around all the fibers in her white shirt hindered its ability to scatter light and became more translucent in the process. She didn't mind my blatant stare at her green bra, and had no intention of hiding two of her most viable weapons to bewitch a capable highschool boy.

She swam to the edge and rested her chin.

I signaled her to get out, and she followed.

The combination of her loose sandals and bare, wet feet caused some awkward sounds as she stepped in front of me. Water pelted along her skin and coursed into her soggy clothes as my arm reached forward to frisk her. Multiple droplets splattered onto the wooden flooring as my fingers ran along her hair, neck and shoulders. I pushed them into her oral cavity and checked it for a hidden microphone before I moved towards her chest area.

Wireless audio recorders could be found in many sizes, some just a few centimeters, around the size of a human nail, or even smaller. Hoshinomiya Chie was cunning and sophisticated in her own distorted way. Ignoring any possibility would have been a dangerous move as long as she was involved.

She didn't flinch as my fingers pushed her bra aside and advanced along her exposed breasts. This composed behavior surprised me, since Sae had freaked out a lot more with less contact. I worked along her frame from up top, through her private parts, and down to her feet. Only after I had excluded every imaginable hiding place had I opened my mouth.

"What do you want?"

My voice exuded a distant, unusual vibe.

Class B's instructor wasn't daunted by this nebulous change in demeanor. Her joking, often sexual and misleading comments had died out — hushed by this one faithful opportunity she couldn't pass up on.

"Sae can't win. I don't want her class to graduate from Class A."

"I hadn't taken you for the vindictive type. May I ask why?"

"Because she took everything from me."

She displayed genuine antagonism, similar to Kikyou.

My favorite teacher had never told me about the reason how Hoshinomiya and she had matured into two opposing forces like fire and water, but this was a chance to gather invaluable information. Both of them were useful for the long road ahead of me, and I had to sacrifice one for the other if I wanted to receive their full cooperation in the future.

This had nothing to do with preference.

Whether I was Class A or D didn't matter to me.

"Elaborate."

"Sae and I were in the same class, back when we were students in this school. We lost six people during our time, but we managed to stay in Class B and reached a position where we could ascend to Class A. Back then, she had a boyfriend and a special exam was announced. We hadn't been worried, since this would have been our time to shine, but she messed up everything just because she couldn't give up on her love. The exam was simple. We got questions and had to decide for an answer in a specific amount of time. The final one asked us if we were ready to expel a student for 100 class points. With this addition, we would have reached Class A and they wouldn't have had time to take their spot back. Sae was the reason we lost this exam and our — my chance to graduate from Class A."

She left out some details, but this was enough.

The sincere hate she felt for her was understandable. It made sense that she didn't want to see her, of all people, lead a class to victory. Our rankings would update in September and she realized that Sae would be in Class A, while she would be in B or C, depending on my mood. She comprehended that neither her students nor any others could compete with my abilities and decided to cling to me in a last desperate attempt to overtake her aggravating rival.

"Your only wish is for Chabashira not to graduate from A, correct?"

"I'd like my class to win, if possible. But yes, she mustn't, no matter what."

"What if she were let go?"

Chie's eyes widened in surprise.

"That would be fine as well."

"Consider it done."

"What? Just like that?"

Her growing astonishment wasn't strange.

A teacher like her would know that it was challenging to expel another instructor. No one had done so before and she thought it to be inconceivable as well. What she couldn't know, however, is that Sae stood on a cliff's edge. If I wanted her to be gone, she could do nothing to preserve her position at this school.

"Why not? You are more useful than her."

"Then —"

"Since you said that you would do anything, it will cost you everything." I reached into my pockets and put on the pair of gloves. "The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away. If you offer me your soul, I shall award you with hers. But..." My eyes turned arctic as I flashed onto her neck and pulled her close. "There is no turning back. You are aware of this, yes?"

"I told you already. She can't win."

Thus, her deal with the devil concluded.

Karuizawa Kei was a lonely person.

Why was that?

Because her entire world came crumbling down.

Before this school and now once again.

Hirata had been playing her boyfriend for the last few months, but no one could have blamed him if he thought of this whole charade as nothing but a chore. Maybe he decided that he was done protecting her. She wouldn't even perform a small concession and apologize for a mistake that had been her fault, after all.

What if he got sick of his parasite?

Our knight in shining armor wouldn't think or act according to such base motives, but Karuizawa was harboring a dark secret herself. Her impaired, fractured psyche projected her own twisted character onto others, which maintained her assumptions that he may have betrayed her. If she would throw him away to lean onto Machida in order to feel safe in our group, then he might have done the same and just stopped caring about her.

A fragmented mind was one's worst enemy.

This left her, Karuizawa Kei, all alone — without a host.

Was there someone she could she still trust?

Or would everyone betray her?

It wasn't important to know what had happened in her mysterious past, because it was enough to replicate her torturous time. This vulnerability turned into a viable option due to her sudden panic attack when Manabe began to exert violence.

Karuizawa couldn't go to Hirata, the boy who had reprimanded her for what she had done — the boy who might have been the broker of this sinister recording. She couldn't be sure, but this was even worse than knowing for certain.

If it hadn't been him, then who?

One of her roommates, Shinohara Satsuki, might have figured out that she wasn't the person she masqueraded to be and planted the phone to record all conversations inside the room to find a bargaining chip. Most of our classmates hated her, so it wouldn't be strange if she decided to sell insider information to the highest bidder. Maybe she could reclaim, or even improve on, her former reputation by pulling Karuizawa Kei back into the dirt where she belonged.

Or maybe it was a close friend of hers, like Satou?

She could never know for certain.

A vivid imagination was her biggest nightmare.

Her head would warp itself to shreds because she could never be certain about who had betrayed her. She could ask, but none would answer. They would laugh — ridicule the weak, miserable girl behind her back — just like they had always done. Hirata had been her light, her steady cornerstone to lean on, because she had confirmed him to be reliable and kind.

But all of this was in the past.

Karuizawa Kei was a parasite without a host.

A miserable, weak creature like her wouldn't be able to endure for long, not with a traitor in her closest group of friends. The best sycophants were the ones who didn't harm their owners. Karuizawa could harm Hirata, since their ideals clashed. He, gullible as he was, wanted everyone to get along while she needed to be on top of the food chain.

She didn't want to bow down to anyone.

The solution was simple.

Karuizawa Kei needed a new host.

Only then would she truly become a...

Authors Note:

Phew, quite a struggle this week as well.

I've decided to change my official schedule from weekly to bi-weekly, since I'm having trouble writing at the moment. I'm still enjoying my time with the chaps, and the first drafts are no problem, but I got a lot slower in the editing process, for some inexplicable reason.

It feels like either I've gotten worse over time, or that my requirements have just gone through the roof, because I feel unhappy with most of the wordings and sentences I come up with until I find the right one.

Two weeks should be enough to finish a chapter, surely...

Hope to see you then without additional delays!

- Word Count: 18331 / 85545 Characters

Released 30.10.2022

Chapter 33 - Good Bishop

Hirata Yosuke was a popular person.

Questioning the 'why' was irrelevant.

He was good-looking, kind and intelligent, even if his limitless innocence stopped him from reaching his full potential. His outstanding grades and the position as a regular in the soccer team had earned him a spot as one of the most prominent and coveted first-years in the school. It wasn't surprising that many girls in our grade and beyond had considered dating him before he and Karuizawa announced their romantic relationship in April.

Their admiration for him would grow even further if the truth about their bond were to be exposed. His girlfriend would lose her reputation, the respect of her classmates and the safe space in which she had holed herself up, while Hirata's prestige would soar due to the selflessness and compassion he had displayed for a fellow schoolmate.

But why would he limit himself like this?

Our highschool life was filled with beautiful girls, 'fateful encounters' and interesting opportunities. This school's special environment granted more benefits for adolescent teenagers in their prime than a normal one ever could.

Students had their own private quarters and none of our guardians were authorized to visit the premises. Neither males nor females had to share their rooms with a second or third assigned roommate for three entire years.

What would this mean?

That it would be impossible to determine whether a certain someone was sleeping in their own bed during the night.

Sexual intercourse was fair game as long as no one got pregnant, molested or raped.

Rumours surrounding Kouenji and his many flings with the third-year women had reached Kikyou as early as April, but nobody, including the staff members who were supposed to enforce the school's rules, paid attention to this clear violation of guidelines.

Why would he give up on such an opportunity?

Hirata got nothing out of his arrangement with Karuizawa.

He never received her love in an emotional or physical sense.

They walked around holding hands and she might cling onto his arm when they were on a 'date', but there was no affection between them - no passion or pleasure he could escape into when he craved human warmth. His boundless kindness would never allow him to take advantage of a girl in such a difficult situation, no matter how appealing she was.

Chiaki should have recognized this hoax as our relationship kept developing, but some truths were harder to grasp onto than others. She knew Hirata and Karuizawa too well and never considered that they could be a fake couple. The former had a heart as vast, vivid and bright as the sun, while the latter had no apparent reason to lie.

My girlfriend wouldn't doubt their words.

Despite all this, he had been placed in Class D.

What caused his defect?

Deep down, all humans were ugly and selfish.

Trusting another individual, no matter how good-natured they might be, was difficult. You always had to ask yourself whether the outcome would benefit the person you were putting your faith into, or you would risk immediate betrayal. Men and women acted in their own best interests first before considering the circumstances and pain of others.

Hirata Yosuke was no exception.

Our classmate in tarnished armor was an indispensable existence to ensure Karuizawa Kei's survival, but he never played the boyfriend for her sake. He did so for himself, to quench his misguided savior complex - to atone for a traumatizing incident that haunted him to this day and turned him into the honorable person we became familiar with.

My queen and knight were exceptional students, just like my bishop, but all three were put in Class D because of their glaring flaws. Suzune's deficiency might have been the most obvious, but it wasn't the most severe. Hirata pushed himself for the sake of others and I wanted to know which sinister secret precipitated this shift in his behavior.

"Could we talk for a minute, Hirata?"

The distracted, hapless boy in question sat on his comfortable bed in silence and gazed at his phone with an apprehensive expression. I strolled out of the spacious bathroom, dried my damp hair after the refreshing shower I had indulged myself in, and waited for a positive response that never entered my ears.

He didn't raise his lowered head, nor did he react to my previous inquiry until a cold gust of wind surged through the opened bath window. This cozy, fresh summer breeze caused my unbuttoned, school-issued shirt to dance around my frame, which seemed to have awoken him from his inscrutable trance.

Two murky hazel-colored eyes peered into mine.

"Oh, sorry Ayanokouji-kun. I was a little distracted." A gentle, fitting smile replaced the visible unease that had slipped in a moment of inadvertent negligence. "Is here fine with you, or would you prefer to grab a bite at the cafe?"

His concern for a certain, rather attractive gyaru who had changed her attitude around him from one second to the next was distinguishable from his headaches of keeping the class unified. He was a protector, a hero who looked out for the people in his proximity, while he himself didn't want to trouble anyone with his problems. These negative emotions kept piling up and would cause issues, similar to his downward spiral in April, when Yamauchi was expelled.

Kikyou had supported him back then.

Now, in August, it was my turn.

His anxieties and the doubts he carried within him were reasonable, as Karuizawa's texts should have been more distant than usual. She was still confused, uncertain about the traitor's identity, and needed time to sort through her scrambled thoughts, while he assumed that she stopped replying due to their argument about the incident concerning Morofuji Rika.

"This shouldn't be discussed outside of our room."

"Mh, okay. I understand."

The pleasant, compassionate aura he radiated was genuine compared to Kikyou's artificial reproduction of benevolence and would have assured everybody that they could put their unconditional faith in him. Sakura was one of the few gifted people who perceived this negligible difference in their magnanimity and Karuizawa might have been in a similar position as she chose to entrust her secrets to him alone.

A hint of confusion reflected in his two orbs as I lifted Kouenji's, Yukimura's and my own mattress to check whether someone had hidden recording devices underneath them. This strange behavior suggested excessive skepticism about the privacy of this conversation, which was unusual for a student like me, who only acted on Chiaki's orders.

My sympathetic roommate wouldn't understand this unexpected conduct right now, but he was smart enough to put two and two together once we reached a crucial junction in our emergency meeting. His unsuspecting nature was similar to Ichinose's, but neither would be blind to obvious hints, no matter how gullible they were.

Sharing a cabin with those three was a blessing.

If I had been allotted into a room with Ike, I wouldn't have had the mental fortitude or the proper determination to search the area beneath his bedding, much less sleep in his vicinity. The horrendous stench I had forced myself to endure as I waited for Sudou a few days ago had been enough for two or three lifetimes.

Maybe I could have invaded Sae's quarters again?

Or slip into Chie's bed now that we had a deal?

A deep breath left my nostrils.

People were accustomed to heave a profound sigh to prepare themselves for a stressful or important conversation. This was an easy and reliable way to stimulate a human's parasympathetic nervous system to reduce - or even negate - the discomfort a person would feel during an uncomfortable situation. The large amounts of oxygen the individual had taken in during the inhalation process slowed down the subject's heart rate, which would prompt the mind to relax.

"We need to talk about Karuizawa."

"Did she say anything to you?"

Hirata's bent legs straightened in a sudden, explosive movement that launched him off the bed.

He realized how revealing his abrupt reaction had been around two seconds later and bit his lower lip in frustration. His shaky thumbs grazed along the phalangeal creases of his index finger as his quivering spheres examined mine for any indication about her well-being.

The worries he expressed were sincere.

"She told you about the Class C girls, I assume?"

I had texted him about my concerns regarding the obvious bad blood between Karuizawa and our group mates during the second meeting on the first day, which had assisted this desired outcome. He had no information about her troubles now that she decided to avoid him, but determined that he could depend on me since I had established that I cared about our vulnerable classmates as much as he did.

His erroneous judgement was reinforced by the deep relationships I had formed with Chiaki and Kikyou, who wouldn't spend their valuable time with me if I hadn't been a decent guy. My girlfriend was a kind and dependable woman who supported the class, while my queen and I were best friends, as far as our schoolmates were concerned.

Even if he doubted me, he would never distrust them.

"Yes, we met up and had a short talk. She confirmed that Manabe-san kept troubling her during the discussion periods, just like you said, and claimed that she would ignore her. I wanted to understand what was going on between them in order to help Karuizawa-san, but I failed to express my worries properly and caused her to get angry with me instead."

Unsure about my knowledge, he paused.

This was as much as he could reveal to an outsider without betraying the trust his parasite had put into him. He reiterated obvious facts I knew about or could infer and blamed himself for the argument the two of them ran into, which explained his anxious behavior. None of his words implicated his 'sweetheart', because she was the only person who was allowed to inform others about her deepest, darkest secrets.

Could I trust him with mine someday?

Or would he be repulsed by my demons?

"Manabe and a girl named Yajima dragged Karuizawa into an empty storage room to beat her up. I stopped them as soon as the situation was about to escalate, but that's not our main problem right now. She is your responsibility, so I figured that I should consult you before even considering talking to Chiaki or Kikyou about this horrible incident. Aside from the three of you, there is no one I can trust with this."

Shock and surprise colored his ashen face.

'Was this why she wouldn't reply?'

'Did she think she couldn't count on me?'

'What was I supposed to do now?'

The distraught boy clenched his throbbing fists as he speculated whether his prior actions had been a mistake. Agitation would set in, followed by self-doubts and the earnest wish to turn back time - to fix this mess before it got out of hand. This was a common human response upon learning about a situation one wanted to change or prevent.

"Not the main problem?! Did something else happen?"

"Manabe exposed her lie with a recording in which she admitted to pushing Morofuji. She was talking to another person, but they had been edited out of the conversation. The restless, forlorn expression she revealed upon hearing herself was the most anguished physical response I have ever seen. Karuizawa wasn't only hurt, but devastated to the core. Almost as if her own flesh and blood had shattered her faith in humanity."

Hirata's disgraceful figure collapsed onto the bed.

A pair of trembling, pale hands, which had turned as white as a sheet of paper, covered his mouth in disbelief. Multiple strings of quiet, incomprehensible whispers left his colorless lips while an unpleasant grimace emerged on his once charming face. He gripped his hair in heart-wrenching desperation, similar but different from back then.

My explanation, coupled with the previous examination of the room, painted a clear picture and answered why Karuizawa avoided him. The appalling conclusion he wanted to escape, but had to draw under these revealing circumstances, didn't need to be mentioned. This troublesome truth would not only affect her alone but might throw our entire class into ruin.

His subconscious mind found itself in a severe state of turmoil and mental agony, which triggered distasteful memories of the events that had created this respectable version of Hirata Yosuke. These painful disturbances forced him to grasp onto the last available straw his fingers could hold on to at this moment of susceptibility: me.

The traitor would never have acknowledged a leak.

But I did.

Even though I was Chiaki's boyfriend, I shared my worries concerning Karuizawa with him alone. I left my loyal, cherished girlfriend and my best friend in the dark to protect a classmate - to assure Hirata that not a single soul aside from her most trusted person knew about this incident, despite all the ramifications this recording carried.

"You haven't told Matsushita-san?"

"No. She is your responsibility, so you are the only one who deserves to know. Speaking about this with anyone else poses an unnecessary risk, as this knowledge would spark unrest and distrust between our classmates. There is no reason to involve Chiaki in Karuizawa's matters, since she already prepared hidden countermeasures for a potential traitor."

Anything less would have been unacceptable for him.

Hirata had no qualms about keeping certain sensitive subjects to himself as long as no third party would be harmed. My words reassured him that he wouldn't need to feel bad about leaving my girlfriend out of the loop, given that she knew about the threat and had our class handled. These circumstances, coupled with his unwavering trust in Chiaki, Kikyou and now my humble self, allowed him to concentrate on Karuizawa's well-kept secret and her happiness.

This was how everyone's friend operated.

A dejected laugh escaped his lips.

"Since when did you know?"

Instead of referring to Karuizawa as 'his girlfriend', I had called her 'his responsibility' on multiple occasions throughout our conversation, which caused him to realize that I doubted the authenticity of their bond. He also understood that we both wanted the best for our blonde-haired classmate, or I wouldn't have dropped these hints for him.

"There was no definitive point, because I wasn't sure about my conclusion until you confirmed it. Chiaki and I grew closer and more comfortable around each other as part of our progression, but this never applied to you and Karuizawa. I can't put it into words, but your whole relationship felt strange to me."

"I guess it's only natural. We just pretended, after all."

"She might have realized it as well, but we never talked about you outside of our double dates, so I'm not sure. Maybe we both thought that we should let the two of you do whatever you deemed necessary or appropriate, since it wasn't our business to interfere with. I would never have shared my suspicions with you either, if it weren't for yesterday's incident."

"This is going to sound rude, but I think that you are a little weird. You kind of creep me out, to be honest." He scratched the side of his head in embarrassment and forced a cordial smile to lift the mood. "I'm sorry if that offends you."

His words were unpleasant, but they contained no lies.

"I'm creeping you out? Why?"

"I've been watching you since the school started. The Ayanokouji-kun back then and the one in front of me right now - they are like two different people. You present yourself as more confident rather than insecure and you seem to be aware what your schoolmates are doing, despite your lack of interest in most of them. We barely knew each other, but you stuck around in the locker room because you perceived that I would beat myself up over Yamauchi-kun."

A pleasant warmth spread through my stomach.

Was this how a proud parent felt?

My wish to experience such a wonderful feeling firsthand was sincere, but I doubted that I would ever have the chance to enjoy my life to this extent. A small glimpse was all I could hope for and ought to be close enough to the real thing.

Without that man looming over me like a harbinger of misery, I could have seen myself be happy with Chiaki.

But I never deserved her love.

She was too precious of a girlfriend for a vile monster and should have never been roped into my plans. Fuka, Kikyou, Suzune, Ichinose and the others - none of them should have ever met me. I was aware of my unending cruelty and recognized how disgusting my arrangements were, but I still wanted them to live a decent life once I was gone.

Betraying someone you were supposed to love was a cardinal sin.

It was difficult and distressing to trust another person if you have been cheated on before, because the bad memories and the insufferable pain of this unexpected, hurtful infidelity would linger for eternity. Time may have been rumored to heal all wounds, but this wasn't an injustice one would recover from. The next partner and the ones thereafter could be the best, most honorable individuals in the world, but there would always be doubts due to a single dreadful experience.

Ruining her life granted me no advantages.

"Mh, I don't consider myself to be exceptionally observant. You tried to keep our class together, so it was anything but strange to assume that you would be the most troubled person if a classmate were to be expelled. My surge in confidence wasn't weird either as I found an incredible girlfriend like Chiaki, who is still far out of my league. She would be concerned if our schoolmates began to doubt her taste in guys, so I had to become better for her sake, don't you think?"

Males were simple creatures.

Our day would brighten up as soon as a girl was kind to us. If said female turned out to be cute, then we would hover on cloud nine before she finished her sentence. A few affectionate words or gestures were more than enough to boost our morale since it was rare to receive a heartfelt compliment, even as a handsome man.

"Still, you are amazing, Ayanokouji-kun."

Didn't he just say that I was creeping him out?

Is he praising me to distract from that?

That charming smile won't save you either!

"There is only one thing about this whole farce I don't understand. You threw away the chance at a highschool romance with someone who loves you and entered a pretend relationship to protect Karuizawa, a person you hadn't known before. Why would you go this far for a complete stranger when it hurts your potential happiness?"

How could another individual be more important?

Why did he care so much about other people?

The recording established that he wasn't on her side.

Hirata considered all involved parties and treated them as equals, even if one had wronged the other. This behavior was downright pathological and an inconsistency by definition. He would sacrifice himself for the greater good as long as the situation allowed it, but his parasite had steered him into a corner.

Her social standing depended on how she behaved, which left her incapable of backing down.

Karuizawa wouldn't bow in front of threats like Manabe, Shinohara or any other girl. She didn't mind clashing with Kikyou or Suzune if she ran into in a situation that forced her hand, which verified that she had committed herself to the wrong boy. My charming bishop couldn't have known that a much more suitable host had been walking by her side.

"I was a nobody until my second year of junior high."

