endeavours of masterpiece

by vamer

ok

Endeavors of the Masterpiece.
PJOXNARUTOXMCUfan

Published: 2022
Source: https/

Prologue

A/N: I'm going to be honest with you guys, I prefer the anime over the Light Novel, so I'm going to do a bit of a mix and match of the anime and light novel parts for the first three of four volumes as it goes along.

Hate me if you want, but it's just my opinion. Ayanokouji's a menace in the LN, true, but the Anime version is a GOAT. There's not much development, since Season 2 just started, but I have high hopes. Also, Character development in the LN doesn't feel that good, somewhat forced in areas. If you understand what I mean, good enough.

Anyways, it's an Ayanokouji x Ichinose fanfic, because Kiyokei, nah.

And light novels just made me completely against Horikita entirely, sorry to any of her fans. I like her somewhat in the anime, but the LN has corrupted my opinions.

Anyways, you've read the summary. An Ayanokouji that doesn't hold back, along with a Kouenji that's on his side. The alliance of two chads. Let's see how it goes.

PS: I'm going with the anime for the first bit of events. Sorry anyone who likes the LN version.

In the Whiterooms,

Professor Ayanokouji was a calculating man. It was well known to all. After all, he was the one who came up with the idea of the Whiterooms. 19 generations, with each generation made annually. Hundreds of kids had taken part, but none had achieved the results that the man had wanted. And so, he enrolled his own son into the Whiterooms. The Generation known as the Demonic Fourth Generation, with the harshest and cruelest training that could be implemented on them. Out of all the kids, only one had survived. And this one kid, was Kiyotaka Ayanokouji. Also known as...the Masterpiece of the Whiterooms.

He had been trained, physically and mentally, since he was a child to become the perfect human. And he had done so. He was the peak of human intelligence and athleticism. He had strength, speed, agility and the versatile training in offense and defense from Professional fighters. Fighters he defeated on a regular basis. His knowledge knew no bounds, and he could solve problems that not even University students could in just thoughts. Truly, a masterpiece.

It was these two, this Father and Son, this mentor and student duo that sat together in a white room. Professor sat with a table in front of him, and Kiyotaka sat on a chair, as they both stared at each other. Had anyone else been in the room, the glares from them alone would've been enough to make someone piss themselves. Neither looked away from the other, as the Professor impatiently tapped his foot on the ground, in expectation of something. Kiyotaka didn't know why he was here. A few moments ago, he was beating the absolute shit, and nearly killing

ahem*

training with his instructor. Indeed, it was a normal sparring session, nothing more. Professor perked up, as a ping was heard on his phone. He looked away from Kiyotaka, as he checked his phone for a brief second. He smirked, as his expression softened.

"Everything goes according to plan." The Professor muttered. "Wouldn't you say so, Kiyotaka?"

"I would, if I knew what this plan of yours was." Kiyotaka replied. "I was training, when you abruptly interrupted me."

"I know." The Professor replied. "I was watching the footage quite intently. You do not disappoint, Masterpiece."

"Get to the point."

"So you did figure out I was stalling." The Professor stated, as he stared at Kiyotaka's emotionless expression.

"Like I said before, get to the point."

"Very well." The Professor said. "I am going to give you what you most desire."

"And that would be-" Kiyotaka prompted. 'Is he actually going to do it?' He asked himself. 'It seems genuine, but I know better than to trust him. Will he actually set me free?'

"Freedom from the Whiterooms." The Professor said. "It is yours, and today marks your last day here."

"You truly approve of this?" Kiyotaka asked. He could sense the doubt the Professor had. He could mask his emotions well, but not well enough that Kiyotaka wouldn't catch on. It was what he had done since he was 12. He coaxed the Professor into revealing what he thought was best for Kiyotaka to focus on, and then he did that thing. It was tricky, since the whole basis of the training he endured was Individualism. His own development, by himself. A key point of the training was always to figure out one's own strengths and weaknesses, and improve those under the watchful eye of the instructors. After monitoring this for years, Kiyotaka had managed to flip the dynamic entirely, making the instructors and his father act on his whims instead, so he could get stronger and gain knowledge quicker than they would normally have let him.

"I do." The Professor replied. "The whole purpose of the Whiterooms was to create the perfect human, and that has been done. Besides-" He continued, as he put a stack of papers on his desk."You have passed all your tests. Even under the harshest checking that the Whiteroom could provide, you scored a perfect 100 in every subject. And your essay on freedom...well it gave us quite the insight into your own psyche."

"It did?" Ayanokouji asked. 'It only gives you the insight into a psyche I want to portray. These 6 months have been spent well to ensure that the topic of freedom would raise flags with the evaluators. I wonder what the result came from this.'

"Indeed. No need to suppress your shock." The Professor replied. "Though I have to admit, it was a lot trickier than expected, and I have to say, I'm thoroughly impressed with everything you've achieved with this training."

"What's our next step from here?" Kiyotaka asked, his mind elsewhere. 'They really did fall for it. Perhaps I overestimated them. The essay was a farce, yet they bought it so easily. I considered it would take the outside development of me using addition influence, perhaps even physical force to augment the idea, but it seems there was no need for it. Was it truly this easy?'

"This." The Professor said, as he put a sheet of paper on his desk.

"The Advanced Nurturing High School?" Kiyotaka asked. 'Ah, so everything I can learn from the Whiterooms has been completed. But human interaction was never something that was taught...and that's where this comes in. Fascinating, if he thinks I will fall for this trick.'

"Now, I know what you're wondering." The Professor said. "Why do you need to go to a high school, when you have enough knowledge and more than enough skill to run the country on your own?"

"..."Ayanokouji sat silent, and the Professor took this as a sign to continue.

"The Whiterooms were built to create Masterpieces like you, so the future of the society could be improved." He began. "You, Kiyotaka, have completed this program, and all that's left for you, is to integrate with society. And that will be done through this high school. Consider it your final objective."

"My final objective?" Kiyotaka asked. "A normal high school life?"

"In a manner of speaking." The Professor replied. "It wouldn't be interesting if I let things be as they were. I might add some additional challenges along the way to test you, but I'm certain that you could do this easily."

"And what are the conditions?" Kiyotaka asked.

"You will maintain audio logs, at least three a day." The Professor said, as Kiyotaka raised an eyebrow. "The school knows of us, and has been informed. You have permission to send these audio logs to me on a daily basis. Starting from the first day of school, and till the end."

"Audio logs..." Kiyotaka began. "Interesting. But I suppose there is more to this. You will put tests, which I assume are challenges that would expose my true nature to the high school, correct?"

"Correct."

"And besides that, audio logs will act as your way to monitor the proceedings as they go." Kiyotaka said. "That gives me enough to assume that not only does someone else know of this place, most certainly a high official in the school, but I assume you plan to include a student too.As an "additional challenge"?"

"Close, but not quite." The Professor replied, before giving him the photo and profile of a kid.

"Kouenji Rokusuke?" Kiyotaka asked.

"He is the son of one of the shareholders of the Whiterooms." The Professor explained. "He will help to integrate you with the world outside. He knows of you, me and the other details. He is a little...different, but I have a guarantee that you will find yourself sufficiently entertained."

"And where do I go from here?" Kiyotaka asked.

"The entrance exam is in two weeks, and school should start in a month." The Professor explained. "An empty apartment has been prepared, and a credit card has also been provided to you for the month's expenses. After that, you will be staying in the dorms."

"Very well." Kiyotaka said. "Where and when am I going to meet...Kouenji?"

"That sounds like a you problem." 'Did he just...'

"I see." Kiyotaka replied, his expression emotionless as always. He got up, and turned to go, Kouenji's file in hand.

"Wait." The professor called out, as Kiyotaka stopped, but didn't turn around. "Before you go, I have one word for you. Dominate."

And just like that, a switch had been flicked in Kiyotaka's head. "Dominate" was an old strategy instilled into children during the early years of the Whiteroom. It was a strategy based on a simple philosophy, inarguable victory. To crush an opponent in front of you to such an extent that they never have the courage to come back from the grave. Ayanokouji walked away, with his objective in mind. He was going to show the world what the Masterpiece of the Whiteroom was made of, and he was going to crush everyone around him, either make them a tool, or remove them from the playing field entirely.

A month later,

"So Kouji-boy, you seem excited?" The one next to him, the "perfect existence" Kouenji Rokusuke asked, combing his blonde hair.

"I am curious, yes." Ayanokouji replied, as Kouenji chuckled.

"It is okay to accept your emotions." Kouenji replied. "Take this advice, from one "perfect existence" to another, emotions are powerful tools to use, and quite handy if you play with a side character's emotions."

"A side character?" Ayanokouji asked, as they waited for the bus to show up.

"A tool, as you call it." Kouenji said. "It's been a week since the beauty we hold has collided, and today, beings the journey of the world witnessing our glorious perfection."

"If you say so." Ayanokouji replied emotionless in expression and tone, as the bus pulled up. Neither said anything to each other, having no need to. Kouenji took the nearest seat, which just so happened to be a priority seat, while Ayanokouji, discreetly nodding to him, took a seat at the back. Kouenji, who understood the message, raised in index finger twice before putting it down discreetly, as he went back to combing his hair.

Ayanokouji zoned out, thinking of the last week, and the events that had taken place since he had met Kouenji. Their encounter was a pure coincidence, or "The Great Union of two Most Perfect Existences on this heavenly plane", as Kouenji described it. Though he had to admit, the last week had been quite interesting. Talking to Kouenji, learning about the outside world from him had been quite the experience. His way of talking was quite different, but Ayanokouji was glad that someone could keep up a conversation with him now, without him having to dumb down his words.

It was rare, quite so, that he found a person like this. His own father, while he could keep up, was not at Kouenji's level. But that's what it means to not only be a born genius, but to be born in a family of scholars. As such, he had quite the vast information network and an impressive knowledge base, however shallow it was compared to Ayanokouji's. He had a sneaky suspicion that his father had taken copies of important scriptures and or books from Kouenji's family, but he would have to confront his father to confirm this theory. It would explain why everything in Kouenji's library seemed so familiar to him. He felt physically familiar with the books, instead of the content familiarity he would normally associate with if he encountered a book along the similar topic.

However, something that intrigued him the most, was his way of speech. Kouenji was quite the interesting person, and spoke on a regular basis of others as "side characters", while Ayanokouji used a more dignifying "tools". Kouenji believed in his superiority, but unlike himself, Kouenji would not hesitate to put someone down. While Ayanokouji treated them as tools and thought of a long term process, Kouenji was a one time use and discard kind of person.

They had quite the dynamic between themselves. Kouenji also talked about "getting bitches" and Ayanokouji being a "Perfection of Cinnamon roles" meant to contrast against his "Gangsta Perfection", whatever that meant. Ayanokouji was still unsure of what that meant, but he had grown to understand that "Cinnamon roles" connected to innocence, and "Gangsta" connected to not being a virgin. How the two connected, he still had no idea.

"Excuse me...could you please give up your seat?" A voice called out, as Ayanokouji was brought out of his debate on whether Kouenji was insane, or it was him who was the insane one?

'Is she talking to me?' He asked himself, before he turned to the girl who had spoken. She seemed to be a brunette, and was wearing the same uniform as him. 'Hmm, I wonder if she could be a useful tool.' He thought to himself, as he watched her talk to Kouenji.

"That's a priority seat." She continued. "I think you should let this elderly lady sit there."

'I take it back, she's hopeless.'

"My, my, pretty girl." Kouenji began, as Ayanokouji tried not to roll his eyes. 'I thought of her first Kouenji, she's my tool, not one of your "bitches".' He decided, and looked at her again. 'Though it might take a lot of work to convert her. Oh...how troublesome.' "While it may be a priority seat, I have no legal obligation nor reason to relinquish it. You want me to give it up just because I'm young? Nonsense, truly."

The girl went to open her mouth, only for Kouenji to continue. "Even if I am young, standing consumes more stamina that sitting."

'That is true. On an average, the human body uses up more than 1.5 times the stamina it needs when it is standing in contrast to when it's sitting. The amount used up may be quite small, but it is an indisputable fact that sitting is much more efficient than standing, if done in stationary motion.' Ayanokouji thought to himself, as he continued to listen.

"Why should I do something so detrimental with no benefit to myself?" Kouenji asked again.

"I think you'd be contributing to society." The girl said, trying to justify herself. "And this lady seems to be having trouble staying upright..."

"I have no interest in contributing to society." Kouenji said, fixing his hair again. "Besides, what about those sitting on regular seats? The difference between regular and priority seats seems trivial to me."

"But..." The girl continued to plead.

"Really, it's fine." The old lady said, trying not to create a scene, even as the girl continued to plead.

"Apparently the older woman seems to have better hearing than you do. Oh dear, I guess Japanese society isn't completely useless yet. Enjoy the rest of your life to your heart's content." He said, saying the last part to the old lady herself, as Ayanokouji shook his head.

'Based on the old woman's trembling body, her uneven breathing rate that can be noticed even from here, the veins bulging visibly along her palm and her slightly tilted neck, her heart isn't going to be functional for that long.' Ayanokouji calculated. 'Well, that gives her at most seven months of content. Hopefully it's enough.'

"Excuse me!" The girl called out, this time talking to everyone. "Would any of you be willing to give up your seat?" She asked. 'Sorry my little tool, but I'm afraid adhering to your whims is not something I can do.'

Ayanokouji looked around, as he turned to the seat next to him, noticing a girl with long black hair. She was reading a book, completely ignoring what was transpiring in the bus. Ayanokouji turned back, as someone else from the back sat up, the guilt a bit too much for them. 'Weak.' Ayanokouji decided, as the rest of the bus journey was done in silence.

Soon enough, the bus stopped, as Kouenji looked at Ayanokouji, who tilted his head at a 5 degree angle. Understanding, Kouenji walked out of the bus quickly, and Ayanokouji slowly followed, keeping distance between them. Both of them had agreed on this, to initially keep their partnership a little secret. It was an instinctual decision, and a part of Ayanokouji's plan. Being the cultured chad that Kouenji was, he accepted, and made sure that all the attention was on his "Glorious" self, while Ayanokouji worked from the shadows, rising when he had taken over everything, and everyone.

"Wait." A voice called out from ahead, as the black haired girl from before had turned around, and was now looking at him. "You were looking at me on the bus a while back. Why's that?"

Ayanokouji looked at her, confused, even though he didn't show it on his face. The only expression that was visible, was boredom. "Did you get offended?"

"And what if I did? Give me an ans-"

"I don't care."

Ayanokouji replied, casually walking away, as the girl stood there, confused. The girl called out once more, before giving up and following along, as he ignored her.

A few minutes later,

"Next, we'll have a few words from our Student Council President." A girl called out, as a spectacles guy came up to the podium.

"I am the Student Council President, Manabu Horikita." He began. "As a representative of the upper classes, I would like to express my greetings to our newest students. As you might know, our school is highly accomplished in all aspects, and boasts a high employment and college entry rate. This is the pride of our school, which is achieved through hard work, of both our graduating students and those still attending. We expect the same from the new students..." He droned on, as Ayanokouji discreetly began talking.

"Continuing Audio log 1 after that interruption." He muttered under his breath, low enough that the state of the art device would catch it easily, but no one else would. "It seems that the black haired girl who tried to stop me is in the same class as I am. I also, as expected, share my class with Kouenji, but the brunette from the bus as well." He said, as people began to disperse, implying that the assembly had ended.

"I do not have any plans for the black haired girl yet, I am still assessing her usefulness." Ayanokouji whispered. "The brunette from before seems useful, though I am not sure of her abilities besides her extroverted nature. I will label her as "Ambiguous" for now, and the black haired girl as "Questionable". I will end Audio log 1 here." He said, before disabling the device, as Kouenji ended up standing next to him in the crowd. No one noticed them, as others were too busy talking to each other.

"So Kouji-boy, you were making an Audio log?" He asked.

"Yes. I just finished." He replied.

"Aw, what a pity." Kouenji said. "I might have had the chance to regale Ayanopapa with my tales of Great Perfection."

"I might give you a chance later on." Ayanokouji replied, as reached their class. Class D.

"Do you see that camera in the back corner?" Kouenji asked, and Ayanokouji nodded, as they were still hidden, the rest of the class too busy discussing within themselves. "Hmm, a camera in a normal classroom like this. And with you and me here...things might just begin to get interesting Kouji-boy. They just might..."

S-System and New Ally.

Continuing from the last chapter,

"What an unpleasant coincidence." The black haired girl said, who just so happened to be sitting next to Ayanokouji, who didn't reply.

"Everyone, may I have your attention please?" A voice called out, as Ayanokouji noticed a boy standing in front of the class. "I was hoping we could all introduce ourselves, to get better acquainted early on the first day. The teacher doesn't seem to be here yet as well. What do you think?"

"I'm in!" The brunette from before said.

"Sounds good for me."

"Yeah, I don't even know anyone's names."

'Interesting.' Ayanokouji thought to himself. 'If it goes like this, he will probably end up being the class leader, or voice of reason. Hmm, maybe I should go along with this, I might get a useful tool in him. So, he seems to be friendly, and smiles a lot. Thanks to Kouenji's training, I can fake a friendly attitude. No time like the present to test that.'

"I'll go first then. I'm Hirata Yosuke." He introduced himself. "Just call me Yosuke. My hobby is all kinds of sports, and I intend to join the soccer club at this school. Nice to meet you all!"

'Hmm, makes it better for me. I can talk to him during a sports club, since I have trained in soccer. It was indoors, so the terrain may be problematic, but nothing that can't be fixed.' Ayanokouji contemplated. 'He does seem like a gullible person, so that shouldn't be much of a problem.'

"I'll go next!" The brunette from the bus said. "My name is Kikyo Kushida, and since none of my friends from middle school came to this school, I want to get to know everyone and become friends! I wish to make lots of good memories, so don't hesitate to invite me anywhere!"

'Another popular one.' Ayanokouji thought to himself, as he stood up. 'Two useful tools. Now based on the information I've got, I have to make an introduction that connects with both of them, so it makes it easier for me to manipulate them.' He mentally groaned. 'Okay Kiyotaka, you can do this, remember your training, and make the fakest smile, and say the fakest things you've ever said in your life. You got this.'

"Is it okay if I go next?" Ayanokouji asked, as Hirata, Kushida, the girl next to him with black hair, and Kouenji looked up.

'So you're finally using your training, huh Kouji-boy?' Kouenji smirked. 'Hmm, let's see how you go about this.'

"Sure, go ahead." Hirata replied, as Kushida nodded as well.

"I'm Kiyotaka Ayanokouji. I was home schooled before this, so I am a little shy." Ayanokouji said sheepishly, a small smile on his face as a few girls blushed. "But I do play soccer and swim, and since I've never had friends before, I would like to get to know everyone. Nice to meet you." He said, smiling fully this time, as Hirata smiled back, and Kushida squealed in excitement. Many of the girls were smiling at him, and a few had this hungry look in their eyes.

"Why are they looking at me like that?" Ayanokouji asked, confused.

"Ayanokouji-kun, trust me, you don't want to know." He replied, as they both nodded at each other, and he waved at Kushida. Kouenji winked at him, and he shrugged in response. He was about to sit back down, only to hear a loud noise from the last seat in the corner.

"For god's sake, what's with this introduction shit?!" The tall guy called out. "Are we little kids? Do it with someone who'd listen to that shit."

"Everyone, on your seats." A voice called out, as a woman, presumably their teacher walked in She seemed to be in her late twenties or early thirties, with long black hair going halfway till her back ." I'm the homeroom teacher for Class D, Sae Chabashira."

'Hmm, she shows more emotion than the Whiteroom instructors for sure.' Ayanokouji noted.

"There will be no changing of classes in this school." Sae continued. "I will be your homeroom teacher for the next three years until you graduate. First, I'll hand out this school rule book." She said, as they passed the rule books to all the students. The guy in front of him smiled as he passed it, and Ayanokouji smiled back.

'It's working already.' He thought to himself, as he looked at the book.

"We have special rules in this school. First, you will live in dorms, and while in school, your ability to leave campus and contact the outside world will be limited." Sae explained. "But, fear not. This school has a variety of facilities lined up. All your daily needs can be found here, including entertainment."

'So no outside contact.' Ayanokouji thought to himself. 'Besides the audio logs, my way of checking on my father's movements is gone now. What a drag...'

"To buy things, " Sae continued. "you will use points stored in the school's official computer system. In this school, you can buy anything using points."

'Anything, huh? Got to make sure if there is a limit or not...'

"Points are allotted on the first day of each month. One point equals one Yen. You have already been allotted 100,000 points for this month." Sae sensei added, as multiple people gasped in shock.

'Hmm, so 100,000 is the initial amount.' Ayanokouji and Kouenji thought at the same time.

'That's quite the amount for one student. Wonder how the criteria of points changes from there. What decides how it goes down?' Kouenji thought to himself, whereas Ayanokouji's thoughts continued.

'Hmm, that has to be it!' He concluded in his head. 'The CCTV, it just has to be it! No normal classroom would have CCTV's inside, they would usually trust a teacher's judgement inside the classroom and how she teaches. So... our behavior is closely monitored. Does it affect our points? It has to. Hmm, based on the kid with the attitude, I would say behavior is going to be a problem. So I will have to stack points up quickly. Hmm, humans are quite the greedy creatures...let's see where I can go from this.'

Ayanokouji began furiously typing on his phone, his training into coding, programming and skill in web development and technology on full throttle, as the girl next to him discreetly looked at his phone. All she saw was programming and code, which flew too fast for her to even understand properly.

"Are you surprised by your allotment?" Sae asked. "This school judges students based on their proficiency. You have already received significant value just for being admitted here. Remember that, and a good day to you." Sae concluded, leaving the class. As soon as she left, a loud ping went on everyone's phone, as they looked at it.

"An anonymous gambling channel..." The girl next to Ayanokouji began, muttering under her breath. "For students who wish to challenge themselves. There is no upper limit to how much you can stake, and there's no upper limit to how much you can win. Your anonymous usernames are connected to your student ID's, so no student will be revealed. The points one could win can be 100,000, 1,000,000, maybe more. Anything can be bought from points. Untold riches await those who achieve victory, and a future school life of luxury. Start now."

She snapped her head towards Ayanokouji, only for her eyes to widen in shock, when she noticed he was looking at the notification as well. 'I-it wasn't him?'

"Why are you staring at me?" Ayanokouji asked, as the girl huffed angrily, before getting up and leaving. Ayanokouji turned in the front, before passing the guy in front of him his phone back.

"Thank you for letting me see it."

"No problem man!" The guy cheerfully replied. "Though I'm surprised your phone's out of battery. The school mustn't have charged it for you!"

"Yeah, they probably didn't..." Ayanokouji replied, as the signal for "Complete" was displayed on his screen, and multiple silenced notifications showed up on his phone.

Three days later,

"Excuse me, you are the Student Council President, Horikita, correct?" Ayanokouji asked, as the President turned to him, the light from the setting Sun glinting against his glasses.

"Indeed. Who might you be?" He asked, a small curious smile on his face.

"Oh, I'm Ayanokouji, a first year. Nice to meet you." Ayanokouji replied, as they took a seat on a bench.

"It is my pleasure to meet the bright future of this school." Manabu replied. 'Ayanokouji, the name sounds familiar...' "How can I help you, my young Kouhai?"

"Senpai, I had a few questions that I required clarification upon." Ayanokouji began.

"Very well, I will do my best to aid you." Manabu replied, as he fixed his glasses upright.

"They were regarding the S-System." Ayanokouji said, as the smirk flew off of his face. His glasses went askew, and his entire demeanor began to change, stiffening up.

"I apologize, but I am not at liberty to discuss any information regarding that topic." Manabu replied, going up to leave.

"Wait." Ayanokouji called out, as he froze. "In class, we were told that we could buy anything in this school with points."

"Indeed, that is true." Manabu replied, as his eyes widened in realization.

"Well Senpai, I would like to buy all the information you have about the S-System." Ayanokouji said. "How are points allotted, what all factors affect our points, do we get them individually or are there specific points that we receive collectively as a class, all of it."

"Hmm, not many realize this purpose. You are quite the bright student." Manabu replied. "Though I'm afraid you may not have enough points-" He began, only to look at Ayanokouji's phone in shock. "4.2 million? How-I see." He deduced, straightening his posture back.

"So you're the one who created the gambling channel, and the one who has never lost a game?" Manabu asked. "They say you have the Devil's luck, and I have to admit, giving credit to the student council for this, along with a 1,000,000 point deposit was quite the gamble."

"Indeed." Ayanokouji replied. He figured if there was a chance that he could use to understand the working of the school, it would be now. As such, he wouldn't reveal everything yet, but he knew he had to come clean in some regards.

"Some of the best members of the Student council could not find the person behind this." Manabu continued. "You've got quite the potential. Though I'm afraid, the price is 5 million, and this is still not enough."

"I see."

"Though I do believe you will figure it out on your own." Manabu replied, as Ayanokouji tilted his head. "You have shown a keen intellect, and that impresses me. I have to admit it, but you may just surpass even myself."

"I-"

"You need not worry." Manabu replied. "I figured that since you managed to corner me while I was returning to my dorms, and in a completely hidden area, you wouldn't want people knowing, correct?"

"Correct. You have quite the eye for detail."

"Three years of experience does that." Manabu replied, as he offered his hand. "I assure you that this meeting will remain a secret, and I will not reveal who you are. In exchange-"

"If it's joining the Student Council, it's a no." Ayanokouji replied, as Manabu shook his head.

"No, I was not asking for that." Manabu replied, before continuing. "In exchange, I would like 5% of your profits from gambling, as well as to get to know you better." He said, before giving him a slip of paper. "Here's my number, and keep in touch. It was a pleasure to meet you, Ayanokouji-kun."

"Goodbye." Ayanokouji replied, waving as he walked away.

'He's an intriguing fellow.' Manabu thought to himself. 'The future of this school is in good hands. All that's left, is to watch his progression, and mold him when the time comes. Looks like I just might find a better successor than Nagumo.'

The next day,

"You play soccer quite well, Ayanokouji-kun." Hirata commented, as Ayanokouji shrugged.

"I'm not as good as you, and most of it was probably just luck." He replied.

"You shouldn't say that Ayanokouji-kun!" Kushida exclaimed. "You played really well today, you and Hirata-kun make a great team." She replied, as Ayanokouji looked at her eyes, and his gaze went downwards for a second, before going back up as he looked away.

"I guess." He replied.

"You're also the only one who talks to Horikita-san, right?" Hirata asked, as Kushida nodded.

"Yeah, I want to be friends with her, but she never gives me her number. You must have it though, right Ayanokouji-kun?" Kushida pleaded, as Ayanokouji shook his head.

"I can't say I'm really friends with her." He replied. "She doesn't seem to like me much."

"I want to be friends with everyone in school." Kushida said. " Will you please help me?"

"Fine, I guess I will." Ayanokouji said. "See you later, Hirata."

"I will meet you at club practice, Ayanokouji-kun." He replied, before walking away.

After classes,

"This school really is indulgent." Horikita began, as Ayanokouji looked at her, confused.

"Huh?"

"Students play around and nap in class, but the teacher never calls them out. Is this really an Advanced School run by the government?" She asked.

"Maybe they want to encourage student autonomy, I think." He replied.

"Perhaps." She responded. 'He is a little mysterious.' She thought to herself. 'He says he wants to make friends, but besides idle conversation, he only talks to Kushida, Hirata and myself. He also just goes along with what others say, which while making him a good guy to be with and someone who can fit into multiple groups, it also shows that he is quite gullible. It won't be too hard for me to use him to get things done indirectly. Hmm, seems like it.'

"If you're going home, would you like to come with me?" He asked.

"What are you after?" She retorted.

"Does an invitation suggest an ulterior motive?" He asked back.

"If you'll tell me specifically what you want, I'd be willing to hear you out." Horikita replied.

"You know that café in the mall, right?" He asked. "The one where lots of girls hang out. Would you go there with me?"

"Why me? Why not Kushida?"

"Kushida is meeting other friends." He explained. "Besides, I'm not brave enough to get there by myself. It has this "no boys allowed" feeling there, right?"

"Well, I guess I will have to accompany you." Horikita replied, sighing.

"That might be a painful truth, but it's a truth anyway." He lied. 'I'm more than welcome to go there anytime, and I have already been there with three other girls before. If you weren't Manabu's sister, and Kushida wasn't interested in you, I would have long deemed you a useless tool.'

They both entered the café, luckily managing to get a table quickly.

"It is quite crowded." Horikita noticed.

"Is this your first time too?" Ayanokouji asked. "Ah, right. You're a loner."

"Are you mocking me?" Horikita asked. "How childish."

"The only childish thing in a café full of children is your superiority complex and immaturity, but we can discuss that later." Ayanokouji muttered, as Horikita glared at him.

"Did you call me here to argue?" Horikita asked, as Ayanokouji shook his head.

"You know, I wonder if we look like a couple to the oth-" He stopped, noticing her glare. "Yeah, probably not."

"Horikita-san!" Kushida exclaimed. "What a coincidence! You too Ayanokouji-kun!" She said, taking a seat next to an annoyed Horikita. "Do you two come here often?"

"We just happened to be here today." Ayanokouji replied.

"Well, my friends just left, so I was-"

"I'm leaving." Horikita said, getting up."

"Hey, we only just got here." He said.

"Since Kushida-san is here, you wouldn't need me anymore, would you?" Horikita asked.

"Well..."

"I don't like this. What are you after?" She asked, turning to Kushida.

"Wh-what are you talking about?" Kushida asked. "It's just a coincidence."

'And there you go screwing things up.' Ayanokouji thought to himself.

"The girls who were sitting here, and the two girls at the next table over there, were all students from Class D." Horikita explained. "A coincidence?"

"I'm impressed." Ayanokouji said. "I didn't even recognize them."

"We came here right after the class ended, which means they could only have been in the café for a few minutes." She continued. "It's too soon for them to be leaving."

'A trick this easy, and it took you this long to realize?' Ayanokouji noticed. 'I had better expectations, but it can be improved upon, ever so slightly.'

"Umm." Kushida began.

"I'm sorry." Ayanokouji replied. "We did set you up."

"I thought as much." Horikita said.

"Horikita-san! Please be my friend!" Kushida pleaded.

"I want you to leave me alone." Horikita replied coldly. "I won't cause trouble for the class."

"But, you'll be lonely all by yourself." Kushida said.

"I have never once felt lonely by myself." Horikita added.

'Lie.'

"You're wasting your time." She added. "Every word coming out of your mouth disgusts me."

"Enough." Ayanokouji said. "If you won't be friends with anyone, you'll be alone for the next three years."

"I've been alone for the last 9 anyways, so I don't mind." Horikita said, leaving.

'So that's how it is. A sibling rift. Useful.' Ayanokouji related. 'Horikita you fool, giving me all the information I need, without me having to do anything at all.'

"Sorry." Kushida said. "I might have made Horikita hate you..."

"Don't worry." Ayanokouji replied.

"Maybe I'll never be her friend..." Kushida said, as they both left the café. "If I can't make friends with my own classmates, I guess my goal is still far away." She said, as Ayanokouji silently walked next to her. Kushida suddenly looked up, as a girl with long...blond? Strawberry? hair waved at her.

'She's beautiful.' Ayanokouji thought absentmindedly, before he froze for a second. 'Where did that come from?'

"Oh, it's Ichinose-san!" Kushida exclaimed. "Honami Ichinose from Class B. We became friends yesterday." Kushida explained, as the two waved at each other. Ayanokouji and Ichinose's eyes met each other for a brief second, before they both looked away, continuing to walk.

'Honami Ichinose of Class B. The most popular girl in the school, or so they say.' He thought to himself, as he turned back to look at her one last time. In the light of the setting Sun, her skin seemed to glow, and her hair danced in the breeze with a soft melody to them. 'Does that popularity come from being approachable and "nice". If so, I can see why she and Kushida are the most popular. But...could there be something beyond the persona of kindness, after all, it takes a lot to lead an entire class. It seems I'll have to keep an eye on you...'

The truth behind the S-System.

A month later,

'It's May 1st, and no points received.' Ayanokouji thought to himself, sitting in class as he looked at his phone. ' As expected. So class behavior and conduct does affect everyone else's points. I wonder if there is a broader category, such as group or class points. Hmm, considering the hierarchy established in this school, from Class A to D, it is highly probable that this will be the case. However, what all things can affect these points? Exams, possibly, activities such as sports? Also probable, this school does encourage an all round performance for all.'

'So, it is as you expected Kouji-boy.' Kouenji thought to himself, as his eyes met Ayanokouji's. 'What are your plans after this? Will you help Hirata bring these imperfect and flawed misfits together? My "Perfect Existence" can only wait to see your plan, "Masterpiece".'

"On your seats." Sae's voice called out, as Ayanokouji looked up. "Morning homeroom will now begin."

"Sensei! We didn't get our points!" A guy on the other side yelled out. "We're supposed to get them on the first day of the month, right?"

"No, this month's points have been allotted." Sae sensei explained.

'True. But the points we earned are 0, so the points we have didn't change at all. If that is the case, and class performance is what brought us down, then did the class have a certain amount of points at the beginning of the year? It did, yes. And we get our number based on that...so what's the deciding value? Do we get 100 points for 1 class point? A 1000?'

"The points have been allotted, that is certain." Sae sensei repeated. "There is no chance that this class has been overlooked either."

'Dropping repeated hints that we earned 0 points...yet no one seems to get it.' Ayanokouji sighed, and turned to look at Horikita, who stared straight ahead, but he could tell she was confused from her body language. 'Not even you? Truly disappointing... Manabu, are you sure I can change your sister? Her stubborn attitude might be the biggest obstacle I'll face, and I learnt how to use weapons.'

"But we didn't get any points at all!" He exclaimed.

"Are you all really that stupid?" Sae sensei asked, the air suddenly ominous, reminiscent to the dark skies outside. "A combined total of 98 cases of tardiness and absences. 391 cases of talking as cell phone usage in class.I counted every infraction."

'So that is the purpose of the cameras. As expected, but I didn't expect her to personally check them. Hmm...'

"That's a lot of deeds for a mere month." Sae sensei continued. "In this school, your grades and performance evaluations, and your class performance is reflected in the amount of points received monthly."

'Knew it.'

"My personal evaluation of you all has resulted in the loss of all 100,000 points you were to be given. The points you're received for this month...are 0." Sae sensei concluded.

"You mean I have to live with no money for this month?" Ike asked.

'Probably more if you don't change your ways. Don't get your hopes up.'

"Wh-what?"

"Did you really think that you, a mere high school student, were to be given a 100,000 yen a month to spend without being bound?" Sae sensei asked.

'Indeed, you would have to be downright delusional or stupid to not realize that.'

"That's absurd. Use your common sense. If you had your doubts, why didn't you anything about them?" Sae sensei asked. "I told you on the first day, didn't I? This school judges students based on their proficiency. Which means, you're all worth nothing."

'Hence the Class D status. If I were to put the class hierarchy in terms of society, A would be the Kings, B would be the Ministers, traders all those who hold some influence. C would be the local merchant, the peasant who doesn't have much, but works hard, and has some respect for that. And finally D. The ruffians, the beggars, utter worst of the society who beg, borrow and steal to compensate for their shortcomings, yet never show effort to come to a peasant or merchant's level. With most of their points spent, most students in Class D will either try to borrow points, or live off of the free stuff given.'

