A/N: People who don't like the Honami x Kiyo ship should probably skip this chapter, word of warning. This is pretty much all fluff.
Zook has been cracking the whip for me to crank more chapters out, I've been reduced to being a slave. If you want to thank someone for the chapter it would be them. Zook has helped a lot with the most recent chapters so thank you to Zook.
Next chapter will be a big one so it'll take a while. Not sure how long, don't expect too much from me :)
"This is all your fault."
"How is it my fault? You could have laid down on another sunbed, you're the one who practically molested me!"
"You're the one who kissed me in public! I don't know what's happened to you but you're constantly looking at me with... lewd eyes. Pervert!"
"I didn't see you complaining at the time!"
"Enough, you two. Get back to it. Those toilets aren't going to clean themselves." Chabashira warned us as she continued scrolling through her phone while leaning on the wall.
Apparently the school had rules for indecent displays of public affection. No one had said anything at the time, but once again people didn't mind their own business and photos were taken of Honami and I and posted on the school boards.
"Horikita-senpai is going to be so embarrassed. Tachibana-senpai is going to be livid! The student council Vice President and Secretary, cleaning toilets because someone couldn't keep their hands and lips to himself!" Honami muttered to herself as she scrubbed ferociously.
"How many points will it cost me for you to tell her to shut up?" I asked Chabashira-sensei, trying to keep my voice down.
It didn't work, Honami bristled in annoyance.
"Why would I tell you that? I'm quite enjoying watching her debase you," Chabashira smirked. "She's right, you need to learn that the rules apply to you too. You're being a menace."
"I want to change classes,"
"No you don't."
"I hate you."
"Keep cleaning, you still have the rest of the floor to do. I'll be back in an hour to check on your progress. Be grateful that this is what I decided to punish you with, your father will not be impressed." Chabashira said as she got up and left.
Honami was scrubbing the toilet with so much ferocity that I was worried that she'd put a hole in the ship. She was sweaty and her hair was swaying back and forth angrily, tied up in a ponytail to keep it out of her face.
The moment that Chabashira was out the door, I took my gloves off before dropping them on the tiled floor, sitting on the sinks and taking out my phone. Honami whirled around, brandishing her toilet brush at me like it was a sword at the sound of my rubber gloves snapping off and hitting the floor. Toilet water flew off the bristles but I was out of range.
"Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. What do you think you're doing?"
"Taking a break,"
"You will not leave this work to me! You get those gloves back on and help me, immediately! Right now Ayanokouji Kiyotaka!"
I glanced up from my phone in boredom at the furious blonde in front of me who was glaring at me challengingly, as though daring me not to obey.
"'You're more than welcome to give me all of your work and I'll do it without complaint,'" I quoted absentmindedly.
Honami looked completely confused, the toilet brush went down to her side as she stared at me and waited for me to elaborate.
"What are you talking about?"
"That's what you said to me when we first met, when I gave you the secretary position."
Wrong thing to say, I knew it instantly.
It was as though her anger gave energy to that ponytail as it floated behind her. It was as though Honami had her own whiteroom mode as her pupils dilated and disappeared. Similarly to how the anime's I enjoy watching would always portray female leads just before they went completely psychotic.
"I am going to give you an opportunity to rethink what you just said." Honami said calmly.
Honami has been playing with me lately. Lying on my bed and teasing me, pulling her to me when I was the one who kissed her in the room. Wearing that cursed bikini and lying on my sunbed and then having the audacity to make out like it was my fault when she was constantly tempting me.
Wars have been started for less. I will not be subjugated by this woman.
Jumping off from the sink I stood to my full height, looking down at her. Honami didn't raise her head, simply raising her line of sight to look up at me as I looked down at her, trying to intimidate her.
She didn't flinch and met me head on. As expected of the former leader of Class B.
"No."
So this would be our first fight, another new experience. The battlefield had been set and I wasn't going to back down. Regardless of if I was right or wrong, Honami was being defiant and a precedent would not be set of me folding whenever she confronted me on things.
One of the things that frustrated me more than anything about Honami was how stubborn she is. Funnily enough, it was also one of the things I enjoyed most about her personality. Everything in moderation, it shows how close and intimate we have become so quickly, she wasn't comfortable enough with anyone to show when she was upset or angry.
