All or Nothing
By : rainy26541
...
V1 Chapter 2
Chapter 2: Planting the Seeds
Intro
A week and a half later, Kiyotaka exited the second year dorms in the early morning on his own to head into the school. Over the past week, he had been walking with either Kei, her friends, the Ayanokouji Group, or even Sudou, Ike and even Hirata.
Even though he enjoyed walking with them, especially Kei, he also missed the times he got to walk on his own. Times like this allowed him to be in his thoughts, giving him the comfort of being himself.
But in a school with nearly 160 students, and a reputation that was building up faster than he could count to one thousand, it was inevitable that someone would recognise Kiyotaka and call out to him before he could enjoy the entirety of his alone time.
"Ayanokouji-senpai!"
Thus, when a student called out his name upon seeing him walking towards the school, he wasn't exactly surprised. Although, he did feel sad that he didn't get to feel the maximum alone time he wanted as he was walking to school.
Kiyotaka turned to the voice who called out to him and saw none other than a girl with long blonde hair and sea blue eyes. It was none other than one of the two leaders of first year Class D - Nanase Tsubasa.
"Good morning Ayanokouji-senpai."
Her pronounced happy smile didn't make Kiyotaka feel uncomfortable compared to how he would feel with Kushida's old happy smile or Ichinose's very happy smile from when they were first years. But Kiyotaka still did sense a little too much happiness coming from Nanase.
"Good morning, Nanase. This is the first time I've seen you out this early walking to school."
This wasn't the full truth as Kiyotaka had seen Nanase walking to school a few times in the early morning, but he did this to start up a conversation before Nanase to state her actual reasons for meeting Kiyotaka here.
"Eh... Well I actually needed to talk with you senpai so I wanted to meet with you as early as possible."
For some reason, Nanase looked a little embarrassed. Kiyotaka was sure she wanted to talk to him about something serious, but her current actions made him slightly doubt that thought.
On an unrelated note though, Kiyotaka felt a scent enter his nostrils that was coming from Nanase. The smell was of lilacs, a comforting scent. Kiyotaka noted that it was Nanase's perfume.
Nanase's scent had been one of 3 girl's scents he knew pretty well. Although it wasn't intentional, he managed to get a sniff of Nanase's sweaty self during the uninhabited island exam. Because of that, he remembered that scent pretty well, so this perfume scent was different.
The other two scents of girls he remembered was Ichinose, since she wore perfume well and that he held her close during the uninhabited island exam too. And the other was Kei, whose scent he knew all too well since they slept together a lot and had their first time recently.
"What is it?" Kiyotaka asked her, curious on what she wanted to talk to him about and why she was acting like she was right now.
Nanase gave a sigh before she began talking with a slightly serious expression.
"Senpai. You remember the bounty on your head that I told you about after the little scuffle back then?" When Kiyotaka nodded his head, Nanase continued. "Well the good thing is that it's over. It was only meant to last until the start of the second semester. So you should be safe from that now."
Kiyotaka narrowed his eyes as he noticed something with her wording.
"You said 'was meant to last', which sounds like you're implying that it's still ongoing."
Nanase gave a tiny smile before she continued.
"Well it's not 'officially' still ongoing. The bounty actually ended when the second semester started, but Housen-kun still wants to fight you and likely get you expelled. I've heard that Ishigami-kun from Class A may still want to take you out, and possibly Yagami-kun from class B. The other students who worked with Tsubaki-san to try and expel you on the island also want a hand. Nagumo-senpai caught wind of it and because of that he announced to certain first years that his own 'special exam' is happening where he will still reward someone 20 million private points if they expel you."
[So Nagumo is making an even larger move now?]
Since the end of the uninhabited island exam, Nagumo had been making trouble against Kiyotaka. The constant watch of third years on Kiyotaka was one and breaking Ichinose's heart on the cruise ship was the other. Based on what Nagumo said to him, the barrage of attacks was set to continue into the second semester, but he didn't think that the next move was to set up a secretive bounty based on the previous one on his head.
"However, everyone has realised that you're difficult to expel, Senpai. Housen-kun and I failed in the first month and Tsubaki-san and her group failed during the uninhabited island exam. And now that there aren't going to be any combined exams for the time being, it's likely they will hold off until the sports festival or cultural festival comes."
"I see."
That meant that, unless anything terrible happened or that the first years somehow decided to get greedy, the only thing Kiyotaka had to worry about was the third years watching him and Nagumo putting more attacks in. Of course, Kiyotaka also didn't disregard the idea that there was possibly another White Room student in the school other than Amasawa Ichika, but that was the least of his worries right now.
"So Senpai. Please be careful moving forward. I'm sure the rest of the first years won't target you yet, but we can't actually be sure of that. I'll try and help as much as I can, Senpai."
Nanase bowed her head as if to show both her grave concern and her determination to help. Kiyotaka welcomed that fact as he nodded in her direction.
"Thanks for the warning Nanase. But can you stop bowing for a bit? I feel some attention being drawn to us because of your bowing."
When Kiyotaka took a look around him, he found a few students staring at him and Nanase. A few said students were already staring at them because they were third years, but there were a few that were from the other second year classes and others from first year.
"Ah... Right, sorry Senpai." Embarrassed upon realising the stares on them, Nanase flustered herself a bit. After calming down, the two of them began making their way into the school together.
"Come to think of it, how is Class D?"
Seeing how the silence would've been a little bit unbearable, Kiyotaka started up a conversation with Nanase while they walked towards the front entrance.
"Huh? Well, we did alright in the uninhabited island exam. Not top 10 though. And as for the recent Talent Show, we ended up coming in 6th place. Not exactly terrible, but not good either. I know I already said it, but congratulations on winning the Talent Show, Senpai."
First year Class D wasn't in a bad position. In fact, just like how Kiyotaka's class was when they were in first year, they hadn't risen up at all but they hadn't dropped down either. It was a decent position for Class D.