"You're garbage, and that, is the truth." Sae sensei concluded. "An indisputable fact that you need to accept."

"Well then, can you at least tell us the details about how points are increased or decreased? We will always try to do our best from now on." Hirata pleaded.

"That's not possible. We are not allowed to divulge the details of how we assess merit to the students. It's the same as the real world. When all of you enter society, and find work in some kind of business, they probably won't tell you how you're assessed—that's up to the company, though. However... I'm not trying to be cold, nor do I hate you guys." Sae sensei said, before beginning to write numbers on the board. Classes A to D were listed on the paper, with numbers right next to them. Our class D with 0. Class C with 490. Class B with 650. And class A had the highest number with 940.

'So 100 yen a class point, huh? At least, that's what's most probable.' Ayanokouji thought to himself. 'I wonder, if I sacrifice 1,000,000 points out of my reserve of 11,000,000 , will I be able to buy 10,000 Class Points?'

'It seems I'll have to ask her in the future...' Ayanokouji concluded, putting the topic at bay for now.

"This, is the S-System." Sae sensei explained, pointing to the board. "It assesses the students in real time and assigns their numerical values. Look, all of you in Class D have proven, wonderfully, that you deserve to be last in the rankings. That you're the worst kind of defectives." She explained. "I'm impressed. No class have ever exhausted their points before, in a single month, not even the previous Class D."

'As such we were put in Class D. The 100% employment rate, all of those things only apply for those who rise above in these rankings.' Ayanokouji deduced. 'It is like the real world, the person who has potential, who shows the capability, whether mental or physical, and uses it with full potential is the one that rises above all others.'

Ayanokouji looked at Horikita, who looked down, gritting her teeth. 'Ah, so Class A, or rising above is her goal? To her brother's level? It's impossible, but I'll let her live in her delusions.'

"These," Sae sensei said, pointing to the points. "Are the "class points" currently held by each class. For each Class point, a 100 private points are allotted to each student in this class. When you first enrolled, each class had 1000 class points."

"Is there a chance for us to gain more points?" Kushida asked.

'Good job Kushida. Gather information. You will make a really useful tool someday.'

"Yes, there is." Sae sensei replied. "If you earn more points than Class C, as a result, you'll be promoted to Class C, while Class C will be demoted to Class D."

'Status and hierarchy change based on performance. Such as the child of a peasant becoming a minister, potential and work is what decides everything.'

"Your closest opportunity will be the upcoming midterms." Sae sensei continued, as Ayanokouji discreetly noticed Horikita writing everything Sae sensei had said till now. "Depending on your scores, you might be granted a maximum of 100 Class Points."

"Only 100?"

"However, these, are the results of the previous quiz." Sae sensei said, as she put a chart on the board, showing the marks of all the students in her class. "Just look at how garbage these are!"

"Starting next time," Sae sensei began, with a sinister glint in her eye. "anyone who receives a failing score on their midterms or finals, will be instantly expelled." Multiple gasps of shock were heard, as Horikita looked up in surprise, but quickly masked it.

'Not quick enough. Stop misleading the readers, Author-san.'

'Shut up Ayanokouji! Don't break the fourth wall!'

'Whatever.' He sighed, as he sat back and waiting for class to get over.

A few hours later,

"Ayanokouji-kun, you swim quite well." Hirata commented, as Ayanokouji shrugged.

"I know all the strokes, but I'm not fast or anything." He replied.

"Aw, don't put yourself down Ayanokouji-kun." Kushida stated. "You were swimming really well."

"Yeah, and you're pretty muscular too." Another girl added.

"Yeah, you have 6 packs. You must have played a lot of sports before this, right?" A girl asked, as Ayanokouji rubbed his head sheepishly.

"A little. It wasn't as much as I would've wanted though." He replied.

"Hey! Horikita-san!" Kushida called out, as Ayanokouji turned to that direction, watching. "Would you like to swim with us?"

"No way." Was her short response.

"Horikita-san, are you not good at swimming?" Kushida asked, as Horikita looked away.

"I'm neither good nor bad at it." She replied.

"If you're shy about your swimming skills, don't worry." Hirata said. "Ayanokouji-kun can help you."

"I can?"

"About that," Hirata said awkwardly, before turning to him. "Well, I'm not that comfortable with backstroke, and since you said you know them all, so I was wondering if you could help me with it?"

"I guess."

"See?" Hirata asked, turning back to Horikita. "If there's a problem, Ayanokouji-kun will help you?"

'No I won't.'

"Yeah!" Kushida exclaimed in agreement.

'No! Don't agree with him!'

"Back in middle school, I was awful at swimming." Kushida stated. "But I practiced really hard, and now I can do it just fine. I could also help if you-"

"I see, good for you." Horikita stated, before walking away.

"She's completely unapproachable, isn't she?" Ayanokouji asked. 'Stupid attitude problems. It's not even been half a year and one of my tools is already defective. What a drag.'

"I wish we could get along a bit..." Kushida began, worried. They sighed, before letting it be, as they continued swimming. It went like that for a few more minutes, slow, easy and calm.

"Everyone." Hirata's voice called out, as they all turned to him. "I want you to focus on me and listen for a minute. We couldn't get any points today. This is a problem that's going to haunt us for the rest of our school career."

'Not me, I plan to transfer to Class A after gathering 20-25 million points.'

"We can't possibly make it to graduation with 0 points." Hirata continued. "That's why we need to make sure that we get some points next month."

"Whatever you're doing, suit yourselves." Sudo said irritably. "Leave me out of it." He said, pushing Hirata out of the way as he walked away. Hirata looked at him go, and sighed.

"D-Class..." Manabu stated, as he watched the scene from in between the blinds of his office. "Sakayanagi of Class A... and Katsuragi, congratulations." He stated, looking at the two present. "Your class received 940 points this month. This is something to be proud of."

'Hmm, I wonder what you will do next, Ayanokouji-kun.' He thought to himself. 'I know you'll bring D-Class back from the brink, but how? What is your next step? I will await your move.'

"Do you have plans for lunch?" Horikita asked, as they met up in class later.

"Yes, I'm sitting with Hirata and the rest." Ayanokouji swiftly replied.

"I see." Horikita stated, looking down...in disappointment? Ayanokouji sighed, before walking away, as he met up with Hirata, Kushida, and a few others.

"What do you think we should do, Ayanokouji-kun?" Hirata asked, as Ayanokouji looked up from his food.

"About the three who didn't join?" Ayanokouji asked, as Hirata nodded.

"I wonder why they didn't join?" Kushida asked. "It would be so much fun to study together."

"Sudo, right?" Karuizawa asked.

"Yamauchi and Ike as well."

"They didn't look like the active study kind, though." Ayanokouji muttered.

"True, but they're our classmates." Hirata said. "We have to help them."

"But how?" Kushida asked.

"Ayanokouji-kun, can you hold a study group, just for them?" Hirata asked.

"I'm not sure." Ayanokouji replied. "However, if Kushida was to help me, maybe I could."

"Okay, I'll help you!" Kushida stated excitedly. "What do I do?"

"Well, you-" Ayanokouji began, but was interrupted, as a voice was heard on the speakers.

"Kiyotaka Ayanokouji from Class D, Chabashira Sensei is calling for you. Please come to the staff room." The voice said, as Ayanokouji looked up, confused.

"Looks like you were called by the teacher." Karuizawa said.

"I guess." Ayanokouji replied, getting up as he left to go to the Staff room.

'I wonder why I have been called.' Ayanokouji questioned himself as he reached in front of the Staff room. 'Have they figured out I started the gambling channel? No, Manabu said he'll take the responsibility, so it's not that. Then...' Ayanokouji sighed, opening the door as he looked in. Sensei wasn't there, instead, there was another teacher present. She had wavy, shoulder-length hair that gave off an adult-like impression.

"Um, is Chabashira sensei here?" Ayanokouji asked, as the teacher looked back, stopping from checking herself in the mirror.

"What? Sae-chan? She was here until a few moments ago..." The teacher replied."Looks like she had something to do. Do you want to wait inside?"

"No, that's okay." Ayanokouji replied. "I'll wait outside." He decided, and stepped outside. However, just as he had done that, the teacher followed outside.

"I'm Hoshinomiya Chie, responsible for class B. I've been best friends with Sae since high school. We're close enough to call each other Sae-chan and Chie-chan~."

'I did not need that information.'

"Ne, why did Sae-chan call you here? Ne ne, why?"

"I don't know." Ayanokouji honestly replied. "She didn't tell me anything."

"I don't understand. You were called out without being given the reason? Sounds fun." She said. "What's your name?" She asked, followed by a barrage of questions.

"My name's Ayanokouji."

"Ayanokouji-kun? Isn't that a cool name~. You're popular, right?"

'Why is she getting closer?' Ayanokouji asked himself. 'I swear, if this was an all boy's school, she'd probably capture the hearts of every student.'

"Ne ne, do you already have a girlfriend?"

"Um, no." Ayanokouji replied.

"That's weird, I would've totally gone for you if we were in the same class. Is it because you're too innocent?" She asked, as she poked his cheeks with her fingers.

'What should I even say?' Ayanokouji asked himself. 'If I suddenly lick her fingers, she'd probably stop, but if it's brought up at a staff meeting, I'd probably be expelled immediately.' He stood there, frozen.

"What are you doing, Hoshinomiya?" Sae sensei's voice called out, as Ayanokouji sighed in relief.

'Thank the Whiterooms! I'm saved!'

Suddenly, Chabashira hit Hoshinomiya-sensei's head with a clipboard. Hoshinomiya-sensei squatted down, holding her head in pain.

"Oww. What'd you do that for!"

"That's because you were doing weird things with students in here."

"I was only talking to him while he was waiting for you to come back!"

"Just leave it at that. Sorry for making you wait, Ayanokouji. Well then, let's move to the guidance room."

"No, I didn't wait long. Also, the guidance room... did I do something? I thought I was living a non-conspicuous school life."

"A good response. Come with me."

'What is going on?' Ayanokouji asked himself, following her along. Suddenly, Hoshinomiya-sensei walked up next to Ayanokouji with a smile. When she noticed, Chabashira-sensei turned around and glared at her.

"Not you, you stay back."

"Don't say it so coldly~. It's no big deal if I listen too, right? Besides, Sae-chan isn't the type to give one-on-one lessons, right? Also, to take Ayanokouji-kun to the guidance room out of the blue... do you have some kind of goal?"

Replying to Chabashira-sensei's question with a grin, she got behind Ayanokouji and put her hands on his shoulders.

'No! Don't involve me.'

"By any chance, Sae-chan, are you looking for a younger man?"

'A younger man?' Ayanokouji asked himself. 'What does that mean? And why would Sae sensei look for someone like that? I'll ask Kouenji.'

"Don't say stupid things. That's impossible."

"Fufu, certainly. It's impossible for Sae-chan~"

"How long are you going to follow us? This is a problem concerning class D."

"Eh? Can't I go with you? Is that no good? Look, I can give advice too~"

However, her dreams of following us were interrupted, as the girl with strawberry hair showed up.

'Ichinose...' Ayanokouji thought to himself. 'So she's the one who saves me from this female demon. Not even female instructors in the Whiterooms are as obsessive over students as she is.'

"Hoshinomiya-sensei. Do you have time right now? The student council has matters to discuss."

"Look, she's looking for you. Hurry up and go." Chabashira-sensei hit Hoshinomiya-sensei's butt with her clipboard.

"Mou~. I think she'll get mad if I stay any longer, so see you later, Ayanokouji-kun. Well, let's go to the staff room, Ichinose-san." With that, she turned on her heel and went back to the staff room with Ichinose.

' Ichinose, the leader of Class B.'Ayanokouji thought to himself, watching her go . 'She seems to be quite close to her homeroom teacher, at least, based on body language. Class B is said to be a united, friendly class. Hmm, I did say I wanted to make friends in this school, and it would be suspicious if I didn't follow up on that. It seems I will have to approach her, and by extension, her class in the near future.'

Ayanokouji sighed, looking away as he followed Sae sensei to the guidance room, which was quite close to the Staff room.

"Then... what was the reason you called me?"

"Um, about that... before I talk about that, come over here." While glancing at the clock on the wall, she opened a door that was in the room. She put a kettle on top of the stove in the office kitchen. "I'll be making some green tea. Are you ok with roasted green tea?"

'Why is she doing this? What's her motive here?' Ayanokouji discreetly dug his hand into his left pocket, and switched on the audio player, and began recording. 'I don't know what's going on, so it's safer that I record this.'

"Don't do anything extra. Enter quietly. Until I say it's ok to come back out, stand here quietly. If you don't, you'll be expelled."

"Ha? What do you mean—" He asked. 'It wasn't even 5 seconds, and I've already got a clip of her blackmailing a student. Just why is she desperate enough for this? What is going on here? What's the bigger picture that I'm missing?'

Without giving any other explanation, Sae left the kitchen, closing the door behind her. Ayanokouji, for now deciding to follow her orders, quietly whispered everything that had happened so far into the audio device, before staying completely silent, but leaving it to play. It wasn't long, before Ayanokouji heard the sound of the guidance room opening.

"Here, come in. Well then, what do you have to say to me? Horikita."

'Horikita?' Ayanokouji was surprised. He quickly stopped the recording, before starting another one. But this one, was different. Different because the audio was being sent live to Manabu's phone, who, while surprised, closed the door of his office and locked it, before beginning to listen in as well. He trusted Ayanokouji's judgement, and if he was sending him this, then it must be essential.

"I will ask you frankly. Why was I put into class D?"

'Here we go again.'

The confrontations and Exam preparations

Continuing from the last chapter,

"I will ask you frankly. Why was I put into class D?" Horikita asked.

'Here we go again.'

"Are you really asking frankly?" Sae sensei replied, as Horikita continued to explain herself.

"Today sensei, you said that the classes were divided by superiority. And that class D was the lowest collection of leftovers."

"I did indeed say that. It looks like you consider yourself as a "superior" person." Sae sensei stated, a small smirk on her face.

'That superiority complex...' Ayanokouji thought to himself. 'It's going to be quite the hindrance if not controlled.'

"I believe that I solved nearly all the problems on the entrance exam, and had no big mistakes during the interview." Horikita replied. "At the very least, I don't think I should be in class D."

'Academics wise, I understand where she is coming from.' Ayanokouji analyzed. 'On the results for the test earlier, Horikita was tied for first place. But this school is different, it goes beyond academics. It sees physical prowess, personality, background and so much more. If you cannot analyze the environment around you, then you'll never fit in. And you, Horikita, are yet to understand the dynamics of this school.'

'However,' Ayanokouji continued his own rant. 'The fact that you're questioning your own place, the fact that you do have the ability to introspect, is quite an important one. It will take time, but you will blossom into a useful tool for me in the future.'

"Solved nearly all the problems on the entrance exam, is it. Usually, we can't show the results of the entrance exam, but I'll give you a special exception. I have your answer sheet here by chance."

'By chance...right.'

"You are thoroughly prepared, I see. ...Looks like you also knew I would come here to protest my placement."

"I'm a teacher. I understand the students to some degree at the very least. Horikita Suzune. As you thought, on the entrance examination, you were 3rd place among the incoming first-years. Your scores were behind first and second by only a small margin. You did very well. There were no particular problems that we observed during the interview either. Rather, you were highly rated." Sae sensei explained.

'Third in the entrance exam?' Ayanokouji wondered. 'Kouenji would have been second, but who was first? It seems I did underestimate you to some extent Horikita. You seem to become more useful by the second.'

"Thank you very much. Then—why?" She asked, confusion clearly visible on her face.

"Before that, why are you dissatisfied with class D?" Sae sensei asked.

"There is no one that would be happy when they are not correctly evaluated." Horikita replied.

'You were correctly evaluated. You just have to look beyond your superiority complex and your attitude. If not for them, you would have surely been placed higher, maybe B or C.'

"Also, the differences between classes also greatly affect future prospects. It's only natural that I'm unhappy." Horikita continued.

'That...is surprisingly understandable.' Ayanokouji realized. 'If you ignore the whole "I'm better than everyone else" part.' Chabashira-sensei snickered, or rather, openly laughed, at Horikita.

"I recognize that your academic ability is high. You are definitely smart. However, who decided that smart people were the ones who got into the superior classes? We never said that."

"That's—that's just common sense."

"Common sense? Didn't that "common sense" create the broken Japan we live in now? Indeed, we used to separate the inferior from the superior using the test scores. As a result, incompetent people tried to make up the difference in desperation to defeat the truly superior people. In the end, it led to a heredity system." The heredity system means that social status, honor, and job are all passed on and inherited.

"Certainly, you have the ability to study. I won't deny that. However, this school's goal is to produce excellent people. It is a big mistake to think that you can be assigned to a superior class by only studying. That was the very first thing we explained, at the entrance ceremony. Besides, think about it calmly. Do you think someone like Sudo would make it if we determined acceptance only by intelligence?"

'True.' Ayanokouji agreed. 'Horikita, you assumed everything was normal as compared to the rest of the world, that there won't be changes. You need to learn, that a new environment, regardless of where, will always have its own laws, its own way to run. Don't think just because you were superior in one environment you will be superior in another. That is not the case here... and it might never be.' Even though this is one of the best schools in Japan, they accept students that are interested in areas other than studying.

"Also, it's rash to say that there is no one that would be happy when they are incorrectly evaluated. Class A, for example, receives a lot of pressure from the school and a lot of envy from the lower classes. Competing under heavy pressure is harder than you think. There are students that are fine with being evaluated lower than they actually are." Ayanokouji didn't want to admit it, but he found himself agreeing with everything that sensei was saying. At the rate things were going, he was considering to leave Horikita alone and manipulate sensei into becoming his tool instead.

"That's a joke, right? I can't understand those kind of people."

'Horikita... Your ignorance astounds me.'

"Really? I think there are a few in class D. Oddball students that would stay in a low-level class with pleasure." Sae sensei replied, once again.

'She means me.' Ayanokouji realized, as he tilted his head. 'How did she know? Hmm, is there any outside interference? Father...if I find out that you...'

"You still haven't explained clearly. Is my placement in class D the truth, and was there no mistake in my evaluation? Please double check." Horikita pleaded once again.

"It's too bad, but your placement in class D was not a mistake. You're definitely in class D. You are a student only at that level." Sae sensei answered again, and Ayanokouji could practically visualize the smug grin on her face.

"... Is that so? I will hear from the school at another time."

'...Is she serious?' Ayanokouji blinked, not believing that she hadn't realized her shortcomings by now. 'I have never seen it in real life, but this is called denial? Just...how can someone not understand what's right in front of them?'

"You'll get the same result if you try to talk to anyone in a higher position. There's no need to be that disappointed. As I said this morning, classes can overtake and surpass one another. Remember that there is the possibility of rising up to class A before graduation."

"It does not seem like a very easy path. How will the immature class D ever get more points than class A? No matter how I look at it, it is impossible." Horikita stated.

'No faith in your master?' Ayanokouji asked, before shaking his head. 'I'm not even sure I want to be her master anymore.'

"I wouldn't know. It's your own choice whether or not to head down that reckless path. By any chance, do you have a special reason as to why you need to be in class A?"

'Surpassing or at least meeting her brother's expectations.' Ayanokouji thought to himself. 'But she doesn't even know that her brother doesn't want her to be at his level. He wants her to be different, but the way she's going, all Manabu will end up feeling right now is disappointment.'

"That is... I will excuse myself for today. However, please remember that I still do not understand." Horikita concluded, sighing.

"All right, I'll remember that." Ayanokouji heard the sound of a chair being pulled. Looks like the discussion ended. "Oh, right. I called another person to the guidance room. It's a person that's also relevant to you."

'Relevant to her, and she calls me?' Ayanokouji asked himself. 'Just great.' He thought to himself as he stopped the recording.

"Relevant to me...? No way... Nii-sa—"

"Come out, Ayanokouji."

Silence followed, as Ayanokouji didn't come out.

"If you don't come out, you'll be expelled."

Once again, silence. Horikita opened her mouth, probably to inform her that Ayanokouji was gone by now.

"How long will you make me wait?"

Ayanokouji sighed, before walking out, as Horikita's eyes widened in shock.

"Were you... listening to us?" She asked, shock and anger on her face.

"Listening? I know you guys were talking about something, but I didn't hear anything. The walls are pretty thick."

"That's not true. You can hear everything clearly from that kitchen."

'Why? Just why?'

"... Sensei, why would you do that?" Horikita immediately noticed that this was a setup. The visible anger only increased.

"Because I decided it was necessary. Well then Ayanokouji, I'll tell you the reason I called you." Sae sensei shot down Horikita's question and turned her attention to him.

"Excuse me then..."

"Wait Horikita. It is better for you to listen to the end. This'll be a hint for how you can get up to class A."

"Sensei, maybe I can tell her some things later." Ayanokouji said, as he discreetly dug his hand out of his left pocket, and brought out the audio recorder, as her eyes widened in recognition. "I think it's best you let her leave."

"Y-yes." Sae said, composing herself. "Horikita, you can leave."

"But, if Ayanokouji was listening in-" Horikita began.

"Leave." Sae sensei ordered, as Horikita sighed, but quickly turned around, and walked away. Ayanokouji smirked, and played the recording of her threatening his expulsion on loop, as he sat down on the teacher's chair, while Sae sensei sat on the chair where Horikita was a few moments ago. Ayanokouji smirked, and stopped the recording.

"What do you want from me?" Sae sensei asked, more like growled, as she glared at him.

"You see-" Ayanokouji began, as his expression darkened. His eyes seemed to take a more sinister gleam to them, as Ayanokouji looked at her. Didn't stare, didn't even glare, just looked at her. Even then, the look alone was enough to shock her, as he sat back a little, clearly shocked. "Sensei, now that I have my leverage. Few simple questions, answer as truthfully, detailed and quickly as you can. I have other things to do too."

"Ask already."

"How much do you know about the S-system? How does it work? And if I want to know the programming behind it, the code, to be precise, who do I approach?"

Some time later,

"Um, Sudo, that's the correct formula, but Step 3 is wrong." Ayanokouji stated, as Sudo looked down.

"It is?" He asked, before sighing as he sat back. "This shit sucks!"

"Sudo-kun, it is a little tricky, but I'm sure you'll understand it." Kushida said, as Sudo looked away.

"...Yeah. I guess I'll get it somehow." He said, before moving onto another question.

"Got it!" Ike cried out, as Yamauchi looked at him.

"You actually did it?!" He yelled out, as he snatched his book. "Holy shit!"

"Kushida-chan you're the best!" They both cried out, thanking her profusely as she smiled at them.

"...Yeah, Kushida did everything. I was never there."

"Umm, sorry Ayano-bro, you helped a lot too." They both said nervously, as Ayanokouji shrugged.

"Eh, it's fine I guess." He said.

"Man, this is annoying as hell." Sudo muttered. "I just don't get it."

"Is that so?" Ayanokouji asked. "Well, I have a plan. If it works, it might just make things easier for us."

"You do!?" Everyone else asked, as the rest of the people in the library looked at them simultaneously. "Sorry." Ayanokouji discreetly noticed Horikita sitting in a corner, as she glared at him once in a while. Ayanokouji had been ignoring her for quite a while now, ever since the meeting. It was bound to be that she had questions, but Ayanokouji was in no mood to answer them.

"Yes, I do have a plan." Ayanokouji stated, before looking at Kushida. "Kushida, if you could help me, I think I have a way to guarantee a passing grade for all of them."

"Guarantee?" Sudo asked, as Ike and Yamauchi grabbed his hands.

"Ayano-bro, if you can do this, I swear on my gaming set, that I will forever and ever be in your debt." Ike said.

"I'll owe you one big time too." Yamauchi said, as Ayanokouji shrugged.

"It's not that big a deal, all that's important is that you guys pass." He said.

"You're one heck of a guy." Sudo said, before looking at his books. "Well, if you're doing your best, as ways to repay the favor, I guess I should do my best too. Or at least, put some effort."

"Sudo..."

"Don't think I'm changing or anything, okay?! This is a one time thing!!"

...We'll see.

That night,

"What a drag." Ayanokouji muttered, as he walked out of the dorms, in search of of something to eat, or drink. He sighed, as he looked at the options in the vending machine.

"Nii-san? Why did you call me here?" He heard Horikita's voice call out.

'Ah, is this what I think it is?' Ayanokouji asked himself, as he noticed Manabu standing with her. 'As Kouenji often says, "I should've brought popcorn for this".'

"Being in Class D, I thought you couldn't disappoint me any further." Manabu began. "It seems that I was wrong."

"Nii-san... I'm not the failure I was back then." Horikita pleaded. "I came here to catch up to you."

"Indeed, you're not." Manabu said, before grabbing her as he pushed her against the wall, holding her arms above her head with just one hand. "But you're much worse now. You're a failure, and an ignorant one at that. My disappointment in you has reached new levels."

"As for "catch up"," He continued, "You haven't even realized your own shortcomings. You truly were a fool to choose this place, ruining my reputation and hard work."

"I will reach Class A soon!"

"Impossible."

"I will."

"Even now, you're in denial." He said, before delivering a swift jab to her ribs, as her whole body recoiled with the impact. Her whole body trembled, but Manabu held her up.

'Ooh, that had to hurt!' Ayanokouji thought to himself, having a cold drink as he watched with interest.

"What an unreasonable sister you are..." He began. "Do you not understand? I am bearing the shame of your mistakes. Your actions degrade my reputation. Leave this school."

"Nii-san I-"

"You have neither the right, nor the ability to aim for something higher." Manabu stated. "You do not understand yourself, the environment you're in, nor do you apply yourself. You are wasting your potential, and you do not understand anything! You have to learn-" He began, before raising his other hand, but this time in a different position and stance, this jab aimed to her torso. He swiftly brought his hand down, as Horikita closed her eyes. Manabu looked up in shock, and so did Horikita, realizing that someone had grabbed Manabu's hand, stopping the attack.

"That blow would've left lasting damage Manabu." Ayanokouji calmly stated, letting his hand go, as Manabu returned to a calm demeanor as well. "We wouldn't want the school to find something suspicious now would we?"

"That is true Ayanokouji-kun." Manabu stated, as Horikita watched the encounter with shock. "Where were you watching from? Did you follow Suzune?"

"I didn't." Ayanokouji replied. "I was there by the vending machine."

"Nearly 20 meters away, and you rushed over with soundless steps, such skills are quite impressive. Do you practice any arts?" Manabu asked.

"Just piano and calligraphy."

"Expected." Manabu replied with a light chuckle. "The man of mysteries still remains as one."

"I guess he does."

"Before I take my leave, I wanted to thank you, for the recording." Manabu said, shaking hands with Ayanokouji, as Horikita's eyes widened even further. She opened her mouth in shock, but no sound came out. All that was there, was confused and jumbled mutters. "I also had a question for you, if you don't mind?"

"Ask away, I guess."

"I heard that you scored 50 in every subject on your entrance exam." Manabu stated. "50 in the quiz recently too. The exact half of 100. Was that intentional?"

"Coincidences can be freaky, right?" Ayanokouji replied back, as Manabu shook his head, a little smile on his face.

"I believe I have my answer." He stated, before beginning to walk away. "I trust your judgement and actions. Do I assume Suzune is a "friend"?"

"He's...not my friend." Suzune hesitantly replied.

"Of all the things that have occurred, that is your point of focus?" Manabu asked, disappointment audible in his voice. "And once again, you've mistaken isolation for independence. Regardless, I will take my leave."

"What was that about?" Horikita asked, a few minutes after Manabu had gone, and she had calmed down, to some extent. "How do you know my brother?" She glared at him.

"A chance meeting, a coincidence. Call it whatever you want."

"To have my brother's attention, and skills that even he acknowledges, you're incredible." Horikita said.

"Yeah, I used to do piano and tea ceremony."

"You said it was calligraphy."

"I did that too." Ayanokouji replied. "Is it hard to believe that a guy can have more than 2 skills?"

"Did you really rig your scores on the entrance exam?" Horikita asked.

"I told you, just a coincidence." Ayanokouji replied. "If I could do better, I wouldn't have ended up in Class D."

"I don't understand you at all." Horikita stated.

'No one does, at the end of the day.' Ayanokouji thought to himself.

"You don't have to." He replied. "I'm not your friend after all." He began to walk away. "Take this advice, from someone who your brother associates himself with. Don't believe that others will hold you back. You are not the best at everything, you cannot be. Know what your abilities are, what your shortcomings are. To me, it doesn't matter what you do. Like you said, we're classmates, I couldn't possibly care less. But it matters to your brother. If you really want to reach his level, think like him. Be in his shoes, and you'll know your next step."

'At least, I hope so. At the end of the day, you're a tool Horikita, but a tool that can improve itself. Whether you choose to do that or not...that is up to you. It always has been.'

The next day,

"Ayanokouji-kun! I think this is the first time you've ever invited me for lunch!" Kushida exclaimed. "That too, alone! You have a reason, correct?"

"Can you keep this between us?" Ayanokouji asked, as Kushida vigorously nodded.

'She looks like a puppy.' Ayanokouji thought to himself. 'It's her adorable nature that makes everyone agree with her so easily. It's also what I'll be using today.'

"Let's go." Ayanokouji stated, as Kushida excitedly followed behind him, as they sat at the table of someone sitting alone. "Excuse me. You're our senpai, correct?"

"Huh?"

"I'm Ayanokouji, from Class D." He stated. "You're in class D too, right?" He asked, as Kushida took a seat in front of him.

"Yeah.." He replied, looking down.

"That must be pretty nasty, despite being free, correct?"

"What do you want?" The upperclassman irritably asked, a little self conscious now.

"I want to ask you something, seeing as how you're more experienced than me." Ayanokouji replied. "Of course, I'll make it worth your time."

"Ask me?"

"Do you have your questions from your first midterm two years ago?" Ayanokouji asked. "I want you to give them to me."

"Why are you speaking to me about this?" He asked.

"It's simple." Ayanokouji replied. "Those low in points would have more chance for us to secure a deal with. And since you're eating free food..."

"How much will you pay?"

"15,000 points." Ayanokouji swiftly replied. "That's my limit."

"There's risks for me too." He replied back. "I'll need at least 30,000 points."

"That's not possible." He said.

"Then there's no deal."

"Wait a minute!" Kushida exclaimed. "A friend of ours might be expelled. Please!" Kushida replied, leaning forward on the table.

"15,000."

"25,000."

"15,000." Ayanokouji repeated, as he noticed the upperclassman's eyes divert to Kushida's breasts and hips. 'How did I not notice this before?' He asked himself, eyes slightly widening.

'Whenever she wants to get something done, and she gets into her pleading state, her breasts and hips are the ones most visible. And any guy whose hormones think for him, basically everyone, would be drawn to them, which makes them much more agreeable.' Ayanokouji noted down in his mind. 'Now the question. Does she realize this and does it intentionally? Or is it subconscious?'

"20,000." The upperclassman replied.

"15,000."

"Deal!" He exclaimed, looking away from her with a light blush.

'It actually worked.'

"Very well." Ayanokouji concluded. "In exchange, please include your quizzes from the first term."

"Okay..."

"Thank you so much!"

"Do you think it'll be okay?" Kushida asked, a few minutes later, as they sat together on a bench.

"Fear not." Ayanokouji replied. "It's within school rules."

"I think so..." Kushida hesitantly said. "But using old test questions feels like cheating to me."

"We're only doing it for Sudo, Ike and Yamauchi." Ayanokouji replied. "Not everyone. Helping people in need is a noble goal."

"I see." Kushida said. "But they're old questions, right? There's a chance that they're not related to this year's test."

"It may not contain the same questions," Ayanokouji answered. "but they won't be entirely different."

"Really?"

"No need to worry." Ayanokouji said again. "Think of it as insurance for the three. They're your friends right? And friends help each other, keep secrets for each other. You can do that, right?"

"It's here." Ayanokouji said, as he opened up a quiz, before comparing it with theirs. "It's the same."

"Wow!" Kushida exclaimed. "What about the mid term?"

"It's most likely to be the same as well." Ayanokouji replied.

"But then, shouldn't we show it to everyone, why only Sudo and the others?" Kushida asked.

"Simple answer." Ayanokouji replied. "They are the ones that need it the most. Besides, the others would already be studying, and have worked so hard. How would you feel, if someone comes along, and just gives you everything you need? All your hard work to earn that will go to waste."

"I understand that, but..." Kushida began.

"Kushida, Sudo and the others need this the most." Ayanokouji replied. "They are the ones who need this to come to the level of everyone else. Would you not like for all your friends to be on the same level?"

"I would..." She replied.

"And this would be the bridge that would bring them to that." Ayanokouji concluded. "If we give this to the rest as well, wouldn't we only end up increasing the gap? Then they will never be on the same level."

"I see..."

'Sudo, Ike and Yamauchi. Three new tools I can use after this.' Ayanokouji thought to himself. 'Things are going well so far. There have been slight hurdles, but even those are now under control. I wonder where things will go from here? I can only wait and watch. This game, and me its player. A cycle of ups and downs, and I don't know where I am, like a hamster. But I have begun my steps of freedom. It won't be long before I break through and finally achieve what I need.

And no one will stop me.

No one.

I will be free.

Whatever it takes.'

Recruiting Kushida and meeting Ichinose.

Day of the results,

"Kushida is well suited to that role." Ayanokouji muttered, noticing Sudo, Ike and Yamauchi crowded around her desk, thanking her for helping them pass. They had already thanked Ayanokouji before, and Hirata had also come along to congratulate them, and thank Ayanokouji for helping the three.

"That's insulting." Horikita replied.

"It was meant to be." Ayanokouji retorted, questioning as to why he bothered himself with her, then remembering that at the end of the day, she was Manabu's sister, and could be useful to him with her academic prowess.

"I have to admit, I'm impressed." Sae sensei remarked. "I never thought you'd be able to get such high scores. I acknowledge your efforts. However," She said, as she made a line just below Sudo's score of 41. "You nearly failed Sudo."

"What?" He asked. "You're kidding! How is it even this close? The threshold was 32 for the quiz!"

"The threshold for failure on this midterm test was 40." Sae sensei responded. "The average score on this test was 79.6, divided by 2, you get 39.8. Since we round that up, you need a score of 40 or higher to pass. You may have passed this time Sudo, but remember, 1 point here or there, and you would no longer be in class."

"Homeroom is now over." Sae sensei said, leaving the class. "Remember this Sudo, failure is right behind you. I would be careful if I were you." Silence could be heard in the class, as Kushida got up.

"You passed this time, Sudo-kun." She said. "And if we continue to have these study groups, I'm sure you'll pass next time as well. Ayanokouji-kun and I will help you."

'Why must I be involved in these problems? I have other things to do.'

"Yeah, don't be down man." Ike said. "Ayano bro will help us, right?"

"I guess." Ayanokouji replied, as Sudo nodded.

"Thanks again." Sudo said. "Though next time, I'll work harder, and I'll show this school what I'm made of, whether it be on the court or off of it. But for now, let's celebrate!"

That night,

"Cheers!!" Everyone yelled at the same time, as the party began. Ayanokouji sighed.