His melancholic gaze assured me that his unexpected words were factual. Thinking of him as someone similar to me who didn't stand out left a weird taste in my mouth. This opening was so far away from everything a normal person could have assumed that it raised my interest in his past more than he realized.

"That's hard to believe."

"Well, I wouldn't say that I was invisible. I did have companions to spend my free time with. One of my oldest friends was a guy named Sugimura-kun. The two of us were in the same class for six years during our elementary education. Since we were neighbors, we used to walk to school and back home every day."

Hirata spoke as if he recalled pleasant memories.

This assumption couldn't have been any more inaccurate if one sensed the ominous undertones between each pause. His morose expression; the missing gestures and his narrow frame were telltale signs that this peaceful buildup would soon turn into a spiral of despair. The anecdote about their companionship wouldn't have a happy ending, despite his wishes.

"We were put into separate classes for the first time when we started junior high. Initially, we kept walking to school like we always did, but this happened less and less. I neglected him and our friendship as I began to hang out with my friends from the new class, but that kind of story sounds normal, I suppose."

His narration seemed to approach its inevitable turning point.

"While I had my companions, Sugimura-kun was getting bullied. He sent me multiple distress calls and showed up with cuts or bruises on his face, but I only cared about hanging out with my classmates and never answered his obvious cries for help. He was headstrong like Karuizawa-san, quick to get into even physical fights, so I didn't think about it anymore. The two of us reunited when we entered our second year, but his spirit had been demolished along the way. His bright, cheerful personality was long gone. That was a given after being punched and kicked day by day. They hounded him so much that he couldn't visit the bathroom, so he ended up having 'accidents' during class, which invited more ridicule."

I was the priest to his sinner.

But only he alone could grant himself absolution.

Hirata Yosuke was aware of this, but he never wanted to be forgiven for his actions, or lack thereof. He preferred to redeem himself - to atone for the sins he had committed towards one of his dearest friends. His entire behavior had changed to honor Sugimura and to absolve his tarnished soul from the deep-seated remorse he carried within him.

That person wouldn't have a happy end.

"During all that time, I did nothing... I couldn't. I was afraid that I would become their next target... terrified that my new, fun life would be destroyed. So I pretended not to see Sugimura-kun, my oldest friend. Instead, I came up with convenient excuses for myself. 'Someday they would stop to bully him', 'He would avoid coming to school and it would end this way' or 'Maybe someone else would step in'. Those were my spineless thoughts back then."

"But none of this ever happened?"

The boy shook his head with clenched fists.

"One day after morning practice, I returned to the classroom. My legs stopped in front of the door as I saw him with a red, swollen cheek. To be honest, I felt uncomfortable and waited a bit before going in. We had been friends for so long when we were little, but at that moment, I just hoped that he would leave the room. Nobody wanted to get involved with him in fear of getting bullied as well, so he couldn't lean on anyone. Sugimura-kun must have seen how ugly my heart was. That day..." Hirata clutched his chest as sorrow flashed over his face. "... he jumped out of the window."

"He did what?!"

My surprise and shock weren't conveyed as I wasn't accustomed to such high-level operations yet. Kikyou and I only practiced smiling and similar gestures that would guarantee advantages when dealing with the female population. The current me was unable to bring these mournful sentiments to life, but my acting was enough for a distracted classmate.

In truth, I felt indifferent upon hearing his laments.

Hirata's pain was understandable.

I could also comprehend the suffering and anger the boy's parents must have gone through after they received such a dreadful call, but their misfortune had nothing to do with me. His friend was just one of the 128 people who died every minute. He was a small, insignificant drop in the ocean, similar to the remaining 183.670 deaths each day.

None of us were special - our time was limited.

Quite a twisted impression, fitting for a monster.

"Sugimura-kun was declared brain dead. Even now, his parents believe that he will recover. They are waiting for him to wake up and to smile at them once more. This day was so surreal that I still wonder whether I was hallucinating. When he jumped, I realized something important: focusing on my own selfish desires drove a treasured friend to his death." He glanced at me, as if he was probing my reaction. "I don't think he can be saved, but I wanted to atone. The only way for me to do so is to help others who struggle with their own problems."

My roommate wouldn't accept my sympathies.

The boy who sold out his companion to secure his own safety, repented for his past, looked into the future and vowed to protect the ones who couldn't defend themselves to deal with the guilt in his aching heart. He was determined to change the fate of all the wretched souls he could find to feel better about his insensitive conduct in middle school.

Hirata deserved a second chance.

"Thank you for sharing such a painful memory with me. My ears might not have been much consolation, but I hope that I could lift a small burden off your shoulders by listening to your regrets. Similar to Karuizawa, I'm also indebted to you for reaching out to me back in April. Without your invitation, I would have never become acquainted with Chiaki and the other girls. I'm not as capable as my brilliant girlfriend, but I will support you if you ever need help. Saving both of them is difficult, but I may have a suggestion to perform such a feat."

His hazel-colored eyes widened.

"What? Are you sure?"

"I think that I owe it to you to try my best. It's something I've learned from Chiaki, but it can only work with Kikyou on board. She will cooperate, even if she isn't aware of the whole story, so I just need you to do one small task for me."

"Matsushita-san, you say..?"

This sceptical comment was all I received.

He would never discount her capabilities, but he knew how she dealt with students that were not part of our class. The three expulsions in June still occupied his mind because Hirata wouldn't have pulled the trigger in her stead. Our messiah bemoaned their premature departure and his inability to protect them from her wrath.

"I promise that no one will be inconvenienced."

"If everyone can be saved, I'll do anything."

Our conversation assured him that he could entrust me with Karuizawa Kei's well-being without endangering her secrets. Chiaki's name convinced Hirata of the plan's success due to the miracles she had produced so far, while Kikyou's presence in this arrangement eased his worries about the other students. A veritable angel like her would only agree to a proposal if it was performed with everyone's best interests in mind, after all.

One day, even I would need saving.

So I couldn't help but wonder about his decision.

If Hirata saw me - looked at Ayanokouji Kiyotaka...

Would he still sacrifice himself?

Could he give his own life to save a monster?

I found myself on the lowest level of this colossal luxury cruiser after yet another round of amiable card games with my friends concluded. This part of the ship was void of people, as even the engineers would only visit this isolated sector once a day in compliance with the safety regulations they had received prior to our departure.

Confirmation of this claim was an abundance of dust particles that had accumulated on every single button, aside from the light switch. The many glass panels from which the technicians needed to determine precise values had also been cleaned, unlike the equipment and instruments that were scattered throughout this soundproof engine room.

No one would rescue Karuizawa if she suffered in here.

Her prison had three distinct pathways.

Two of these highlighted exits preceded dimmed corridors with an illuminated staircase towards the upper deck at the end, while the remaining option led deeper into the ship's roaring core. Around a dozen machines, hundreds of warm valves and a few loud engine-like contraptions provided ample cover to listen and prepare the stage for the following act.

The phone's display lit up as I tapped the power button.

Cell services were unavailable due to the various electronics that interfered with wireless connections and the accessible frequency bands. The ability to make and or receive calls as well as messages was further impaired by the massive metallic walls, which prevented direct communication with the cellular network.

All attempts to contact another student ended in failure.

This final experiment concluded my preliminary investigation of the area. I re-examined my arrangements and stashed the black duffle bag out of sight near one of my potential hiding places next to the toolbox I had found in an adjacent cabin. My feet carried me up the flight of stairs and out of the dead zone, where I received the notification I had been waiting for.

[Anonymous] 4 PM.

Ample time for the final preparations...

Sotomura, Kikyou and Chie had their respective tasks to accomplish until then, but I had faith in their ability to supply me with the materials and the freedom I needed to take care of my itinerary. Karuizawa herself played an essential role in my upcoming plans, and she alone would decide whether or how much she had to endure after they were done with her.

Now, only two people were left unattended.

[02:19:15 PM] Hey, you got a minute?

My short text message was accompanied by the scathing audio recording I had supplied her with yesterday. Manabe and I were the only students who owned a copy of Karuizawa's admission of guilt and her following disregard of Morofuji and the poor girl's feelings, which confirmed that this unfamiliar anonymous token belonged to her previous benefactor.

She wouldn't leave me on 'read', right?

[02:19:29 PM[Manabe] It's you again! Who are you?

[02:19:41 PM] Is someone with you?

[02:19:49 PM[Manabe] No, why?

[02:20:12 PM] Do you want some alone time with Karuizawa?

[02:20:23 PM[Manabe] What are you on about?

[02:20:34 PM] You could talk with her... undisturbed.

[02:20:53 PM[Manabe] Why are you doing this?

[02:21:18 PM] Let's just say that I understand how Morofuji-san feels. I believe that she and I are owed an apology for the things that bitch did to us. We don't know each other, but I dislike her obnoxious attitude as much as you do.

[02:21:42 PM[Manabe] I'm inclined to trust you. That recording you sent me was quite effective when I had a chat with her, but what if this whole thing is a trap? I can't rule out the possibility that you might betray me.

[02:21:59 PM] Go to the teachers and sell me out if you suspect that I am deceiving you. All I want is justice for myself and Morofuji-san. Do you think that she was the only girl who got pushed around by Karuizawa? She and her rotten faction humiliated me more than once, and none of them felt guilty. Someone has to hand out a harsh reality check, or she will keep harassing people like me and your friend, because she thinks of herself as soo much prettier and better than others.

I made my case and followed up with a map.

[02:22:17 PM] This is the layout of the lowest level. The walls are thick, it's noisy due to the machines and impossible to get reception with your phone. Not even staff members wander around on this deck during the day, so you will have more than enough time and space to talk things out with her.

Manabe understood why I handed her all of this and what I wanted her to do when I spoke about justice for her classmate and me. She assumed that I was the same as her friend - unable to defend myself against Class D's queen bee.

This new partner in crime was easy to manipulate.

My word usage had informed her that I hated Karuizawa, despite my otherwise respectful nature. It also betrayed my true thoughts - taught her that I wanted this for my sake, while Morofuji Rika was only needed to force them into action. I was polite, but blinded by rage, which she could identify with.

Her pride had cracked just yesterday when Machida chose my classmate over her, even though they had already made plans. She never cared about him, but she was furious with his superficial decision making. Mentioning that Karuizawa considered herself to be more attractive than others caused the last strings of reason in her to snap.

[02:22:42 PM[Manabe] Okay. When?

[02:22:51 PM] 4 PM.

With this arrangement in mind, I walked back to the room where they had attacked my parasite to meet a certain someone. My shoes touched the second deck as I received yet another message from a girl in this phone's contact list.

[02:29:52 PM[Honami-chan] Sensei, please refrain from the available alcoholic drinks before our massage appointment at four! Just in case you can't remember, they kicked us out the last time because you kept fondling the poor masseuse.

Chie did what..?

She couldn't have been drunk...

But why leave like this?

I scanned through her message history with Ichinose and confirmed their previous date to have been yesterday, prior to our first discussion period, at around 11 AM. Aside from her adorable figurehead, she hadn't been in contact with anyone else during that timeframe, which meant that she could have deleted the chatlog and handed me her phone afterwards.

Had she noticed what I've done?

[02:30:31 PM] Ah, of course Honami-chan~ don't worry!

[02:30:37 PM] Let's relax thoroughly today! Yaaay!

"Ahh... Mh... Yes... that's the spot. Nghhh-ah."

"Mhhh..."

Hoshinomiya-sensei's disproportionate moans reverberated through the cabin and mixed with the low, relaxed humming sounds that fled my own lips. All the exhaustion and fatigue that had built up over the last few days was blown away by our masseuses whose warm hands kept kneading our rigid shoulders as well as the stiff neck area.

The foggy but comfortable interior around us was generated by a couple of hot water basins to our left and right, which heated the black stones that were being placed on our exposed bodies. Only our private parts were covered by a short, white towel, as a bigger one would have prevented the flat volcanic rocks from unfolding their invigorating warmth.

According to her reactions, she had been rather tense.

Her mature frame squirmed in relaxation when the female massage therapist planted the last stone along her spine, which seemed to have worked wonders for her overall satisfaction. My weary eyelids grew heavier as the enjoyable heat that had warmed my bare feet dissipated into the surroundings.

The woman's delicate, soft hands caressed over my soles in circular movements to release the physical tension and the mental stress that kept burdening my drained soul. Multiple weak but pleasant vibrations rippled through my exhausted body as her nimble fingers tapped on my toes and so-called 'trigger points' on the underside of my foot.

"So, what do you think, Honami-chan?"

"This beats the shiatsu massage we had before the island exam for sure." A beaming smile flashed over my trembling lips. "I would have asked you yesterday if we hadn't been kicked out, but is it really okay for us to meet up like this during such an important examination?"

"You don't need to worry about a thing."

My curiosity about her attitude remained unchanged, as she was reluctant to elaborate on her thoughts. The school must have arranged certain methods to check whether a teacher had been helping their students, but I couldn't think of a way to accomplish such a feat without cameras or microphones on the whole ship, which was neither practical nor reasonable.

Pursuing this line of thought was a waste of time.

Ayanokouji-kun had mentioned that Chabashira-sensei would be investigated because of their sudden ascent. This single conclusion was enough evidence to assure me that no school-issued surveillance gear had been installed on the cruiser.

How else could they provide fairness?

The class competition wouldn't be a game of wits, intelligence and ingenuity, but a troublesome hide-and-seek between our instructors and the staff members who had to interrogate them if they had supported us with the hidden rules on the island or the solution to solve the current zodiac exam.

We students couldn't grow due to the disparity.

But wasn't Ayanokouji-kun a cause as well?

He was too smart and destroyed the balance.

I might have learned about him and his movements in the background, but I couldn't ascertain how he had managed to keep all the points during our previous assessment. All the scenarios I came up with had flaws or uncertainties, which he would never have discounted in consideration to the 'agreement' he made with Chabashira-sensei. The details were still unknown to me, but he seemed to have guaranteed her a spot in Class A, according to the flow of their conversation.

What am I doing?

Massages are for relaxation!

My wish to unwind for a moment - to forget about the things that kept me awake, hadn't been granted, however. It was impossible to neglect his distant gaze and the sleepless nights he had already caused. When I wasn't trying to understand his countless schemes, I pondered about him - us - and where this new awareness left our relationship.

It could never go back to how it had been.

No matter how much I hoped for this to happen.

The feelings in my disturbed heart hadn't changed, but my perception regarding his activities had matured. This 'unusual' Ayanokouji-kun scared me to a degree that provoked dreams and nightmares if I managed to fall asleep. They always started out the same with the two of us sitting on a snow-covered wooden bench outside in an unfamiliar park-like area.

We talk for a while until my body begins to freeze. I rub my shoulders - warm myself up through the jacket - in order to spend just one more minute with him and his mesmerizing golden eyes. The moon's luminous appearance reflects in his fascinating orbs as he stands up and unbuttons his own coat to offer me an additional layer.

My lips move, refuse his kindness.

Yet, despite my vehement complaints, the dream continues like this, with me cloaked in two warm, protective layers and him next to me. I'm happy, no - overjoyed that he wants us to stay together longer, but also troubled about his health as the snow begins to gather on his sweatshirt. His fingers pale as time passes, but he isn't concerned about himself.

He comments on my reddish nose, and I hide this embarrassment with my gloves. His freezing hands reach out to mine and he pulls them away, deep into his own warm embrace. We gaze at each other in silence. He tilts his head, and I snicker.

A moment later, our icy lips meet.

I would never support him being unfaithful towards his girlfriend, so he couldn't have been in a relationship as this scene took place. The wonderful emotions that blossomed in my chest were confirmation that I hadn't betrayed my own values. My mind might have just tried to process my affections for him, but I was relieved that I didn't cheat, even in my dreams.

This pleasant fantasy went on and morphed into a nightmare.

His glistening, brilliant orbs turn into terrifying yellow spheres after our kiss. He stands up and I follow, surprised by his sudden change in demeanor. I take a step back, alarmed by his malevolent bearing, but his movements are so much faster. His hand, as arctic as his callous glare, reaches for my arm and darkness descends onto me.

Two times had I woken up with a racing heart, gasping for air.

My gaze moved to our instructor.

Once again, her words echoed through my mind.

She had realized that Ayanokouji-kun lied to me, that he had used our class to his advantage by exploiting our hospitality. Her warning hadn't been subtle or difficult to understand because she knew that I would never have thought of him as someone who wanted to double-cross or harm us.

Would the outcome have changed if I had listened?

"Um, Hoshinomiya-sensei?"

"Mhhh? What is it, Honami-chan?"

"About Ayanokouji-kun..."

I trailed off, unable to find the right words.

It was dangerous to inform her about anything I had learned since she would conclude that he was our 'enemy'. Her initial warning could still just have been an assumption that was framed as a judgement to force me into action. If I asked her about him now, he would enter her radar for certain.

This was a mistake.

To keep everyone safe, I had to express my beliefs the same way the previous Honami would. 'I don't think he's a bad person, but he was manipulated by Matsushita-san,' or something along those lines. Blaming his girlfriend was the only means to protect him from our instructor's antics as long as she deemed me reliable enough to trust my judgement.

"Ah, that. Sorry for the panic I must have caused you, Honami-chan. I guess I was mistaken about him." She turned towards me with a radiant smile. "But you figured this out already, didn't you? As expected of my favorite student!"

A relieved sigh escaped my lips.

Hoshinomiya-sensei had been uncertain about her own conclusions, otherwise she wouldn't have accepted my words without telling me to keep our past conversation in mind just in case he appeared to be a threat. If I had been the 'me' from two days ago, I would have ignored my doubts, stopped worrying and enjoyed the massage from hereon out.

But this was wrong...

Our instructor would never have backed down this soon after she kept insisting that Ayanokouji-kun wasn't trustworthy. Her perspective was broader than Kanzaki-kun's, our classmates and mine, since she didn't have a close relationship with him like we did. There had to be a reason for this sudden change in behavior.

Was all of this just my imagination?

Could I be reading too much into this?

No - I couldn't discount the possibility.

He made a deal with Chabashira-sensei as well.

What if he brokered one with our teacher?

But what could he help us with?

The only potential scenario I could think of was him joining our class.

If she was this confident in her assumption that he deceived me and my classmates even before the island, then she must have realized that nobody could beat him in a competition after he demonstrated his capabilities. Hoshinomiya-sensei wanted us to improve our ranking, just like the other homeroom teachers who didn't know about him yet.

Securing Ayanokouji-kun now would be a shortcut.

Was it wrong to be happy about such a possibility?

Stop it, Honami! Don't jump to conclusions.

I'm lacking information...

Why would he need her?

He already claimed his seat at the top of this school's hierarchy and had Chabashira-sensei on his side. An arrangement between him and our instructor would endanger his agreement with her. Ayanokouji-kun wasn't someone who would expose himself to such a risk. Overlooking a small crease in the carpet was one thing, but he would never be this careless.

Of course...

Their deal wouldn't need to be anything substantial.

Back then, he had even asked me about Hoshinomiya-sensei's behavior, so he knew that he had entered her radar. This could be the reason he hadn't betrayed us near the end of the island exam and poisoned Chihiro-chan. He showed our instructor that he wasn't unwilling to support our class and that he could have crushed all our efforts at any moment.

Giving me the remaining VIPs in this test would be a small favor.

But what would she need to do?

No, don't tell me...

I peered at our teacher, who hummed in delight.

Could Karuizawa-san be in danger?

Deep, heavy noises echoed through the dim deck.

These sounds were signs that this massive cruiser had changed its course, or that we had bumped into one of the aquatic animals that roamed the sea. I admit, the second possibility was rather low due to the slow speed of our vessel, the many staff members who observed the vast ocean and the lack of impact, but the probability wasn't zero.

A lone girl entered as the commotion subsided.

She strolled into this perilous area with such a lax attitude that a stranger might have assumed that she owned this whole ship. If one listened closely, it was possible to pick up on rather sinister reverberations that sounded like helpless wails of a lost soul that had been trapped in this iron prison and struggled to gain attention. Karuizawa Kei, the woman of the hour, disregarded the hidden dangers this ominous meeting place exuded and pulled out her phone.

"What's going on? No signal? Are you kidding me?"

The time was 03:51 PM.

Our classmate, who must have arrived earlier than scheduled to calm herself, became discontent as soon as she realized that her beloved mobile device was of no use to her down here. She heaved a profound sigh, slid the useless paperweight into her blazer's pocket and leaned against the cold steel wall.

It was a shame that her stylish outfit was smeared by all the dust and grime.

I wasn't as fashion savvy as my girlfriend, but I appreciated that Karuizawa looked quite trendy, even in a dull school uniform. Girls like her took great pride in their physical appearance and tried to stand out from the rest. Our gyaru achieved this by wrapping her blazer around her slim waist, which provided her with a solid foundation to build upon.

Machida's decision to choose her over Manabe was reasonable.

"Why would he want to meet in such a dubious place, anyway?" A frown crept up her face as she glanced at the dirtied wall beside her. "Ahh, mou!" She turned, raised her left arm to head level in surprise and dusted off her backside. "Huuuh, it's fine. I can trust Hirata-kun. He would never have recorded our conversation..."

Karuizawa was convinced of his innocence.

A suitable parasite needed to depend on their host, but she was a little too defenseless around her false boyfriend. Her alarm bells should have roared the moment he had asked her to meet up in such a remote area. Our guardian angel might have been indifferent to her beauty, but a pretty woman like her should never trust someone to this degree.

The clock struck 4 PM, and the door opened.

Manabe Shiho strolled into the engine room, followed by Yajima Mariko and the girl who created this golden opportunity for me: Morofuji Rika. The pacifying behavior the latter exhibited indicated that she wasn't too happy with the current situation. She stole multiple worried glances at her friends while they encouraged her to stand up against her 'oppressor'.

My first impression matched Kikyou's distorted description rather well.

'She's like the bitch with cow-milkers, without the standout feature.'

"Wh-what are you doing here?"

A sharp tremor coursed through my body.

Hirata-kun... abandoned me..?

The colorful image of the considerate, kindhearted boy I had opened up to at the beginning of our year shattered into a thousand faded pieces. My judgement call to disclose my embarrassing past had been a mistake, one I could never take back. I decided to put my trust in the wrong person and was discarded like a used, filthy rag - thrown off and stomped on as if I was nothing but a sickening worm that caused discomfort just by existing.

