Author's note:
I'm back! And I am alive also!
Eh, seems like I haven't updated in a while. This was mostly because I had exams coming, and I didn't want to flop any of them. But I am now free and able to write again. Hopefully this doesn't turn out to be shit, I rushed it a bit so I could have something to publish. Now here is the chapter :D
Also, happy Holy Week for any Christians reading this
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Ayanaokouji POV
As I got up and dusted myself, I head out of the corridor that I had dragged Kushida into. As I make my way out, however, I see Sakura pass me and nearly bump into each other. The situation made Sakura feel bad for the little shock, so she apologized immediately. Upon looking at her closely, she seems to have slept in a bit too much. A bit of her hair is a mess, her blazer was buttoned incorrectly, same with her uniform which would reveal her undergarments a little when she would bow down.
"Sakura, you look a bit messy. Did you wake up late?" Sakura gasps a little from my accurate guess
"W-well, yes. I got back to my dorm quite late yesterday, and I also slept late too..."
"I see, you should fix yourself then. At this rate, we'll be late anyways, so you might as well take your time"
"Ok, I'm sorry, I must look very slovenly right now"
She says as she hurriedly runs into the corridor of the buildings to fix herself. I needed to confirm something , so I followed her. I see Sakura trying to fix her buttons and hair, so I ask her my question.
"Sakura?"
"A-a-ah! D-don't look yet, my top is still u-unbuttoned!" She says loudly, I could see her ears were already red
I turn around and wait for her to finish before continuing.
"A-Ayanokouji-san, s-shouldn't you have waited for me to finish outside?"
"I apologize, but I need to ask you something important"
"I-I see, what would you l-like to ask me, Ayanokouji-san?"
"You were there, weren't you?"
"Ah- what do you mean?" Sakura's face starts to shown concern at my question
"You saw the fight between Sudou and Class-C, am I correct?"
"N-no, I d-didn't see anything! And w-why do you think that?"
"When the class had found out about Sudou's case, you didn't seem to react with shock, just general concern and trouble. I could take that as you having already known what happened. Was that the reason for your lack of surprise, and you attempt to slip away from the case when you left the room after his case was announced?"
"A-awa! Y-you noticed m-me?"
"You didn't deny anything that I've said, is what I said true?"
"N-no, I w-wasn't there. P-please e-excuse me, I'll go to the classroom now"
Sakura suspiciously answered all of my questions, she looked to be more and more flustered with the situation. Her voice was higher than usual, compared to the low and soft voice she used when she apologized to me. It is possible that she might have just gotten defensive because I had suddenly accused her of something, however, what I said wasn't necessarily a bad thing. It would only mean that we have a witness for Sudou's case, so why does she not want to help us?
Before she walks off, I obstruct the way by cutting in front of her and look her in the eye.
"A-Ayanokouji-san, p-please excuse me, we have to go now, we'll really be late"
Sakura again says in a flustered manner, her eyes don't meet mine as she had averted them to the ground as soon as I made eye contact with her. I don't want to make her feel forced or pressure her into anything, but I also don't want to let her go just yet without confirming my suspicions, so I decide to go in between. I move out of her way, but I try to ask her again as gently as possible if she saw anything with Sudou.
"Sakura-san, we really need help for Sudou. Are you really sure that you don't know anything?"
"...I-Im sorry, I didn't see anything. P-please excuse me" Sakura says timidly, her eyes to the ground before leaving without ever looking me in the eye.
"I guess my attempt was fruitless" I mutter to myself before heading to school too
Even if Sakura had answered me here, there were still many more things to factor in. I didn't entirely believe what she had said, so I wanted someone else to ask her for me.
I put in the digits for a certain masochist's number and gave her some instructions. With that, I hope I'll be able to get something out of Sakura.
I make my way to the class and arrive on the nick of time. I see Chabashira-sensei about to walk into class, so I greet and try to make some small talk with her as I walk into the room.