"Hey, what's with the long face?" Sudo asked, having a cold drink.

"I have no objection to the celebration party, and my participation in it..." Ayanokouji began. "But why my room?" He asked.

"Eh, who cares?" Yamauchi asked. "But damn, that was close! Had you and Kushida-chan not got those old test questions, we would all have been expelled from school!!"

'I regret doing it now, at least I would've had a clean room.'

The party went on for a few hours into the night, as celebration, jokes and conversations went around. Everyone was in a happy mood, and Ayanokouji couldn't help but draw parallels to his life in the Whiterooms. In there, birthdays were considered an important occasion, true, but they were never...happy, or lively. A birthday would usually mean that your study material would be changed, raised up to a higher level for you to learn. The instructors would also begin to get harsher, and physical education, weapons training, and combat were raised up exponentially.

"Thanks for helping me clean up." Ayanokouji said, as Kushida shrugged it off.

"I should be the one thanking you for letting us use your room." Kushida replied.

'Yes you should.' Ayanokouji thought to himself. 'You know Kushida, you are a somewhat likable tool.'

"No worries."

"Ayanokouji kun." Kushida began. "Do you like girls like Horikita?"

'Why would I like her?'

"I see you two together almost all the time." Kushida said. "All the girls in the class are talking about it."

'Why would they be talking about it? Do they want to know what kind of girls I like?'

"I don't like Horikita much, to be honest with you." Ayanokouji replied. "But I have no personal grievances with her. If I had to say what kind of girl I like...I wouldn't be too sure. But someone approachable, definitely."

'Approachable ones are the most useful tools.' Ayanokouji continued in his head. 'In terms of female tools, I don't need someone with brains, muscles. Similar to the case with Hirata, I need tools who can take the spotlight until I deem it, and can take charge while I run things from behind. I don't think I should say this aloud, so I guess the first part is enough.'

"Ah, do you have someone in mind?" Kushida asked curiously.

'Should I tell her?' Ayanokouji thought to himself. 'Though if I do have to make myself seem trustworthy, I should tell her some things.'

"Hmm, not really." Ayanokouji began. "But I do talk to girls from other classes sometimes. So maybe one of them, after all, I did say I wanted to get to know everyone better."

"Ah, I see." Kushida said. "I'll be going home then. See you tomorrow, Ayanokouji-kun."

"Sure." Ayanokouji said, as she left. He tilted his head to the side, noticing that Kushida left her phone. "Huh? She forgot to take it?" He sighed, before leaving as well, and reached the elevators. He looked at the panel, noticing that it was going down.

"The girls are supposed to be upstairs..." He muttered, as he followed soon after. He stepped outside, noticing Kushida cross the street.

'Where is she even going?' He asked himself, discreetly following until he reached towards the outskirts of a park, with benches and a railing overlooking a lake. Ayanokouji noticed her stop at the edge, and took his phone out, put the camera on and pressed record, as he hid behind a tree.

'Why are my instincts telling me to hide? What could possibly happen here?' He wondered.

"What a pain." A voice said, and it took even Ayanokouji a second to realize that it belonged to Kushida. Her voice was a lot deeper than before, somehow, and seemed much more mature than the childish voice he had associated her with for so long.

"You think you're so great just because you're pretty..." She said. "I hate you! I swear, I hate you, hate you, hate you!"

'Is she...talking about Horikita?' Ayanokouji wondered. 'That would explain the discreet glances she would send Horikita when she was close to us, or following. Is that why she brought her up before?' He asked himself. 'But is this deep rooted hatred something that has been there before, or has it manifested in the short school time we have spent together? Seems like a past issue, but I can't say for sure.'

"Just die, Horikita!!"

'So it was her.'

"I hate you! Wretched bitch!"

"Never thought I would see this side of you, Kushida." Ayanokouji said, coming out of his hiding place, phone still on record.

"What?" She asked, turning around. "What the hell are you doing Ayanokouji?! Did you hear that?"

"I did more than that." He said, pointing to the phone, before putting it back in his pocket. "But that is not what I'm here for."

"What do you mean?" Kushida asked, getting close to him. "If you tell someone about this, I won't go easy on you."

"I don't have plans to," Ayanokouji replied. "But having a little leverage is always good." He said, walking past her as he stood near the railing.

"What do you want?" Kushida asked, glaring at him. He sighed, turning around with an emotionless stare, the shadows of the trees dancing on his face as his eyes seemed to glow. Kushida flinched, walking a few steps back.

"You are in no place to question me, Kikyo Kushida, and you better remember that."

"What I, want from you, is simple." Ayanokouji said. "I have a plan, to dominate this school. To be the one at the top, and that plan, is well in motion. Do you know what that means?"

"Please." She said, rolling her eyes. "Do you really think, you have what it takes, to beat Class A?"

"Who says I want to beat them?" Ayanokouji asked, as Kushida tilted her head. "I plan to join them."

"Join them?" Kushida asked. "That's impossible! Sensei said that once you have a class you stick to it for three years! Only the classes can rise from D to C, and C down to D!"

"Ah, so you remember that?" Ayanokouji asked. "But you forget, in this school, anything can be bought with points. For the price of 20,000,000, a transfer to Class A is possible."

"Even if I were to believe something like that, how would you get that many points?" Kushida asked, smirking.

"Who says I need to get them?" Ayanokouji asked, turning his screen around to show 35,000,000 points.

"Wha-how?!"

"That is for me to know, and you to find out." Ayanokouji replied. "But by the end of the year, I will be transferring to Class A, and I would have double the amount of points. Enough to take, one or two people with me..."

"...You...couldn't possibly..."

"I'll leave your feeble mind alone to process the information Kushida." Ayanokouji said, walking away. "But remember, you speak, and the entire school knows your true personality. I don't think you'll like that."

"..."

"You have time to decide. But remember, you're either with me, or you're against me. And you know the consequences. Make your choice, Kushida."

The next day,

'Are you serious right now?' Ayanokouji asked himself, as he stared at two people he wished he didn't meet. Horikita, and Kushida.

"Are you getting in?" Horikita asked, serious as always.

"I am." Ayanokouji replied, as he got in, the doors closing behind him.

"Morning, Ayanokouji-kun." Kushida said, an excited smile on her face. "You've got a little bedhead in the back."

"Natural hair is popular these days." Ayanokouji replied, still assessing Kushida. He didn't know what her decision was, but he knew that if she didn't decide soon, he would have to do it for her.

"You're funny Ayanokouji-kun!" Kushida said, twirling a strand of hair with her finger. "Maybe I'll try out natural hair too."

'We both know you won't.' Ayanokouji thought to himself, as the door opened, and they stepped out. Ayanokouji and Kushida walked together. He looked to the side, as he heard Ichinose's voice call out.

"Morning Kushida-san! Ayanokouji-kun!" Ichinose called out, as he turned to her.

"Ichinose-san." Kushida replied.

"Kushida-san, Ayanokouji-kun, are you two together?" She asked curiously, as Kushida shook her head. "Aww, Ayanokouji-kun! You didn't tell me you were dating someone!"

"You didn't ask." Ayanokouji replied, as the two looked at each other.

"But then, didn't you feel awkward hanging out with other girls?" Ichinose asked. "If I knew, I would've called Kushida-san to the café as well."

"We're not together Ichinose-san!" Kushida exclaimed, as Ayanokouji nodded, unfazed as always.

"Oh, I see." Ichinose replied. "Did you guys get your points today?" She asked, as they both shook their heads.

"Did Class B not get their points either?" Ayanokouji asked, as Ichinose shook her head.

"No one got points." She replied. "But we have a good amount of Class points. I'm a little worried for everyone. "

"It'll be alright Ichinose-san!" Kushida exclaimed optimistically.

"It's most probably been delayed, or there has been some other issue with the System." Ayanokouji suggested.

"That's possible?" Ichinose asked.

"It's a big system meant for everyone in the school, including faculty." Ayanokouji explained. "It's unexpected, but not impossible."

"Ah, I'll tell others not to worry as well." Ichinose said. "Bye Kushida-san, Ayanokouji-kun! See you later!"

In class,

"The distribution of points to first years has been delayed." Sae sensei said.

"For real?!" Ike asked.

"It's the schools fault, so shouldn't we get some kind of compensation?" Yamauchi asked.

"There's nothing that I can do." Sae sensei replied. "The moment the problem is resolved, the points will be distributed. Assuming you still have them by then."

'Interesting...' Ayanokouji thought to himself. 'Does that mean there are soon going to be opportunities to gain or lose points, or was that a generic statement? I should ask Manabu for an event schedule for the next few weeks.'

That evening,

"You weren't there at the café today." Ayanokouji said, as his eyes met Ichinose's. He felt confused, as he didn't see the usual smile or cheerful aura that he had come to associate with Ichinose in the last few days that he had talked to her. "Why call me here?" He asked.

"This won't be long..." Ichinose replied, looking down slightly, as beads of swear trickled down her forehead.

"You're nervous." Ayanokouji noticed, along with a small blush, which he ignored. "Is Class B in trouble?"

'This could be a good time for me to get to know her.' Ayanokouji thought to himself, planning his strategy out. 'But the big question is, if Class B is in trouble, should I help? On one hand, it would get me closer to Ichinose, and others in the class. On the other hand, how will this affect Class B, or Class D. I am curious as to why do I consider Ichinose different from Kushida or Horikita, but I can't make a decision only governed by my curiosity. I have much to learn about the real world, and this seems like a decent test for me. It's better to hear her out before I make a decision.'

"No...but," Ichinose looked up for a moment, looking around. "I have a feeling that...I'm going to get asked out! Right here!"

'Asked out? What does that...Oh!' Ayanokouji recalled a recent lesson with Kouenji about real world and emotions. 'Being asked out means to be asked to become someone's boyfriend or girlfriend, in Ichinose's case. Hmm, that's an interesting case. What will happen? Ichinose is B Class's leader. If it's someone from the same class, they would all surely approve. But if it's someone from another class...'

"Umm, won't it be better if I'm not here for that, then?" Ayanokouji asked.

"But, I don't know anything about dating." Ichinose said, showing him a pink envelope sealed with a red heart. "This was in my locker yesterday."

'Whoever did this must have been dedicated.'

"I don't feel as this person does, and I don't know how to turn them down without hurting their feelings." Ichinose explained. "So, I was wondering if you... Ayanokouji-kun, could pretend to be my boyfriend... and..."

'What is she saying?' Ayanokouji asked himself. 'Be her...boyfriend? No. Not at all. I'm not interested in her romantically. I'm curious. Even if it's pretend, something like that would only complicate things between us. It's better if I say no.'

"Please!"

"It would be better if you're honest with the person, and speak to them one on one." Ayanokouji suggested.

"But..." She began, as they both looked behind, to see Chihiro there.

'So she's the one who sent the letter? I expected it in the near future, but didn't think she would be this bold.'

"Ichinose-san, why is Ayanokouji-kun here?" She asked, as Ayanokouji began to walk up to her.

"I was just checking in on her." Ayanokouji lied. "She didn't come to the café, so I thought she was sick. I was just about to leave." He explained, as he walked away, giving Ichinose a final glance as he waited at a distance, out of earshot. 'I wonder what she'll do. I'm in no position to talk about someone's feelings or emotions, but I am curious.'

He looked down, confused, as he received a notification on his phone. He opened it up, and saw that the points given by the school had been 0. He shrugged, and looked behind him, as a crying Chihiro ran away.

"I take it you've finished talking." Ayanokouji assumed.

"Yeah." Ichinose replied with a sigh. "I was so focused on how not to hurt her feelings... I was trying to run away. That's wrong, isn't it?"

"It is." Ayanokouji replied. "But being in that situation, I don't blame you. It must have felt bad to reject her."

"It did. We said we'd try to get back to normal tomorrow...I wonder if we can." Ichinose said, looking up.

"It depends on you two." Ayanokouji said. "She won't be normal until she can come to terms with it, but in the future, it's possible."

"Yeah... sorry for getting you involved in this strange event today." Ichinose said.

"Don't worry." Ayanokouji said, as he got up from his bench. "I don't mind having a day like this sometimes."

"But you seem to know a lot about people and how they think in these situations, don't you?" Ichinose asked.

"Not really." Ayanokouji replied. 'I'm just associating this situation with shock, trauma and depression, and pulled out some information from those. I don't know how that will turn out realistically, or with "love" involved.'

"But you were predicting Chihiro-san's reaction." Ichinose said. "Can you teach me how to do that?"

"Predict someone's actions?"

"No, to understand someone's emotions in a scenario." Ichinose replied. "I don't want something like this to happen again, so I should know how to deny someone without hurting their feelings. But it could also help me understand my classmates better. It would be good for all of us in Class B to understand each other better."

"I guess." Ayanokouji replied.

"So, Ayanokouji-kun, will you help me?"

"Uhh, I-"

The next day,

"Basketball club members from Class C have filed a complaint with the school against Sudo." Sae sensei informed the class. "They claim that after practice, they were attacked one-sided by Sudo, without any viable reason."

"It was self defense! Self defense!" Sudo exclaimed, banging his fist on the table. "Those idiots are jealous that I became a regular, so they picked a fight!"

"There's no evidence of that." Sae sensei replied. "Though if there was a witness, it might be a different story."

"Everyone!" Kushida exclaimed, standing up. She looked at Ayanokouji, almost as if waiting for him to give her a signal. He nodded. "Did anyone happen to see Sudo-kun's fight? Does anyone know anything about it?" Silence filled the class, as Ayanokouji looked in Sudo's direction, only to notice a girl with pink hair and glasses put her head down.

'Does she know something?' Ayanokouji asked himself. 'Probably not, if think about it. I've never seen her participate in class, talk to people or even generally act confident. It's most probably something relating to her shyness, but I can never be sure. I'll think about it later.'

"Perhaps you'd have been better off getting expelled, Red Hair-kun." Kouenji taunted, still looking at his face in the mirror. "Your presence is far from beautiful." He concluded, as Ayanokouji put his phone back in sleep mode, his last message having been sent to Kouenji.

'Good. If the others begin to doubt Sudo, and then he is proven innocent, their opinion of him would only go up.' Ayanokouji thought to himself.

"In one week's time, there will be a discussion with Class C, and the student council will be there, too." Sae sensei explained. "Depending on how it turns out, there may be a forfeiture of points, as well as disciplinary measures for Sudo."

'And there comes the opportunity to prove his innocence.' Ayanokouji noted. ' This may be too far fetched, but if I can have Sudo become an important or even a slightly respected figure, I would have four leading figures of the class under my thumb. Hirata for his charisma and leadership for the boys, Kushida the same, but for girls, Horikita for academics and then Sudo for sports. Time for Phase 2 of Operation Four Horsemen.'

Sudo's problem and Recruiting Sakura.

Continuing from the last chapter,

"It's all because of Sudo, huh?" Ike asked.

"Another month of living with 0 points..."Yamauchi added.

"Maybe we'd have been better off if he'd gotten two marks less and been expelled." Another girl added.

"Right..."

"Do you feel the same way?" Horikita asked. "That Sudo-kun should have been expelled?" She asked.

"I don't really care." Ayanokouji replied. "Besides, why do you ask? You didn't help him, neither do you know him."

"For now, we have 0 points. Even if we had been penalized for losing someone to expulsion, we couldn't have lost any more." Horikita replied.

"Maybe." He replied, yawning.

"What? The way you said that triggers me." Horikita said, turning towards him.

"Like I care." Ayanokouji replied. "Besides, you never know when we might be experiencing losses or gains we can't see."

"What do you mean?" Horikita asked.

"There might be negative point values we're gaining that just aren't shown." Ayanokouji replied.

'Even though I know that's not the case right now, since I've figured out the coding and the exact process behind the S-System's functionality, I can't tell her that. For now, it's better I act how she expects me to act.'

"Demerits for an expulsion might not hit us now, but rather, in the future." Ayanokouji continued. "For instance, no expulsion might be a condition to reach to Class A's level."

"What a quibble."

"We don't know how the school system works." Ayanokouji continued to lie. "If we want to reach Class A, we should eliminate any danger we can think of. Besides, with Sudo's athletic skills and his good standing in his club, he might come in handy-"

"Everyone, listen to me." Hirata said, sending a discreet glance to Ayanokouji as he put his phone in his pocket. "I want to trust my classmates. Why don't we work together to hunt for witnesses and clues?"

"Cool, I'm in." Karuizawa said.

"If you say so, Hirata-kun..."

"What do you think, Ayanokouji-kun?" Another girl asked, as he nodded.

"Sudo is quite capable in sports, and an important member of our class." Ayanokouji said. "I say we do what we can to save him, but not be disheartened if we fail at the end."

"I'm in too!" Kushida exclaimed. "If we don't believe in him, who will?"

"If Kushida-chan says so..."

"I'm in as well!"

"Horikita-san, you'll work with us too, right?" Kushida asked.

"After saying all that, I'm sure you'll help Sudo-kun, right?" Horikita asked.

"Well, it's not like I'm aiming for Class A." Ayanokouji said, only for Horikita to turn around and walk out of the classroom.

"Let's do our best together." Kushida said. "But, in looking for witnesses...Sudo-kun himself should stay out of it, right?"

"Yes, it wouldn't look good for the first party to get involved." Ayanokouji replied.

"Oh, okay. I'll tell Sudo-kun about that myself." Kushida said. "See you after class, okay?"

That evening,

"Hey! Ayanokouji-kun! Kushida-san!" Ichinose called out, as the two turned to her.

"Ichinose-san?" Kushida asked.

"Some of my classmates told me about it..." She began. "Are you investigating something?"

Ayanokouji sighed, but decided to let Kushida tell her everything, and so she did.

"I see...C Class..."

"Yeah." Kushida sighed. "So if anyone knows anything, we want them to tell us about it."

"Sorry. I don't know anything myself..." Ichinose replied. "Class B will help you look for clues, though. After all, I do owe Ayanokouji-kun a favor."

"It's no big deal." Ayanokouji said.

"Really?" Kushida squealed, going in for a hug only for Ayanokouji to pull her away.

"What are you doing?" Kushida asked, only for Ayanokouji to drag her away.

"Let us know if you find anything." Ayanokouji said, dragging her with him.

Some time later,

Ayanokouji looked at the notice on the board, regarding the details for the incident as well as appealing to any witnesses.

"Ayanokouji-kun!" Ichinose called out, as he turned to her.

"This notice..." He began.

"Yeah, it was Kanzaki-kun's idea." Ichinose said, as Ayanokouji looked at the guy next to her. "We're soliciting information through the school's online message board, and looks like we already have an email."

"What does it say?" Kanzaki asked.

"Apparently, one of the boys that Sudo-kun fought with," Ichinose began. "Ishizaki-kun, was pretty wild in middle school. It says he was good in a fight too, and everyone in the area was afraid of him."

"If the other two are in the basketball club, then they're pretty strong too." Kanzaki added.

"So they let themselves get beaten up." Ayanokouji concluded.

"Indeed." Kanzaki nodded. "If they did this to set Sudo up, things would make a lot more sense."

"I think so too." Ichinose nodded.

"Anyways, I should pay the one who sent the information." Ichinose said, before blinking. "Oh, it's anonymous. How should I send the points then?"

"Don't." Kanzaki said.

"I know how." Ayanokouji said.

"Really?" Ichinose asked, pressing herself against him. "Tell me then!"

'Wow, she really lets her guard down.' Ayanokouji noticed. 'Also, does she not know the meaning of personal space? I understand being clingy, but this is a bit much.'

"I'll need your student ID." Ayanokouji said.

"Sure." Ichinose said, before Ayanokouji did the whole procedure himself, showing her how do it step by step.

"There we go!" Ichinose exclaimed, taking her phone away. "Thanks! If I get any more info, I'll keep you updated!"

"Sure..." Ayanokouji replied. "See you around Kanzaki."

"Catch you later."

'2,642,219.' Ayanokouji recalled. 'How did she get so many points without being on the gambling channel? Hm, it seems I'll have to keep an eye on you, Ichinose.' He noted down in his mind, as he went back to his dorm room. He opened his door, to see a few pairs of shoes, and the sounds of laughter coming from inside. 'How did they even come in? I remember locking the door.'

"You guys." Ayanokouji called out, as they all looked at him.

"Hey, welcome back." Yamauchi waved.

"Ayanokouji-kun!" Kushida exclaimed. "I rounded everyone up for you. It's a meeting to pool what we've learned."

"You know, I can't believe how empty this room is." Ike noticed.

'How many things can one person need?'

"That's right." Kushida said, going through his cupboard. "You don't have any personal belongings."

'I never did before as well'

"It's all just the provided stuff." Kushida added.

'Sometimes I didn't have that either.'

"Ayanokouji-kun, are you a minimalist?" Kushida asked.

"I just don't have the points to buy anything." Ayanokouji replied. "How did you all get in here, anyway?"

"We had duplicate keys made!"

"Since when...?"

"Well, this is our meeting place, right?" Yamauchi asked.

'I should have let you be expelled.'

"Huh?" Kushida asked. "Should we not have done that?"

'Of course not. You created a duplicate key without my consent. That's illegal.'

"Um, I'll give it back." Kushida said.

"We won't though!"

"Well, whatever..." He said, only to look up as his bell rung. He turned around and opened the door, as his eyes met Horikita's.

"Horikita."

"Regarding witnesses..."She began, only to look down, noticing everyone's shoes. "I'm leaving."

"Oh, okay." Ayanokouji replied, closing the door before Kushida could peek out.

"Who was it Ayanokouji-kun?"

"No one important." Ayanokouji replied, going back in.

'Hmm, Horikita mentioned witnesses, and I know she didn't go outside or talk to anyone from other classes, so it has to be someone from our class.' Ayanokouji thought to himself. 'Based on her seating manner and her line of sight...the pink hair girl, Sakura, was it? It's possible for her to be the witness, but it could also be shyness. I'll look into it.'

"What I was trying to say before, was that we might have a witness." Ayanokouji said, as everyone froze. "It's Sakura, from our class."

"Really?" Kushida asked, instantly beginning to dial her number. They all waited in suspense for a few seconds, but she didn't pick up.

"Are you sure she's a witness?" Sudo asked.

"That's what Horikita told me." Ayanokouji replied, as Sudo shrugged.

"We finally get some useful information, but Sakura's not picking up."

"But even if she did testify, it wouldn't matter much." Ayanokouji said, as they all looked at him. "It doesn't matter if it was self defense or not, the big idea is that there was a fight."

"So, you mean to say they won't care if all I did was defend myself?" Sudo asked.

"Pretty much." Ayanokouji agreed. "The main problem is that there was a fight, and something is like that is heavily disapproved off in this school."

"So, guilty or innocent, we still get punished?" Ike asked.

"That's not fair!" Kushida exclaimed.

"Real life is not fair either, and that's one of the most basic ideals of this school." Ayanokouji explained. "A simulation of real life, while still being an educational institute. Our school time, is our jobs, points are money, classmates are co workers, or rivals, and other classes are competing businesses. The staff is the law, and the council could be the cops, the judges, lawyers or executioners. It can always change. What matters is we use this to our advantage, and we can only do that by making Class C withdraw their complaint."

"Withdraw?" Sudo asked, that being the only word he understood.

"Yes. But that comes later. For now, we have to approach Sakura." Ayanokouji stated.

"I'll talk to her tomorrow." Kushida stated. "I'm sure she'll put her guard up if we all approach her."

"Are you sure this will work?" Sudo asked.

"It will." Ike replied. "I trust Ayano bro."

"Yeah man, if anyone can do it, he can." Yamauchi added. "Just wait and watch bro, wait and watch."

The next day,

"Sakura-san." Kushida called out, as the shy, pink haired girl turned to her.

"Wh-what?"

"There's something I'd like to ask you." Kushida said, as Ayanokouji and Horikita watched from a distance. "Do you mind? It's about Sudo-kun."

'And you botched it Kushida. Now watch her try to run away.'

"S-sorry, I-I have something to do." Sakura replied, turning around, only for Kushida to grab her hand. Ayanokouji sighed.

'She's making it worse.'

"It won't take long." Kushida pleaded. "It's important!"

"I-I don't know! I don't know anything!" Sakura exclaimed, forcing her hand back, only to fall to the ground, as something skidded away from her.

'Is that a camera?' Ayanokouji squinted his eyes as he looked at the pink object. 'Yes, it's a camera.'

"Sorry! Are you okay?" Kushida asked, as she watched Sakura fumble for the camera.

'It seems to be important, more than just liking photography or something.' Ayanokouji checked. 'She seems to be a lot more desperate, like she wants to hide something, something that's in the camera. Hmm...I wonder...'

"No way...It won't turn on..." Sakura said, nervous and breathing heavy.

'Expected, it is more important to her. But why?'

"Sorry! I.." Kushida began, only for Sakura to interrupt her.

"No. It's my fault." Sakura said, before running away from them.

'Anthropologist Edward Hall divided personal space into 4 zones.' Ayanokouji recalled. 'One of those is the "intimate space" zone, with the "close phase" therein. The distance close enough to embrace someone else, and many resist intrusion into it. However, there are exceptions. But, Kushida is an exception. Even then, she is able to not trigger the personal space reaction in almost everyone. Yet, Sakura resisted her. She keeps her eyes down because she can't relate to people. Something that is understandable.'

After school,

"I'm sorry to have you involved in this." Sakura said, bowing down to Ayanokouji and Kushida.

"I'm the one who should apologize." Kushida replied. "I'm the one who broke your digital camera."

"N-no, I should have been more careful." Sakura shakily replied.

"You're going to the electronics store in the mall to fix your digital camera." Ayanokouji began. "I understand that much, but do you really need me for that?"

'Why bring me here?' Ayanokouji asked himself. 'Is she scared of someone? Then does she expect me to fight the person? Or am I just moral support? A horrible person to depend on for that, by the way.'

They soon went over to the electronic store, and under the pretense of it being Ayanokouji's camera, which he went along with out of curiosity.

"I see, it's a power issue." The clerk stated, and Ayanokouji noticed his eyes drifting over Kushida and Sakura, especially Sakura from time to time. He noticed Sakura look down and close her eyes whenever he looked in her direction. "Do you have warranty?" Ayanokouji nodded, and passed the slip that Sakura had given him.

"Oh, it's within the warranty period." The clerk read out. "You can have the broken part replaced...free of charge." Ayanokouji tilted his head, noticing Sakura flinch a little.

'Indeed, it must be hard for her to deal with this.' Ayanokouji noted, his eyes going to the 3d camera poster which was placed in Sakura's direction. 'Of course, it must be recording. So this guy is harassing her, and because she's shy, she can't do anything. Hmm, if I am to get Sakura to testify, I need to get rid of him.'

"Could you fill out this form?" The clerk asked, giving Ayanokouji the receipt of the item. Ayanokouji shrugged, before filling it out, making sure to keep an eye on the clerk, who was busy eyeing Sakura. They soon left the shop, arriving outside the mall by the evening, as the Sun had begun to set.

"Um...thank you for your help today." Sakura said, once again.

"No problem, it was my own fault anyways." Kushida replied. "But Sakura-san, could you talk with us normally, if you can? We're in the same grade after all."

"Yeah, you've been talking too formally all day." Ayanokouji added.

"Um...sure. I-I'll try."

"No need to force it though." Kushida added, before looking down at her phone. "Sorry, but I need to go. I'll see you guys tomorrow." Kushida said, walking away. Once she was a safe distance away, Ayanokouji turned to Sakura.

"Sakura." He said, as she looked at him.

"Yes?" She asked shyly.

"Can I ask you something, privately?" Ayanokouji asked, noticing her surprise. "You don't have to answer it, but I would like to ask you just one question. I will leave you alone after that."

"O-oh. U-um..."

"It's just a generic question." Ayanokouji said. "I would ask you here, but it's a little crowded, don't you think?" He asked, as Sakura looked around, noticing that there were in fact, quite a few people there.

"O-okay. B-but, where do we go?" Sakura asked.

"My room." Ayanokouji suggested. "Kushida will join us there in some time as well."

"A-are you sure?" She asked.

"Yes, I'm sure. She has a duplicate key too."

In Ayanokouji's room,

"So...the clerk is harassing you?" Ayanokouji asked, as Sakura's eyes widened.

"W-what?" She asked. "I-I need to..." She began to get up, only for Ayanokouji to hold her hand to the table, stopping her.

"What's wrong, Sakura?" Ayanokouji asked, as Sakura found herself staring at his completely emotionless face. "You're scared of him, aren't you?"

"I-I...stop."

"Why?" Ayanokouji asked. "Have I done something wrong? People have their own darkness Sakura, and this is yours. Now, why would he go around harassing a quiet girl who doesn't talk to anyone, unless there's more to the picture."

"Wha...n-no i-it's n-not like that!"

"Is it not?" Ayanokouji asked. "Then why were you so desperate to get the camera fixed? And why was the clerk staring at you? Recording you?" He asked, as Sakura's eyes widened, and she hugged herself, body shaking.

"H-he d-did...w-what?" She asked, but Ayanokouji ignored her pleas, staring straight into her terrified eyes.

"Why would someone go so far...for someone who's a loner, unless he knows something we don't." Ayanokouji remarked, as her body froze, something Ayanokouji noticed. "It's your past...isn't it?" Tears fell from her eyes, but Ayanokouji didn't waver.

"You're being harassed, yet you choose to do nothing about." Ayanokouji said. "Is he blackmailing you? Or is he obsessed with you?"

"I-i don't k-know..."

"Lying too?" Ayanokouji asked, as Sakura flinched. Ayanokouji noticed a ping on his phone, as he looked down, then back at her. "Explain this, then." He said, as he showed her the photos that Kushida had sent him over. Seeing this, Sakura broke down, sobbing as Ayanokouji stared.

"So, this is your past? The beginning of your darkness. I was wondering why you were wearing fake glasses. I guess I have my answer." Ayanokouji said, placing her glasses on the table, Sakura being too weak to stop him. "Taking that last picture in the school dorms was a risky gamble, and one that failed for you."

"P-please don't..."

"Don't what?" Ayanokouji asked. "Tell anyone? If I plan to do, how far are you willing to go? How much darkness can you endure to preserve your freedom?"

"I-I...please. I-I'm b-begging you..."

"Like I asked before." He said, his gaze darkening slightly. "How far are you willing to go? What can you sacrifice?"

"I-I...a-anything..."

"Anything, you say?" Ayanokouji asked, as the girl leaned back in the chair, a futile attempt to get away from Ayanokouji.

"P-please don't...I'll d-do a-anything. P-please...E-even-"

"Even?" Ayanokouji asked. "Your darkness is stronger than your conviction, Sakura. The darkness within is something that will always remain, but you fail to accept your darkness. Accept that this is who you are now, and that, this. Is. Your. Place."

"I'll ask you once again, how far does "anything" mean?"

"P-please... I-I..." Sakura began, only for Ayanokouji to push her chin upward, as her teary eyes stared at his.

"What are you willing to do to hide your past, your secret from the school?"

"I-I...whatever i-it takes." Sakura replied, seemingly gaining a bit of confidence. "I'll d-do anything, e-even if m-means-"

"Means what?" Ayanokouji asked. "Means that you'll have to risk your place in Class D?"

"I-I" She began, before looking down, nodding.

"That doesn't sound half bad." Ayanokouji said, before giving her phone back. "Go to your email, and make the information I've sent you public. Under your name."

"U-under m-my n-name?" She asked hesitantly, and Ayanokouji nodded.

"Under your name. Let the whole school know it was you." Ayanokouji said. "It's this, or I make these pictures public. Are you willing to risk the persona you've built in Class D, in this school around people, just to keep your secret safe?"

"I-I..."

"Think fast Sakura, I don't have all day."

"I-I'll do it!" She exclaimed, as she looked down at the file, and shared it on the school's forum within a second, throwing the phone away as she fell to the floor, sobbing. Ayanokouji looked down, picking the phone up.

"You know you posted something, but do you know what it was?" Ayanokouji asked.

"I-it d-doesn't m-matter a-anymore. N-none of i-it does." She said between sobs.

"Are you sure about that?" Ayanokouji asked, putting the phone in front of her. She wiped her tears for the moment, looking up. She looked through her tears, her face changing from sadness and resignation to confusion, and finally to shock.

"W-wha- h-how?" She asked.

"Did you really think I wouldn't notice points going missing from the gambling channel?" Ayanokouji asked. "You played it smart, creating a shell account under a different student's name, and then using that account to hack into the systems, and regularly stealing 1000 points a week."

"I-i can explain-"

"No need for that." Ayanokouji said. "I'll let it slide. But your skills in programming and understanding code is impressive. The algorithm you used to bypass the system's algorithms was quite a high level one. It took me quite a while to break through and track you. As such, through the student council, I had you be named as the moderator of the gambling servers and the routine inspector to fix any bugs in the system."

'If I am to make her a tool, I need to bring her confidence up first. Giving her pride in her coding skills should be more than enough for that, but as a pure guarantee, I need to get the clerk out of the way. Hmm, cornering him in a place devoid of cameras would be good. I could ask Manabu to do a routine shut down maybe 15 minutes prior as enough of a window to go in, put him out of the way and leave.'

"I-if y-you're not angry, then what do you w-want from me?" Sakura asked, wiping her tears as she put her glasses back.

"Sakura. There are many kinds of despair." Ayanokouji began. "What you're going through now may be also one of them. Those with darkness in their hearts can understand each other, and then, the stronger party envelops the other."

"Huh? W-what?"

"There is much you don't know." Ayanokouji replied. "But I promise you, that I will protect you. You do me a favour, and I will do one to you in return. In a more reliable way than you can do for yourself."

"W-what?" Sakura asked, flickers of hope in her eyes.

"I will take care of the one harassing you, and I will make sure there's no evidence left of your past." Ayanokouji said, as Sakura perked up. "But, there are two things I need you to do for me."

"I-I'll do it. But, what?" Sakura asked.

"First, testify in Sudo's trial.

And second, help me...reprogram the S-system."

Hirata and Kei, and Sudo's trial

Two days later,

"When you two said you needed relationship advice..." Ayanokouji stared at the two. "I expected to talk about personal space and pacing of your relationship. Things like taking it slow. I never expected to be asked about faking a relationship." Ayanokouji shook his head, as he looked Hirata Yousuke and Kei Karuizawa.

'By the Whiterooms, what gave these two the idea that I was a relationship counsellor?'

"Yeah, sorry about that Kiyotaka-kun." Hirata admitted. "I had no idea who else to ask."

"Why are we asking him?" Kei asked, pouting. "How will you help us?"

"That's what I'm wondering." Ayanokouji said, looking at Hirata. "You didn't come here to ask me for relationship help, did you? You wanted me to give you a solution which didn't involve being in a relationship altogether."

"...Yes." Hirata admitted.

"What?!" Kei exclaimed. "Please, Hirata-kun! I need your help!"

"Help?" Ayanokouji asked. "For what?"

"I- I'm not telling you!" Kei yelled.

"And I'm not asking you." Ayanokouji replied back. "Why did she come to you, Hirata?"

"Don't tell him!"

"Sorry Karuizawa-san, but I don't have a choice." Hirata said, looking down. "I can't fake a relationship. All it will do is complicate things, and I would like to spend more of my time helping others in the class."

