COTE Collection

by TsukasaKawaii

Collection of Cote Fanfic from many authors

11. (1) All or Nothing - V2 Chapter 2

All or Nothing

By : rainy26541

...

V2 Chapter 2

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Intro

1 week later, Chabashira entered the classroom to begin homeroom again. Lessons were to continue as normal, however, starting tomorrow, Class B and other classes would begin their mandatory training sessions throughout the day. This was the news Chabashira brought to them.

With the sports festival due to start in just two weeks, it was important that the training began as early as possible. This was especially so since the events that Chabashira announced seemed to be very different to last year's sports festival, which was very much more like a normal school sports day.

Class B itself was still in a distrusting environment as not much had changed over the past week. Horikita, who had pledged that she would bring Kushida back no matter what, had still been unsuccessful with her endeavour. This did not do well to improve her image, but she still pledged she would get Kushida back before the sports festival, which in itself was going to be a difficult task.

However, despite this distrusting environment still being present and little changes, that did not mean there were not any changes at all. Rather, despite the little changes, the changes that did happen were indeed game changing for most of the class. One of these changes included Kei, Matsushita, Mori and Satou reuniting with Shinohara.

It took a couple of days, but Shinohara finally allowed the four of them to approach her and earnestly and honestly apologise for everything they said. Shinohara still hadn't forgiven them at the time, but she allowed a restart to become the great friends they once were. It seemed that Kiyotaka's words really helped her, and the evidence was that Shinohara would occasionally glance at him and give a small smile that indicated she was saying "thank you". Of course, Ike, who watched over the whole thing, earnestly thanked Kiyotaka too for helping her.

The second change was more important though. Last week, there were two empty seats in the classroom - Kushida's and Mei-Yu's. However, now only one seat was empty. Mei-Yu returned and sat down in her chair just before homeroom began. Of course, she gathered a lot of attention, and being the one who sat directly in front of her crush, Hirata, she unsurprisingly got his attention too.

However, it wasn't too bad as the two exchanged greetings, albeit awkwardly. Everyone appeared worried about this, but it seemed to be alright for now.

As homeroom ended and Chabashira left the room, she immediately got up and walked to the front of the class, gaining the attention of everyone.

"I'M SORRY!"

Unexpectedly to the class, Mei-Yu bowed her head and shouted an apology.

"I'm sorry for being selfish and skipping school for something a little stupid. I just felt so betrayed and so ridiculed that I just couldn't attend anymore. I forgot to realise the fact that everyone was pretty much the same as me and someone even more. I was just being too selfish. So, I apologise to everyone here! I'm sorry!"

A few small tears formed in her eyes as she awaited for the response from her classmates. However, everyone was silent. This silence transferred to Mei-Yu and more tears began to form, a few falling to the ground.

"You shouldn't feel so guilty, Mii-chan."

"Yeah. Everyone understands how you feel. You were one of the worst affected."

"We're always here to welcome you back Mii-chan. Don't be so hard on yourself."

Swathes of support for Mii-chan flowed throughout the classroom, all forgiving her easily for her continued absence. Mii-chan was surprised and looked up at everyone. The smiles they gave her were warm, none of which were faked. It was like seeing the bright light of heaven bringing you in.

"Please don't cry, Mii-chan. We'll be here for you if you ever need our help."

It was Kei who said this part, with a bright and welcoming smile. Mei-Yu couldn't help but cry more as this was something she didn't expect to happen. Some of the girls went up to her and hugged her, stroking her back to calm her down.

"Ayanokouji-kun. You did something to help Mii-chan, didn't you? What exactly did you do?"

At the back of the classroom, Matsushita turned to her neighbour and asked such a question.

"I guess I was found out too easily... Well..."

.

"Thanks again for accepting my proposal to help me out with getting her back."

"It's nothing. Mii-chan has been affected by Kushida-san just as much as me."

Mei-Yu had been cooped up in her room all week. Because they were in school most of the week, it was hard for Kiyotaka to find an opportunity to visit her. Although, even though this was the case, Kiyotaka had intentionally been holding off visiting her when he likely could have during the evenings of the week.

The reason? He was about to show his companion the reason why.

Kiyotaka knocked on the door of Mei-Yu's room. As he and his companion waited for their target to answer the door, the latter asked Kiyotaka a question.

"If we do happen to succeed in bringing Mii-chan back, what else will you do after that? I know you're planning something, aren't you?"

"For now, the main focus is to just bring Mii-chan back into class so we can try to reunite once again for the sports festival. I won't deny that I am indeed planning something. I have been elected as the commander for Class B after all. But that's not important right now."

"I see..."

At least 20 seconds passed while they were talking and yet no movement was heard from inside the room. Was Mei-Yu out grabbing supplies? No, Kiyotaka knew she would be home, she was just a little hesitant to come and open the door.

Knock knock.

Kiyotaka tried again, but this time he decided to call out to her too.

"Mii-chan. It's Ayanokouji. Are you home? Can we talk?"

This time, it appeared that Kiyotaka's attempt had been deemed successful as movement from inside the dorm room. Shortly, the door opened just a tiny bit and the beautiful colour of violet eyes peeked out from behind.

"Ayanokouji-kun? And... Wait-"

"Good afternoon, Mii-chan. Sorry to burst in unexpectedly too with Kiyopon, but I was asked to accompany him."

Mei-Yu was extremely surprised to see Haruka with Kiyotaka. When he thought about it, it was easy to see why Mei-Yu was shocked.

"Is it alright if we come in, Mii-chan? I wanted to talk with you. And as Haruka said, I brought her with me because I think it's best that she accompany our talk too."

"Ah... Yes... Please come in... I-I wanted to talk with Ayanokouji-kun too..."

Although she still seemed hesitant, Mei-Yu opened the door wider and allowed Kiyotaka and Haruka to enter with a "pardon the intrusion". Closing the door behind her, Mei-Yu timidly beckoned Kiyotaka and Haruka to the table and chairs, to which the two politely thanked her and sat down.

"Um-... W-would you two like a drink?"

Kiyotaka looked at Haruka, who shook her head, and then returned his gaze to Mei-Yu.

"Thank you for your concern, but we're both alright. We don't want to trouble you too much."

"I-I see... You two came here because you wanted to talk to me...?"

"That is correct, yes. And I heard just earlier you said you wanted to talk to me too?"

Mei-Yu was still extremely timid, her anxiousness way beyond what Kiyotaka had known her for. It was understandable why she was, but it was really affecting how they were to begin the discussion. He predicted he would need to take things extremely slow in order to get her comfortable, something which Haruka understood after hearing it directly from him.

"Um- Well-... I-I would like to know how the class is doing. At least for those who are hurting much more than I am, like Shinohara-san, Matsushita-san, and... Hasebe-san... And also you, Ayanokouji-kun."

"The class? Well, I would say it's just as problematic at the moment as it was meant to be after the special exam last week. Although, the class itself is... regaining parts of its trust with others."

It was Haruka who answered her request. She had paused for a moment when talking about the class, likely because she remembered Horikita's insistence about bringing Kushida back to help them. Seeing the field of emotions turning towards a grey area, Kiyotaka decided to change to another important topic.

"There must be a lot of people trying to get in touch with you?"

"Huh...? Oh... Yeah... Thankfully, there are many people who are worried about me. But I just can't look at their messages. Because if I do, I will have to reply to them."

The guilt she would feel from seeing the messages would force her to reply to the messages. Unintentional guilt tripping. Mei-Yu wanted to avoid this, so she intentionally didn't read her friends' messages.

However, that was getting harder for her. Kiyotaka noted with the type of character she was, it wouldn't be long before she would eventually give in to her conscious and look and reply to the messages.

"It's getting too difficult for you, right? Because, in reality, you wish to come back to school quickly. If there's anything you want to ask me related to that or anything else important that's making you feel awful, feel free."

The look Kiyotaka gave Mei-Yu surprised even Haruka who was sitting next to him. It was one that was sincere, encouraging, and yet forceful at the same time. Mei-Yu, who was under such a gaze, unwillingly felt both comfortable and under pressure from it.

"Then, uh, I'll feel free... Ah, but before that... Just checking, but... Ayanokouji-kun. Were you the one who bought and left all that stuff in front of my room?"

"Huh?"

Seeing that Kiyotaka had no idea what she was talking about, Mei-Yu continued.

"Ever since I started not going to classes, whenever I'd sometimes open the front door to when no one was around or to get a tiny bit of fresh air, there was always a basket of food there. And right in the basket was a piece of paper that had my name and room number, nothing else."

This was surprising to both him and Haruka. Since it wasn't him, and since Haruka knew nothing about it, the only person who would do such a thing that came to his mind was Hirata. However, Hirata was completely stuck on what to do and came to Kiyotaka to try and fix Mei-Yu's situation, so it couldn't have been him.

Kiyotaka looked at Haruka for a moment, who shook her head in reply, and then turned back to Mei-Yu.

"Sorry, but it wasn't me, and I don't know who's doing it either."

Mei-Yu looked slightly disappointed, but only for a moment.

"Is that so...? That person has been so very helpful... I would like to thank them."

"Whoever it is, it means there are students who are worried about your absence."

When Haruka pointed this out, Mei-Yu came to a certain realisation that she hadn't realised earlier on.

"Hasebe-san... Are you still going to school...? Even after all that happened to you...?"

Haruka gave a sad yet cold smile. Kiyotaka saw this coming. It was the very reason he brought Haruka with him. Haruka, who also experienced the most pain from the unanimous vote special exam, was still attending school. If his usual convincing wouldn't work on Mei-Yu, then someone who was affected just as badly as Mei-Yu would be the next candidate to convince her. He decided to stay silent and leave the rest to Haruka for now.

"Yes. Even after all that has happened, I've been going to classes everyday as normal."

If she hadn't been in contact with anyone outside, it was understandable that she didn't even know for sure whether Haruka was attending properly. Of course, she wouldn't expect that the person offering to give her advice would be spending their days moping in bed.