Our last talk had been less than pleasant, but I could have never expected that he would leave me to fend for myself after everything I have been through. Hirata-kun hadn't rejected my request nor had he pitied me for my shameful appearance in middle school. He acknowledged my story at face value and agreed to become my fake boyfriend to protect me.

But this had changed...

Why..?

Had I been too complacent?

What should I do now?

Where could I go from here?

"Me? Nothing. I just saw you walk down here, but I guess this is the perfect opportunity." Manabe's visage contorted as she grabbed the girl I had pushed. "Let me introduce you. This is Rika. You remember her, don't you, Karuizawa?"

I averted my gaze, similar to Morofuji.

She seemed to recognize me - remembered the day I had shoved her aside. This wasn't strange. I knew how she felt due to my own experiences. You'd always relive the scene, reflect on those cold, ridiculing eyes that looked down on you. No matter how tough of a front you tried to put up, your heart would waver, quiver in fear of that person's presence.

It was an instinct, impossible to overcome.

The question would never be 'What if she punched me again', but 'When would she punch me again'. This single concern - this enormous burden - would follow you to school, the restroom, back home, and even your warm, comfortable bed during the night. Any distraction I found only lasted for so long before the anxieties broke through the dam and crushed my pitiful psyche. Each passing second tripled the chance that my tormentors grew bored and would appear to torture me with a newfound concept that eclipsed the previous ones in cruelty.

One push alone could cause such devastation.

"Apologize to Rika."

Her demand had never changed.

'If I listened, they might not be too hard on me', was what I would have thought if I hadn't been through the ringer in junior high. None of my actions would change their perception of me. I knew this better than anyone. Morofuji would want to back out once I announced my regret, but Manabe and Yajima would continue where they left off.

All I could do was to stay strong.

"H-huh?" The courage I sought to demonstrate faltered as soon as I opened my mouth. "She's a total klutz, so why would I apologize? I've done nothing wrong. She should be remorseful for standing in the way without moving."

"Tch, you're a real piece of work, aren't you?"

Manabe reached for my collar and yanked my body forward.

Her eyes gleamed with the same peculiar glint as yesterday, similar to the expressions of contempt and mockery I had seen on countless occasions during my middle school days. Yajima stood to her left, held a phone and filmed the dispute.

I couldn't reveal any weaknesses, no matter what.

This time, I wouldn't go down without a fight.

"But I think I understand now."

"What are you talking about, huh?"

I had to stay strong - show those three nuisances that Karuizawa Kei would never let herself be pushed around by the likes of them. The mental episode I had fallen into because of my trauma would complicate this, but I could still convince her that I wasn't one of the girls she wanted to mess with. I had to endure this ordeal without breaking apart.

Just this once.

As long as I could hide my past, I would -

"Your behavior. The fear and panic you exhibited yesterday was quite unusual. It made me wonder, you know? Your body shut off and collapsed when I pushed you, and you even began to hyperventilate from the stress." Her hateful sneer widened and turned into a crescent moon as she peered into my quivering spheres. "You were bullied, weren't you?"

Dread slithered along my crippled core.

"N-no! You're wrong."

Karuizawa denied her claim.

The pathetic stutters that left her trembling lips were weak, pitiful and displeasing. She had refuted this truth - revolted against her fragile heart and the terrors that lived rent-free in the darkest corners of her fractured mind - but there was no escape. This proud, haughty gyaru that led Class D's girls was still the same miserable insect that had been harassed.

They should have seen the glimmer of trepidation.

Manabe wasn't perceptive enough to infer details about her past with these clues alone and only managed to grasp what my classmate had gone through with the help of a second recording. Her hurtful words and yesterday's beating stemmed from spite, deep-rooted envy and a personal grudge, even though she had started this crusade for Morofuji's sake.

Society would disagree, but I couldn't fault her.

Neither morals, ethics, principles nor social standards would stop me from achieving my goal once I had set my sight on something. It would be hypocritical if I were to judge Manabe's behavior as anything less than acceptable. She didn't mind sullying her hands as long as her friend could overcome her fears, which deserved praise.

The outcome was all that mattered.

Hurting Karuizawa to achieve this was just a bonus.

"If you get down on your knees and beg right now, I might forgive you for this transgression. How about it?" The poor traumatized teenager recognized the mocking tone and bit her lip. "I mean, you're good at groveling, aren't you?"

The Class C girl taunted her with a rather vulgar gesture.

"N-no! I won't! I've never done that kind of thing before!"

Her apparent lack of experience didn't inhibit Karuizawa's ability to understand what Manabe hinted at, which was quite remarkable. Without my loving girlfriend, I wouldn't have been able to classify these movements and might not have realized what she insinuated. This confirmed once again how much I still had to learn.

Sensing a chance to escape, Karuizawa sprung into action.

She pushed Yajima aside and tried to slip out of their encirclement by using the surroundings to her advantage. This strategy could have worked - if Manabe hadn't been as quick to react. A hand flashed forward and clutched onto the blonde, well-maintained ponytail that swung left and right as she raced past them. My classmate's troubled expression was followed by a low yelp as she was yanked back and slammed into the wall.

"Ow, it hurts! Let me go!"

My desperate screams intensified.

I was familiar with this kind of treatment - used to the stinging, burning or pounding sensations that would follow and were about to violate my frail body. Even now, I couldn't stop the agonizing cries that escaped my shuddering lips due to the harrowing memories her actions dug up. Manabe's weak blows were pitiful compared to the horrors I had endured in this twisted, yet intimate relationship between me and my endless misfortune, but they weren't ineffective.

Neither she nor her slaps were problematic on their own.

The two agitated Class C students laughed in delight as my arms flailed through the air. I struggled, fought and resisted her physical assault - tried to cope with the mental agony that clawed its way into the cracks of my shattered psyche - but I couldn't escape the misery, the anguish and the disgusting past I had worked so hard to bury.

Their amused smiles morphed into cruel sneers.

Almost as if my retaliation was a joke to them.

As if they weren't dealing with a human being.

Just like back then...

"Ahh, Karuizawa!"

Unsuspecting, naïve and stupid as I had been, I spun around after a pleasant female voice reached my ears. This natural, amiable reaction was met with a black sports shoe that buried itself deep inside the pit of my empty stomach. Discolored saliva and a handful of yellow-ish bile oozed out of my mouth due to this sudden impact.

I choked and gasped for air to stay responsive.

An unbearable, sharp pain spread through my torso, which caused my trembling legs to succumb to the weight. Trapped in my own paralyzed body, I watched myself collapse - felt my knees give in before they scraped over the cold, lifeless floor. I clenched my throbbing belly, bent over to deal with the sudden nausea and glared at my callous assailant, whose features were partially obstructed by my wastewater soaked hair.

Stand up Kei...

Move...

Please...

"Smile punchy!"

Another deafening slap traveled along the white concrete walls of the school's deserted corridor as a second girl planted her flat palm on my contorted face. My blurred, tear-filled vision caught sight of a silver phone and the fuzzy contours of four towering presences that kept looking down on me with scorn and derision. Their boisterous, cocky laughs shook the windows with each hit that smashed into my defenseless, convulsing body.

It hurts so much...

I flinched and began to sob from the unbearable pain that coursed through my frame. The dizziness and the sick feeling in my stomach worsened with every torturous impact I had to withstand. My chapped mouth felt parched and sore from all the screaming, despite the vast amounts of saliva that kept trickling out of the corners.

Why does it always have to be me?

This was the level of torture I had to endure around the clock.

For them, I was nothing more than a pastime - an affordable punching bag to vent their pent-up frustration. The small circle that tormented me at first had expanded into the better part of my class and even included a few other schoolmates in our grade. Together, they had found an easy answer for all of their problems:

Just bully Kei!

You are bored during your break and don't know what to do?

Treat her like a dog and let her eat garbage from the ground.

The teacher gave you a bad score on the latest exam?

Beat her until she cries and sobs to lift your spirits.

Your long-time crush rejected your confession?

Spill sewage over her to forget about it.

The 'hilarious video' they recorded right now would soon be shared among their acquaintances. My suffering was once again about to be viewed by everyone who was curious and appreciated my misery. There was little I could do - nothing I hadn't tried yet, because they already knew that they didn't need to fear retaliation when they punched or kicked me.

Struggling against their antics was a losing battle.

"Hey! Do something, would ya?" Her wicked leg vanished inside my midsection multiple times until a sickening yellow liquid sloshed past my lips. "Urgh, you disgusting piece of shit. Look what you did." She raised her foot and drove the stained shoe into my mouth with a repulsed expression. "The least you could do is lick them clean, you damn slut."

Kurihara smeared the warm mucus over my face.

"Please stop it!"

"Those are your stomach contents, so suck them up."

A putrid stench permeated my nose as multiple drops of bile dribbled along my neck and seeped into the soiled uniform or my underwear, depending on which way it trickled down my torso. I pulled away in disgust and tried to escape the repulsive taste of the loafers she kept pressing against my sealed lips.

My tired feet, which had answered my desperate pleas, regained their maneuverability and shuffled up, ready to leave this encirclement. I pushed one of them out of the way, ignored the pulsating cramps in my stomach and ran - until a cold, ruthless palm reached out for my ponytail. This pitiful attempt to flee ended with a loud shriek that was accompanied by an intense jolt of pain as my back crashed into the ground.

"Let go! It hurts!"

"Look! She's wriggling like a worm."

Vile vermin - that's all I am.

The strength of their punches, slaps and kicks increased with the volume of their roaring, delighted laughter. I covered my head to protect myself and dragged my sore excuse of a body away from the hallway, closer to an exit that might support my next escape. Similar to a loathsome, slimy insect that had minded its business, I crawled over the dirty floor, wriggled through my own ejections and hoped that the 'humans' would leave me alone.

"That should be enough to soften her up."

"Yeah. Time to clean the loafers now."

"Agreed."

"What? Nooo! Stop it!"

Their blockade broke apart as two of the four girls circled around my left and right. The pair clutched onto my arms and yanked them away before the third one grabbed my hair. She pushed my head down and forced me forward, closer to the nasty shoes of my fourth tormentor who glared at me with a sneer.

"Lick it."

""Yeah! Lick it! Lick it!""

"Never! I won't bow down to the likes of you."

This listless denial was all I could force through my clenched teeth.

"Hah? You damn arrogant bitch. Do you still think that you are better than us, Karuizawa?" She smacked my cheek, which recoiled to its natural position because of her friend's steady grasp. "Okay then... here's a special onetime offer for a worm like you. If you apologize and beg to clean my shoe with a submissive look on your face, then we'll leave you alone for the rest of the week. Quite an enticing suggestion, isn't it?"

Kurihara shifted her foot back and forth.

Three days of peace would be nice, I suppose...

"Didn't I answer your question just a few seconds ago? I will never give in to your pathetic harassment attempts. Clean your greasy ears if you have trouble hearing, or maybe visit a doctor to fix that pea-sized brain of yours."

Her face contorted as I forced a pained grin.

I won't bow down, ever.

"Now you've done it!"

The angered girl, wearing a pair of fetid, bile stained loafers, stood and swung one of her legs backwards. Their ridiculing remarks and annoying giggles had vanished - replaced by utter silence - as the group stared at me with nothing but unadulterated contempt. Her three friends held me down, restricted my movements as well as any chance of escape and forced me to receive this incoming punishment head-on.

This is going to hurt...

"Hey! A teacher's coming, let's bounce."

Shigeto, an unexpected but panicking fifth accomplice, jumped off the flight of stairs behind us and dashed away with a momentum fitting for someone in the track and field club. Kurihara paused her kick midair and clicked her tongue in visible frustration before the group of four dispersed.

Someone's looking out for me today, huh?

How lucky...

Every muscle and bone in my battered body burned and cracked as I heaved myself up. I tried to open the door to an adjacent room, but my fingers were so weak and numb that I couldn't grasp onto the handle. The shallow sound of my heavy breaths lessened as I leaned against the frame and covered the wounds on my hands with the sleeves of my blazer.

Phew... calm down, Kei.

Relax.

You are safe - they are gone.

I mopped the last tear streak off my face just in time.

"Karuizawa? What happened to your leg?"

An embarrassed smile surfaced on my lips as Karashimada-sensei stepped off the stairs and acknowledged the injury near my knee. The bright red blood hadn't dried yet and slid down towards my white socks in a vague zigzag pattern. I bent over, wiped the evidence away and scratched along the bloody wound with a surprised expression.

"Oh, that... I fell. I'm a huge klutz sometimes..."

My worn-out legs felt as if they had been shattered.

They trembled, stung and bled, but I pushed through the agony and stood straight. He corrected his rather thick glasses and assessed my injury while I kept biting down on a small pebble that must have stuck underneath one of their shoes, which came loose and found its way into my mouth when I got kicked.

Stop gawking and leave...

Please...

The beatings I had to endure would only get worse if I informed an adult or explained my situation to the uninvolved. All I could do was hide, survive and bottle up the bitterness until this ordeal ended. I was used to their cruel jokes by now and stopped caring about the lingering sadness that accompanied me wherever I went.

"It doesn't look too bad, but you should visit the nurse."

"Yes, of course... I was just on my way."

Our bespectacled teacher nodded and strode along the hallway.

Some might call him negligent or inattentive for not picking up on the faint traces of vomit on the ground. Maybe he was irresponsible for not asking about the many pulsating bruises on my face, or he didn't care enough to waste his time with an 'insect' like me. His ignorance, albeit cruel, was beneficial because it would safeguard my survival in this damned place.

Karashimada-sensei's figure vanished upon reaching another flight of stairs at the end of the corridor, which led to a different part of the complex. The sounds of his old worn-out shoes soon faded behind a doorway on the first floor.

Silence descended onto the area.

The pressure that weighed on my exhausted body increased once my heartbeat returned to a normal level. Powerlessness spread along my veins as my fatigued limbs began to tremble from the burden they had to suffer through. All I wished for at that moment was a deep, relaxing slumber and to wake up from this horrible nightmare I was trapped in.

Tears poured down my reddened, throbbing face.

"Why does it still hurt so much?"

I leaned against the door with all my weight to push it open and stumbled into the empty classroom. Two metallic objects collided as I knocked over a nearby chair, which crashed into the legs of an adjacent table. A surge of pain traveled through my whole body before I found myself sprawled out on the ground, unable to lift a finger.

Please move...

Just a little further...

No one can see me like this...

Despite these wishes, my movements ceased.

This rather unpleasant memory was interrupted as I felt a wet sensation on top of my eyelids. A pained shriek escaped my searing lungs as someone drove their knee into my stomach with no semblance of remorse. That person grabbed onto my hair and slammed me into the copper-colored valves to my left until I lost count of the number of impacts.

Right...

I'm still in that lousy engine room...

Who would have thought that I'd end up like this again?

Being spat on and beaten in some dark corner...

At least it was just saliva this time...

"Argh!"

Neither Karuizawa Kei's harrowing shouts nor her miserable expression stopped Manabe's ferocious onslaught. Her initial awkward movements became less sluggish and grew more refined, which suggested that this had been the first time she inflicted significant pain on another human being.

The force she could exert wouldn't be too much due to her slim build, but the impacts should still be uncomfortable for an untrained receiver. My panting classmate recalled her horrible past and relived the shameful memories she had tried so hard to forget. She recognized that this painful trauma would never leave her side - perceived that her fractured psyche cracked and splintered further apart with each vicious strike that rekindled those abhorrent mementos - but she couldn't stop the waves of agony that kept washing over her as if she had found herself in her very own purgatory.

"Woah, Shiho. Don't you think you're hitting her a little too much?"

Two mocking laughs drowned the wails of my suffering bishop while our third visitor took a small step back, overwhelmed and distressed by their cruel actions. Manabe noticed her friend's hesitation and turned around with an encouraging smile.

"Come on Rika. Try slapping her."

"N-no, I'm okay."

This exchange was bound to happen.

She appeared to have been scarred by my overbearing classmate, whereupon her companions chose to exact revenge in her stead. Morofuji still hesitated, because she wouldn't resort to violence under normal circumstances. Seeing the hatred in Manabe's eyes - observing her close friend as she put more weight into her punches - startled her to a degree that wasn't comparable with the unnecessary anxiety she felt in front of Karuizawa.

She was meek and susceptible - easy to coerce.

"We are doing this for your sake, Rika." A hint of dissatisfaction surfaced in her irritated voice. "She wronged you, didn't she? This is your chance to get payback for what she did to you. Don't worry, nobody is around. Trust me."

Refusal wasn't an option.

Contrary to Yajima, she didn't know that Manabe had her own misgivings. Her intentions might have been honorable at the beginning of this drama, but they distorted into a selfish need for retribution caused by a rejection that was based on physical appearance alone. Machida dared to choose Karuizawa when he was forced to decide between the two of them.

What would she have felt at that moment?

Scorned, insignificant, and envious.

Her pride as a woman had been crushed, just like that.

This simple choice resulted in an unending torrent of bitterness that began to course through her mind, which Morofuji interpreted as anger towards her for not joining them in their quest. The darkened orbs of her companion quivered in enmity and she assumed that she might be the next person to incur her wrath if she kept refusing Manabe's invitation.

"O-okay. I'll try."

A flat palm connected with Karuizawa's cheek.

The awaited sound never reached my ears.

"L-like that?"

She seemed proud of her pathetic display while her friend glanced at her with a disappointed expression. Neither of them had prior experience in hurting someone, but Morofuji's slap was so pitiful that I hadn't even heard the impact.

Could Manabe change her timid nature?

"No, no. That's not good at all. You need to put more force into it. Stand right here..." She grabbed Morofuji by the shoulders and placed her in front of their victim. "Now, move your whole body to smack her. Like this."

Her next blow was so deafening that it drowned most of the remaining sounds. Karuizawa winced and screamed in pain, confirming that her hit had been much more effective than the previous one. Manabe peered at her partner and extended her arms as if to say, 'See? Not so difficult, right?'

Rika nodded with renewed vigor and slapped her.

My muffled, almost inaudible steps carried me to one of the less frequented floors in our school, at least around this time of the day. A rather uncomfortable creaking noise rang through the deserted hallway as my fingers pushed against the light-blue wooden door to my left, which scraped against the flooring of the restroom.

"Mou, they still haven't fixed this?!"

Frustration and regret coated my ashen face.

I hurried towards the adjacent men's room and squeezed my slim body into the doorframe to conceal myself. The echoes caused by the nicked lower surface eventually subsided once the door slammed shut. My racing heart and the shallow breaths I drew to calm down were the only faint sounds that broke the silence.

"Seems like no one heard the commotion..."

Going here should be fine, right?

Turning around wasn't feasible. Instead of being careful by not entering, I would open myself up to more potential danger if I decided to search for another vacant restroom. The lack of response after this unexpected accident had already proven that I hadn't been followed this time or they would have swarmed me by now.

Convinced by my conjecture, I strode into the room and made sure that each cubicle was unoccupied. My indecisive, slow steps led me back to the first compartment on the far right, where I took a deep, calming breath. I slipped inside, locked the door behind me and perked my ears - ready to detect any shifts in my surroundings.

Twenty seconds flew by, but no one barged in.

"Waiting any longer could be dangerous..."

Such a high level of caution wasn't unwarranted.

Being ambushed on my way to the toilet was a rather frequent occurrence, despite my extensive preparations. The other girls would often group up and leave together with their friends, while I had to wander through the whole building on my own. I could complain and protest all I wanted but calling this situation unfair wouldn't change a thing.

Visiting the restroom was a matter of course.

Most people weren't even thinking about such menial tasks because they would just go whenever they felt the need to. None of them had to plan multiple routes in advance. They were never forced to rush out of the classroom to gain a small advantage and didn't have to worry about anyone waiting at their destination. Neither boys nor girls had to watch their backs as they roamed in circles, ran upstairs, darted downstairs or zigzagged all over the place to shake their pursuers.

Only I understood how blessed they were.

"Aren't I kinda pathetic?"

Self-mocking questions like this popped into my mind from time to time, but I never found an answer for any of them. I couldn't recall when this horrendous nightmare began - wasn't capable of envisioning a future in which I wouldn't need to look over my shoulder - but I would keep fighting.

My prospects weren't rosy, but I was assured that my life would improve.

As long as I didn't give up, there was hope for a better tomorrow.

I loosened my skirt and let the panties slide along my legs.

A pleasant sense of comfort and relief spread through my frame after I sat down and relaxed my tense muscles. The loud, squeaking door burst open like a rattled soda can as the first few droplets splashed into the toilet water.

""Found you!""

The intruders surrounded the stall less than five seconds later. They jumped up the sides and pushed their mobile phones over the thin walls to record me during my alone time. Multiple deriding laughs and a lone high-pitched shriek of panic overshadowed the low rippling sounds underneath. My arms, forced into action by sheer instinct, covered the area around my private parts as I lowered my head in embarrassment.

How are they here?!

"She stopped peeing! That's hilarious!"

"Look how the mighty Karuizawa is shaking!"

"Give us a show and spread your legs."

"That bitch is probably all sloppy down there."

"I can't stop laughing... This is amazing!"

"GO AWAY! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?"

The discomfort in my frustrated voice was reinforced by the intense crimson flush that surfaced on my pale face. My, for them entertaining reaction, invited the group to ramp up their dirty jokes, which led to more stupid comments about the disgusting rumors they had spread about me and the many guys they forced me to confess to.

Their mockery wasn't unfamiliar.

I was used to sliced clothes or stained underwear during PE, got accustomed to the buckets of freezing wastewater they emptied over me all year round and grew familiar with the repugnant smell of vomit, feces and dead animals they placed in my bags when they were bored, but recording me while I relieved myself was too far, even for them.

"Hey don't be so prickly. We're having fun here."

"Yeah, stop being such a sourpuss Karuizawa!"

"JUST LEAVE ME ALONE ALREADY!"

"How long you wanna stay in that stall, anyway?"

"Let's pour water over her again!"

"You're right, it's been a while... Like two days?"

"Hanawa, where did you stash the bucket?"

