Chapter 12 - Queen (Part 4)
After dinner, I was relaxing on the bed while browsing through some of my group chats.
Despite my worries on the first few days I had in this new life, I was part of quite a few, which was a welcome surprise. At first I had concerns about my ability to make friends or join any groups I could hang out with, but they turned out to be for naught.
The very first group I had joined was the Class D boys' one, with Sudou, Ike and the others. It wasn't an all boys chat anymore since Satou had joined a few days ago, but that wasn't the important part here.
Then there was the group with Chiaki, Karuizawa, Hirata and so on, which I've been a part of since its creation. Even though a normal person wouldn't be proud of such a fact, I couldn't help but be happy.
Last but not least was Class B's group.
Almost their entire class was part of this chat, including me. I felt somewhat out of place, being the only student outside of Class B, but Ichinose, Amikura, Shibata and the others all assured me that it was totally fine for me to join them.
I assumed they had a second group just for class matters, while this one was for pretty much everything else.
It felt weird, but I wouldn't complain about making more friends. Another positive fact was that these people were far too trusting, which made it easier to gather information. I figured that they would get more careful as time went on, but there was no reason to spoil the good relationship I had with them.
The door to my room opened and closed in a matter of seconds, as if some rabid animal sprinted inside.
I had left it unlocked since I was waiting for my visitor, who had just arrived. The beige-haired girl that opened the entrance to hell was panting and gasping for air before locking the door with the chain.
"Fuck..."
She struck the wall in frustration before leaning her head against the door. Kushida's breath was uneven and labored, as her clenched fists slid down the facade.
"Poor wall. She did nothing to anger you, you know?"
I tapped the power button on my phone and sat up to face the new arrival.
"I can't beat anyone else, so the wall has to do."
Was that how bullies justified their actions?
I didn't follow this train of thought any further, as I appreciated that Kushida seemed to be a tad more relaxed around me. Of course, she might still wear her mask, but at least she was getting better at hiding her true fears.
My queen made her way over and sat on a chair in front of me with a discouraged face. She seemed to be in a rather bad mood, so much in fact, that she hadn't realized that her behavior wasn't as careful and obedient as it should have been.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
She shot me a furious glare, which I didn't mind.
It was time that she saw my other side. The kind and gentle one she hadn't seen before, since she had suffered enough the last few days. Kushida was aware of her place in the hierarchy and accepted it. Now I needed to show her that there was no need to be afraid any longer.
As long as she did what she was told, at least.
"Are you my fucking shrink now? Okay, sure. Why not? How about we start with the guy who threatened to rape me just the other day? Oh, wait... He almost did."
"Wow, that's awful. Who would do something like that to you?"
She clicked her tongue and was about to retaliate before realization struck.
Kushida's face paled, and her body began to shudder. She peeked at the door she had just locked with a terrified expression before glancing at me with fear-stricken, quivering eyes.
"Ayanokouji-kun, I —"
"Shhh..."
I put my finger in front of my lips, silencing her.
The petrified girl shut her mouth, afraid of what I might do to punish her transgression. Her uneasy breathing sounds traveled through the otherwise silent room, as the two of us held eye-contact.
I tapped the bed to my right.
She understood what this silent command meant and trudged over with hesitant, unsteady steps before placing her bum on the comfortable seat beside me.
"What happened?"
She lowered her head while playing with her trembling fingers.
It must have been difficult to sit beside me, acting like nothing had transpired here between us. I had touched and scarred her on this bed on which she now had to sit and chat with me as if we were two close friends. My hands, which were positioned close to hers, had strangled and almost killed her, before they defiled certain parts of her body.
These terrifying memories haunted her to this day, and would continue to do so, even in the distant future.
"I ran into trouble..."
Her reluctant and concerned attitude was understandable, since she couldn't fathom how I might react to this information. She knew that I wanted her to work for me, which meant that she was useful. A person who ran into trouble shortly after being employed, however, was anything but practical and could be considered a disastrous investment.
"What kind?"
She peered into my eyes for a moment, before averting her gaze back down towards her palms.
"A human kind with platinum-blonde hair. She's a senpai and her eyes are fucking terrifying... She is fucking terrifying..."
