Chapter 6 – Evaluation
The students poured into the room before class started. Hirata came later than usual, but his expression changed drastically. He greeted everyone as he strolled into the classroom, whereupon Kushida gave me a proud nod to show off how well her plan had worked out.
I didn't know what they talked about, and I didn't really care. All that mattered was that he was getting better, which would make my future moves easier to execute. Both Karuizawa and Mii-chan seemed more than delighted that their friend was back to his usual self.
Or that's what it seemed like, at least.
A simple talk with Kushida couldn't have filled the void in his heart, which he now possessed due to Yamauchi's expulsion. The more people got expelled, the harder it would be for him to keep going, which meant that I had to minimize my losses as much as possible before taking proper care of him and his mental state. It would be a shame if one of my bishops broke because he wasn't able to handle the pawns' sacrifices. I didn't need him to win since he wasn't a major piece, but controlling him would make this game so much easier.
All the pieces in this class had a role to play, and it was my task to use them to their fullest potential. Since I felt thankful to Hirata, I would try my best to protect him as long as possible. This, however, didn't mean I wouldn't sacrifice him if necessary.
Soon, almost every student was accounted for.
The ice queen on my right kept readying her materials for class in calm silence. She threw a quick glance at me as she noticed my gaze on her. I opened my mouth, but in the end nothing came out of it. She seemed somewhat perplexed and disappointed as she shook her head and sighed as if I was the most pitiful person in existence.
Sudou ran into the classroom around ten seconds before Chabashira-sensei strode in. He had dark circles under his eyes, which was clear evidence that he had slept little last night.
I briefly wondered what might have kept him up after our group split up yesterday, but this train of thought was overshadowed by Chabashira-sensei's long strides towards the teacher's desk. She was mesmerizing, as always, but that cold attitude of hers irked me somewhat and needed some adjusting.
Once again, her figure overlapped with a certain someone who sat beside me.
Without further ado, Chabashira-sensei began homeroom while Sudou grabbed his materials and dumped them on the table before yawning. It had been only two days since Yamauchi had officially left the school, and the first person showed signs of letting go of his newfound careful attitude. This was bound to happen, but Sudou regressed faster than I had anticipated, which wasn't a big problem in the grand scheme of things.
Since Yamauchi was expelled because of his 'misbehavior', the students in our class were a lot more careful with their actions. The survivors felt some sort of imminent threat towards their peaceful life for a time after the incident, which kept the class in check. Their current behavior, excluding Sudou, was comparable to Class B's performance on the second day of school. They might not be listening to the teachers, but at least they made it look like they were.
With time, however, this sentiment would change and the students would slip back to the sort of behavior they felt most comfortable with. My classmates would be more vigilant and might not react as extreme as before in fear of further expulsions, but every single one of them would revert to their selves on the first few days in this school.
With Sudou slipping this soon, the others would notice that his behavior had no immediate negative effects for him and follow his example due to their misconception about this place. Sudou was the first gear that would lead to a chain reaction which would send the whole class back to the beginning of April.
This was simple human psychology, which is why I couldn't do anything without standing out. I could have prepared countermeasures, of course, but this was some sort of experiment, so I didn't mind. Since I preferred to stay under the radar and have a peaceful highschool life, I kept biding my time.
At least for now. I didn't know what the future would bring, after all.
While I was spacing out, Chabashira-sensei's captivating voice went in one ear and out the other. There was no reason for me to listen to her words, but I enjoyed her soothing yet authoritative tone. I wondered why I was so attracted to her voice while I stayed vigilant in my attempt to disguise my boredom as an interest in the topic we were discussing.
My eyes fell upon a girl which the guys kept talking about yesterday, Hasebe Haruka.
They weren't talking about her, strictly speaking, but a certain part of her body, which was rumored to be gigantic. I couldn't see much from my position, but that I saw something was proof enough that she was indeed quite huge in that regard.
The girl in question was conscious of her rather large assets and the looks she received because of them. Due to this, she was uncomfortable around most of the boys in our class, since the majority couldn't help but take some time to peek at her breasts during a conversation.
I felt somewhat sorry for her, but there wasn't anything I could do to help.
In the end, Hasebe decided to act similar to the girl named Sakura Airi, who I had never heard talking before.
As my thoughts drifted towards her, I recalled the scene from a few days ago while I was on my way to the library. Since I needed to know as much as possible about my pieces, I decided to tail her once I was free.
Class ended after what felt like an eternity, and it was time to enact our plan. I didn't feel good about it, but it wasn't like I could run off and hope that everything would turn out well.
"Hey, Horikita. Are you free today by chance?"
Her head shifted into my direction, which made her lustrous black hair sway around.
The glare in her eyes was scary. Really, really, scary.
After staring at me for around five seconds, she averted her gaze back to the front and answered in a disinterested tone.
"Is that what you were trying to ask this morning? I have to prepare for class tomorrow."
What would she need to prepare for tomorrow? Did I miss an announcement while spacing out? I was pretty sure that we had regular lessons. But if I thought about it another way, she looked like a student who would do nothing but study, eat and sleep all day. This was probably the way she had spent her whole life until now, as she said herself that she needed no friends.
Wait! Didn't this make us kind of similar? Maybe I had figured out why I felt this strange relief when talking to her, even though she was always cold towards me.
"You don't seem like someone who would need to prepare that much. I just wanted to ask if you would go with me somewhere for a bit."
"False flattery will bring you nowhere, you know? But it is indeed correct that I am smart enough to absorb Chabashira-sensei's teachings without proper preparation. Unlike someone else, that is also a part of this conversation."
Horikita gave me a sideways glance, which bordered on hostility.
She was fronting me, knowing that I needed to review the materials in the library. It wasn't like I could inform her that this was just a ruse, so I wasn't able to disagree with her assessment, even though it was based on nothing but misconceptions.
How troublesome.