"Thanks... I guess. What about Housen and the rest of the class though?"
"Housen-kun? Well, things haven't really changed. He's still leading the class with his fist and I'm doing my best to smoothen things out as the other leader. Other than the fact that he still wants to fight you, and that maybe he might attack Ryuuen-senpai at some point too, nothing has changed about him. And as for the class, they're just being obedient so as to not get on Housen-kun's nerves."
"I see."
The current situation and standing for first year Class D were pretty much as Kiyotaka expected. He didn't know if that played to his advantage or not since they still had the alliance, but it was still a welcoming feat moving forward.
The two continued up their conversation until they reached the shoe lockers and parted ways after. Kiyotaka headed to Class B's classroom while Nanase headed toward her own. As he did so, he couldn't help but feel an unnerving gaze set on him the whole time they were talking.
Turning around to supplement the unnerving feeling he had, he found nothing within his sight. He watched for another minute before sighing and continuing his journey to Class B.
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Part 1
"Horikita-san. Do you have a moment?"
When lessons had flown past, and the end of the day remained in place, a voice captured Kiyotaka's attention. Looking ahead, he found Satou walking up to Horikita. The latter girl had been writing down something in her notebook and was about to pack it up into her bag when she was interrupted.
"Sure. What is it?"
Satou looked a bit reserved, almost like a lost puppy, as she was talking to Horikita, someone she would never talk to outside of class special exams. Considering how she once hated Horikita due to her old nature, and the fact that she once suggested bullying Horikita back in first year, this wasn't exactly a surprise.
"...Can you spare some time to listen to our pitch for the cultural festival? We've been thinking hard about this one and I think what we have as a concept could be a money making grab."
As she spoke, Satou made eye contact with Kiyotaka, signalling to him that he was needed in the conversation too. Nodding to her quest, Kiyotaka packed up the last of his things and began standing up, intending to move to join the conversation between the two girls.
"As long as it doesn't take too much time, then I can spare some. I've got an errand to run with the student council in an hour. What plan do you have?"
Horikita's tone sounded like she wasn't exactly impressed, and if that wasn't enough, her expression portrayed that she wasn't easily impressed too. She had good reason to be like that though. Over the past ten days, quite a few of the Class B students, both boys and girls, approached Horikita with their ideas, guided by the reward that was set up.
However, the proposals that Horikita heard from these students ranged from the traditional to the bizarre. For example, on the same day that the reward for the proposal was announced, Hondou Ryoutarou immediately proposed that selling fried chicken was an idea Class B should pursue because fried chicken was delicious. Unsurprisingly, Horikita shut him down, telling him to come up with an actual pitch. She didn't even show any interest in accepting the idea.
The next day after being rejected, Hondou submitted a proposal for making fried chicken. However, all the proposal contained was a recipe for fried chicken likely picked up from the internet and an impassioned speech about how much he would sell it for and how tasty it would be. Seeing the low-level proposal, Horikita reiterated the importance of a proposal.
"If you were to open a fried food shop, how much would the cost be, where would the store be located, how many human resources would be needed, how much would the fixed price be, how many customers would be expected, and what would be the basis for that? If you can't answer those questions, this idea is as good as gone."
After that, Horikita announced that she would only listen to the ideas of those who had put them together properly. Following that announcement, the number of students who brought in well-developed proposals began increasing. Horikita had put a few of them down on a list for consideration; however, none of the proposals had been adopted yet since they lacked one definitive factor.
From Horikita's expression, it seemed that she was assuming that Satou's idea was the exact same.
"Seeing it would be better Horikita," Kiyotaka said as he arrived in front of the two girls, both of whom turned to him when he spoke. "The idea Satou has isn't really something that can be revealed with just words alone. It's better that she shows it to us practically. If you give Satou at least half an hour to prepare in an empty classroom in the special building, then she can show it off to you."
Satou looked a little more comfortable now that Kiyotaka had joined in on the conversation. Horikita raised her eyebrows at Kiyotaka before talking.
"You know Satou-san's proposal Ayanokouji-kun?"
"I may have had a hand in putting it together."
"I see... Half an hour to prepare huh...? Well I guess if the practical show of the proposal doesn't take too long, then I can spare some time. But it better be worth the wait."
"We're grateful. Satou. Go with the others and get prepared."
"Ahh. Thanks Horikita-san. And thank you Ayanokouji-kun."
Satou gave Kiyotaka a grateful expression for helping her talk with Horikita before leaving the classroom with Matsushita, Mei-Yu, Maezono and Kei. As they all left, Kei glanced at Kiyotaka and nodded her head at him, prompting Kiyotaka to nod his head back at her. It was as if they were communicating with their eyes again (which they were).
"You sounded confident about Satou-san's proposal, Ayanokouji-kun."
When the girls left, Horikita began a conversation with Kiyotaka to kill time before the main event.
"She has a good concept. I think you'll be accepting of this one with how hard she and the rest of us planned it."
"Is that so? Well then, I'm hoping that what I see ends up being something worth considering. Really, to think that you would help Satou-san with her proposal."
"Didn't you say all of us had to participate in the planning of the cultural festival? I understood what you and Matsushita were doing when she asked that participation question and you answered it."
"Yes. I did say so. But I didn't think you were going to follow it. Like Kouenji, I thought you would just do below the minimum and barely participate."
"I don't want to do much. But I understand the importance of the cultural festival so I'll do as much as I can to help."
"I see. Well that's good to hear."
After 30 minutes passed, the two left the classroom and began making their way towards the special building. Horikita was following behind Kiyotaka since the latter knew where exactly Kei, Satou and the rest had set up the practical show.
"By the way, how did you manage to get an empty classroom to use in the special building? Surely some of the classrooms would be used by clubs while the rest would be locked by the teachers."
"...I have my ways..."
Kiyotaka had managed to reserve a room in the special building for the girls thanks to the connection he had with the music teacher. He had contacted that teacher yesterday to arrange a classroom for him so they could make preparations for the maid cafe proposal.
