Chapter 28: Severance
23rd of July, Monday.
Kiyoshi's POV:
"Look's like the plan's ready…" Shingo exclaimed as the rest of us sat near him.
"Well… Kiyoshi should check if the council is planning anything else *cough cough*"
"Right… I'll go and talk to Prez-san and Kate-san to see if anything else comes up… But I'm pretty sure we won guys" A smile formed on my face.
After all our planning and effort, it seems like the summer trip was secured, so the WTC was already in the works… All that was left is for us to get the WTC Equipment and for August to start.
"Indeed… Victory is upon us… But we must not lay down our guard…" Gakuto seemed happier than ever, yet he remained cool deep down. "If we want this to go smooth, we must check every part of the plan"
We all nodded at the same time. Even if we hadn't secured the WTC yet, we couldn't contain our smiles. The price was just in front of us, all we needed to do was walk a few steps forward.
"Now… Is there anything else we should debate?" Gakuto asked.
"Ah… There is something…" Shingo looked in my direction. "Shouldn't we be planning something for your birth-"
I quickly sealed his mouth, to the surprise of everyone else in the room.
"N-Nope, I guess there's nothing else for us to talk about! How about we guys return to classes and go check if we can get everything else before the trip begins, right?"
Everyone looked at me a bit nervous, but they all nodded.
"S-Sure dude, we'll go" Andre said.
"Y-Yeah… See you later" Joe added.
As the guys left, I took my hand off Shingo's mouth. He catched some air and looked at me.
"Hey! What was that for?!" Shingo asked angrily.
"I knew what you were gonna say, don't you even dare, you know I hate my birthday"
"Ooooh, come on! I thought you would have gotten over it by now!"
"You know I just can't… It always ends up wrong… And the last thing I want is my stupid birthday running the WTC, don't you?!"
"Come on man, nothing's gonna happen!"
"... Just leave it like that…"
"...Hmm…" Shingo nodded quietly as he left the room.
Time for me to go to the USC's office then.
[...]
As I walked the hallways, I remembered the scene that had unfolded in our bedroom.
Right now, I have to make sure the summer trip goes as planned, not a single intermission from the ASC can occur.
As I opened the door, I found Meiko, Hana, Risa and Kate sitting while drinking some tea. A few stacks of paper laid on the table, tea beside them.
It was a "business talk" for what I could see.
"Hmmm… We could do it, but I doubt most people would like to play beach shuffleboard"
"Ehh~? I think most girls would like to play!"
"We'll have to ask every single one of them to find out what we should do if that's the case"
As I entered, my presence wasn't even noticed. The four members of the councils were too busy deciding what to do for the summer camp. It was my perfect moment to strike.
"S-So… I see you are getting ready for the summer trip huh?"
"Kiyoshi! Where have you been?! You are way too late!" The president was the first one to notice me, screaming angrily at me.
"I-I'm sorry! My classes weren't over!"
"Agh… Just take a sit"
I sat next to Hana, who remained still as she drank her tea. Everyone in the room looked busy, but I could feel a taint of happiness in the air.
"I guess you're trying to figure out how to handle the summer camp now that both councils are working together, right?" I asked as I grabbed one of the fliers for the trip.
"Pretty much… We can't decide who's original plan to follow…" Kate said a bit tired.
"It would be much easier if we just used our plan" Risa added.
"I-I think we should take into consideration Mari's planification of the trip too, right?" I said as I looked into Meiko for reassurance.
"Of course" Meiko said slowly. "We should definitely use her ideas too"
"But what should we do then? Mix both plans? That could work but we should choose what goes and what doesn't" Hana looked into the annual activities plans from both councils.
"Hmm… Then we should vote which ones we want to use"
For a second I thought everything was going well, until a scary thought raced through my head:
What if they don't vote for the WTC?
"Ok… So, the first activity is 'Limbo' or 'Night Horror stories', Heh, I like that one" Risa began the vote. "I like the last one better"
"Me too" Meiko added.
"Hmm… I prefer Limbo" Hana voted.
"I prefer Limbo too!" Kate said with a slightly tired face. "Kiyoshi, your vote counts too, right?"
"Eh?!"
"Yeah, Kiyoshi, what do you prefer?" Meiko said with a tone that sounded a bit threatening.
"W-Well I…"
If I vote now and don't say anything… I'll have to eventually vote upon the WTC… If it goes wrong… We'll lose the WTC, and I won't be able to defend it…
I have to somehow make sure that the council's original plan goes well… But how?!