"... Don't you find it difficult? Weren't you reluctant to go to school?"

"Of course I was reluctant to go. If I'm being honest with you here, I can't stand being in the same room with our class. The people who just so greedily chose to throw away a classmate all because Horikita-san said so and wouldn't expel Kushida-san. That Horikita-san was still coming and almost acting like nothing went wrong and she did the right thing. It drives me insane and it makes me want to rip my hair out and fight with everyone around me."

Haruka spoke out her true feelings with frozen cold steel eyes and an icy tone, something which scared Mei-Yu a little bit as she flinched. However, Haruka's eyes then turned warmer as she continued.

"But Kiyopon and Miyacchi came to see me over the weekend. They talked to me, even when I was being difficult, and over time, they told me that I shouldn't let this affect my goal. At the end, Airi wanted us to continue to climb up the ladder and stand at the top for her, otherwise her sacrifice would all be for nothing. Even if I have to work with people I hate, I won't let them affect me and so I'll continue doing what I've always been doing for her. And overall, I'm also doing this for myself, because if I don't, I won't be able to stand by Airi the next time I see her."

Haruka explained her determination, the exact details of her and Kiyotaka's conversation over the weekend. She did leave a few details out, most notably the idea of taking revenge and helping Kiyotaka with his plans, but the more important parts that would help her convince Mei-Yu were kept in her explanation.

"So I think you should do the same, Mii-chan. You look like you were considering going to school, even before you took the time off. In fact, you originally planned to still come before you ended up not coming, right?"

"O-of course! I really want to go to school right away. But I was hurt because what Kushida said was right on the money. On Monday morning, I changed into my uniform and went as far as the front door. But I couldn't take the next step. After taking that first day off, the door gradually got heavier and further away... I know that what I am doing right now is not good. But... I'm embarrassed, and pathetic..."

Mei-Yu lowered her head, feeling the heavy weight of guilt take over her. Regardless of how many students had already noticed those secret feelings of hers, it was understandable that she would be deeply traumatised when exposed publicly like that.

Haruka then stood up and went behind Mei-Yu. Then, unexpectedly to Mei-Yu, Haruka hugged her from behind, surprising her completely.

"Even at this moment, I feel weak and pathetic for not protecting Airi. But I won't let that stop me anymore. Even if I have to stand with the people I hate, as long as I have people like Kiyopon at my side, I believe I'll be able to keep going. Because they're here to support me and it's what Airi would've wanted."

Haruka then let go and gave a smile when Mei-Yu looked up at her.

"So you should do the same. You have lots of people here to support me too. Not just me and Kiyopon. But I'm sure Keipon- uh... Karuizawa-san and her friends, and your other friends that aren't Kushida-san will support you too. That's more than those that can support me by the way."

Mei-Yu was silent, but then tears began forming in her eyes and she began sobbing a little bit. She covered her face to hide her crying expression, but that only led to Haruka hugging her and trying to comfort her.

"I am very sorry for missing a week because of something like this."

After a couple of minutes of silent sobbing and calming down, Mei-Yu gave an apology.

"I don't think we're the ones you should be just apologising to. But it's alright. It's justified why you did so."

After being silent for a while, Kiyotaka finally spoke up, stating that she was forgiven but needed to say this to the entire class.

"Um... I'll come back on Monday. But... I, um... sit in front of Hirata-kun... we'll be close... Has... has Hirata-kun... said anything about me?"

It was understandable that she was worried about what her crush thought about her, since it was exposed. But Kiyotaka and Haruka believed she was worrying a little too much.

On another note, when Kiyotaka thought about it, Mei-Yu's and Hirata's closeness to each other in terms of seating seemed strange. When they were allowed to choose their seats for second year, Mei-Yu changed her seat to quite an unpopular middle one. And it just so happened that the seat behind her was the one Hirata chose. It was very much possible that Mei-Yu chose that seat because she believed Hirata would choose the one behind her, allowing her to be close to her. He wanted to ask her just in case, but now was not the time to embarrass her.

"Naturally, Yousuke is worried about you. Much, much more than about Kushida who is also off."

"...That's... because he finds me to be a nuisance after all... isn't it?"

Since he was directly involved, it was natural that Hirata would be more concerned about her issue than the others.

"It's not that he thinks you're a nuisance. On the contrary, he feels apologetic since he thinks he's the reason why you're skipping school."

"That's... but Hirata-kun did nothing wrong...!"

"I know that. But I'm sure you know very well that he's just that kind of guy. From well before I did."

He was able to rejoice in someone else's delight as if it were his own. On the other hand, if someone was unhappy, he would empathise with them and also feel unhappy. That was the kind of personality he had. Because Mei-Yu was holed up in her room, Hirata was also suffering. Getting her to understand that was the most effective and important thing to get her to push herself a bit more.

"Ah... I-it's not like I never thought about it. T-that maybe Hirata-kun was suffering because of me. But I decided I wouldn't prioritise myself..."

Her body felt a little more at ease, though the guilt was still present. However, Haruka gave her one last hug and it appeared to calm Mei-Yu a bit more.

"Thank you very much. I feel much more at ease after talking to you two about all this. Thank you, Hasebe-san. Ayanokouji-kun. I'll come back on Monday even if I have to crawl all the way to the classroom!"

"Ah! Let's not go too far, Mii-chan. If you are ill then you'll need to rest. But get some rest this weekend just in case. I do want to see you back too and see your resolve," Haruka said, giggling a little.

"I hope so too. But, the other thing that I'm concerned about is the person dropping off food for me. I let them buy quite a lot of food for me over those five days... I think the total probably comes close to 10,000 points."

If it was just one person behind it, it could indeed have been quite expensive. But with how many points Class B had at the moment, maybe it wasn't too bad. That all depended on who it was though.

As Kiyotaka and Haruka said their goodbyes and made their way to the door, as soon as they opened it, someone unexpected stood at it holding a basket full of fruit, about ready to leave it at the front door.

"Oh? Ho ho ho. Well if it isn't Ayanokouji-boy and Big-Boobs-girl. Fancy seeing you two here."

Kouenji Rokusuke, with his usual confident and outgoing expression, spoke out to the two of them.

"Kouenji-kun. What are you doing here? Wait... That's a basket full of fruit... Are you the one who's been delivering these baskets to Mii-chan everyday?"

When Mii-chan heard this, she came to the front door and widened her eyes in shock. Kouenji was the last person she expected to be the one to deliver all this fruit to her, even if the two of them got closer in recent times. Kouenji only smirked and gave his answer.

"Fufufu. Of course it's been me. I couldn't bear to see the princess coop herself up in her palace without any replenishment. So me, being the prince of all the people, decided it was best to send her some food all while being secretive. It looks like I've been found out though. Hahaha."

He moved in between Kiyotaka and Haruka and handed the basket over to Mei-Yu who was still shocked to see him be the secretive fruit delivery man.

"Ah-... I'll pay you back the points for this, Kouenji-kun. It's about 10,000 to 12,000 points, right?"

"Fufufu. Do not worry about paying me back. If you just so happen to send it to me, I will send it back. You having the basket I brought you and enjoying it so you can feel normal again is all the perfect human being needs. Now that I've done what I came here to do, I shall take my leave. I hope to see you back in the classroom on Monday, princess."

Kouenji then left with a peace sign. Kiyotaka didn't fail to notice the glance and smirk Kouenji sent his way before leaving. The three of them just stood there a little bit, still surprised by Kouenji's appearance.

.

"That's the story..."

"You really are a very kind person, Ayanokouji-kun," Matsushita said with a smile.

"I didn't do too much this time though. It was Haruka who completely saved her."

"Yes that may be true, but you came up with the idea and Mii-chan also trusted you a lot. You in the end still convinced her even if Hasebe-chan did a lot of the work."

"Um..."

Sometimes Kiyotaka wondered if he was being praised way too much for the things he did. Unlike how he was in first year, he didn't try to hide as many things or act like an idiot as much. But even still, he sometimes believed he wasn't as kind as the others make him out to be.

[After all... Haruka and Mii-chan are people I need on my side to help me with my own battle. It's a selfish outcome... but one that is needed for my own survival...]

.

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Part 1

The next day, an even larger change occurred in Class B. Yesterday, relationships between students that appeared to be broken were beginning to rebuild themselves - Shinohara and Matsushita, Mori and Kei being just one example.

In addition to that, Mei-Yu returned back to the classroom and was welcomed back with open arms, destroying any worries she or any others had about her returning.

If one were to look from an outsider perspective, Class B appeared to be growing its petals back again, after not receiving any bits of water for quite some time, withering in its soil below. One could say that Class B was starting to bloom in the sun again.

...But it was inevitable that the blooming flower would not last long in the sweltering sun.

On the next day, the very last empty seat in Class B finally became occupied again. Just seconds before Chabashira was about to begin morning homeroom, the last person everyone, except the one actively seeking to bring her back, wanted to see showed up with a "sorry I'm late".

Kushida Kikyou. No one was really expecting her to come back, so it was pretty much normal to see the stares of surprise, combined with the stares of hatred, fear and anger, on their faces. Naturally, some of those stares also pointed their axes towards the very person who pledged to bring Kushida back.

Kushida herself did not act like her previous self when she returned. She didn't even look at her classmates when she entered the classroom in the morning. It was only until one of the breaks between classes did she finally say something to the class.

"To those affected by my attitude that day, like Mii-chan and Shinohara-san. I apologise for making you targets of my onslaught. I was only doing the only choice I had back then. Anyway, for the time being, I'm planning to continue to maintain the facade I had until now to some extent. That way, depending on the circumstances, I can even gather information from the other classes. But if any of you in the class are going to stand in my way while I do that, I'm fine with not doing it too. And if anybody comes at me with hostility, I won't show any mercy, no matter who they are. I've only exposed a small portion of your secrets during the Special Exam."