"What are you after?" She asked with a suspicious glint in her eyes.
"To be honest, Kushida wanted to run into us by accident because she wanted to befriend you."
Was what I wanted to say, but both of them would probably double-team me into the ground if I were to do that, which wouldn't be a bad outcome at all, now that I thought about it. Her question, however, was strange. Just by inviting her out, she determined that I'd have an ulterior motive. I hadn't been aware that my standing with her was this low. Maybe I was the only one having a good time due to our usual bantering?
"Do I have to be after something if I just wanted to invite you out?"
"Of course I would have my doubts. However, if there is a specific matter you wish to discuss, I wouldn't mind listening."
My impressions were off. This sentence alone was a tremendous step for Horikita. It was almost as if she had already confessed to me. Maybe Kushida was right after all, and love might bloom from our chance meeting. I doubted that she would have agreed if someone else in class asked her out, even if it was in such a roundabout way.
"There is indeed something I'd like to discuss, but there is another reason as well. You probably know about the cafe on campus. That with a ton of girls. I wanted to check it out but didn't have the guts to go there by myself. Since I had something to talk to you about, I thought I could catch two birds with one stone, so to speak."
"So you were after something in the end, weren't you?"
Well, if you put it like that...
"Couldn't you have asked your so-called friends to go there with you?"
Once again, a snide remark came from her side.
She didn't even want an answer for this question. Her only goal was to scar me mentally. I had an answer prepared on how they would be too high profile for me to handle, but she continued before I could say anything.
"Since you invited me, you will pay, correct?"
"Naturally."
"Well then. I have little time, however. Let us proceed, Ayanokouji-kun."
"It won't take long."
Probably.
After our departure, we soon reached the Palate.
The building was already filled to the brim with young and beautiful highschool girls, which was too much for me to handle if I was being honest. It wasn't like their presence was uncomfortable, but I couldn't stop processing the information I received every time I glanced at someone. There were some boys as well, but to find them, one really needed to observe every nook and cranny of this fine establishment as they were being drowned by the sheer amount of women in there.
There are so many people here...
"There are so many people here..."
Once again, it was as if she had read my mind. She even had the same complaining tone I had thought of.
"This is your first time seeing so many people, right? Since it's your first time doing something social."
I let my gaze wander around the cafe as I was feeling victorious for responding to her snide remark from before with one of my own, but my heightened mood soon plummeted, as I couldn't find any empty seats.
"How childish. What would you do if I just turned around and left?"
"Who's childish now? I merely stated facts. Unlike you." I grinned.
"Could you stop using my words against me? It's unbecoming. You may not do that."
I was actually surprised upon hearing her response. I used her words with clear intent, but I didn't think that she would still remember that she said the same thing to me on our very first day here. Maybe I wasn't the only one enjoying our bantering after all.
"You still remember our conversation? Should I feel flattered or be surprised by your memory?"
"Again, you are giving yourself too much credit. I'm vastly superior to you in terms of intellect. In fact, I should be the surprised party. Or do you perhaps remember our chit-chat because of your interest in me?"
"Objection. The question is irrelevant."
"A lawyer now, are we? Quite suspicious if you ask me."
Both Horikita and I knew that we were merely joking around, as neither of us held any romantic interest towards the other person. As always, our exchange was fun, and I felt a small smile spread over my face.
We placed our orders after another round of senseless bantering where no one came out on top. Even though Horikita was rather cold, I could tell that she also enjoyed our chat. I paid for the both of us as we received our food and drinks before aimlessly wandering through Palate, looking for a free seat.
"Do you like sweets?"
Once again, I was quite surprised about the Horikita of that day. This was the first time she had asked a personal question that wasn't aiming on hurting me or otherwise leading towards something sinister. Her voice felt different as well, not as harsh as it normally was, but sweet even. I talked myself into believing that I was just being delusional.
There was no way that Horikita had a sweet voice.
"I guess."
This was a lie, of course. It wasn't like I could tell her that I didn't know how a pancake tasted. If I was being honest, there were a lot of things I wanted to try here. From sweets to cake and ice cream, there was nothing I wasn't interested in. I was excited, like a small child, as I thought about all the firsts I might get to experience in these short three years.
"What about you?" I pointed towards a seat that was about to free up.
Horikita and I secured the table that the two girls had just left as they were about to head outside. I put my bag down, took my seat, and started to look around, hoping that someone else chose to order the same I did, since I didn't know how to eat a pancake. As luck would have it, a group of girls right next to us had purchased the same meal, which meant that I could mimic their behavior.
"I guess they are nice once in a while. But I'm not a friend of too much."
"Well, to be fair, you aren't really anyone's friend."
"Excuse me?" Horikita called out to one of the servers.
"Yes, how may I help you?"
"I'd like to order two dozen pancakes, one serving of ice cream and a drink of their choosing for anyone in the cafe right now."
"Eh?" the waitress 'asked' with a complex expression while my face paled. "Are you sure?"
Horikita — no, the devil turned towards me with the most fascinating smile I had seen in my entire life.
"Am I sure? What do you think, Ayanokouji-kun?"
"I think you are joking... right? Right?"
Cold sweat gathered on my palms as I was calculating the price that was about to hit me if she went through with her insane purchase.
"I wonder if it was just a joke." She hummed with a sweet expression.
"It was, it definitely was." I gulped while shooing away the service lady.
Note to myself: Horikita Suzune was dangerous.
After preventing the imminent disaster, I heaved a deep sigh of relief.
"You're too cold, Horikita. What am I supposed to do without points for the rest of the month?"
"Hm? You'll be fine. There are free meal sets in the cafeteria, after all."
"You would really let me eat those things?"
"Why not? Seeing you suffer might lift my mood a bit after such harsh words. Maybe I should go through with the order after all..."
Her words drifted off, and she raised her hand to get the servers' attention. Without thinking, I snatched her hand and buried it under mine. It only occurred to me after the fact that I did something that presented a danger to my life. At least that's what Matsushita said, and I was inclined to believe her since she hadn't let me down until now.