"It's in the other restroom on the second floor. I'll grab it, so wait for me." One of the hovering phones vanished from my view as the girl jumped back down and dashed off without delay. The other group members were about to proceed with their ridiculing remarks when the door swung open yet again. "Tatsugashira-sensei is walking by."

They stopped recording and hopped off in unison.

Three of them locked themselves inside the remaining empty cabins next to mine and answered the call of nature while the others gathered around the sink and gossiped about the most disliked boys, the new line-ups from their favorite clothing brands or other matters adolescent middle-schoolers spoke about in their free time.

Should I run for it?

Ambushes like this weren't out of the norm, which was why I opted for the compartment that granted me the best chance to flee in case I was cornered. If I hurried, I could slip outside and follow the teacher, whose presence would stop them from harassing me - at least for now. Depending on their discontent with my actions, I might get beaten even worse later, but everything was better than being recorded in here.

I braced myself and reached forward.

The toilet paper I grabbed onto had a strange sticky texture, different to the expected soft structure I was familiar with. Due to the circumstances of their 'prank', I wasn't in the right headspace and couldn't discount the possibility that they colluded with the boys, which prompted me to jerk back in revulsion.

"EWW!"

My sudden, uncontrolled movements reached from my horror-stricken face all the way to my fingers, which still stuck to the roll that skidded off the holder. The following hysteric outburst was accompanied by multiple frenzied punches to keep the rancid syrupy substance far away from me.

One of these hits connected, much to my regret.

"NO!"

Another desperate shout left my lips once I recognized my mistake.

The first few sheets stuck to the ground because of the adhesive on the exterior, while the rest rolled towards the sinks. I lunged forward, tugged on the toilet paper that kept unwinding itself faster the harder I pulled it back and was about to detach the clean layers on one of the perforations when a cold palm gripped onto my wrist.

"Got you."

Her sinister voice was accompanied by an insufferable pain.

Kurihara tore at my hand - yanked me against the blue door until my lips cracked and bled. I cried, howled in anguish and begged the other girls to leave me alone as they began to stomp on my arm until I couldn't move it anymore.

"IT HURTS! STOP IT! PLEASE!"

"Damn, she really fell for it."

"God, what a moron."

"This is beyond hilarious! I can't..."

Laughter and similar insulting remarks drifted into my ears. Each impact increased my pained gasps and the desperate pleas that escaped my burning lungs during their assault. I struggled and fought against their relentless onslaught, but all my efforts in pulling my arm back into the stall were for naught.

"Hey, do you think she'll fit under?"

"There's only one way to know for sure."

""Yeah, let's go!""

"NO! SOMEONE HELP ME PLEASE!"

Tears and snot trickled down my chin as their hands reached beneath the door. They fumbled around until they found another body part to hold on to and pulled with all of their might. My head smashed into the wooden barrier multiple times while my anguished screams reverberated within the restroom's interior. The familiar but unpleasant taste of blood spread into my mouth, ran along the small crevices between my teeth and seeped through my sore throat.

"A pea-sized brain, eh? Karuizawa?"

Each jolt felt like the one that would tear my libs straight out of my shoulder. Every impact battered my face - bruised and wrecked my features until I wondered whether my parents would still recognize me if I survived this day.

My desperate appeals never stopped.

But none of them cared.

They dragged my sluggish body over the tiles and through the opening underneath the door. The scratches and abrasions on my banged up frame worsened as one of the scrawnier girls climbed over and stomped my still exposed backside to push me outside. Another group stuffed around a dozen paper towels in my mouth to shut me up before they supported the others during their ongoing 'experiment'.

Against all odds, my head squeezed through.

But this was only the beginning - a small foretaste of the agony I was yet to experience.

Gashes and violet bruises formed on my rear and stomach following their continuous abuse. I wailed, howled and cried into the saliva soaked tissues, but their assault never stopped. They trampled over my bleeding back, shredded my torn clothes and pulled on my hair as if I was an old toy doll that was about to be thrown into the gutter.

"The great Karuizawa, beaten and humiliated."

"Quite a nice look you got there."

"Still consider yourself superior to us, huh?"

Joyous laughs echoed through the restroom.

"We asked you a question, you damn arrogant bitch." Kurihara's shoe buried itself deep in my aching stomach. "Didn't your parents tell you how to behave in front of people? Maybe you just need another lecture by yours truly?"

Every word was followed by an impact.

My sore body, which was about to slump forward from the pain, got yanked back up. Kurihara and her friends towered over me and stared down at my pitiful presence as if I was little more than a disgusting insect that had crossed her path.

A weaker person would have given up by now.

But I swore to never grant them their satisfaction.

"Well, if you don't reply, you have no right to complain."

The girls took turns slapping and kicking me.

Most of them focused on my stomach area, while the others battered my face. They punched my gut until I puked, pounded my aching breasts and struck my sides, which began to change color from all the impacts they had to endure.

I collapsed, cried and begged them to stop.

And every time they pulled me up on my hair.

What had I done wrong to deserve this treatment?

Why couldn't they understand that I never meant them harm?

How could this cursed world be so unfair to me?

The collisions that rattled my brain were so intense that I lost my orientation for a few seconds. My head snapped to the left and jerked to the right as soon as another hit connected with my cheek. They giggled and ridiculed me while my field of vision altered between the locked stall door and the copper-colored metal pipes in the engine room.

Deafening whacking sounds trembled along the machinery as my whole body whipped back and forth. Morofuji's glasses kept reflecting my miserable past self every time she slammed her flat palm into my red face.

"Ha. Hahaha. This is fun! Hahahaha."

She, just like the others, grew accustomed to the convenient punching bag that couldn't defend itself. Beating the crap out of me seemed to be quite compelling, according to their delighted expressions. Contrary to my own thoughts, I didn't become stronger - hadn't outgrown my middle-school tormentors.

I was still the same deplorable insect.

A parasite that wouldn't survive on its own.

"S-s-s-stop it! P-please."

Deep inside, I was used to the discomfort - familiar with the numbness of my reddened skin after their strikes. Each slap was more painful than the last, but none of them came close to the anguish I had experienced on that ruinous day. I was unable to hold my tears, the reflexive pleas for mercy and the troubled screams, but I had survived worse situations.

How was this cruel treatment warranted?

Why escalate a simple push to such a point?

Was my way of keeping up appearances wrong?

Was I at fault for not wanting to endure this again?

Satou and Matsushita would never understand my hardships. None of them could relate to the harrowing feeling of being mistreated. They couldn't remember the stomps on their hands, wouldn't feel the texture of their soles to this day and weren't capable of comprehending that my whole life had been nothing but an unfortunate series of events.

Would my past catch up to me now?

Despite the school giving me a chance?

Tears streamed down my pulsating face as the girl grabbed my bangs and thrust me back against the wall as hard as she could. Morofuji stopped her assault on my burning cheeks and began to target different spots beneath my uniform before she invited Manabe and Yajima to join her in this endeavour.

"You were right, Shiho-chan! She's not scary at all!"

"I told you, didn't I? Let's make sure to enjoy this."

The three girls kept kicking and hitting me as they pleased.

None of them seemed to be satisfied with letting me suffer 'just this much'. I screamed and called out for help while they laughed and ridiculed me, but the heavy steel door that led into this prison never opened. Hirata, the one who had forsaken me despite his promise, wouldn't come to my rescue.

"P-pleawse... don't..."

They had stopped slapping my face in fear of leaving evidence and spat at me instead. A few drops trickled along my cheeks, nose and freshly washed hair, which carried the disgusting stench of their saliva. Manabe forced me to lick her shoes while the others kept kicking my breasts and stomach with unadulterated satisfaction.

How much longer would they keep this up?

This cruel, almost barbaric scene reached its climax once the recording time on the phone climbed up to half an hour. Morofuji and her two friends seemed more than satisfied with the outcome of this 'talk', their lips beaming at my silent, unmoving classmate, who had stopped screaming around the twenty-minute mark.

"Phew, that was refreshing!"

"Agreed! How are you feeling, Rika?"

"Much better! Thank you for this, Shiho-chan."

"Don't worry about it." Manabe stretched her tired arms and regarded the girl with a smile. "Someone's gotta protect you if you won't do it yourself, right? I doubt that she dares to bother you again after this beating, so our work here is done."

"Mh. Let's go back, I'm beat!"

"Wow, you are the worst..."

Three cheerful laughs, a handful of shrewd remarks and a strengthened companionship between the actors closed the curtains on this troublesome incident on a positive note for all involved Class C students as they ambled towards the exit.

Morofuji managed to work through her anxieties and looked forward to their remaining time at this school, free from the shackles that Karuizawa's presence had coiled around her. Manabe buried her petty grudge against my classmate after forcing our proud gyaru into such a shameful state, whereas Yajima had procured a recording that could be valuable for multiple factions, even though she hadn't realized this herself.

A perfect ending - or that's what they had hoped.

"Ha. Hahaha. This is fun! Hahahaha."

"S-s-s-stop it! P-please."

The smiles of all three girls contorted.

""What?""

"Huh?"

Their previous carefree movements froze as all color drained from their faces. Regret flashed through Manabe's quivering eyes while Morofuji's knees began to tremble in horror. She was the most affected after hearing her own voice - listened to this distorted version of her usual kind presence, which would remain as an everlasting reminder of her wickedness.

Her legs gave in, chaining her to the ground.

Yajima, albeit startled, was the calmest out of the bunch. She was the only one who realized that the sounds came from a direction none of them would have expected. Following her perception, she turned around and glared at Karuizawa.

Above..?

I tilted my sore, aching head and peered at a speaker that had been taped to the ceiling. The black device was about the size of a shampoo bottle, which made it difficult to distinguish from the support beams if one wasn't paying attention.

Who..?

"What did you do?"

Me..?

"Hehehe...hahaha..."

A weak chuckle escaped my lips.

Maybe now they'd be punished.

Wouldn't that be great?

I couldn't help but be amused by her ghastly complexion, despite the dull pain that flickered through my chest. Neither the dry, painful coughs nor the queasy feeling in my stomach were enough to stop me from laughing to my heart's content after noticing their apprehension. My situation might have been awful, but theirs was even worse.

This school differed from traditional ones.

Yamauchi vanished from one day to the next, similar to the Class C delinquents who had been eliminated by Matsushita. There was no second chance - no coming back from an expulsion once decided. Those girls wouldn't be able to talk themselves out of this mess if this recording was handed over to a teacher.

With any luck, I could keep my secret.

"Answer me, you damn -"

Her angry remark was cut short as she took note of two muffled steps that originated from the far end of the room. She spun around and stared into the dark corner, similar to the rest of us, but no one appeared. Manabe, who had been strangely silent for some time, clenched her fists and walked closer towards her friends.

"Show yourself."

Once again, someone moved.

A figure clad in black stepped out of the shadows.

His facial features were obscured by a mask with no unique characteristics, aside from the holes that sheltered two unsympathetic violet will-o'-wisps. He appeared quite intimidating, with even his hands covered by thin gloves, but also somewhat silly since his jacket seemed to be half a size too large.

Yajima took a step back once their gazes met.

"You damn coward! What do you want for the recording, huh? That's why you showed up after we were done with her, right? To make a deal that benefits you? We don't have many points because of Ryuuen, but if we pool them together -"

Manabe was unable to finish her sentence as the boy bolted forward and buried his knee in her stomach. Her friends, frozen in shock, flinched and watched the girl's desperate gasps for air as she slumped to the ground with an excruciating howl that eclipsed my own. The assailant grabbed her bangs and yanked her up, unaffected by the ear-shattering screams.

Tears and snot dribbled down her fear-stricken face as he continued his fierce assault. His leg vanished deep inside her abdomen once, twice, thrice and four times over. Every impact churned my insides because I understood through how much pain she was suffering. Each anguished wail caused an abundance of goosebumps that crept over my whole body as I peered into a pair of eyes that couldn't belong to a sane human being.

"Urgh!"

Multiple unpleasant retching sounds were followed by a loud, continuous splat as her lunch trickled onto the cold steel floor. The thread of translucent saliva snapped in half as he dumped Manabe's unmoving figure in her own vomit. None of her classmates helped or tried to run away, paralyzed by the boy's ruthless depiction of violence.

Morofuji trembled on the ground.

Her body was a lifeless shell that witnessed horrors she couldn't comprehend. Ryuuen might have been acknowledged as the most savage student in our year, but she was unable to deal with the image of her friend, whose face was forced into the yellowish substance while pieces of floating meat bumped against her nose.

Unlike them, I was familiar with such savagery.

I knew the pain of having my stomach turned inside out by punches, kicks or other impacts and recalled the horrid taste of vomit seeping along my throat. There was no way that I could ever forget the revolting sensation of my half digested food, which traveled up and down my esophagus as they kept tormenting me in a deserted corner of the school.

Despite this, I couldn't look into those cold orbs.

"No..."

Yajima broke out of her daze and ran towards the exit on her right. The boy, however, didn't move to prevent her from leaving. He tilted his head in wonder, almost as if he was watching her futile struggles with an amused expression and drove Manabe's face into her discharges by shifting his weight on her cheek.

"Why won't you open, damn it!"

She rattled on the handle, unable to escape.

Her horrified gaze wandered to the steel door through which the three had entered. She glanced at me in fear, peeked at the hooded monster that brutalized her classmate and dashed towards the only way out without a second thought.

"SOMEONE HELP -"

This decision was her biggest mistake.

The presence in the center of the room vanished behind one of the generators as soon as she moved. Her reaction to this sudden development was a high-pitched shriek, which was followed by a deafening bang that quashed her complaints.

A pair of eerie, calm steps broke the ensued silence before his intimidating figure came back into view. His hand gripped onto Yajima's hair as he dragged the dazed, groaning girl over the ground like a wet sack of rice until he discarded her in the puddle next to Manabe, causing specks of vomit to splash around the area.

Tears dripped along her cheek, and our eyes met.

"Please... stop... him... It hurts..."

Was she asking me?

The boy stopped in his tracks.

I knew her agony better than anyone.

My middle school tormentors have beaten me black and blue more times than I could count. They forced me to eat stuff that shouldn't be eaten, drove me to confess to people that were disgusting and pressured me into other things I wasn't proud of. But they continued, despite my anxious pleas for mercy.

None of them cared.

So why would I?

He stepped over her writhing body and slammed his foot into her stomach. Morofuji's pale frame trembled with every jolt and scream these impacts caused as she gazed at her friend, who was unable to defend herself from this madness.

Should I feel sorry for their misfortune?

No - they deserved this misery.

Yajima gagged and was about to puke when the man stepped on her right shoulder, pressing her against the ground. He bent over, clutched her forehead and forced the girl to look at him as she began to choke on her own vomit. Her frame shook and her shivering arms moved. She slapped against his leg, not to hurt him, but to beg for mercy.

If he kept this up, she would die.

Even I knew that.

So why...?

Why would he keep watching?

How could he think so little of her?

Horrible people wandered this world, but I had never seen someone this callous. I would have understood the beating Manabe received if he was angry for my sake, or if he had been the one they tormented, but his arctic violet orbs while he suffocated Yajima were void of anything that resembled a human emotion.

Irritation, resentment or jealousy were sentiments I had observed often whenever my schoolmates decided to vent their frustration on me, but this apathy - this cruel, inhuman detachment and disregard for a person's life wasn't normal.

My whole body shook in terror.

I have to get out of here.

This is insanity...

A light, almost inaudible whimper escaped my lips the second I tried to prop myself up. The stabs of pain that shot through my bruised joints was too intense and forced me to the ground, where I found myself incapable of moving.

Yajima's pitiful attempt at retaliation weakened before her motionless arm sank. He rolled her trembling body to the side and kicked her back until she began to wheeze. Wet coughs rippled through the stagnant vomit on the steel flooring as the girl puked, mixing the existing yellow substance with an additional light green.

With this, only one person remained unharmed.

Morofuji had realized this as well.

"No... please - don't. I..."

The figure squatted in front of her and moved his index finger towards his concealed lips. His uncaring, lifeless spheres shifted and stopped on me. Dread crept along my bruised frame as he stood up and strode to his previous hiding place.

Manabe, the first victim, still squirmed, unable to move despite this potential chance to escape. Yajima was in a similar condition, occupied with catching her breath after almost choking on her vomit. Their quivering, unharmed companion was so out of it that she sat around in silence, while I couldn't leave due to the intense pain that assaulted my muscles every time I tried to get back on my feet.

Would I be next?

I wasn't a stranger to despair, but this was different.

Could I latch onto him to save myself?

Hirata had already abandoned me.

Without his prestige, I might not keep my place in our hierarchy, but I was friends with Matsushita and Ayanokouji, who managed to eclipse me in terms of popularity after the incident with Sudou and our week on the island. Losing his support wouldn't kick me too far down the social ladder - if he kept quiet about my secret.

The only one who could stop him was in this room.

I could never put my trust in someone else because of Hirata's heartless betrayal. Our leader was more than capable of keeping him from spilling my secrets, but I wasn't brave enough to entrust her with my past and, therefore, my future.

Not after today...

Our jailer returned with a roll of duct tape, walked to Morofuji and tied up her limbs before he repeated this procedure for the remaining Class C students. He dragged the group of three outside the engine room and into the corridor to my right, to which Yajima had tried to escape before he shut the door and strode up to me.

"Are you okay, Karuizawa?"

This hushed question floated along her smooth earlobes as I sat down and observed my classmate's widened amethysts. Her trembling lips fluttered open and closed just as fast, unable to accept that this all too familiar voice hid beneath the woolen mask of the person who had tormented and traumatized three schoolmates in front of her eyes.

"A-ayanokouji-kun..?"

She must have been scared to death.

Hirata's apparent betrayal caught her off-guard and sent my gyaru into a downward spiral of doubt, fear and uncertainty. The beating she received from our friends in Class C reopened old scars and dragged her further into the dark crevice in which I had lured her. Then, just as she thought that she had survived this ordeal, someone even worse entered the scene.

The unknown assailant was brutal, ruthless, and cold.

Her anxieties kept climbing with each step towards them, similar to the disturbing memories of her past, which intensified every time my leg smashed into one of the girls. Karuizawa might not have been the victim, but she felt these impacts as though they violated her own body - dreaded the possibility that her turn would come once theirs had ended.

Everything was lost.

That was the conclusion she had drawn...

... until the monster opened its maw.

Confusion began to cloud her thoughts because of the face that popped into her mind once she heard my soothing voice. Reality and expectation were so far apart that her brain stopped processing the inputs it received. The truths, which she believed to be facts, clashed and paralyzed her slender body as I took off the mask.

Her pent-up unease vanished with a snap.

The pressure that had been weighing on her afflicted psyche was blown away when she realized that the person she had feared the most meant her no harm. She lifted her stiff, shaking arms and snaked them around my broad, reassuring frame before she nuzzled into my comfortable shoulder.

"It's really you, Ayanokouji-kun! Hirata-kun, he -"

"Shh... it's fine, you're safe now. Calm down first."

I accepted her embrace and bit into the glove to keep it in place while my hand slipped out. My gentle palm cupped the back of her head and caressed through the smooth, spit covered hair to soothe her distressed heart. Warm tears trickled into the borrowed jacket, coating the microscopic strings of fabric that squeezed against my clothes.

"It's okay to cry... I'm here for you..."

She was familiar with the cruelty of humans - no stranger to the violence and other extreme scenarios that would have disgusted or disturbed a sheltered person who grew up in the daylight of this twisted world, which caused all the qualms about my inhuman actions and her volatile condition to fade into the background as she caught sight of a friend.

For a moment, at least.

"Wow..." My classmate sniveled, pulled away to put some distance between us and wiped her glimmering eyes. "You are racking up quite the batch of prince charming points with your behavior." A faint laugh slipped her glistening, wet lips. "That's also one of the commandments, so don't forget this lesson, Ayanokouji-kun!"

"Forget something you taught me? I wouldn't dare."

Karuizawa nodded and regarded my statement with her usual smile, but her attitude around me had changed. Despite her best efforts, she couldn't stop throwing glances at my contours whenever my torso moved. This subtle shift in conduct was an expected transformation for my battle-hardened bishop, who kept suffering at the hands of her tormentors.

She was wary, but didn't intend to voice her concerns.

"Sorry that you had to see this."

"No, it's okay... I mean, we all have secrets, right?"

Her crude attempt to dismiss my actions was ill-conceived because she had difficulties deciding on how she wanted to deal with me from now on. Class D's endangered parasite knew that I held all the cards in this confrontation, but she believed that she had a good chance to walk away scot-free since I seemed to cherish our friendship.

"I suppose that's true. Still, seeing me like this must have been uncomfortable for you. What I did isn't something you can just forget, especially with how harsh I was with Yajima, so I wanted to apologize. The following words might not help, but I need you to know that I never planned on hurting them enough to threaten their life. I'm well aware of how much she would have been able to survive and made sure that she wouldn't have lasting physical damages."

Concern flashed through her swollen spheres.

"D-did Matsushita-san tell you to do that?"

This was the last remaining way out after being face-to-face with a version of Ayanokouji Kiyotaka she couldn't classify. My girlfriend had proven that she would retaliate to attacks without mercy in case someone dared to force her hand. Compared to her, I had never displayed such severe changes in my behavior, which led my shrewd bishop to the rationalization that I carried out external orders with her blessing.

"Chiaki?"

A gentle expression appeared on my lips.

The strange, questioning tone confused my piece, but she still held onto the notion that I might take the bait and swallow the lie she had crafted to support my escape. She took great pride in her instincts, even though they seemed to have let her down in Hirata's case, and was assured that no one but me decided to brutalize our two schoolmates.

"She's just a puppet who's losing her value."

"W-what..?"

"Come on... you're not that dumb, Karuizawa."

Her eyes widened in horror.

My tone hadn't changed, but she understood that this present 'me' differed from the Ayanokouji Kiyotaka she knew and appreciated as a friend. She bounced away in fright, crawled backwards and bumped against one of the four cold steel walls which trapped her in this room, together with the monster she dreaded.

"W-who are you?"

"That's an insanely stupid question."