He was lucky he had that connection since said teacher apparently used one of the empty rooms for herself often, which made borrowing said room for the maid cafe plan easier. Even if he didn't have the music teacher on his side, he was sure that he could have gained a room with Chabashira's help.
But he wasn't going to tell Horikita all this.
Soon, the two turned to another corridor and witnessed two recogniseable students in front of a certain classroom door. Kei and Maezono stood in front of the door of the borrowed classroom, guarding it to keep Satou's plan safe. As Kiyotaka and Horikita got closer, the two girls smiled their way.
"We protected this room from any possible spies, Kiyotaka."
"Good work, Kei. Maezono. Keep guarding for now until Horikita finishes looking through our proposal."
"Yes sir, Ayanokouji-kun! Enjoy your time as customers."
Like two soldiers part of the Japanese army, Kei and Maezono saluted their boss, and gave way for captain Kiyotaka and guest Horikita to enter the classroom. For a moment, Horikita looked confused as she probably only took in the latter half of Maezono's statement. It was likely that her expectations were rising just a little bit, hopeful for a proposal she could fully adopt for Class B's cultural festival contribution.
All four students quickly looked around to ensure that there were not any onlookers or eavesdroppers. Seeing no one around except themselves, Kiyotaka and Horikita slowly opened the door. As they entered, Horikita was subjected to a surprise.
"Huh...?"
"Welcome~! Welcome to Maimai, the maid café!"
The first thing that greeted the visitors' eyes was an unexpectedly colourful décor. The room was so brightly decorated that it was hard to believe that it was an inorganic and nondescript classroom. But their attention was soon diverted to the actual greeting by the three main girls of the show - Satou, Matsushita and Mei-Yu.
Each girl wore a distinctive costume. Satou and Matsushita were dressed as general maids, the former wearing a short skirt style with frills at the end of the skirt while the latter wore a royal long dress style. Mei-Yu on the other hand, looking at their newfound customers shyly, wore a Chinese style which showed her heritage and created an adorable sight.
Looking around the classroom a bit more, it was noticeably older compared to the classrooms in the main building. Classrooms in the main building were usually equipped with monitors since the refurbishment before the start of the new school year. But the rarely used special building still seemed to have a classic whiteboard. The name of the restaurant was written on the whiteboard in a cutely designed way with a marker.
The three maids directed Kiyotaka and Horikita to their seats, decorated with the colour decor, and handed them a handmade menu list as they sat down.
"What would you like to order, Master? Madame?"
"Hold on. Can I ask you something before I order?"
Before the show could go on, Horikita raised her hand to stop the act so she could focus on her question. Kiyotaka raised his eyebrows, but stayed quiet and listened.
"Go on, Horikita-san."
"Something like this... Something like this would take lots of time and money. How long did it take for you all to prepare this? And how much did you spend?"
It wasn't a surprise that she was questioning the expended efforts just for this proposal. The colour decorations around the room, the quality maid outfits the girls were wearing, it definitely took a lot more effort to create all this, just for a proposal. Horikita looked at the girls first for a moment, before ultimately turning toward Kiyotaka after remembering that he had a helping hand with the plan.
"Matsushita," he called to the maid girl on his left.
"Eh? Oh... This proposal preparation itself took around four days. And as for the costs we incurred, I think it was reasonable. All in all, 13,200 private points were spent on this, but that was split not just between us, Ayanokouji-kun, Karuizawa-san and Maezono-san, but with a few others who knew about the proposal. So it was around 1,000 points per person. We bought three rental outfits and some decorations such as origami and pens at the general store. The tableware was our own, so there was no cost."
That explained why certain things lacked a sense of cohesion. For example, the tableware was a mix of different style cutleries - one looked like the general silverware while the other was just a colourful girls cutlery. And even though the room was colourful. Some of the decorations didn't match up completely, which meant that the impact wasn't at maximum effort.
"I see. Well, the impact was perfect, better than anything I've ever seen. I'm actually impressed. But..."
That didn't seem to matter though as Horikita praised the presentation, implying that it was perfect for grabbing the audience's attention on their "stall". But, just as Kiyotaka had predicted, Horikita wasn't so naive as to make a decision based on that.
"Have you created a budget for the whole thing? I'd like to see a concrete process. I can't give complete approval to this idea unless I see one."
Satou and Matsushita turned their gazes towards Mei-Yu, and Kiyotaka added the finishing touch to the motion.
"Mii-chan."
"Yes. Well, I've summarised as much as I can with some help from Yukimura-kun..."
Grabbing her satchel from just a little bits away from the mock up cafe table, Mei-Yu took out a clear file that appeared to be the campaign budget. There were three pages of details written in beautiful, clean letters by Mei-Yu and assisted by Yukimura.
The maid costumes had been rented but the budget plan showed quotes from three different companies which happened to be the lenders. It was the same for the other equipment listed, with price, quality, and selection of items being compared respectively. Silverware, decorations, food, ingredients. No small detail was left out.
And to top it all off, the number of people to be expected, and the difference in guest capacity due to this was also listed in order to forecast a revenue and profit stream. This was expected when two geniuses such as Mei-Yu and Yukimura worked together on the budget plan.
"This is definitely head and shoulders above any proposal I've seen so far. And there seems to be more than just what you're showing here too. A band playing in the background. Hmm."
As Horikita read through the budget plan, she nodded her head in acknowledgement, seemingly impressed with the proposal in front of her. That made Satou and the other girls happy.
"This really is an interesting proposal. It may not be an uncommon genre, but I feel that it has potential if it's put together properly. However, there are some disadvantages from what I can see."
When the word "disadvantages" came out of Horikita's mouth, Satou stiffened a little bit as if afraid that the proposal was going to be rejected even after the praise for it.