"Uh, sorry about that."
I averted my gaze as Horikita kept staring on the hand I pulled back onto the table without saying another word. I had the bad feeling that she was fuming, but I wasn't able to read her expression at all. While gazing around the cafe, I tried my best to come up with some witty counter to leave the weird atmosphere behind.
Matsushita's warning was spot on as always. Since I hadn't stopped analyzing my surroundings ever since we got here, I couldn't help but notice that there were only groups of girls or couples in the cafe.
"I wonder if we seem like a couple to the other people around here."
As those words left my mouth, I realized that those words really had left my mouth. Horikita's calm voice interrupted my mental, tearful farewell to every single point I had.
"Probably. It looks like there are only girls and couples around at the moment. How about you buy me a drink for every person who thinks we're a couple?"
"You really want to ruin me, don't you?"
I was glad that the usual Horikita was still around. She acted weird, and I didn't know what happened just now, but I was sure that I should take more of Matsushita's advice into consideration after this life or death experience.
"No such thing. I just enjoy seeing you struggle." She took a sip from her drink with a delighted expression. "Anyway, what did you want to discuss with me?"
There were, in fact, multiple things I wanted to make sure of, so I swiftly opened my mouth as another pair of customers next to us left their table.
"About that. I was wondering —"
"Ah, Horikita-san, Ayanokouji-kun! What a coincidence."
A smiling Kushida cut into the conversation without hesitation. She had taken the spot beside us, which had just freed up and radiated her usual happy aura.
Oh... I forgot about that.
"Kushida? Hey..."
My surprise sounded rather genuine, because I had neglected the reason I was here with Horikita. I was so enthralled by our previous conversation and the question I had wanted to ask that Kushida's plan slipped my mind.
"Did you two come here together?"
"Yeah, we just happened to. Did you come by yourself? That sure is a strange sight."
I got back into character to make up for my lack of professionalism from before. Kushida was about to speak, but got cut short by Horikita.
"I'm leaving."
She stood up without hesitation, ready to leave the cafe.
"H-hey, we just got here."
"You don't need me anymore now that Kushida-san is here. Right?"
It was weird, almost shocking, that such a sentence left her supple lips. There was something else, however... I wasn't sure if I was imagining things, but she sounded hurt. I didn't understand why.
"I wanted to discuss something with you, though. Did you already forget that?"
"We'll talk some other time, then."
"Horikita-san, I..."
As Kushida opened her mouth, Horikita shot her an ice cold glare. "I'm not interested in anything you have to say. Especially after the two of you set me up like this." The raven-haired girl glanced at me while I looked back at her.
Kushida wanted to retaliate, but Horikita left her no choice but to listen in silence.
"Or are you telling me it was a coincidence that two Class D girls left when we were looking for a spot? Was it also a coincidence that the two girls on the table next to us were from Class D as well? We came immediately after classes ended, and neither of those girls had ordered anything, which means they were only here because you asked them to. Am I wrong? Kushida-san?"
Upon this verbal barrage, Kushida looked down in shame and sadness. Horikita had seen through her ruse with ease, and everything she just said was proof of this. There was no way to come back from such a beatdown.
I was excited, however.
Horikita was far more observant than I anticipated. Since she failed to deduce anything about the school on the first day, I thought she was just book smart. But this was different. She seemed disinterested in the class, but still remembered that those four girls belonged to ours. She found it suspicious and correctly deduced what had gone down behind the scenes in a short amount of time while emotions clouded her judgement.
"As I thought. I'm leaving."
"Horikita-san, please be my friend."
"I have no intention of becoming anyone's friend. Not yours and not his."
After hearing such a harsh wake-up call, I took a small hit to my confidence. I enjoyed talking to her, after all. This nonchalant statement that she would never become my friends saddened me more than I wanted to admit.
"Horikita-san, I really want to be friends with you. When I saw you on the bus, I felt it wasn't the first time we've met. I wondered if you felt the same way."
That's an oddly specific choice of words...
"I didn't. And I couldn't care less that you want to be friends with me. Just leave me alone. You are being unpleasant."
With that, Horikita grabbed her bag and walked out of the cafe without turning back.
"Sorry, Kushida."
I stood up and ran after Horikita without waiting for a response. After checking the surrounding area, I found the tips of her hair vanishing behind a nearby building. I raced after her and followed the girl until there weren't that many people around, which fortunately didn't take too long.
"Horikita wait."
She turned around with an annoyed expression, but she stopped walking.
That was a good sign.
"I'm sorry, really. I did not know that Kushida would do something like that."
She stayed quiet and observed me as if to probe if I was being sincere with her. Since she didn't react, I moved closer towards her current position. I had taken her glare from before head on, without avoiding it. Thus, she must have concluded that a certain part of her theory was wrong, or else I would have averted my eyes due to my guilty conscience.
"As dumb as it sounds... I like what we are."
I honestly felt that way.
This was once again something out of character for the person known as Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. But that was the beauty about him. There was nothing that could be out of character for someone that didn't possess one to begin with. I was slowly changing, day by day, forming what I believed to be a decent human being. Honesty was important. That was what I had gathered from my talks with the girls and Hirata.
Horikita stared at me, unmoving and silent. I chose to push forward, out of my comfort zone. Out of our comfort zone. If I didn't do so now, it would only get harder to get close to her in a short time span.
"I know you don't want any friends. But I enjoy the time we spend bantering or getting on each other's nerves. Honestly, I do. So I'd like to keep spending time with you like that, even if you think that I had something to do with this ambush just now. We don't have to be friends. An acquaintance, or even just another classmate, is enough of a label for me. As long as we don't change how we act around each other because of such a stupid misunderstanding."