"N-no, I d-didn't mean -"

"Shh..." I pulled off my second glove and stashed the pair inside my pockets. "You don't need to explain yourself." My fingertips caressed over her smooth skin, whereupon she averted her gaze. "It's no surprise that you are confused."

Karuizawa's lithe body convulsed in terror.

All her remaining questions and the doubts she had harbored resolved themselves as she stared into my lifeless eyes. Her mesmerizing amethysts shook, devoured by the void that seeped through the colored contacts. My bishop's skittish pupils constricted - flashed to the side whenever our gazes entwined - horrified by the emptiness they gazed upon.

"Why are you doing this?"

"What do you think?"

"You are just like those other perverts, aren't you?" Tears trickled down her chin as she bit her lip in frustration. "Is that the reason you keep touching me, huh?" She grabbed my hand and yanked it away in disgust. "Because you want my body?"

My vile spheres conveyed neither lust nor anger.

She couldn't unravel my hollow stare and voiced an assumption that was born through the glances of her male classmates and other boys who showed interest in her objectively pleasing physical features. Their unwanted looks must have been nauseating and fear-inducing, even more so with her twisted past in mind.

"Do you enjoy it? People treating you like this?"

"Are you crazy? Who would want that?"

"So you don't?" My fingertips rubbed over her smooth, moist lips. "Is it wrong to assume that you take pleasure in being spit on, beaten and touched in indecent places when you can't even voice a proper denial? Wouldn't a victim fight these unwanted advances instead of letting it play out with a defiant look?"

"I HATE IT AND YOU ARE JUST AS DESPICABLE!"

Karuizawa acknowledged my unfair question and ran her mouth, shedding all restraints. If we had been on equal footing in physical strength, information or popularity, she would have shaken me off and might have tried to push me away, but I was no longer an individual she could provoke without facing severe repercussions.

"Mh, I doubt that my girlfriend would agree."

"That makes you even worse!"

Her sweet lips voiced multiple weak-willed complaints about my approaches as a substitute for her body, which couldn't deny the fingertips that brushed along her silky smooth skin. Putting the video aside, she could neither go to Hirata, the one who had discarded her, nor would she ask Matsushita for help, because she was the woman whose boyfriend did those unspeakable things to her. My poor, quivering gyaru had to comply if she wished to keep the status quo.

"Spread your legs."

Tears streamed down her face as she peered at my smile.

This contradiction of words and gestures wasn't something she was prepared to deal with. Karuizawa, who had suffered more than anyone else, was unable to understand how a person could grow into such a twisted abomination. Yet, despite these thoughts, she held onto her conviction. The immovable will she had displayed in the face of Manabe and her two companions remained steadfast as she glared at me in unadulterated disgust.

She pushed her legs apart with a quiet whimper.

"Just get it over with and leave me alone..."

Her spiteful voice turned cold and robotic.

My callous complexion didn't change as she revealed her white panties, which were decorated with a light pink waistband. I examined her watery eyes and the tips of her teeth before she bit down on her lower lip. These pathetic, disgruntled, and resentful reactions were similar to Kikyou's attitude back then.

Would another distorted love develop?

Or was Karuizawa my second chance?

"You should treasure yourself more."

"Eh?"

The teardrops, which had dwindled the moment she accepted her fate, began to pour down her adorable cheeks as she felt my palm patting along the top of her head. I pinned her left foot against my right one and moved her legs back together, closing the gap she had formed in compliance with my instructions.

"That's something only your special person should see."

A gentle smile emerged on my face as I ran my fingers through her hair and tucked a few loose strands behind her ear. She was taken aback by my change in demeanor to where her lips began to tremble. Her mouth opened and closed, similar to a stranded fish that kept fighting for its survival.

"What are you..?"

This was all she could muster.

I fetched my phone and navigated to the gallery to display a list of all pictures and videos I had taken. Her eyes followed my right index finger, which selected the newest media file to play. She stared at the screen as I kept fast-forwarding through the recording to assure her that I had proof of everything the three girls did.

"Why are you showing me this?"

"Because I believe in Karuizawa Kei."

Following those words, I tapped the corner whereupon a menu popped up. My classmate's confusion increased as I handed her my phone and opened the last dialogue, which asked her whether she wanted to delete the file.

"You are a precious friend to me. I learned that you were bullied in middle school around May, but I kept this information a secret from everyone because it wasn't my story to tell. We might not be as close as I am with Chiaki or you seem with Satou, but I'm thankful that you were one of my initial acquaintances here."

Bewilderment clouded her almonds.

Doubts and discomforting thoughts spun around like a vinyl - an overture of sounds and feelings she could not fathom. Uncertainty emerged in her scattered mind, followed by questions she was unqualified to answer. My bishop must have pondered about the meaning of my previous actions and contemplated my relationship with Chiaki while I drowned her remaining capacity with an appalling truth and an opportunity she would never have expected.

"What am I supposed to do with this?"

She gazed at my phone, lost for words.

Karuizawa had never known genuine kindness.

The people in her life fell into three general categories, depending on their notions about her. First were the ones who gathered around her due to her popularity or comparable qualities. They were similar to herself in that regard, as they tried to increase their reputation or acceptance in our primitive social structure by latching onto their superior.

Second in line were the people who disliked her.

This group span from the girls badmouthing her right now to the individuals that kept tormenting her in middle school. Karuizawa meant no harm, but she spoke and acted in a manner that was easy to misunderstand. She was often mean-spirited and displayed an aversion to the likes of Sotomura and Ike to protect the false persona she had constructed, which led to misconceptions about her overall behavior, even outside of our class.

The remaining students didn't feel any special way about her.

Hirata was an outlier due to the burden he had to carry and would have mimed the boyfriend for any girl that asked him for help, as long as her reason was compelling enough. Their relationship was tainted from the start, since Karuizawa flocked to him in order to boost her popularity, whereupon she realized that his unlimited kindness could be exploited.

Satou and Chiaki were friends she could not yet grasp.

Her past trauma prevented her from moving forward - forced her to sort both of our classmates into the first group of people in her life. She couldn't believe that someone would appreciate her company without strings attached because of all the abuse and backstabbing she had endured during her time in junior high.

I used her agony to drive my agenda.

"Why don't you decide for yourself?"

Karuizawa's puzzled gaze alternated between me and the phone I gave her. She was overwhelmed and kept searching for a hidden plan, a trap I might have set to harass or torment her. The anguish she went through in her youth was so awful that it caused a mild form of PTS, which had been triggered by Manabe, Morofuji and Yajima.

Their punches, kicks and slaps must have been painful, but they never warranted screams like hers. They were induced by something invisible and far more sinister. The uninformed often discounted the intensity of these horrible, distressing flashbacks that plagued the victim because they couldn't comprehend how it felt to relive one's worst nightmare.

But I understood.

The children in the White Room never had a chance. I saw their sanity crumble, wither away as their bodies convulsed. Their will to live was shaved off, layer by layer, until nothing but a hollow husk remained. One by one, they broke apart, lost their value as 'research' and were thrown aside. Some decayed slower than others, but the outcome persisted.

It would have been easy to use the evidence I procured to force Karuizawa into submission. Her strong mentality alone couldn't protect her from the repercussions once her secret was leaked. Confronting her as an enemy was wasted time, since it was more effective to let her pain work to my advantage.

Aside from this, there was one additional reason.

I wanted to see how far I could corrupt her.

"You knew about the bullying?"

"Yes, your reaction to Chabashira's harsh verbal beating in May betrayed a related inherent trauma. After taking Hirata's self-sacrificial nature and my previous doubts about you into consideration, I concluded that your relationship was a charade to increase your popularity, which would make it improbable that your past repeated itself."

Karuizawa was astonished by my analysis and gazed at the ground as if she was caught stealing cookies. The revelation that an unrelated party knew about everything the two of them did was uncomfortable, but she appeared to be relieved rather than dismayed. My honesty demonstrated that she seemed to be the one in control of our conversation.

"It's kinda scary how accurate that is..."

"Sorry..."

Her lips formed a faint smile as I scratched my cheek.

"I also think of you as a friend. You protected my secret and never demanded a compensation for your silence." She grit her teeth and tapped the power button without deleting the picture before handing me the phone. "That's why I've decided that I wish to put my trust into Ayanokouji-kun as well."

"Are you sure?"

"Mh, it's too late to change my mind now."

"I can unlock it again if you want to reconsider?"

"Baka..." Her adorable chuckle faded as she leaned her head against the wall and stared up the ceiling. "But this speaker must be yours then, right..?" A hint of apprehension reflected in her amethysts as she remembered an important fact she had overlooked due to her muddled emotions. "You learned about the trap and prepared all of this in advance..."

My classmate was far from stupid, but she wasn't equipped to keep all these intricacies on her mind with this much going on. I kept forcing her to adjust her emotional state from one moment to the next while she was haunted by fear and carried into comfort, just to be thrown back into the darkness she felt so familiar with.

"It's natural to assume that I either lured you into this ambush or did nothing to help you, despite my knowledge, which would lead you to the wrong conclusion. I heard snippets of the audio recording Manabe played and inferred that Hirata must have talked to you after I told him about your disputes with the Class C girls."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"We both know that he didn't betray you or you wouldn't have trusted him with your past. He wasn't keen on helping you, because you pushed Morofuji, but he would never have sold out his classmates. When I talked to him to confirm my hypothesis, he was still looking for a way to keep everyone happy, as he always does."

The faint, distraught expression she had worn the whole time faded after those words entered her ears. Her subconscious was aware that her fake boyfriend hadn't abandoned her, but the voice in her head convinced her of the opposite. All the hints she found pointed to him being their informant, so she had no choice but to accept this as the truth.

"So it wasn't him after all..."

"With this, only a few viable suspects came to mind. I began my initial investigation with the most obvious candidates and discovered that a certain 'friend' of yours had dealings with Ryuuen behind our backs. She must have hidden her phone inside your cabin to gather more intelligence and happened to record your conversation. Class C's leader wouldn't have been privy to these arguments, which was why she contacted Manabe and sold her the information for private points."

"Why? I don't see a reason for doing this."

"Because she has nothing to lose by working with them. Most of us are low on funds, despite moving up the hierarchy. There are a few exceptions like Hirata, Suzune and Chiaki, but our remaining classmates endured with the help of the free meals and the emergency relief supplies in the stores. She saw an easy way to stock up on resources and took the chance."

"Isn't the risk too high? If Matsushita-san found out -"

"What if that isn't a concern? You, of all people, should understand how harsh the bottom of the social ladder is. Don't tell me that you have never thought about paying your oppressors back for the awful things they did to you. Picture a person not yet bullied, but still disliked by most of our classmates, including some of the most important actors. Imagine being less smart, not as attractive to the general population, and having a lower sense of self-worth. Wouldn't such a deplorable individual betray their own class for recognition from someone like Ryuuen?"

Karuizawa remained silent.

I didn't know how far the people in her middle school went, but it was enough to develop PTS, which confirmed that she survived at the brink of the tolerable. She was primed - in a perfect state to immerse herself in this hypothetical scenario.

Her mental fortitude was exceptional, but she must have been at her lowest point at least once in her life. Cursing this wicked world - hoping that karma would take its inevitable course to sentence the ones who had wronged her.

If she was honest with herself, the answer would be...

"Yes."

"A few hours ago, she went to see Hirata and convinced him to lure you here under the pretense that she wanted to cheer you up. We established that he wouldn't doubt a classmate, so he saw nothing wrong with inviting you here. Right now she should be alone in your cabin, or meeting with friends, knowing that you are being tortured by Manabe."

"No... this can't be. Who would..?"

"You already know. Trust your instincts."

Only one person fit all the criteria to be the mole, and Karuizawa must have worked through the most probable suspects while she tried to prove Hirata's innocence. She wasn't on my level in terms of intelligence and knowledge, but she could put the puzzle pieces without a doubt. I affirmed her confidence in her false boyfriend and left enough breadcrumbs to guide her to the conclusion she needed to arrive at.

Because it was the truth, in certain aspects.

"The traitor... is it really Shinohara?"

"She was angry when you had my back during our confrontation on the first day. Her apology during dinner was a farce to save face and lull every involved party into a false sense of security. She stole your panties and stashed them in my bag, hoping that one of the boys would rat me out, but she couldn't have expected that Hirata found your underwear and kept the secret. He informed Chiaki about this discovery to figure out their next steps, which led my girlfriend to accuse Ibuki, since Suzune's loose description fit both girls."

"W-wait a minute."

Karuizawa held up her hands, prompting me to stop.

This wasn't a strange reaction after receiving such a barrage of new information. She hadn't known that multiple such interconnected schemes had taken place at the same time and was shocked by all the secrets everyone carried.

"That's the reason she kept pushing so much during your accident, isn't it? Shinohara knew that the evidence was in your bag since that she had planted it. But for what? To ruin your reputation? Break our friendship? Endanger your relationship with Matsushita? If she was after you, then why didn't you reveal that she was the thief?"

"I had no proof and it would have damaged the class." My thumb rubbed along my index finger, betraying nervousness. "It's the same now. She contacted everyone with an anonymous number, which leaves me unable to connect her to these misdeeds. You had to endure this misery, because I needed evidence to stop Manabe and her group from acting against you ever again. I apologize for the way all of this played out."

"Why did you threaten me then?"

"Shinohara is a traitor, Hirata has a dark past and my girlfriend is working with a senior whose objective I don't know. You protected your image, and I withheld my abilities. I love Chiaki and I trust her as far as our relationship goes, but I can't let an outsider steer our ship. We all have our secrets and I need someone I can depend on. My approach was clumsy, but I couldn't come up with a better solution to force you into revealing your hidden ace, in case you had one."

"Matsushita-san is what..?"

Her reaction revealed her prior knowledge about our knight in shining armor. She fell into a daze, unable to handle all the information I fed her. Karuizawa trusted me to a certain degree, but some of my claims were so outrageous that she had difficulties believing them - until tomorrow, that is.

"Would you help me protect this class?"

"Me?" She shook her head. "I'm just a..."

"... self-appointed parasite?"

The girl's eyes quivered.

"How did you -"

"It's a painful remnant from back then, isn't it? The thought that you are an insect, not worth paying attention to? That's the reason you clashed with Rika and keep looking down on guys like the Professor. You don't want to appear weak in front of your so-called 'friends', because you know how much it hurts - how unfair everything is."

"I..." Tears gathered in her radiant spheres as my calm voice resonated through the room. "It didn't matter whether I cried or defended myself. They continued tormenting me, their chosen victim, until they were satisfied. Day by day, I suffered and complained, but no one ever cared about the pain I felt."

She began to weep and wiped her tears.

"You still think of yourself as unworthy and you will remain trapped in this cruel veil if you don't change course. There is nothing wrong with starting out as a parasite, but you need to grow in order to prosper like the flower you could have bloomed into. Manabe was jealous, Rika intimidated and Yajima envied you. Your predominance over those girls scared them into a collaboration to keep you contained - same as your tormentors in middle school."

Her watery eyes distorted.

"They put tacks in my shoes or stuffed my desk full of roadkill. I'd get splashed with dirty water in the bathroom and even outside when no one saw. My classmates wrote 'whore', 'slut' and other insults on my uniform and kicked me until I puked. I viewed myself as a pitiful loser that had been bullied all her life... all just because of jealousy?"

"Cruel, isn't it?" I reached out to Karuizawa and pulled her close. "Despite all of this, you prevailed." My fingers slid along her velvety cheeks as she gazed into my bottomless pits. "We both survived horrors none of our classmates would dare to imagine. You must have seen it - the darkness similar to yours - the reason I put my faith in you. A connection only we share with each other. Become my parasite and evolve until you can stand on your own feet."

""I just want a normal life.""

One simple wish, spoken by two different people.

With this she understood me, the strange boy who leaned back and stared into her amethysts. The things I said to her were more than empty words - they were promises, binding us together if she trusts me with her future.

"How... would this work?"

"On the surface, nothing has to change. We remain friends, and you can stay with Hirata if you still require the relationship with him. He would never dirty his hands, but I won't shy away from violence if it is necessary to protect you. The only courtesy I ask in return is absolute loyalty."

"What do you mean by that?"

"There will be tasks I need you to do, which might lead you into a tough spot. If anyone dares to threaten you, then you notify me. I don't care if it's a class leader, the chairman of this school, the president of a major cooperation or the prime minister of Japan. You come to me. You always tell me everything, and I guarantee your safety."

Karuizawa leaned against the wall.

Weighing her options was no menial task. She had a lot to think about and more to consider. If she needed time, I wouldn't push her into making a hasty decision. For this to work, she had to be on board with my arrangements.

Even though she had no choice.

The illusion was enough.

Was this the right choice?

My quivering fingers hovered over the handle.

Ayanokouji gave me time and all the information I needed to make the best possible decision for myself and the person I would like to be in the future. He was patient, answered every question I had about our arrangement and assured me that I could turn back whenever I wanted as long as I kept his secrets.

I never had this much freedom.

Neither in middle school nor here.

The choices I made were forced onto me by my surroundings. If my tormentors left our classroom in one direction, then I had to escape towards the only remaining option to increase my chances of not running into them. Even now I had to keep up appearances and mingle with people I couldn't care less about to maintain the image of Karuizawa Kei.

"Why am I still hesitating..?"

All options were available to me.

"Ahh, mouu! I did it again!"

Realizing my mishap, I blushed.

'The way you talk to yourself when you are alone is adorable, but you should try to deal with this bad habit before it spells trouble for you. This time it was fine because only I listened, but you never know who else might lurk around the corner.'

Alright, I got this!

I slapped my cheeks, loosened my ponytail and stashed the light-blue scrunchy in my blazer. The machine room didn't feature a mirror, so I had to style my hair with my phone's front facing camera, which was quite the hassle.

"Phew..."

After another deep breath, I slipped into the gloves.

Manabe and her friends shuddered as I opened the door and were rather relieved once they realized that I wasn't the masked man who had whipped them into shape. Their mocking expressions from before were nowhere to be found, replaced by fearful grimaces. Three pairs of eyes stopped on the black fabric, prompting them to beg for mercy.

"Wait, please!"

"We didn't mean it like that. Let's -"

The shouts of the beige-haired girl echoed within the enclosed walls of the corridor. I swallowed the fear that lingered in my quivering heart and dragged her over the floor until we arrived at the puddle she and Yajima created.

'Do you know why I beat them up to such a degree?'

'No... not for certain, at least.'

'Ryuuen uses violence to control his class and we can do the same on a smaller scale. Going easy on them might have made them angry and they could have tried to retaliate against you... But like this? They will never forget how much they suffered at your hands and won't dare to bother you ever again. With this in mind, what do you need to do?'

"'You really are a damn idiot, aren't you?'"

I grabbed my phone and played a familiar recording.

"Yeah, this girl keeps bothering me the whole time because of her friend. So what if I pushed her? I will not apologize. It's this Rika girl's fault that she stood in the way. How come you are taking her side in all of this, huh?"

"What? How did you..?"

"'Slow much? It's not like I've sent you that damn audio twice or anything. Your beating kinda hurt more than expected, but I needed leverage over you, so I had my friend return the favor to even us out. Thing is, you've been really pissing me off with making me lick your shoes and all that, y'know?'" I sat on the chair Ayanokouji carried inside and folded my legs. "'Those are your stomach contents, so suck them up.'"

'It might be uncomfortable, but you have to show them that you pulled the strings all along. I recorded the confrontation with Manabe, so you can use this to make her think that you were the anonymous source. You don't need to be as violent as 'your friend in the black mask', but she and her companions have to believe the lie.'

"No. This kind of thing -"

"'Sorry, can't hear you.'" I placed my foot on her head and pushed her into the pool of vomit. "'You should know that I'm not the sort of person you say no to without facing repercussions. Contrary to that brute Ryuuen, I don't enjoy dirtying my hands, but I wouldn't mind calling my associate back if you prefer his gentle touch.'"

Did they really deserve this treatment?

I knew how it felt to be on the receiving end and wished for them to be punished, but I wasn't sure if this was the right course of action. Ayanokouji presented this proposal, and I was the one who agreed. He said that the recording would keep them silent even without this play and that we could proceed the way I preferred.

So why did I dirty my hands now?

Kurihara, Manabe, Yajima, Morofuji, Shinohara and the other girls who took pleasure in tormenting me were all the same. They had been the ones looking down on me while I thought of myself as an insect. Worm, cockroach, annoying fly... I've been called these things, and more during the countless hours they kicked, slapped and tortured me.

That's the reason, wasn't it?

Wanting to know how it feels...

Just this once...

I didn't want to be like them, despite their cruelty towards me. My attitude might be considered displeasing to some people, but I never provoked them on purpose. They attacked me while I only tried to defend myself. Tormenting them in return would be an exception, a onetime deal with the angel-winged devil.

It didn't take long until the girl complied.

The sounds she made were disturbing regardless of the familiarity I sensed. Her coughing churned my insides, as if the vomit was flowing down my own throat. I felt nauseous upon seeing her lips, from which the yellow-green substance trickled back onto the ground while she tried her best to hold this disgusting liquid in.

"'Good girl.'"

My legs carried me behind one of the machines.

Deep breaths escaped into my shaking hands.

How could they keep going all this time?

Deafening, mocking laughter whirled through my ears. Their inhuman eyes flashed in my vision as I recognized that those people felt not a single shred of remorse for the horrible things they did to me. No one understood my position in this cruel cycle. They never thought of me as a human, or they would have been as appalled by themselves as I am.

Maybe I should return the favor.

Just once...

With my resolve steeled, I strode back into the corridor, grabbed Yajima by her hair and yanked this insect towards her classmate. She gagged as soon as she saw her friend licking through the pool of vomit and averted her gaze.

"'Your phone, where is it?'"

"It's i-in my left p-pocket."

I retrieved the mobile device with a gentle expression.

"'Password?'"

"5819."

"Five... eight... one... nine..." The smile on my face was replaced with a frown as the dialogue displayed an error. "'And here I thought you would play nice.'" My fingers ran through her hair before I smashed her into the puddle next to her companion. "'Should we try this again?'"

A low howl slipped her stained lips.

"N-no, I didn't lie! Please... I swear."