"Because of...him? Right?" Ayanokouji asked, and Hirata nodded, looking away.

"Because of who? What happened?" Kei asked, as Ayanokouji looked at her.

"There are different kinds of darkness in the world, Karuizawa. Hirata has darkness of his own, different from you. It's his darkness that pushes him to help others." Ayanokouji explained. "Your darkness pushes you to latch onto others, as you are trying now. To depend on someone else, why? Were you lonely?"

"I-I was not!"

"So you were bullied." Ayanokouji guessed, as Kei stared at him in shock.

"H-How?"

"Your body language says it all. You shivered when I asked you questions, looking at Hirata from time to time. You never make eye contact while talking, nor do you act the part of being bratty well. You flinch whenever I come closer, even though it is barely noticable. A flinch like that would indicate a fight, possibly being injured." Ayanokouji pointed out, as Kei sat there, frozen. "Is this your darkness, Karuizawa? And pushes you, to be a parasite?"

"A-a parasite?!"

"Indeed. Suffering through bullying and being being left alone would make you dependent on others for your safety, having lost that key trust in yourself." Ayanokouji explained. "If you want to move on, and be able to create a good image of your own, I would suggest dropping the act altogether."

"Dropping it?" Hirata asked.

"Indeed." Ayanokouji nodded. "To free yourself from your darkness, you have to learn to depend on yourself again, to fight your own battles."

"But, could I really do it?" Kei asked.

"You could, yes. But it won't be an easy path." Ayanokouji admitted, before standing up. "But you don't have to worry too much. I am willing to help you until you can stand on your own feet. Of course, it won't be free. I would do a favor in exchange for a favor as it goes. But I can protect you better than Hirata could."

"How?"

"I like helping everyone." Hirata admitted. "If there is a problem, I would resolve it through peace, and look for a situation that satisfies everyone. If you ever do end up being bullied, I would not be able to do anything but try and talk them down. And I don't think that would really work. Kiyotaka-kun, however, has no such qualms. His methods can be rough, but they will get results."

"O-oh." Kei said. "So, you want me to...what? Date you instead of Hirata?"

"No, not at all." Ayanokouji said. "It's not like that at all. I told you it's about independence and self confidence. So you have to do it alone. No getting into relationships, but building yourself and a reputation for yourself up from the brink. I'll provide support if needed, but you will do everything yourself."

"How will I do that?"

"That can be explained another time." Ayanokouji said. "But for now, follow my lead, and everything will go as planned." Ayanokouji offered, as Kei looked at Hirata, who nodded.

"I trust Kiyotaka-kun. So can you."

"..."

"You don't have to answer right now." Ayanokouji said. "But I do expect an answer after Sudo's trial. Remember, it's your choice, and it will affect your life at the school. Will you let your darkness overrun you, or will you persevere? It's your choice."

'The more versatile the tools, the better. Running Class D might just become easier than going to Class A after all.'

Day of the trial,

"We will now hold deliberations regarding the violent incident, that occured last Tuesday." Tachibana began. "As the Student Council Secretary,I, Tachibana, will preside."

"To think that the student council president would come in over a little brawl like this." Sae sensei said, seemingly amused. "Once in a blue moon, eh?"

'He wouldn't have shown up, had I not been involved.' Ayanokouji thought to himself. 'Manabu, you really are being entertained by this, aren't you?'

"Due to my busy schedule, there are some agendas I'm forced to miss participating in." Manabu replied.

'Not a bad lie.'

"As a rule though," Manabu continued. "I do attend."

"So it's just a coincidence?" Sae sensei asked.

"Yes, what can I say? Coincidences tend to be scary."

'That's my line. Besides, it didn't even make sense in this context.' Ayanokouji thought to himself, sighing as he noticed Manabu's cheeky smirk aimed at him. Ayanokouji turned away, looking at the shy Horikita. 'She wasn't expecting him to be here. That's not good. I knew I should have brought Kushida instead. Why did I bother giving her credit for finding Sakura?'

"To both sides:" Tachibana began. "I wish to ascertain which version of the events is the truth. Is that acceptable?"

"Begin." Manabu ordered.

"Komiya and the other two, you insist that you were called to the special annex by Sudo and then attacked by him." Tachibana explained. "Sudo denies this. He insists that Komiya was the one who called him there. Your version of events are contradictory."

'As expected, it does not seem that any party involved will get away lightly.' Ayanokouji realized. 'They are deciding which party was at fault, and that party will receive a harsher penalty. As predicted, the only way out seems to be to make them withdraw their complaints.'

"There is only one fact that we can be certain of: that the aggressor, Sudo, injured Koomiya, Kondo and Ishizaki. They are the victims." Tachibana concluded. Sudo stood up angrily, slamming his hands on the table.

"I'll admit that I hit them!" He yelled out. "But they're the ones who started it!" Sudo exclaimed, before continuing to rant.

'This is bad.' Ayanokouji decided. 'The main discussion is about the injuries, and Sudo having free reign is not beneficial either. My decision only seems to solidify further as time passes.'

"Silence, please." Tachibana interrupted, as Sudo reluctantly sat down. "Without new testimony or evidence, we will proceed under these assumptions. Is this acceptable?" Silence ensued, as Ayanokouji looked at Horikita, who seemed to be hesitant.

"It seems there was no need for discussion." Manabu concluded.

"It's clear from the state of the injuries that the violence was one-sided. I believe the decision should be based on that." Tachibana added. "Class D's insistence that it was self defense is contradicted, by Sudo's lack of injuries." As Tachibana was finishing, Ayanokouji had already begun his next move. That being, tickling Horikita. Horikita squirmed in her seat, as Ayanokouji continued to apply pressure and increasing his tickling, as Horikita shot up in her seat, while everyone just watched in confusion.

'Ayanokouji-kun...' Manabu sighed. 'I would appreciate if you would stop embarrassing me at this point. I have already lost enough of my reputation as it is with my sister in D Class.'

"I beg your pardon." Horikita said, straightening herself up. "If I may, would it be possible if I ask a few questions?"

"President?" Tachibana asked.

"Granted." Horikita took a breath.

"What were the circumstances under which Sudo called you out?" She asked. "Answer me."

"Well, after practice ended, he said he wanted to talk to me."

"And what was Ishizaki doing in the special annex with you?" She asked. "He is not in the basketball club. There was no reason for him to be there."

"I...wanted insurance."

"Insurance?"

"Everyone knows what a violent guy Sudo is. He's a big guy too!"

"You thought he might hit you, is that it?" Horikita asked.

"Yes!"

'That's a pre-made response. You can tell by looking at him.'

"And you also brought Ishizaki as a bodyguard, who was good in fighting in middle school?"

"I did it to protect myself!"

"I am something of a martial artist myself." Horikita began. "Fighting multiple enemies increases the difficulty exponentially. For you to be beaten so one sidedly, especially with Ishizaki present, makes no sense."

"Well...that's just because we didn't want a fight!"

"If you had no desire to fight, and you weren't fighting back, it's extremely unlikely that all three of you would be hurt."

"That does sound like common sense." Sae sensei chimed in.

"Common sense doesn't apply when Sudo is involved! He's an incredibly violent man!"

"There was a student who witnessed the entire fight." Horikita said, as everyone froze. "Bring her here." The door opened as, Sakura came in.

"Class 1-D, Airi Sakura." Sakura introduced herself, taking a seat.

"Sakura-san." Horikita called out, as Sakura looked at her, shaken. Ayanokouji looked at her, and nodded, as a small, yet confident smile appeared on her face.

"I did see the events happening." She admitted. "The Class C students provoked and attacked Sudo first. I'm sure of it."

"If you really did see it, then why didn't you step forward in the first place?" The Class teacher for Class C asked.

"I had no reason to." Sakura admitted. "The hearing was scheduled for today, was it not? What would the point of confessing anywhere else be? Besides, this information is three days old. Is it not known by everyone?"

"Airi Sakura. Are you sure you're not being forced to lie?" The Class Teacher asked.

"Like I said. If I were lying, wouldn't I have come forward closer to date of the trial?" Sakura countered, as Ayanokouji nodded, and Sakura's smile widened.

"The fact that Sakura is here proves that she really did witness the incident." Horikita concluded. "If she hadn't, she wouldn't be sitting here, even if we asked her to. If we needed to give a simple statement, wouldn't we have chosen someone else?"

"Perhaps you chose to use her to bring your version of reality?" The teacher suggested.

'Reality is a matter of perspective.' Ayanokouji replied in his head. 'For people like us, the reality is nothing more than a second person eye view. Something that's unreliable, and exaggerated. As such, Sakura, a first person witness, yet a third party in the fight, is the most authentic source of evidence. That fact alone is more than satisfactory. Of course, that still leaves the matter of Sakura being a reliable person herself or not...'

"Reality?" Horikita asked. "Stop twisting everything."

"I have proof!" Sakura exclaimed, showing a chip. "This is the proof that I have with me." Sakura said, as the contents of the chip were displayed. Everyone looked on in surprise, seeing Ishizaki being the one charging towards Sudo with a raised fist, and Sudo looking at it in confusion.

"Is that enough evidence?" Horikita asked.

"Hmm, while the picture in itself does depict the scene as such, we still do not know if Ishizaki attacked after being provoked verbally or physically by Sudo." The Class teacher said. "However, it does seem that Class C students share some of the guilt, and a two week suspension for Sudo, and a one week suspension for Class C students. The difference in punishment is based off of the difference in harm done."

'Hm, this changes things...' Ayanokouji thought to himself, before looking at an unconvinced Manabu. 'Does it though? Do you have something else planned?'

"What do you think, Chabashira sensei?" The Class teacher asked.

"It seems that the conclusion has already been reached." She said in agreement.

"There's that." Class C's professor concluded.

"As I thought." Manabu began. "This was a waste of time. Everything you say is completely at odds. Which means that one side is offering false testimony."

"Let me ask Class C..." He began, turning to them. "Can you say with absolute certainty that your testimony here today is the truth?"

"Y-yes, of course!"

"And Class D?"

"Certainly." Horikita replied, but Manabu didn't look at her, only moving on when Ayanokouji nodded.

"If that is the case, then I shall give my judgement tomorrow at 4 pm." Manabu concluded. "If I receive no proof of your opponents' lies, or admissions of your own guilt by then, I'll be putting expulsion on the table as well. That is all."

After the conclusion,

"Ayanokouji-kun." Manabu said. "So you did wait for me?...And where did you get the ice cream from? The closest place is nearly halfway back to the school." Manabu noticed, as Ayanokouji continued to enjoy his ice cream, while Sakura also watched in confusion, having not even noticed him leave to get the ice cream.

"I can walk fast." Ayanokouji replied, as if that explained everything.

"So, what's your next strategy?" Manabu asked curiously. 'Not that I expect an answer. At least, not a direct one. But what can I say? Indulging in conversation with you is probably the most entertaining part of my day.'

"I'm neither Zhuge Liang nor Kuroda Kanbei." Ayanokouji replied. "I have no strategy."

'Zhuge Liang and Kuroda Kanbei...hmm, both specialists in retreating strategies and tricks. Retreating...no...withdrawal.' He smirked. 'I see...thank you for indulging me.'

"So Suzune proclaiming Sudo's innocence inside was her going rogue?" Manabu asked, keeping the charade on outside.

"I guess it's a pipe dream, right?" Ayanokouji asked.

"It is."

"Sakura, was it?" Manabu asked. "Your testimony might just end up being a deciding factor in this case. That is, if it was authentic. The picture says much, but doesn't give a clear answer. Are you certain you spoke the truth?"

"I-yes. I did."

"I believe her." Ayanokouji said, and Manabu nodded.

"Very well, if that is the case, then it seems my decision has been made." Manabu concluded. "Though I will wait to see what you have planned, Ayanokouji-kun." He added, before walking away, and a confused Tachibana followed.

The next day, at the special annex,

"Damn! It's blazing in here..." Ishizaki muttered. "Why the Special Annex?"

"I wonder what Kushida-chan wants to talk to us about." Another mentioned. "Maybe she's asking me out?"

"Yeah right! Like that's going to happen!" He said, as Ishizaki looked up the staircase, to see Ayanokouji standing there.

"Kushida won't be coming." Ayanokouji said. "I asked her to send the fake email."

"Why would you do that?" Ishizaki asked.

"You probably wouldn't bat an eye if I didn't do it, would you?" Ayanokouji asked. "I wanted to have a talk."

"Listen up. Sudo called us out here and beat us up. That's the truth." Ishizaki said. "He should accept his punishment like a man. Farewell."

"Wait a minute!" A voice called out, as Ichinose entered, waving. "I wanted to talk to you three as well. Sorry if I'm wasting your time."

"Heh? What do you want from us?" One of them asked.

"Let's go."

"Wait." Ichinose said again. "I wanted to ask you three something."

"What?"

"Why did you hurt Kanzaki-kun?" Ichinose asked. "I could understand if it was unintentional, but Kanzaki-kun is injured now. I don't want to make an incident by reporting it, so I wanted to get your perspective as well."

"Huh? Kanzaki?" Ishizaki asked. "We never hurt him. We met him here yesterday I think. He was already injured."

"Is that so?" Ichinose asked. "I could prove it with CCTV footage, right?" She asked.

"CCTV? What CCTV?"

"Umm, that one there." Ichinose pointed to the camera at the top of the stairs, as Ishizaki and the gang froze, staring. "...Did I say something wrong?"

"A CCTV?"

"Yeah." Ichinose said, looking at them in confusion. "There is a science lab ahead in the corridor. Wouldn't it be necessary to have cameras nearby?"

"Butt, since there are cameras there, they could tell if you're innocent without having to do anything." Ishizaki noted. "You'd have no reason to call us here." He said, turning to Ayanokouji.

"The moment the incident occured, both parties were doomed to suffer for it." Ayanokouji explained. "Regardless of the circumstances, Sudo did hit you. That's a known fact."

"That means you'd be in trouble with the footage too, correct?" Ishizaki asked.

"Ooh!" Ichinose exclaimed, raising her hand like a child. "I know this part. It's in the school rules! Regardless of the severity of injuries, any party caught in a fight or any form of physical or verbal encounter will face suspension at the least, along with a penalty of private and class points."

"Yes, Sudo will be punished." Ayanokouji agreed. "But you three will get it much worse. You brought the entire school into malicious lie of yours. You could lose a lot of points, even be expelled."

"But... if that's the case, why hasn't the school said anything to us?" One of his sidekicks asked.

"The school is testing us." Ayanokouji explained. "They want to see if we can resolve the problem ourselves. Hence, they're testing us to see what we can conclude after being granted extra time."

"So..." Ichinose began, turning to Ayanokouji. "They're basically wanting us to come up with an outcome that supports the school's ideals of student autonomy, as well as test our resolutions skills, right?"

"Yes." Ayanokouji said. "Back in the trial, didn't you notice the President not concentrating? Don't you think it felt like they already knew everything?"

"No...I don't want to lose all those points, or be expelled." One of Ishizaki's gang members said, falling to his knees.

"Ishizaki!" The other called out. "Let's go admit it was a lie! The school might let us off the hook!"

"What do we do?"

"Shut up!"

"There is another way." Ayanokouji said, as they all perked up. "There's still a way to save both Class C and D."

"Huh? And what would that be?"

"Ooh! If the incident was ignored entirely!" Ichinose exclaimed, jumping in her child-like excitement, as Ayanokouji nodded again.

"If you just withdraw your complaint, the incident will never happen." Ayanokouji said. "No one can be punished for an incident that never happened. If both groups tell the same story, then the school can't pursue it any further."

"..." Ishizaki looked at the other camera in the corridor, then back at the camera above the stairs.

"Ishizaki, we've lost already."

"Let's just accept his offer!"

"Fine, we'll do it. We'll take it back."

A few hours later,

"An eye for an eye, and a lie for a lie, huh?" Ichinose asked, sitting on a bench, as Ayanokouji nodded. "I wasn't expecting that. But this was a Class D issue, why have me involved?"

"I needed someone from another class to be there to add pressure." Ayanokouji explained. "A quick time decision like that, I couldn't trust someone like Kushida. And Horikita... no, she would be too cold hearted and direct. Someone like Ishizaki would be quick to get angry, and I couldn't risk a scuffle breaking out between him and Horikita."

"Why do you think he wouldn't hit me?" Ichinose asked.

"Besides the added pressure brought from the CCTV's and your questioning about Kanzaki?" Ayanokouji asked. "You're simply too kind. You have a reputation as the kind and generous leader of Class B. No one would hurt you without having a really good reason to, or if they don't fear the repercussions of going up against all of Class B and many other of your friends."

"You're a good friend, Ayanokouji-kun." Ichinose said. "Your class is lucky to have you."

"I'm only doing what's necessary." Ayanokouji said. "Nothing more, nothing less."

"It wasn't necessary for you to save Sudo-kun, no one else in your class was willing to go this far." Ichinose replied, getting up. "Don't look down on yourself, Ayanokouji-kun. Even if you don't know it, you're a good and kind person too...If only you were in Class B."

'A...kind person?' He asked himself. 'I knew what all I had done to get here. What all I been through, and what all I had sacrificed. How could she claim I was "kind"? I knew more about me than anyone else. I knew just how defective, just how foolish I was. I was a horrible human being.'

Vacations and Ayanopapa pays a visit

Continuing from last Chapter,

"Hey, Ayanokouji!" Sudo called out, as Ayanokouji looked at him.

"How'd the hearing go?" He asked.

"Just like you said it would." Sudo replied. "The Class C guys withdrew their complaints out of nowhere!"

"I see, that's good."

"Can't believe you did all this alone." Sudo muttered.

"It wasn't just me. Kushida and Horikita helped as well." Ayanokouji replied. 'Word about the incident is going to spread. It will be better if all the parties involved stick to Class D. Involving Ichinose in as well would complicate things, and I do plan to make quick work of Class C soon as possible.'

"Guess I'll thank them as well." Sudo concluded. "Well, got to get going. We should all celebrate tonight."

"Yeah." Ayanokouji replied, as he walked ahead, noticing that it was beginning to rain. He looked up ahead, to see Manabu and Tachibana walk up to him, as both parties stopped.

"Class C asked to withdraw their complaint, and I accepted." Manabu reported. "I believe it went just as you planned."

"You never fail to impress me, Ayanokouji-kun." Manabu remarked, before turning to Tachibana. "Tachibana, there's an open seat for a secretary position, right?" Manabu asked.

"Yes." Tachibana replied. "A Class A student applied for the position, but was rejected after the first interview."

"Ayanokouji, you can have that seat, if you want." Manabu offered, as Tachibana looked up at him in shock.

"Student Council President...do you really mean that?" She asked.

"Do you disapprove?" Manabu asked.

"N-no. If you say so, I have no objections." She replied.

"No, thank you." Ayanokouji replied.

"Huh? Are you refusing an invitation from the President?!" Tachibana yelled out in shock, as Ayanokouji's gaze flickered to her for a second, before returning to Manabu.

"You understand, don't you?" He asked.

"I do." Manabu replied. "A higher position...and later in the future...is that correct?"

"Yes." Ayanokouji replied. "I want to cement my place in this school before making any big moves. I believe you know what I mean."

"I do." Manabu said, before walking away. "You never fail to disappoint me, Ayanokouji-kun. I wonder what you'll do when the school is in your hands." Ayanokouji looked up, to see Horikita in front of him, and sighed. He turned around and walked away, and as expected, Horikita followed him outside.

"Seems like the plan went well." Ayanokouji began, looking straight ahead.

"You use me, again and again." Horikita said. "Ever since school began, you have been using my name, giving me credit, as minimal as it is, in your achievements. Why? Am I nothing but your tool?"

"You are correct to assume that." Ayanokouji replied. Horikita opened her mouth to respond, but stopped, as a male student stood next to them. He seemed to be the same height as Ayanokouji, maybe taller. In the darkness, his hair seemed completely black, but Ayanokouji wasn't so sure.

"Setting up cameras, huh?" He asked. "Kukukuku, you really did something funny there."

"And you are?" Horikita asked.

"Not talking to you, for sure." He replied, turning to Ayanokouji. "Next time, I'll be your opponent. Remember that." He walked away.

"Seems we're done here." Ayanokouji concluded, beginning to walk away.

"Wait, I'm not done yet." Horikita said.

"And why should I care if you are done or not?" Ayanokouji asked. "For me, you are nothing but a tool. As long as we reach Class A, you will do what I tell you, won't you?"

"I am not your tool." Horikita said. "This is merely an alliance."

"Think like that if you want to."

"Just...what are you thinking? Who are you?"

"I have no obligation to answer you. I will help you reach Class A, and you do what I tell you. But..."

"But?" Horikita asked, almost flinching when Ayanokouji turned to her, a dark look on his face.

"Don't pry into my life."

A week into the vacations,

"This sucks." Horikita concluded, looking up at the Sun ferociously bearing down on her.

"Huh? Horikita-san?" Hirata asked. "I haven't seen you since summer break started."

"I just don't have the necessity to meet you." Horikita replied shortly.

"Oh, is that Horikita?" Kei asked, also coming from the other side, her hair open as she wore a crop top and shorts, certainly a somewhat boyish look to contrast her naturally feminine features. "You're still alive?"

"Were you expecting me to be dead?"

"That's not what I-"

"Horikita-san, why don't you come hang out with your Class D friends every now and then?" Hirata asked. "Ayanokouji-kun is always there, but you never come along."

"There's no need." Horikita answered. "It would be significantly more effective to use the time studying or reading."

"Wow." Kei said, rolling her eyes. "You really don't have a life. Well, I have things to do. See you all around."

"I'll be leaving too." Hirata said, walking away. "It was nice meeting you, Horikita-san!" Horikita sighed, turning to walk away, and a few minutes later, still ended up at the bus stop with Ayanokouji and his more valuable tools- ahem, I mean, Kushida and Sakura.

"I'm glad you're coming with us too, Horikita-san." Kushida said, excited and chirpy as always. "I was hoping we could use this trip to get closer, okay?"

'She really is giving this a lot of effort.' Ayanokouji noted. 'Hmm, I wonder how much more time do I have to buy Ike and Yamauchi and the rest? Why do they even want to go in the girl's dressing room?'

"Hmm. What is it, Ayanokouji-kun?" Kushida asked. "Are Sudo-kun and the rest not here yet?"

"Hm, they will probably take some time-" Ayanokouji began, only for Ike's shout to interrupt him.

"Hey! Sorry to be late! We overslept a little!" Ike exclaimed.

"You overslept..." Sakura began. "Yet you're coming from the direction of the pool?"

"W-well.."

"They must have taken the longer way around." Ayanokouji guessed, trying to cover for them, as his eyes met Kushida's.

"Oh, yeah!" She exclaimed. "I always get confused which way to take. Did you guys take the wrong way too?"

"Yeah. Yeah." Yamauchi replied.

"A-a-anyway, let's hurry!" Sudo exclaimed.

"Yeah! Let's go let's go!" Kushida joined in. Ayanokouji walked up ahead with Ike and Yamauchi, as the two stepped closer to him.

'We messed up.' Ike signed.

'Just what I needed.' Ayanokouji thought to himself. 'How bad is it?'

'Not that bad. We still have a chance.' Yamauchi replied.

"Oi! Ayanokouji-kun!" Ayanokouji looked up ahead, as his eyes met Ichinose and Kanzaki's from Class B. "Are you guys going to the pool too?"

"It would be good if our classes created a bond with each other." Kanzaki said, as they all went over to the pool.

Ayanokouji looked around, noticing everyone enjoying in the pool. He looked around, seeing the boys staring at the girls like the obvious perverts they were. Though he couldn't blame them. Some of them did have some attractive features. Ayanokouji's eyes drifted at the thought, first to Ichinose's chest, then to Kushida's hips and then to one of the second years...

"Huh? Where's Yamauchi?" Kushida asked.

"He has a stomach ache." Ayanokouji replied before Sudo and Ike could have a panic attack. "And a rather abrupt one too. Though he might join us later."

"Ah, okay." Kushida replied.

"Yeah!"

"There's volleyball there! Let's do that! Right now!" Sudo exclaimed, as the crowd went ahead. Ayanokouji sighed, dipping down and out, as he escaped the crowds. 'In any normal school building, they would usually have a window placed high up in a changing room. High enough for privacy, but also for circulation. Especially in a place like this, with an outdoor pool, where it's possible for this to happen and useful in case of a fire, unlike places with indoor pools.'

Ayanokouji noticed the window, and took a few steps back. He ran forward, leaping up as he put a foot on the wall, then propelled himself vertically upwards, grabbing the ledge of the window. He tried opening the window, to no avail.

'That's not good.' Ayanokouji thought to himself. 'And I can't use the front way. I hope Yamauchi can handle things here.' Ayanokouji sighed, going back ahead to the rest of the people, making sure no one went towards the changing rooms.

"Hmm, a crowd around the bathrooms. Troublesome." Ayanokouji muttered, before looking at Sudo.

"What happened?" Sudo asked, noticing Ayanokouji's look. "Fuck." He cursed, noticing a few members of Class C approaching.

"This is troublesome." Kanzaki muttered, noticing Sudo run away. "Is there something wrong?"

"Horikita was a bit too close to him." Ayanokouji replied.

"Ooh. I see." Kazaki said. "Now what do we do? Your side is down to five."

"It'll be fine." Ayanokouji replied, as the game continued.

"Huh? They're not cleaning in here?" Ryueen asked, looking around the area in front of the changing rooms.

"The hell are you doing here?" Sudo asked. "This place is off limits!"

"Like hell I care." Ryueen replied. "I go where I want."

"Fufufufu. Seems like a fight between the bottom feeders." The voice of Arisu Sakayanagi called out, as Sudo and Ryueen turned to her.

"Sakayanagi?" Ryueen asked. "I don't remember calling you here. Take your dogs and go home."

"Oh? Perhaps I should make you my dog too, if that's the case." Sudo just looked around, confused.

"What is the fuss going on here?" Manabu asked from above, looking down at the crowd gathered. He leapt down, landing right in front of Sudo. "Even if this is an open facility, we're still within the school. Do you understand that?"

"Well well, the Student Council President." Arisu said. Sudo looked outside, to see Ayanokouji and Ike there, waving at him.

'How the hell did they get out?' Sudo wondered.

'Operation Complete.' Ike signed out, as Sudo sighed in relief, slowly stepping away from the Class A vs Class C drama.

'I'm just a hallucination. I'm not even here.' Sudo prayed, leaving as they all were free to visit the changing rooms. Manabu, who noticed him leave just shrugged, really not knowing what to think.

"How the hell did you guys do it?" Sudo asked, confused as hell.

"We did a good thing telling Ayano-bro our plan." Ike answered. "He knocked on the window above a few times. Lucky for me, I could reach it. God alone knows what would've happened if he wasn't there for me."

"Thanks a lot Ayanokouji." Sudo replied.

"Not a problem." Ayanokouji replied. "But...why were you guys in the girls changing room in the first place?"

"...About that..."

Few days later,

"Ayanopapa, you're shorter than I expected." Kouenji commented, looking down at him. "And your head is smaller too. Besides the facial features, I guess Kouji-boy gets his genes from the mother, huh?"

"Yes, yes he does, Kouenji." Ayanopapa said, sitting with his elbow propped on the table, staring emotionlessly at Kiyotaka, who stared back.

"Kiyotaka."

"Father."

"You all are forgetting my "Perfect Existence"-"

"Shut up Kouenji." They both said at the same time, neither taking their eyes off the other.

"Come on." Kouenji said. "Loosen up you two. Besides, Ayanopapa came all this way, breaking the school policy of outside contact. We should listen to what he has to say, especially since he wanted my glorious perfection to be involved as well."

"Indeed." Ayanokouji said. "What brings you here? Has one of your plans failed?"

"Things...have become complicated, Kiyotaka."

"How so?" Kiyotaka asked. "Has the government found out about the Whiterooms?"

"..." Ayanopapa didn't reply, but he didn't need to. Ayanokouji had considered the possibility for a while now, and it wasn't too far fetched for him. All he could do now was wait and see how bad the situation was.

"Ooh, so they have." Kouenji said. "This is why you should never rely on side characters to do a job well. Only my "Perfect Existence" is worth relying on, besides you, Masterpiece."

"I will take that as a compliment Kouenji." Ayanokouji decided. "And so, is the government the problem? How does that involve me? I thought you left no records of the Demonic Fourth Generation."

"I was careful, and I didn't." Ayanopapa replied. "But that is not the problem we are involved in. The problem is... the Investors of the Whiteroom have gotten involved, and they are not happy."

"Oh, so my parents have made a move?" Kouenji asked, curiously. He seemed surprised that his parents made a move. Being a "Perfect Existence", he also believed his parents to have at least half his perfection, and that in itself was something that made him proud of his parents. To get involved in matters like these, Kouenji could not fathom what his parents were thinking, or what the severity of the situation was.

"No, and they do not need to." Ayanopapa replied. "Your parents never made a direct transaction, and even then, their records are the cleanest. They will not, and do not need to make a move. That is what made them the most reliable of all investors, as well. "

"Thought so." Kouenji replied, somewhat relieved, fixing his hair as he stared at his image in the mirror.

"By the Investors getting involved, you mean that they are taking an active role?" Ayanokouji asked. "And what of the generations? The survivors? The investors would never let them be."

"I'm assuming they've started disposing off the younger generations, like the 10th generation onwards, and the rest have barely any survivors, but those not worth the effort are also being disposed off." Kouenji deduced. "My "Perfect Existence" is disappointed in this."

"Close, but that's not all, is it?" Ayanokouji asked Ayanopapa, who rubbed his head with a handkerchief, before putting it down. Ayanokouji just shook his head at the fake act, clearly noticing how the handkerchief was dry as ever and his father was not nervous in the slightest.

"Yes, there's more." He sighed. " Some of the investors are looking to...negotiate with the government. Information on the Whiterooms, maybe a few survivors in exchange for immunity."

"That would explain why you've begun to dispose of the generations." Kouenji concluded, fixing his nails. "If the government gets their hands on a survivor..."

"Hm, a problem." Ayanokouji muttered. "And since this school receives funding from the government, am I under suspicion?"

"No, that would be impossible." Ayanopapa replied. "But I no longer have the resources to verify that."

"Let me guess: They shut down on all funds?" Ayanokouji asked, as Ayanopapa nodded.

"All I have is what the Kouenji Conglomerate is willing to lend to help us. Under the table of course." Ayanopapa replied.

"Help "us"? And for what?"

"...To get rid of the Investors who have turned their back on us." Ayanopapa replied, a sadistic gleam in his eyes.

"Dispose of them?" Ayanokouji asked. "And how so?"

"I have gotten permission to take you out of school for the vacations, and any future breaks that may occur as long as you do not miss any important events." Ayanopapa explained.

"You are going all out with the influence you hold with Chairman Sakayanagi." Ayanokouji remarked.

"Hmm, the Fufu Loli's father?" Kouenji asked. "I almost forgot about that."

"Fufu Loli?" Ayanokouji and Ayanopapa asked at the same time, knowing who he was talking about.

"What's a Loli? Does it have a similar connotation as Milf?" Ayanokouji asked, as Ayanopapa's head snapped in Kouenji's direction.

"Just. What. Are. You. Teaching. My. Son?!"

"Some things that any high schooler should know." Kouenji replied. "And if they do not, then they're not even worthy of being side characters." Ayanopapa took a deep breath, trying his very best to not get pissed off.

"As I was saying before this hooligan interrupted me-"

"What did you just call me?" Kouenji asked. He was surprised, not because of the word, but because someone had the guts to call him that. People called him words, yes, but he didn't mind those idiots, because to him, they were nothing more than side characters. And since when did side characters ever matter? They didn't even have half the plot armour the main character had. Kouenji wondered if Ayanopapa knew his full capabilities, or if he simply didn't give a damn, oblivious in his and his son's abilities only. Kouenji may have to fix that at some point.

"-I need your help to dispose of the investors."

"No. Do it yourself." Ayanokouji replied, as even Kouenji looked at him, shocked.

"Kouji-boy, are you serious?" He asked.

"I am. I see no benefit of me being involved." Ayanokouji answered. "All this will do is add more problems. Problems that will affect the freedom I have here."

"Not this "freedom" again." Ayanopapa groaned. "Kiyotaka, I don't think you understand, the Investors have information on you. Do you really think the government will let you go once they find out you're the "Masterpiece"?"

"I say Kouji-boy can take his chances with them." Kouenji added. "Besides, this might be entertaining enough for me too. How is helping you assassinate them more entertaining than toying with the country's legislative body? And manipulating them to your whims?"

"Simple. I will let you kill them, and you have full freedom for members." Ayanopapa replied. "Besides that, the two survivors of the Fifth generation, are on our side as well. They would love to work with the "Masterpiece" and the "Perfect Existence", as you call yourself."

"What do you think Kouji-boy?" Kouenji asked. "I'm willing to do this if you are."

"Do you mean absolute freedom, while doing the job?" Kiyotaka asked.

"I do. Anything you want. Your choice. You can dispose of as many or as little people as you want." Ayanopapa replied.

"Very well. If that's the case, let me bring my hacker up to speed." Ayanokouji said, getting up.

"Your hacker?" Ayanopapa asked. "I thought it would be you who would do that?"

"I could." Ayanokouji replied. "But I would prefer not to deal with something this bothersome. Besides, I have someone suitable for the job."

"Who is he talking about?" Ayanopapa asked.

"I don't want to spoil anything. Besides, I think you'll like her." Kouenji said.

"Her?" Ayanopapa asked. "My son has a girlfriend?!"

"No, at least, I don't think so." Kouenji said, turning to Ayanokouji. "Is she your girlfriend? If yes, have you had sex yet?"

"You What?!"

"What? It's a fair question. He was asking me about naked girls a few days ago."

"...Kiyotaka..." Ayanokouji sighed.

"What a drag."

Ayanogod's killing spree, Part 1

Two days later,

"You will be there in 10 minutes A-Ayanokouji-kun." Sakura informed him over the comms, and Ayanokouji nodded, relaying the information over to Kouenji, who was driving their speedboat.

"Ah, is that so?" Kouenji asked. "Well then, my perfect existence proposes that we go over our codenames again."

"I believe it would be preferable if we stuck to the objective-" A voice began, only to be shut off by Kouenji.

"Oh no no no." He said. "My perfect existence will not allow any insubordination here. Besides, the Masterpiece approves of this, does he not?"

"You can do what you feel like." Ayanokouji replied, straight faced, as Kouenji pouted.

"Your words wound me Kouji-boy. I expected more emotion after all these months of my teaching."

"Don't listen to him senpai!" A feminine voice called out, as Ayanokouji sighed.

"Yagami, Ichika, just follow Kouenji's lead." Ayanokouji ordered, as he heard a sigh and a squeal from the other ends. "I shall go first. T-rex kun, checking in. Though I still don't understand why I'm called that."

"Devil Loli, checking in." Ichika said. "Also senpai, I could explain it to you later if you want. Privately~"

"Cheap-copy kun checking in." Yagami said, emotionless. "Was there really no other alternative?"

"And finally, Gigachad checking in." Kouenji said, just as they reached land. "Besides the masterpiece, only my glorious self could deserve such an honour."

"To be a blond Neanderthal?" Ichika asked, disgusted.