This description left little to my imagination, since I knew the girl in question rather well. The woman she was worried about was none other than the most interesting senpai I had met to date — Kiryuin Fuka.
"Elaborate."
"Here." Kushida handed me her phone and showed me the message she had received from an unknown number, which instructed her to meet up where I had asked her for help. "She said that you betrayed her and that she was going to get you expelled for it. I'm supposed to be the one helping her."
"And how will you accomplish that?"
"Since I am working under you, I'm supposed to tell her about every move you make. She mentioned that you had realized that she turned her back on you, which is why you attacked her and Class 2-B."
Now that she had calmed down somewhat, she must have realized that Fuka was part of the class I had her attack during the interrogation, which was the reason she was in this precarious situation.
I was glad that Kushida came to me with this information.
It would have ended terribly if she had listened to Fuka's threats and worked against me in order to get rid of her tormentor for good. I expected this would happen, since it was just a matter of time, but Fuka acted sooner than anticipated.
But there was one question I couldn't answer myself.
"Why did you decide to tell me?"
"Why?" Her dry laugh echoed through the room. It wasn't a genuinely happy one, but a self-deprecating, disheartening reflection of her thoughts and feelings. "I don't fucking know..."
Something had changed in the girl known as Kushida Kikyou.
Other answers like, 'I can't see you lose', or similar compliments would have been valid choices in her case, which might have improved her standing if I was susceptible to such pleasantries, but she told me the truth.
Her honest thoughts.
Fuka was a smart and ruthless woman. If her plan worked out, there might have been a way for Kushida to get rid of me. Yet she informed me, her executioner, about Fuka's ploy on the same day she had learned about it. All she had to do was leave me to drown and I could have done nothing about it.
From her point of view, there shouldn't have been a better option to get rid of me once and for all. She had more than enough reasons to loath me and being under duress by a third party was an especially convincing reason for betrayal when a person was going through such dark times.
Siding with me was like signing a deal with the devil.
"Kushida."
Her head turned towards my voice as her body shrunk. She shivered not only in fear but also the freezing sensation my words carried. She had trouble locking eyes with me when we were alone, but she did rather well today, even though it must have been taxing on her psyche.
"Thank you."
I believed that my lips drew a smile, but there was no way to confirm if they were. Kushida must have seen my expression, so I could have asked her, but this would have ruined the moment.
She averted her gaze like a sulking puppy and cursed under her breath.
"Bastard..."
"Don't you know that it's bad manners to turn your back to someone you are talking to?"
She brought her legs up the bed and lowered her head, burying it in between her knees. My adorable classmate was scared and felt her insecurities rise because of the looming threat in front of her. Kushida was smart, and she realized that her specs weren't high enough to duke it out with people like us.
"Let's talk about how we are going to act from now on."
Her place at this school should have been endangered since she had warned me about Fuka's plan. Once this cruel senpai realized that I knew about her ploy, she would likely use whatever she had against my queen and bring her down hard.
Kushida knew this, of course.
I thought up multiple plans, one of which she would reveal to Fuka, while I would execute the other without her help. If she disclosed the wrong one, my life at this school would be in danger. She would need to maneuver carefully every time the two of them met, but I was convinced that Kushida could handle it.
After we finished up the first part of our meeting, I briefed her about everything I would need from her concerning the class competitions, which was quite a lot of initial work.
"I need a document about every single student at this school. The most important ones are the first-years, of course, then the second and third. Since you know most of them, this shouldn't be too much trouble. Names, general information, friends, club associations, whatever you can think of, preferably with pictures or I won't know who you are talking about. If you learned any secrets about them, write them up if they are useful, otherwise don't bother. I'll leave the decision what's important and what's not under your discretion."
Kushida nodded and glanced at the time on her phone.
"Is that all for today?"
She seemed eager to go home, which was understandable. Her mind would suffer through several mentally taxing phases whenever she was spending time alone with me, since she could never know whether I would decide to defile her on a whim. Thoughts like this would keep her on edge, which was good for her exposure therapy.
"Have you ever heard of Edward P. Montague?"