"Starting off, the costume rental fee is 4000 points per outfit. If that is the end fee for the proposal, that will be 40,000 points for just 10 outfits. After that, the estimated cost of preparing snacks and drinks is 50,000 points. These two alone are 90,000 in total. Classroom decorations cost 5,000 points, and if you add in the cost of renting instruments and the location, you're looking at... this proposal is not exactly cheap."
From the looks of it, the proposal was not looking good. Even after the large amount of effort planning it all and ensuring they had the best use case, it seemed that the situation was looking dire.
"I can see that you have some mitigators here, which I'm assuming Yukimura-kun thought of. Increasing the sales price for tea and snacks for example to 800 points minimum isn't exactly a bad idea, but it's not exactly a good one either. And some of these other mitigators are not bad either, but again, they aren't good. If we use these mitigators, it'll still be over 100,000 points and could even breach 150,000 points just for this one proposal."
Horikita's face was serious as she read over the separate budget proposals. The situation really was looking dire. The girls, Satou especially, appeared on edge and they looked towards Kiyotaka who had been leading the whole plan.
"Not to worry about that, Horikita. Everything has been thought through effectively."
This time, Horikita turned to Kiyotaka with a surprised expression. However, it wasn't just her, but Satou, Matsushita and Mei-Yu held expressions of surprise. It seemed that none of them knew what Kiyotaka was talking about.
"...What are you talking about, Ayanokouji-kun?"
Kiyotaka stood up, expressionless as always, and walked to his bag, speaking to the girls as he did so.
"I had anticipated this happening, so I drafted up one more budget proposal for this maid cafe. This budget plan has more effective cost cutting solutions and I even factored in a few things that could help a bit further with the plan."
He brought out a clipboard from his bag and began reading the contents to those present.
"For the maid outfits, instead of just renting outfits from a local vendor, I think we can avoid paying premiums by just making use of what's around us. Let me ask you this, do you remember the class introductions back when we first started here?"
"Ah. Yes. I remember the introductions. Yours wasn't exactly good, Ayanokouji-kun."
Matsushita cracked up a slight joke as she remembered the day, causing Satou and Mei-Yu to giggle a little too. Kiyotaka ignored that and refocused back on the matter when the girls stopped giggling.
"Well there is someone in our class that has a talent for knitting. Inogashira Kokoro. I heard from Kushida that she also has a knack for sewing too. And I'm sure there are a few others in this class who are at least competent in sewing. A little bit more research on my side and I managed to find a classroom full of sewing kits in this special building. After asking around for pricing to use the kits, and researching the costs for the fabrics needed for the outfits, I managed to get us down from 40,000 points for 10 outfits to around 20,000 points."
The girls showed expressions of shock at the detail of reduction. But Kiyotaka wasn't done yet.
"And for the food and drink, 50,000 points and a premium price would be good. But I think we should further consider the types of food we should sell and the people cooking them. Furthermore, instead of always using professional silverware, maybe we can get away with small to medium paper plates if we consider the location of our booth better. By doing that, we can reduce the cost of food, drinks and silverware from between 50,000 and 60,000 to almost 30,000."
Kiyotaka then began to hand the clipboard to Horikita as he finished off his budget plan.
"And to top everything off, I managed to get a connection for the instruments. A piano we can get for free, as well as a drum kit and a tambourine thanks to that connection I have. Microphones can be bought at a discount, and we can even build a small central stage for a small price. Decorations as well can be kept small at around 5,000 points, and we can even lower that more if we look around further."
Satou, Matsushita and Mei-Yu surrounded Horikita as they all read through the final budget proposal. Just as Kiyotaka had said, every little detail of Mei-Yu and Yukimura's budget was considered and reduced in some shape or format. In total, what would've been between 100,000 to 150,000 points for just this one proposal had managed to be reduced to just 80,000 points maximum, which was seemingly impressive.
"...I have no words... Everything on here as you say is true and I can't exactly refute anything on here. Granted, some of these details are subject to if you can keep the connection and if we don't make mistakes during the process... But I'm sure you've thought through all that completely too..."
Horikita scrutinised the proposal, but no matter how hard she tried, she really couldn't see any big disadvantages. She was surprised, shocked and impressed all at the same time. Satou, Matsushita and Mei-Yu looked impressed as well. They didn't expect Kiyotaka to come up with this either, despite electing him as their leader for this proposal.
After reviewing all the details further, Horikita looked as though she came to a decision. She looked at Kiyotaka again before asking.
"Ayanokouji-kun, do you think there is a way to reduce costs even more?"
"It's not exactly impossible, but I don't think it can be done by that much even if it is possible."
"I see. I'm going to check again to make sure, but no one saw this performance, right?"
"Of course not. Rehearsals were done in their dorm rooms and details of our plan were discussed in a private group chat and in certain dorm rooms. Plus, Kei and Maezono did a good job guarding this room," Kiyotaka answered, with the other three girls nodding their heads in agreement.
"Very well. I'll do my best to make sure this maid café goes through with this final budget plan that you have. If you can reduce costs, even just a little bit further, that will be appreciated."
"Really? Yes!"
The three maid girls exchanged a high five of joy.
"It's still a little too early to rejoice. Don't forget that we're still in the process of reviewing other proposals to integrate into the plan too."
Although Horikita said that, it was still a big leap forward that she was going to push through with the large-scale idea for Class B. Kiyotaka felt satisfied with the plan and began to pack up with Horikita.
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Part 2
"Will you girls be able to clean up fine on your own?"
Before leaving the room with Horikita, Kiyotaka turned back to the three maid girls and asked such a question.
"Yes. We'll be fine Ayanokouji-kun. Thank you for your help in getting this plan together."
It was Matsushita who responded to his question, leaving Satou and Mei-Yu to nod in agreement.
"Yeah yeah. Ayanokouji-kun really carried us there. Please continue to lead us more."
Satou chimed in with her quip and Mei-Yu just smiled since the main bits had already been said.