"'Ah, seems I mistyped. What an unfortunate accident...'" I shook my head, feigning a sorry gesture. "'That aside, your friend here looks like she needs some help with her... task. You puked in there as well, so it's only fair if you lick up the other half. Make sure that the puddle actually decreases in size, so hold back on vomiting, ~kay?'"

I leaned into the chair and browsed her phone.

'Once you are done with Manabe, you'll have to handle Yajima. She already thinks that you arranged this ambush, so she shouldn't pose a problem. Get her cellphone and delete the recording she made. You still need one for later, so take mine and threaten them with it to keep their mouths shut.'

Ayanokouji thought everything through.

He differed from his usual self, but he was much more reliable this way. It was weird and flattering to be the only person who knew about this dark side of him, but I understood why he kept himself hidden. Neither Matsushita nor anyone else would understand that something in his past drove him to act in such a cold manner.

Only I did.

Him and I - we were not so different.

We experienced despair.

While I was stuck in this colorless abyss for years, he managed to climb out with his own strength. Those distant eyes had suffered through more than I could ever imagine. His pain lured me in, attracted me like a warm light source invited a swarm of moths. This allure wasn't rooted in romance or love, but a deep understanding no outsider could replicate.

Our misery allowed us to trust each other.

I glanced at the two insects and stood to get the third.

Mistreating them became easier after denying them their humanity. No one felt bad when they stepped on a disgusting bug or slapped a bothersome fly into a bloodstain on the wall because we didn't value their life as much. Thinking back on my past, all those girls must have thought the same about me.

Was this why Ayanokouji could remain so insensitive?

Wasn't this reasoning dangerous..?

No... at least not in our hands.

My tormenters placed themselves above people like us and deserved the same treatment in return. They chose to look down on me, to slap, kick and torture, while he only retaliated to their initial aggression. We just defended ourselves.

'Physical pain is one thing, but they knew about your past and exploited this weakness to let you suffer even more. Their actions were unfair, cruel, and heartless. None of them cared how much you had to endure as long as you felt miserable. And why? For pushing a girl who daydreamed in a line? Because they were jealous of Machida's decision?'

He was right...

They were the monsters.

"Ahhhh!"

Morofuji's screams were louder than the ones of her friends. In contrast to the others, she hadn't been beaten up, wasn't weakened by the pain and never felt the despair they grew familiar with. She struggled and tried to wiggle out of the duct tape while I hauled her over the floor.

"Mou, shut up already!"

"U-ugh!"

The resistance her stomach offered was sickening.

I came to this high school, searching for a quiet life and the opportunity to enjoy the remaining years of my youth. Considering everything I endured, I wasn't asking for much. But even this small wish remained unfulfilled.

They brought this onto themselves.

"'You can stop struggling now. It won't hurt, but it will be very uncomfortable.'" I placed her on the ground and taped her lips to silence the irritating cries. "'The three of you had lots of fun, right? It's only fair to return the favor...'"

'All of this was supposed to be used for cleaning up after them, but you can use some of it. Just take one of the towels and drape it over her nose and mouth. She might squirm, so make sure that it doesn't slip while you dump the water in her face. Count to somewhere around five to ten and remove the cloth until she breathes again and repeat those steps.'

This world was wrong.

Muffled, violent screeches crept along the steel walls.

I'm not at fault.

Morofuji's drenched body trembled.

She did this to herself.

Manabe and Yajima stared at me in horror.

They are the monsters.

"Say, who's the prey now?"

Authors Note:

Never expected to need three months, but here we are.

I'm pretty happy with the chapter and don't regret spending so much time on it, even though I'm not sure how apparent the increase in quality is for the average reader. Waiting this long for a new part is frustrating, but you can't imagine how bothered I was by this insane delay.

My own pride played a big role since I kept noticing some of my writing flaws in the last two chapters, which were harder to address than expected. Not correcting these 'blemishes' is out of the question, considering my perfectionism regarding personal errors that caught my eye. With this in mind, I can only say sorry to the people who didn't notice a difference, and inform them that I won't stop trying to improve my skills, even if the chapter takes longer to finish.

The second reason was the sudden death of my mother in early November.

I had a pretty bad time, probably the worst few weeks in my entire life, but I guess that much of a reaction is normal if you lose a special person without a chance to prepare yourself. This lowest of lows got even worse when my cousin died from cancer just a few days later. He should have had about six more months, according to the doctors, but the metastases grew around 50% in a matter of hours, after which he passed away in his sleep.

Mentioning this should not be seen as an explanation, an apology, or a justification for the people who kept asking me for updates, but as a sign that I have mourned enough to where I can talk about it without falling back into a bad state.

On a more positive note, I crushed my finals despite everything.

Unfortunately, that also means being a functioning adult and having less time to write. I miss working on chapters during boring lessons now that I'm left with one hour if I sacrifice my break. There are the evenings, of course, even though it's difficult to be anything but 'motivated to be lazy' after a demanding day. *wink-wink*

Now, a quick FAQ to wrap things up ~

Q: Next chapter when?

A: As soon as it's ready.

- Word Count: 23090 / 108832 Characters

Released 28.01.2023

Chapter 34 - Trap

"Is it still fun, Morofuji?"

Anger, disgust, and ridicule tainted my unrecognizable voice.

The feral tremors of her delicate body intensified as I emptied the last bottle over the covered area on the girl's face. Her desperate yet futile attempts to shift her quivering torso to the side ended in failure because of my foot, which pressed her frame against the uneven ground, restricting her movements.

Horrendous, barely muffled screams resounded through the machine room while the excess water mixed with the yellow-greenish puddle. Manabe and Yajima kept their heads down and ran their tongues over the greasy floor to suck up their sickening vomit, instead of aiding their cherished friend.

These spineless worms filled my heart with contempt.

Just a few minutes ago, they enjoyed themselves at my expense — tortured me with wicked smiles and hollow, disfigured expressions to rouse the dreadful memories that haunted me to this day. But now they were too scared to glance at her when she begged them for help, terrified that they would be the next ones to suffer if they weren't obedient.

"Pathetic insects..."

The leg that pinned Morofuji to the deck rose, confusing the bug beneath it. Contrary to my previous thoughts, she didn't get up, nor did she struggle to break free. Maybe she predicted the reason for this sudden generosity and felt the vicious glare in my eyes deepen. A soft, estranged snicker rolled off my curved lips as I drove my shoe into her exposed abdomen.

None of you deserve my sympathy.

Not even the bare minimum of mercy.

You put me through the same hell.

It's only fair to return the favor.

My precious gyaru pushed the lingering doubts about her newfound conviction aside and waterboarded her schoolmate for fifteen excruciating minutes. She ignored the prepared scenario and taunted the group by using their own tasteless remarks against them. Her delightful smile widened with each cry of anguish she stripped Morofuji's quivering lips.

Hirata would have been shocked by her cruelty.

He could never comprehend the anxiety, the sorrow and the resentment she carried within her, despite his familiarity with the depravity of men. His pacifistic approach stemmed from the deep regrets about his past and the decisions he made in junior high. The intent behind his actions was pure, but the execution left much to be desired.

Unlike him, I marveled at her adaptability.

Her countenance improved the more she mistreated Manabe and her friends. The initial discomfort and her reluctance to pressure the Class C students into the repulsive substance warped into a bizarre acceptance as she began to convince herself that her conduct around these monstrosities was unavoidable after all the injustice she had endured.

The duration of the wretched girl's misfortune was only a fraction of what my parasite went through, but the qualitative differences in their approaches couldn't have been more distinct. Our victim sustained severe psychological damages due to the military grade torture she employed, which must have felt like hours of nonstop misery.

An untrained receiver — a mere teenager — wasn't equipped with the necessary mindset to survive such horrors without leaving permanent scarring that was impossible to recover from. The crumbling fragments of her tattered psyche broke apart and led to further deterioration of her already unstable mental condition.

Nightmares and panic attacks were only the beginning.

Unable to forget, she was going to spend the remainder of her stay in dread. This malicious spiral into the deepest depths of a human's emotional resilience established that their new owner held nothing sacred — instructed both Manabe and Yajima that disobeying any subsequent orders would be punished with a fate worse than death.

Morofuji Rika's trauma served as a final warning.

Karuizawa removed the drenched towel from her wet lips, provoking an unending stream of grievous coughs that echoed through the eerie engine room. Terror was etched into the feeble girl's pale, fear-stricken face, similar to the panic that reflected in the shuddering almonds of her petrified companions.

"Phew, that was refreshing!"

The emerging mocking smirk was accentuated by the cold glint in her otherwise breathtaking amethysts. A somber veil of darkness seeped through her distant gaze and exerted pressure on the two nervous lambs that could do nothing but wait for the imminent slaughter that might befall them after their classmate survived her methodical domestication.

My dark-square bishop didn't waver and wrapped her slender fingers around Morofuji's hair. This girl — her helpless prey — had lost the will to fight and only screamed out of a primal survival instinct that every living organism possessed. She regarded her friends with two misty spheres and groaned in pain as her face splashed into the repugnant puddle.

"'So...'" Karuizawa stepped on her head and pushed her deeper into the fetid liquid. "'Since you are all listening now, we should talk about your future. A swift expulsion is one option, but keeping you here grants me several advantages over Ryuuen and his merry band of delinquents that might prove useful in the upcoming special exams. There are, however, certain aspects in our newfound 'partnership' you need to keep in mind.'"

Her acting during this scene was spot on.

A gyaru's inherent haughty attitude, the ridiculing smirk and her commanding voice left no doubt that she was the one in charge of this whole composition. The most probable cause for this proficient performance was also the most disturbing:

She started to enjoy her new authority.

This perpetual satisfaction would creep up on her like a poisonous predator and allow the small, murky chasm in her heart to expand bit by bit, turning her essence into a dull, endless void that consumed and corrupted the 'good' in Karuizawa Kei until nothing but a deep, gaping abyss remained.

The cruel lecture continued and eventually concluded.

My classmate strolled up to my hiding place and grabbed the bag before she returned to her three prisoners. The girls flinched at the muffled thud that reverberated through the air, terrified of the atrocities that might follow. Morofuji's complexion darkened while the pair beside her started to whimper, assuming they were next in line.

"Stop crying. It's hella annoying." She bent over, reached inside and threw each of them a towel and some water. "'Clean up the floor and yourselves. I can't have you leave here with visible vomit stains and this loathsome stench. It doesn't need to be perfect, just enough to get you back into your rooms for a shower and some new clothes, understood?'"

""Y-yes!""

No one dared to disobey.

They followed her directives and wiped the deck, as well as their hair and face. The two girls I assaulted were fine with this arrangement, but their traumatized friend began to tremble in unadulterated horror after being forced to clean herself with a wet towel — the exact instrument that had been used to torture her.

Beads of fresh sweat trickled down her forehead.

"No... p-please..."

Morofuji's respiration grew erratic.

Her urgent gasps were preceded by a sudden increase in heart rate, accompanied by acute disorientation and followed by an uncomfortable tingling sensation that crept over her frame. The vibrations that traveled along her pale body resembled violent earthquakes as her shuddering fingers clenched the school uniform's thin fabric in desperation.

""Rika!""

Two anxious screams overlapped.

Their precious companion collapsed, causing intense, irregular ripples that fanned out over the remaining pool of vomit. Her flaring nostrils embodied the moon, pushing and pulling the putrid liquid with air currents instead of gravitational force. The fractious tremors worsened and rocked her otherwise motionless figure back and forth.

"'Don't worry, she'll be fine.'" My newest piece observed their desperate struggles to heave her out of the puddle and sat on the chair with an annoyed expression. "'Might as well clean her up now. If you don't, we have to go through the same boring procedure a few times until she manages not to break down into a weeping mess. I still want to meet up with my friends, so hurry the fuck up, would you?'"

Karuizawa's apathy to this situation wasn't strange.

She was high on adrenaline, blinded by resentment and influenced by the rush of being judge, jury and executioner for the vile individuals who had abused her. This current momentum would soon crumble and she would find herself at the exact junction Morofuji had been when I revealed the recording: appalled by the despotism she could unleash.

Manabe and Yajima peered at my blonde gyaru in horror, unable to understand how she could have hidden such a dark, insensitive side from everyone at this school without being caught by the instructors. The fear they experienced in the presence of Ryuuen was nothing in face of the veritable monster they made her out to be after today's events.

"'I gave an order, did I not?'"

""Y-yes!""

Bloodcurdling shudders crawled over the goosebumps on their pallid skin. They began to rinse the still unresponsive girl with cold, bottled water, inflicting further harm. She shook, whimpered and pleaded for mercy while her friends tried to make her feel comfortable, despite the terrors she had to suffer through.

"Pleawse... I'm sho sowwy..."

A long, warm shower would have worked wonders for her current constitution. Warmth had always been associated with comfort and safety — not only in a physical sense, but also in a psychological one. Comparable to the act of curling up, it exuded a pleasant atmosphere in which the individual could indulge themselves to relax.

It was the same for my pawn on the rooftop.

After breaking Kikyou's unyielding spirit, I wanted her to take a long, hot bath to build it back up. Her angst lessened — washed away by the soothing water, which gave her enough courage to retaliate. The reconstruction of my adorable, yet twisted partner was an essential step for my counterattack and the subsequent exploitation.

Getting caught wasn't an inconvenience, but a stratagem to prepare my pieces for the inevitable endgame, analyze the connections I had forged and determine the schools response in extreme situations to verify the viability of my methods.

Cold liquids had opposing consequences.

They lower the body's temperature and place the individual in a pseudo survival mode. The shock forces the circulatory system into overdrive and stimulates the blood flow through an increase in cardiac output to warm and protect vital organs, which has an adverse effect on the person's state of mind in special circumstances like these.

Class C's subdued bullies cleansed the face of their sobbing colleague and set her down next to a neighboring generator. My classmate ignored them, leaned back into her chair and observed the two kneeling youths while they scrubbed the ground and removed the half digested pieces of meat and rice that remained lodged inside the grooves.

"W-we are done, K-karuizawa-san."

"'Took you long enough.'" She peered at the group of three with disinterest, threw Yajima's phone in front of the girl's feet and interlaced her bewitching legs. "'Now get out of my sight. If even one of you causes me the slightest inconvenience from hereon out, I'll make sure that you'll remember today as a fun weekend getaway to the beach.'"

""U-understood...""

Our schoolmates dumped the stained towels and empty water bottles in the duffle bag before supporting the shivering Morofuji. They stumbled into the corridor that led outside, generating a light, comfortable draft that swirled around the unappetizing stench of vomit. Their quiet steps faded, overshadowed by the heavy steel door that shut with a loud clack.

"Are you okay?"

Karuizawa remained silent and peered at her trembling hands. The brilliant luster in her amethysts dwindled — their glow dulled — obscured by a faint layer of blackness that sapped away her light. I stepped up to my classmate, gazed into her polluted clouds and caressed along her smooth fingers to lure her back to reality.

"You did nothing wrong. They pushed you into this position by tormenting you without remorse. Manabe had no reason to go this far, to force you into submission by making you relive those horrible memories." I cupped her head and pulled her into my chest. "But you do... What you are feeling right now is a mixture of pleasure, guilt, doubt and justified fear of the things you are capable of. This reluctance differentiates you from the likes of them."

"It was overwhelming. All this anger — all the frustrations that kept piling up. I never wanted to hurt anybody, but their fearful expressions were so satisfying to look at. When I realized this, I felt disgusted with myself. At first, I couldn't understand how they did it... but it was so easy to punish them once I stripped them of their... humanity."

Her body tilted forward into my embrace.

"This experience will allow you to grow and revealed who you are deep inside: a kind, caring woman who got shoved into impossible situations. If someone deserves happiness, it's you, Karuizawa, the one whose heart bleeds for the depraved people that caused you not only intense physical, but also mental anguish."

"Mh." She nodded, pulled back and slapped her cheeks twice. "You're right. They escalated this whole thing and beat me up. I just defended myself against their attacks. Not to mention that none of them felt bad." She reached into her pocket and retrieved the light-blue scrunchy to fix up her hair, which revealed the wireless earphone she wore. "What's next?"

"It's time to enjoy your vacation."

"Don't mind if I do."

A gentle laugh escaped her glistening lips.

She nabbed the lone ear piece and threw it into the bag with the remaining trash while I slipped out of the gloves I put on in case I had to intervene. The awkward frown on her charming face deepened as I pinched the colored contacts I wore to confuse Manabe and her accomplices. Removing them wasn't uncomfortable, but disconcerting for some people.

"Now you look like the Ayanokouji-kun I know!"

"Was it weird?"

"Maybe a little." Her bright smile was accompanied by a vague chuckle before her expression turned solemn. She pivoted and tossed me a shy peek. "You... I... There is something I haven't told you yet, but you trusted me with your secrets, so I... I've never shown this to anyone else... It's embarrassing and —"

"You shouldn't force yourself if you are not ready."

I didn't intend to pressure her into confessing, even though I recognized that there was more to her PTSD. She needed to confide in me at her own pace, or all of my groundwork would have been for naught. Further knowledge about her past wasn't important at this stage of our relationship, but I wouldn't decline if she was ready to share a vital part of her life.

"Thank you, but I have to do this..."

Class D's gyaru took a deep breath and pulled up her blouse.

Any other adolescent boy would have either turned away in embarrassment or stared a hole in her silky stomach, whereas I maintained my usual composure. She bit her lower lip and averted her gaze, revealing an unsightly scar that decorated her otherwise perfect skin. This single flaw wasn't caused by simple bullying, but a life-threatening assault.

"Eeek!"

My classmate's surprised squeal bounced off the walls while my finger rubbed over this permanent stigma. The injury was distinct, which allowed me to run accurate simulations with various objects that might have left such a disfigurement. She didn't pull away despite her obvious nervousness, only informing me of my transgression with her trembling legs.

"Sorry about that."

"No, it's just... I'm not used to this."

Karuizawa avoided my stare, a mild blush on her face.

Unlike the other girls, she never joined the few swim lessons we had, even after Yamauchi's expulsion and the following vigilance of all perverts, so I wasn't taken aback by this physical blemish. Many beautiful young women, including her, suffered under the misconception that their 'worth' among men decreased due to such slight imperfections.

The decision to keep this wound a secret was warranted, considering her harsh past. Bullying victims were often singled out because of visible aspects that were difficult to amend, caused by underlying medical conditions or outside influence. This hadn't been the case for Karuizawa, but she couldn't be certain that this would hold true in the future.

"Showing me your scar must have been horrifying." I caressed her shaking hand with a weak smile on my lips. "Thank you for trusting me with such an important part of your past, despite all the despair and animosity you had to endure. If you ever want to speak about your trauma, I'll be there to listen."

Digging into the matter now would be detrimental.

We understood one another and forged a unique connection that only outcasts like us could comprehend, transcending the boundaries of an ordinary friendship. Neither she nor I expected the other party to reveal all of their secrets, but we accepted our shared darkness without judgement and hoped that we could experience the simple life we longed for.

Opening up to Hirata was a mistake.

Her reasoning, however, had been rational.

She found herself in a new environment, acted in a manner that contributed to her immediate preservation and made the best decisions with the limited information she possessed. Class D's knight in shining armor would have been an excellent choice to take advantage of — if this school had turned out to be a normal educational facility.

Karuizawa relied on him and endangered her future.

His bottomless benevolence did more harm than good, since she could never begin to mature under his paternal wings. Our classmate would be all alone once the fleeting three years of her remaining youth ended. Her looks could help her stay afloat, but they were going to attract wild beasts that would devour her and everything she cherished.

The best solution to this problem was to provide her with the abilities and tools she required to stand on her own. This approach might leave me with a volatile subject that could not be controlled without impairing its usability, so it was better to distort her perception of 'justice' to a degree that allowed me full authority over her actions.

"Someday, I'll take you up on that offer."

"Anytime."

She regarded me with a polite smile, straightened her light-blue blouse and grasped onto her blazer's sleeves to secure the knot she had tied around her slim waist. Her slender legs pivoted left and right as she inspected her outfit to ensure that her feminine charm wasn't lost during the torture session.

Damn you, Ike...

"I'll get rid of the evidence so you can go ahead. Check in with Hirata, since he's worried about you and try to behave like usual around Shinohara in case you run into her. I don't know what she'll do once she figures out that someone foiled her plans, but we shouldn't jeopardize Class D's current momentum."

"Got it. I won't strangle her even if I want to."

She stretched her delicate arms, waved me goodbye and left through the door on the starboard side of the cruiser. The vague sounds of her steps faded, replaced by another metallic clack that marked my solitude. I walked up to the wall with the best view of the area and tore off the black tape, which concealed a second phone.

"Apologize to Rika."

"Ow, it hurts! Let me go!"

"Ha. Hahaha. This is fun! Hahahaha."

"P-pleawse... don't..."

"Say, who's the prey now?"

Skipping through the incriminating material assured me that the video was recorded without interruptions or artifacts. I wandered along the perimeter towards the other corners, where I removed the speakers and retrieved the phones I installed prior to the meeting. Afterwards, I purged the redundant files, leaving me with a souvenir for the last hour.

Karuizawa's misconception was beneficial to both of us.

She clung onto the tape that depicted her torture, which created a sense of security and control over the girls and Class C as a whole. Nobody would dare to lay a hand on her because she had proof of their misdeeds. Even their fearsome leader would need to think twice about assaulting her if he didn't want to lose three classmates and his remaining points.

The stockpile of expensive electronics kept bumping against each other as I hid my belongings next to the staircase. I rummaged through the toolbox I found earlier, tossed some hammers, wrenches and other utensils into the second bag to weigh it down and aired out the maintenance room for around five minutes to eliminate the smell of vomit before a faint splashing sound swallowed the evidence.

My feet carried me over the gigantic cruiser and up to the third deck while my fingers scrolled through the notifications I received. The most important ones were messages from Ichinose, Suzune and my soon-to-be ex-girlfriend, who asked whether I wanted to join them for dinner in one of the many available locales.

Unfortunately, I still had to keep up appearances.

I apologized to the girls and replied that I made plans with Chiaki, whom I texted that we should meet up within the next hour due to my nonexistent doctor's appointment at 07:30PM. The status of all messages turned to 'read', yet only two of them answered. My favorite neighbor wished us a nice evening and my date provided me with a time and place.