"That's impressive Devil Loli." Kouenji replied. "It seems your measley existence has purpose beyond being thirsty for the T-rex."

"Can we all please complete this mission peacefully?" Yagami asked, grabbing Ichika before she could begin throwing hands. "A little help?"

"Calm down everyone." Ayanokouji ordered, as they all backed off. Ichika calmed down, Kouenji stopped laughing, and Yagami let her go. "It seems the place is empty. No hostile presence detected."

"Based on our records and history of the target," Yagami began. "I'm assuming that she is outside as of this moment."

"It is night, and there seems a storm coming too." Ichika observed, walking just behind Ayanokouji with stars in her eyes.

"My father once used Alma Reynard and her militia." Kouenji recalled. "Quite the sneaky people, but pitifully imperfect."

"Indeed. She is also extremely close to one of our targets." Yagami added. "And thus, finding the information she holds is of utmost importance." Ayanokouji looked at the makeshift beach hut that seemed to be in the progress of making, before grabbing a screwdriver as they continued walking towards the place.

"There's a camera." Yagami pointed out, pulling his pistol out before shooting it down. "One down."

"A-ayanokouji-kun?" Sakura called over the comms.

"Yes Sakura."

"A-according to the local home security provider, there should be multiple cameras." Sakura said. "All outside and around the perimeter." All four nodded in understanding, crouching in the bushes as they made their way to the front of the building. Yagami shot down another camera, as they continued to advance.

"An entrance to a garage." Yagami pointed out, as Ayanokouji opened up the outer panel at the side.

"Ah, so that's what the screwdriver was for." Kouenji noted, as Yagami turned back, confused. Where had the screwdriver come from? He hadn't even seen him take it. Ayanokouji continued to tinker with the panel, as the sounds of circuits frying out could be heard.

"With that, we can move on to phase two." Ayanokouji said. "Cheap copy, Devil Loli, stay around the perimeter, deal with the cameras and look out for anyone closing in while Gigachad and I go inside."

"Affirmative."

"Whatever you say senpai~" They both left, as Kouenji finished tinkering with the second panel, and the garage opened up.

"Bodies." Ayanokouji noted. "Male and female."

"Early 30's." Kouenji added. "Executed too."

"Do you know of this Kouenji?" Ayanokouji asked.

"B-be c-careful A-ayanokouji-kun." Sakura said, who could also see the images from the cameras on their suits.

"I will Sakura. Do not worry."

"Some of Reynard's work." Kouenji said. "My father once told me she isn't shy when it comes to collateral damage."

"Sakura, are they the owners?" Ayanokouji asked.

"No." She replied. "The house is registered to a non existing environmental NGO."

"So identity theft." Ayanokouji and Kouenji concluded at the same time, nodding with each other. They both moved on, going out of the garage into a room with quite a few pipes. They ignored this room, continuing forward. Ayanokouji looked behind him, to see Kouenji grabbing some things from the shelf, but chose not to say anything. They both had different thought processes, and both worked together even better when their individual thoughts and actions remained so. No two man cell would work efficiently if the elements tried to mimic one another.

Ayanokouji opened the door at the far end, as they entered into the house properly. He looked around, stopping for a second as he looked at the giant screen that had been left on, watching the news for a few moments. Ayanokouji looked next to him, watching as Kouenji dropped the contents of something into a glass of water.

"Was that...rat poison?" Ayanokouji asked, as Kouenji nodded.

"I pity the side character who has this." Kouenji said. "If only they understood that their life was nothing but a figment in the games of the main characters."

"Found something." Ayanokouji said, lifting a folder off the table. "Looks like research reports."

"Hmm." Kouenji hummed, reading the contents. "Operations report on every single militia strike, going back to Thomas Cross' kidnapping, along with the murder of Rex Larsson the shopping mogul."

"So Reynard had a hand in all of them." Ayanokouji concluded. "Not that we can do anything about it anymore. What we need must be upstairs." He said, as they both walked up the stairs, and into the room in front of them. Ayanokouji looked at the computer, noticing the lock screen and password.

"Sakura, you're up." Ayanokouji said, pulling out a pendrive from his pocket, and putting it into the laptop. Soon enough, code flew across the screen, as Ayanokouji watched, somewhat interested. Sakura was quite the hacker, and almost on Ayanokouji's level. She was somewhat reckless, but her hacking speed was comparatively faster than Ayanokouji.

"Encrypted." Sakura said, as the screen flashed red, before returning to its original lock screen. "You'll need a physical decryption key for it. It should be somewhere nearby."

"I don't see a key anywhere." Kouenji said. "Are you sure there is no other way gorgeous lady~?"

"N-no..." Sakura stuttered, flustered by Kouenji's remarks, as always. Ayanokouji wondered if making Sakura blush and stammer was something that Kouenji enjoyed, before remembering that it was something he did with every girl, not just Sakura. "Wait, Ayanokouji-kun, according to the floor plan, the room should be a lot bigger."

"Secret room." Kouenji said immediately, looking around. "It has to be the painting there." Kouenji said, as Ayanokouji tilted the painting. Just as predicted, a panel slid open into the wall, revealing a secret room, as both walked in.

"Ooh, would you look at that?" Kouenji whistled, noticing the weapons present on the wall. Ayanokouji noticed it too, before grabbing a few Shuriken, and the shotgun. He looked at Kouenji, who was doing samurai moves with the katana in hand, and a few smoke grenades on his belt.

"This katana...I hereby pronounce as being worthy to be wielded by the manifestation of perfection." Kouenji announced, as Ayanokouji heard Sakura giggling in the comms. "Today is the day,my training in the arts of ancient combat will come to fruition. I pity my enemies, but it would be their honour to taste my blade."

"I found the decryption key." Ayanokouji said, grabbing one, as Kouenji slashed the control system, rendering any and all footage useless. "You hold it perfectly. You must have experience."

"I do." Kouenji said. "Unlike you, I may not have been able to learn firearms, but I am formidable with the blade. Would you like a spar sometime, Masterpiece?"

"I would be more than glad to accept that." Ayanokouji said, walking out, and connecting the key to the computer as well, as letters entered on the screen. The screen flashed green.

"I'm in." Sakura said, as the screen started flowing by, dozens of documents coming and going, uploading from there to Sakura's computer.

"A-Ayanokouji-kun." Sakura began. "There seems to be movement up the road from you. A motorcade."

"Cheap copy-kun, reporting in." Yagami's voice called out. "It seems Reynard's back. What are our orders?"

"Hide in the tall grass." Ayanokouji said. "Our priority now is to eliminate Reynard and her companions. We will lay an ambush, and strike when the time comes."

"Affirmative." Yagami agreed.

"A-Ayanokouji-kun, I found something." Sakura said. "Reynard was in contact with Robert Knox of the Kronstadt Industries."

"Kronstadt?" Kouenji asked. "So another investor has turned."

"It does seem so." Ayanokouji agreed. "We have our next target then."

"Here they come." Kouenji said, looking out the window. "Quite a few of them too."

"Everyone, move to phase 3." Ayanokouji said. "Begin elimination of target and present witnesses, make it inconspicuous."

"God damn." A guy groaned, stepping out of the car. "What a snooze fest, and I even missed out on the action." He whined, as Reynard stepped out of her car.

"I'm sorry you had to endure all that champagne and cello music, Orson." Reynard replied. "What can I say? You really took one for the team."

"Yeah, well I say, stick to what you know." Orson argued back. "And next time, don't involve me into the useless shit." He said, as Reynard unlocked the door, entering as a plume of smoke erupted from the house. Instead of being alarmed, Reynard looked merely, annoyed.

"What did you leave on Orson?"

"You mean besides the TV?" Orson asked. "I don't know. Could've been anything-" He began, only to get a katana through the throat, as Reynard backed away, alarmed. However, she stepped straight to Ayanokouji, who brought his hands behind her neck, snapping it. The third guy went to back away, only to be caught by Kouenji, who choked him to death. Ayanokouji and Kouenji nodded, as they pulled the bodies inside. They both looked at each other, as Ayanokouji made a quick sign. Kouenji walked out the door, katana dripping blood, while Ayanokouji went towards the pool exit.

Ayanokouji discreetly opened the door, to see three people present. Ayanokouji pulled a dagger from a sheath on his ankle, and the screwdriver. Using both his hands, his threw them simultaneously as he rushed forward. The hilt and screwdriver hit two of them in the necks, instantly killing them as the third turned, shocked.

"Huh?" He asked, bringing his gun up, only for Ayanokouji to swat it out of his hands, and kicking him in the groin. The man doubled over, as Ayanokouji plucked the screwdriver up, and stabbed it through the man's ear with quick precision. Ayanokouji let it stick in there, before one by one, pulling the bodies in. He looked up, frowning as he heard the sounds of silenced pistols going off.

'Yagami wasn't supposed to use guns.' Ayanokouji thought to himself. 'Ichika is out front, and since Kouenji hasn't said anything, I assume she stuck to plan.'

"Come in, Cheap copy."

"I hear you T-rex." Yagami replied. "All hostiles have been disposed off."

"With your gun?" Ayanokouji asked. "You didn't follow the plan."

"I was caught." Yagami said. "This seemed like the most sensible thing to do." He said, trying to explain himself as Ayanokouji walked over to him.

"The plan was to make it inconspicuous." Ayanokouji said. "This will make it easier for the cops to understand this was a planned attack."

"From the sounds on the comms, you stabbed quite a few people." Yagami said. "How did you plan on clearing that up?"

"Like that." Ayanokouji said, pointing behind him as the house exploded in a blaze of fire and light.

"A gas leak. Just as you told us senpai!" Ichika announced, proudly, waiting.

"Gas explosion is normally the result of a release of highly concentrated and flammable gas." Ayanokouji explained. "These kind of explosions normally tend to destroy the human body inside and out, leaving nothing but ash. All bloodstains would have also been vaporised. Seeing as the building has history of issues with plumbing and pipeline problems, it is a believable outcome and would end investigations there itself. But now the police will be investigating this properly."

"Is this what they taught in the 5th generation of the Whiterooms?" Kouenji asked. "You are truly a pathetic copy."

"I'm disappointed in you Yagami." Ichika said coldly, walking away.

"I apologize." Yagami said, bowing his head. "I will strive to not inconvenience you again."

"We'll see..."

Two days later,

"Well, New Zealand paid off." Ayanopapa began on the comms. "We can go full throttle ahead with disposing off the investors. Robert Knox for now, and the rest soon enough."

"We will deal with that when we get there." Ayanokouji interjected. "Let's focus on the mission here."

"Very well." Ayanopapa quickly replied. "Your destination is the annual Global Innovation Race motor race in Miami, Florida."

"Which is where we are right now Ayanopapa." Kouenji interrupted. "Get to the point please, my perfect existence has other needs to attend to."

"Grrr..." Ayanopapa growled, barely managing to rein himself in. Kouenji was one of the few people who wasn't affected by his glare, and he had absolutely no way of intimidating him. As such, Ayanopapa didn't even try, choosing to freely express his growing frustration and anger at his antics, which amused Ayanokouji. "After analysing the data from Reynard's computer thanks to your hacker friend's help, the case is clear; the two defectors are Robert and Sierra Knox head of Kronstadt Industries."

"Kronstadt." Yagami began. "We had quite a few of their machines in the Whiterooms. A visionary inventor and technological innovator, Robert Knox has spearheaded his company to the bleeding edge of technological development. "

"Indeed." Ayanopapa replied, his tone back to being emotionless. "But that is not all. His equally brilliant daughter, Sierra, is not only a financial wizard, but also a fiercely competitive race car driver, with a fiery temper to match."

"Kronstadt is quite famous, and immensely popular with its consumers." Ichika added. "But, very few know that the company is the world's leading supplier of next gen weaponry, with all the firearms used in the Whiterooms for training coming from them."

"Good eye for detail, Ichika." Ayanokouji commented.

'Our weapons were from Kronstadt?! I never even realized...'

"If those two manage to complete negotiations with the government, not even our security will manage to fight them back with that kind of advantage. As such, we have to retire them both."
Ayanopapa concluded. "I will leave you to it, Kiyotaka."

"Welcome to Miami, T-rex kun." Kouenji began. "The last day of the race, and down to the wire. Not entertaining for an existence such as myself, and I believe it won't be much for you either."

"Hmm. Maybe, maybe not." Ayanokouji vaguely answered. "Humour me, Gigachad."

"Very well, as the Demon Lord demands." Kouenji mock bowed, earning a little chuckle from a little kid nearby, who was soon whisked away in the rush of the crowd. "Today commences the final laps of this extremely close race."

"Sierra is driving in her red Kronstadt car." Yagami added. "While her Father should be in the nearby watching-"

"Hush! No measley existence shall interrupt us. Go back to being silent, Cheap copy kun."

"Hey!" Ichika yelled at Kouenji. "You can't just-"

"Let it be, Ichika." Ayanokouji interrupted, shutting her up. "Continue."

"Robert Knox will be in the nearby expo, presumably near his prototype car." Kouenji concluded. "Isn't that right, hacker-chan~?"

"The probability of him being near the car for the entire day is astronomically low." Yagami interjected. "There is no way-"

"Yes." Sakura replied on the comms. "His phone location is near the car. You were right, K-Kouenji-kun."

"There you have it." Kouenji concluded, walking away.

"Ichika, with him." Ayanokouji ordered. "Robert is your target. Yagami and I will take Sierra."

"But Senpai~..." Ichika pouted, but followed, casting one look behind her before following Kouenji.

"She really idolizes you." Yagami informed Ayanokouji. "We have all heard tales of the Demon of the Demonic Fourth Generation. You are, in a sense, her God."

"..." Ayanokouji didn't reply, and walked away. Yagami sighed, before following him.

With Kouenji,

"Mr. Mendez, good to see you sir." The receptionist said, as she looked at Kouenji in a military uniform, his face mostly concealed with a low kept hat. "And who would be the one next to you?"

"She is an intern for our department, and the daughter of the client." Kouenji replied, his voice surprisingly gruff and his English deep and perfect.

"Ah!" The receptionist exclaimed, eyes wide as she bowed to Ichika. "I'm so sorry for not having your name with me. Please forgive this inconvenience."

"My father will hear about this." Ichika said, a haughty expression on her face, as she feigned an accent. "Who knows? If this is the kind of disrespect I get, he might cancel the deal entirely."

"P-p-please..." The receptionist begged, looking like she was about to burst into tears. "Robert...H-he'll fire m-me, and I-I'm already in debt. Please, I h-have a f-family..."

"Hmm, well, sad for them I guess." Ichika replied nonchalantly, as the receptionist began crying. "But...I could forgive this..."

"H-how? Please give me a chance!"

"Don't inform Robert of me being here. I want to see his reaction." Ichika said, a sadistic smile on her face. "My father suggested we prank Robert, seeing as how he cancelled our previous appointment. I would appreciate if you could do this small favour."

"I-I will! I'll let the guards and the rest know as well to let you through!" The receptionist hurriedly nodded her head, before dashing off to make some calls.

"That was quick." Kouenji said, as they walked towards the right. Kouenji made sure his face would be covered by the cameras, and Ichika looked down on her phone for the same reason as they made their way up the stairs to the upper floors.

"Mr Mendez." A person called out. "And Ma'am. Right this way please." She said, ushering them in a certain direction as the two followed. They both took a right, into the West Wing, as they looked around. Ichika frowned with disgust as she watched a man complain about a soda dispenser, but continued on. She found it disgusting that present within a place of technological marvels, all the man could focus on was his drink. Truly, a worthless scum.

"Well, we now know he has bodyguards." Kouenji informed Ichika, having also dropped in on the man's conversation. "Your plan holds surprising merit Devil Loli. You may be a decent existence after all."

"See?" Ichika smirked. "I'm not half bad. And you aren't that bad either for an ape. A bit blunt and rude, but a fun guy." Kouenji chuckled at this little bonding session they were thanks to this mission. Those two had been at each other's throats not moments ago, but now here they were, almost friendly.

"...just imagine, an army of programmable machines..." A voice could be heard, as Kouenji and Ichika nodded, and Ichika starting blowing her bubblegum up while keeping her head down, and Kouenji pulled his hat down and straightened his shoulders.

"...Apparently, Knox wants to do a large field test in Pallas in the next weeks..."

"...But it isn't even in the state to be tested! What is he..."

"...What about the massacre before?! Does he really think..."

"...Damn, if this leaked, the media would eat them alive..."

Kouenji looked down at Ichika, who was recording this, and smirked. 'So she had the intuition to do it? Not half bad. You might not be like Kouji-boy, but you are mildly entertaining.'

"Ah, Mr Mendez!" A scientist exclaimed. "Come in please, you too Ma'am."

"Robert, it's Derek." The scientist began, talking on his phone. "Mr Mendez is here already. He's eager to get on with the Demo. You should come by as soon as possible."

"You all can leave." Ichika told the scientists. "We will speak to Robert directly and no one else."

"Ah, of course, for the prank." The scientist guessed. "The panel there controls the machine." He concluded, before leaving.

"That was easy." Ichika said again.

"Too easy." Kouenji added. "Americans are really this stupid, or does this happen often?"

"I read something like this in books." Ichika said. "Maybe it does happen one or two times." Kouenji and Ichika decided to let it be, and Ichika walked outside, into the balcony and crouched behind a bunch of boxes, as Robert entered from the other side. His bodyguard entered, but stayed outside, as Robert himself entered the demonstration room alone.

"Ah Ted,long time no-" He began, only for Kouenji to grab him in a choke hold,not enough to leave a mark, but quite sufficient to suffocate him. His fruitless efforts amused Kouenji, who slowly dragged him outside, to see Ichika having knocked out the guard.

"You ready?" Ichika asked, and Kouenji nodded. He held Rovert towards the railing, who was now on the verge of passing out. Ichika propped the bodyguard against the wall, and lifted his hand with the gun in it. She squeezed his finger, indirectly squeezing the trigger on the silenced pistol, as the bullet sailed over, hitting in the center of Robert Knox's forehead. Kouenji had instantly backed away, as the bullets momentum carried over, and Robert toppled off the railing and down below.

"You were right." Ichika admitted, looking down. "This area is empty, surprisingly, and it's going to be a while before anyone finds Robert's body."

"Indeed. This was where the old stalls used on the opening day of the Expo were. Considering that this is the last day, and the only event is the races, my Perfect existence came to the conclusion that this section would be abandoned." Kouenji explained.

"I have a question for you, T-Rex obsessed Loli," Kouenji began. "How did you knock out the guard?"

"I dropkicked him."

"Say what now?!" Kouenji asked, shocked.

"I leapt up, dropkicked him." Ichika explained calmly. "His head banged against the wall, and he got knocked out. Pretty cool, right?"

"Right." Kouenji said, as Ichika walked away. "I wonder how Kouji-boy plans to handle a drop-kicking Loli in his harem..."

With Ayanokouji and Yagami,

"The race is about to enter it's final lap, Ayanokouji." Yagami told him, and Ayanokouji nodded.

"Do you really think I don't know that?" Ayanokouji asked. "Also, why did I wear this?" He asked, pointing to a bright pink flamingo mascot outfit.

"That's because you are more efficient at disposing of targets than me." Yagami replied with a straight face.

"You wanted to see the Masterpiece in a flamingo costume, didn't you?"

"Caught me red handed." Yagami chuckled. "Wait till I send these pictures to Ichika."

"You clicked pictures?!" Ayanokouji yelled at him.

"As the security guard escorting you, I am obliged to silence you now." Yagami joked, as they approached a guard.

"This him?" The guard asked, as Ayanokouji nodded, showing the documents. "Nice outfit, really brings out your eyes." The guard chuckled.

"Can we move on?" Yagami asked. "Ms Knox would be expecting us."

"Yeah yeah, grab a seat." The guard motioned inwards. "I'll let Ms Knox know you're here."

"So, you here for a job interview or something?" One of the guards asked, somewhat curious, as Yagami tried not to laugh.

"You can say that." Ayanokouji replied.

"Nice." The guard replied. "If you don't mind me saying so, isn't your choice of attire a little...I don't know, off? For a job interview, I mean."

"My suit is at the cleaners."

"And you couldn't find anything else?"

"Not really."

"You must lead an interesting life, Mr Flamingo."

"You have no idea." Ayanokouji said, getting up, as Sierra Knox walked towards them.

"So, Mr...?" Sierra asked. "I never did catch your name."

"Names are for friends." Ayanokouji replied, the flamingo beak covering most of his face as Sierra looked at him.

"Very well." Sierra shrugged. "Straight to the point and all business. Walk with me." She said, as she moved ahead, Ayanokouji following behind, while Yagami decided to stay back.

"Where are we going?" Ayanokouji asked.

"Why so worried?" Sierra asked back. "What am I going to do? Kill you in broad daylight?"

'Well, it won't be you doing it...'

"I just want a bit of privacy here." Sierra said, trudging forward as Ayanokouji followed. "Not about to do sensitive business like this in front of an audience."

"Good idea."

"So let's get this straight." Sierra said, taking a right as the guards stopped following, leaving the two alone. "You claimed in the email you sent to have somehow found internal reports that show that Kronstadt was involved in the Tungen Valley Massacre, and as well as the fact that we sold weapons to a restricted secret facility."

"Sounds about right."

"Let's be clear. You and I are having this meeting because my father doesn't need to know about this." Sierra clarified. "It's just another undesired distraction. I don't care about the accuracy of the information, or if it talks about moving money from the NEXUS project into Tungen Valley damage control as you claimed in our correspondence."

"I do care, about protecting my father." Sierra continued.

'Your now dead father.' Ayanokouji mentally corrected.

"Which is why you and I are here right now." She concluded. "So here's the deal, you hand over the documents and leave and that's the end of it. And you will do that now." Ayanokouji complied, giving the documents to her.

"So here are the two possible outcomes of this meeting." She began once again, turning towards the other side, and Ayanokouji struck. He grabbed her head and smashed it against the sharp edge of the van with a sickening crack.

One move, one kill.

Ayanokouji sighed, getting out of the flamingo costume, as he head gunshots. His eyes widened, as he pulled his own pistol out, and rushed towards the sounds of the shooting. He turned the corner, to see Yagami standing over a pile of dead guards, who seemed to have pulled his guns out at him, from their positioning and whatnot. Or at least, that's what Yagami wanted Ayanokouji to think.

Gunshot!

"What the hell was that for?!" Yagami yelled out, nursing his arm as Ayanokouji had launched a silenced bullet into it.

"You, Takuya Yagami, are growing to be a liability."

"Yeah, and since you injured me, I won't be able to do missio- You!"

"Precisely. Remember, what I have shown you now, is mercy. I have no need for a defective tool. You will learn your place, or you will die. The choice is yours."

A/N: I'm going to be honest here, I had no plans of publishing this chapter whatsoever. It's just that I had already written more than half of it, and thought, fuck it, might as well. So yeah, I published it. There will be two more parts of this, before we return to COTE strictly. Let's see where this can go.

Thank you so much for all your support, and have a nice day or night, wherever you are.

Signing out.

Ayanogod's killing spree, Part 2.

Two days later,

"This will probably be the biggest one, Kiyotaka." Ayanopapa began.

"Who is the target?" Ayanokouji asked.

"The leader of the Delgado Cartel, Columbia's biggest drug manufacturer."

"Ooh, this will be interesting." Kouenji whistled. "My perfect existence beams at the prospect of completing this mission."

"Indeed, but to do so, you need to slay a three headed snake." Ayanopapa replied. "Sociopathic Cartel head Rico Delgado and his two closest lieutenants, Andrea Martinez and chemist Jorge Franco."

"Delgado runs a billion dollar criminal empire, that even the Whiterooms used for human trafficking and kidnappings, something like this could shake the world." Ichika said.

"Three masterpieces in their own right, and three of the most dangerous crime lords of Columbia." Ayanokouji summarized. "Truly interesting. Ichika-"

"Jorge Franco is mine Senpai~!"

"My perfect existence will be sufficient to rid the world of Martinez's imperfect stench."

"And I will dispose off Rico Delgado himself. Get prepared everyone, we reach in a few hours." Ayanokouji ordered.

A few hours later, with Ichika,

"Time for me... to strike!" Ichika exclaimed, leaping straight out of the bushes as she drop kicked the shocked man in front of her, straight over the edge and tumbling down into the crevice below. "Ugh! Why so many mosquitoes?" She asked herself, swatting the air in front of her, as she grabbed the man's gun and holstered it, before leaping back into the bushes.

'Ooh, I wonder what senpai~ will do.' She thought to herself, as she navigated the forest terrain. 'He'll probably sneak up on Delgado, and then gracefully throw him off a building! Ooh, senpai~, such strength, such muscular arms~'

"There is no way we're finding a box of circuit boards out here!" A guy in dark blue clothes exclaimed, holding a gun as Ichika squinted through the bushes to look at them.

"The pilot said he dropped it off near here." The other replied.

'Circuit board...wait, do they mean the one I found?' Ichika asked herself. 'Hmm, I could use that to my advantage. Oh, can't wait until I tell senpai how I killed this guy! He will be so proud of me. Eeek!! I wonder if he gives headpats...'

"...If Franco doesn't get it, his fancy cocaine processing machine won't work."

"Fancy machine my ass! It's just a giant lump of cocaine in metal in a shed."

"...Either way, the box is toast man. Might as well let it be."

"Yeah, I think you're right."

"Dam right I am."

'Time to fly.' Ichika thought to herself, before throwing a fruit into the air, as it flew past the two guards, who turned around, confused.

"Huh? What was that?"

"A fruit, idiot."

"A flying fruit jackass."

"No shit. Who do you think threw it?"

"Got to be that man that Delgado sent. Bastard's been pranking everyone for the last few hours."

"Screw that jackass. I'm about to pump his head full of lead!" The guard yelled, as the other guy followed him, leaving a clear way for Ichika to go through.

'Too easy. All men except senpai and that gorilla are pure idiots.' Ichika remarked, casually trudging forwards. Ichika stealthily made her way to the back of the shed, careful to stick to the bushes. She discreetly lifted her head, looking around.

'Oh fuck!' She exclaimed, ducking down instantly as she noticed the CCTV camera in the back of the shed. Ichika discreetly pulled out her pistol, before shooting the camera down. Luckily enough, the silencer managed to make it as soundless as possible, and the camera itself was frail and broke apart easily. Ichika discreetly entered the shed, looking around to make sure no one was present as she approached the machine.

"Now this..." She began, pulling out the circuit board she had found on the way. "Should go...here." She said as she placed it, and the machine began whirring to life. Ichika looked around, searching for a hiding spot. She looked at the large trash can at the opposite side, and resigned herself to her fate. She quickly opened it up, and looked down, surprised.

"It's empty?" She asked herself, before shrugging and going in, as she closed it almost completely, making sure that she could still see through a small opening.

"See!" A voice exclaimed. "This is what happens when focus is applied alongside proper work ethics."

'That's Franco alright.' Ichika said, looking at the old man standing in front of the machines.

"This is the future, people!" He yelled. "Now leave! I want to be alone!" He ordered, as all others who had come in with Franco left, and he himself stood in front of his machine. Ichika got out of her trash can, before she pushed Franco into the machine, as blood began spraying and the sounds of bones grinding could be heard all around.

"That's Franco down." Ichika sighed. "Now I wonder what that blond ape is doing?" She mused as she left a river of blood in her wake.

With Kouenji,

'First, as a military officer. And now, as a Shaman.' Kouenji mused, looking at his clothing. 'My Perfect Existence is now the flawless Master of disguises it seems. Truly beautiful.'

"Welcome Taita." A guard told him. "Ms Martinez is waiting for you in her office upstairs. Go right in." Kouenji walked in, looking around as he took stock of the guards around and much more. He entered the building, before walking up the stairs, taking count of the guards he saw around him. Each one greeted him as Taita, which he had figured was the original Shaman's name, may he rest in peace.

"Excuse me." Kouenji said, barging in as if he owned the place, as Martinez looked up from the pool table.

"Well well, the famous Shaman finally decides to show up." Martinez said, as she looked up at him. "It's good to be able to put a face to the myth. I was beginning to think you didn't exist."

"Well..."

"Anyways, I need you to go over to the construction site near the outskirts of the village." Martinez began. "The workers there uncovered a bunch of old bones and have taken the opportunity to grab some undeserved recreational time. So, I need you to go over there and do your magic or whatever."

"Very well. In which direction would the site be?" Kouenji asked.

"Walk with me." Martinez ordered. "I haven't been to the site in a while as it is." She said, as they began their journey.

"I'm glad you finally came around." Martinez began, breaking the once comfortable silence. "I understand Mr Delgado is not an easy man to relate to. But he will be pleased."

"Hmm..."

"I guess you're not convinced?" Martinez asked, before chuckling. "Trust me, I know where you're coming from. He can be quite volatile at times, and I guess that's why he lets me handle most of the work."

"Between you and me..." She added. "Rico could do with a bit of spiritual cleansing himself."

"I'll see what I can do about that." Kouenji replied for the first time in a while, looking around. 'Hmm, too many guards here. Guess I'll have to do it at the site itself.' He entered the site, as the foreman approached him. Kouenji stood at the place, looking down at the pile of bones, and sighed. 'Time to perform a spiritual ritual. My Perfect Existence shall prove that it can overcome any challenge.'

"Okay everyone, come in." The foreman said. "Gather around as Taita himself prepares to perform the ritual."

"All right Taita." Martinez said. "The stage is yours. Cleanse away." With that, Kouenji took his place in the front, and began singing.

https/youtu.be/LKP-vZvjbh8

Kouenji slowly backed away, having concluded his performance.

"Thank you for your spiritual guidance and leadership Taita." The foreman said, shaking hands with him.

"Excellent." Martinez added. "A truly beautiful ritual. I could genuinely feel the spirits bless the worthwhile endeavor we're pursuing here."

Kouenji discreetly approached the cement mixer as the workers returned to their posts elsewhere, and Martinez stood straight in front of it. Kouenji smirked as he switched it on, drowning both the foreman and Martinez in a tsunami of cement, never to be found again.

With Ayanokouji,

Ayanokouji had done some weird things in his life. But this... most definitely took the cake. He was approaching the Delgado mansion, and was once again, disguised. But this time, as a tattoo artist. First, a flamingo, and now, a tattoo artist. Why was his life like this? Why couldn't he and Peaceful Life-chan just be together? It was truly a love not fated to be.

'At least I still have Ice Cream-chan.' Ayanokouji thought to himself, enjoying his third ice cream as he approached the Delgado mansion. 'Why does it have such a big door?' Ayanokouji asked himself. It was easily thrice his height. Ayanokouji knocked on the door, as a panel slid open.

"Yo. What's up? You that tattoo guy?" The guard asked, and Ayanokouji nodded. "Hang on man. I hope you don't mind, but we need to frisk you." The guard said, opening the door as Ayanokouji entered. He looked around, noticing guards everywhere. Ayanokouji let the guard frisk him, and a few seconds later, the guard stepped away, announcing that he was clean.

"All right Mr. Power, follow me to the house." The guard told him. "Mrs Delgado is a big fan, she wanted to meet you."

'Wait...by the Whiterooms! What if she sees through my disguise?' Ayanokouji asked himself. 'Hmm, better not to think too much about it. I'll figure it out.'

"So, famous tattoo artist, huh?" The guard asked. "I've put some ink on skin in my time as well. Of course, most of it was in prison, and not on guys who appreciated the work. You know how hard it is to tattoo "Traitor" in the middle of a guy's forehead when he wouldn't stop squirming like a worm?"

"Truly interesting story." Ayanokouji commented, as he looked at Rico's wife.

"Oh my god! It's really you!" She squealed.

'Wait a second...If she really is Power's fan, how does she not realize I'm wearing a disguise?' Ayanokouji asked himself.

"It's such an honor to meet you! I just love your show. Especially that episode where..." Ayanokouji tuned out, looking around as Mrs Delgado continued rambling.

"A great moment." Ayanokouji replied. "I cherish the memory to this day." He said, having no clue what she was talking about, as she opened a door, leading him to Delgado.

"So this is the famous P Power, tattoo artist to the stars?" Delgado asked, shaking his hand. "Well, you don't exactly look like on you do on TV, do you? There's something different about you."

'Finally someone figures it out.'

"Rico, don't insult our guest."

"Well, what about those cheekbones? The guy on the TV didn't have cheekbones like that?"

"Rico enough! You know they fix all that in post production."

'I take it back. All humans are dumb.'

"Ugh fine! Whatever you say." Delgado said, as his wife left, but not before winking at Ayanokouji.

'Huh? What is that supposed to mean?'

"Well, do what you do best, I guess." Delgado ordered, taking a seat, as Ayanokouji grabbed the machine, and shoved it straight into Delgado's head. Instant kill, and unnoticed. Ayanokouji looked around, before grabbing a set of papers. His eyes widened as he read the contents, before putting them in his pocket. They would be useful later. He made his way outside, vanishing into the forest before anyone knew what happened.

Three days later,

"Seems like it's time, eh Kouji-boy?" Kouenji asked, wearing his skydiving suit as they both looked down.

"It seems that it is." Ayanokouji replied.

"It's been a while, since it's been just you and me." Kouenji noted. "I kind of like this. The Two Perfect Existences of this World, freely together."

"It is entertaining." Ayanokouji said. "Two of us, two investors. After this, one more."

"Indeed." Ayanopapa added over comms. "Make it inconspicuous, alright?"

"Haven't we always?" Kouenji retorted, as he jumped off the plane, Ayanokouji following behind.

"This is awesome!" Kouenji yelled in through the comms, enjoying the rush of adrenaline he was experiencing.

"Indeed. This is true freedom." Ayanokouji admitted, a small smile on his face.

"Would you look at that? Did you just crack a smile?" Kouenji asked. "What's next? Making Ichika part of your harem?"

"I'll join you whenever you want Senpai~!" Ichika yelled over the comms.

"H-h-h-h-h-harem!!" Sakura's voice yelled over the comms, followed by a loud thud.

"See what you did?" Ayanokouji asked.

"Well," Kouenji shrugged. "It's not my fault Innocent-chan couldn't handle fantasizing the T-rex ploughing he- WHOA!!!"

Kouenji yelled in mid-air, as him and Ayanokouji dodged a helicopter that had seemingly appeared out of the clouds. Ayanokouji opened his parachute, as he landed on one of the suspension cables outside of the building, while Kouenji landed somewhere else.

"I have reached." Ayanokouji announced.

"Very well Kiyotaka." Ayanopapa replied. "The two investors, or the Partners, as I call them, are currently lying low in this building, courtesy of their host, Sheikh Omar al-Ghazali."

"Marcus Stuyvesant is fifth generation old money." Ichika began. "His family made its fortune in real estate and banking and at one point were the chief landowners of New York CIty."

"C-Carl Ingram" Sakura began, having woken up from her fainting spell. "is a powerful Washington kingmaker whose family grew rich selling gunpowder during the American Civil War."

"They later made an empire of oil, coal and steel." Ayanopapa added. "I believe you are beginning to see why I had the two of them invest."

"Now, they probably expect that we are coming," Ayanopapa continued. "Sakura is already in control of the building's systems, and we should have the elevators disabled soon, correct?"

"Y-y-yes." Sakura timidly replied, as always.

"T-rex, do you copy?" Kouenji asked. "Are you in yet?"

