CLOUDLESS | KHRXAC

CHAPTER 18: and the varia welcomed a new member

He noticed the way the woman's eyebrow twitched and how she gripped her files tighter. He remarked how some of his classmates stiffened, and with the relish only the strong possessed, he brought one of those sugary sweets to his lips. His eyes narrowed.

One of the few things Byakuran liked about Kunugigaoka was the blind reverence they had for those above. As Byakuran himself toppled all if not most of the school, he loved it.

Byakuran did not have a God complex.

After all, that would be insulting himself, he was once a God, and the number of people who considered him a Deity or a Divine Apostle was not scarce.

Morning classes went by slowly with a two-hour course on geopolitics following homeroom and another hour and a half of traditional literature before their final morning class— advanced calculus before lunch break.

"—Which reminds me, we plan on dropping by the school's library for some self-study after classes. Since most of the student council work is done and over with and midterms are coming," Sakakibara explained as he twirled some pasta around his fork. With grace and while always showing off his best profile, he brought the pasta to his lips— no sauce dripping or dirtying his clothing and napkin. It was a talent in itself.

"I won't be joining you. I have to work on some last-minute document the Chairman handed over during recess," Gakushu cut as he filled his glass with water. His purple eyes were slightly narrowed as he mentioned his father, a blend of exasperation and distaste mostly swimming in his irises.

Ren pouted, handsomely, of course, before brushing his hair back and shrugging his shoulder in defeat. "Ah, the joy of being president," he sighed.

Byakuran mutely nodded— though he handed over most of the paperwork to Shoichi or Kikyo when he was a Boss, but details here again.

"Will you need any help?" Sakakibara asked, a genuine, friendly smile on his lips as he asked his friend. "We can also keep you a seat," he casually added, as if getting a seat in the library was easy.

Getting a seat in the library was like going to the auction house. The number of places was limited, and access was granted following a plethora of criteria. Some of them being your place on the waiting list, naturally, but it mainly depended on where you stood on the power pyramid.

As members of A-class and the student council, not to mention part of the famous and infamous Virtuosi, Gakushu and Sakakibara had free passes to such privileges.

"Nah, it's okay," the strawberry blond dismissed with a helpless shake of his head. "I think my— father wants to talk," he spat with an eye roll.

"Mmm, well, if you ever change your mind, I guess," the secretary reminded, a wry smile on his lips before he slid his gaze and attention back to Byakuran in front of him. "Well, you weren't there when we took the tickets, but what's one more person?" he rhetorically asked, lightly chuckling.

Byakuran swore he saw some girls swoon at Sakakibara's low chuckle. With pride, he reminded himself that no one could ever reach Kikyo's level of worship for him— not even Gokudera and his exuberant displays. Sakakibara's fangirls were nothing.

"Will you join us?"

Byakuran swallowed his mango-flavored yogurt, licking his upper lip, he hummed. He was about to deny the offer. There was no use in studying in such a place but thinking about how his brother was swamped with Varia-related work and how he wanted him to get friends, Byakuran backtracked.

"Sure."

::

Koro's eyebrow twitched, as did the not-so-perfect-anymore smile on his lips.