"Who? No. Is that guy important?"
She tilted her head and threw me a puzzled look.
"What about Winston Churchill? You should have at least heard of him, right?"
"Of course I've heard about him."
"Thus, by every device from the stick to the carrot, the emaciated Austrian donkey is made to pull the Nazi barrow up an ever-steepening hill." I glanced at the mystified girl beside me. "It's a quote from a letter he wrote in 1938."
"So? Why am I supposed to care about a letter that's almost a century old?"
"The carrot and the stick. Have you heard about this idiom?"
She heaved an exasperated sigh.
"I'm sitting here listening to a long-winded explanation about some random guy named Edward and a quote of Winston Churchill, while all you wanted to do was ask me if I know a phrase that every child knows? You really are a lunatic."
I was glad that she seemed to get her usual lively attitude back, but I was also hurt by her words since I didn't know that this idiom was common knowledge. Kushida seemed to have realized that I intended to change my behavior towards her, which is why she adapted to this new sensation by trying to ascertain how she could behave around me without incurring my wrath.
"Until now, I've only beaten you with the stick. You deserved this, since you had threatened and then framed me. As a show of good faith for our continuous cooperation, I will award you with your very first carrot right now. The rest of my conduct around you will depend on your attitude going forward. Decide which treatment you prefer and act accordingly."
I stood, strode over to my drawers and opened them before pulling out a certain document. After shifting through the pages for a few seconds to check if everything was in order, I handed them to Kushida.
The girl's beautiful eyes widened in disbelief.
"Those are..."
"The questions and solutions for the upcoming midterm exams. I want you to give them to our classmates two days before the exams are taking place. This way, they'll be seriously studying the following days while we can make sure that they'll get even better scores due to these explanations. In such a situation, when they feel tired, exhausted and somewhat apprehensive, you will descend from the heavens like a holy angel and bring joy to every single one of your classmates." I gazed at the mesmerizing girl in front of me. "That's what you want, isn't it, Kushida?"
"You... I'm out of words. How long did you have these? How did you even get your hands on something like this?"
She shifted through the documents, unable to believe what she saw.
"That's not important. The crucial part is that no one sees these before the appointed time."
"You really have an answer for everything, don't you?"
"Nothing of that sort. For example, I'm still curious where your hatred from Horikita stems from. But that's a conversation for another time."
She stopped reading and stared at me with a puzzled look.
"Huh? Didn't you tell me that she told you about me?"
"The details I told you were simply highly possible facts, which I've come up with myself after analyzing the behavior the two of you displayed around and away from each other. As far as I know, Horikita knows nothing about what happened at your school. She knows that something transpired, but not who was to blame and how it all went down."
She began to contemplate what I had mentioned, which must have been quite a shock. The realization that she went through all of this pain for no reason at all should have been devastating.
"You should go if you don't want to spend the night here."
Her hands trembled as she turned towards me with fear-stricken eyes.
"G-goodnight."
"Goodnight, Kushida."
She opened and shut the door, vanishing from my room like a fresh gust of wind.
There was no need to worry, even if she was seen now. Since she had the tests with her, she could just say that she asked for the notes I made during class because she had lost hers, or something along those lines.
I made my way over to my beloved chess games and placed the red queen on the first-year board before moving her diagonally upwards until she was in front of the green pawns. Afterwards, I placed my second knight and rook, as well as the pawn, which was positioned in front of the king.
"I hate victims who respect their executioners."
The light clack of an opening door rang through the room.
"Jean-Paul Sartre, right?"
The sweet voice that answered belonged to the girl who made her way over from the bathroom to where I stood.
She embraced me from behind, spreading the warmth of her body through mine. Her well-endowed breasts pressed against my back while she bent forward, which made a few platinum-blonde strands appear in my field of vision as her enticing words caressed my ear.
"How long do you plan on keeping this up? That poor girl must be scared to death."
Fuka could have told me that she already took care of her errand...
"I haven't thought about that just yet. We'll first wait and see what she's going to tell you. If she informs you as planned, she is trustworthy enough. If not, I'll let her know true despair." I took her hand, which rested on my shoulder, and turned around. "But this only works if you did your job right."