"I am heading towards the point of entry, Gigachad." Ayanokouji replied, scaling the building as he used pipes and suspension cables to his advantage. "Sakura, I need entry."

"Yes, I'm on it." Sakura said, and soon enough, the window panel slid open, and Ayanokouji easily entered. He looked around, and noticed no one was there. He quickly took off his sky diving outfit, before blending in with the people, decked out in his suit.

"I am in position Gigachad, where are you?" Ayanokouji asked, as someone patted him on the shoulder.

"Looking drippy Kouji-boy." Kouenji commented, in a similar suit himself, but one more suited to his larger build. "Which targets are we taking?"

"You take Carl Ingram, let me take Stuyvesant."

"As the Masterpiece orders." Kouenji said, bowing as he walked away, disappearing into the crowd.

With Kouenji,

Kouenji quickly fixed up the fake eyepatch, before pulling out his comb as he fixed his hair while walking up the stairs.

'Another day, another disguise. Truly, my beauty is unparalleled in any circumstance.'

"Mr Kazeem, glad to have you here." An attendant called out to him, as Kouenji turned to her.

"I am glad to dazzle you all with my perfection." Kouenji told her.

"M-Mr Ingram is expecting you. This way please." She said, walking a bit faster than normal, as Kouenji chuckled, following her. They climbed up a set of stairs, then took a completely different one, and each time, Kouenji's eye scanned the surroundings, inspecting the imperfections of each and every person around him.

"Please, go in and make yourself comfortable." The attendant told him, as Kouenji walked away without replying, and pushed the doors open effortlessly. Kouenji went in and took a seat, propping his legs on the table as he began filing his nails as he hummed. Kouenji raised an eyebrow, as the doors towards the left opened, giving Ingram entry.

"Mr Kazeem..." Ingram began, his right eye twitching as he noticed Kouenji's feet on the table. "A pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is yours indeed." Kouenji replied, not even looking up, as a tick mark appeared on Ingram's forehead.

"Omar..." He nearly growled, before sighing, as he took a seat. "Has told me great things about you. I'll get straight to the point. I have a dispute, which the royal highness tells me that you are very capable to dealing with. Now I've worked with your organization before, in Morocco I believe, and I am a little hesitant..."

"It's understandable." Kouenji replied, now combing his hair. "You are allowed to be intimidated by the presence of an existence greater than yours. It is in no way undermining you." Carl Ingram took a deep breath, his knuckles completely white.

"I have two assignments for you." Ingram continued. "Take care of the first one, and we'll continue to discuss the bigger fish. Now, onto the first: An acute problem has been brought to my attention."

"Keep talking."

"I'll be candid with you. No one is supposed to know that I'm here. However, there's a journalist down at the inauguration, and I don't like the questions he's asking." Carl explained. "I want you to silence this little pain."

"It shall be an easy task."

"Very well. This is his file." He said, as Kouenji looked at the photo, instantly recognizing who it was. "Hans Lucht. Pulitzer winning, freelance journalist. He's good, and won't give up until he gets the answers he needs."

"Consider his imperfection vanquished."

"Good. I want a picture."

"Very well, see you around." Kouenji said, walking out of the room before Ingram could even continue.

"Hello. I don't mean to pry-" A voice began, as Kouenji turned around, noticing his target, talking to him. Kouenji deduced that he must have seen him come down. "do you know who's staying upstairs? I heard it's not just the royal highness."

"I know more than your pitiful mind could imagine. Follow me if you wish to know." Kouenji said, turning around and walking away, Hans jogging just to keep up. Kouenji quickly took a left, walking towards an area where no other person would be present.

"I'm getting a bad feeling here." Hans admitted. "Where are you taking m-" He began, only to gurgle up blood, as a massive gash on his throat appeared. He fell to the ground, blood squirting from his neck as Kouenji clicked a picture, before walking away as if nothing happened. Kouenji took a few more selfies to remember his new look, before walking up the stairs again.

"Mr Kazeem, welcome back. I assume you have the picture?" The receptionist asked, and Kouenji nodded. "Good, our guest will be delighted. Please, follow me." She said, guiding him even further upstairs, as Kouenji assumed she was taking him to the penthouse.

"Mr Ingram is expecting you." She said, gesturing towards a room, as Kouenji strode in, looking around.

"Mr Kazeem, so good to see you. Do you have the picture?" Ingram asked. Kouenji gave him the picture, as Ingram chuckled. "Very well, let's get to the business at hand. People, clear the room. I need to discuss some delicate business with Mr Kazeem." Kouenji looked behind, to see only one guard left besides Ingram. Kouenji lifted the wine bottle, admiring it, before turning around and shattering it over the guard's head.

"What?! What the hell is going on?!" Ingram asked, as Kouenji grabbed the guard's gun, before shooting Ingram in the head, as his body smacked against the wall, dead. Kouenji looked around, noticing a packed parachute placed nearby, probably in the case that an assassin snuck in and they needed a quick exit. Kouenji looked outside, before looking at the parachute, and smirked.

Truly, a perfect way to exit for a Perfect Existence.

With Ayanokouji,

Ayanokouji looked around, mingling with the crowd, and occasionally eavesdropping on a few conversations here and there. From what he had gathered, there was a recruit of security for Marcus that was missing. Or "Codename: Pinky", as they addressed Marcus. Ayanokouji discreetly infiltrated the staff area, looking around for any witnesses. He saw one staff member, looking in the opposite direction, checking the wine bottles. Ayanokouji quickly snuck up behind him, knocking him out.

He quickly disguised as the staff member, before making sure to carefully hide the body. He looked up, now wearing the staff outfit, before approaching a keypad.

"Sakura." He ordered, and in a few seconds, the keypad flashed green, allowing him access.

"I've unlocked all keypads in the building Ayanokouji-kun." Sakura informed him, as Ayanokouji walked through the corridors, and then went down a floor using a set of staircases. Acting as if he was taking stock, Ayanokouji stood with his back facing a waiter, who seemed to be quite irritated.

"I can't believe James called in sick today!" The man complained. "Of all days! His highness has everyone working triple shifts. There's so much going on here. I've had four staff update meetings already."

"And now-" He continued. "That crazy manager called us to another meeting. Now we've got to memorize new lists of guest names, new passwords for terminals and so much more. And to top it off they just told us we won't be getting overtime payment! Fucking bastards!" He cursed, as Ayanokouji walked on, having heard enough.

'So it's chaos huh?' He noted. 'No wonder no one has noticed anything odd yet, because quite frankly, they don't have the time for it. Makes it so much easier for me to blend in.' Ayanokouji casually walked around, and as expected, no one cared. He quickly climbed up a staircase, before walking into the staff lockers.

"Look! This is gonna make me look really bad!" He heard a voice, and discreetly peeked to the side, hidden behind a set of lockers.

"I'm sure it's around here somewhere, don't you worry." A waitress replied. "A colleague is also out there looking-"

"But this is awful!" The man exclaimed, before continuing to talk, as Ayanokouji found his concentration diverted to a set of papers. 'Hmm, so he's the recruit for security huh? And from the looks of it, his uniform went missing. Well, time to move.' Ayanokouji thought to himself, grabbing the files as he walked away. All he had to do now, was find a security outfit, and it would all be good. Ayanokouji entered the storage area, finding a lone security guard there, looking out the window. 'What a freaky coincidence.'

He quickly knocked out the guard, before looking around, and dragged him behind a set of boxes. He quickly changed into the guards uniform, grabbing his gun and files before walking away. Ayanokouji quickly climbed two floors up, looking for the security room. He quickly took a left, before opening a set of doors, as he found his destination.

"Reporting for duty." He said, approaching the guard watching the cameras.

"About damn time." The guard replied. "Our client has been going out of his mind waiting for you. Do you have the papers?"

"Yes." Ayanokouji replied, handing him the papers. He looked them over, before giving them back.

"Good. I'll call him over."

"How should I address him?" Ayanokouji asked.

"It's classified." He said, as if that explained everything. "So, you don't call him anything. But officially, just call him "Codename: Pinky"."

'Wouldn't calling him that in public make matters worse?'Ayanokouji watched as he called Marcus up, and waited for him to show up. Soon enough, his target arrived.

"Okay." He said, looking at Ayanokouji. "You must be my new escort. I have high standards, and trust you will do your duty. You have your credentials on you?" He asked, and Ayanokouji gave him the file.

"Let me see here..." He began, reading the contents. "Yes...it looks good...Oh, I like it! A "cutlery expert" no less!...I have no idea what this part means... But your CV is really impressive. This looks perfect, come on, let's walk." He said, walking out of the room as Ayanokouji followed, a few footsteps behind as another guard joined them.

"I expect you to be following me 24/7, unless I say otherwise." Marcus instructed. "Bathroom breaks are of course, permitted, but only when I say so. I have a very important and delicate meeting today, at which I expect you to keep your ears closed, but eyes very much open. Understood?"

"Yes."

"Now..." Marcus continued. "Your papers were indeed impressive. but I need to see what you can do with my own eyes." Marcus said, as he seemed to be leading Ayanokouji towards a balcony. "My father was an avid hunter, and even took me sometimes. I personally hated it, but always admired his skill with a knife and grew to appreciate what it takes to gut an animal. Have you ever tried to gut an animal?"

"Yes..." Ayanokouji said, recalling an old "survival experiment" held in the Whiterooms. They had let a rabid boar in, and it had killed nearly a dozen kids before Ayanokouji had managed to bring it down. Needless to say, he didn't walk away unschathed, but it wasn't an experience that he regretted. It had taught him a lot about the human psyche.

"Good. Then you know it's not as easy as it looks." Marcus replied. "Like trying to stab a rubber ball. It bounces back if you don't do it correctly. We are almost here..." He said, as they passed through the automated doors and onto the balcony.

"I didn't get where I am through blind faith." Marcus said as Ayanokouji noticed four targets hanging in the air, away from the building. They swayed in the wind, side to side. "You see those shooting targets? Any fool can shoot a target. But, with a knife? That's where the real talent lies. My father used to say: "If you are good with a knife, then you're even better with a gun". I want to see your skills."

Ayanokouji sighed, as he stood behind the table, and picked up two knives. He looked at the targets, his eyes flickering over each one. He lifted his hands up, and let the knives loose simultaneously, knocking down the farthest two targets first.

"Magnificent! Truly wonderful!" Marcus cheered from the sidelines, as Ayanokouji took the final two knives. He looked at Marcus, before dropping a knife down the building, as Marcus raised an eyebrow. He now had one knife for two targets. Ayanokouji flicked his wrist, as the knife launched itself, not at the target, but at the rope. It cut through both simultaneously, taking them down in one shot, as Marcus was left flabbergasted.

"That was a fucking fantastic performance! I like you!" Marcus said, standing to the edge of the building as he looked down. Ayanokouji took his hat off, noticing that the other guard was gone already. "I think you and I will get along just fin-" He began, only to freeze as he turned around, staring into the eyes of Ayanokouji.

"Y-y-you! H-h-how is t-this possible?!" Marcus asked, receiving no answer as Ayanokouji approached him. He kicked Marcus in the gut, causing him to fall off the building. Somehow, perhaps through a miracle, he had managed to hang on with one hand, as Ayanokouji looked down.

"What will happen to your fingers after you fall?" Ayanokouji asked, leaning down to look at him.

"W-what? What the hell?"

"What will happen to your fingers?" Ayanokouji asked again.

"Who gives a shit about what will happen to my fingers you psychopath! Save me before I'm squashed like a bug."

""Squashed." If that's the case, I don't think anyone would look for a missing finger,... or four." Ayanokouji said, before bringing a knife down in a downward slash, chopping four of his fingers off as Marcus fell, screaming in agony and hurling curses until his death.

"The last one to go...And I will have the freedom I have always desired..."

The Chaotic Conclusion.

A/N: I usually try not to have author notes, seeing as how for someone who's reading two or three chapters in a row, it could disrupt the reading flow. So anybody who is doing that, I'm really sorry, but this one's important.

I'm almost done with my My Hero X Percy Jackson book, for those of you who've read it I may have mentioned that it won't be long now. So, once that is done, I want to start a new book, of course, and here are three ideas. Let me know which one you guys think is the best.

1. CHB in COTE. (Basically 25 demigods from PJO form a new class. Warning: I may have my biases towards them. )

2. Perseus Odinson (An MCU crossover, of course)

3. Cosmic Garou Percy. (Something new, something chaotic.)

4. Mysteries and Mayhem (A COTE X MHA crossover, basically Ayanokouji in MHA. His quirk, what he can do, of course, will be a mystery. So yeah.)

Just remember, I'll do all of these eventually, what I'm asking is just which ones to do first. You can choose any two, and I'll pick one, then the other.

Thanks for reading, if you did, and let's get back to the story.

Two days later,

This was it. The final investor. Kill him, and everything would be solved.

But, he was also the most dangerous.

Arthur Edwards, on a train, with an army of soldiers. His very own militia that he didn't leave home without. Their next target may very well be, the most protected man in the world.

Was Ayanokouji worried?

Nope.

And why would he be?

He had the greatest team in the world.

Kouenji Rokusuke, arguably the only one who could give Ayanokouji a true competition.

Ichika, a Masterpiece of the fifth generation, and one of Ayanokouji's most valued tools.

And finally, the new member, specifically for this mission only. Kiyotaka's father, Professor Ayanokouji himself.

This mission, while the toughest, was also the most straightforward. They only had one instruction. And what might that be, you ask?

Quite simple, actually.

Kill everyone.

Ayanogod was finally going on the rampage his godly self was destined for since birth, and no one, would stop him. No one, to be a challenge for him.

Or so he thought.

Let's see how it went.

With Ayanokouji,

Ayanokouji woke up with a start, looking around. He seemed to be in some kind of lab, as suddenly, he grabbed his head, the memories rushing back. Ah, yes. This was it. The final mission. Ayanokouji had been the bait. And Arthur Edwards had taken it. He had abducted Ayanokouji, and was going to use him as a bargaining chip for the governments of the world. But of course, that was not how things were going to be.

Ayanokouji's team had already infiltrated the train, and all that was left, was to kill Edwards, his army, and erase all data on the Whiterooms. Then, Ayanokouji would finally be free. Would his Father start another facility, or would he move on? Who knows. The only thing for certain, was that everything would change soon after.

The automated doors opened as Ayanokouji walked through, seemingly in a lab of some sorts. His shirt was gone, as the cool air inside breezed past his abs. Ayanokouji looked up at the person in front of him, who was wearing a lab coat, and a mask. He seemed to be staring into a microscope, inspecting something. Ayanokouji grabbed a keycard from one of the tables, as well as a scissor. Ayanokouji stood behind the man, before stabbing the scissor into his ear. The man's entire body seized up for moments, flailing up and down, before dropping to the ground, dead. Ayanokouji quickly took his clothes, before opening the door in front of him using the keycard.

Ayanokouji walked into the next car, his bloody scissor in hand, and hid behind a wall, as he saw two people talking to each other. A male, and female. Ayanokouji waited for their conversation to end, occasionally closing in as he blended in with the surrounding machines. Neither batted an eye, too focused in their own conversations. Ayanokouji watched the man walk away, looking towards another board in the front. Now, was his chance. Ayanokouji soundlessly grabbed the woman, snapping her neck in one flow before she could alert the man.

Crack!

The man turned around, confused. He looked in confusion, seeing Ayanokouji standing over his friend's body. He rushed to take out his gun, only for Ayanokouji to move faster than him. Ayanokouji's fist met the man's solar plexus, as he doubled over, coughing out blood. Ayanokouji kicked him in the face, as his het hit edge of the table.

Bang!

Ayanokouji pulled his scissor out, quickly stabbing the dazed man, as his body froze up, before collapsing in his arms, dead as well. Ayanokouji took the man's gun, before moving on. The automated door opened into another area, as he saw an empty room. He looked around, seeing the side of the train with a big hole in it, and a man's dead body in front of him.

"Down here senpai~!" A voice called out, as Ayanokouji looked down, to see a smiling Ichika holding a bloodied crowbar. "Good to see you're okay senpai!" She squealed, hugging him, as Ayanokouji sighed. He pulled Ichika off, before looking outside.

"It's snowing." He noted. "Are we in the mountains?"

"We are." Ichika replied, as she put one foot out of the train, and then another as she twisted her body, standing on the small ledge. Ayanokouji followed suit, as the two hugged the side of the train, precariously balancing their bodies on the small ledge of the high speed train.

"Did you have a nice nap senpai?"

"It was alright." Ayanokouji replied, as the two continued to move. Ichika leapt the gap across the cars, barely managing to stay on the small ledge on the other side. Ayanokouji simply walked the gap, putting one step on the ledge, and then the other.

"Not fair senpai~" Ichika pouted, as Ayanokouji shrugged, before scaling the side of the train, and standing on top. Ichika raised an eyebrow, before doing the same. "What are you doing?" She curiously asked, as Ayanokouji pulled her down in a sitting position.

"Look." Ayanokouji ordered, as Ichika peeked downwards, noticing a guard that she hadn't seen before. "Had we kept going the same way, we would've been in his line of sight. It also seems that he has a gun, which is another disadvantage." He explained, as Ichika nodded. The two then gently dropped down, sneaking behind boxes.

"Hello~" A sweet voice called, as the guard turned around, hand going for his gun.

"Who's there?" He asked, looking around, only to see no one.

"Down here, rude asshole!" Ichika yelled, as the guy looked down, to see a crowbar swinging upwards.

Crack!

The man's jaw ripped open, as blood spurted out, spraying everywhere as the man dropped backwards, dead. Ayanokouji walked over, and switched his disguise to the guard's clothes. It would be more suitable to wear in this cold weather than simply the lab coat anyways.

"Why am I so short senpai?" Ichika asked, as neither the guard nor Ayanokouji had noticed her at first.

"It's okay." Ayanokouji said, patting her head. "You are 15 right now. You'll probably grow an inch or two more." He optimistically suggested.

"Really senpai~? Thank you!" Ichika cheerfully replied, walking away, as Ayanokouji looked down at his hand, confused.

'Is this...the majestic power of a head pat?'

Ayanokouji quickly took the man's gun, inspecting it. 'An HWK21Pale. Interesting choice...'

Ayanokouji climbed over the netted car, before joining Ichika in front of the door. On Ayanokouji's nod, Ichika opened the door, bloodied crowbar in hand as she looked around. She raised her hand, giving Ayanokouji the all clear to enter, as he looked around. They seemed to be in a storage car of sorts. Ayanokouji looked in front, tracing his hand over a panel.

"Seems like a valve should be here. Ichica, check past the boxes." Ayanokouji said, and Ichika nodded, climbing over the boxes. She looked near the edges, and found it. A yellow valve. Ichika handed it over to Ayanokouji, who placed it, before spinning it as the section above them opened. Ayanokouji and Ichika nodded, climbing out as they walked on top.

"Incoming." Ayanokouji warned, before stepping to the side as a traffic light came within range. Ichika barely managed to jump over it, as she glared at Ayanokouji. "What? I warned you."

"You're supposed to yell senpai! You're so monotone I couldn't even hear you!" Ichika complained.

'Being monotone is a bad thing? I'll need to verify this.'

Ayanokouji and Ichika dropped down again, as Ayanokouji opened the door behind him. They both looked ahead, hiding as they saw 6 guards inside. Ayanokouji brought his gun out, only to look in confusion as Ichika pulled something out.

'Is that...a flash grenade!?' Ayanokouji instantly closed his eyes and ducked.

Boom!

Bang!

"Ahh my eyes!"

"What the fuck was that?!"

"Who the hell blew up the grenade?!"

"Was it you Derek?!"

"What the fuck?! That wasn't me! This time..."

Ayanokouji quickly took them down, shooting them down without giving them anytime to react. Ayanokouji quickly walked up to the body, and starting taking their ammo, reloading his gun as well as stocking up. He noticed Ichika take a gun as well. Ayanokouji smirked, grabbing the shotgun before putting it on his back. He also added the bulletproof vest and helmet, something that Ichika did as well. They walked back outside, moving forward. They climbed a ladder back to the top, continuing to move.

They jumped down, looking around. There was no ladder to climb onto the next car, nor was there a door to enter. Ayanokouji looked at Ichika, who nodded in understanding, before moving to the ledges on the sides. Ayanokouji looked around, before following, as he saw Ichika enter a window. Curious, Ayanokouji followed through the window, landing inside the car. He noticed at least 10 men on the other side. 4 in this first section, a door in between, then 6 on the other side. Ayanokouji turned to Ichika.

"How do you want to do this senpai?" She asked. "We need to be quick."

"Have you learnt dual wielding?" Ayanokouji asked.

"No. The instructors focused on efficiency with one weapon at a time." Ichika replied.

'How lenient did they get? I was supposed to wield three at the same time.'

"Very well, follow my lead." Ayanokouji said, as he pulled his pistol out, and the scissor in the other. As quick as he could, he threw the scissor, as well as fired two bullets.

Bang! Bang!

Two people down, as the scissor went into the ear of the third. Another dead. Ichika rose up, shooting the final guy down.

Bang!

Ayanokouji looked up, to see all 6 men from the other car coming, guns ready. Ayanokouji ducked behind a seat, joined by Ichika.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

"Well, you two seem to be having quite the quality time here." Kouenji said, chuckling as he entered the room, fixing his hair as he stared at the pile of dead bodies.

"I thought you said you didn't know how to use firearms." Ichika said, looking at him.

"When did I say I shot them?" Kouenji asked, as Ayanopapa stepped in.

"Shall we get moving?" He asked. "We have a lot more cars to get through, let's do this as efficiently as possible."

"Whatever you say old man." Kouenji said, as Ayanopapa growled, but didn't reply, choosing to walk ahead as the rest followed. They all started switching resources around, stockpiling and reloading their weapons as they walked. It was quite the coincidence, as Ayanokouji would say, that the next two compartments were empty. Was it luck? Or were there people more concentrated towards the top and bottom while they walked through the easy parts? Only time would tell.

Ayanopapa raised his hand up, as all three of them froze.

"Four of them. Two towards the right, one on the left, one straight." He informed them, as Ayanokouji nodded. He readied his pistols (He took Ichika's, and still has his shotgun), as did Ayanopapa.

Bang!

A bullet sailed straight through two of the guys on the right, killing them both instantly. The other two bolted up in surprise, looking around in confusion.

Bang!

Bang!

Ayanokouji and Ayanopapa fired two bullets, taking their targets down. They both soundlessly walked forward, so similar, yet so different. Ayanokouji once again took the mags, making sure he had a stock of ammo should a long standing gun fight occur. Ichika stepped on the body as she continued walking, something that Kouenji found quite amusing. They entered another room, which seemed to have a big pool table in front. There were three others in the room.

"Who the hell are y-" The guard began, only for a throwing knife to pierce his neck, as two others found their targets in the necks of the respective guards.

"Good throws Kouenji." Ayanokouji commented. He had thrown the first knife, and almost instantly, Kouenji had followed, throwing two of them simultaneously. Kouenji may not have been skilled with firearms, but he was on par with Ayanokouji in knife throwing, maybe even better. Who knows?

"Seems like the next car has a bar." Ayanopapa said. "They have some fine whiskey there."

"Ah, only the greatest of wines could satisfy my perfect taste buds." Kouenji added.

"Have I ever mentioned that you're kind of weird sometimes Ape?" Ichika asked.

"Of course you have Drop kicking Loli." Kouenji replied, chuckling. "But that is perfection for you. It is relative for different people. My perfection can only be validated by myself. I have no need of the opinions of other measly existences who serve no relevance to my grand beauty."

Everyone stood there, silent at Kouenji's reply. That, while expressed in typical Kouenji terms, was extremely deep. Ayanokouji wondered why Kouenji never sought validation. After all, it was one of the more basic human instincts. To be in a group, to fit in. As a child, Ayanokouji had been raised alone, raised on the very fundamental concept that he alone, was more than enough. That he alone, would win.

Looking at Kouenji, who as usual was combing his hair, Ayanokouji found himself truly questioning what kind of person Kouenji was. Ayanokouji knew Kouenji was an only child, a son of important people, owners of the Kouenji Conglomerate, after all. It was a simple matter to assume that they would have never had the time for their son. Being their son, Kouenji would have been born a natural genius, with content more than enough to hone that intelligence. He would also have had facilities to train himself.

Of course, all this would have meant no one around Kouenji could simply keep up with his growth. In a way, Kiyotaka and him were similar, perhaps too similar. However, Ayanokouji was raised on the concept of being alone. Of being the only one capable, of never depending on anyone. It was something ingrained in him, and not something he could get over with in an instant.

But, Kouenji never had this. For a young child, being alone would be detrimental to their mental psyche. Ayanokouji was already affected, and had been, in a manner of speaking, reprogrammed to be different. But Kouenji? He had no one to do that. And that only left one person. Himself. Could it be, that Kouenji developed his narcissism...as a coping method for his loneliness? The lack of a companion, or competition? It was far fetched, perhaps too far fetched, but it explained so much as well.

Ever since Kiyotaka had met him, Kouenji had never competed with him. Ayanokouji had been surprised, that the so called perfect existence, never once challenged him in anything to prove his superiority. He had helped Ayanokouji, taught him the ways of the world, and even been a mentor for this new experience, if Ayanokouji could say that. But, he had never once competed with Ayanokouji. Not a single instance. Why? Simple actually. Kouenji sought validation of his actions, his abilities only from himself. He didn't care if someone was superior to him. But, they would be the first that he could approach. The first, that he could talk to, as a companion, or, maybe something greater than a side character. An equal.

At that moment, Ayanokouji felt something grow within him. Ayanokouji, who had long ago thrown away his emotions, felt them come back. If only, for a fraction of a moment. Ayanokouji, and Kouenji. People who were so similar, yet so different. Two sides of a coin. Ayanokouji would have never considered this possibility before, but he realized, that he too, had sought something like this. To him, finding a companion, would be to go against the ideology that the Whiteroom instilled within him. His ultimate freedom, wouldn't be to burn the place down. No, it would be to see someone as something greater than a tool.

At that moment, Ayanokouji had made his decision. Was it the irrational emotions that had flown within him? Or had the few months of freedom opened him up to a whole new side of himself? He didn't know. But, he didn't have to. This new world, his time with Kouenji had taught him, that some things could be discovered as time progressed. Knowing everything from the beginning was never satisfactory. Ayanokouji, for the first time, made a decision without thinking. A decision that wasn't defined by logic. The decision: Kouenji Rokusuke, was officially, Kiyotaka Ayanokouji's first friend.

"Let's focus on the mission." Ayanopapa said, bringing them out of the silent stupor. They all looked at each other, and nodded, marching in guns blazing.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Bang! Bang!

"That's a lot of blood." Ichika commented, looking down at the now pool of blood around them. She looked up, to see Ayanopapa at the bar, drinking whiskey with Kouenji while Ayanokouji had some wine.

"Am I the only one who doesn't drink here?"

"Yes."

A few minutes later,

"8 people ahead." Ayanopapa warned, as Ayanokouji nodded in understanding. He pulled out the shotgun, and dressed in his uniform, marched forward.

Blam!

Ayanokouji commenced his shotgun spray, killing 3 in an instant.

Blam!

Four more down, as Ayanokouji looked around.

'Where's the last one?' Ayanokouji asked himself, suddenly turning around as the last guard brought his pistol up. He began to squeeze the trigger, only for a hand to reach out from outside, and grab him, pulling him out of the window and off the train. Ichika entered in.

"Finally those ledges became more useful. I've always wanted to do that. Wasn't I cool, senpai~?!" Ichika squealed, and Ayanokouji nodded, patting her head.

"Good job Ichika, but we have more important things to do." Ayanokouji said, continued walking.

"Ichika." Ayanopapa called out. "Take this." He said, handing her a covert silenced rifle, as Ayanokouji raised an eyebrow. Kouenji pulled out twin throwing knives, as even Ayanopapa readied his dual pistols. They were getting close now, very close.

"A silenced shotgun." Ayanokouji remarked in somewhat awe, picking it up.

"Interesting." Ayanopapa added, staring at a .50 cal.

"Nerds." Ichika and Kouenji remarked at the same time, fist bumping each other.

"Wait, more flash grenades!" Ichika exclaimed, taking three of them.

"Hmm, standard grenades too, how intriguing." Kouenji noted, but didn't take any. On a train like this, who knew what damage a standard grenade would do? It was better to be cautious. They climbed over a closed off car, looking down on a group of different guys.

"These ones are armoured." Ichika noted.

"Their guns, silenced like ours too." Kiyotaka noted. "We must be quite close."

Kouenji smirked, and threw a dagger with pin point precision, straight through the chink in the nearest guard's armour, killing him, as they all looked up. Just as they did, Ichika and Ayanopapa launched their flash grenades.

Bang! Bang!

However, a few managed to close their eyes in time, as a gunfight began on top of the trains.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Bullets went back and forth, neither side relenting their charge. Soon enough, the sounds of guns clicking could be heard, as reloading commenced. But, this was when Kouenji and Kiyotaka struck. They both leapt of the edge, into the air, two daggers in each of their hands, and threw them with extreme accuracy, finding their targets. Kouenji unsheathed his katana, with cover fire from Ayanokouji's shotgun, the two struck.

Blam!

Blam!

Slash!

Slash!

A rhythm developed between the two, with extra support from above in the form of Ichika and Ayanopapa, their rampage was unstoppable. Bodies dropped like flies, as blood decorated their uniforms.

"That was fun." Kouenji concluded, wiping his katana off of a dead body. "My bloodlust is hereby quenched."

"Hmm, this seems to be the last of them. I think we're clear from here." Ichika added.

"Detach the cars." Ayanopapa ordered. Ichika nodded, and did as followed, as they watched the train split up, their car kept moving, while the cars behind them eventually slowed down to a stop. "Time to finish this, once and for all."

They all entered Edwards' room together, guns at the ready, as Edward looked up, resigned to his fate.

"It seems there's no point in calling for help, is there?" Edwards asked.

"No."

"You're quite the duo, father and son." Edwards remarked. "It seems I brought this on myself. Greed truly is what damns all humans, and it seems my time has come."

"It has indeed Arthur." Ayanopapa said.

"Professor Ayanokouji." Edwards acknowledged one last time, as Ayanopapa pulled the trigger of his gun.

Bang!

Boom!

An explosion occurred, as Ayanokouji felt the cold outside air enter. He squinted his eyes, as he noticed a figure in the shadows.

"Duck." Ayanokouji warned.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

"We really need to work on that monotone senpai!!!" Ichika yelled over the bullets, ducking behind a table with Kouenji. Meanwhile, Ayanokouji hadn't moved. He hadn't even blinked, as he stared down. Down. At the body of this father, with a bullet in his head.

'Why?' Ayanokouji asked himself. 'Why don't I...feel anything?'

He didn't feel sorrow at his father's death, didn't feel any form of sadness. However, there was no glee in such a thing either. No joy, no thought of his freedom being guaranteed, or that he would never have to return to the Whiterooms again. He simply stared silently at at the body.

"Bet you didn't see that coming, did you Masterpiece?" A voice asked, as the smoke blew away.

"Why did you do it?" Ayanokouji asked, as he looked up. "Why... Yagami?"

"What can I say? It was going to happen eventually." Yagami said, as the sounds of helicopters and...were those sirens?

"What. Did. You. Do?" Ichika growled.

"Who do you think leaked information to the government in the first place?" Yagami asked. "I planned the investors betraying, the assassinations, all of it since the beginning. I mapped the schedules of the investors, and planned it so we would time it with their locations. Then, I left behind clues, at least, for the missions I was on. Even for the ones I wasn't, I managed to do what little I could."

"Soon enough," Yagami added, as red dots appeared on Ayanokouji, Kouenji, and Ichika's body. "I helped the government triangulate your location. I came here, and destroyed the only person I deemed a threat to me, Professor Ayanokouji. With him gone, the Whiterooms now fall under my control."

"Why did you do it? The betrayal, why?"

"Quite simply, to surpass you." Yagami said, pointing at Ayanokouji. "If I planned it right, I could've killed you multiple times. But that's not the point here. I've heard stories about you, growing up. The Masterpiece, sole survivor of the Demonic Fourth Generation. The greatest student to have ever been in the Whiterooms. And I couldn't handle that!" He yelled.

"It nagged me, hearing about your achievements, when I was leading my entire generation by the time I was 6. Everything I did, was done before, was done better, by you. You became my goal, my competition. My existence is simply to surpass you, to defeat you so utterly that your name, your very existence is forgotten. And today, I have my chance!"

"These governments officials around us," Yagami began, as Ayanokouji noticed that the train had stopped on a bridge, with sirens and chopper getting closer, and the red dots on the three getting brighter. "Well, they'll be taking you, and disposing of the others. You will be an experiment for the rest of your life, and I will have finally beaten you. You will be nothing more than a forgotten memory. You will never see the light of day again. And.

You.

Will.

Never.

Be.

Free."

"Is that so?" Ayanokouji asked, as the dots changed their direction, all three of them at Yagami, who looked down in shock.

"Wha-? How?!"

"I was wondering, who was the second source of the government." Ayanokouji began. "But it seems it was you."

"Second?"

"Indeed. Even before you had begun to leak the information, I had already started." Kiyotaka told him. "It was part of my plans. I would get my freedom, and in exchange help the government shut the Whiterooms down for good. I would get rid of my Father-" He stopped, looking down. "But you did that for me."

"Imagine my surprise, when the government tells me that someone else, someone anonymous has also begun giving them information." Ayanokouji said. "I will give you credit. I couldn't track you, you did your job well. And, I would have never doubted you, if it wasn't for the assassinations."

"Ah, the clues were too obvious." Yagami guessed.

"At first, no." Ayanokouji replied. "They weren't. It was only during Delgado's mission, that I saw paper's. A government contract, with your name on it, that I begun to suspect. I dug deeper, and with the government's help, I uncovered your plans. I planned to confront you sometime, but it seems that won't be needed. You've already done it for me."

"Like hell I'm going to lose this easily." Yagami growled.

Boom!

The part of the bridge behind them exploded in a massive plume of smoke, covering the helicopter. Ayanokouji instantly ducked as bullets fired into the air, and he grabbed a dagger. He threw it in Yagami's general direction, and smirked when he heard it make impact. The smoke cleared, as the room was empty, Yagami gone. Ayanokouji looked down, hearing a loud splash.

"He took to the water, huh?" Kouenji asked. "Well, what do you think is next?"

"Who knows? But what I can tell you, is that the fight has just begun.

Yagami will be back, and I'll be ready for him."

Island Exam Preparations.

A week later,

The endless summer sea. The infinite blue skies. The perfectly clear air. And two ice creams.

Truly, an oceanic paradise.

Ayanokouji sighed as his eyes scanned the horizon. So much had happened in the last week, and his return to ANHS. The government agents, and cops of course had covered everything up. The school had been told that Kiyotaka's father, an "important member of the School board and the government", had died of a heart attack. Thus, Ayanokouji had been allowed to leave school to attend his "funeral and receive his estate". Yagami had gone off the grid, and taken the Whiterooms with him, it seemed. All the government found there were ruins, all the data, weaponry, everything gone. Ayanokouji knew Yagami was planning something, but what, he had barely any clues.