She did it with me, only with me. Honami was also one of the few people who wouldn't simply let me have my way.
"When I said that, I meant with Student Council duties. Not with your punishments. I'm your secretary, not your slave." Honami said firmly.
"You should have chosen your words more carefully then." I fired back calmly.
"You should choose your next words carefully as well, Ayanokouji-kun. I also said that back when we were nothing but mere acquaintances back then. I'm your girlfriend now. I hope you don't honestly expect me to continue doing everything from now on, do you?"
It shouldn't be like this, we were having an argument. Our very first disagreement as a couple that started on one topic and moved to another. It was dangerous because quite honestly I didn't expect her to continue doing everything for me anymore but my pride didn't allow me to admit that. If I backed down now on this, I'd be giving up ground and I wasn't prepared to do that.
I also had to admit that there was a part of me that found this angry and annoyed Honami to be unbelievably attractive. Incredibly so.
"A deal is a deal, Ichinose. I hope you didn't confess simply to get out of your prior commitments. I thought that you weren't one to back out of things once you've given your word."
Ichinose looked hurt when I insinuated that her feelings for me weren't genuine and for a moment I felt like I went too far with that one. The hurt look on her face turned angry as those bright blue eyes I enjoy looking into all the time started to water.
"Circumstances change, Ayanokouji-kun." Ichinose hissed. "We're a couple now, we're a package deal. That means we average our misery, I will not be treated like a slave or a doormat!"
She fell silent as the door to the bathroom swung open and Koenji entered, humming a tune to himself and dripping water all over the floor of the bathroom. The same floor that we were due to clean. That ponytail suddenly dropped back down, the demonic forces no longer giving it life. Ichinose frowned at the water falling onto the floor but said nothing to Koenji as he walked to the sink.
Koenji didn't even look at us, completely disinterested as he turned on the tap and let the cold water run at the highest pressure. I had no idea what he was trying to achieve, he was already dripping wet. Letting the water run, he looked up at his reflection in the mirror and frowned in disdain.
"The facilities on this ship are certainly lacking, this mirror is filthy. How am I expected to see myself in this? Ichinose-girl, wipe this down at once if you please,"
On the inside, I could see that Ichinose was fuming. On the outside, she was the picture of friendly and helpful. Rather than rise to the bait and lose her temper, she simply removed her gloves one by one before shoving the gloves and the toilet brush into my chest. Completely by reflex, I grabbed at them as she let go before turning to Koenji with a smile.
"I'm sorry, Koenji-kun. I need to go to the ladies room, Ayanokouji-kun can clean that for you. I'll be right back,"
She turned on her heel with grace, ponytail swishing behind her as she briskly left the room. Something told me she wasn't coming back.
Koenji snorted with laughter before running his hands through the cold water and fixing his hair while looking into the mirror. What an absolute waste, his hair was already dripping wet all over the floor.
"It appears I've misjudged Ichinose-girl, she's far more interesting than I originally anticipated."
"You do realize that you've just firmly put me in the doghouse right now?"
"You were doing a very good job of it yourself from what I could hear before I entered."
Looking down at Ichinose's gloves and toilet brush in hand I realized that girlfriends were an absolute nightmare. How annoying. My life was far simpler when I was single, those that envy me have no idea what life is like. They have no idea how good they have it. I sighed in exasperation before getting back to cleaning, ignoring Koenji who was watching with amusement.
"Oh how the mighty have fallen, to think the Ayanokouji Kiyotaka is in here scrubbing toilets while others are lazing about. Perhaps karma truly does exist."
I ignored the taunting jab simply because I knew that Koenji didn't mean anything malicious behind it. This meeting was fortunate as well, I needed to speak to him anyway. I just wished his timing was better, perhaps a meeting at the pool rather than with me putting on a pair of pink rubber gloves and wielding a toilet brush.
"It's not all bad. If Professor Ayanokouji is watching this from whatever hell he's in and seeing what has become of his masterpiece... I couldn't think of any better way of disgracing his memory."
"You truly do have a dark sense of humor,"
"Sometimes you just have to make the best of a shitty situation," I joked.
Koenji snorted before shaking his head at the terrible pun.
