Will Come Back

Part : 18 { Foreseen Victory }

Kiyotaka's Point Of View

The sounds of my footsteps echoed throughout the metallic hallway while I heard a not-so-distant whimper slowly becoming louder. This continued until I reached my destination. I looked down upon a certain blond-haired figure who was currently bawling her eyes out while hugging her legs, completely unaware of my presence. Her clothes were disheveled, and her skin was bruised and covered in marker writings.

They did a number on her... Their methods look like a combination of all the previous classes but worse... Clever bastards...

Kiyotaka: Karuizawa, are you alright?

I called out to her with a gentle smile on my face, and my hand reached out to her.

Flashback to a day prior.

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I met up with Kanzaki and Ichinose at a cafe, without any prying eyes, to discuss our final move to end this exam.

Ichinose: Excuse us for being late. Kanzaki-kun insisted that we go over the plan with our classmates multiple times!

Ichinose apologized for their late arrival.

Kiyotaka: It's quite alright. I had to do the same with my classmates. In fact, I think it's good that Kanzaki is making sure that we're prepared for this. Let's just hurry up before Sakayanagi's and Ryuuen's classmates find out our current location.

Kanzaki: Thank you, Ayanokoji-kun. I agree, anyways. Shall we go over the plan one more time?

They both proceeded to also sit down at the table.

Kiyotaka: Yes. To start off, Sorry for Hirata not being here. He had to go deal with... Girlfriend problems. But he is already aware of all the details of our next move, so don't worry.

Ichinose: Hm, I feel bad for Karuizawa-san... The perpetrator behind these rumors must be heartless.

Not too far off, honestly... But... I'd rather call them "Determined" instead...

Kanzaki: Honestly, these are so petty. Sorry for getting off-topic, but how has your class been dealing with this?

Good question... How have we been dealing with this...

Kiyotaka: Well, Hirata, Kikyo, and I have been doing our best to keep our class together. I have to admit, it's not been easy, but as long as we can keep Karuizawa from doing anything drastic until the rumors stop, it's worth it.

I lied through my teeth while giving them a 'forced' forced smile to gain some easy sympathy points.

Ichinose: Well, If you need any help, don't hesitate to ask us, okay?

Kanzaki: Ichinose-san's right. As allied classes, we should look out for each other.

You should keep your classmates on a leash first... Is what I'd be thinking if I did actually care...

Kiyotaka: Thanks guys. Now then, to get the elephant out of the room...

Kanzaki: I assume Koenji-kun's actions earlier this morning were not intentional?

I nodded with a nervous look on my face. What Kanzaki was referring to was Koenji's sudden guessing of one of Class B's VIPs earlier today. This was due to his unwillingness to cooperate and waste more of his free time, thus leading to him "Guessing the liar." to be freed from this exam.

Ichinose: I guess not everyone wants to reach Class A, huh...

Kiyotaka: So, to make up for that mistake. I think you guys should take the lead for the finale.