…
As I look to my right, in the small library, I see a game of chess.
T-That's it!
"Well… I can't really decide…"
"Come on, it's not a fair if someone doesn't vote"
"W-Well, you see… I have a better idea"
"Hmm?" Meiko and Kate look at me with doubt on their faces. I'll have to go all in now…
"Why don't we decide how the plans go based on some… games?"
"Games? What do you mean?" Risa asked with a questioning gaze.
"Simply, while on the trip, we should compete to see which council should carry out the planification for the rest of the summer camp! The winner shall decide how things go, that way we'll be able to fairly decide what to do!"
"But… Isn't voting fairer?" Risa asked.
"Heh… Are you scared, Risa?" Thankfully, Hana answered.
"What?! You know better than anyone else I'd beat you on anything"
"Then why don't you prove it"
"Hmm… It does sound fun to compete against you all once more…" Kate said with a smirk. "What do you say, Meiko-san"
"... Hmm… Well… It does sound tempting… I accept" The president herself finally accepted.
So… It was decided to be a competition… I hope this doesn't go bad for us.
End of Kiyoshi's POV.
Chiyo's POV:
"A competition?"
"Yep, that's what I heard" Anzu said to me. Apparently the councils were going to compete for… something… during the summer camp. I can't say that sounds fun.
"And what did they ask for again?"
"Well, the two of us are supposed to be the judges of who wins the competition"
"Hmm… That means that we'll get front row seats to see them fight? Count me in!"
"Ha! I knew you'd get it" Anzu said with a smile as she patted my back.
"By the way, how was your time at the festival, Anzu-san?"
She blushed a bit as she looked at me. "I-It was nice… I spent time with my parents and met uhm… Shingo's parents too… It was fun…"
"Ehh~ So you met your parents-in-law, huh?" Mayumi-chan joined our conversation as we spoke.
"H-Hey! I'm not dating him"
"Come on~ You two have gone on a few dates while he was in prison right?"
"I-It's not the same thing! It was technically my job to do that…"
"Yeah yeah… Ah, I almost forgot, are you two coming tomorrow to shop with us?"
"Us? Us who?"
"Mitsuko-chan invited us two go shopping for some summer clothes and you know… some bikinis, hehe"
"Y-You just want to buy something new to use during your streams, right?"
"Who knows… Hehe"
"So… We'll be shopping right? I'll join" I said with excitement.
"Guess I'll go too"
"Nice, then I'll see you tomorrow!"
I'm sorry, Mayumi-chan, But I'm not just joining you to buy clothes… This is my perfect opportunity to buy Kiyoshi's birthday gift! I'm so glad her mom gave me such a good idea… I hope he does like it…
"By the way, Chiyo-chan, how was the Rapunzel thingy, I would have loved to see Shingo's acting but, I was busy taking care of all of Mayumi's weird fans"
"Hey hey… Don't say that about my beautiful fans!"
"Uhm… Sadly I got sunstroke so I wasn't able to watch it either" I said with a bit of sadness. I would have loved to see Kiyoshi-kun in a prince suit…
"Aw… I heard it was great, its sad you didn't manage to see your boyfriend acting"
"K-Kiyoshi's not my boyfriend!"
"What? I thought he would have become so by now" She said with surprise on her face. "I mean… You'd been together since he got into prison… Damn, even before that!"
"W-Well… Things happened and…"
"A-Ah… I see… Sorry, I got myself into something I shouldn't have gotten to…"
"N-No no, it's fine, I just don't want to talk about it… Just not now"
[...]
As I left towards my club, I met with Satou-san, who was looking happier than usual.
"So, did you have fun at having your own cafe?"
"Well, yeah! Even if I had some small problems with Mitsuko, we talked them out! And Joe helped me sell a lot of stuff"
"Really? I heard he slept the whole day after the festival"
"Y-Yeah… He must have been tired after that, helping us both must have been terrific"
"Why so?"
"I can't imagine a boy not having a problem trying to make two girls happy, you know" Satou-san smiled at me with a funny smile.
"I-I guess you're right…"
"But at the end, he was honest, and once I told him how I felt, he managed to talk our problems out"
"R-Really? Just like that?"
"Yep, it was pretty easy once everything settled up"
"A-And… You have no problem with him talking to Mitsuko-san?"
"E-Eh? Why would I?... W-We aren't really dating or anything like that…"
"Y-Yeah… Sorry"
[...]