Even Horikita, who was usually stoic and cold beyond belief, seemed taken aback upon hearing those words. This was really, really out of character for the person I had built until now. But I couldn't care less. I needed her to know my honest thoughts, and I demanded her decision upon hearing them.
The ball was in her corner. She might pass it back to me, or fling it into the ocean where the waves would get rid of it in time. How she wanted to proceed was entirely her decision, just like it should be.
There was no use in running after her like Kushida did.
I prepared for this day, and everything would turn out as predicted. I was sure of that. The stage I had set up for Horikita was the exact one she had wanted, the one she felt most comfortable in. As I was thinking more about this, I noticed that this situation was like one of those corny confession scenes Karuizawa and Satou always talked about, and I couldn't help but get somewhat embarrassed.
The decision that would follow would decide the future of Horikita Suzune at this school.
The girl touched her forehead as if a headache was coming.
"You really are a moron, Ayanokouji-kun."
Steps rang out through the surrounding area. Her steps, to be exact. They got louder as she closed in on me.
"I also enjoy it... when I verbally beat you down." A vicious smirk formed on her face.
Of course, she would word it as if she were winning all the time. I didn't expect any less, honestly.
"So we'll stay casual acquaintances and classmates just like always. I believe you, that you didn't know about Kushida-san's plan, I mean."
"Casual acquaintances sounds good to me."
"I'll kill you if you ever tell anyone what I just told you. Is that understood, Ayanokouji-kun?"
"Yes, Mam."
I saluted her, cracking a small smile. Again, I imagined her having a small smile on her face as well, but that couldn't be possible. Not even in a thousand years. I didn't even know if my muscles were working properly, after all.
"Here." She held out her phone towards me. "My number."
"What an honor. How did I deserve such a luxury product?"
I stored her information while cracking such a bad joke.
"I figured that Kushida-san must have heard us when we were talking about going to the Palate. So this is a countermeasure. Don't think you are special or anything."
"I wouldn't dare."
"Well then. See you tomorrow, Ayanokouji-kun."
She turned around and left just like that.
"See you tomorrow Horikita."
I watched her receding back until she turned a corner, before leaning against a nearby wall.
This move was a dangerous gamble, but it seemed as if I my evaluation of her was correct so far. There was no need to label our relationship, but it was important for her to not have any friends. I didn't know why or how this thought process stuck with her, but she saw friends as a distraction, or some kind of danger to stay clear of. From my point of view, our relationship didn't change from what we previously had.
But it had changed for her.
In her view, our relationship took a huge step forward, because I was being honest about my feelings regarding her. I knew that I enjoyed spending time with her, but she didn't. She also denied the mere thought that she was enjoying it until I spelled it out for her.
Because, unbeknownst to Horikita herself, she felt the same way.
It was clear after comparing her reactions when talking to me versus other people that tried talking to her. While she was mean and snarly most of the time, she always kept the conversation going with her remarks and didn't shut down to leave like she did with Sudou and Kushida. Well, she did from time to time, but that seemed to be more for comedic purposes and not in pursuit of exiting the conversation.
I didn't know why she, unperceived by herself, had a favorable opinion about me, even though we clashed just as much as she and Sudou at the beginning. But I was glad that I wasn't the only one who found our exchanges pleasant.
Kushida's problem was her fixation on being friends with her, but Horikita was weird as well. As soon as she heard the word friend or something remotely similar, she shut down and began to deny anything that came her way. I didn't know if she had any bad memories when thinking of friendship, or if she had any other reasons, but I would find out in time.
Our private angel once again gave off certain signals that she had an ulterior motive by befriending Horikita. She claimed time and time again that she wished to be friends with everyone, but she was too hung up on our ice queen. I've never seen her talk to Sakura, the Professor, or Kouenji and she only started a conversation with me because she needed my help to get closer to Horikita.
I wasn't shadowing her every day, but someone like Sakura who seemed to be shy and low-key would certainly progress through her problems faster with someone like Kushida lending her a helping hand in finding like-minded people she could open up to. Just like she tried to help the woman from the bus and Yamauchi, she should have tried her best for Sakura.
But she didn't. Why was that?
Because doing so wouldn't benefit her.
Her remark to Horikita back in the cafe was out of place as well. She didn't care about being friends with Horikita. Kushida only wanted to confirm whether Horikita knew her from before. This would only be important if she was worried, if she had something to hide, which Horikita could be mindful of. This would explain her obsession and her blatant disregard for other individuals in our class.
I was a little sad because of the pancake that was now getting cold, but maybe Kushida would eat it?
I took out my phone and shot Kushida a quick message.
[04:04:12 PM] Sorry for leaving suddenly. I tried to bring her back, but failed spectacularly. (シ. .)シ If you are still at the Palate, you can have my pancake since I won't be coming back.
With that taken care of and more than enough free time at hand, I decided to see if I could find out where and how Sakura decided to spend her time after classes. After around half an hour of searching, I concluded that I wouldn't be able to find her anytime soon and better take care of something else.
The school was too large, and I had no reference points on where she could be. For all I knew, she might relax in her room.
As I was ruminating about what to do next, someone decided for me.
"If it isn't Kouhai-kun."
A cold shudder crept over my whole body as I heard those words.
I glanced around, hoping that she was the only person around, but that seemed to be a wish that wouldn't be granted. She was walking nearby with a large group of other students, which I deemed to be her classmates. They were surprised upon hearing her call out to me, which bought me some time that I used to vanish behind one of the adjacent buildings.
Yesterday's gut feeling was correct. This woman was trouble, and even more annoying than expected.
"Kiryuin-san, who was that?"
I heard one of her classmates.
"Huh? It was Kouhai-kun, of course."
She played dumb, but no one would believe her. I couldn't see her expression, but her tone alone clarified that she was grinning from ear to ear. If she dropped my name, I would get rid of her immediately.
"Since when are you interested in other people besides yourself? And a Kouhai at that? Who is he?"