Kiyotaka nodded and then left the room with Horikita. Kei and Maezono were still outside acting as guards, but it seemed as though they heard everything inside. Maezono had a satisfied look on her face while Kei just smiled at Kiyotaka.
"Text me when you're finished and then we can go to the cafe ok?" He said to Kei just before he left. Kei nodded and hugged Kiyotaka before letting go and allowing him to leave. As he walked down the corridor with Horikita in tow, Kei and Maezono waved at him from their guard positions.
"I'm glad that went well."
Kiyotaka started a conversation with Horikita as they kept walking.
"Indeed. I wouldn't readily admit it was a good idea if I didn't feel that way. In fact, most of the ideas that were brought to me were rejected on the spot, or at best, put on hold. That's how powerful the presentation was. With this proposal, I'm fairly certain we have a chance."
The idea of a maid cafe is not that unusual. However, it seemed that Horikita was willing to help because she saw the potential for Class B to show off its strengths and impress the guests.
"Although..."
"What is it?"
"I'm surprised that you happened to be the leader for the whole proposal. You said before that you had a helping hand, but I didn't think you were in charge of the whole thing."
"Yeah. You may be right. Well, I was sort of forced into the leadership position even though I know nothing about maid cafes compared to people like Ike and Hondou or even Sotomura."
"Right. Ike-kun and Hondou-kun may have keener eyes for things like maid cafes. But despite the fact that I said I was surprised, I would rather have you lead the proposal anyway. One, you have more important skills than them. And two, they are blabbermouths, so letting them in on the idea or even lead the proposal could lead to it being leaked."
"Well, I can't deny that."
"You say you have a few people in on the proposal already. Other than Karuizawa-san, Maezono-san, Satou-san, Matsushita-san, Mei-Yu-san, and Yukimura-kun, who else is in on the idea?"
"Haruka, Airi and Akito know about it. Shinohara and Mori also know about it too. Other than that, no one else."
"I see. I don't exactly want to unnecessarily increase the number of people who know what's going on inside. You understand, don't you?"
"Yes. But you know with the budget plan that I need to get more people in."
"Unfortunately. Well, I'm trusting that you can handle this proposal well in the meantime. Judging from how you handled that budget, I trust that you'll do fine."
"You seem to be putting everything on me after hearing my involvement. Well, I guess I shall make sure I live up to that trust."
Horikita gave a momentary glare before responding.
"You better. Anyway, I still need to head to the student council so I'll go there now. I'll see you later."
Before giving an opportunity for Kiyotaka to respond, Horikita left to likely meet with Nagumo as a student council member. Kiyotaka watched her back for a few moments and reflected on the last 10 minutes.
The maid cafe idea had luckily gotten approved thanks to the backup budget plan he supplemented. Despite having no knowledge on cultural festivals or even maid cafes, thanks to tons of research into the two topics, Kiyotaka was able to devise a strategy that worked for Satou's proposal and the class in general.
If he was being honest though, he was slightly surprised the day before today that Yukimura and Mei-Yu couldn't get the budget below 125,000 points. However, he realised that just being good at maths and calculations wasn't enough to conduct budgeting. Being perceptive was a huge benefactor in creating a perfect budget plan, something which those two did not have.
Whether it was due to the White Room's curriculum or his "personality" in being the "loner" type, Kiyotaka had been very perceptive about things, which allowed him to pick up on details such as Inogashira's skills as a knitter and room locations. Add that to the explanations on maid cafes and cultural festivals he got from Kei, and the massive amounts of research he did in his own time, resulted in a Kiyotaka recipe that saved the plan from disaster. Now that the main part was over, all that was left was to add the finishing touches to the plan.
"I guess I should head back in the meantime too. Maybe I'll go to the library," he sighed and turned away.
As he was about to walk down the hall, a new figure caught his eye and he recognised it as his homeroom teacher, Chabashira-sensei. She was holding a clipboard in her arms as she walked towards him. He stopped walking as he believed that she wanted to talk to him.
"I heard about the proposal performance and the general plan for the proposal. Not a bad idea. I was wondering how you were doing personally, so I thought I'd come check on you. How have things been going?"
"The performance went well, relatively. Horikita was positive on the idea after a little bit more tweaking, so I suppose things are going fine. We may be working out a little more details, but it seems to be going in a good direction."
"I see. That's good. It looks like you'll be taking the easier road from here on out."
"Yes. Though I've been put in charge of the whole event by the girls."
"Ayanokouji leading a maid café...? I knew about your involvement thanks to those girls and what I saw in the classroom, but you being the one to lead it? That's quite a surprise."
Chabashira-sensei laughed somewhat mirthlessly as she gave Kiyotaka a pitiful look. It seemed that she even agreed that he was an interesting choice to lead such an event and rather found it amusing.
"I think people like Ike and Hondou are many times more suited to this kind of thing to be perfectly honest."
"For otaku culture understanding, that may be true. But what's important at a cultural festival is sales. They may be able to improve the quality of their performance, but they aren't good at calculating and making a profit. Nor are they very good leaders and supervisors. The girls probably chose you to lead and supervise them for that reason."
Chabashira directed a warm smile at Kiyotaka, even warmer than the one she gave at the start of the second semester when she pledged her allegiance to help her students as much as she could.
"Plus, you've got to be hungry for the opportunity to learn something other than studying. Being the manager of the maid café and leading your group to profitability sounds like a hefty role but something that will give you lots of experience, especially for someone like you who doesn't know much about this type of thing."
"I guess so."
Chabashira seemed to have finished speaking, so Kiyotaka thought that he was allowed to go.
"Ayanokouji. Next time you're free... Can you give me a few minutes of your time?"
But just as he was about to walk past Chabashira, she spoke again with a question. Her voice was quite quiet that he almost didn't hear her. Confused at the development, Kiyotaka turned to her.
"Next time? When?"
"I'll send you a message soon. Would that be okay?"
"Well, I don't mind. If I have plans, I'll make myself available."