"Who do you take me for? Of course, I made sure that she realized how serious I was about messing with her life if she dares to disobey me. I even took a few pointers from you." Her smooth, warm hands slid towards my throat as a seductive smirk spread over her charming face. "Want to see?"
"Yeah. Show me."
My gorgeous senpai pushed me back against the wall and strengthened her grip around my throat. It got harder to breathe and talk as she kept this pressure up, but there was no change in my apathetic expression as I stared into her eyes.
Fuka was confused by my lack of response and began to squeeze my throat even more.
"Is... that... all? Get... serious... will... you?"
Even though choppy, my voice was as calm as it always had been. The difficulty in pronouncing words was physiological, which is why I couldn't do anything against it.
Fear, angst or pain, however, failed to enter this emotionless husk I called home.
Fuka let go of my neck and stared at her reddened palms. She was aware how much pressure she had used to strangle me, which is why she was shocked as she glanced at the bright red handprint she had left on my skin.
Yet, after all this, there was not a single reaction.
"I didn't expect you to move so fast after getting your classmates expelled. Are you sure that you'll be alright?"
Fuka must have been confused, since I acted as if nothing happened and just carried on with our previous conversation. She must have been curious about the reason I hadn't acknowledged or reacted in a human capacity to her attack.
Why was he so calm? Was it because he could have freed himself without a problem? Or could it be that he's been exposed to such practices often and simply gotten used to it? If this was the case, what kind of childhood did he have?
Questions like these should have been spinning around in her head at this very moment.
"Don't worry. Everything has been taken care of, just like planned. Nagumo is furious because his followers are doubting him. Since the expelled students were avid supporters of his ideals, his pride and reputation among the students took quite a devastating hit." Fuka stretched her arms as she let out a chuckle. "His contorted face during the speech to save himself was such a sight to behold. I had to try so hard not to laugh. It was wonderful. These poor idiots didn't even know what happened to them before it was too late."
"When the rich wage war, it's the poor who die." I removed four red pawns from the second-year board before throwing them in the trash. "In the end, those people were just careless and stupid fodder, otherwise this plan wouldn't have gone off without a hitch. But we'll be working our way up, eventually. This was only the beginning, an introduction, so to speak."
"Sartre again, yes?" She let out an alluring chuckle and caressed over my neck. "I love the way you introduce yourself to others. It's always exciting to watch."
"Meanwhile, Nagumo will become paranoid. There are only so many people who could have set them up, after all. He'll slowly weaken himself, while all we have to do is watch and strike when he's down. I spun up some plans if you happened to be in danger as well, so don't worry."
Fuka flashed me the most seductive smile I had seen to date.
"That's sweet, but there is no need. Nagumo won't think that I did anything, since I don't care about class rankings or the like. On the off-chance that he targets me, I can deal with that disappointment on my own."
It was a relief that she was capable, because I hadn't planned on intervening without her say-so. Everything was fine as long as she believed that I cared about her. If I ever needed to get rid of Fuka, all I had to do was strike swiftly and without mercy, just like always.
Just in case, I had already expelled her seven times in my mind.
Every plan was more complex than the previous one and could be executed concurrently with the others. They were far more difficult to pull off than these little games I've been playing until now and impossible to defend against.
That much of a preparation was needed if I needed to get rid of her in a short amount of time, because she wouldn't be as easy to expel as a handful of pawns. These plans would only see the light of day if she stood in my way, however, because she was far too useful to throw away.
Fuka was the queen for a reason.
"You should go back to your room as well. It's getting late."
She pouted as she played with the red king on the first-year board.
"You are not even giving me the chance to spend the night here?"
"Of course not. Knowing you, you would agree without hesitation before jumping into my bed."
Fuka moved closer towards my ear and slung her arms around my neck. Her intoxicating scent began to captivate and ensnare my nostrils as her two curvaceous slopes pressed against my chest.
"As if you would say no to that."
This girl wouldn't stop being troublesome wherever she went...
... but that was one of the reasons why she was so charming.
Two days before the midterms, Kushida walked up to the teacher's desk and made her announcement.