Another clearly puzzled voice added to the confusion of the surrounding people.
If she was interested in me while she wasn't in most other people, there had to be a reason. What that reason was, however, I couldn't say.
"Who knows? I'll be going, bye."
She excused herself before walking towards my direction.
I used the reflection of a nearby store window to make sure that her classmates didn't follow and backed up further into the alley. As Kiryuin was about to turn the corner, I vanished behind another building. She should have barely seen me walk in that direction, which would prompt her to follow.
While I was leading her away from prying eyes, I wondered whether I should try to talk it out or force her to stop messing with my life. Both were valid options, and each of them had different pros and cons. Since I didn't know what she learned or why she was so interested in me, I decided to hide my cards for the time being.
I made my way over into one of the school buildings and climbed the stairs until I reached the roof. There was no reason that anyone should be up here during that time except for some kind of secret meeting, which is why I took the risk. If I ran into someone, they had something to hide, just like I did.
All these thoughts were for naught, however, because the roof was completely empty.
I checked my surroundings and found a single camera that was overseeing most of the roof. Judging by its position, there were multiple blind spots which I could utilize if I had to act. My phone vibrated, informing me about a message, but I ignored it and prepared for my visitor. I shut the door and sat down at the wall to wait for Kiryuin's arrival.
She arrived some time after me, since I had quickened my pace as soon as I had reached the building to buy myself some valuable time. The door opened, and a beautiful face slipped through the crack.
"Mitsu~keta, Ko~hai~kun."
Once again, an icy shiver crawled up my spine. This woman came straight out of a slasher movie.
I turned towards her agile figure, which was still resting near the door. Even though she felt like an evil spirit hunting me, I couldn't deny that she truly looked devilish.
In a good way.
"Oh, senpai. What a coincidence. What are you doing up here?"
"Don't be like that, Kouhai-kun. Weren't you luring the poor Fuka-chan here on purpose?"
She smirked, closed the door, and sat down right beside me.
"I don't know what you are talking about, honestly. I was just trying to get away from you because I don't like large crowds. Then you suddenly came after me."
The lioness kept silent and grinned while observing every reaction.
"How did you find me, anyway? I started running when I noticed you were still following me, so I thought I would have escaped."
"Just had a feeling that Kouhai-kun would wait for me on the roof."
She wasn't buying my act at all. It's obvious, however, since my facial expressions were too stiff to handle such a mechanically complex scene.
"And why would I do that?"
"Because it's romantic, isn't it?"
Her figure moved closer towards me, whereupon I backed up and moved as far away from her as possible.
"I don't bite."
She pouted playfully while her index finger kept hovering in front of her lips. Her figure, gestures, and words were alluring, but I doubted that this was just a coincidence. Kiryuin attacked me with a strategy in mind that would work on most guys our age.
"I really think you do."
A giggle escaped her perfect lips. As if hunting down her prey, she narrowed her eyes with a wide grin.
"Look Fuka-senpai, I'm flattered that you are interested in me for some unknown reason, but I'm really just an average first-year student that wants to live a peaceful life. You calling out to me in front of your classmates or other students is really throwing me off, you know? I don't want any trouble. Just silently bide my time and enjoy the next three years without worrying about such things."
"Average, yes?"
Her smile grew wider.
"Yes, average."
"Well, since you are just average, it wouldn't be weird at all if your entrance exam scores were all average as well, correct?"
Upon saying this, she showed me a photo on her phone. The picture depicted a student's entrance exam scores. To be more specific, it showed my scores. The shot was taken in a manner that wouldn't reveal my name, but she saw my scores and maybe even the answers I had given that time.
"Why are you showing me your exam scores, senpai? How did you get them, anyway?"
This would be a fair assumption if one was shown you such a picture. The results weren't told to the students, so it wasn't weird that I wouldn't know about my own scores. Asking anything aside from this could reveal that I recognized that it was possible to get certain services if you paid someone who had the resources or connections to get what you wanted.
Since the student himself wouldn't learn about their scores, it was safe to assume that only the faculty members were aware. But would all teachers have access to my entrance exam?
The chances were high that Chabashira-sensei was informed about her students' scores, but the other homeroom teachers shouldn't be aware of all our results, since that would rig the competition between classes.
It was also fair to assume that the teachers had a similar worth-system as the students.
If our class did good, Chabashira-sensei would be worth more in the school's opinion as well. If all faculty members knew about the excellent students, they would identify the people to keep an eye on from the beginning, which would favor the higher ranked classes like A and B, who had usually more points to spare.
Another potential seller could have been the chairman.
Even if he didn't see the scores for himself, he had enough access to get hold of whatever information he wanted because of his position. And everyone who paid for that information would get it, be it a faculty member or a student.
"You disappoint me, Kouhai-kun."
She swiped right on her phone, which revealed a second picture. This time, my name was visible on top of the score sheet.
"Those were mine? Wow, I suck... why do you have them, though? They wouldn't show them to me."
"I was interested, so I nicely asked someone to show me. He was very helpful."
She tilted her head with an alluring smile.
"Well, the scores are completely average, as you can see yourself, so why are you so interested in me? I really don't want to have any trouble, and you senpai, seem more than just a handful."
I mostly referred to her breast size, but she was trouble anyway and the meaning was the same. I couldn't let her know that I was being distracted by them, after all. Well, not distracted, but fascinated? I wasn't sure. It was a weird feeling.
Since she kept moving closer, I stood up and turned towards the railing where I could see most of the school grounds and beyond. The ocean was calm and Tokyo seemed busy as always. I wasn't able to make out a lot because of the distance, but the city was always packed with people running around.
This was a perfect distraction from those two devilish mounds.
She moved beside me. Her platinum blonde hair was swaying in the wind like a beautiful butterfly. Kiryuin turned her face towards me, as she as well leaned on the railing.
"I don't want to cause you any trouble. You just caught my eye, so I wanted to learn more about you."