Was Ichinose too busy?

Being a class leader sure is rough...

Sotomura's phone vibrated even more than mine.

Most of the alerts were strange advertisements for various currencies in his games, whereas others introduced 'new and exciting' expansions or dungeons. One of them featured a countdown for a special spin to secure a 'Limited Edition SSR SSS-Tier Character' and an associated 'Skin for a Legendary Grade Flying Mount'.

Whatever that meant...

The Professor taught me some vocabulary during the past months, but I was still a novice compared to him, Ike, Okitani or the other guys who had a much greater understanding about everything related to pop culture, novels, anime and similar entertainment avenues. All I could do for him now was to turn the gacha before the timer ran out.

Thus, I tapped the notification and was greeted with a wheel to rotate. It was divided into twelve different sized tiles, with the golden, sparkling block being the smallest by an outrageous amount. The center knob was labeled 'FREE (1)' printed in bold and flashed in various colors to get the user's attention.

Isn't that a little over the top?

"Ara~ what a surprise, Kiyotaka-kun."

Chie's flirtatious voice encircled my earlobes.

I neglected the comforting feeling and slipped his phone into my pocket without checking the rewards. Winning or losing was inconsequential, because he would be thrilled that I joined the raffle for him. These small, trivial actions indicated that I valued our 'companionship', which was all he needed to believe.

"No one is around. You can stop the act."

"Buuh!" My guest slid her red tongue through the gap between her glossy lips, folded her arms to emphasize her vampish curvatures and concluded her performance with a pouting gesture. "You could have at least humored me a little now that we are working together. It almost feels like I'm the only one who is serious about our relationship."

"We both know that you can't be."

"Did Sae-chan tell you that?"

A grim note slithered along her forked tongue and laced her once beautiful voice with a nasty venom. She acknowledged the hiccup in a split-second and altered her demeanor to match the gracious smile that surfaced on her captivating face.

"No idea what you are talking about."

Our unorthodox homeroom teacher described Chie as someone who withdrew before her fling had the chance to turn into a significant connection. She enjoyed fooling around with guys she fancied for their looks and certain other qualities, but was afraid to grow attached to members of the opposite sex for reasons still unknown.

"Do you think I'm recording our conversation?" The mischievous smirk on her lips widened. "There is no reason to be coy with your favorite instructor." She stretched her legs, leaned against me and tiptoed to reach my ears. "You can check me out all you want. I won't put up a fight if it's you, Ki~yo~ta~ka-kun."

Seductive blows accompanied each syllable.

Her soft fingers caressed along my chest, proceeded upwards to my neck and spiraled around my chin, where they rested against my lips. The sweet, almost intoxicating blend of truffle, citrus, white florals and patchouli tickled my nose as she clung onto me like a lover who had rediscovered her long-lost prince.

They should rethink their hiring process...

I grabbed her wrist, putting a stop to her advances.

"You are careful, not stupid."

"Huuh, the innocent Kiyocchi is more fun."

Chie backed away and eyed me with a distant yet intrigued stare — an unexpected mixture between Kikyou's and Fuka's mannerism. I ignored her convoluted way of assessing my reaction and reached into my trousers to retrieve her property.

"Is there a chance you'll need it again?"

Her tender index and middle finger wrapped around the device. She tugged on the phone, rotated it and disabled the screen lock with a few swift taps. The display kept transitioning between applications as she checked her point balance, private chats, and the media files in her gallery.

"Not on the ship."

A weak smirk adorned her lips.

She pushed the power button and flicked her wrist to throw the cell into the depths of the ocean, destroying all evidence I might have planted. Her actions summarized the nonexistent trust we had in each other and affirmed that she was much more careful than Sae, who believed herself to be guarded by our contract.

"That was unnecessary."

"Better safe than sorry."

"What about Ichinose?"

"We had fun during our session." Chie swung her arms behind her back and interlaced her fingers. "Honami-chan thought a lot about you... tried to rationalize why her beloved Kiyotaka-kun couldn't have been the person we must be wary of. I assured her that my initial assumption during the island exam was wrong, so you should be fine."

"I'll be on my way then."

Her gaze followed my receding figure.

I sensed her wish to continue our conversation — to learn more about this version of me, my motives and the plans I had for her adorable figurehead, but she suppressed her ceaseless curiosity, recognizing that I wouldn't answer her inquiries and turned around. The rhythmic clacking sounds of her heels grew fainter and succumbed to the waves before long.

"Sotomura? What can I do for you?"

Sae's enticing voice rang through the speakers.

Her tone carried reasonable confusion and vague annoyance. The Professor wasn't interesting in the eyes of our intriguing instructor, since he had no talents that could contribute to achieving her goals. To make matters worse, he had called her on a quiet day, one where she could allow herself to relax, knowing that we would ascend to Class A after summer break.

Would she be pleased to hear me instead?

"I need you to procure benzodiazepines and beta-blockers without arousing suspicion. Stash the pills in the ladies' room on the fourth deck once you have them and brief me on the location. I don't care whether you steal the medication or convince the doctor that you have a panic disorder as long as you get it done today."

"Ayanokouji? What did —"

Nope, not amused by my call.

My fingers danced over Sotomura's phone as I removed the newest entry from the history to cover my tracks. I pocketed his device and grabbed mine to reply to a few additional messages from Onodera and my acquaintances in Class B.

Maintaining social relations was a new experience after the indoctrination on the importance of individualism I received in the White Room. It was still strange to have people care about me — to know and appreciate the existence of individuals I could refer to as 'friends' or 'lovers' — but these circumstances confirmed that I wasn't the same blank sheet I had been.

I turned left, walked deeper into the ship and strolled over the carpeted floor until I arrived in front of a storeroom on the fifth deck, far away from the most frequented spots this giant cruise offered. The door creaked open, revealing a busy Sotomura, who sat on the ground and tapped around on his portable gaming console.

"Ahh, Ayanokouji-dono!"

A faint click echoed through the cabin.

He discarded the device after pushing the power switch and stood up to accept his phone. His stout fingers traveled over the display as he opened the file manager to check the newest documents. Three of them were trimmed videos of our poor classmate's cruel persecution and her ensuing revenge, without the parts in which I talked to her.

"Shall I fabricate more evidence?"

"No, just secure them for now."

"Understood, but I'll need supplementary funds to replace the drive. The AES encrypted virtual disk I created as per your instructions will soon be at capacity, even though I already compressed some of the larger files to the best of my abilities."

"Tell me how much once you know."

"Alright."

Sotomura navigated to a password protected folder and moved the recordings inside. The directory on his phone should have been empty since he stored everything important at school, but there were some additional pictures and videos that he seemed to have determined as essential for personal reasons that went beyond our business.

He was quite indulgent in the fantasies he shared with Ike and had a tendency to visualize Kikyou in different revealing cosplays to sate his interest in her, so I wasn't surprised that he kept the images of my half-naked queen after I used him as a middleman to forward them to Fuka.

"Is that all for now?"

"Yes, thanks for your help."

"Please, there is no need. Supporting one such as you from the shadows is more acknowledgement than I could have ever received. Ayanokouji-dono was the only person who saw past my appearance and hobbies. You trusted me and shared your assumptions and secrets, despite the great risk you incurred by revealing yourself."

The Professor was loyal to a terrifying degree and wouldn't want to hear any objection, even if I were to tell him that I was using his talents to my advantage. In his eyes, I was a grand person, a capable, enigmatic main character who had given him a chance to live out his dream of being someone remarkable.

Threats of violence weren't needed.

When other people glowered at him, his weird remarks or frowned-upon obsessions, I listened and inquired about details. He might not have been disliked by the boys, but he wasn't popular either. Similar to Makida or Ijuin, he belonged to a small sub-circle of individuals who shared the same interests and were otherwise considered loners.

Yet, Sotomura was the unsung hero of all girls.

The true reason for Yamauchi's expulsion.

And the custodian of Pandora's box.

My knuckles smacked against the wooden frame.

The initial impacts consisted of four successive hits, followed by a short pause of two seconds and three additional knocks. The familiar security mechanism turned with a silent 'click' and granted me access to the private five person karaoke room.

I scurried inside and locked the door behind me.

"You are late..."

A loud, combative crunch reverberated through the dimmed cabin as Kikyou bit down on her potato chip with more force than necessary. Her darkened expression and miffed voice might have revealed her annoyance, but I couldn't help myself from staring at her adorable pout while she lay down on the couch in her usual revealing attire.

"Sorry."

She stuffed her sullen mouth with another coin-sized snack and peered over to the large 65 inch TV that was attached to the wall on the left side of the room, which displayed a celebratory message about the new high score she achieved in the last song. I ambled towards the far end of the sofa, lifted her head and swapped the pillow she rested on with my lap.

Kikyou snuggled up to me and reached for my palm.

The loving demeanor she demonstrated stood in stark contrast to her foul mouth when she condemned her schoolmates for their behavior or other actions she disliked. Her small hands clutched mine, as if she was holding onto a rare, priceless treasure. She brought them closer to her face and brushed her cheek against my fingers with a satisfied smile.

"Urgh, you smell like that slutty teacher."

For a moment, at least...

"Yeah, I ran into her on my way over."

"And here I thought you prepared the change of clothes so that I could leave my scent on you..." Her playful pout was emphasized by the tip of her smooth tongue, which slithered through the opening between her lustrous lips. "... baka~."

"My bed isn't good enough anymore, huh?"

"Nope, gotta be my Kiyotaka now."

Raising her slender arms, bending backwards and pushing out her supple chest to highlight the contours of her bra were seductive movements that would have driven any adolescent boy crazy. Kikyou, a master at manipulating the male and female population alike, knew this all too well. She enjoyed the power, the attention and the recognition of her many admirers, so it wasn't surprising that she was displeased by the absence of a reaction when she teased me.

What a spoiled queen she is...

"You won't complain if I do the same then, right?"

I smoothed her sweet-scented hair and tucked a few strands behind her crimson ear. My adorable classmate appreciated gestures like this and found great satisfaction in the unfamiliar comfort my efforts brought her. She beamed in delight and met my lips with a peaceful expression that could only be described as captivating.

"How much time do we have?"

"Maybe ten minutes?"

"Fifteen..?"

Kikyou launched herself towards me and buried her face in my waist to hide the rosy tint that blossomed on her cheeks. Her timid attitude was adorable, and I wondered about her conduct around a potential boyfriend who hadn't tortured her into submission. I was curious whether my gradual manipulation had altered her foundation, and if so, by how much.

"Sure, I'll make it work somehow."

"Twenty..?"

"Now you are messing with me..."

A cute giggle slipped her lips as I tugged on her jowl.

"Fwine... let's gwet the business side out of the way fwirst." She fled my playful grasp and pointed at the medium-sized bag on the armchair that stood between us and a second couch. "The fresh clothes and your deodorant are over there."

"Thanks. I'll keep it short then..." I inched forward and grazed over her velvety lips. "Karuizawa is under control. Morofuji was tortured and isn't feeling well, so I'll have Sae place some medicine in the restroom on the fourth deck. I need you to check the medication, transfer it to a nondescript bottle if necessary and message Yajima to pick it up for her roommate. Tell her that it's fine to increase the usual dosage of one pill each every four hours if her patient builds up resistances."

Her fingers, still wrapped around my palm, turned ashen.

I presumed that she was having an episode due to the tremors that traveled along my limbs. Hearing about Rika's misery must have spurred distressing memories, which triggered her current condition. She nudged into me to suppress the faint whimpers that rang through the cabin and clenched my uniform to keep herself calm.

"Shh... It's okay. You're safe. I'll protect you."

"Promise..?"

The ensued silence unsettled my queen.

Kikyou peered into my eyes and stared at the pleasant, artificial smile she had spent so much time fostering, unable to tell whether it was a genuine attempt to ease her worries or a mocking gesture. I grabbed her arm and pulled her closer with a gentle tug. She followed my guidance and sat down on my lap with her legs angled parallel to mine.

Her figure overlapped with Chiaki's.

One of them trembled in pleasure while the other quivered in fright.

My girlfriend's features were delicate, nowhere near as supple as hers. Class D's angel exhaled and filled my nostrils with the intense aroma of potato chips, which mixed with the fruity fragrance of shampoo. Her garnets dilated when she felt my touch travel along her waist, powerless to stop the shivers that shook her soft frame.

I charmed the confused girl and lured her deeper into my embrace until our foreheads touched. Our noses bumped into each other mere moments before her voluminous chest squeezed against mine. The fluctuations in her erratic heartbeat subsided when she noticed my lifeless, yet consoling, gaze.

"Yes... I promise."

She threw herself into me and tightened her grip.

"Can we stay like this a little longer?"

"Of course. As long as you wish."

I shifted my head, brushed against Kikyou's cheek and caressed her back to assure her of my sincerity. Hoping to feel the same emotions she did, I closed my eyes. The shocks that coursed through her torso dwindled and tears of joy trickled onto my shoulder as she entrusted me with her body, her safety and her future.

My queen understood that the unusual devotion in her chest was a far cry from love, but her attachment could no longer be classified into natural or man-made feelings, because both were interwoven. The best, most elaborate lies contained a grain of truth, since it enhanced the deception for the affected individual — even oneself.

Our angel spun her own tale to survive.

The core of her illusion was the inevitable fact that I would never take measures that were detrimental to my goals. She understood how I operated and constructed her development on top of this foundation. Her thoughts began to revolve around me — they shaped pillars she could lean on in times of uncertainty and blossomed into a twisted form of respect and reliance. This self-delusion was reinforced by my actions and her cognitive dissonance.

Eventually, the sentiment called 'love' flourished.

It was tainted, cursed and corrupted, unlike the pure affection Chiaki harbored. The relationship between Kikyou and me was bound to be toxic. She would never recover from the physical and psychological abuse, the torture or the perpetual gaslighting. The girl in my arms was already too far gone, dependent on me and unable to live an ordinary life.

Could this have been what I was hoping for?

A partner who was just as broken as I?

"Mii-chan, Inogashira, Ishikura and I visited the 'Sea Breeze' this morning. The view from the rooftop was stunning, and the breakfast tasted amazing. We had these mouthwatering ricotta pancakes with fresh banana and honeycomb butter that were coupled with a plate of scrambled eggs, salmon and toast that was to die for."

Kikyou's soft, relaxing voice floated through my ear.

"That's the cafe, right?" I shifted my leg to allow her a more comfortable seating position. "Sudou, Sakura and I went there before the island exam. He seemed a little out of place, so it was quite amusing watching him struggle to behave himself. We didn't try the breakfast menu though, since we arrived around lunchtime."

"I can't help but picture him slurping on a fruit smoothie."

Her sweet giggle melted into my uniform.

"He had papaya-flavor, I think."

"What's wrong with him?"

"Hmm, you dislike papayas?"

"Have you ever smelled an unripe one?"

"Why would I do that?"

"It's not like I wanted to. Back in middle school, I had a classmate who had relatives in Miyazaki. They came to visit during summer holidays and brought some samples while my friend was getting ready to go out shopping. I offered the elderly couple to carry the heavy bag of fruits inside, which was undeniably the worst decision I ever made for my poor nose."

She withdrew and wore a look of blatant revulsion.

"That makes sense. Papayas are harvested while they are still green to provide the vendors more time to sell them before they expire. The unripe fruit contains an enzyme called papain, which has a pungent, rather offensive smell that is often compared to vomit or stinky feet. They taste similar to melon or mango, though, so I think you'd enjoy them."

"Why am I even surprised that you know that?"

Kikyou heaved a deep sigh and adjusted her posture to fit her bum between my legs. She grabbed my hands, slung my arms around her waist, leaned back into my chest and shut her eyes. I pulled her close to me and embraced her from behind while she rested her head on my clavicle.

"Maybe because I'm the guy who asked you what a dango is?"

"Possible." Her imperceptible chuckle contained a hint of loneliness as she gazed at the ticking clock. She bounced off the couch and turned around with the most brilliant smile I had seen to date. "Since we're already here, let's sing a few songs."

"But I —"

"No buts! Come on!"

My classmate dragged me off the sofa and reached for the two closest microphones. She handed me the transducer in her right and began to browse the enormous list of available tracks while humming a lax tune. I didn't know most of them, since at least eighty percent were anime related. A few cover arts caught my eye, but they were only familiar because I saw them on the Professor's phone.

"Let's do this one first, Kiyotaka!"

"Wait, there's going to be a second?"

Kikyou turned around with a cheerful expression and stuck out her tongue as she moved the cursor over a picture in the third row. The library view transformed into a loading screen with instructions, upon which an LED on the microphone lit up to inform us of the color we would perform as during the song.

The first line of lyrics was highlighted in a shade of blue.

Ready to begin, she placed the remote on the coffee table in the center of the room and hopped back to position herself next to me. She took my hand, rewarded me with a cute wink and broadened her cheeky grin as the speakers came to life.

Ano hi ringo no ki no shita kyouhan de

Fumikoete mita kyoukaisen

Sugu ni black out "a, oikari de..."

Oitaterarete konna jigen e

The following lines were emphasized with a red outline, indicating that I had to do my best not to disappoint her with my insufficient skills. Still hopeful, but not convinced that I would hit a single note, I opened my mouth, destined to fail.

Ore to shita koto ga...

Ore gotoki de sura...

Ore ni kagitte iya, masaka ne...

Kimi no sei ni shita

Himitsu wo te ni shita

Ichijiku no ha ga migi hidari

Kikyou broke out in a fit of contagious laughter, even though she should have already assumed that I wouldn't be able to match the lighthearted energy this song demanded. She began to shake her hips, despite my meager performance and managed to save our dwindling points by acing the next part with her astonishing vocal range.

Atto iu ma, me ga sameru

Ka to omoeba sora ni ochite yuku

Nanto iu ka, yamerarenu

Mou hito kajiri... again

My adorable partner danced around me with an unprecedented amount of heartfelt joy. Describing the breakfast with her friends, telling me about her experiences with papayas and singing karaoke together were precious moments she wanted to share with me. She had no ulterior motives or ill intentions and just wished to savor the little time we had left.

Could I ever be as relaxed?

Back in April, I failed when I tried to enjoy myself with Ichinose and her classmates because I couldn't shut off my brain in order to loosen up. The situation right now was different, but I believed that I had evolved over the last couple of months.

I wanted to have fun as well.

Kikyou did her best to motivate me, to brighten the atmosphere, even though she didn't want me to leave and meet my girlfriend. She swallowed her frustration and drew me into her rhythm, knowing that I would follow, despite my objections.

Would it be so bad to try again?

The beat sped up, and the TV displayed the next lyrics, which were colored in red and blue. We both had to sing, mix our mismatched energies, and rack up some points if we didn't want to engrave our score at the bottom of the leaderboard.

Maybe just this once...

A vague smirk appeared on my face as I pulled this beautiful, dancing girl into my chest. Her surprised yelp butchered the last line of text she was supposed to sing alone and caused her to miss the first few words of our long-awaited duet. She gazed up at me in silence, microphone in hand, unable to believe that I attempted to match her.

Fallin' falling

Rasenjou ni ochite yuku matenrou ni

Ima fallin' falling

Futari bocchi kizukanai

Kaaten kooru ni mo

(yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah)

Doko made mo

(yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah)

Kono mi makasete

Itsu no ma ni kizu ga umatteku yeah...

My classmate's dazzling smile was out of this world.

The pitch of her smooth voice changed, and her enthusiasm reached a new high as she jumped back into the song after a brief delay. Kikyou grasped my hand like a lover would and peered deep into my brown almonds. She began to move her feet — encouraged me to keep up with her movements — and beamed even more radiant when I danced with her.

This brilliant ambience was disturbed by my not terrible, but far from decent solo. Replicating the liveliness of the artist's vision was impossible, no matter what I tried. My partner cracked when the second 'yeah' left my lips. Her loud, hearty laughter caused our points to plummet into oblivion, despite her best efforts to get back into the flow during her line.

She tiptoed forward, clutched the hem of my uniform and leaned her head against my lower abdomen to stabilize herself. The insensitive TV, however, showed no consideration for the unstable stance due to her trembling legs and cued the next part that followed the song's memorable refrain, which she barely managed to catch in time.

Soko ja nani kara nani made gottani de

Oni mo hotoke mo onnajime

Subete shut out douka shiteru?

Orera hana kara dai majime

The seconds kept ticking away.

Kikyou bounced around and matched her motions to the rhythm. Her bright expression outlined her rising enjoyment until she sparkled so vividly that it almost hurt to look at her. Following the instruments, the incongruous vocals and her sincere laughs, we shifted our feet, enchanted by the surrounding atmosphere.

Dinner with my girlfriend passed in an instant.

It was the same as usual: talking and enjoying each other's company. We spoke about our day, the taste of the food and other trivial things that crossed our minds. She said that she had spent most of her time reading a book and that she saw Karuizawa, Satou, and Hirata having a meal in the diner one deck below us.

My answers were laced with deception, but I had Kikyou to back me up if she ever questioned my honesty. After the first song, we kept going for two more before I had to change and head out for my date. I also received some pointers from Sae, which meant that Morofuji should be in possession of her medicine soon enough.

"I should leave for my appointment."

"Time flies when you are having fun, huh?"

Now that she mentioned it...

"How about we meet for breakfast and cross the last cafe off our list? Afterwards, we could make up for the date we had to cut short because of my leg and walk through the shops on the seventh deck if you haven't been with your friends yet."

"Yeah, that sounds great."

The charming smile that emerged on Chiaki's lips wiped away her previous disappointment. She checked her phone and replied to an incoming message before the two of us stood up and left the restaurant. We said our farewells, exchanged a handful of kisses and were about to walk in opposite directions when her mobile rang again.

It was strange to see her eyes light up like this.

Was she perhaps cheating on me?

"So... about tomorrow." She blushed while her feet drew circles on the floor. "I just got confirmation that my reservation for the karaoke room went through. It's half an hour before our discussion period, so we could finish our date there."

What have I done to deserve this?

"I'm a terrible singer, but sure."