After an awkward conversation with her, I found myself walking alone towards the club.
Next to me, a few girls were looking through the window.
"They look so cute together!"
"I wish I had a boyfriend like him!"
"Mhmm… I'm a bit jealous of them…"
Indeed, they were talking about the only straight couple in school. Risa and Andre were walking together, shyly grabbing each other's hands.
Even though I would ask for the girls to stop looking at them and give some privacy to the couple… I found myself looking at them too.
Am I jealous? Maybe as much as anyone else in school. But… For some reason… I feel weird about them… Seeing them together makes my stomach get all weird…
As I continued walking, my mind began asking weird questions…
What would have happened if I just remained as Kiyoshi's girlfriend when he confessed to me?
Well… I know it wouldn't have happened once Hana revealed that to me but… If that wouldn't have happened… Would the two of them just be acting like them?
I mean… Kiyoshi can be a bit shy when he's near me, so maybe we wouldn't be as public as them…
But… We would be happy… Right?
I guess we won't know… At least not now… Because I know that if I give it some time… We can make it work.
But… What if he doesn't change?... What if he actually… Ends up liking someone else?
Well… It's not impossible, right? After all, he seems to be connected to Hana-san, even if it's just a bit.
So… What would I do if that happens?... Will I just take it and forget about him…
I can't see myself doing so after all the things we went through together…
I think… I want him to be my boyfriend… Even if he has to change for my sake… Is that bad?
I can't seem to find an answer to that… I'll have to see…
But for now… Let's just focus on small stuff… Like actually playing a match of Go… Practicing my sumo stances… And getting a good gift for him tomorrow…
End of Chiyo's POV.
Kiyoshi's POV:
"So… Yeah… I ended up saying that"
"Really? Hmm… Well, I'm no Gakuto but… We'll have to make it work somehow" As Joe and I spent time together in the cooking club, I told him about what happened at the USC's office.
"Well, we should start finding ways to make sure the USC wins every competition, right?"
"Yeah *cough, we'll do our best"
"You still have some of those shirts you used while I was in prison?"
"Huh? Oh, that? Yeah, I think Gakuto still has some left, but I can't remember where he left them. Maybe we can buy you one tomorrow"
"Huh? Tomorrow?"
"Yeah, tomorrow we'll go shopping, to make sure we have every single one of the equipment necessary for the WTC *cough*. You should come with us, we'll get some stuff for the competitions too"
I smiled after hearing his plan.
"Count me in! I'll even invite something to eat too, Mitsuko payed me kindly for helping her with the cafe"
"Heh, don't forget who managed it too"
"Oh right, then you'll invite the drinks!"
"Ha… I'll do so"
As we finished baking our stuff, we continued talking while waiting for the cupcakes to be ready.
"So, are you two like dating or something now?"
"I wish… During the festival I ended up saying some manly stuff but, I doubt she actually enjoyed spending time with me that much"
"Oh don't say that, you helped her accomplish her school dream, you definitively scored some points there"
"*cough* You think so? I wish I had the guts to take her out during the summer trip" He said as he took his sleeves up to grab the cupcakes.
"W-Wow dude, you're actually gaining some muscle!"
"Oh that… Heh, Cake-san's food is actually doing it's effect then"
"I'll have to ask her to make me something so I can gain some muscle too"
"Oh come on, get your own girlfriend"
"Heh… I'd wish"
For a second… A weird silence formed in between us too, as I found Joe looking at me with questions on his face.
"About that… Can you actually tell me what happened on Chiyo's birthday?"
?!
"w-what?"
"You know… Something happened that day right? I mean… You arrived that day looking like shit, Chiyo went hikikomori for a week… So something must have happened, right?"
"Well… I… Don't know if I should talk about it"
"S-Sorry, It's okay if you don't actually want to talk about it… I was just a bit… Worried…"
Now that I think about it… If I really want to be an honest man like Chiyo wants to… Should I be open about it?
…
Fuck it…
"... It's okay… I'll tell you what happened that day"
To be continued…
Hey there! Thanks for reading this far! Sorry for taking this much time! :c I'm feeling extremely sick for no apparent reason, but now I have enough energy to finish this chapter, so I hope you like it! I'll do my best to continue writing as fast as usual, sorry for the inconveniences! I'll do my best!
Also, if not updated, please check AO3 version of Prison School: /works/58965832/chapters/150314026
(You can find next chapter's release date in there!)