After everything was said and done, there was no use in hiding. She not only had the score sheet but also the answers I had given to the different questions. I saw a glimpse of one of them on the second picture, which meant she knew that I got the 50 points on purpose since I answered questions which a normal high-schooler shouldn't be able to.
I didn't know how she found out about me, but if she didn't want to cause any trouble, there should be no reason for her not to answer my questions first. But there was something else. Something that had to be taken care of before Kiryuin and I could discuss where our new acquaintanceship would lead.
"Fuka."
My voice hadn't changed from before as I turned to look at her. That's what I had thought, at least.
Her eyes gleamed as if she found what she had been looking forward to for quite a while. They sparkled in anticipation of what would follow this single word. Her enchanting lips formed the most seductive grin a person could witness as she waited for me to continue.
My eyes grew cold, and my voice followed. I stared right through her two almond windows and gazed deep into the person known as Kiryuin Fuka. There was no fear, only a deep-seated interest towards the unknown. My face drew closer to hers. My pupils didn't dart around. They didn't quiver or displayed any sign of discomfort. All they did was drill deep into her being and claw their way into her core.
Fuka's heartbeat sped up as she swallowed her saliva. Her eyes trembled for a moment, but soon returned to their usual beauty. For her to take a peek behind the curtain, I partially released the darkness I was hiding inside of me and let my mask slip.
"Be careful what you wish for."
Her body trembled, and goosebumps formed on her perfect skin. Her steady eyes faltered, just for a single moment, as her breathing came to a sudden halt. The smile on her face vanished for a split second before she returned to her usual composed and confident attitude.
She slung her arms around my head and kept staring into my eyes.
"I see you, Kiyotaka."
Her voice shook. Not in fear, but pure excitement. Her heart pounded even harder, even faster than before, and I could feel her hands trembling behind my back as she tightened her grip on me.
With that short excursion, the two of us properly evaluated each other.
She learned that I had something to hide and glimpsed at my true self, which she could uncover from now on. It wouldn't be easy, if not impossible, which is why I had no qualms about showing her this much.
I found someone truly interesting as well, someone who might be useful. The proud lioness in front of me wasn't afraid or taken aback by the sight I had shown her, but even more eager to learn about me.
Her grip loosened as she caressed past my neck, which felt strangely comfortable. She turned back towards the railing and stared at the far horizon with a bewitching smile on her face. I leaned on the rail as well and faced her with my usual emotionless expression.
"Who sold you my exam results?"
"The student council president."
To my surprise, she had stopped playing around. Without beating around the bush, she answered my question, which showed that she was happy with what she had achieved today. I was sure that the seniors were instructed not to reveal anything about the schools system and it seemed like that was correct so far. Even though no one could prove it, she kept being vague until she was sure that I knew certain things.
"Horikita Manabu, huh? Do you know where he got them?"
If I'm able to narrow down his source, it might be possible to prevent others from finding out about me. From what I had learned, it didn't seem very hard to buy information about certain students; myself included. I had to secure myself against any potential threat that might come my way in the future.
"No idea. He, his secretary, and I are the only ones who are aware of your interesting results, as far as I know."
Tachibana as well? It seemed like the president trusted her to a certain degree, so she wasn't only his secretary because she's good at her job, but also because she's trustworthy.
"Did he already have them when you asked?"
"Yes, he is in possession of every student's results."
It wouldn't make much sense to buy the results of all students for one lucky find in between them. I'd understand if he had bought the entrance examination results for the first-years who decided to apply to the student council, but buying all of them wouldn't make much sense. He must have gotten them some other way.
"How much?"
"I don't know. He owed me a favor, so I didn't have to pay a dime. Aside from that, I was never interested enough in anyone to ask about their documents. I'm not sure if he would readily sell them to anyone either. It could have been that I was a special case since he wanted to get rid of his debt."
Fuka was compliant, which I hadn't expected at all. Was this her way of thanking me for opening up to her? Or did she answer my questions without telling me that I needed to do the same later?
"The student council president is in the third year, meaning he'll graduate soon. Do you know who will be his successor?"
"That would be his vice-president, Nagumo Miyabi. He's a Class A student who was previously in Class B. He's also the reason this beautiful senpai here isn't in the top class anymore. Not that I really care about any of that. If I did, it wouldn't be a problem buying my way up, anyway."
She shrugged and threw me a twisted smile.
This was an extremely valuable piece of information. I hadn't even asked her about it either. She just added this herself, since it would prove useful. According to her expression, she assumed that I was already aware of such a feature, which was half true. I suspected that something like this would be possible since it applied to 'anything in this school', but I hadn't pursued this option further since I wasn't interested in changing classes.
"You are awfully compliant. I didn't expect that."
She moved closer towards me and flashed a playful and toothy smile.
"If you keep me company, a lot of things you didn't expect will happen."
"That so?"
"Mhm."
She hummed as she turned towards me. Her arms once again wrapped around my neck while her face closed in on mine until our noses almost touched. Aside from this, another type of contact took place at my chest area, which felt interesting. The sensation was both warm and incredibly soft, yet supple enough to entice me.
I propped myself up, which lead to our bodies pressing against each other even more than before. Her breaths were warm and moist, but I was far too distracted by her two mounds, which threatened to devour me if I wasn't careful.
Once again, I found myself in an interesting and unique situation. A normal high-schooler would surely panic, lean backwards or start to blush. I, however, felt entertained upon adapting to these new experiences. I enjoyed this kind of contact and there was no need to play innocent in front of her, since she had already seen that I was hiding my true self.
"Nagumo. What kind of person is he?"
"Are you seriously thinking about some guy while I'm right in front of you?"
She pouted in disappointment.
I wasn't sure if this was a play on her part or if she felt bothered because I was more interested in our business than I was in her body. If I had to guess, however, I'd say the latter was the case.