"I couldn't help but notice that you had not transferred any funds to my account. I understand that we hadn't exactly agreed on the terms but I assumed that we had an agreement."
"We would have," I said nonchalantly. "However I seem to remember you saying that you would stay on the island as long as I was there. If memory serves, you left and retired early."
Koenji turned off the tap before shaking his hands dry with a frown. After a moment of consideration, he took the towel from his shoulders before drying himself off while watching me scrubbing the white porcelain of the toilet bowl. When he was no longer dripping on the floor, he paused thoughtfully before wiping off the water he just shook onto the basin with the same towel.
"So you've decided against our arrangement then?"
"I didn't say that, I was simply withholding funds until we could negotiate the terms. You're about to get a substantial amount of points once the transfers come through, do you even need more than that?"
"A perfect existence requires a certain standard of living. One can not enjoy life when living in subhuman conditions."
"Many people around the world do just fine with the small amount that they have."
"Many people are not fortunate enough to live a life of abundance, I am one such person. I do not enjoy living in squalor, I thought I made that perfectly clear on the island."
"I also made it clear that I am not motivated by money. If you want points on a consistent basis then I am happy to provide them to you. However, if you want to give me something in return in order to square a debt, I want something else."
Finishing the toilet I was cleaning and getting to my feet with a groan, I turned around to face Koenji who was listening with interest as I moved to the next cubicle. Eyeing him thoughtfully as I walked, I regarded him carefully before getting started again.
"I'm going to start actively participating from now on. I also still want to remain in obscurity."
"A fool's errand," Koenji observed dismissively. "Your actions contradict each other. You want to remain in the shadows and yet you eviscerated everyone. I can't understand you. By far, you are the most contradictory existence I have ever come across."
I stopped scrubbing for a moment before carefully weighing up my options. Of all the people who knew my secret aside from Arisu and Eiichiro, Koenji was the most trustworthy. He never alluded to it, he didn't seek out my attention at all and he actively worked in my interests. Koenji has done a lot to draw attention away from me and yet during breakfast he remained silent.
I could understand why now, he didn't understand what I was doing. Koenji simply didn't act because he wasn't sure what my reasons for doing what I did were or what my goals were.
I needed an ally, now more than ever. Eiichiro seemed to be annoyed with me, Arisu was actively trying to get me exposed and Ichinose was throwing a tantrum. Kushida was meddlesome as ever, Horikita was being annoying and everyone else was now suspicious of me.
Koenji was probably the only person I could turn to right now and to be completely honest, probably one of the few people I could go to for advice at this stage.
"I was forced into action, Ryuen threatened Arisu and I lost control of myself. I'm trying to make the best of a bad situation that I put myself in." I admitted shamefully.
"I see," Koenji said after a long pause. "Judging by the fact that you're attempting to throw Sakayanagi-girl under the proverbial bus, am I right in assuming that this was a result of some sort of ploy on her behalf?"
"Sometimes I wonder if you were in the White Room," I chuckled in amusement. "You're quite quick on the draw."
"I'll take that as a compliment but only because I must," Koenji shuddered. "The thought of spending any time in that repulsive place makes me uncomfortable."
"If you're going to stay here and chat to me at least get those gloves on and give me a hand,"
"A Koenji does not scrub toilets."
"And an Ayanokouji does?"
"Evidently, they do."
"Asshole," I muttered to myself.
"I also do not do things unnecessarily. I requested points in exchange for money simply because I do not see a reason to compete in these menial tasks. Competing against these plebeians is beneath me."
I couldn't help but sigh in frustration, so this is what Eiichiro goes through with me.
"I'm not asking you to do anything more than what I am going to do. All I ask is that you put forward as much effort as I do and we'll call it even. I'll subsidize your standard of living, all I ask is that you do as much as I do."
I never saw someone agree so fast. Have I really set the bar so low?
"Deal."
"Excellent!" I exclaimed, finishing the toilet that I was working on before getting back to my feet with gusto.
I quickly moved towards my own gloves and brush that lay forgotten on the floor from earlier before picking them up with excitement and holding them out to Koenji. He looked at the items in my hand with pure disgust, looking at me questioningly.
"Right now I'm scrubbing toilets. You'll do as much as I do so... let's get to work together."