He was originally going to give his usual response that was near rejection, but seeing the look of seriousness on her face that was barely noticeable, he decided against that plan. Chabashira gave a small smile upon hearing Kiyotaka's acceptance.
"Well, I'll go check on the girls just to make sure everything is okay. If you're still going to be around the school, then don't stay around for too much longer."
Leaving that mother-like note with Kiyotaka, Chabashira continued her journey towards the classroom he was previously at. Just like he had done with Horikita, Kiyotaka watched Chabashira's back as she walked away.
It was notable to him that Chabashira had changed immensely from the type of teacher she used to be. Back when they had all started their first year in ANHS, Chabashira had acted like a cold hearted teacher who didn't really care about her students. But the reality was different. She wanted to care about them, but the circumstances of the school system had prevented her from doing so.
However, over the last year, Chabashira had begun to grow into a warmer hearted teacher. Before the second semester, she still wasn't completely caring and helpful, but she was better than before. And after a certain push from Kiyotaka on the cruise ship, Chabashira had finally become the supportive teacher she really wanted to be.
"I guess even teachers need room to grow..."
He turned away and began making his way to the library, intending to read a book there for a bit while waiting for Kei to finish clearing the practice room with the rest of the girls.
"Ah..."
However, just as he entered the main building, he came across another student. She had fluorescent peachy pink hair that ran down just below her shoulders. Her light steel blue eyes that shined directly in front of him portrayed her beauty.
She was the leader of Class 2C, Ichinose Honami.
Her expression showed one of surprise as she let out a noise and stared at Kiyotaka. In response, he stared at her as well, though he wasn't as surprised as her.
The encounter looked awkward. Neither of the two parties spoke a word as they continued staring. Kiyotaka looked just as normal as before, while Ichinose on the other hand looked very uncomfortable.
Kiyotaka knew the reason. It had been quite some time since he and Ichinose had spoken to each other. But that last time had not been an enjoyable time for either of them. The two had met so that Kiyotaka could respond to Ichinose's confession, which resulted in Nagumo trashing the meeting and causing a worse outcome for the two.
Since then, the pain and heartbreak she felt that day warranted her avoiding Kiyotaka as much as possible. The two would sometimes see each other out and about, but neither approached the other.
"Ayanokouji-kun... Hi..."
"...Good afternoon Ichinose. What are you doing?"
Not knowing how to respond to this awkward atmosphere, Kiyotaka decided to just play it normal. Whether this would close or widen the distance between them, only the end of this conversation would tell.
"Ah... Well... I'm actually doing a round tour of the school on behalf of the student council, making sure there isn't any trouble from students or school equipment."
He nodded in understanding. Ichinose was indeed a student council member, a fact that Kiyotaka had almost forgotten about. Her position in said council wasn't that high up. She was not the vice president, nor was she a treasurer. She was just a normal member.
"...What about you, Ayanokouji-kun...?"
"I was talking with Horikita earlier over something that could only be mentioned while we were in here."
With his typical fashion of throwing his supposed leader under the bus for any excuse he needed to throw out, Kiyotaka answered Ichinose's question.
"I... See..."
Her expression was still showing that she was uncomfortable with this encounter. Kiyotaka wasn't sure if that uncomfort was because she was angry or she just really didn't want to see him.
"Are you okay, Ichinose?"
He decided to take a risk and ask her that question. He had been wanting to do that since their last encounter on the cruise ship anyway, but he couldn't do that since she kept avoiding him.
"...Eh? I... I'm fine, Ayanokouji-kun..."
"You don't look fine."
He sounded pushy. But he needed to be at this point. If he couldn't get through to Ichinose now, and tell her what he really felt, then he would have no other chance. He needed to know if he could still help Ichinose when she may likely need it, and if she would appreciate that help from him instead of pushing him away and becoming an enemy.
"I-i... I'm fine. Really... I am, Ayanokouji-kun..."
She looked like she was about to leave, probably unable to handle this meeting anymore. Just as she was about to take even one step, Kiyotaka spoke up again.
"Ichinose..."
He called her name. His tone was as expressionless as always. However, to Ichinose, it sounded very forceful, like a scolding parent. That tone caused her to stiffen her body.
"Are you okay?"
"..."
He asked her the same question. This time, despite his tone in his own eyes still being the same as before, his question had a larger impact on ichinose, to the point where she went quiet. It looked like she was considering her response carefully.
"I'm... I'm..."
She stuttered, trying her best to stop herself from breaking down again like she did on the cruise ship. It was becoming increasingly difficult for her to do so the more she stayed here.
"Ichinose. If you hate me, you can say so and I won't have anything to do with you again. I will accept it if you don't want to talk to me again or even be around me. I played with your feelings after all, so I'll accept any punishment."
However, her demeanour changed completely as soon as Kiyotaka spoke again.
"Huh...? Ayanokouji-kun... I- I don't hate you Ayanokouji-kun!"
"You don't?"
"No! I couldn't hate Ayanokouji-kun ever! Even after what happened on the cruise ship... I was just too nervous to confess... and I was a little too late," Ichinose whispered that last part, but she didn't stop speaking. "I could never hate Ayanokouji-kun because Ayanokouji-kun helped me so many times. I... I still like you, Ayanokouji-kun. Even if you're dating Karuizawa-san, and even if it may hurt me a bit, I still want to be around Ayanokouji-kun because you've helped me so much."
"I see..."
If he was being honest, Kiyotaka expected Ichinose to at least resent him a bit. It would be understandable if she did. But it seemed that she didn't. What's more, it appeared to Kiyotaka that Ichinose still had complete devotion towards him. It was truly unexpected for him.
But he didn't hate that fact.
"That makes me happy. I'm sorry that I can't return your feelings, but know that just because I can't doesn't mean that I don't like you nor does it mean that I hate being around you. I enjoy our time together. So if you are still in need of help, if you can't rely on anyone else, I will still be there to help you."
"..."