This was what she dispassionately announced to the class, her threat directed at the entire class. Class B themselves were silent, not bothering to argue against her, knowing what would happen.

"But I promise you just one thing. Unless I fall, I won't even try to expose any other secrets. I'm not doing it for the class, I'm doing it for myself. So that I can graduate in Class A. It's my final line of defence, so that I don't lose my value as myself."

While dissatisfied, Class B knew they couldn't do anything but accept the situation. Horikita achieved her goal in bringing Kushida back, so the class couldn't argue anymore for the time being. It would only be further down the road that everyone would see whether Horikita truly made the correct choice.

"Yo Suzune! A bright day we're having outside today. It doesn't seem to be translating to your classroom though."

Right around lunch time, the door to the classroom opened and an unexpected, and likely unwelcomed, visitor stood at the door. With his long wavy magenta hair and completely dirty looking smirk, Ryuuen called out to Horikita.

But Ryuuen wasn't alone. Just behind him was a bald boy with intimidating-looking brown eyes. He was a student who was originally in Class A with Sakayanagi, but was bought and brought into Ryuuen's class. It was none other than Katsuragi Kohei.

Immediately after seeing Ryuuen, most of Class B tensed up. It was completely unexpected to see Ryuuen show up in front of their class. The last time something similar to this happened was when Ryuuen was declaring war against Class B back in first year.

"Ryuuen-kun. What do you want? Why are you even here anyway?"

Horikita answered, unphased but annoyed to see his presence in front of the class. This only helped to further widen the smirk on his face.

"Kuku. My. Am I not welcome in your classroom? Tsk tsk. You should show some manners to your visitors, Suzune. What will you do when the visitors for the cultural festival come and see your attitude? They won't want to come to your stand, you know."

"You and I both know I won't be doing anything like that. Now seriously. Answer why you are here."

Ryuuen only chuckled a bit more as Horikita continued the thorny questioning of his sudden presence.

"I just decided to come see the class that achieved a different answer to the rest. How does it feel to get class points for cutting off someone who is slowing you down? Does it feel good? Do you feel on top of the world now that someone who was holding you back is now gone from your supervision?"

He asked in a matter-of-fact way. One might think it was a way for him to gain an upper hand in the situation by taunting. The class, very well knowing that, stayed silent and tried to not show their distress in this situation. Horikita, while still feeling a bit dreadful, still continued undeterred.

"It's certainly true that the issue didn't erupt. But too bad, it won't turn out the way you want it to. Most of the big problems have already been resolved."

That's a lie. At least the wave regarding the Kushida issue has subsided, but it is uncertain when the bomb will explode.

"You're pretty brazen for a liar, aren't you Suzune? I can very well tell that this class is forming some kind of coalition against you because of what happened. In fact, I can also tell that your class angel has changed a lot. By any chance, was Kikyou the one who was going to be expelled but you changed it to someone else? Her expression and your class seems to be screaming that fact."

Horikita could only stiffen, which was obvious enough to Ryuuen that he ended up smirking.

"Kukuku. Well well well Suzune. You still decided to keep a traitor. Does your class know? Do they know that Kikyou worked with me a few times in order to fight against you and Ayanokouji? They do, don't they? Do they know the full story?"

Gasps of shock roamed throughout the classroom. Of course, they knew this after Kiyotaka announced it when exposing Kushida during the special exam, but there were a few who still didn't believe it. Now, the very man himself, Ryuuen, confirmed the facts. Horikita could only shrink back as she most likely didn't expect Ryuuen to not only figure out their class affairs but to also expose Kushida further. Kushida, the girl in question, glared at Ryuuen as she saw this as a direct attack on her.

"Ryuuen-kun. Are you trying to destroy me as well!?"

"Hmm? So Kikyou is finally wanting to bare her fangs? Relax, I'm not intending to attack you. You shouldn't even see this as a direct attack on you either, Suzune. I'm just pointing out things that I've noticed. Your class seems to be in shambles right now as it is. Kukuku."

Katsuragi, who was directly next to Ryuuen, just stood watching with an indifferent expression while Ryuuen kept laughing. However, despite looking uninterested, his eyes secretly kept directing a glance to a specific student in the room. The student in question only just noticed it as said student was focused on the drama happening in front of him.

"...Did you just come here to taunt our class? If so, then you've achieved what you wanted, right? So, go on. Off you go."

With no choice left, Horikita tried to shoo him away from the classroom.

"Hahaha. Now now, Suzune. I actually did come here with a reason and it's not to mess with your class like I said," He paused and then turned to face a specific student in the class. "Ayanokouji! You, me and Johnny here are going to have a talk. So come with me!"

"Johnny? Why are you calling me that, Ryuuen? You've done so since the Talent Show and I still don't get it."

Some students within Class B tried to stifle their laughter, likely because they understood the joke. That only resulted in Katsuragi raising his suspicions on why he was being called that.

"Don't worry about that, Johnny. Anyway, Ayanokouji. You coming or what?"

Kiyotaka was a little surprised that Ryuuen was calling out to him at a time like this. His classmates all turned to him, a little worried that their commander for the sports festival was being called out by Ryuuen of all people. The especially worried people included Satou Maya, Mori Nene and Mei-Yu Weng.

Those who either knew about Kiyotaka's abilities or had some form of grasp over it, like Kei, Hirata, Sudou and Haruka, were either not all that worried or not worried at all.

"What do you want with Ayanokouji-kun? You aren't going to start another rooftop incident, are you?" Horikita asked with narrowed eyes.

Ryuuen raised his eyebrows at that question, but he did not lose his smirk. Rather, he seemed quite amused that Horikita seemed to know something about the rooftop incident. From his own deduction, it was probably Ibuki Mio who ended up telling her about it since the two have been randomly meeting together at times.

"Suzune Suzune. Say that and you'll get your curious classmates to ask you about it. You don't want that do you? I'm sure the people involved don't want that either, right?"

Horikita could only stay silent as she knew the answer to those questions. That only made Ryuuen laugh more.

"Well, you won't have to worry. I just want to talk with Ayanokouji normally. If you so want him back, you can when we're done. Though, I think you'll be making someone jealous if you want to steal him."

At that taunt, Horikita and Kei glared at him. As the former was about to retort, Kiyotaka stood up, gaining the attention of everyone in the classroom.

"Horikita. It's alright. I'll go with Ryuuen."

As he was making his way towards the greatly amused Class D leader, students around Class B kept their eyes on him, projecting their worries. They all understood what Ryuuen was like, so their views on what they could likely do to Kiyotaka were quite... scary.

"Good on you, Ayanokouji. Your class can relax, I ain't gonna do shit to you. I just want a discussion time with you."

"I'm not worried at all. I know you're not gonna do anything," Kiyotaka replied before turning to address the class. "You all can calm down. I'll be fine. We're just going to have a talk."

With that, Kiyotaka left the classroom, following behind the dragon tyrant and the bald pacifist. The three of them exited the school and made their way towards one of the new coffee shops that recently opened up in Keyaki Mall, next to Akuisha where Kiyotaka and Kei went for a date just before the unanimous vote special exam.

For some weird reason, one of the requests made by students was to open up a Starbucks coffee shop around the campus. Perhaps this had to do with the fact they went to Starbucks a lot before coming to Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School. Kiyotaka, having never visited a Starbucks before even when he was with Matsuo at his mansion, did not understand the hype for it. However, now that they were heading into the newly opened one in Keyaki Mall, now was a better time than ever to give their coffee a shot.

The three boys entered the shop and ordered their respective coffees from the barista. Ryuuen ordered a nice dark mocha frappuccino, while Katsuragi ordered a simple cafe americano, resulting in insults of "being simple" from Ryuuen. Kiyotaka wanted to avoid that as he thought of joining Katsuragi with his order and at the same time, he wanted to try a little bit of a different coffee. In the end, he ordered a cappuccino with chocolate sprinkles on top.

After receiving their coffees, the three of them made their way to a nearby four seater table. They drank their coffees, enjoying the content silence of savouring their drinks. However, the three of them did not gather just to hang out and drink coffee. So as soon as Katsuragi finished his second sip of his coffee, he spoke up.

"Ryuuen. Are you finally going to say why you wanted to talk with Ayanokouji? I know about his brilliance now that you told me, but I still don't know why you want to talk with him."

"Kukuku. Impatient, aren't you Katsuragi? I'll be getting to that. First off though. Doesn't this little situation remind you of the get together we had before the uninhabited island exam?"

Katsuragi and Kiyotaka remembered that meeting well. At the time, Ryuuen had also called the two of them to Pallet Cafe, and it resulted in Katsuragi, still being in Class A at the time, being brought into Ryuuen's Class D. At the same time, Ryuuen also made a bargain agreement with Kiyotaka to buy his special card for points, which Kiyotaka needed to help Kei if she were to be in trouble for the special exam.

"Of course it reminds me of that old meeting. It's the whole reason why I'm stuck with you now. Although..."

Ryuuen and Katsuragi turned to face Kiyotaka, who was silently watching the conversation and drinking his coffee. Seeing both of their eyes on him now, Kiyotaka showed an expression that was questioning their stares on him.

"You aren't going to dilute your coffee there with water again, are you?" Ryuuen asked. "I still can't understand why you did that in the first place. Not even a curious person would do it."

"Well, I'm sometimes quite curious about things. So that's why I did it. But don't worry, I'm not doing it again this time."

Kiyotaka actually had another reason as to why he did that back then. However, that reason was now no longer important, as his new pledge had pushed him away from that reason.

"Whatever. Anyhow, your class seems to be on the verge of breaking Ayanokouji. It seems you tried to finally expel Kikyou. How many times have you said you were going to expel her? I counted nearly 5 times and you never ended up doing it. And now that you tried, you ended up failing because of Suzune. I'm not sure whether I should laugh, feel disappointed or sorry for you."

"Horikita believes Kushida is an important essence for our class, even after Kushida's change. Of course, I'm still a little angry that we ended up in this situation, but I'm just following the results for the time being."