Koenji's eyes moved from the brush and gloves to my expectantly happy smile, back and forth over and over. Eventually, he simply walked past me to exit the public washroom while talking over his shoulder.
"I don't need points this month, clean your own toilets."
I was gobsmacked as the door closed behind him and I was left alone with toilet brushes in hand. How could this happen to me? I wanted to cry comical tears at this turn of events, where did my life go wrong?
I almost wanted to... do that. It brought up a curious thought, if I did and everything around me turned white, would I simply stop because everything simply looked clean? Would I be put into an endless loop of going into that abyss and coming out? Koenji was right, I really did have a rather dark sense of humor.
Irrespective, I continued to clean. It gave me a chance to go over things in my head. Truth be told, I'm a clean and tidy person. My dorm is almost clinical, everything has a place and everything is spotless. I have a rather OCD personality when it comes to things like that, my collection of books and paraphernalia are all lined up perfectly and in order. Plates and glasses all have a certain order to them, same with the items in my pantry and refrigerator.
I was capable of doing this much, I just didn't like to. Too much work.
As I continued to clean and pulled out the bucket and mop to get to work on the floor, I couldn't help but notice that Honami really didn't return. I started to feel bad, perhaps I went a little too far. I even started to refer to her as Ichinose again for a short while, I was simply matching her energy but it was notable nonetheless.
As I continued to work about my tasks, I started to go into autopilot mode and I drifted into my thoughts once again. A lot has happened in two days, I had a lot to do and a lot of things that needed to be addressed.
Most notably, Eiichiro. He was my best friend and it didn't take a genius to figure out that he was exasperated with me. I had plans to address it but at the same time he needed time. This was a long time coming and I was deserving of this treatment. I was curious as to what Chabashira had told him but didn't think to ask at the time. It was of little consequence really, it was only a matter of time before he became like this, regardless of what she said.
I wonder what Tsubasa would say if she could have seen these events unfold. Since meeting Honami and spending time at this school, I've thought very little of her. She always went with the flow of things, never asking to do something and simply tagging along with everything we wanted to do. Tsubasa is a bit of a tomboy, she frequently lapsed into strange speech patterns which Eiichiro and I constantly teased her about.
I know that if she was here and she saw the way I was acting, she would take Eiichiro's side and I would be on the receiving end of a severe ear beating.
There was also Kushida. What to do about Kushida Kikyo.
That meddlesome woman was becoming more and more brazen. Revelations about my past and my potential were without a doubt heightening her interest in me. She wasn't going to stop and her meddling was sure to escalate to dangerous levels. I couldn't see a way to make her stop, if things get any worse, I'd need to have her expelled.
It was the reason why I asked Chabashira-sensei if I could pay to get someone expelled. If she said it was possible, Kushida would be out of Advanced Nurturing High School the moment that we were back on land. Unfortunately, I didn't get the answer I wanted.
The information was useful though, it was a useful tool that I was able to use to put more pressure onto Ryuen.
If I'm being honest with myself though, it was a rather useless threat. The pressure didn't come from the threat of expelling his classmates, it came from my threat to Shiina Hiyori. Now that I was out of that white abyss, I really had gone too far. She was another that I wanted to mend fences with. I doubted that Ryuen or Ishizaki hadn't told her about the fact that I threatened her. Only time would tell if she would inform Honami of what I had done but I was doubtful she would. Shiina didn't seem like the type.
There was also Karuizawa. What to do about Karuizawa Kei?
I asked Chabashira-sensei for the footage of the camera's in the fire escape. She agreed to get it for me but was thoroughly confused as to why I had asked for it. I wanted to use the footage as an olive branch to Karuizawa. She's my friend and I abandoned her when she was vulnerable. Karuizawa Kei and I have quite an interesting friendship.
The truth is that of all the girls that are in our class, she really was the only one who supported me as a genuine friend without any romantic interest and without asking for anything in return. Satou was similar but I wasn't as close to her as I was to Karuizawa. My friendship with Satou was merely a byproduct of my friendship with Karuizawa.
Of everyone in Class D, she was the only one who believed in and supported my relationship with Honami. She was the one who stood up to the others when they wanted to keep her out of the camp. She was the one who was genuinely the happiest when she found out we were together. The points from the pool was simply a reward to her, she was actually happy that we were together.