"Everyone, before you leave the classroom, could you listen for a moment?"
The whole class stopped in their tracks after hearing her sweet voice that rang through the room like a birdsong. Not even Hirata had such persuasive abilities over the class, because the boys wouldn't really listen to him. Kushida, however, had both males and females alike in her divine grasp.
"We've all been working hard so that no one would fail the upcoming midterms. Since everyone tried their best, I also felt responsible for giving it my all. The papers I will hand out now result from that."
Kushida distributed the copies of the past midterm exam to every single student herself. While all the others gazed at these questions with widened and sometimes confused eyes, Kushida handed Horikita and me the last two papers in her possession.
She walked back to the teacher's desk and finished her magnum opus.
"These are the old test papers I received from a third-year student yesterday evening. I heard that the exams are the same every year, so I asked around until someone was kind enough to give them to me. If we have those, besides our earnest studying, I'm sure that everyone can stay at this school together!"
My classmates were overjoyed after realizing what kind of treasure they held onto.
Even though everyone worked hard for the past weeks, none of them felt their time had been wasted in a pointless fashion, and regarded these test papers as supplementary materials which would give them an edge and make the exam that much easier.
Kind words and cheers were hurled into Kushida's direction, as she was the hero who made this miracle possible just a few days before the important test, which everyone subconsciously dreaded.
"Thank you! Kushida-chan-sensei, you are the best!"
Ike hugged the papers with hearts in his eyes.
"Thanks, Kikyou-chan!"
"Yeah, Kushida-san! This is going to improve my grades for sure."
"Thank you Kushida-san. You really helped me out."
"Great work, Kushida-san. Now it should be a piece of cake for everyone to pass!"
Hirata, who had been the most worried of all our classmates, beamed at the thought that no one would be left behind this time. The lingering regrets that he was unable to save Yamauchi were replaced by hope and the knowledge that he made the right decision, even though it had been, and still was, a painful memory for him.
My adorable queen paraded to the back of the classroom with her head held high while wearing her usual hypnotizing smile. She was showered with praises and handshakes from left and right until she eventually reached Horikita and me.
"Excellent work, Kushida-san."
My neighbor nodded somewhat cheerfully after she went through the questions to check if she needed to change up her study plan for the upcoming days due to this newfound information.
"It was nothing special. We all tried our best for our friends, right?"
Her dazzling smile must have blinded Horikita, as even she was showing a faint expression of optimism.
I reached out to her forehead once again, but aside from an angry glare into my direction and the fact that she hadn't stabbed me to death with her compass, nothing was out of the ordinary.
After this short excursion, my classmates left for lunch, ready and prepared to study with the test papers for the upcoming days to make sure that we'll achieve as many points as possible. Horikita called out to Kushida, who had been occupied with her usual socializing until only a handful of people were left.
The hero of the day strode over with a genuine, radiant smile on her face.
"Thank you for everything you've done, Kushida-san. Without you, the study group would have never worked out."
"Please, there is no need to thank me. I just want to get into a higher ranked class together with everyone. I'll help you again any time, Horikita-san!"
Kushida clapped and grabbed her bag, before signaling her friends outside that she would join them after this conversation was over.
"There is one thing I'd like to ask."
"Yes?"
She tilted her head and looked at Horikita with a puzzled expression. The cute smile she wore ever since the announcement hadn't left her charming face yet, either.
"You hate me, don't you?"
What was wrong with this girl?
Kushida seemed a bit taken aback and sneaked a few glances in my direction as if to ask for instructions on how to answer her question. Since their dispute was none of my concern, I shrugged, which would prompt her to deal with this situation as she saw fit.
"That's right. I really hate you." Even after expressing such a cruel opinion, Kushida Kikyou's brilliant smile didn't waver. "Do you want to know the reason?"
"No. As long as I'm sure that you are telling the truth, I can continue working with you."
Horikita didn't seem to mind that she was hated by Kushida. My neighbor seemed relieved, however, that both of their feelings were out in the open. They despised each other, but agreed to work together to reach their common goal, despite their misgivings.
How would their relationship evolve from now on? Would they come to like each other somewhere down the line? Or would my queen not stop before this irksome knight met her demise?