Since Ryuuen already seemed to know that Kushida's true nature was exposed and the class was in shambles, Kiyotaka decided to not hide much from him at this point. It would lead to nothing if he did try to hide it.

"Hmhm. I see. Well I'm a little interested in seeing where this goes, so I'll keep quiet about Kikyou's nature and your class. The same with Johnny over here."

"Please stop calling me Johnny! I still don't know what you're referring to."

Kiyotaka almost felt that Ryuuen and Katsuragi were acting like brothers, but he kept that thought to himself. He wasn't sure if Ryuuen would fully keep that promise of staying quiet, but it wasn't like that was important or mattered.

"What are we actually here for by the way?" He asked.

"Kukuku. You too, Ayanokouji? Well I guess I should really get to why we're here," Ryuuen said before continuing with a serious expression. "I have a proposal for you. A personal one not related to your class."

It wasn't everyday Ryuuen showed an extremely serious expression instead of his usual smirking and taunting one. In addition to that, it wasn't everyday that he came to someone with a proposition. Knowing that, Kiyotaka leaned forward in his chair, indicating he was listening.

"I heard Hiyori told you about my investigation with a first year student called Nanase Tsubasa on another first year student called Utomiya Riku."

Ryuuen was referring to his pledge to find the culprit of the Komiya and Kinoshita incident back during the uninhabited island exam. The two were completely injured from someone pushing them off a cliff. Since there were a couple of first years who were nearby at the time, Ryuuen's investigation inevitably led him to Nanase at first and then to Utomiya.

"Yes."

"My investigations have also finally led up to who I believe is the real culprit of that incident."

Katsuragi watched the discussion with surprised eyes and in silence.

"And that person is?"

"Yagami Takuya."

A name only half of the present party was likely expecting. Katsuragi was beyond surprised, even though he was a part of the investigation. However, Kiyotaka wasn't all that surprised. If he was being honest with himself, Yagami Takuya was already on his suspicious people list.

It was weird on the day they met that he called out Kushida, stating they went to the same middle school but Kushida didn't exactly know him. Of course, it was very much possible Kushida could have forgotten about Yagami Takuya if they did attend the same middle school. However, the way Kushida was, she would 90% remember someone from her own school.

From that analysis, one of the other only outcomes that would explain how Yagami knew about Kushida was that like Amasawa Ichika, Yagami Takuya was briefed about the students from Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School. In other words, Yagami Takuya was the second white room student Kiyotaka was looking for.

Kiyotaka kept this part to himself though.

"I see. And what are you going to do now that you believe it's him?"

That was when Ryuuen's eyes turned even more serious, so much so that almost replicated a complete red European dragon ready to leave destruction in its path.

"The obvious thing would be to use all the evidence I can gather and send it to the school to have this Yagami Takuya expelled. However, you both well know I won't be satisfied with just that. If he wants to crush my underlings, then I'll crush him with revenge."

Then, he turned to specifically face Kiyotaka.

"But I found something interesting about Yagami. He's just like the blonde simp from the year above us. I'd call him Mr NoticeMeBecauseISimpForAttention-Junior, because they're pretty much the same. Just like Mr NoticeMeBecauseISimpForAttention-Senpai, kouhai wants your attention too Ayanokouji. He's looking for trouble with you just like the rest of the first years like they did in the uninhabited island special exam. So I want to use that to my advantage."

Ryuuen then smirked, which for some reason made Kiyotaka feel unnerved.

"I want to make a deal with you Ayanokouji. You're going to be fighting Mr NoticeMeBecauseISimpForAttention-Senpai and absolutely decimate him, right? So do the same with the junior. I want you to humiliate him. That way, when I do expose him, I can feel more satisfied."

His methods of destroying his opponents have not changed at all. Any method he thought was effective, even if they were beyond reasonable, he would use. And using Kiyotaka, who had once destroyed him on the rooftop to rescue Kei, was the method he decided on.

"You want me to destroy Yagami Takuya? Other than the fact that he's targeting me and the fact that he's looking for trouble, why do you want me specifically to destroy him?"

Frankly speaking, if Yagami Takuya was going to get in his way, that being the second White Room student in the school from what he could analyse now, he wouldn't throw the idea of destroying him away. From what he believed, part of the reason Airi got expelled wasn't just because of Kushida and Horikita, but the people manipulating them.

What Kiyotaka didn't understand was why Ryuuen, who was the one who wanted Yagami's destruction more, wanted him to do it instead. Ryuuen had the power, at least in theory, to go against Yagami even if he was a White Room student. And most of all, it didn't seem like Ryuuen to just leave the destruction of his target to a third party.

So why was he asking Kiyotaka to do it? Even Katsuragi, who was just silently listening to the conversation, was wondering the same thing.

"You want a reason? Well it's because you're a monster. You have more power to decimate people better than me. Plus, I just have a feeling that you really want to destroy Yagami Takuya. Intuition, maybe. But in reality, I'm focusing more on winning the sports festival and rebuilding Class D for the future. If I put too much focus into destroying a damn first year, it'll come back to bite me. Just like last year with you."

[So Ryuuen has grown better than I thought...] Kiyotaka thought as he narrowed his eyes at Ryuuen's answer. Somewhere, deep within his conscious, he somehow felt proud at the fact that Ryuuen really had changed a lot from the kind of person he was back in first year. Instead of always being the red european dragon, he was turning more towards the oritental dragon.

But right now, he didn't need to think about that. If Kiyotaka really was going to take up the proposal of destroying Yagami, then he really needed to get something out of it. Of course, getting rid of a White Room student that's targeting him is something he would get out of it, but it's not enough to agree to Ryuuen's proposal.

"It seems tempting, but it's not always possible that I'll be in the same event as Yagami. How can I destroy him if we're not in the same event. Furthermore, what will I get out of accepting your proposal? It seems to me it benefits you more than it does me."

"Kukuku. Ever the negotiator, Ayanokouji. I knew you would say something like that," Ryuuen laughed before continuing. "My sources are telling me that Yagami is going to be Class 1B's commander. You're the commander for your own class, aren't you? I can easily tell. Just fight him in the commander events. And as for what you can get out of this deal, if you accept my proposal and destroy Yagami Takuya, I'll do a job for you free of charge, if it's within my power. A good deal, right?"

"Ryuuen..."

"Be quiet Johnny. So, Ayanokouji, what do you say?"

Katsuragi, seemingly worried about the promise of Ryuuen granting Kiyotaka a free job, tried to butt in, but was immediately shut down by Ryuuen.

"I see... I accept then. I'll take down Yagami Takuya in the sports festival as best I can."

They still didn't know what the commander events would be, but it was likely that they were going to be very different to the ones everyone else was partaking in. This was especially so when he thought about the fact that Nagumo, who he was also set to fight in the commander events, had a helping hand in them.

"Kukuku. Good doing business with you Ayanokouji. Shake." Ryuuen held out his hand, to which Kiyotaka shook.

"And as for the job, can you listen to what I want to have you do after the sports festival?"

Kiyotaka then spoke his request, which resulted in Ryuuen widening his eyes, smirking and then laughing.

"Hahahaha. Interesting. Very interesting. Alright then, consider it done. I really want to see how it plays out in the end."

Hearing his new business partner's agreement, Kiyotaka finished his cappuccino and stood up from his seat.

"If that is all, I will be taking my leave now. I have a few people I need to see."

With that, Kiyotaka dropped his now empty Starbucks cup in the bin and walked out the cafe. However, he did not fail to hear Katsuragi mumble out "I'm worried what the future will hold if those two team up constantly".

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Part 2

Tokyo Metropolitan High School did not only focus on Kiyotaka and Class B. There were many students in the other classes who had just as much of a great focus. One of those classes happened to be Ichinose's Class C.

"Ichinose. Can we talk?"

At the end of the school day, a violet haired and yellow eyed boy called out to Ichinose just as she was packing her belongings into her bag. Ichinose, having heard her name called out by one of her classmates, turned around with a smile.

"Kanzaki-kun. What is it?"

"...Can we talk privately? It's important..."

Seeing Kanzaki's serious expression, Ichinose knew where this was likely going. She immediately lost her usual outgoing and beautiful smile and sighed, turning to the others waiting for her by the door.

"Go on without me for now. I'll catch up later. Kanzaki-kun and I need to have an important talk," she said to them.

"Ehhhh! Please make sure you come after you're done Honami-chan!"

"We'll save you a seat, Ichinose-san!"

"Take care of Kanzaki-kun, Ichinose-san."

The group left, leaving only Ichinose and Kanzaki left in the classroom. Their homeroom teacher, Hoshinomiya Chie, had long left the classroom to head to the staffroom. Ichinose sighed and then turned to Kanzaki, who took a seat nearby her.

"...What is it, Kanzaki-kun?"

"...Ichinose, we're currently in a 2 way battle with Ryuuen's Class D. Horikita's Class B has overtaken us by over 150 class points now. We're in a position where one small wrong move and we'll be completely left behind. If we don't start taking this seriously, we'll never ascend to reach Class A."

Ichinose sat there with a serious expression, something which unnerved Kanzaki as this serious expression from her was different from the others she used to show. But he kept his cool and continued to explain his point of view.

"I will admit, you were right during the unanimous special exam. I didn't want to expel any of our classmates in that special exam. But if we don't really consider the situation, then we'll be left behind in the dust. It's very possible we'll drop to last place in the sports festival. We'll become the last drop of the beer bottle with no way to return."

"Kanzaki-kun. It is true that we are on the verge of rolling down to Class D. I can't deny that now that Horikita-san's class is now further ahead and Ryuuen-kun's class is pretty much neck and neck with us. Depending on what happens, we very might end up going all the way down to Class D. However, is that such a bad thing?"

"Huh?"

At Kanzaki's confused face, Ichinose gave a small smile.