Karuizawa was also the one that was most concerned about Honami during the meeting when she was being attacked. There seemed to be an underlying reason behind it but she was concerned. I really did want to mend that relationship, Karuizawa is a precious friend of mine. I'd have to reach out to Hirata for assistance.
Then there was that meddlesome imouto of mine...
Damn that loli.
My plans for my dear sister were quite simple, as Koenji had put it, I was going to throw her under the bus.
I'd already started the ball rolling, Machida had definitely reported what he heard to Katsuragi. He wasn't a fool though, he'd know for sure that Arisu hadn't given me the names. The question would be if Katsuragi had the wherewithal to see what I was offering him. A chance to cement his leadership position in Class A.
I was empowering him, he had the opportunity to pin all of the blame onto Arisu. Between her staying with Class D on the island, losing them precious points and now handing over a win to Class D there would be questions about her loyalty.
The coming hours would be critical, as long a-
The message chime from my phone cut me from my thoughts. Curiously taking my gloves off with a snap, I couldn't help but feel like this would be a bad omen as I took my phone from my pocket to check what this was about.
Why is this happening to me?
Of all the times that Honami could have thrown a tantrum and refused to work, why now? I swear I've said it a thousand times. That woman will be the death of me.
It wasn't what I was expecting... It was too early. No... Not now... Why now?
Due to the Zodiac Special Test concluding early, it has been decided that the results will be released early. The results will be announced at 18:00 this evening.
I heaved a heavy sigh while looking at the rest of the cleaning I had to do, I still had two other restrooms to clean on this floor alone. I only had roughly four hours before the results would be announced. Fantastic.
I redoubled my efforts, rolling up my sleeves and cleaning the toilets as best I could. There was only half an hour left until Chabashira-sensei returned and I didn't want her to keep me behind if the work wasn't done. After finishing up the second and finally making it to the third, Chabashira-sensei opened the door and walked in, carefully inspecting my work.
"Where is Ichinose?" Chabashira asked with a frown.
"In the other restroom," I shrugged.
"Tell her that she's free to go and you can do the same. Make sure to keep your hands to yourself next time when you're in public."
"Maybe if you had a boyfriend yourself you wouldn't be so jealous..." I muttered under my breath.
"What was that?" Chabashira asked loudly, glaring at me.
"Nothing at all, Chabashira-sensei," I smiled at her.
The moment I was finished and dismissed I made my way back to my own room to shower and change, I smelled disgusting. While there was a lot to do, I wanted to sort this out with Honami first. It was our first fight and I didn't want it to fester, I wanted to have it resolved as soon as possible.
Honami is stubborn, it was probably best if I extended the olive branch. I may have taken things a little too far.
By the time I got to her room I was exhausted. Freshly showered and dressed in casual clothes but I was tired. I just wanted to eat as much as my body would allow me to and drift into a food coma while everyone else was looking at the results but unfortunately that wouldn't be possible for many reasons. If I did that, I'm sure that they wouldn't simply let me sleep this time. The results would cause a stir, I was sure of it. Aside from that, there was a small part of me that wanted to see the reactions of Class D.
We'd spent so much time at the bottom, they'd spent so much time broken and losing that it'd be nice to see them happy for a change. My little band of misfits.
When I reached her door, I knocked firmly and waited. This is what Ayanokouji Kiyotaka has been reduced to. Cleaning toilets and making up with his girlfriend with his tail between his legs. How annoying. No answer, not even from the other girls who were sharing a room with her.
I was just about to leave but I noticed that the door was ajar which meant that it hadn't been closed properly. Curious, I opened the door only to see Honami lying in her bed on her side facing the wall, covered from head to toe in blankets and refusing to come out of her little Honami made cocoon.
As I entered and moved to the bed, she shuffled. While before she was lying on her side closest to the wall, now she was bent into an L trying to take as much room on the single bed as possible to eliminate the possibility of me lying down or sitting on it. How childish.
I started to get annoyed again and was about to go for round two when I heard a sniffle. Instead I simply sighed, I was actually going to fold. This is what I have become, weak.