It was only a matter of time before one of those possibilities would occur, but I had not yet decided how I would handle such a situation. If Horikita didn't change in the coming months, I could use her to deepen my relationship with Kushida while losing nothing of importance to the greater plan.
If I were forced to decide between them, then the answer was simple as well.
I would annihilate my knight without a second thought, since the queen was too important to pass up on. I had already promised Kushida that I would do anything to defend her. And I planned to keep this promise.
From the moment she decided to threaten me, our futures were entwined. I wouldn't let her go, and she wouldn't be able to escape my grasp. No matter how our relationship continued going forward, she and I could never stray too far apart since I had clawed my way into her deepest and darkest memories.
Just like the trauma and the nightmares, I would always stay with her.
The rest of the day passed quickly, and so did the next.
Since I wouldn't have any trouble acing the exam if I wanted to, I had nothing to do but laze around in my room while watching some shows or reading interesting books. Because everyone else was studying, there was no reason for me to leave my apartment, which is why Fuka was relaxing with me for the whole day as well.
I also texted with Chiaki for some time, as I figured that she must've been bored as well. She didn't have as much to learn as the rest, so I doubted that I was bothering her. We messaged back and forth for a while, talking about useless stuff and other such things.
Even though I learned nothing new or useful, I enjoyed every second of our conversation.
Aside from conversing with Fuka and Chiaki, I also texted with Ichinose and sent her an unsigned message with the old test papers through an anonymous account.
If she trusted the information and these solutions, then their scores would see a respectable increase. If not, she would put more trust into future messages that would reach her from the same anonymous account after she realized that the material had been legit.
During my downtime, I had a lot of leeway to think about the people in the other classes, especially the ones I haven't had the pleasure of meeting like most students from Class 1-A and 1-C. Due to Kushida's social talents, I knew pretty much everyone in the first year better than most.
The girl I had observed in the library, for example, was called Shiina Hiyori.
She seemed to be an outlier in this troublesome, delinquent class and spent her time by reading books and attending the tea-ceremony club, which made me even more curious about her. Shiina was impossibly cute and enjoyed everything I appreciated as well, which led me to a rather unprecedented situation.
I wanted to get to know her.
Not because I had ulterior motives in mind, but because I was genuinely interested in this girl.
The rift that opened up in Class A also didn't escape Kushida's all-hearing ears. It seemed they were split up into two factions named after their respective leaders. The Sakayanagi faction, led by Sakayanagi Arisu, and the Katsuragi faction, led by Katsuragi Kohei.
If Kushida's impressions were correct, then Katsuragi was a by-the-book guy, who attached great importance to the rules of manners and good conduct. The other girl was rather mysterious aside from the fact that she was always seen with another student named Kamuro Masumi, because of her disease.
But that was all she could gather at the moment.
Due to the existence of these two factions, I could infer that she should have differing, likely even contrasting, thoughts to Katsuragi, or there wouldn't be such a rift in their high-ranked class. If they had the same view on things, then their dispute wouldn't have escalated to such a degree.
From what I could gather so far, I was rather certain that Sakayanagi would be Class A's king in this game, but I still had to wait and see until everything was official.
With the information I possessed, I could form a chess set for every class, but their pieces were not set in stone.
Someone I deemed a queen due to the way I could use them might be assumed to be a simple pawn by another person, depending on their play style. Ichinose, for example, would have difficulties to classify Kushida as a queen if they were in the same class due to their overlapping properties. She would still be useful, of course, but much less so than for me.
With all the new information I had acquired thanks to my queen, I couldn't help but get excited about what else the future might bring.
I only hoped that neither of the remaining class leaders would disappoint me.
"There are no absences today. It appears everyone is present. Are there questions?"
"We've studied diligently the past weeks. Everyone will pass."
"That's some confidence, Hirata."
The devil in disguise glanced at me for a second.
She was probably curious about what I had done to boost their confidence to such a degree, but there was no need to elaborate on my plans and movements behind the scenes.