"It is a good idea to stay as high up as possible. We managed to stay as Class B for an entire year. But even we need to face defeat at times and even we need to drop to a point where we are too low to be considered amazing. By doing that, it will motivate the rest of the class to do better and become stronger. Just like pouring water back into the bottle to become a whole bottle again."

Kanzaki honestly couldn't refute that, because he knew she was right. However, he caught one important detail in her explanation that he just couldn't ignore.

"Are you saying you want us to drop to Class D?"

"Not at all. I don't exactly want us to drop that low either, however, I want us to see the benefit of it in case we do. Horikita-san's class was stuck at the very bottom of Class D since the start of school and now look at them. The same thing can happen with us."

"But that won't happen if we keep doing what we've always been doing. I'm saying we need to do more than this friendship and protect everyone!"

"Of course. Even I know that things need to change. Which is why when the cultural festival comes by, I'll be looking to make a few changes. And for that to happen, I'll need your help, Kanzaki-kun."

The beautiful bright smile from Ichinose returned as she stood up from her seat.

"However, I still think we need to keep doing what we've always been doing. I want us all to graduate from Class A. I don't want to lose anyone. You're the same, aren't you? We need to keep everyone, but we also need to make changes to our strategy so that we can really become a strong and formidable class by the end of this year."

[After all, if I can't do that, I won't be able to face Ayanokouji-kun again and show him how much I've changed.] She added in her head.

"So let's work together after the sports and cultural festival and bring our class back in the fray, Kanzaki-kun," she said as she held out her hand again in front of him.

He was a little shocked as he expected a debate... no, more like an argument like the one back in the unanimous vote special exam where they just went back and forth. However, it seemed like she had made a change. Kanzaki couldn't quite put his finger on it.

However, he decided to just shake her hand and agree with her.

"But for now, I would like us to keep doing what we're doing for now and then go from there. Kanzaki-kun, if you want us to really make some changes, then there is only one thing you can do."

"And that is?"

"Become the commander of our class for the sports festival."

"Wha-"

Now Kanzaki was just outright shocked. He was sure that Ichinose would take the commander role for their class. He wasn't expecting her to say he should become the role.

"How should I say this? You'll be able to see where we can go forward if you become the commander for the sports festival. Plus, I think the rest of our class needs me as their anchor rather than their commander. You're our next best option to be the commander. Actually you might fit the role better than me."

"Well..."

"Please just take the role, Kanzaki-kun. It'll be for our future. That's what you wanted to talk to me about, isn't that right?"

He could no longer argue with Ichinose. Being the one who wanted to persuade her that they needed to change their ways, he really didn't expect this coming from her. He could only nod and agree with her.

The two of them talked a little more before Ichinose decided it was finally over and left the classroom. Kanzaki also realised he had been in the classroom way too long and decided to leave.

"Seems you got what you wanted. Although maybe not the way you wanted."

However, as soon as he left, he was confronted by a girl with long twintale violet hair, complemented with the serenic violet eyes. The girl was none other than Himeno Yuki, a girl also in Ichinose and Kanzaki's class.

"How long were you standing there Himeno?"

"Long enough to hear Ichinose-san make her pledge."

Kanzaki sighed before speaking up again.

"Do you still agree with Ichinose like you did back then?"

When he tried to change his class's way in the unanimous vote special exam, one of the people who argued with Kanzaki and sided with Ichinose was none other than Himeno. Kanzaki thought she was just like him in a few ways because of how she acted, but after that day, he thought maybe his prediction was a little bit wrong.

"Of course. Though you probably know that I don't think we should always act like besties and delude ourselves from certain reality. There are lines to draw. That's what I told Ichinose-san."

It was at that point Kanzaki's eyes widened.

"Himeno... Don't tell me..."

"All I did was follow some advice Ayanokouji-kun gave me. I just mentioned to Ichinose-san what he thought I should tell her, and it turned out that she ended up agreeing, leading to what she told you now."

"Ayanokouji..."

That was the last name Kanzaki thought would pop up.

"I'm sure you know already, but Ichinose-san is fond of Ayanokouji-kun. Something must have happened between the two of them because he told me he couldn't be the one to say that stuff to her at the moment, which is why I did it. He did say if it weren't for the fact that you are really... thorny? I think he said... He would've come to you and told you to tell her."

"I see..."

"Well what's done is done. I came here to get my bag because I left it, so I'll be taking it and going back home. Ichinose-san will be one of our two pillars for the sports festival. I hope you will do the same with your role... Commander."

Himeno grabbed her bag quickly and left just as fast. Kanzaki had witnessed a lot of surprises today that he just couldn't move at this moment. After taking some time to regain his thoughts, he sighed and began making his way back to the dorms, wondering where Class C was going to head now that a new strategy was getting ready to form itself.

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Part 3

"Kiyotaka. Is there anything you really want? Like something you saw in the shops in Keyaki Mall that made you feel like you really wanted to buy it but you couldn't at that moment?"

After school, on the way back to the second year dorms, Kei asked this question to Kiyotaka. Feeling a little bit overwhelmed by the question, Kiyotaka only turned to her with raised eyebrows.

"I'm not exactly sure what you mean by that. Where is this coming from?"

"Eh? Kiyotaka. Don't tell me you've forgotten!" Kei exclaimed in shock, beyond what Kiyotaka was thinking.

Kiyotaka himself was confused as to why Kei was like this. There shouldn't be a reason, at least to his knowledge. He was pretty sure he didn't forget anything. So why was she acting like this and asking a question like that?

"Forgotten what?"

Kei was silent for a few moments before sighing in defeat.

"Kiyotaka... Your birthday is in just a couple of days! October 20th!"

At that point, Kiyotaka's eyes opened so wide that if it weren't for the fact that "wide" for him was nearly "normal" for everyone else's eyes.

It was true that Kiyotaka's birthday was approaching fast. Kiyotaka had honestly forgotten about it because his birthdays had always been the same - just a regular old day. Things were a tiny bit different last year when Kei messaged him with a "happy birthday", and before last year, it was Matsuo who wished him one and gave him a present - that being the ability to be free from his father and attend ANHS.

But those days were still just normal days for Kiyotaka. Matsuo, Shizuku and Kei were the only three people in his life that wished him happy birthdays. He did not have any others who did the same, even if the Ayanokouji Group started around the time when his birthday was going by. And at the same time, Kiyotaka didn't have anyone he specially cared for, meaning he couldn't really feel extremely happy from having been wished a happy birthday and given a gift from someone.

This year was going to be different though. Kei was now his girlfriend and he really cared about her. Kei remembered his birthday all too well and was now asking what he wanted as a gift. If anything, with the way Kei was, it wouldn't be surprising if she was planning a birthday party either.

"Ah... I did forget..."

Kei sighed in defeat, however she didn't hide her frowning expression as she replied.

"Kiyotaka. I know you've been through a lot before coming to this school. You told me quite a lot. But even still, you shouldn't forget your own birthday. It's the only day that makes you feel special, makes you want to be yourself and makes you want to be happy. Even when I was bullied heavily before coming here, the only two days I looked forward to were my birthday and Christmas. So it should be the same with you. Or at least now, you have me. You have Yousuke-kun. Maya-chan. Nene-chan. Hasebe-san. Miyake-kun. And everyone else you've befriended. So everyday should now feel like a great day for you too, even if we sometimes lose things and have to deal with others. That's what you also taught me."

Kiyotaka was silent, taking in everything Kei had just said. All of what she said was true. This year is different from the last. He had more people around him. He had changed his mindset from what it had originally been. Everything was now better. So that meant he should treat it as being better too.

"Anyway, Kiyotaka. Really. What would you like for your birthday? I still haven't really figured it out yet since you seem like you never really want anything. And I'm not going to use the internet like you did with my birthday last year."

The light jab at him made Kiyotaka almost laugh, but he kept that to himself. He was inexperienced so he only did what he thought was best at the time. But that wasn't important right now. He needed to give an answer to Kei.

However, if he was being honest with himself, there wasn't exactly anything that caught his interest in the stores. He was not really a gamer like Ike and Sotomura, so he wasn't really looking for a games console. And while he had been listening to music more often, he wasn't a hardcore fan to the point where a speaker or even a smart speaker were things he was actively looking to buy one.

So he couldn't really think of anything that he really wanted. And if that wasn't enough, even if it was for his birthday, he didn't want Kei to spend so much of her private points just to buy him a present he really wanted. And so, he concluded if he were to think of something, it needed to be within a reasonable budget price.

"Well... Nothing comes to mind so far..."

"Nothing huh? Well how about we go around Keyaki Mall now and have a look around. I'm sure there's something that will catch your interest. I'll buy it!"

Deciding it was best to listen to his girlfriend for now, the two of them changed their direction and sauntered their way to Keyaki Mall. They decided to start in SIVCAMERA, an electronics store that made Kiyotaka remember a certain situation that caused both him and Ichinose to save Airi.

"Huh? Yo, Ayanokouji!"

While walking around the kitchen electronics section, the couple bumped into an unexpected individual. He had short green toupee-like hair and complimented with dark green eyes. Seeing him made Kei move closer to Kiyotaka, tightening her hold on his arm and indicating she felt unnerved.

"You're on a date with Karuizawa? And you're arm-in-arm... isn't that cute?"

It was none other than Ishizaki Daichi from Ryuuen's Class D.

He looked at Kiyotaka enviously, but he also wasn't alone. Behind him was a very tall and buff black male student, with very short black hair and sunglasses covering his eyes. It was none other than Yamada Albert, also from the very same Class D and considered Ryuuen's right hand man.

He seemed to be holding a large branded pot in his hand. Kiyotaka noted that despite the pot being large, it didn't appear large in Albert's hand, likely because Albert himself was also large. But that wasn't important. Seeing Kiyotaka's stare on the pot, Ishizaki put his hand behind his head, effectively scratching it and answered.

"Oh, this? Ryuuen-san's birthday is on the 20th of this month. We were just choosing a present."