"Nothing special. But if he becomes student council president next year and takes an interest in you, he'd likely be an annoying fly."
"Two more questions since I don't want to ask my homeroom-teacher. How many points does it cost to change classes as an individual? And how many would I need to cancel an expulsion?"
Since she was already here and seemed content with answering my questions, I inquired about the information I didn't want to gather from Chabashira-sensei. As a second-year student, she should already know the specifics in both cases.
"20 million private points to change classes and 20 million private points and 300 class points to cancel an expulsion."
'Class points' was a term I hadn't heard before, but it made sense that such a system existed to rank the classes according to their worth. I figured that an expulsion would also cost the affected class some points, which will also be the case for us since we had lost Yamauchi. I'd even say that the expulsion would cost the class significantly fewer points than rescuing a student. This would lead to discussions in the group as they would have to deliberate about that person's worth and if they wanted to lend them a hand.
"Twenty questions over now?"
As always, she had a captivating smile on her face. Every time she opened her mouth to speak, her warm and moist breath tingled my nose and lips, which was a strangely pleasant feeling.
"It was only nine, though."
Fuka let out a delightful laugh before narrowing her eyes.
"Then it's my turn?"
"I never said I would answer any of your questions."
Her smirk sent a shiver down my spine. She had already expected such an answer. The vixen moved her lips away from mine, closer towards my ear. I felt a sharp sting a short moment later.
"You will answer soon enough."
With her warm breath still lingering in my ear, I could only hope that her bite wouldn't leave any mark. Once again, I had to say that all these women were dangerous.
She even said that she wouldn't bite before!
"Can I get my phone back now?"
Fuka wore a playful smile on her face while her sharp eyes pierced through mine.
I sighed and handed her the device back after achieving what I had sought to do.
"When did you notice?"
"Too late, unfortunately. I was surprised when you took the initiative and propped yourself up to lean into me. But in the end it was only to mask your hand which slipped inside my pocket. I really hate when someone uses my tactics against me, you know? Did you do anything else besides deleting those two pictures?"
"Nothing. What about you? What did you plan to do with mine if you had found it?"
I recovered my phone, which I had pinned between my trousers and back as soon as I realized what she had been up to.
"Who knows?"
She stretched her arms and awarded my ears with a playful giggle.
"I was serious about not wanting to stand out, though. So I would prefer it if you would ignore my existence if we were to run into each other."
"What do I get?"
"My contact information."
"Isn't that a win-win for you?" She held out her bare palm while letting out a loud laugh. "Deal."
If I were playing dumb, I'd shake her hand now. But since I knew what she wanted, I unlocked the phone for her and left it in her smooth hands. After typing her number, she gave me my phone back with a teasing grin.
"That's what I wanted to do, actually."
A moment later, my phone vibrated. I ignored the one Kushida had sent me before and was slightly taken aback as I read the name of the person who just texted me. My first instinct was to change it, but she seemed to have anticipated such a move.
[05:32:26 PM][Fuka ] You better not change the name or I'll have to go out of my way to look for you, Kiyotaka.
[05:32:31 PM][Fuka ] There will be unannounced inspections, so you better be ready to face the consequences if you dare to change it.
I wordlessly stared at her in utter defeat as she stuck out her tongue with a victorious aura around her. I knew the moment I met her that this girl would be trouble, but I couldn't even imagine how much.
After surviving this hellish encounter, I stealthily made my way back towards the dorms. On my way there, I had to take more than just one detour as I was dodging people left and right. I was already feeling the warmth and fluffiness of my bed as I caught sight of Hirata and the girls following him. Even Kushida was with them, likely making sure that everything turned out well and that he kept looking forward.
With such a large group right in front of me, I had no chance but to turn tail and wait until they went elsewhere. After my aimless wandering, I stumbled upon the store I had bought the chessboards from. Since I was in the vicinity and now was as good as a time as ever, I took a quick peek inside to make sure that no one would see me before buying two four-player chessboards.
The store clerk eyed me with a confused expression while I turned up my collar, but said nothing more. With two fresh boards in hand, I returned to the dorms, praying that no one would be there around this time.
Luck was on my side for the first time today as I reached the living quarters. Only Ike and Okitani were in sight, which gave me more than enough room to maneuver around them. The two boys sat in front of the elevators and played on their handhelds, which was a perfect position to be in.
"Damn Okitani! This game is great. It almost feels like I'm really out camping and hunting monsters. That reminds me..."
"Reminds you of hunting monsters?"
"Shut up! Not that... yosha! Level up! Haha, get this."
While the two of them kept talking, I took the stairs. Since I couldn't escape if someone boarded the elevator, this was the most sensible solution. I made my way towards Room 401 with quick steps. After checking left and right, I unlocked the apartment, went inside and closed the door before heaving a deep sigh.
Leaving my purchase near the door, I loosened the tie and threw it in the basket inside the bathroom before removing the rest of my uniform. I took a quick but refreshing shower and prepared the attire I would wear tomorrow. With a towel bound around my lower area, I left the bathroom and prepared something to eat.
Today I decided to try out a recipe which would take longer than usual, so I began to prepare the ingredients and used the time I had to wait to change into something more comfortable. Around one and a half hours later, I sat in front of my first freshly prepared Yakitori.
The savory meat was perfect after such an exhausting day and I couldn't help but congratulate myself for a job well done. After stuffing myself, I cleaned the dishes and moved the garbage outside for tomorrow morning when it would be collected. On my way back inside, I grabbed the two boards and set them up on the table in the corner, which was now cramped and unable to hold all three boards.
I cleared off another table that was pre-installed in the room and put it beside the one in the corner. With enough space, I set up the three boards, each representing a different grade level.
As I was about to place a few pieces, my phone vibrated concurrently.
It was not a message this time, but a call. I decided to hit ignore if it was Fuka, but to my surprise, it was someone else.
"Good evening, Ayanokouji-kun. Do you have time to talk?"