"You're my boyfriend, so I know that better than anyone." A chuckle escaped her lips as she closed in on me. "That's why we won't be singing." She kissed me and slung her arms around my neck. "Those cabins aren't equipped with cameras."

"That's —"

"Music to your ears?"

"Hey, don't steal my joke..."

Silence filled the dim corridor.

My heartbeat sped up, agitated by the low, grotesque whispers that only I could hear. They followed me when I was alone, kept me company through the cold, lonely nights and soothed me to sleep during times of distress. Our first steps had been grueling, but they were a part of me now, similar to the illusory hands that manifested whenever I showered.

These scars wouldn't heal, but I learned to live with them.

A faint creak crawled along the walls as I opened the door to the restroom. The motion detectors activated the automatic lights, which illuminated the cozy interior. I peered at my reflection in the large mirror by the sinks and caught sight of the 'Out of order' sign that our teacher must have prepared to prevent any accidental discoveries.

Ḱ̞ḭ̃k͉̈́y̲̋o͈̅u̫ͪ.̲̔.͈ͬ.͖͌

My fingers slipped into the thin, black gloves Kiyotaka told me to wear while I ambled towards the last cubicle. I placed the misleading notice on a vanity shelf, reached for the knob and slid inside before locking the stall behind me. A dull thud echoed through the cabin as I leaned against the light-blue panel to calm down.

Y̩̅o̮ͩŭ̞'̺ͮr̳͗e̠ͯ ̬̽s̫̽a͍̓f͖̆ḙ̌.̫̅.̣ͮ.̟ͨ

Deafening thumps pounded against my ribcage.

Despite my best efforts, I couldn't shake off the queasy feeling that entered my body after I heard about Morofuji and the terrors she must have experienced. The memories I tried to suppress rushed back into my mind and pushed me towards the edge of his endless abyss. If he hadn't reached out to catch me, then...

I̧̫ͩ'̥ͬ͘l̪ͭ́l̖̓͠ ̼ͬ̕p̦͆͡r̯ͥ͢o͚ͯ͜tect you.

A smile spread across my lips.

His voice, although nothing more than an illusion, calmed my labored breaths and banished the horrible recollections that threatened to swallow my sanity, triggered by the tablets I spotted in the two plastic bags behind the toilet, which were the same I had been given after I collapsed in class — on the day I was forced to take part in Kiyotaka's wicked play.

Morofuji wasn't strong enough to survive him.

She wouldn't be able to live her life without counseling and pills to keep the panic attacks at bay if he displayed even a fraction of his cruelty. This meant that the school would get wind of her trauma once her supply ran dry at the end of our trip. He would never risk exposure — unless he had an agenda.

What was the real goal here?

Would he answer if I asked..?

Lost in thought, I dialed his number.

"Yes?"

This single word, spoken after two short beeps, erased all my worries. It might be impossible to follow his reasoning, to anticipate what he would do, or to foresee what he had planned, but I was assured that we had a special relationship.

Our connection wasn't shallow.

"Can you talk?"

"Yeah, Chiaki just left."

My world revolved around him, and I felt content in the distorted reality I had woven for myself. I was a willing captive, fueled by abnormal devotion and entangled by this vicious web of emotions that intertwined our future. Words alone couldn't describe the red string of fate connecting our fingers, transcending the superficiality of his usual bonds.

"The pills are stashed in two freezer bags." I crouched down and squinted past the toilet bowl to decipher the instructions our teacher had scrawled onto the plastic. "Each wrapper is labeled with the recommended dosage you mentioned and sealed with a zipper. Do you want me to leave them like this?"

"No. Retrieve both and take a picture of the contents. Confirm that Chabashira's notes and the medication are discernable and return everything the way you found it. Once you are done, find a good spot to place the camera and message Yajima with the phone I gave you. Provide her with the location and instruct her to exit the restroom with the medicine in hand to ensure that you get a clear recording. Remember that you are Karuizawa, so adapt to her style in the texts."

Was my hunch correct after all?

"Okay..."

The words that should have followed my brief confirmation got stuck in my throat. My lips parted, but I couldn't voice the questions I had for him. I was afraid of the answers and the implications a denial to my request carried. Our relationship matured at a stable pace and I didn't want to tilt this delicate balance to sate my curiosity.

"Kikyou?"

He's always so sly...

"Nothing. I'll get it done."

Kiyotaka remained silent, neither wishing me a good night nor disconnecting the call. He must have seen through my internal conflict, picking up on some minor variations in my speech or something just as absurd. I wouldn't even be surprised if he knew why I was so hesitant.

There was still so much I wanted to convey.

Would his bored expression change into surprise when I told him about the things I managed to figure out on my own, or would he be disappointed because I hadn't uncovered the full picture despite the vast amount of information I possessed?

No, I was certain about my conclusion.

The alternatives are nonsensical and won't benefit him. Getting more dirt on Yajima was unnecessary with the leverage he had on her, or she wouldn't walk into such an obvious trap. There was only one person he could incriminate with all of this.

"Are we really going after Chabashira..?"

"Yes, but don't worry. She won't see it coming."

Our meeting took place in half an hour.

I had no more business with Kikyou, Chiaki or the Professor, so I hoped that I could use this respite to have some time for myself. In Tokyo I could withdraw into my quarters and ignore my phone if I didn't want to socialize, but this option wasn't available on a school trip, since we had to share our cabins with up to three classmates. Fuka was the only girl who would waltz into my apartment unannounced and she never bothered me in these situations.

Maybe we weren't built for relationships.

The White Room stripped away all nonessential notions to raise the perfect human. Establishing solid connections to rich, powerful or otherwise influential individuals was a valuable asset for the examinees, but none of us ever learned how we were expected to forge or cultivate those important relations.

This wasn't an oversight, but a calculated move.

Interacting with others carried a certain probability of developing attachments that could prove harmful to our usefulness. Thus, they must have decided that all subjects had to undergo a 'sterilization' of sorts to minimize or nullify the risks. The only reason for our social incompetence were the measures taken by our supervisors.

Could those shackles be broken?

If so, by whom?

Contemplating those questions, I opened the door.

My heart almost jumped out of my chest after I realized that I wasn't the sole occupant in this room. I hesitated, pondered over whether I should walk back out and arrived at an inevitable conclusion that could be summed up in a single word.

"Dangerous..."

Slow, harmonious breaths drifted through Ichinose's irresistible pink lips. Her curvaceous body was turned to the side and tilted forward, revealing her plump thighs — emphasizing them even more than usual. She rubbed her cheek against the carpeted floor like a small, tired kitten that sought comfort after an arduous day of adventuring.

The mere sight tickled my heart.

I peeked at her rather short skirt, which granted me a memorable glimpse at her snow-white panties. My spellbound gaze swayed upwards to her long eyelashes and stopped at the smooth, strawberry-blonde hair that framed her impeccable features. Her shiny lips stirred into a serene smile, drawing my attention to her soft, rosy cheeks.

It was impossible not to look.

The natural glow of Ichinose's flawless skin was enhanced by the artificial illumination of the cabin as she shifted back and forth. These gentle movements had a not-so-subtle effect on her bountiful breasts and accentuated her stunning figure. Unable to free myself from this pleasant grasp, I kept gazing at her chest, which rose and fell with each breath.

She really is beyond gorgeous.

My brown, passive spheres were once again drawn to her well-proportioned thighs. They roamed over her alluring frame, paused at her slender legs and the black mid-calf socks she usually donned, only to return to her captivating face. I was mesmerized by my very own sleeping beauty — enthralled by the slightest fluctuations in her adorable demeanor.

Her phone was situated right next to her.

I inched closer, one step at a time.

"Ohh... ah... mhh..."

What's with those noises?

Ichinose's facial expressions were vibrant, even in a deep slumber. She seemed restless, as if she had been disturbed by a physical change in the environment, causing her legs to brush against each other. Her shallow breathing slowed until it settled down to an appropriate level, at which point I exhaled in momentary relief.

"Mmm..."

You're so defenseless...

My hand, which should have picked up her phone, caressed along her flowing hair. Her fragrant strands passed through my palm before I grazed over the silklike skin around her thighs. This accidental transgression continued as my thumb and index-finger hovered towards her socks, where they doubled back to squeeze her squishy cheeks.

... and I'm the worst.

"...ji-ku..."

The grin on her face never faded.

A quick glance assured me that she was still sound asleep. I fondled her jowl one last time and grabbed her phone, which prompted me for a password. Her birthday, 0720, was the first I tried, but the device displayed an error. This sequence of events reminded me of Fuka's guessing game when I asked her for points.

Thinking it wouldn't hurt, I typed 1020.

"Why are you making this so easy..?"

What started out as a dumb, joking gesture turned out to solve my current predicament. The correct passcode triggered a brief fade-in animation and revealed Ichinose's home screen, including the surprising image she chose as her background.

Just how much do you like me?

The person in the picture had the same physique, identical facial features and my hairstyle, but the expression this version of Ayanokouji Kiyotaka wore contrasted my usual stoic disposition. I remembered the festive decoration behind my head from Class B's surprise birthday party and recalled the chat I had with Kanzaki during which this snapshot had been taken.

That's my smile?

It differed from the ones I showed to Chiaki, Kikyou, and my mirror when I practiced the appropriate muscle movements, even though I performed the associated motions on all occasions. There had to be more — a discrepancy between then and now. The only possibility that came to mind were 'emotions' I could neither feel nor understand.

How could I recreate this state?

Adjusting to challenging, inhuman circumstances and overcoming any hurdles that the White Room placed in my way had become second nature due to my education, yet none of the formulae I devised solved this obscure equation. It would be impossible to reproduce that expression even if I asked Kikyou for guidance and observed Hirata or Ichinose for eternity.

I peered at the phone and opened the messenger.

Somewhere, hidden deep inside the dark crevice of my distorted heart, had to be a speck of light, a faint smoldering spark that rekindled the earnest smile of the white-clad boy who had buried his emotions to survive the horrors that lay in wait.

A flicker, dormant, but not extinguished.

"Nyaaa..."

A groan slipped my lips as the alarm blared.

I reached for the phone without opening my eyes and entered the password to stop the beeping noise. Disoriented from my slumber, I snuggled into my arm to enjoy the remaining time I had until everyone arrived. Ayanokouji-kun usually went into the cabin ten to fifteen minutes before our official meeting, which meant that I had to get up soon.

"So tired..."

Ever since I learned about him, I had trouble sleeping. Aside from the dreams and nightmares, I had my thoughts keep me awake, wondering about the things that happened and whether he could have had his hands in them. Running into Hirata-kun and Karuizawa-san on my way to Mako-chan assured me that he hadn't hurt her, but I was still worried about the two Class C girls who had cornered his classmate yesterday because I hadn't seen them yet.

Was it the right choice to keep quiet?

Or had I made a terrible mistake?

Soft rustling sounds floated through the room as I shifted my legs. I rubbed my drowsy eyes, roused by the friction and the unexpected comfort the small blanket over my thighs provided. My blurry vision cleared up when I identified the unfamiliar object as one of the school-issued blazers that belonged to the conspicuous silhouette beside me.

"A-ayanokouji-kun?"

The discomposure in my voice was reinforced by the distinctive stutters and the flustered expression that crept onto my face. My blank gaze alternated between his wide, reassuring back and the jacket he had draped over me while I slept.

Did I just wake up with a 'nyaa'?

God, this is embarrassing!

Maybe he didn't hear...

But what if he saw?!

"Heya, sleepyhead."

He turned around with a gentle smile, unaware of the meltdown that flourished in my mind. Engines kicked in and gears began to spin as I sought to figure out when he might have arrived and what embarrassments he could have witnessed.

Curse you and your adorable expressions!

I took a deep breath to settle the internal mayhem and inspected my surroundings. Ayanokouji-kun sat on the floor with his back towards me, which suggested that he shouldn't have seen the shameful background picture or my password. His posture and the blazer on my thighs indicated that he respected my feelings, since he made sure that nobody aside from him could see me in such a vulnerable position.

"You're here early..."

A stifled laugh was all I could muster.

"Yeah, I always arrive around twenty minutes before the group meeting to have some alone time." He scratched his chin to expose the lie and nodded in an apologetic gesture. "It seems we had the same idea. Sorry if I startled you."

"Ah, no. I... Thank you for the blazer."

I felt absolute helplessness in front of him and his mesmerizing smile. Such a simple, compassionate look was more than enough to derail my entire thought process if he was the one wearing it. Unable to withstand this pressure any longer, I sat up and leaned against the cold wall to recover my composure.

"It's fine. Everyone would have done that."

He moved over and took a seat next to me.

"Mh, I don't think that's the case."

"You really underestimate how beautiful you are, Ichinose." Ayanokouji-kun reached for his blazer and put the hem over the bare skin I exposed by sitting upright. "I'm just glad that no one else saw you in such a defenseless state."

"Huh?!"

Huuhh?!

Once again, he grinned — depraved me of my ability to think, well aware that my mind turned to mush because of him. A pleasant, indescribable warmth spread out from my torso and traveled along my whole body. My trembling lips curved into a bright beam, failing to contain the euphoria I felt.

He shouldn't be allowed to smile!

Or smooth-talk like this!

I recognized that all of his amiable expressions and bewitching statements could have been lies to manipulate me, but my frantic, spiking heart rate disregarded my doubts. Every girl would be over the moon when their crush told them that they were beautiful, and I was no exception. He knew my weakness, realized that I'd be ecstatic, and used this to his advantage.

This was cheating...

Why are you so unfair?

Ayanokouji-kun kept leading me astray with a simple flick of his finger. Each minute I spent with him was another intricate game of cat and mouse that I was about to lose. His sympathetic, innocent actions softened me up, lured me deeper into the trap he had prepared. He was conscious of my feelings for him and understood that I yearned for his affection, craved his attention and wished for him to be closer to me.

What if I told him everything?

Would he stop pretending?

It might be nice to have a fresh start with all our cards on the table — to develop an honest relationship that wasn't built on secrets and deception. His capabilities eclipsed anyone I had seen so far, but he was still just a 'defective human being'. In order to save him, I'll have to nurture his so-called 'monster' and show him the proper way of interacting with this world.

That's right...

My constant doubts about his motives would never solve his problems. I couldn't help him if I waited for his next move without performing mine. Watching until he took action meant that I was too late to ensure the safety of my schoolmates.

Just like today.

"Ichinose, about —"

I'm done being pushed around.

"Honami."

"Hmm?"

Ayanokouji-kun tilted his head and threw me a confused look. His lips remained parted, almost as if he was surprised by my sudden exclamation. The shimmer in his golden orbs reflected my dazed expression, which was as astonished as his.

What the hell am I doing?!

He already has Matsushita-san!

That's not what I wanted to say!

"Um.. m-my name. It's H-honami."

Stop talking, you're making it worse!

His apparent bewilderment was an obvious play at my devotion to him, but I couldn't deal with his charming reactions any longer. I concealed my mouth with both hands and averted my gaze with a blush that rivaled the one Mako-chan and the others saw when I handed them my phone without changing the background.

Everything turned numb.

The rapid thumps of my heart increased as I experienced a mix of happiness and guilt. I tried to regulate my shortness of breath and exhaled into my palm to calm my explosive pulse, but couldn't stop my joy from sprouting. Multiple tingling sensations darted over my skin and sprinkled the familiar burning sensation along the rest of my scorching frame.

"Yeah, I... know?"

He's not allowed to be this adorable!

"Call me Honami..."

My soft, almost pleading voice revealed my desires and made me bite my lower lip in regret and self-loathing. Matsushita-san would feel horrible if she heard that we were on a first-name basis. She might not have been as shrewd as Kanzaki-kun and I believed her to be, but there was no way that she hadn't noticed my lingering feelings for her boyfriend.

Pull yourself together.

Open your mouth.

Tell him that this was a mistake.

Stop him before it's too late.

I twisted my head, gazed at him and —

"So, Honami..."

— savored the moment he broke my mind.

The faint echoes, the remnants of his sweet words, kept dancing around me. I was glad that I sat, because I wouldn't have been able to stand with a pair of legs that had turned into jelly. Hearing him pronounce my given name for the first time was an experience I would never forget. My lips twisted into a smile, despite the shame I felt for hurting Matsushita-san.

I'm the absolute worst...

How could I be so happy about this?

Am I allowed to call him Kiyotaka?

Wait! Stop! Don't get carried away.

All his actions brought him closer to the goal he was working towards. Our current conversation was the same. Maybe he had changed his mind and decided to give me the wrong solution. His amiable behavior could be a way of ensuring that I wouldn't question the names he was about to supply me with. I couldn't lower my guard and let myself be swayed by his breathtaking eyes that appeared golden in the right light.

Whose eyes are golden in the right light?!

God, he's so handsome...

"Uhm... Honami?"

"HAI?!"

A high-pitched squeal left my lips.

My mind was in shambles, veering from one extreme to the next. His casual smile or a single compliment about anything related to me was all it took to shatter my morale. The feelings I harbored wouldn't let me focus and made it impossible to not embarrass myself when I struggled to stay calm around him.

I couldn't even remember what he said...

Phew... slow, deep breaths.

You got this Honami.

"So it's alright if I end the group now?"

"Yeah, I gathered all three names for you."

Ayanokouji-kun looked away to grant me some privacy while I unlocked my phone with his birthday. Worried that he might catch sight of my screen, I hurried to open the messenger and signaled him that it would be okay to look.

"Karuizawa Kei, right?"

"Mh."

A faint smile surfaced on his face as he watched me type out her name. I peered at him and he nodded, reassuring me for the last time before I sent the message. Our phones buzzed a moment later when we received a mail from the school.

[ANHS] The test has now ended for the Rabbit group. Those in the Rabbit group are no longer required to take part any further. Please do not disturb the other students.

"The other two are Satou Maya and Kushida Kikyou."

My movements stopped, not out of surprise, but confusion, since I couldn't understand what he tried to achieve here. His actions supported my assumption that he accomplished whatever he needed to take care of, otherwise he might not have given me their names yet. The possibility that Hoshinomiya-sensei worked with him also rose, as it was probable that he had her babysit me to guarantee that I wouldn't get in his way again.

Did he do something to them?

Should I check on our group mates?

No, doing so could tip him off about my doubts, even if I managed to keep my involvement secret. I didn't know what he wanted from Manabe-san and Yajima-san aside from information about Class C, but he wasn't afraid to use violence if necessary, so he might have coerced them into telling him about anyone who inquired about them.

It was too risky to face him without a plan.

I pushed my reasonable worries to the back of my disorganized mind and messaged Kanzaki-kun as well as Hitomi-chan to brief them about their respective VIP. Both mails were labeled 'read' soon after, leading to two additional notifications.

[ANHS] The test has now ended for the Dragon group. Those in the Dragon group are no longer required to take part any further. Please do not disturb the other students.

[ANHS] The test has now ended for the Horse group. Those in the Horse group are no longer required to take part any further. Please do not disturb the other students.

"Thank you Aya — no, Kiyotaka." I hid my tomato-colored face and caressed the hem of his blazer. "Without your help, we would have lost 150 points during this exam. Not only me, but the entirety of Class B, we appreciate what you did for us."

"This is nowhere near enough to repay my debt to you, Honami." His gentle smile provided comfort as I gazed at him in surprise. "I looked through Chiaki's phone when she showered and realized what she made you do. The reason you cried that day... it was all my fault." The liar took my hand and rubbed over my fingers. "I'll make it up to you, no matter what."

You are cruel, yet so sweet...

Do you know how much it hurts?

To have you this close to me?

His deception continued as natural as he exhaled the air he kept breathing. He wasn't punished for his dishonesty or infidelity, so it should be fine if I were to utter a small lie in return. Even he couldn't blame me for growing a little weak around him. It was only fair if he took responsibility for the tears he caused and spoiled me a bit to outweigh the pain.

I'm sorry, Matsushita-san.

"Tired..."

A fake yawn crawled along my lips.

My heavy head sank, slipped onto his warm shoulder and nuzzled into a satisfying position without appearing too weird. I felt his gentle gaze on my flushed cheeks when he adjusted his posture to make me more comfortable and knew that he regarded my soft smile with his own, despite my closed eyes.

Kiyotaka didn't push me off — he wouldn't tell me that he had a girlfriend or berate me for my misbehavior like that day I was confessed to by Chihiro-chan — and allowed me to indulge myself in his warmth, as though he were my boyfriend.

It's fine if he's not objecting, isn't it?

I'm not a bad person, right?

"Is that citrus?"

"Mh, does it bother you?"

It was my first time wearing perfume, but I was certain that Hoshinomiya-sensei had applied too much after our session. 'Guys like this kind of thing. Trust me, Honami-chan,' she said, spraying the contents of the vial onto me, but the aroma was quite intensive, so it wouldn't be strange if he disliked it. I had hoped that the scent would thin out before the discussion period, but I also never expected that we would be this close to each other today.

"No, it's nice..."

A malformed smile crept on my face.

Leaning against him like this wasn't something the old Honami would do. Kiyotaka must have realized this as well. He might have wondered what changed, but I didn't care anymore, since I wished to enjoy this small glimpse of happiness.

Even if it's just a little while, I wanted to be close to you.

Even if it takes another two years, you can open up to me.

Even if everyone hates you, I could never think that way.

Because I love you.

Authors Note:

I know it was only half a chapter this time, but I hope you enjoyed it as much as the usual ones. Once again, I want to thank my readers who are still sticking around and are looking forward to the newest releases despite the long silence.

I also made new images for the exam since I swapped out two OC's for the Class A students that were introduced in the latest volume. Luckily, I didn't have to edit anything else and could just replace them without having to shift characters into different groups. It's not an important change, but something the perfectionists probably appreciate knowing.

I'd also like to give a shout-out and a big thanks to u/Iviera on Reddit for allowing me to use his Ichinose coloring. He started working on illustrations from "The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten" and "Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian" as well, so check them out if you are interested.

As for the Kiyo / Kei illustration, I couldn't find a source for the artist named BadBoy Rara despite looking for quite a while, so if you know where to find him, please notify me so I can give them proper credit here and in the comments.

For the release date of the second half, refer to the FAQ in chapter 33 :P

- Word Count: 12618 / 60172 Characters

Released 24.06.2023