At this, Kiyotaka and Kei both widened their eyes in surprise.

"What? Wait a minute! The 20th is the same birthday as..." Kei looked up at Kiyotaka somewhat alarmed, thinking he knew something about this.

"I've never heard of this before either," he replied to her.

"Is it the same as someone's birthday?"

Seemingly confused at what the two were talking about, Ishizaki pointed his gaze towards Kei. She glared at him and hid a little bit of herself behind Kiyotaka.

"What the hell, you brought it up..."

At that moment, before Ishizaki could say anything more that would likely worsen the mood with Kei, Albert lightly placed a hand on his shoulder. It was there that he finally seemed to have an idea as to why Kei was so wary.

"Oh... I get it."

Even though it was on Ryuuen's order, Ishizaki called Kei to the rooftop and took part in what can be called abuse and torture. It was only natural that Kei would not be pleased with such a man. Ishizaki was angry at himself for being obtuse. He clicked his tongue and then lightly slapped himself on the head with his clenched fist.

"I should have said I'm sorry... I was on the rooftop when you-"

"Don't talk about it here!"

Ishizaki tried to apologise, but he still lacked delicacy. This was Keyaki Mall. It would not be surprising if someone he knew showed up at any moment. Even though Horikita and Ryuuen already made brief mention about the incident on the rooftop without naming the including parties other than Ryuuen himself, Kei would not be happy to have it brought up again in an area which was more populated than their classroom.

"Shall we move somewhere else?"

There were a few areas hidden from view from the prying public eye, allowing meetings like this to happen. When Kiyotaka offered this option, Ishizaki and Albert reluctantly agreed but stated they wanted to make the purchase before going with them.

Arms entwined with Kiyotaka, Kei followed him, disgruntled at the situation. Shortly after buying the pot, Ishizaki and Albert followed too. They made their way to the emergency exit, deciding that it was the best place to take the conversation out of everyone's sights. Of course, even though they were out of anyone's sight, they were not out of earshot. However, if someone they knew did show up, they could stop the conversation there and it wouldn't be a problem.

"I'm so sorry! All the time, even before I was apologising, really!"

As soon as they deemed it alright to talk, Ishizaki immediately shouted out an apology.

"I don't need an apology. In fact, it makes me even more angry."

"What...?"

"You people were beaten to a pulp by Kiyotaka. You lost, so you're just apologising because you had no choice."

"No, no, that's not..."

"If Kiyotaka hadn't saved me on the rooftop... or if I had lost to you and Ryuuen, you wouldn't be apologising to me like this. No? That's why it's annoying."

Kei had a point. Now Kiyotaka was decent friends with Ishizaki and Albert, but that was all after the rooftop incident. It was no wonder that there were "if's" like Kei said.

"I know I'm to blame, but still..."

"I don't blame you. It's natural for the strongest to be the best. I've always hated being the underling, so I've always managed to stand on top and be overbearing to the underlings. Isn't that right?"

Despite differences in degree, the essence of Kei and Ishizaki was the same. They had the same values, to understand their place. Kiyotaka, who was silent, decided to intervene in the argument.

"I understand what you're saying. But now that I've come into contact with Ishizaki, I've learned a few things. He has definitely grown for the better since then."

"What do you mean, 'for the better'? It seems to me that nothing has changed."

Kei, who couldn't understand what her boyfriend was saying, tried to ask what he meant.

"This is just how I feel, but I don't think Ishizaki would easily go along with what Ryuuen did to Kei if he tried to do it to someone else now."

"Yeah? It doesn't look like you can rebel against Ryuuen, though."

It appeared those words must have been made right on the mark as Ishizaki choked on his words. Unable to say anything back, his frustration overflowed, and he hit his knee hard with the palm of his hand. Seeing this, Kei sighed.

"That's enough. You're friends with Kiyotaka now, aren't you? I don't forgive you, and I probably never will, but I'm done blaming you."

"Are you sure?"

"That's why I said so. It's over, okay?"

"Ah, ah!" Ishizaki looked up happily. "I'm relieved... Going back to what I heard earlier, whose birthday was it that you were talking about?"

Ishizaki asked Kei again. Still in disbelief, Kei pointed her index finger at Kiyotaka.

"What? Seriously? Ayanokouji's birthday is also October 20th?" Ishizaki was surprised, as if in disbelief. "Maybe it's fate!"

"There are more than 400 students in the school, so it's no wonder there are people with the same birthday."

"But isn't it amazing that it's Ayanokouji and Ryuuen-san?"

Rejoice in mere coincidence. As Kei said, it was nothing strange, but for some reason, Albert seemed a little bit happy too.

"Can we go back to the store?"

"Ah! Yes! Just a minute!"

Perhaps Ishizaki's voice was too loud, or maybe Kei was just annoyed, but she started plugging her ears with her fingers. After a few moments, Kei unplugged her ears and Ishizaki took that moment to propose something wild.

"I have a suggestion. How about we celebrate our birthdays together on the 20th? Ryuuen-san and Ayanokouji's birthday party, wouldn't that be great?"

Hearing that idea, Kiyotaka immediately believed it to not be great. Even though he recently just met with Ryuuen and had a coffee break with him, that was business work only. He couldn't visualise combining a birthday party with Ryuuen specifically.

Kiyotaka thought Kei believed the same, however her response surprised him.

"If you say he's going to apologise, that's fine."

"What?"

"I said I could accept it if Ryuuen would bow down to me and apologise."

Even though she said it would be fine if Ryuuen apologised, the conditions she set out also made it a good excuse to refuse. Ishizaki opened his mouth wide, then came to the realisation about how difficult it was to do something like that, and his mouth turned into a pout.

"Ryuuen won't apologise to me, right?"

"Yeah, that's never going to happen..."

It would be impossible for Ishizaki to even advise Ryuuen to apologise. Ishizaki froze, but then, as if he had made up his mind, he opened his mouth once more.

"If the two of you say yes, I'll make the proposal to him myself!"

"Will you ever give up?"

[If Ishizaki does so, he might be met with an iron fist sanction. I know Ryuuen very well at this point.] Kiyotaka thought as he, like Albert, quietly listened.

"I'll do something about it! If you ever get an apology, it'll be your birthday party!"

"Well, if... that really happens, I'll think about it..."

Ishizaki was overflowing with enthusiasm, but his cheap shots may lead to his own downfall. Kiyotaka believed he should clearly reject this idea.

However, after so long, Albert finally opened his mouth and spoke in fluent Japanese, surprising both Ishizaki and Kei.

"Ishizaki, there may be a way to get the boss to do what Karuizawa wants. It may not be a 100% apology but it'll be close enough."

After being momentarily surprised, Ishizaki replied to Albert.

"Really? How can we do that Albert?"

Albert then leaned down and whispered his answer in Ishizaki's ear, prompting the latter to widen his eyes in shock and wear an enthusiastic smile.

"Hoho. That will definitely work. Ok! Let's go with that," Ishizaki said before turning back to face Kei. "If Ryuuen-san says he's sorry, it's okay, right?"

"Well..."

"Okay! Plus, let me apologise again. I'll get you something more thoughtful than Ryuuen's gift, I promise!"

Admittedly, Kei couldn't fight against Ishizaki's enthusiasm for a while. It was inevitable that she would raise the white flag in defeat like the French did long ago.

"Fine, whatever."

"Ha, it's decided! For now, let's go pick out a birthday present for Ryuuen-san!"

"That pot isn't a birthday present?"

"No way! Ryuuen would never accept that, even as a joke. This is just for us to help make the food for the party. Speaking of which, you should invite others to Ayanokouji and Ryuuen-san's party. They may feel reluctant but I'm sure they'll enjoy it! Now Albert! Let us go and find that present for Ryuuen-san. We'll leave those two to finish what they're doing."

Albert nodded his head and Ishizaki went back to the store a step ahead of him. As expected, they seemed to understand that they can't go with Kiyotaka and Kei. As soon as they were out of sight, Kiyotaka turned back to Kei.

"Why did you accept Ishizaki's proposal? I thought you were going to say no."

Although she heard his honest feelings and accepted his apology, Kiyotaka still thought that she wouldn't choose to face Ishizaki regarding my birthday.

"Well, I'd prefer a birthday alone with Kiyotaka, too, but..."

"You bet on the possibility that Ryuuen will apologise?"

"No, I doubt that's possible. Even if Ishizaki-kun says he has a way to make him apologise somewhat, I still don't think it'll work out. It's just that..." Kei turned and looked behind at Ishizaki, who was happily talking with Albert. "I could feel that Ishizaki-kun likes you as a friend. And after what I told you earlier about living your life with me and your friends, it would feel wrong to reject his idea and ruin your chance to enjoy more time with even more friends. And it would be hypocritical of me if I didn't bring him in when he's your friend and I had planned on bringing Maya-chan, Yousuke-kun and the others to your party, you know?"

[Ah so that's what it's about...] Kiyotaka thought. He realised that she was just looking out for him after she remembered what he had told her about his past. He didn't tell her the full story, but it was enough for her to cry and hug him the day he told her mostly everything.

Realising what he had guessed, Kei blushed and looked away.

"Besides, Ishizaki-kun wants to apologise to me again. I just thought it would be okay to accept it."

The fact that she was not being honest was very Kei-like. However, Kiyotaka still thought it wasn't a good idea. But if Kei, who was the one who appeared to be planning the party, was alright with it, then Kiyotaka wasn't going to argue.

The two of them made their way back to SIVCAMERA and continued to see if anything would work as a birthday present for Kiyotaka.

.

.

.

Part 4

Once in a school lifetime, there would be a time where every student would be called by either the school principal, vice principal, chairman or equivalent position at least once. Whether it was because the student did something wrong or because they needed a meeting to discuss academic effort, the student wouldn't miss a time to be called by the higher position school worker.