She stayed silent after his declaration, but that silence didn't last for long.
"...Even if you have to pick between Karuizawa-san and me...?" She whispered. However, it was still audible to Kiyotaka and he stiffened for a moment.
"..."
"No... Don't worry. You don't have to answer that. Because I know what the answer would be," she smiled sadly.
Ichinose then stood up and looked at Kiyotaka with a smile that looked to be a little happier. She gave a "thank you Ayanokouji-kun" before leaving to finish her tour around the school. Kiyotaka watched her traverse down the corridors before she turned a corner.
He was glad that they managed to sort their relationship. He really wanted to continue helping Ichinose as much as he could, and he was thankful that he had someone to help him too, even if he thought that the fact that she trusted him more than her class was concerning.
As he sighed and began walking towards the library, a thought crossed his mind.
[In the space of 10 minutes, I've watched 3 girls leave in front of me with their backs turned... Damn... What does that make me?]
.
.
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Part 3
A couple of minutes later, Kiyotaka arrived at the library. In all honesty, he wasn't exactly sure what he was going to read. He had read most of the mystery novels that had interested him in this library and upon recommendation by his book buddy - Shiina Hiyori.
"Oh, Kiyotaka-kun."
Speaking of the devil, or angel in this case, a girl called out to him from one of the nearby desks. She had silver hair, complimented by her violet eyes and beautiful figure. It was none other than the girl he was just thinking about.
Shiina appeared to be sitting at one of the desks, reading a classic. In her hand was The Village of Eight Graves by Seishi Yokomizu. Kiyotaka remembered reading this book, as it was one he read based on her recommendation.
"Hiyori. Haven't you read that book already?"
"Eh? Oh yes. I've read it before. But I really liked it and I've been thinking I should go back and reread a few of the novels I've loved while taking a break from reading some new ones."
Shiina's smile was angelic, reminding Kiyotaka that there seriously shouldn't be someone so angelic.
He couldn't help but remember Shizuku from the days they used to play so often. His eyes turned slightly down but he recomposed himself quickly. He came to a realisation just when he did.
"Come to think of it, I've seen you more around the karaoke bar than anywhere else. Don't you usually spend a lot of time here straight after lessons finish?"
Shiina shifted slightly in her chair, showing a little bit of embarrassment.
"Ah... Well. Ryuuen-kun has been asking me to come with him to the karaoke bar often. I can't say much more than that."
She didn't say anything more. Usually whenever they talked, the two would discuss a lot about their class even if some of the things they discussed wouldn't usually be things they should really be discussing. However, she seemed to be a little more distant this time.
Kiyotaka could tell it was likely because it was related to the cultural festival coming up and their plan for their venue.
"Either way, Kiyotaka-kun. You haven't been around the library that often either. Does it have to do with Karuizawa-san?"
Since they returned from the uninhabited island exam and the small holiday on the cruise ship, the entire school had begun to know about Kiyotaka's relationship with Kei. And the recent Talent Show only helped that further.
"Well yeah. Kei and I have been hanging out more lately and going on dates. And I've also been a little bit busy with other things so I haven't really been able to come here as often as I used to. I'm sorry."
"Ah. No, you don't need to apologise, Kiyotaka-kun. I understand your current circumstances, especially since I have a few of my own that's preventing me from coming here often. But when this is over, I want us to hang out here again as often as we can. I have a few new books to recommend to you!"
Kiyotaka swore he could not only see flowers blooming around her face, but also a halo above her head, some feathery wings clinging to her back, and a bright shining light behind her back.
Shiina Hiyori really was an angel, metaphorically and literally.
"Speaking of Ryuuen. How is he?"
He decided to change the subject to be something a little more important.
"Ryuuen-kun? He's been alright. Why do you ask?"
Kiyotaka wasn't sure if Shiina knew about Ryuuen investigating the incident involving Komiya, Kinoshita and Shinohara so he stayed silent. However, it appeared that she understood what he was thinking as she smiled.
"Ah. You're talking about that incident on the island, right? Ryuuen-kun told me about it and he even mentioned you were willing to help, but he rejected it. He's investigating it slowly and is even working with a first year to do so."
"A first year?"
"Yes. I think you know her. It's Nanase Tsubasa-san."
Kiyotaka raised his eyebrows at this newfound information. He didn't expect Nanase's name to pop up here despite talking to her this morning and finding out about Nagumo's possible aggression.
"Nanase is working with Ryuuen?"
Shiina nodded to his question.
"Ryuuen-kun was investigating the problem on the cruise ship and originally traced some of the steps to Nanase-san. However, she too was investigating the incident apparently and so she and Ryuuen-kun decided to work together. Ryuuen-kun said they managed to trace back to a student called Utomiya Riku."
"I see..."
When Kiyotaka thought about it, this likely explained Nanase's behaviour on the cruise ship. She appeared to be traversing the ship to investigate the incident and so she always managed to bump into Kiyotaka almost no matter where he went. And when he thought about it more, it was likely she was just looking out for him since she knew a lot more than Ryuuen.
But what surprised him more was that they managed to trace all this back to Utomiya Riku. Kiyotaka knew he was a student from first year Class C, the very same class as Sakurako Tsubaki, who initiated the first years to try and gang up on him during the uninhabited island exam. But Utomiya didn't scream any vibes that he was the one who had caused the incident, nor was he one of the people who were nearby at the time as per Kiyotaka's memory.
Kiyotaka knew that, for a fact, the most likely person who caused this was the second White Room student. But who that White Room student is was still a mystery to him, despite having possible suspects. He knew it would only be a matter of time before that White Room student revealed themself to Kiyotaka, but until then, Kiyotaka and Ryuuen were left with nothing.
"There you are Shiina. Did you have your phone on silent? I've been trying to call you for ages now."
As if his entrance couldn't have been more perfectly timed, a boy with long magenta hair, covering part of his eyes. Ryuuen Kakeru, the leader of Second Year Class D, entered the library, apparently looking for someone until his eyes fell on Shiina and called out to her.