His father was dead. Gone. Ayanokouji didn't know why, but he didn't feel anything. His lack of emotion at that was a recurring thought in his head. If he was being honest, there were only father and son in name. From his father's perspective, Kiyotaka was like his greatest science experiment. And from Kiyotaka's perspective, his father was nothing but an obstacle, or a tool. Something that he had to either face, or use in his quest for freedom. He shook his head. There were more important things to focus on.

As Ayanokouji had noticed, the class points were as follows:

Class A: 1024

Class B: 717

Class C: 548

Class D: 87

Ayanokouji knew that Yagami would strike soon enough, probably as soon as the school year was over. Would he directly attack the school? It was tough to say right now, but if he was desperate enough, Yagami would do it. Ayanokouji needed to be at the top by the end of the school year. And that meant, reaching Class A. Ayanokouji knew that this wasn't a normal vacation. There was something bigger going on here. A big opportunity to gain points. If Ayanokouji could do it, he could probably reach Class B by the end of the vacations. If, he planned everything right.

But the question was, which route to follow. He could transfer to Class A, probably take Ichika and Kouenji along with him. Yes, Ichika. After the talks with the government, a decision had been made for Ichika to be admitted here as a transfer student. As such, she was the newest member of Class D. Ayanokouji knew transferring to Class A would be the easy way, but he had a good grip on the Class D students. A majority of them liked him, and he had all his tools in high positions in the class, which meant that he could effortlessly control all the students inside with maximum efficiency.

This was the thought that had made him hesitate. If Ayanokouji could bring this class to Class A, it would increase his influence a hundred fold. He also had allies from other classes in the form of Class B. Keeping these two at the same place would mean that the top 2 classes would be in Ayanokouji's pocket. But that meant crushing the current Class A and Class C. Ayanokouji truly had a long way to go.

"Ayanokouji-kun!!" A voice called out, bringing him out of his thoughts, as Kushida approached him.

"Kushida, what do you want?" Ayanokouji asked, not batting an eye as she stood next to him.

"Where's Horikita-san?" She asked, as Ayanokouji looked at her.

"I wouldn't know." Ayanokouji replied. "Besides, we're alone here. You don't need to act."

"I know." Kushida said, but her adorable act still remained. "But you never know when someone might come. It's safer like this."

"If you say so." Ayanokouji said.

"Ayanokouji-kun, could you do me a favour?" Kushida asked. "I mean, I've followed all your orders for a while now, and I...wanted your help."

"Hmm, what do you want?" Ayanokouji asked.

"Could you expel Horikita-san for me?"

"Expel Horikita?" Ayanokouji asked, as Kushida nodded in response. "Hm, it's true. With Ichika here as well, the uses of Horikita have severely fallen. But for now, I won't do anything. The time to expel her will come Kushida. But you'll have to wait for it."

"But you will do it?"

"Yes. When the time comes, I'll expel Horikita myself."

An hour later,

"Attention, students. Please assemble on the deck. You will be able to see the island soon. This is a good time to take in some rather significant scenery." An announcement called out, as Ayanokouji, flanked by Ichika, Kushida and Hirata looked around.

'"Significant scenery?" That must mean that something's going to happen on the island.' Ichika deduced.

'Specific spots on the island will be of importance then?' Ayanokouji asked himself. 'Then the competition on the island must be about these spots. So, will we compete for the spots themselves then? If so, how do we claim them? And how do we make sure our claim is fixed and can't be overwritten?' Ayanokouji asked himself, trying to think of multiple strategies and moves.

"That was phrased weirdly." Hirata noted. "Could it be of importance, Kiyotaka-kun?" He curiously asked.

"It's possible." Ayanokouji replied. "I suggest we be on our guard."

"Okay!" Kushida exclaimed. "I'll pass the information on to the rest of the class."

"Kushida." Ayanokouji called out. "Let Ichinose know as well."

"Huh?" Kushida asked, confused for a second. "Of course!" She exclaimed, choosing to go with the flow as she disappeared into the crowd of students.

"What are you planning Kiyotaka-kun?" Hirata asked. "Do you need my help?"

"Not yet Hirata, not yet." Ayanokouji replied. "Ichika-"

"I've already informed the Ape. He knows senpai~" Ichika replied, and Ayanokouji nodded.

"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 cell phone. Please keep all other personal items in your room. There is a possibility that you will not be able to visit the bathroom for some time, so please do so now." Another announcement could be heard.

'Jerseys huh? As well as not to take personal belongings, and "you will not be able to visit the bathroom for some time". So it is more than just a spot occupying test.' Ayanokouji noted. 'It seems to involve survival elements as well. Interesting.'

"We will disembark now, beginning with the students from Class A. Cell phones are prohibited on the island. Please hand your phone to your homeroom teacher as you leave."

'So it really is a survival test.' Ayanokouji concluded, handing his phone over as he, along with the rest of his classmates, disembarked. It was during this time that Horikita had come up, and Ayanokouji could tell she was sick. Could he use that in his plans? It was still too early to decide.

"I will now start roll call for Class D. When you hear your name, please respond loud and clear." Our homeroom teacher started taking attendance, clipboard in hand, while simultaneously instructing us to form a line. Chabashira-sensei wore the same kind of jersey as her students. This atmosphere was more akin to training camp than summer vacation. Still, not many of the students seemed tense at all.

Most of the students wanted to run off onto the sandy beach. Soon enough, a tall teacher stepped onto a prepared white platform. It was Mashima-sensei, Class A's homeroom teacher. He normally taught English, and was well-known for having a stubborn disposition. At first glance, he could easily be mistaken for one of those bodybuilder types. He was built like a professional wrestler, but was actually quite intelligent. He'd even taught special courses in the past.

"First, I would like to say that I'm happy you've arrived safely. However, it's unfortunate that one of you was unable to participate due to illness." Mashima sensei said, as many people wore an expression of pity. Ayanokouji looked around, noticing that the chairman's daughter, Arisu, was not present. 'So she won't be participating here. Then that means Katsuragi is incharge.'

Mashima-sensei uttered a few cruel words, as if waiting for the atmosphere to change. "Well then. We shall commence the current academic year's first special test.The test commences now and lasts for one week, concluding on August 7th at the year's end. This test will determine if you can live on a deserted island together as a group. In addition, I should warn you that this special test is both practical and realistic, designed based on real-world corporate training."

"You are correct. During the test, you will not be allowed to 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 be provided with one box of matches. There is no limit to the amount of sunscreen you can have. Each student will be provided with one toothbrush. As a special case, girls will be allowed to have as many feminine sanitary products as they'd like, without any restrictions. Please ask your respective homeroom teachers for those. That is all."

'Hmm, interesting. So if a student is sick, they can return to the ship, following the "justifiable reason" explanation.' Ayanokouji concluded. 'Two tents, so some students will have to sleep outside. Besides this, there seems to be quite the lack of resources that they would usually provide. There is a probability that an option of buying additional resources will be there. But they took our phones, so how will we perform the purchase?'

"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 test, 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 occasionally have a campfire and chat with friends, either. The theme of this special exam is 'freedom', after all."

'Freedom huh?' Kouenji asked himself, still combing his hair. 'This school really likes playing with the minds of these pitiful existences. How amusing. But, that is irrelevant. What matters is that, as always, I truly look beautiful today. The Sun rays reflected off of my perfect skin. Ah, perfect conditions for a tan worthy of my Perfect Existence.'

"As a major part of this special test, we've decided to distribute 300 points to each class. By using your points well, you might be able to enjoy this week's special test just as you would a normal trip. We've also prepared a manual just for that purpose." Mashima-sensei received a booklet that looked to be a few dozen pages thick from another teacher.

"This manual lists all of the ways you can obtain points. It also explains where to get drinking water and food, as well as essential necessities. If you wanted to have a barbecue, it explains how to prepare the equipment and ingredients. We also have numerous tools for you to be able to enjoy playing in the ocean to the fullest."

"So, we can do whatever we want with the 300 points?"

"That's right. It's possible to arrange for anything using your points. Of course, it's necessary for you to use them in a systematic way, but with a solid plan, you can spend your week without any difficulties."

"B-but, teacher. You said this was a test, right? So shouldn't there be some kind of difficulty to it?"

"No, there's nothing difficult. It won't even have any adverse effects on your second semester. I guarantee it."

"So it's really okay for us to just have fun for one week?"

"That's right. You're all free to do what you want. Of course, there are some bare minimum rules that you need to abide by as a group, but there shouldn't be anything difficult about that."

"When this special test period is over, each class' remaining points will be added to their total class points. Your point totals will reflect this change once summer vacation is over."

'Finally, we get to the point.' Ayanokouji thought to himself, bored off the constant procrastination. 'So, at the maximum, just from these extra points given, we can get 300 Class Points. That would close up the gap quite well with Class C, but there needs to be a way to get more points. Occupying spots...that has to be it. Most I can do, is wait now.'

"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 very careful. Also, the student who was marked absent from this trip was from Class A. According to the rules of this special test, should any student have to leave due to illness, there will be a thirty-point penalty to the class as a whole. Therefore, Class A will be starting with 270 points."

'Hmm, that means, that the maximum points for now, that they could have afterwards is 1210. There has to be a way to bring the points down besides this.' Ayanokouji continued thinking of various possibilities, as students dispersed to get supplementary instructions from their homeroom teachers.

"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. Its sensors also check your body temperature, your pulse, and even your movements. It's equipped with a GPS. Also, in the off chance something bad does happen, this watch comes equipped with the means to notify the school. If you find yourself in an emergency situation, please do not hesitate to push that button."

"Is it okay for us to get in the water wearing these?"

"There shouldn't be any problem. They're waterproof. However, should they malfunction, immediately report to a test administrator and exchange it for a replacement." This special test was somewhat eccentric in its design, so it likely wasn't the first time that the school had run it. Clearly, they had planned for various situations. However, there might have been some oversights.

"Chabashira-sensei. I understand that we're going to be spending one week on this island, but is it possible to get by without using any points?"

"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 of any way of doing so without points."

"First, I'd like you to read the last page, where the penalties are listed. This is very important information that encapsulates the difficulties of this special test. It will determine whether you live or die."

'Wow, so melodramatic.'

On the last page, a line read, "These penalties will be applied to anyone who falls under the following conditions."

"Anyone deemed unable to continue the test due to significant deterioration in health or serious injury will be penalized by thirty points. That student will then retire."

'As expected, if I were to retire Horikita, the Class would lose 30 points. Truly unfortunate.'

"In the event a student has polluted the environment, he or she will be penalized twenty points."

"In the event students are absent during the 8 AM or 8 PM roll call, five points will be taken for each student absent."

However, the most serious punishment was detailed in the fourth entry on the list. "In the event a student is found guilty of an act of violence toward another class, robbing another class, or causing damage to another class' property, etc., the offending student's class will immediately be disqualified, and the individual will forfeit all of his or her private points."

'So don't get caught fighting, huh?' Ayanokouji guessed. 'Interesting wording, and an even more interesting way to interpret things. Hm, a violent Class like Class C would most certainly take advantage of this loophole.'

"In other words, using at least some points is unavoidable?" asked a girl named Shinohara, who'd been following along in the conversation.

"I disagree with the idea of compromising right away. I think that we ought to persevere for as long as we can."

"I understand how you feel, but it'll be bad if our health suffers."

"Come on, Hirata, don't be so discouraging! This is a test of our patience, right?"

"This is a test of restraint." Ayanokouji said. "Not patience. Essentially everything depends on how we control ourselves based on the conditions around us. A true survival test, with a corporate setting around it."

"You really think so Ayanokouji-kun?" Karuizawa asked.

"I do, yes." Ayanokouji said. "And I have a plan for us to come out on top."

"And what would that be?" Horikita asked, cold and sceptical. "There is no way we can simply believe you with no understanding of your plans."

"Horikita-san, that is quite rude." Kushida said, a sad frown on her face as many of the girls glared at Horikita.

"Indeed." Hirata added. "I trust Kiyotaka-kun's judgement, and I think it would be better if we all do so too."

"I trust Ayanokouji-kun." Karuizawa said, as her group joined in.

"Ayanokouji has my trust. I got your back buddy." Sudo said.

"Yeah, we're with you Ayano-bro." Ike and Yamauchi added.

"I'll follow you senpai!" Ichika added into the chaos.

"Ah, wonderful, wonderful." Kouenji clapped his hands. "This pitiful class is finally understanding their place. Kouji-boy should indeed be leading."

"See? Even Kouenji agrees!"

"Sensei, before we begin, a question." Ayanokouji said, turning to her. "Can our points go into negatives?"

"No." Sae sensei replied. "Points cannot be lost further after you have lost all 300 provided."

"Very well." Ayanokouji concluded.

"Each one of the supplied tents is large enough to accommodate eight people. The tents weigh close to fifteen kilos, so please be careful when carrying them. Also, the school will not step in to help should your supplied items become lost or damaged. In the event that you need a new tent, remember to use your points."

"May I ask something? Where will roll call be held?"

"Each class will be accompanied by their respective homeroom teachers until the test is over. If you've decided where you want your base camp to be, report it. Once the base is set up, I will hold roll call there. Make sure that you think long and hard about it, because you can't change your base camp location without a justifiable reason once you've decided. The other classes are subject to the same conditions. There are no exceptions."

'So, as expected, a spot occupying competition.' Ayanokouji guessed.

"Hey, teacher. I'm sorry to interrupt you when you're talking, but that juice from earlier went right through me. Where's the toilet?" Sudou appeared before us, like he hadn't heard the announcement.

"The toilet, huh? I was about to get to that point. If you want to use the bathroom, use this." Chabashira-sensei grabbed one of the cardboard boxes from the stacked pile. She peeled off the packing tape and took out some collapsed cardboard.

"Huh? What's that?" Sudou asked.

"It's a basic toilet. Each class will be supplied with one. Please handle it carefully."

Sudou wasn't the only one perplexed by this. The girls were shocked. "Don't tell me we have to use that?!" Shinohara, from Karuizawa's group, raised her voice in horrified surprise.

Ike, who'd been silent, pouted and said, "Come on, just deal with it. This isn't the time to fight, Shinohara."

"Don't screw around! It probably doesn't matter to you boys. There's no way I can go to the bathroom in a cardboard box."

"The decision is yours. However, you are not permitted to relieve yourselves in the forest, the sea, or rivers. Do not forget that."

"We can discuss this later." Ayanokouji said, as everyone shut up. "Are there any other instructions, sensei?"

"Well then, allow me to explain some additional rules."

"Soon you will be permitted to roam about freely, but there are several designated 'spots' on the island. In these spots, there is what's referred to as right of exclusive possession, and only the class that occupies that spot may exercise those rights. The class that obtains those rights is entirely free to determine how they wish to exercise them. However, rights of exclusive possession are only valid for a period of eight hours after being invoked, after which they are automatically revoked. "

"That means that another class can acquire those rights at that time. Also, you gain 50 bonus points if you occupy a spot once. However, that point is provisional, and cannot be used during the testing period. Therefore, bonus points are calculated and added to your total after the test has ended. Because the school is constantly monitoring you, there is no room for fraud. Please be aware of that fact."

"Let's go looking right away!" Ike said to Yamauchi and the others, his eyes shining. The manual went into the bonus point in great detail. Apparently, there was some kind of apparatus installed near each spot, one which showed rights of exclusive possession. It was unclear how many spots were on the island, but they were clearly important. However...

"I can understand your impatience, but be aware of the risks. After you take those risks into account, then you have to consider what to do. Everything is written in the manual." A specialized key card is required to occupy a spot. You can earn 50 points by occupying a spot. The points will only be counted in the end, so until then, competing for them is open. Occupied spots can be used freely. You will receive a fifty-point penalty if you use a spot occupied by another class without permission. Only a designated leader can use the key card. It is impossible to change the leader without suitable justification. The manual outlined those rules.

On the seventh day, the last day of the test, you had the right to guess at the identity of the other class' leader during roll call. If you managed to get it right, then you could obtain fifty points for each correct guess. Conversely, the other class would have to pay fifty points as compensation. If you moved to acquire a spot without caution, and your leader was discovered, then you could lose a great number of points. So, high risk, high reward.

However, the guesses couldn't be hazarded without risk. If you happened to be mistaken, you would suffer a fifty-point penalty for being incorrect. In addition, a class whose leader had been found out would lose all of the bonus points they'd saved up until then. This rule made it so if you didn't have much confidence, you would be hesitant to join the battle to occupy spots.

'So, there are 8 spots spread over the island, based on what we saw from the ship, and we get 50 points per spot occupation. We also get 50 points more if we guess the leaders correctly, and we already have our 300 points. If I allow half of 300 to be consumed, and we follow the plan, so 150 400 from spot occupation, 150 from guessing the leaders. If that's the case, we can end up with 700 points solely from this test alone. Class B is nearly guaranteed.' Ayanokouji deduced, his plan ready.

"One person must be chosen as the leader, no exceptions. However, you are free not to participate. Please tell me once you've selected someone. At that time, I will provide you with a key card stamped with the leader's name. You have until roll call today. In the event that you do not decide by then, we will decide for you. That is all."

"Kiyotaka-kun, if you are the one planning, I think it would be better if you be the leader." Hirata said, and as expected, his tools chimed in, and the class soon followed. Horikita was sceptical still, but her opinion was of no value anymore.

"Hirata, split the class into three groups, take a look around the island." Ayanokouji ordered. "Look for spots, and regroup. We will discuss our spending of points after we find a spot. Right now, finding a spot is a key priority."

"Of course." Hirata said, walking away as the rest of the class followed, with Ichika and Kouenji staying behind.

"Taking charge, Ayanokouji?" Sae sensei asked. "I assume you will be the leader."

"Who knows? This test might end very differently than what you imagine sensei..."

Island Exam Part 1

Half an hour later,

"Ayanokouji-kun, we've found this spot." Hirata said, as Ayanokouji surveyed their riverside spot.

"Who found this place?" Ayanokouji asked.

"It was Ike-kun." Hirata said, as everyone else nodded, and Ike smiled sheepishly.

"This is a good spot." Ayanokouji said.

"Eh, it's not that big of a deal bro." Ike replied. "I used to go camping with my parents back when I was a kid. I guess some habits stuck."

"If that's true, then Ike-kun is an expert for these situations." A girl said.

"True, having him will help us." Another added, as Ike blushed under the praise.

"We have our spot, so why not claim it already?" Horikita burst in, as everyone looked at Ayanokouji.

"You are right Horikita, but Sensei said it'll take a few minutes to get the card, and thus I decided to follow you, while Kouenji will get the card from sensei." Ayanokouji explained. "I also managed to get us some good firewood. I believed it would be better if we got started right away. Is that not better?"

"Yeah! Why are you sceptical of Ayanokouji-kun huh?" Karuizawa asked. "Do you not trust him?"

"Or are you jealous of him?" Shinohara added, as people continued to glare at her.

"Guys, that's enough." Ayanokouji butted in. "As it goes, I believe that at most, we can spend half of the points we have."

"HALF?!!" Ike yelled, as many others joined him.

"Calm down." Ayanokouji said. "I know that we need Class points, but you need to understand. It is impossible for us to not spend any points at all, and at most, we have to prepare for the possibility of at least 3 people dropping out. Based on that, I have allocated 90 points for that, and 60 points for our spending. Is that understandable?"

"So if no one drops out, we still end with 240 points?" Yukimura asked.

"True. That is still a lot of points. Not taking the bonus points into account of course." Matsushita added.

"Precisely. You seem to be quite intelligent yourself Matsushita." Ayanokouji said.

"N-no, not at all. I'm just observant." Matsushita stuttered, as Yukimura raised an eyebrow, but remained silent.

"As the matter goes, we have 280 points right now." Ayanokouji said, taking a stick as he wrote the number in the soil for everyone to see. "A toilet costs us 20 points. It may seem expensive, but the toilet is the only problem that we have. Besides the tents, that is."

"Thank you Ayanokouji-kun!" Kushida exclaimed, excitedly hugging him, as a few other girls expressed their thanks.

"Ayano-bro getting all the girls huh?" Ike asked.

"Yeah, Shinohara-san seemed extremely happy right there." Yamauchi remarked.

"W-w-what?! No!!" Shinohara blushed, as the class chuckled.

"Anyways. 16 people will sleep in the tents, that is true. Besides, we need people outside to keep watch on our spot, so it would be beneficial if the rest slept outside regardless." Ayanokouji explained.

"So the girls will sleep in the tents right?" Shinohara asked.

"No." Ayanokouji replied. "It would be 8 girls and 8 boys in the tents, while the rest will be outside. We can alternate on the groups of 8 on a day to day basis."

"What?!" Shinohara yelled. "That's not fair!!"

"Why isn't it?" Ike asked. "If some boys sleep outside, then some girls should too. It's only fair."

"Indeed." Yukimura added. "It would be bad for morale and would only cause divisions in the class if girls got to sleep inside while the boys outside."

"But-"

"It's not that big of a deal Shinohara." Karuizawa added. "I can deal with it, and so can the rest of us. Besides, we still get at least once to sleep in the tents, and twice at most. It seems like a win-win situation." Shinohara couldn't argue with that, not after even Kushida agreed to it.

"Wait, why do we have 280 points to start with?" Horikita asked, as everyone looked down. Indeed, Ayanokouji had written 280, and not 300.

"That's because I already purchased something for 20 points." Ayanokouji said. "What it is, will be known to you all later."

"So, if that's the case, "Hirata began, "Then after we purchase the toilet, we'll be down to 260, which leaves us with 20 points that we can still spend."

"We'll have to be very careful." Yukimura observed.

"Have no fear, for my Perfect Existence has arrived!" Kouenji exclaimed, leaping down from the trees. "Here you go Kouji-boy, that sensei really is slow." He said, handing him the card.

"Well, let's claim the spot shall we?" Ayanokouji asked, as everyone gathered around the apparatus. Ayanokouji quickly brought the card out and swiped it, as the apparatus lit up, with a countdown of 8 hours displayed on it.

"Now then, I think we should start focusing on gathering supplies." Ayanokouji said, as everyone nodded in agreement.

"I think we should organize 3 search parties of 4 members. That way we can cover some area as well as have people properly set up camp here." Hirata suggested.

"True." Ayanokouji agreed. "I'll take Kouenji, Ichika and Sakura with me. Ike, Yamauchi, Sudo and the Professor. Can I depend on you to be the other search party?"

"You got it main character!"

"I'll take one as well!" Kushida chimed in, as a few girls joined in. In the end, they had four search parties instead of three. All of them split up in different directions, as Ayanokouji's group walked up towards a spot they had seen from the ship.

"Did you claim the cave spot?" Ayanokouji asked.

"Indeed. My Perfect Existence claimed it much before anyone else could." Kouenji replied. "Do you plan to set up a trap there, Kouji boy?"

"I do. I noticed Katsuragi pay attention as well. It goes without saying that he would approach the cave at some point." Ayanokouji explained. "Which is why I brought this along." Ayanokouji said, revealing a camera in his hands, which he gave to Sakura.

"A-a-ayanokouji-kun?" Sakura asked.

"I need you to click a picture of Class A at our spot." Ayanokouji explained, and Sakura nodded. "Ichika-"

"Check the other three spots Kouenji claimed, right senpai?" Ichika asked.

"Yes, make it quick." Ayanokouji said, as Ichika disappeared into the forest.

"We have 5 spots in our control Kouji-boy." Kouenji said. "The riverside, cave, 2 clearings, and fruit trees spot on the opposite edge. Class B has a fountain spot, while Class C is at the beach, no spot there."

"Hmm, that still leaves us with 2 spots. Class A took both?" Ayanokouji asked, as he and Kouenji climbed up the tree, Sakura hiding in the bushes. Ayanokouji looked up, just as Katsuragi and Yahiko exited the cave, card in Katsuragi's hand. As soon as Katsuragi saw them, he pocketed the card, and Yahiko glared at them.

"This is our spot, Katsuragi." Ayanokouji informed them.

"Indeed. I noticed." Katsuragi replied. "You saw it from the ship too, didn't you?"

"I did, yes." Ayanokouji replied.

"Is poor Johnny boy sad?" Kouenji taunted.

"Hey!" Yahiko exclaimed. "How dare yo-"

"Stay silent Johnny simp, my perfect existence will not answer to dogs like yourself."

"Yahiko, that's enough." Katsuragi added, as Yahiko fumed, but stayed silent.

"You need to put a leash on that one Johnny. Seems like he's the kinds to like it." Kouenji chuckled. Katsuragi's right eye twitched, before he sighed, restraining himself.

"Very well. I will be taking my leave now. Come, Yahiko." Katsuragi ordered, as they both left, slowly walking away downwards. Ayanokouji and Kouenji continued to walk upwards, as they reached the topmost part. Ayanokouji looked into the cave.

"Seems hospitable." He noted. "How many spots can we see from outside Kouenji?"

"My Perfect Existence has determined at least 4 visible spots. Both spots belonging to Class A are nearby, and two of ours are visible as well." Kouenji announced.

"Hmm, what about from above the cave?" Ayanokouji asked.

"So the time for my Perfect climbing skills has arrived?" Kouenji asked, before getting a jumpstart as he leapt up, latching onto a narrow ledge. "Finally! An endeavor worthy of my beauty."

"We get it ape. Climb already." Ichika said, watching as Kouenji climbed up.

"We're b-b-back A-Ayanokouji-kun." Sakura said shyly, as Ayanokouji walked out of the cave.

"I've set up a few sentry spots within, as well as place to store food and water supplies. This should be enough for you, Ichika." Ayanokouji said, as Ichika entered the cave.

"I-is she going to stay here?" Sakura asked.

"Yes, it would be better to have someone reliable keep an eye on the spots." Ayanokouji replied. "Did you get the picture?" He asked, as Sakura passed the camera over. Ayanokouji looked at the photo, a clear shot of Katsuragi and Yahiko leaving the cave while Ayanokouji and Kouenji were just walking upwards.

'Assuming this spot can be held for the next week, then Class A would be charged for using another team's spot, deducting 50 points from their total.' Ayanokouji calculated. 'And since I already know Yahiko is the leader for Class A, all their other bonus points will be nullified as well. If I can do what I did here on Class A's other spots, that would deduct 150 points out of their total bonus reserve of 300 S points.' He looked up, just as Kouenji leapt down.

"All 8 spots are within the visible range from above." Kouenji reported.

"Ichika, here you go." Ayanokouji said, giving her a pair of binoculars.

"So 10 points for the camera and 10 for this?" Ichika asked. "You're really smart senpai~!"

"Who said they were both worth 10 points?" Ayanokouji asked. "There could be a lot more stuff in this backpack." Ayanokouji pointed to the backpack which he was wearing on his back. In truth, it only had two items inside it, and the five items, including the backpack were all worth 4 points each.

"Ah, being tricky as always, eh senpai?" Ichika asked. "Anyways, I'll hang out here for some time, I guess. Maybe scout the close by Class A spots. Would that be fine?"

"Yes. Make sure to get a look at their terminals and let me know the timings." Ayanokouji replied, before walking away. "So, when do you plan to drop out?" Ayanokouji asked, as Kouenji climbed a tree.

"I will let this island embrace my beauty until tonight." Kouenji said, flipping his hair. "The moonlight will be an excellent beacon of my exit, truly worthy to represent my beauty."

"If you say so." Ayanokouji replied, as the two split up, Ayanokouji deciding on returning to camp with Sakura. They continued walking for a while, until they encountered someone else. A lone girl sat with her back to a tree, with a swollen mark on her cheek. Someone must have hit her quite hard. She looked up for a moment as she saw us come by, before looking away almost instantly.

"What?" Ibuki asked, glaring at the two, as Sakura cowered behind Ayanokouji.

"Nothing. You seem to be in quite some pain." Ayanokouji observed.

"Just a class dispute, nothing to worry about." She said, laughing in a rather self deprecating manner.

"Well, if that's the case, see you around, I guess." Ayanokouji said, walking away as Sakura followed. Suddenly, Ayanokouji tripped, falling down as the card slid out of his pocket. Ibuki's eyes widened as she saw the card, which had landed upside down, the name not being visible. Ayanokouji quickly got up, before putting the card back in as he walked away, having seemingly not noticed that Ibuki had seen the card.

"Are you okay, A-ayanokouji-kun?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. The ground there was quite uneven, it was expected of me to trip in that situation." Ayanokouji replied, as they returned to base camp.

"How's it going everyone?" Ayanokouji asked.

"Going good so far." Hirata replied. "We've set up the tents, as well as got the bonfire going. Routine plans to get firewood have to be made, but we have time for that. Besides that, the rest of the teams also came back. There's quite a lot of berries and fruits that we can have. But-"

"But what?" Ayanokouji asked. "Is there a problem?"

"Ayanokouji!!" Ike called out. "Bro! I need your help!"

"What's wrong Ike?"

"Would you please explain Shinohara here the importance of carefully and systematically spending the 20 points we have set for the purpose?" Yukimura asked. "Her incapability of thinking of our circumstances truly disappoints me."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!" Shinohara yelled in response.

"It is exactly as I said. You are an intellectually incapable as well as a horrendous feminist." Yukimura replied, straightening his glasses.

"Can we all calm down please?" Kushida asked. "Ayanokouji-kun is here now, and he can help us decide."

"True. Can we all please gather here peacefully and reach a decision?" Hirata asked, as everyone gathered around.

"Okay, what seems to be the problem here?" Ayanokouji asked.

"We don't have supplies for water!" Shinohara exclaimed. "We need safe, drinking water."

"That is what the river is for." Ayanokouji replied, pointing to the river.

"But that's not sanitary!" Another girl cried out.

"It's a freshwater spring! Of course it's sanitary!" Ike yelled at them.

"Use some common sense people!" Yamauchi yelled at them. "The school has sent us to an island with a corporate test type of setup. Do you really think they would let us drink from a river that wasn't fresh and clean?"

"Yamauchi is correct." Ayanokouji said. "I asked sensei, as well as checked the source of the river myself. It truly is perfectly clean, as well as safe to use. Besides, if we got water bottles, not only would that cost points, it would also increase the risk of littering, which has a 30 point penalty. We can't risk losing any of our points."

"Wait, littering has a 30 point penalty?"

"Yes, I think it's in the rulebook somewhere." Hirata answered. "I can't believe you remembered that Kiyotaka-kun."

"Ayano-bro is awesome!" Ike cheered.

"I'm not done yet." Ayanokouji said, as everyone looked at him. "As it goes, we can't depend on only fruits for our food supply."

"That is true. What can we do about it?" Horikita asked. "We could use the nutrition meals provided, but those will be 10 points."

"Indeed. I believe it would be better if we stuck to what we could find." Yukimura added.

"Wait, there are some freshwater fish in the river!" Ike exclaimed. "We could catch those and cook them!"

"But how do we catch them?" Karuizawa asked. "We can't just jump in and hope we can grab one."

"We have these, for that." Ayanokouji said, putting the manual in front for all to see. "A fishing rod with bait costs one point, while one with lure costs 2 points. I have also managed to find and claim a spot on the island where we can get an abundance of fruit from."

"So we have 2 spots in control?" Sudo asked. "Hell yeah!"

"With fruits from there, as well as the fish from here, we have more than enough to survive for the week." Hirata concluded. "Are there any objections?" He asked, as everyone remained silent.

"The Sun will set in some time." Kushida observed. "What should we do Ayanokouji-kun?"

"Well, it seems we have enough firewood to keep the fire going for tonight, as well as fruits. I guess we have nothing else to do except relax and plan for tomorrow."

The next day,

"Kouenji dropping out isn't good." Hirata said, as they all gathered around for the morning meeting. Ayanokouji had already reclaimed all their five spots, travelling around the island.

"What the hell was that asshole thinking?!" Sudo yelled.

"Bloody jerk!" Yukimura exclaimed in agreement, kicking the ground.

"Well, we can't do anything about it now." Ayanokouji said. "It's best that we move forward. Our total points are now down to 224."

"That's still quite good, isn't it?" Karuizawa asked. "We don't have to spend anymore, so that will stay the same as long as no one else drops out."

"That is correct." Horikita said. "But is it truly possible for us to not spend anymore?"

"If we're careful, yes. We have all the supplies we need." Ayanokouji said. "The only way we can lose points now are if more people drop out."

"Ayanokouji-kun." Hirata called out. "Can I talk to you for a minute, privately?" Hirata asked, and Ayanokouji nodded. He followed him into a clearing at a distance from the camp, as Hirata sat down on a log, and patted the space next to him. Ayanokouji understood, sitting next to him. Hirata sighed, as his entire posture changed. It became more fatigued, and less cheerful, if that was possible. The optimism had vanished off of his face, replaced only with a melancholic, and slightly depressed expression.

"If we include Kouenji-kun's penalty, we've already spent 76 points on the first day." Hirata calculated, and Ayanokouji nodded in agreement. "Now I know that everything is going well, and that we may not need to spend any further points, but can you blame me for having doubts?"

"Not really. It's normal."

"I have faith in your strategy, no doubt about that." Hirata continued. "It's just...I'm tired. I'm anxious. Honestly, I'm only doing this because, well, you already know. But, it's surprisingly difficult. I don't want to sound mean, but people like Yukimura, Shinohara who constantly contradict and argue with each other...It's tough to keep a group like that together."

"True. It's quite tough for the Peacemaker." Ayanokouji replied. "And nearly impossible."

"I thought so too." Hirata said. "I just hope I'm able to keep the class together once the expulsions start happening."

"So you have figured out that they are a guarantee?" Ayanokouji asked.

"Well, my doubts are confirmed now." Hirata chuckled without emotion.

"What are you guys doing here?" A voice called out, as Ayanokouji turned to the source.

"Kanzaki. It's been a while." Ayanokouji said, as Kanzaki, along with a few other boys from Class B came over.

"Good to see you again." Kanzaki replied curtly, as they shook hands. "I'm assuming you're Hirata."

"I am, nice to meet you." Hirata replied at they shook hands.

"Where are you guys camped?" Ayanokouji asked.

"A little distance from here, pretty close to a fountain." Kanzaki said, pointing in the direction they came from. "It's a pretty straightforward route, you can't miss it."

"I see. How is Ichinose?" Ayanokouji asked.

"She's good. As always, she has the class' support in everything she does." Kanzaki said. "But..."

"But?" Ayanokouji asked.

"I have my doubts." Kanzaki said.

"Did a class C student approach you too?" Ayanokouji asked, as Kanzaki's eyes widened.

"So more than one student got kicked out. I knew he was suspicious." Kanzaki muttered, kicking a rock.

"Be careful of him, and don't reveal too much." Ayanokouji said, as Kanzaki hurried away to tell Ichinose, no doubt.

"Not that I'm complaining, but why did you help them, Kiyotaka-kun?" Hirata asked.

"Have you ever heard of "Strength in numbers"?"

"I have, yes. But how do students from other classes fit into that category?"

"Let's just say I need an army." Ayanokouji said, as images of the Whiteroom guards flashed in his mind. "After all, with allies as gullible as Class B, I have the perfect soldiers. All I have to do now, is mold them."

An hour later,

"More Class C students?" Ayanokouji asked, watching the commotion from a distance. "What are they doing here?"

"Who gives a shit?" Sudo asked. "If they mess anything up, I will kick their asses."