For Kiyotaka, who had been called a lot by his father back in the White Room, something like this felt extremely normal. However, while he never counted the times he was called by his father in the White Room, it didn't take too long for him to be called by the Principal or Chairman Sakayanagi. It only took about half a year for him to be called over, all because his father visited the school to take him back.

"Ayanokouji and Kouenji. Before you both head home, you are required to visit the chairman's office for something important."

So when Kiyotaka heard this announcement from Chabashira at the end of the school day, he wasn't all that surprised. In fact, he actually expected something like this to happen again at some point. What he didn't expect was for Kouenji to be called with him.

Unsurprisingly, as soon as Kiyotaka stood up to make his way out of the classroom, he saw the worried stares of his peers. Kei's, Satou's and Hirata's expressions were full of worry. The same could be said for Akito and Keisei, and though Haruka's was hard to see from her trying to keep her cold expression, it was still noticeable to him. Even Horikita had some sort of worried expression on her face. The entire class looked worried as they believed something was wrong with Kiyotaka.

"Hmhmhm. You all shouldn't worry so much. Ayanokouji-boy is just like me, a perfect human, so there is no way that he has done anything wrong. If anything, it's just the school telling us how perfect we are and how they want to reward us. So all of you relax a bit."

However, surprisingly to everyone, Kouenji, who was also called with Kiyotaka, spoke out to ease the worries of the class. Although he spoke with his usual outgoing, confident and pretty much narcissistic point of view, it didn't actually annoy the class like it usually would.

"Eh? Is Kouenji-kun recognising Ayanokouji-kun?"

"Did Kouenji just say Ayanokouji is just as perfect as him? He never says that about anyone!"

"Are those two friends!?"

Murmurs of surprise and exclamations of shock were heard as Kiyotaka and Kouenji finally left the classroom. It was safe to say Kouenji was successful in ridding Class B's worries, but he likely caused more rumours from inside the class about him. Kiyotaka sighed for a moment before asking the million dollar question.

"Why did you speak out like that? You would never do that."

Hearing that question, Kouenji smirked and began walking towards the chairman's office with Kiyotaka in tow behind him.

"Fufufu. As the Commander of the class, you can't have your underlings worry over and doubt you. My position in class is the way it is because I know I'm perfect and they have no choice but to accept it as true. I've shown them how perfect I am. So if someone perfect recognises another person as perfect, they have no choice but to accept it. You should be grateful for your own actions, Ayanokouji-boy. Thanks to that, with my help, we've just solidified your position in the class more."

Kouenji wasn't wrong. Since the start of second year, Kiyotaka's actions have been leading to more people recognising him. And in terms of the class, thanks to exposing Kushida, his position had gotten better to the point where he was chosen as Commander.

"I see..."

"Hahahaha."

Soon after, the two perfect human beings arrived in front of the Chairman's office. Taking the lead, Kiyotaka knocked on the door a couple of times, notifying the occupants of their arrival. After hearing a "come in" from the inside, Kiyotaka turned the doorknob and opened the door, Kouenji following behind.

"Excuse us," he said after closing the door behind them.

Inside the office, Chairman Sakayanagi sat at his desk, seemingly unperturbed. However, he wasn't alone. Sitting on one of the sofas was another adult male with brunette hair and seemingly cold ice blue eyes. This man wasn't recognisable to Kiyotaka, however it appeared the opposite to Kouenji.

"Ho? Jerome-man. I never would have expected you to be here."

Ignoring the fact that Kouenji used "man" as an honorific like he would with "boy" and "girl", Kiyotaka watched the conversation between Kouenji and this man.

"He is here on behalf of the board of directors. Since you were in classes, you probably haven't noticed, but we actually held a visitor group full of the attendees to show them around the school before they come here next week for the official sports festival. Jerome-san here, from the Kouenji Conglomerate, was one of those visitors."

However, it was Chairman Sakayanagi who answered for Jerome. He had likely been in charge of handling the visitor group today, along with the Principal most likely.

"Your father, Rokusuke, wasn't able to attend today's visit, so he asked me to come in his place. Of course, since he was invited to the sports festival, he will be attending on the day of the event, so you should expect to see him then."

Jerome paused for a minute before narrowing his eyes at Kouenji.

"I hope for yourself that you are doing your best for the reputation of the Kouenji Conglomerate. As the heir, you need to show that you are indeed worthy. So you should be sure to show your power completely to your father during the sports festival."

"Hmhmhm. Relax Jerome-man. I am a perfect human being. Even if I show just a little bit of my power, Father will know I am worthy enough. This school already knows I am greater than 98% of the people here. The only exception is the person next to me. Isn't that right, Ayanokouji-boy?"

Jerome then widened his eyes a little bit and stared at Kiyotaka.

"So you're this 'Ayanokouji Kiyotaka' Rokusuke and that idol girl were talking about. I've heard how great you were, especially since Kouenji-sama invested quite a lot of money into this 'White Room' project."

"What you see is what you get." was all that Kiyotaka said in reply.

This only led to Jerome giving a small smile and standing up from his chair.

"Well I'm sure you're probably wondering why I'm here when a lot of the other adults have all left. One was to just talk with the Chairman about the visitor status since the Kouenji Conglomerate is actually a sponsor for the sports festival, even though this school has enough to support it on their own. Another was to just check in with Rokusuke on behalf of Kouenji-sama."

Then, Jerome brought out a piece of paper from the inside of his suit blazer, walked over to Kiyotaka and handed it to him.

"The last reason is to hand over this message from that idol girl. Apparently you gave her a role of some sort and with no way to get in contact with you, I just happen to be the mediator for you two."

Kiyotaka took the piece of paper and before unravelling it to see what the message contained, he looked back at Jerome and asked a question.

"How is she doing?"

"The idol girl? Ever since she joined our company as an idol, she's been extremely well loved and is enjoying everything we've been giving her. She's done a bit of outside work too and it's been going well. I'd say she's doing amazingly well and she's enjoying herself immensely. I was confused when we got that message from Rokusuke, and her, but I got to say it's been a huge success."

That was good to hear for Kiyotaka. It was his idea to give Airi an opportunity to enjoy and become what she wanted to become when she was expelled during the unanimous special exam. While he hated the fact that he had to set this up because of Horikita's persistence in keeping Kushida, he felt relieved that it wasn't all bad if Airi was happy.

"I see."

At that point, Kiyotaka unravelled the piece of paper and read the message. His eyes then narrowed so much that it looked like the darkness he was hiding behind his eyes for a long time were finally projecting themselves again. Seeing that, Kouenji's smirk nearly disappeared, Chairman Sakayagani stayed normal, but Jerome, having not seen something like this, shivered.

Kiyotaka quickly returned back to normal and put the piece of paper in his pocket. He then looked back at Jerome.

"Thank you for delivering the message to me, Jerome," he said and bowed a little bit.

"Ah. Well I'm just doing my job. Anyway, that's all I came here to do. I should be back for the sports festival, so I should be seeing you two then. I shall take my leave now, Chairman Sakayanagi. I'll find the exit on my own."

Jerome then left the chairman's office, leaving Kiyotaka, Kouenji and Chairman Sakayanagi in the room.

"Was I just called because of Jerome-man here? If that's it, I'll be taking my leave too," Kouenji said, not leaving room for Chairman Sakayanagi to answer his question.

But it appeared he didn't need to as the Chairman just nodded and let Kouenji leave. After that, he then looked over at Kiyotaka and began speaking up.

"You had a classmate that was expelled during the unanimous vote exam, right? Is that the same classmate Jerome-san was talking about?"

"Yes. Sakura Airi. I made a deal with Kouenji to give her a life outside of this school if she were to be expelled. It seemed that it ended up working out for her."

"You really are kind, Kiyotaka-kun," Chairman Sakayanagi said with a smile. However, his expression then turned serious again as he continued. "Anyway, that message you got from her. I can assume that it says that he is coming to the sports festival."

Kiyotaka could only nod at the Chairman's question. He brought out the piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to the Chairman. The message read:

"Yatei Ayatouji is coming to the sports festival. Be careful."

Yatei Ayatouji, Professor Ayanokouji's politician name, aka Kiyotaka's father. Kiyotaka had known from Chairman Sakayanagi's phone call just before the unanimous vote special exam that it was a possibility that his father would be attending the sports festival as a guess. But it was only said as a possibility. He did not know whether it was true.

However, thanks to Airi's help, he now confirmed that was the case. Yes, at the time before Airi left the school after the exam, Kiyotaka had also requested her to do something dangerous for him. He wasn't sure if it was actually a good idea to give it to Airi and he wasn't sure if she would accept it, but he had no choice as it was for his own safety.

That request was none other than to spy on his father's movements and relay messages to him through the Kouenji Conglomerate. Keeping an eye on his father's movements would allow Kiyotaka to prepare for anything his father may throw at him, and this visit to the sports festival just happened to be one of those things. Kiyotaka silently thanked Airi for relaying this to him.

"I should remind you that outside communication is forbidden."

"Does this actually count as outside communication? Besides, this is important and the rules state I can't use the phone without permission. Relaying it this way was the only way."

Of course, there were also some other means of working your way around the communications rule which even Kiyotaka hadn't completely figured out yet. Chairman Sakakyanagi gave a bitter smile at that.

"In your situation, I can maybe make a few exceptions."

"Is that so? Come to think of it, Chairman, President Nagumo's position in office as the Student Council President is currently still indefinite until near his graduation, but around this time, the Student Council elections would be happening, right?"

Horikita Manabu had stepped down from his position as the Student Council President around October last year, which was around this exact time this year. In place of Horikita Manabu, Nagumo was chosen as the successor Student Council President. One of the first things he announced as the new President was to change the running time for each new president so that the current one would remain in power until they graduated. Chairman Sakayanagi had a look of interest as he probably came to that realisation.