Since I already made a promise, there was no way I wouldn't keep it if breaking it would inconvenience me this much. I cherished my newfound freedom as well as the experiences and memories I could enjoy because of this respite, so of course I would make sure that everyone passed the exam.
The rest of our class was just as confident as our ad hoc leader.
Since everyone had studied with the tests Kushida provided, there was no reason to be worried for them either.
The first test on today's agenda was social studies, which would be the easiest one by far.
Chabashira-sensei began to pass around the tests as her stern gaze swayed through the classroom.
"After this midterm exam, there will be a final one in July. After that, you'll be rewarded with a vacation during summer break."
"A vacation?" The puzzled voices of my classmates echoed through the room.
"That's right. A dream vacation on an island surrounded by the brilliant blue sea."
Well, that was a fucking lie...
I hadn't asked Fuka about any of her special exams until now, since I wasn't interested, but I was sure that this voyage would be everything but a vacation. If she supplied me with information beforehand, this game would be far too easy. It would already be a walk in the park, since I just couldn't see myself losing against anyone at this school, but I didn't want to make it even more trivial than it already was.
But a boy could dream, right?
"Did you guys hear that? Summer and the beach."
"We heard, we heard!"
Of course, they would also be stuck in their fantasies, even though they differed from mine. My classmates never had to worry about their freedom or similar things that they had considered normal their entire life.
"Let's do our best!"
""Yeah!""
The boys cheered, but I chose to hold myself back this time around, as I could see some intense stares being thrown our way. The girls weren't stupid and realized what the guys were thinking about when 'summer' and 'beach' were mentioned.
Before long, Chabashira-sensei gave us the signal and began the test.
I skimmed through the pages and noted that the questions were one-to-one copies of the previous midterms, just as expected. The other students recognized this as well, as smiles appeared on their strained faces.
If everyone had memorized the tests, they would all be able to get a perfect score.
Since humans were distinctive, however, there would still be large differences in what they could remember, even after studying with the old test papers for two days. Someone like Horikita, for example, would have a far easier time memorizing the contents than Sudou or Ike.
After I completed my initial observations, I began to fill out the test papers in front of me. I took my sweet time while writing and answered every question. The periods thereafter were Japanese and Chemistry, respectively.
Once again, I went over the test answering what I deemed necessary.
The raven-haired girl beside me should have no problems reaching at least 100 points outside of maths. If she studied the old papers, even the three difficult problems wouldn't be impossible to solve. It was quite impressive that the questions she had prepared for Sudou and Ike were consistent with the contents of the test.
The only blockage in Horikita's way was Horikita herself. If she wouldn't hold her self back with her own attitude, she would have made a pretty good puppet leader and an even better friend.
After the fourth period, Mathematics, ended, a short break began.
During our break time, Sudou, Ike, Kushida and Horikita gathered together and began to chat while I went to the front of the classroom to visit my other friends.
"So, how did you guys do?"
"I did fine, I guess. Those papers Kushida-san got really saved me, though. Without them, I might have cut it close."
"I'm the same as Karuizawa. I still feel that I screwed up somewhere, though."
"Everybody did their best, so I believe we'll all pass at least. If our assumption was right, we might even get some class points with our good scores."
"Mhh, Hirata-kun's study sessions helped a lot as well. The tests until now went alright for me as well, and English is not a problem, as you guys know."
"I'm quite confident that I'll get a good score as well. What about you, Kiyotaka?"
""Yes. What about you, Ki-yo-ta-ka?""
The girls' teasing voices rang in unison.
Hirata chuckled and shook his head as if he had already expected such a reaction. Chiaki's complexion evolved from a healthy color into a soft crimson, which didn't help in the current situation.
"You guys really are the worst."
She pouted with the most adorable expression and averted her eyes.
"I'm good, I guess. Since I spent my time with the old test papers, I believe that I'm able to get around 70 to 80 points without a problem. It's better than usual for sure, but still not a lot."
"You're just as hopeless as us, then." Karuizawa grinned.
"Ayanokouji-kun, is everything okay in your study group?"
"Yes, I think... Why?"
I turned around upon receiving Hirata's concerned question.
Horikita was standing next to Sudou and pointed at something on her notes. Ike and Kushida seemed somewhat anxious as they stood to the side and watched their exchange.