"And lead our entire class to disqualification?" Horikita asked from behind. "You truly are pathetic."

"What's wrong with you?! Just because you're a snobby bitch it-"

"Easy Sudo." Ayanokouji put a hand on his shoulder, as Sudo sighed.

"Tch, fine." Ayanokouji walked up to the two students, who were eating chips with bottles of soda in their hands.

"What did you even eat for breakfast? Grass? Or maybe bugs? Here, you can have some snacks." They took a bag of potato chips and tossed it near Ike's feet as he drew nearer.

"We have a message from Ryuuen-san. If you want to enjoy your summer vacation to the fullest, come to the beach right now. Don't hang back. If you're sick of living like idiots, then we're happy to share our luxuries."They headed back toward their campsite.

The opportunity Ayanokouji had waited for so long was finally here.

'Ryuuen huh? Let's see if I have what it takes to recruit a tyrant. After all, the best tools are also the toughest ones...'

Island Exam Part 2

Continuing from last chapter,

Ayanokouji sighed, not liking anything about his current predicament. He was going to check out the Class C camp, and Horikita and Sudo had decided to follow him along. Horikita, because of course, she will never let Ayanokouji live in peace. And Sudo, well, simply because he didn't trust Ryuuen.

"I'm going to be your bodyguard Ayanokouji!" He had proclaimed, before following him along. Ayanokouji didn't mind Sudo's intention, or the fact that he was as suspicious of Class C as Horikita was, quite the development. What irked Ayanokouji was the fact that Sudo did his job a little too well. He wouldn't let Ayanokouji take 10 steps before looking around, which irritated not only the eternally annoyed Horikita, but was starting to bother Ayanokouji as well.

"We're here." Sudo called out, as Ayanokouji and Horikita walked out of the forest. "The C Class camp should be right...What the fuck is going on?"

"Impossible..." Horikita gasped. Class C had installed temporary showers, toilets, a tarp, a barbecue, chairs, snacks and drinks. Jet skis zipped past the shoreline, as Ayanokouji watched the act wistfully. Jet skis truly gave him a sense of freedom, and it had been a while since his last ride on one.

"What in the world is Class C doing? Do they not plan to save points?" Horikita asked.

"Sure doesn't look like it." Sudo replied, confusion written all over his face. One of the boys rushed over to us.

"Um, Ryuuen-san has requested your presence," he said. Judging from the timidity of his voice, he was either frightened or naturally listless.

"He rules his classmates like a king. It's like a royal welcome. What should we do?" Horikita asked.

"Whatever happens, if he tries to screw with Ayanokouji" Sudo clenched his fist. "I will kick his ass."

"I wonder what he wants." Ayanokouji mused, walking over without waiting for Horikita's opinion, as Sudo loyally followed him.

"I thought someone was sniffing around. It's you, huh? What business do you have with me?"

"You seem to be doing well for yourself. This looks like quite the extravagant party." Horikita remarked. Ryuuen, tanned and clad in his swimwear, laid back in his chair. He flashed his white teeth at them.

"Kukukuku." Ryuuen chuckled. "And what would a flat board like you know about extravagance?"

"Oi!" Sudo yelled, fist clenched, as Ayanokouji raised his hand.

"No need Sudo, calm down." He ordered, as Sudo sighed, but obeyed.

"Kukukuku. That's a well trained dog right there." Ryuuen remarked. "You seem to be quite the leader, eh Ayanokouji?" He asked.

"I'm decent." Ayanokouji shrugged, playing it off.

"You're an interesting bastard. Smart, cunning. I like you." He said, before patting on the beach chair next to him. "Come, have a seat. Enjoy the fun of a vacation. Your lackeys are welcome too."

"I am no one's lackey." Horikita growled, as Ryuuen raised an eyebrow, turning to Ayanokouji who had already taken the bucket of ice cream which was lying on the table.

"You don't seem to have a good handle on this one." Ryuuen said, before patting his thigh. "Tell you what, give me a few minutes in a tent with her, and I'll give her back all tamed like the bitch she is. Isn't that right, Suzune?"

"I don't know who told you, but you don't have permission to call me by my first name." Horikita harshly ordered.

"Kukukuku. As if that would stop me." Ryuuen retorted. "I like strong women like you, Suzune. Breaking you would give me the ultimate pleasure."

"You're goddamn useless!" Horikita huffed angrily, before walking away, alone.

"You want me to go after her, or something?" Sudo asked Ayanokouji, looking between him and Ryuuen.

"It'll be fine Sudo. Go back to camp, I'll see you there." Ayanokouji suggested, and Sudo nodded, before walking away.

"GYM-BRO!" A voice boomed from the other side, as a massive man bear hugged Ayanokouji, while Ryuuen just watched in shock.

'He knows Albert?! Since when?!' Ryuuen asked himself, as his eyes drifted down. He narrowed his eyes, as he saw the edge of a card coming out of Ayanokouji's pocket. He quickly took a picture, just as Ayanokouji pried a cheerful Albert off of him.

"It's been a while Albert. How are you?" Ayanokouji asked.

"I AM GOOD BRO. WILL YOU RACE WITH ME?" He asked, pointing to the jet skis, as Ayanokouji nodded.

"Maybe later Albert. For now Ryuuen and I need to talk." Ayanokouji said.

"OH! BOSS AND BRO ARE FRIENDS? GOOD!" Albert boomed, before taking his place behind Ryuuen. Ryuuen blinked again, looking between his bodyguard and the ice cream eating maniac, who had chocolate ice cream dripping from the corner of his mouth.

"When did that happen?" Ryuuen asked, curious.

"We've known each other for a while now." Ayanokouji explained. "I met him late night at the gym, working out. Since then, we both decided to work out together and help each other out."

"YES! GYM BRO IS FUN!"

"Kukukukuku." Ryuuen chuckled, before relaxing back, a cold drink in his hands. "What did the All Mighty leader of Class D wanted to ask this humble Class C leader?"

"The reason you've spent all your points already, it's because you have something bigger planned, right?" Ayanokouji asked. "You sent Ibuki as a spy, I'm assuming that radio is for contacting her." Ayanokouji pointed, as Ryuuen nodded.

"You're one hell of a smart bastard, I'll admit that." Ryuuen replied, taking a sip. "But if you came here to flex on the fact that you figured it out, my answer is simple. I don't give a shit."

"You're allying with Class A, aren't you?" Ayanokouji asked, as Ryuuen's eyes widened.

"You're a different kind of bastard." He replied, the smirk never vanishing off of his face. "Kukuku, I won't ask how you figured it out. After seeing the clues, even a dumb ape could. So, I'll ask my question, which I'm assuming is why you're here. Why should I betray Class A and join you? After all, crushing Class D is my goal too."

"You say destroying Class D is your only goal, but bringing your class up to Class A is your final intention, is it not?" Ayanokouji asked, as Ryuuen remained silent. "The point I'm making is, why crush the bottom to get to the top, when Class A can be brought down, collapsed on itself?"

"I can see it in your eyes." Ryuuen said. "You believe what you're saying. This isn't some kind of bullshit optimism. Kukukukuku, you're a different breed of crazy, aren't you?" Ayanokouji ignored his question, causing Ryuuen to chuckle even more.

"I can bring Class A down, but to do that, I'll need people, allies." Ayanokouji began. "I can bring Class C up as well. All four classes at the same level, too close to distinguish between them, now wouldn't that, be the dream competition you are seeking? You don't want to crush what's already below, you seem like you would enjoy knocking people down, breaking them until there's nothing left. And I am giving you, that opportunity."

"That's an interesting idea, for sure." Ryuuen admitted, before his eyes narrowed. "But what are you really here for? What's in this deal for you?"

"Tell me, Ryuuen." Ayanokouji asked. "What is the most powerful force in the world?"

"Violence. Plain and simple." Ryuuen answered. "You can have as many tricks in your bag, but you could do nothing when confronted with overwhelming violence."

"True, but violence, power, they are all means to an end." Ayanokouji replied.

"What do you mean?" Ryuuen asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You wield violence as a tool, a powerful one." Ayanokouji admitted. "But it's not the most powerful. Violence is a means to gain information, to gain status, to gain a reputation. As I said, a means, to an end. I can give you the end, without you using the means you have. I can give you the information needed to be on top, I can put you in control, I can give you what you need to crush your enemies."

"And in exchange?"

"My information, in exchange for your violence. Only once, at any point in the next three years, I'll call on all of Class C for a favour."

"KUKUKUKUKUKUKUKUKU!!" Ryuuen fell off his chair laughing, as every single Class C student outside froze in fear. Ryuuen continued laughing for another five minutes, before finally managing to contain himself. "You...you're one hell of a Monster. Quite the interesting proposal you've brought me. When do you want an answer?"

"After this special exam." Ayanokouji replied. "For now, I say we enjoy our vacation." Ryuuen looked to where Ayanokouji was looking, and a competitive gleam appeared in his eyes.

"You really think you can beat me?"

"Who knows? You ready, Albert?"

"YES BRO!"

"Very well, to the jet skis it is."

An hour later,

"Ayanokouji-kun, it's good to see you again." Ichinose said. "But... why are you all wet with a swollen cheek?"

"A jet ski race." Ayanokouji explained.

"Understandable." Kanzaki replied. "Thank you for your help. We managed to kick out the spy, hopefully in time." He lamented.

"Considering he was probably here for a day at the maximum, there shouldn't be much damage done." Ayanokouji said.

"But why would they do something like this?" Ichinose asked. "Why can't we all just have a fun test and compete with honesty?"

"That's not how the real world works Ichinose-san." Kanzaki said. "You have managed to unite our class perfectly as honest individuals, but that doesn't mean others will adhere to our wishes. If we have to be on par with the others, we have to accept this."

"But..." Ichinose began, a small frown on her face.

"Technically speaking, they didn't break any rules." Ayanokouji said. "All they are doing is using loopholes. The school, ever since the beginning, has always encouraged the use of loopholes, and as such, in a sense, Class C might just be the the only class exploiting their advantages."

"Really Ayanokouji-kun?" Ichinose asked. "If that's the case...then why isn't your class doing it?"

"We're allies, remember?" Ayanokouji replied. "For Class A and C, I could consider it, but classes B and D are allies."

"True." Kanzaki admitted. "If for example, Class D was to win this test, all the attention would be diverted to them. Do you expect Class B to help you in this occasion? Make it a two vs two?"

"Not particularly." Ayanokouji answered. "We may be allies, but we are friends as well. I would not want to drag you guys down into a situation which our class can solve on its own, or unless it's necessary."

"Not many people would give the same answer as you just did, Ayanokouji." Kanzaki said. "It's good to know there's an ally in another class that we can trust. See you around." He concluded, walking away.

"I guess I'll take my leave as well." Ayanokouji said, turning to walk away.

"Wait!" Ichinose cried out, grabbing his arm. Ayanokouji looked down in confusion, as Ichinose pulled her hands away with a blush on her face. "S-sorry about that. I was just wondering...if you would like to hang out some time after we return to the ship? It's just... it's been too long since we last hung out, and I do owe you for helping me understand my classmates' emotions better."

"Sure, I wouldn't mind."

"See you around Ayanokouji-kun!" Ichinose replied, turning around as she returned to her own class, while Ayanokouji returned to his. He'd done enough relaxation, now was the time to take his plans forward.

5 days later, early morning of the last day of the island exams,

Ayanokouji sighed, watching the campsite. The last four days had been peaceful, no arguments, no fights, and no invasions from other classes. Class C had, of course, dropped out from the test, as expected. Ryuuen was on the island, and Ayanokouji had been paying him the occasional visit, spying on him without his knowledge of course. Both spies, Ibuki and Kaneda had also dropped out. In the short time Kaneda had been there, he had managed to find the leader of Class B after all. Class C had the identities of all three leaders, the one for Class A provided by a mole, of course. Ryuuen, before "leaving", had told him he didn't know who the leader for Class D was, but Ayanokouji knew that Ryuuen and Ibuki both had seen the card with him. Everything according to plan.

Back to Class D, even if things were peaceful, a lot had changed. Horikita had dropped out from the exam due to her sickness severely increasing, and would be resting on the ship. Ayanokouji had seen that coming, and wasn't too surprised when it happened. Though, he had to wonder, if had things been different, with Horikita being the leader, would she have tried to fight through it? Who knows? Be that as it may, there had been a little spending of 10 points as well, bringing the points of Class D down from 224 to 184. Still, more than Ayanokouji had expected them to have.

He had routinely made rounds between the spots, and thanks to Ichika, who had been spying on the camps for each class, mapped out Class B and Class A's schedule.

"How long do you want me to stay hidden senpai?" Ichika asked, looking through the binoculars as she watched Class A in the early morning sunrise, gloomy rain clouds slowly vanishing from the skies.

"As long as possible." Ayanokouji replied. "Can't give out my spy's identity, now can I?"

"So senpai~" Ichika began, a sadistic smirk on her face as she removed the last two items from Ayanokouji's bag. "When does the plan begin?" Ayanokouji checked his watch.

"How about now?"

A few minutes later,

"What the hell is going on here?!" Katsuragi's voice boomed as he watched his entire campsite tear itself apart. Vicious flames swallowed everything up around them, as Katsuragi could do nothing but watch.

"Katsuragi-san! Katsuragi-san!" Yahiko's voice called out as he came running. "Our other spot is on fire as well! We can't get to the spot occupation machine!!"

"Damn it!" Katsuragi cursed. "We need to put this flame out now!!" Multiple students ran around, collecting water, trying to use their shirts to no avail. However, Katsuragi raised an eyebrow, as his eyes met that of one of his classmates, who was standing with his back resting on a tree, arms crossed, and completely relaxed.

"Did you plan this Hashimoto?" Katsuragi asked, motioning to the carnage around.

"Oh no no, not at all Katsuragi, not at all." Hashimoto replied, turning around as he began to walk away. "I could never plan something like this. And so it goes: "The King played his move, and took the enemy stronghold"." Hashimoto cryptically said, before walking away into the forest.

"Bring some more water! Come quick!" Katsuragi roared over the flames, as a voice filtered through the sound.

"What is going on here Katsuragi?!" Mashima sensei yelled out, as finally, Class A managed to subdue the flames around them.

"Mashima-sensei, this is not what it looks like-" Katsuragi began.

"No, Katsuragi, I don't want to hear your explanations." Mashima-sensei interrupted him. "As an unbiased judge, I have come here to do my duty after being informed by a Class D student that you were using their spots. After receiving photographic proof, you have been given the respective penalty, and I came her on that student's word, to ensure that this would not happen again, in the case that it was a misunderstanding. Not only have you occupied two spots that aren't yours, you have also caused a forest fire in both places, severely damaging both spots. Did you plan to frame Class D for this?"

"Class D's spots? What are you-" Katsuragi looked towards the panel, as his eyes widened in shock.

Class D: 7:55:42.

"It seems you hadn't realized this happened." Mashima sensei observed Katsuragi's facial expression.

"Katsuragi-san! Katsuragi-san!" Yahiko yelled, rushing back from the other side. "That Class D student! That loser, the stupid defect stole our spot!" He froze, looking at Mashima sensei.

"Just what did you call a fellow student?" He asked, as Yahiko quickly began shaking his head and apologizing.

"Who was it?" Katsuragi asked, an emotionless expression on his face.

"That Ayanokouji guy I think." Yahiko replied. "Was he also the one who informed you sensei?"

"No, it was someone else. Kikyou Kushida, I believe." Mashima sensei said. "Regardless, be that as it may, the test is hereby over." He said, before handing Katsuragi a clipboard. "Put your guesses for the leaders of the other three classes there. The scores will be then calculated and presented in an hour. All of you are to gather at the beach."

Class A's guesses:

B: Chihiro Shiranami

C: Ryuuen

D: Ayanokouji.

With Class B,

"Huh? What is this?" Ichinose asked, looking at the panel in surprise.

Class D: 7:45:19.

"Did you see anyone?" Kanzaki asked the rest of his classmates.

"I-I think I did." A girl shyly raised her hand. "It was a girl. She was wearing a hood, and I only saw her from the back. She was also slightly short in height."

"So it wasn't Ayanokouji-kun?" Ichinose asked.

"Seems like this was done without his knowledge." Kanzaki said. "Regardless, we should vacate this spot, it's not ours anymore."

"True, hopefully we can use the points we saved up." Ichinose replied, as they all started picking their stuff up. Just as they had begun to move, Class B's sensei entered the fray.

"Sensei! What are you doing here?" Ichinose asked curiously.

"Well, the test is over now, so I came her to inform you all." Hoshinomiya sensei said with a smile on her face. "You're all so brave! Not a single person dropped out from our class! And from the looks of it, you didn't even break any rules! Now, take this clipboard, and write the names of the leaders. Or, you can leave it empty if you want."

Class B's guesses:

C: Empty

D: Empty

A: Empty

With Ryuuen:

"The test is now over, Ryuuen." His sensei informed him, as he took the clipboard. "For someone who doesn't enjoy hard work, you sure put all your efforts into this test."

"Sometimes, you have to do what's necessary to crush your opponents." Ryuuen replied, as he began putting names down.

Class C's guesses:

A: Yahiko

B: Chihiro

D: Ayanokouji.

With Ayanokouji,

"So I have to put my guesses here, right?" Ayanokouji asked, looking at the clipboard.

"Yes." Chabashira sensei replied.

"You got this senpai~!" Ichika cheered, among many others, as everyone looked at her.

"You were here?!"

Class D's guesses:

A: Yahiko.

B: Chihiro.

C: Ryuuen.

'I know we're supposed to be allies, Ichinose, but I need to get a quick lead if I am to be ready for the future events. I will take control of this school, whatever it takes.'

That afternoon,

Everyone's shock of seeing Ryuuen there was slowly subsiding, as Mashima sensei raised the microphone and began to talk.

"Over this past week, we, your teachers, have closely watched your efforts in this special test. There were some students who took on the challenge honestly, head-on. There were some who devised schemes to tackle the test. There were also some cases where penalties have occurred. Many things have happened, but overall, the test results were something that have never been seen before. With that said, let's get right to it." Mashima sensei concluded.

"However, before I do, I would like to inform you all that since there are two Classes with the same score, the one which incurred more penalties was placed lower." Mashima sensei added, as all of Class A gulped nervously.

"Fourth Place: Class A with 0 points (120 points-all penalties)

Third Place: Class C with 0 points (All 300 spent, leader guessed, thus bonus negated)

Second Place: Class B with 90 points. (140 points after Ryuuen and Katsuragi guesses, then -50 for Kouji's guess.)

First Place: Class D with 734 points. (400, all spots, 150 for leader guesses, and 184 initial amount.)

Final Class Rankings:

Class A: 1024 points.

Class B ( now class C) : 807 points.

Class C (now class D) : 548 points.

Class D: (now class B : 821 points.

Easter egg.

A/N:

Man! Not even two months, and we're already so close to 8K!! Damn!

This fic is really booming right now, and I thought, might as well give you all a little easter egg for the future.

Horikita simps, what do you think? (If there are any)

Horikita haters, what do you think?

Who knows what might happen next?

All I can say is, next chapter's going to be a banger. Let's see how it goes down!

Back on board and breaking Horikita.

A/N: A trigger warning for assault and implied sexual intentions. (you know, like rape. Rape itself is not there, nor is it implied, kind of like an almost situation.)

Later that day,

"Welcome back from the test, fellow classmates!" Kouenji boomed, enjoying his time standing in a speedo with a drink in his hand. He laughed at their faces, the glow of the setting Sun magnifying his features as everyone just stared at him blankly.

"We lost 30 points because of you Kouenji!"

"You idiot!"

"Calm yourself, pitiful existences." Kouenji said. "I was sick, and I had to relax my body. Besides, with this rejuvenated body, I look as perfect as I always have."

"Damn you! You bloody...!"

Ayanokouji sighed, walking away from the scene, as he met Sakura outside his room.

"Report." Ayanokouji said, as Sakura, who was holding her laptop, showed it to him.

"I've been trying to figure out the inner building of the S- System for the last 2 months, and, I-I don't know how to explain this." Sakura said, pointing to a specific section of code. "Take a look yourself."

"Hmm..." Ayanokouji hummed, as they entered his room, trying to understand what the code was about. Now, Ayanokouji had done programming in the Whiterooms of course, but he had only done it for 2 years. The main reason he had made Sakura his tool, was that her hacking skills, somehow, surpassed even what the Whiterooms had taught him.

Ayanokouji found it impossible to believe at first, but after realizing that Sakura not only had a natural talent for this, but also that she's been doing it for nearly 8 years now, was something that verified this. No wonder no one else in the school had managed to figure out Sakura was an idol, not even the teachers. Her skills of leaving behind no clues were truly fascinating. Sakura, in her confidence, had made a mistake on the gambling channel, which in turn had led to Ayanokouji discovering her. If not for her lapse of judgement, Ayanokouji may have never found her.

"This section seems to merge with the rest, but it also has a two way channel with each section..." Ayanokouji began. "Is this the centerpiece of the S-System?"

"Y-y-yes and No." Sakura said, before clicking furiously on her keyboard. "If you only copy this specific section, along with the closest subsection, and run them separately...we get something like this." Sakura said, as Ayanokouji's eyes widened.

"Are the students being ranked individually?" Ayanokouji asked. "But the S-System is already there. So why is this extra system there?"

"It's not an extra system per se." Sakura began. "It's more like an aggregation and placement format. That's why I wanted to inform you. It's actually incomplete as of now, and serves little to no purpose within the S-system itself. But, it does connect with all of the school's test, their grading formats, all of it. It's probably bringing and consolidating all the information together. For what purpose, I still don't know."

'Someone is planning something big. It can't be a first year, they wouldn't need something like this as of now. It has to be a second year, but who?' Ayanokouji asked himself. 'Someone wants to keep an eye and monitor everyone...so a high position. Possibly Student Council. But who? I'll have to call up Manabu and ask him. He would have an idea.'

Knock.

Knock.

Ayanokouji sighed, as he went to the door, and opened it to see a heavily breathing Horikita standing outside.

"How did you do it?"

A few minutes later, after Sakura left the room,

"Huh? W-what's the meaning of this?" Horikita asked.

"I was never the class leader Horikita." Ayanokouji said.

"What? But..." Horikita began, confused, as Ayanokouji pulled the card out, as Horikita stared at the name in shock.

Kouenji Rokusuke.

"W-what? Why is his name on the card...?" Horikita asked, completely confused.

"I was never Class D's leader." Ayanokouji repeated. "I spent the time that you all searched to map the island, while Kouenji named himself as the leader to sensei, who made the card."

"B-but, he dropped out." Horikita argued.

"He did, yes." Ayanokouji agreed." "You can't change the leader without legitimate reason" is what the rule book said. Meaning, in the circumstance that a leader falls ill, or is injured, they can drop out, and then the class can have the leader changed. However, this also means that changing the leader in the circumstance of a drop out is simply optional, and if a class chooses to, they can retain their leader even if the person has dropped out."

"As a result, Ryuuen and Katsuragi named me as leader, and they were both wrong." Ayanokouji concluded.

"You arranged all of this, didn't you?" Horikita asked.

"I did. Everything from the beginning." Ayanokouji replied. "Ryuuen planned to send her to our camp to spy on us, so I decided to show Ibuki the card early on, giving her the answer so she wouldn't approach the class. I did the same for Ryuuen afterwards, who clicked a picture of the card's corner as evidence. Afterwards, I set my strategy to a spot occupation one. I made my rounds day by day, memorizing the spot timings and predicting their actions while I had Ichika map out their numbers, placements and routines."

"I used two flares and set both Class A camps on fire, and using the opportunity, claimed their spots as the countdown finished. Just as planned after that, Katsuragi's minions saw me, and named me as Class D's leader to Katsuragi." Ayanokouji explained further.

"So Class A's leader was Katsuragi?" Horikita asked.

"No. Katsuragi is a cautious person. When Kouenji and I met him, he may have had the card in hand, but he wasn't the leader. The only reason he had the card was because the actual leader was irrational and reckless, and being Katsuragi's devoted follower, would willingly give him the card. Thus, I figured out that the leader of Class A was Yahiko. Class B's leader I found out after spying on Ryuuen, but unlike Class A, they're our allies, and I figured I would keep that relation intact, so I didn't use penalties against them."

"Once, you claimed that you had no interest in reaching Class A." Horikita said. "Why change that now?"

"My motives are not something you need to understand, Horikita." Ayanokouji replied simply.

"I hate to admit it, but you probably surpass me in terms of physical ability and intellect." Horikita admitted, a small blush on her face. "You're perhaps on equal terms with me in academics as well. So from now on, I will choose to acknowledge you as an ally and an equal as well. But that doesn't mean I want you to act friendly with me in school. We're only working together to reach Class A. But...I will admit my gratitude. Thank you. Not that I'm saying I like you or anything-"

Ayanokouji's expression suddenly darkened, as the mood of the entire room seemed to change. The lights abruptly turned off, as the only source of light was the moonlight coming through the window. Horikita began to open her mouth, only for Kiyotaka to turn around, a dark, malicious glare aimed at her. Horikita flinched backwards in shock, her body against the wall. Her mouth hung open in a mix of shock and fear, as a few beads of sweat trickled down her neck.

"I think you misunderstood how our "relationship" works, Horikita..." Ayanokouji began, his voice much different, and tone more sinister from before.

"Wha- I don't-"

"Horikita, I've never considered you an ally. Not even for a second, and I never will-"

"Wha-"

"Not you. Not Kushida, not Hirata. Not a single one of you defects is a friend or an equal to me, much less an ally or a human being worth acknowledging."

"N-no-"

"All people like you are nothing but tools to me."

"..."

"Regardless of the methods, regardless of what needs to be sacrificed."

"In this world, winning is everything. I don't care about who I have to use, who I have to throw away. My inevitable victory, is all that matters."

Ayanokouji finally looked up at Horikita, as tears fell from her eyes. It must have been heartbreaking for her, knowing that the first person that she ever acknowledged as an equal, or above her besides her precious Nii-san, thought of her like that. It would put even further doubt on her, that a person like this was not only acknowledged by her Nii-san, but was also close to him. On one hand, someone surpassed her Nii-san, her idol and was using him. On the other, she doubted herself. Her own mind, her own psyche was crumbling in on itself, imaging that her Nii-san thought of her like this as well. She screamed in agony and frustration, pulling out her faithful compass.

"Y-you-you bastard!" She exclaimed, leaping in the air towards him, her compass aimed at his chest. Ayanokouji, expressionless, grabbed Horikita's, before kicking her in the ribs, throwing her back into the wall.

Bang!

Her back smacked against the wall, as the portrait on it fell down between her shoulder blades, causing her to wince. She hesitantly got up, before taking a stance, with her compass still in grip. She leapt forward, throwing a kick towards Ayanokouji's side. He easily sidestepped it, before grabbing the arm she was using to attack him with the compass, and delivered a chop to her elbow. Horikita's grip on the compass loosened, as Ayanokouji grabbed it. Horikita threw another kick, only for Ayanokouji to stab the compass into her calf, as Horikita groaned in agony. Ayanokouji threw her against the wall again, before rushing in and punching her in the ribs. Ayanokouji pulled the compass out, before grabbing her by the arm and throwing her onto the bed.

Horikita tried to get up, just as Ayanokouji climbed onto the bed, and stabbed the compass through her forearm. She screamed in agony this time, as Ayanokouji grabbed her by the throat, straddling her.

"Y-you a-are j-just l-like t-the r-rest!" Horikita yelled at him, tears of betrayal still leaking through her eyes. "You just w-want to use me like your tool, your toy, don't you?! You bloody pervert! I can't believe I ever trusted an asshole like y-" She would have continued, only for Ayanokouji to apply more pressure on her neck, as she began to choke, her hands hitting him on his chest. But it did nothing to stop him.

"Your body, huh?" Ayanokouji asked, taking his coat off. "That doesn't sound half bad." He took his tie off, before using it to tie Horikita's hands above her head. He slowly got up, staring down at the weak and helpless Suzune. Horikita stared into Ayanokouji's eyes, helpless, afraid, and at his mercy.

"Spread your legs."

"W-ha-"

"Fine. I'll do it myself."

Ayanokouji went to grab her legs, as Horikita started kicking at him, her hands still tied up. Ayanokouji sighed, before grabbing her right ankle.

Snap!

Horikita screamed in agony, as Ayanokouji twisted her ankle, not permanently, and only enough that she would have trouble walking for a day or two. Still, Horikita didn't relent, as Ayanokouji grabbed her other leg.

Snap!

Horikita screamed again, as Ayanokouji stuffed her own socks into her mouth, shutting her up. Ayanokouji once again approached her, as Horikita relented, willingly spreading her legs. Ayanokouji looked up at her defeated expression, before taking the socks out.

"So...given up already? You really are pathetic." Ayanokouji taunted.

"Y-you b-bloody psychopath. Just do what you want and end my suffering already." Horikita said, tears still leaking out of the corner of her eyes, as she completely submitted to Ayanokouji. Ayanokouji's fingers stroked her inner thigh, as Horikita looked away. Ayanokouji grabbed her chin, before turning her face forwards, as he stared at her.

"I haven't even started, and you've already submitted. You've finally realized your place, haven't you?" Ayanokouji asked, as Horikita spat at his face, or at least tried to. Ayanokouji simply squeezed her face harder until she couldn't breathe, before letting her go.

"S-shut u-up."

"So weak, so frail. No wonder Manabu refuses to acknowledge you." Ayanokouji began, as Horikita's eyes widened. "I would feel the same way if I had a sister as useless and defective as you."

"Y-y-ou d-don't-"

"I shouldn't involved your precious Nii-san into this? Is that what you're asking?" Ayanokouji asked. "Why shouldn't I? Your dream, your ambition to reach his level is fruitless. You will never reach him because you can't reach him. You don't have the talent, or the willingness to work towards a goal like that. At least, not properly."

"W-wh-what a-are you-?"

"You were a neglected child, and even now, you are a neglected child." Ayanokouji said, as her entire body froze up. "You've been alone all your life, haven't you? Do you know why?" He asked her, as Horikita lay still, simply staring at Ayanokouji. She tried to open her mouth, but no words came out.

"You know you want the answer." Ayanokouji said. "Your life's biggest question. Why were you alone? You chose your Nii-san as your idol because he had everything you didn't. You thought you chose him because he was an exemplary student, exemplary athlete. But no, you didn't. You chose him, because your family, your parents chose him. Over you. All you ever did was go with the flow of your family's opinion. To seek approval of not just them, but your Nii-san as well. How does it feel? Knowing that nothing you have ever done came of your own volition, of your own choice? How does it feel to be a mindless drone?"

Ayanokouji stared at her, watching her body convulse, her breathing erratic as her whole body shook from sobs. She wasn't broken, not yet, but she was close. Horikita's superiority complex was slowly being broken down to the brink, and Ayanokouji was about to destroy everything she felt proud of. It was only a matter of time.

"I-I-"

"How can you simply accept yourself being utterly useless?" Ayanokouji asked.

"N-no." Horikita replied. "I'm not-"

"Lying to yourself too?" Ayanokouji asked. "Your little bubble has burst already Horikita. Forget about your family for now. How does it feel, knowing that even within Class D, within a class of defects, your presence has absolutely no relevance? It wouldn't matter if you're there or not, and no one cares about it."

"T-that's not true..." Horikita began, her voice only a whisper.

"It's not true? Of course it is." Ayanokouji replied. "You pride yourself on your academic efforts. With Kouenji, myself, and Ichika there, your academic prowess has no purpose. If we wanted to, we could tutor all of Class D, and they would easily surpass you."

"B-but-"

"Your physical prowess-" Ayanokouji began. "It's quite frankly, pathetic. You're being held down by someone as skinny as me. How do you ever hope to match the likes of Kouenji, Ryuuen, Sudo and Ichika? Any social task, is already a guaranteed failure for you, Horikita. You can't communicate. Your inherent belief in your delusional superiority will only make people detest you, unlike Manabu, who is respected. Tell me Horikita, why would someone with a reputation like Manabu ever bring himself low enough to acknowledge someone like you? Someone who's incapable and irrelevant even in a group of defects?"

"Tell me, Horikita-" Ayanokouji continued. "How useless do you have to be that you're neglected even when you're in a family of four? Two pairs could be made, but your own family would rather ignore you than trust you. I truly pity your parents for giving birth to a defective mistake."

And that was it. The last straw. Suzune Horikita, was completely broken. Ayanokouji got off her, as Horikita curled into herself, silent sobs racking her whole body. Ayanokouji winced as he looked at the tears staining his bed. He quickly went to the fridge and grabbed an ice cream bucket, before he started eating.

"W-why?" Horikita asked. "Why tell me all this? Why did you do this?"

"Why should I answer?" Ayanokouji retorted. "Do you still think you can reach your Nii-san? Don't be foolish Horikita. You can't do something that's not possible for you. But I guess you're still that same neglected child who reads stories of fantasies to herself because no one was ever there for her. You don't have a real goal, do you? A goal that you could actually achieve?"

"I-I...no." Horikita whispered.

"What was that?" Ayanokouji asked, casually munching on his ice cream. "I couldn't hear you."

"I said I don't!" Horikita yelled at him, as Ayanokouji looked up. "Do you really think I don't know that I'm worthless!? I'm not the most physically capable, or the most academically astute, nor can I communicate well with others. I know I'm goddamn useless! Every single day of my life, I've lived by the reminder of my uselessness! My brother, my parents, everyone around me has the potential that I don't!"

"Ever since I was a child, no matter what I did, I could never get the validation I needed." Horikita continued, looking down. "I don't think I could now either. I don't have ambitions, or goals, because everything that I did, had already been done before. I could never be someone who was unique, and that's why I prided myself to be superior, when I was the one who was below them all. I don't know why I'm telling you this, and I don't care. All you've done is made me realize that I should have dropped out when my brother told me to. By staying, not only did I embarrass myself, but taint my brother's reputation as well. Even a useless good is more preferable over something that is detrimental."

"I couldn't have said it better myself." Ayanokouji admitted. "But there's one thing you're wrong about Horikita."

"What?"

"You said you don't have the potential." Ayanokouji told her. "That was wrong. You do have the potential, but so far, all you've done is put it into something that is unattainable. What if I told you I could give you that ambition? I could give you a goal you so desperately seek. You can't surpass your Nii-san, and even he knows that. He doesn't want you to follow his footsteps either."

"What d-do you mean?"

"Manabu's greatest regret has always been that he could never be there for you." Ayanokouji told her. "Manabu was talented, and he used his talents to their fullest potential. But he lost much of what his relationship with you or even his own family was. Ever since then, he pushed himself away, wanting you to have your separate identity. To be someone different, your own unique person."

"Are you telling-"

"I'm telling you the truth, I assure you." Ayanokouji said. "The greatest way to be with your precious Nii-san again is to discover that goal. Join me, Horikita. I can help you discover that goal you seek so desperately. Be my tool, and in the end, losing your freedom is what will set your free from the chains of loneliness. You will no longer be neglected, no longer be considered useless. Even a useless tool can be made into a masterpiece. All it takes is a complete rebuild and the creator's determination. I am willing to give it my all to rebuild you into a person that your Nii-san, that your family, and that others can look at with pride. Are you willing to be rebuilt again? To start anew?"