"Honami," I called gently as I sat down on the small spot that I could find on the bed. The moment my weight was on it, she pressed her feet against the wall and pushed back with her butt, trying to shove me off the mattress.
I tried to be comforting and started patting the mountain of blankets on a spot that I assumed was safe but she instantly straightened and pressed herself to the wall, as far away from me as she could go.
"I'm sorry for kissing you in public."
No answer, no movement.
"I'm sorry for asking Chabashira-sensei how many points it would cost me to tell you to shut up."
Wrong again, I've already lowered myself this far. What pride do I have left? May as well go all the way at this point.
"I'm sorry for trying to leave all the cleaning to you, I'm sorry for bringing up your promise to do everything for me and treating you like a slave."
Still nothing. Why did I decide to get a girlfriend?
"I'm sorry for insinuating that your feelings for me weren't genuine and that you only confessed to get out of having to work."
A movement. Okay, I was on the money with that one. Now that I knew what the problem was, I can work on manipu-... Convincing Honami to stop being mad at me.
"Of course I know that you don't go back on your word, once you give your commitment to someone you follow through with it. I know that, I was only annoyed at the time. I didn't mean to make you upset."
A shuffle. She was no longer facing the wall now, still wrapped in the cocoon of blankets but it was a start.
"I finished all the cleaning all by myself. I told Chabashira-sensei that you were in the bathroom and I cleaned everything. I scrubbed the toilets, I mopped the floors. I even wiped the mirrors down. It was a lot of work but I did it all."
There was a tiny crack in the blankets and I saw a blue eye peer out from the gap, slightly rimmed red but it was there nonetheless.
"You did?" Honami asked for confirmation, slightly muffled from the mountain of blankets.
"I did."
The crack in the blankets opened all the way as Honami held it open for me to get under too. She'd showered and changed herself, dressed in an oversize white t-shirt and shorts with her hair still damp from the shower.
"Am I allowed under there? I don't want to get blamed for anything. Are my eyes too lewd at the moment?" I joked lightheartedly.
Honami didn't huff or pout, she just looked down, averting her eyes while holding the blankets open for me.
"I'm sorry. It wasn't your fault, I just haven't been in trouble like that before. I was embarrassed."
When I crawled under the blankets, she turned around and I looped an arm under her neck and another around her waist. It was toastie, I don't mind being the big spoon. Now that she was facing away, she seemed to be a little more talkative.
"You know Kiyotaka, we haven't been together for long. I was so embarrassed when you kissed my cheek that time and I tried to hide it. Then you kissed me after I confessed... Now things are happening so quickly and we kiss a lot. On the school boards, they're saying so many things about me.
"They're saying I'm cheap. That I only got accepted into the student council because I did things with you. Disgusting things."
"None of it is true though, don't worry about it."
"It's easy to say but hard to do. If I don't do these things though... If I don't push myself to do more, maybe you'll think you made the wrong decision. Maybe you'll start liking someone else instead of me," Honami trailed off.
This again.
"I don't know, from what I heard you're reading light novels and manga. You're quickly moving up to S-tier. I don't know if I'm going to find any girl that's willing to do that for me," I joked.
"Who told you that!?" Honami sputtered frantically.
"Who knows,"
"It was supposed to be a surprise," Honami huffed and dug herself deeper into the blankets.
"What are you reading?"
I heard a muffled answer but couldn't make out what she was saying.
"What?"
"Baki the grappler."
Eh? Seriously? I expected Violet Evergarden or even Fruits Basket. Hell I'd even be less surprised with something like Death Note or Gekkou but Baki?
"What? Why Baki the grappler?"
"Because Baki looks like you."
I couldn't help but snort dismissively, that kind of aesthetic was near impossible. I'd need growth hormone and steroids coming out of my nose to get anywhere close to that. Apparently she was embarrassed at my snort of laughter because she turned around, face red with embarrassment and started sounding off.
"He does look like you! Not only that but he's strong and he loves his girlfriend a lot. He also..."
I just shut up and listened. It was nice to hear someone so passionate about one of my hobbies, even if she was completely wrong about my similarities to someone like Baki. Although... Now that I think about it, we're both pretty good fighters... Yujiro and Professor Ayanokouji were both nutbags.
Heh... Who would have thought? Maybe Honami was on to something there...