"I guess I'll check up on them. See you guys later."
""See you later.""
After I arrived in front of my study group, I received a status report from Kushida.
"Ayanokouji-kun, it's terrible. Sudou-kun said he fell asleep during his English studies."
"Twice? Seriously?"
This could have never happened in the White Room as we would have received electro shocks if we dared to fall asleep during studying. Or any other time when we weren't supposed to sleep...
"W-well... I might have postponed looking at the English papers a bit and..."
"Sudou-kun!"
Kushida sounded appalled, frustrated, and remorseful.
"I know, I know, alright? But English sucks. I can't even read those letters."
Sudou spent the rest of his break studying like a madman while we tried to help him in every way possible. Horikita and Kushida concentrated on the short answers and high-scoring questions, so that he wouldn't need to remember as much.
Despite their best efforts, the bells' merciless, yet beautiful sound echoed through the classroom ten minutes after our break began.
My delinquent friend was a nervous wreck as the teacher stepped into the classroom, tests in hand.
As I was solving my English problems, I couldn't help but observe Sudou, who seemed to struggle with the questions. Even if he failed, there was no way that I would let him get expelled, but he didn't know that, which was why he was shaken up about the whole situation.
After the final test of the day, our group of four gathered around him.
"So, how did you do?"
"I did everything I could, but I don't know how well I did..."
"You did everything you could, right? I'm sure you did well, Sudou-kun!"
Kushida's sweet, angelic voice brightened the mood somewhat, but Sudou was still apprehensive.
"Damn it, why did I have to fall asleep?"
"Sudou-kun." Horikita stood in front of him with her never-changing stern expression. He couldn't even look her in the eyes. "Yes, you fell asleep, which was stupid, but you did everything you could in the limited time you had. You didn't cut any corners or throw in the towel. I think you should feel proud of what you've accomplished."
Sudou backed up in his chair, clearly afraid for his life. "What is this?"
"A concession. I previously said that you wouldn't take your basketball training seriously. Seeing what you did the last two weeks, I have to admit that I was wrong. You are doing your best for the sport that you love. I believe that now. I also understand that it is incredibly hard to become a successful basketball player, harder than I had initially imagined. I regret insulting you for your dreams." She bowed in front of Sudou while the rest of us looked at their conversations with our mouths agape. "I'm sorry for what I've said back then."
While all of us were still processing the impossible situation that had just occurred, Horikita grabbed her bag and left us with four, technically five, parting words and a shallow wave of her hand.
"I'll be going then."
"Hey, am I dreaming? Did Horikita just apologize?"
Ike, just like the rest of us, was stunned. Even I couldn't have expected such a surprising development from her. Sudou and Kushida as well could do nothing but stare at Horikita's receding back with wide eyes.
The red-haired delinquent held his right hand over his heart after my neighbor was out of sight and earshot.
"Oh, no... I think I might be in love with Horikita."
This would go horribly wrong.
In front of Horikita, Sudou wouldn't amount to much more than a dog — a Sudog, if you will.
No matter how often I ran my simulations, I couldn't imagine the two of them being in such a relationship.
Even if she did change during her time here and began to build friendships before eventually opening up to the possibility of a relationship with the opposite sex in a year or two, there was no way that she would choose Sudou.
Some people just weren't compatible, and those two were a perfect example of this.
Aside from that, I had already narrowed Sudou's future girlfriend down to two people, one of which I would bind him to. Either of them would be fine, as they would help each other grow no matter who won his heart.
Both girls had little to do with Sudou at the moment, so I had not yet decided on how I would bring them together, but I wouldn't change my decision to take Sudou's feelings into account.
In the end, love was only an interaction of various chemicals which reacted in our brains. Dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin, oxytocin, vasopressin, testosterone and estrogen could all be triggered at will.
The heart was a simple muscle and did nothing in this equation.
As long as the surroundings, mood and tone were correct, Sudou would be susceptible for anyone I put on his path.
Horikita, however, wasn't and will never be the one.
Some might call me cruel for denying his 'heart', but in the end, I would probably help him unintentionally.