"Oh? Kukuku. Fancy seeing you here, Ayanokouji."
It appeared Ryuuen didn't notice Kiyotaka at first until he got closer to them, and once he did, he smirked.
"Spending time with another girl instead of your girlfriend? My, aren't you quite the two-timer. Kukuku."
"Ryuuen-kun, please don't tease Kiyotaka-kun like that. It's not exactly very nice."
"Sure sure. I shouldn't mess with your book buddy too much."
Watching the talk between them, Kiyotaka could sense a closeness between the two of them that almost felt similar to him and Kei. From his knowledge, the two of them were not dating, but were leaders of their class. His curiosity made him want to ask the two of them, but Kiyotaka held his tongue.
"Anyway, I've been looking for you Shiina. I phoned you about 5 times and got no answer, but now that I see that you've been here this whole time, I can understand why you weren't able to. You had your phone on silent, didn't you?"
"Yes. I'm sorry, Ryuuen-kun. The librarian gets angry if someone who didn't turn their phone off or put it on silent has their phone ring in a silent environment. What did you need me for?"
"It's about that. I want us to keep practising a bit more so that we can put it all together. And we need to do a bit more planning so that we don't just have to rely on that for everything."
"Ok! Can I bring my books with me to read as well?"
"Sure sure. Let's go to the designated place now."
Their conversation went so smoothly that they almost forgot that Kiyotaka was there too. However, Shiina turned to him and smiled.
"Sorry Kiyotaka-kun, but this is important. If you're available this weekend, can we hang out at the bookstore? I saw a few new books there that I want to show you."
"...Sure. I think I should be available."
"Great! I'll text you some details. See you, Kiyotaka-kun."
Shiina began leaving, however, Ryuuen stayed in place, looking like he intended to talk with Kiyotaka.
"Hey Ayanokouji. This is not my place to tell you, and I'm sure you've realised already, but Mr 'Notice Me Senpai' is planning a lot of things for you. That first year told me that it may involve the entirety of the second year too, which means that me, Ichinose and that cripple loli will probably be dragged into your mess. If that happens, know I'll be fighting him in my own way too and if it so happens I can defeat you at the same time, I may not hesitate to do so."
With that said, Ryuuen turned around and left to follow after Shiina, leaving Kiyotaka to take in everything that he said.
"He's really the dragon-boy type, isn't he?"
Kiyotaka turned to the voice that spoke just behind him and found a lilac haired girl with a beret on her head and a walking stick at her side, indicating her disability. It was Second Year Class A's leader, Sakayanagi Arisu.
"He's still light years away from defeating you. Before he even tries, he needs to defeat the one he calls a cripple loli."
Arisu put a little bit of cold emphasis on the last part, indicating she was probably a little angry at Ryuuen's insult. She stood up from her seat at one of the desks and walked over towards Kiyotaka.
"You're usually not around here, are you Sakayanagi? Why are you here today?"
"Oh my. Does my presence disturb you, Ayanokouji-kun? Fufufu. Worry not, I'm merely here just because of Kamuro-san and Hashimoto-kun. The two of them are just looking for certain study books that I requested them to get so I could tutor them a bit."
Arisu pointed at the stationeries that were on the desk she had sat at originally. Pens, pencils, notebooks, flashnotes, everything was placed on the desk.
Kiyotaka narrowed his eyes a bit at the study notes there. Arisu was not the type of girl to personally tutor people, even if she was the smartest student in her class. From his point of view, this looked more like...
"I'm just spitballing here, but you're not actually tutoring them to study for an exam, are you? Midterms are still quite some time away and you aren't exactly the type to do this. Are you doing research for the cultural festival?"
Arisu blinked for a moment, but then smirked and giggled.
"As expected of Ayanokouji-kun. You really were able to see between the lines," she said as she gave a slow clap too. "To tell you the truth, yes, we're looking into different ideas for the cultural festival. I have a plan already, but those two are looking at other options and are merely looking for books that educate them about festivals and how people plan them."
"I see..."
"Fufufu. Unfortunately Ayanokouji-kun, I can't tell you any more than that because it would spoil the surprise I have planned."
"Princess. I found the books you were asking for... Oh? Yo Ayanokouji."
Hashimoto seemed to return from the bookshelves as he called out to his leader and saw Kiyotaka in the process. He gave a confident smirk and raised his hand to wave at Kiyotaka.
"Why do you happen to be everywhere? You're already world famous enough."
Kamuro also happened to return as she gave a look of disgust when she looked at Kiyotaka.
"Are you jealous, Kamuro?"
"Huh!? Are you an idiot Hashimoto? Do you want me to hit you!?"
Kiyotaka and Arisu watched the two of them bicker and get scolded by the librarian for being too loud. As the two returned to their seats, Arisu chuckled and turned back to Kiyotaka to speak for a moment, her serious face present this time around.
"Things like this indicate that the peace will only dissipate after some time. Ryuuen-kun said to you that the student council president is looking to target you a lot. And I'm sure you realise that it's not just going to be him or your father, but others like Amasawa-san and the other White Room student. And it's possible even from inside your class there will be unexpected enemies. I won't remind you to be careful, because I'm sure you can handle yourself, but you can come to me if you require any assistance, as long as it has to do with the White Room and your father. There's only so much I can do within our friendship limits after all."
She giggled again and bid Kiyotaka farewell as she returned back to her table where Hashimoto and Kamuro sat bickering.
Kiyotaka could only blink as he took in both Ryuuen and Arisu's word of warnings to him. Of course, he knew about all of this, but being reminded of them only made him more aware of it. He could only sigh in response as he turned around and made his way toward the exit.
At that moment, Kiyotaka felt the vibration of his phone, indicating he just received a message from Kei stating she was finished clearing up. He sighed again before looking at the message and leaving the library to meet up with her.
End of Chapter 2...