"Hey, Kushida. Yes, I'm free right now. I just finished dinner."
Now that I heard her voice, I remembered that I never checked the message I had received from her.
"Oh, good. I just wanted to apologize because I made things awkward with Horikita-san and you. I feel terrible about asking you to help me with my plan now."
Her voice turned quiet towards the end, as if she was deeply sorry about today. I couldn't really believe it, however. Someone like her should have known that there would be certain risks for me, but she didn't care in the slightest as long as she got what she wanted. Here, a shot at Horikita.
They must have gone to the same school before and Kushida seemed to have something to hide, or else her erratic behavior concerning Horikita wouldn't make any sense. I wouldn't even be surprised if Horikita didn't know that they were in the same school once, since she looked and sounded like she couldn't care less about Kushida or anyone, really.
"It's no problem. I just tried to help a friend in need, right?"
"Mhm. Ayanokouji-kun gave me a chance, but I still messed it up, tehe. Do you think it's impossible to make friends with her?"
I doubted that it was easy, but it wasn't impossible. She despised the word 'friend' and thought that she didn't need any, but she was treating me like someone akin to a friend, at least according to my interpretation of the word. If she were any normal highschool girl, she would have labeled our relationship a friendship. I had no probable cause to doubt this. There were multiple occasions where she was the one to initiate the conversation between us, which just prove my point.
"Wouldn't it be fine to be friends with anyone in class except her if she is so adamantly against it? You are only hurting yourself by going after her time and time again."
"Ayanokouji-kun really is kind, huh? I really wanted to be friends with everyone. Not just Class D, but the whole school. If I can't even become friends with a girl in my class, how am I supposed to achieve my goal?"
This was a rather contradictory ambition to have. It was unthinkable for a single person to be friends with everyone, no matter how cute or nice you are. In a school like this especially, it would be impossible. Not even Kushida could navigate the minefield of different students hating each other while she was trying to be friends with both of them. It just couldn't work. And that was not even including the people who just wouldn't like Kushida's personality.
"You could leave her for last and try again once you befriended everyone else. Maybe she is just slow to open up to people and needs some more time."
"Hmm, maybe you are right. But what if she doesn't?"
If I could see her now, she would likely gaze at the ground in sadness while small tears gathered in her puppy eyes. What a lovely sight this would be.
"Well, you can't force her to be your friend if she really doesn't want to. But since we are talking about you here, I am sure you are going to make friends with her. Eventually."
"Mh. You are right, Ayanokouji-kun. I'll just have to give it my best to befriend Horikita-san! You really helped me. Thank you so much!"
"There is no need. I'm glad that I could be helpful to you in some capacity."
Ding! Dong!
"Oh, I'm sorry Ayanokouji-kun but I'll have to hang up now, Kokoro-chan just arrived. I'll see you tomorrow at school. Good night!"
"No worries. Have a nice evening and a good night as well. Bye Kushida."
"Byeeee!"
With that, our short conversation ended. I opened up her chat to mark the last message as read and threw the phone onto my bed. Done with any distractions for today, I shifted my focus back towards the three chess boards. The first-year version would stay untouched for today, but I could already fill some of the other ones.
While the first-year board revolved around Class D, which I was a part of, the second-year revolved around Kiryuin and her class. I took the red queen and placed her on the default tile she belonged to. Afterwards, I grabbed the yellow king and set him up on the second-year board as well.
Since I knew little about the other years, the boards had to be filled slowly but steadily.
Similar to the other two boards, the third-year one had another anchor point: Class A. I once again took the red king and queen before placing them on the board.
On my way to the bathroom, I heard my phone vibrating. Since I was in the proximity, I checked who it was.
[07:59:13 PM][Fuka ] I've taken the liberty and unlocked the GPS feature on my phone for you, so you can always check where your favorite senpai is.
[08:00:22 PM] I didn't even know it was possible to activate only for certain people.
[08:00:49 PM][Fuka ] Of course it is. So how about it? Do you want to unlock it for me as well?
[08:01:04 PM] That's a bad idea. Probably. I have a feeling you would miraculously run into me at least five times a day.
[08:01:19 PM][Fuka ] I'll get you to soften up to me, Kiyotaka. Just you wait...
[08:01:24 PM][Fuka ] How about you check where I am right now?
I had an inexplicably bad feeling about this. I couldn't help but glance towards the door with worry.
[08:01:39 PM] You are not standing in front of my door are you?
[08:01:43 PM][Fuka ] What if I am? You should open up. I hear someone coming.
I calmed myself and bounced to her profile, where the GPS function was located. As I had already expected, she seemed to be in her room and likely had all the fun in the world thinking about how I was just running towards the door in fear of her standing there.
[08:01:55 PM] You almost got me there.
[08:02:02 PM][Fuka ] You didn't even check the door, did you?
[08:02:06 PM] Who knows?
[08:02:24 PM] Oh, late Happy Birthday, Fuka.
We didn't know each other for very long, but I saw her birthday while checking her location, which seemed to have been yesterday, the day we met for the first time. It was custom to congratulate and buy a gift for said person, but I could only do the former since it was too late to buy a present. Even if I wanted to buy one, I did not know what would be appropriate. I didn't even know if I should have congratulated her in the first place, since we've only known each other for a day, but I assumed that she created this whole charade so I'd see her birthday.
[08:02:32 PM][Fuka ] Thank you, Kiyotaka. You forgot something very important, though.
I knew it...
[08:02:36 PM] Your gift, I assume?
[08:02:47 PM][Fuka ] I'm expecting something special from you, so don't disappoint me.
I sighed deeply, knowing full well that I could never escape this woman while I was bound to this school. She was an extremely troublesome, yet interesting senpai. I strolled back into the bathroom and stared at my reflection in the mirror. After I adjusted my head to get a better view of my neck area, I heaved another deep sigh.
How was I supposed to go out like this tomorrow?