"I remember Nagumo stating that he couldn't implement that power change until Horikita-senpai graduated. I understand the previous Student Council President's power and influence still roams supreme even after an official step-down and transfer of power, but that isn't the only reason why President Nagumo was unable to implement that change, was it? If I were to guess, some of this school's higher staff, which inexplicably includes you, were slightly against that idea and also delayed it."

Influence from a powerful student went quite a long way. Horikita and Kushida's bet from last year in the paper shuffle exam was an example of that. If neither of them kept their end of the bet, since Horikita Manabu was a witness to the bet, the traitor would find themselves in quite a lot of trouble from the amount of influence the previous Student Council President had.

And from Kiyotaka's own experience, when the rooftop incident happened, Kiyotaka had asked Horikita Manabu to act as a witness to whatever happened there. In the case Ryuuen betrayed Kiyotaka and exposed him as Class D's mastermind and Kei's past, they would immediately be in trouble once the former Student Council President told everyone what had transpired on the rooftop.

However, both of those would spell the word "troublesome" in bold letters to Kiyotaka, so he was glad those never happened and Ryuuen was obedient enough to heed his advice.

Chairman Sakayanagi wore an amused smile after hearing Kiyotaka's declaration of the truth.

"As impressive as always, Kiyotaka-kun. You are correct. This school does say that it doesn't interfere with student ordeals, but that isn't always true. I was against Nagumo-kun's ideals for the Student Council so I delayed it from happening. In fact, quite a lot of teachers and the board of directors I work with sometimes were also divided. However, when Ayanokouji-sensei made his move and got me kicked out of office, Acting Director Tsukishiro probably got the board of directors to end up agreeing with Nagumo-kun's requests and ideals. They didn't really have much of a choice I guess."

With their main leader out of the boardroom and the temporary successor on the side of Nagumo, the divided board of directors probably had no choice but to just follow Nagumo's ideals in line with the school's rules and ideals, even if some didn't like it.

"To this day, I am still against a Student Council President staying in power longer than just one year. That's why I was planning to use the favour the board of directors offered me after my reinstatement to get them to agree to go back to the original rule. But I'm a little conflicted if I should really use it on that or not."

The board of directors likely felt lonely and awful without the man they trusted to lead them well. That's why when he finally returned to office, they offered him a free favour to complete if he had a request. With that in mind, Kiyotaka gave Chairman Sakayanagi an answer.

"Chairman. I would say it's best to follow your heart and if it says you should use the favour they owe you on making that change, then you should follow. If you want to know what I think, Nagumo is definitely too dangerous to keep in the Student Council President's power for longer than one year. So a new Student Council President should be elected by the students from chosen candidates."

As Horikita Manabu once said, the one who held the Student Council President position and used its power effectively, that power would become paramount. Things that 99% of people wouldn't have access to or even know would become easily within reach of the Student Council President. Nagumo, of course, understood that, but he wielded it the wrong way, which was why Horikita Manabu had tried to use Kiyotaka as a means to stop Nagumo.

"That is a good opinion. However, Kiyotaka-kun, I'm more curious about the reason why you are interested in the Student Council President that much. In fact, you seem very interested in the Student Council President position, like you very much want to take it. You came to this school because you were looking for a peaceful life. That is the reason why I appointed you to Class D. Being interested in the Student Council President position will ultimately ruin your peaceful life goal."

That was true. It was for that very reason that Kiyotaka had rejected Horikita Manabu's offers to join the Student Council on many occasions. All he wanted was to become an average student and lead an average life where he could learn the life of normal people he had been isolated from for too long. He wanted to be a true member of the society his father had called stupid.

However, that was what he first wanted. As with all things in life, change would always occur. Chairman Sakayanagi probably understood that and guessed part of his intentions, but wanted to hear the answer from Kiyotaka himself.

"Things have changed now. I need to do what I need to do, not just for myself but for the people around me and this school. The Student Council President position will allow me to do the things I need to do better. That's why I'm interested in taking it as soon as possible, of course within the school rules."

He wasn't the same he was when he first started at this school. He wasn't the same person after he first pushed his abilities as far as he could after the first special exam in their first year. He wasn't the same as he was when he fought Ryuuen on the rooftop after manipulating him. He had changed, and he had changed for the better.

Chairman Sakayanagi smiled and replied.

"So you've figured out the true meaning of this school?"

"Not all of it, just most of it. I think there's still some things that are hidden about this school's true purpose and I believe the Student Council President position will also allow me to find out more about it. On that note, Chairman, I would like to ask you a question related to that."

"What is it?" Chairman Sakayanagi's tone of voice indicated he was very interested in this new development. Kiyotaka went on to ask his question.

"Theoretically, if a newly elected or current Student Council President were to propose a new rule or change to the school's current system and they had enough points to do so, would it be implemented straight away?"

Kiyotaka already had part of this answered already with their conversation. However, there were still some missing bits to the answer.

You can buy anything with points.

This was Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School's main premise. If you had the points to do so, you could buy ANYTHING. Exceptions did apply, as Kiyotaka learned after talking with Chabashira before saving Kei on the rooftop.

Kiyotaka wanted confirmation to see if points affected a decision. Was bribing a means to getting a rule implemented quickly?

"Interesting. Well to answer your question, no it's not completely implemented straight away even if you have the points to make it happen. If I agree to it, I also have to put it through the board of directors and if there is a majority agreement to it then it will be implemented as soon as possible."

It was just as Kiyotaka thought. Even if you had the points to do it, as long as the board of directors were still in debate of the idea, it wouldn't be implemented. In a way, that was problematic, but understandable for a school like this.

"I see. Well that's all I wanted to ask about the Student Council President position. I intend to run for it and nurture every student into what this school wants."

"Is that so? Well I'll note down your name for the position and talk with the board of directors in getting the Student Council elections up and running in the coming weeks. I'm sure Nagumo-kun already has a successor in line but I wish the best for you all to compete and I hope you continue to be a good student at this school."

Kiyotaka nodded and thanked Chairman Sakayanagi for the help. But he knew that the two of them weren't done yet. After all, there was still one lingering issue which they had diverted away from temporarily to discuss the Student Council affairs.

"Back to the issue with your father though. The phone call I gave you a couple of weeks ago, have you considered the offer I made to you? I would like to hear your answer now so I can make the arrangements."

In order to avoid Professor Ayanokouji and his rogue assistants, staying absent for the sports festival may be the best option. This was the offer Chairman Sakayanagi made to him during the same phone call just before the latest special exam.

"Thank you for your proposition Chairman. But I would like to decline the offer. I will participate in the sports festival."

After thinking about it greatly, Kiyotaka decided not to take it on. He would not be absent and would participate in the sports festival as normal.

"I will respect your decision, but I would like to warn you that it might not be a good idea to participate. Especially now that we know he is attending."

Kiyotaka knew it was probably a worse idea to participate rather than stay absent. But as he said before, things had changed. Even if Chairman Sakayanagi would keep saying it was a bad idea, he had made his decision now.

"I know. Which is why I would like to tell you what I plan to do for the sports festival and propose a solution."

"Hm...? Go on..."

"I will be participating in the sports festival as our class's Commander. Which means for most of the sports festival, I will be behind closed doors where they will be unable to touch and see me. Of course, since the Commanders will inevitably have to face off against each other in three events, it doesn't mean I'll be completely safe and out of view from that man. But because the events are shorter, it will mean that they won't see me for as long and be able to make a move."

He paused to let Chairman Sakayanagi take in everything he said before continuing.

"I'm sure you've thought about school security, but I think it would be best to have security guards like your trusty assistant in the room where the commanders are instead of the teachers. Also having security guards integrated well with the teachers in normal areas for participants will ensure it doesn't look too suspicious and will allow them to keep an eye on not just that man but everyone else. What do you think?"

"It's a good proposition. Indeed I was thinking a lot about security and thinking of implementing what you mentioned. But if you now say that you're going to be the Commander for your class, then it will indeed make it easier for me to put my trusty assistant around you to keep you safe. Alright. We'll go with that then."

Agreeing to Kiyotaka's idea, Chairman Sakayanagi nodded and wrote down a few things on a piece of paper. He then turned back to Kiyotaka.

"Well that's all I was calling you here for. I do hope you do well during the sports festival and hope nothing bad happens with Ayanokouji-sensei coming."

"...I hope so too..." Kiyotaka mumbled.

After that, he bowed and bid farewell to Chairman Sakayanagi. Kiyotaka knew that there would be more occasions he would be talking to the Chairman over the coming months. He really was a special student at this school, even though his treatment was still only just a tiny bit above a regular student.

As Kiyotaka closed the door behind him and took just a few steps away from the office, he immediately stopped and turned behind him.

"What is it, Sakayanagi?"

"Fufufu. So you knew I was waiting outside for you?"

Revealing herself from just around the corner was Sakayanagi Arisu. Her cane lightly tapped the floor as she approached Kiyotaka.

"You were asked to meet with my father. I should say it would be weird if I wasn't interested in what was going on. So, allow me to guess. My father said to you that your father is truly attending the sports festival, isn't that right?"

Kiyotaka wasn't surprised that she was able to guess most of it so easily. Just before the Talent Show a month ago, Arisu had also said to Kiyotaka that she believed it was possible that Professor Ayanokouji would attend the sports festival. It appeared to Kiyotaka that the Sakayanagi family were truly quite elite, but he knew that long ago.

"Right on the money."

"Fufu. So what will you do, Ayanokouji-kun? You're participating as a Commander, right? I'll also be the Commander for Class A, but with Ayanokouji-sensei in attendance, I may need to make some changes to my plan and focus on something else too. If you need me to help you, I can do so now during the sports festival and sacrifice another win for Class A."

"Well if you are actually inclined to do so, there is something I might need your help with, both related to my father and our own class."

"Fufu, fire away."

"Let's discuss it as we walk. Follow me."

Kiyotaka then left with Arisu, discussing what would soon become a large-scale operation during the sports festival. The sound of very light footsteps and a cane hitting the floor was all that could be heard as they kept walking and talking.

End of Chapter 2...