"Good morning, Chabashira-sensei. The wea-"
"Get into the classroom, otherwise I'll shut the door and start without you" Ouch
And with that, our classes continued like usual. I didn't bother to pay attention to class and turn my direction to the window, making an attempt to keep my eyes open. My seatmate on the other hand is diligently making notes, this would be necessary if she wants the idiot trio to ever survive expulsion.
I continue to just scan the usual happenings in the classroom and occasionally flick paper balls at any students who are close to falling asleep. The student probably isn't aware that it was my doing, but they don't seem annoyed so the little reminder of paying attention in class must be welcome. I look over to Kushida this time, we make eye contact for a moment, before she closes her eyes and turns back to the teacher.
Morning classes end and I look over to Kushida who stats to act. She approaches Sakura with enthusiasm, hoping to break down her walls with overwhelming positive energy. This attempt, however, seems to be fruitless as well as it ends up pressuring the overly timid Sakura. Their exchange seem to take a turn for the worse as Sakura tries to leave, but ends up dropping her camera. She gets on her knees and by the look of her reaction, seems to have broken it. I walk over to her to make my move, this time with Kushida who is currently apologizing to Sakura.
"I'm so sorry, Sakura-san, your camera broke because of me"
"N-no, it's alright" As she gets back up however, I put a hand on her shoulder which causes her to shiver a little
"A-Ayanokouji-kun"
"It seems that Kushida is a bit of a klutz, your camera looks like its busted"
"I'm really sorry, Sakura-san, let's go have it fixed. I can pay for the camera if it's not past its warrant date"
Sakura didn't plan to budge any time soon, regardless of my efforts, I'm sure she would just run away from me. But right now, I have back up, and I can pressure her to spill the beans. I'm very sorry for doing this, Sakura, but it is a necessary thing to do for our class.
"I-I see then, I'll take you up on your offer, Kushida-san"
"Oh! Can Ayanokouji-kun come with us too? I was planning to go out with him to do a few things, it'll be more convenient if it's alright with you"
She ponders a bit before responding "It's alright, I guess it would be good if there was more of us too"
Her expression darkened a bit, but she was glad that she has company to go with her. There could be something deeper to this.
"I see, what time should we meet tomorrow?" I ask
"If it's alright with you, Sakura-san, would it be fine if we go early? Only if you are ok with this, because I have some other things to do tomorrow with Ayanokouji-kun after"
Kushida did a wonderful job squeezing me in for Sakura. For now, we'll have a lot of time to build some trust and really see if my intuition was correct. However, I wonder what Kushida wants with me. I didn't tell her to add anything here, so I don't want to be troubled tomorrow on a weekend other than what is necessary, I may have to punish her if she plans to drag me into trouble. But as it is, it's good that we got Sakura to go along with us. We went back to our respective seats and carried on with class. As usual, I don't need to pay attention much, so I close my eyes and let the remaining hours pass.
As soon as class ended, I send a text with Kushida to come with me after class. I look over to her, it seems that she is a bit bothered since it looks like she wants to hang out with her friends, or maybe just avoid me. She turns her direction to me before frowning a bit and closing her phone. She makes her way out of the classroom to rendezvous at the usual place, in the cafeteria, since there aren't many students who come by here after class because they'd usually opt to eat at Keyaki mall.
As I make my way to Kushdia, I get called out by Ichinose. She looks a little flustered, but still exuding a bright aura. She doesn't have any friends with her, what could she want from me right now.
"Ayanokouji-kun, can we talk for a bit?"
"Sure, what do you need?"
"Ah, if possible, could we chat somewhere else? It's kind of important, and embarrassing for anybody else to hear"
I readily comply, since simply standing next to Ichinose already attracts a lot of attention. Being popular sure is annoying. Before we go, I ask her to whisper to me an idea for what we are going to do. Since I still need to meet with Kushida, I need to confirm whether or not it will take long.
"I'm a bit busy right now, so could you give me an idea of what we're going to talk about?"
"O-oh, Ayanokouji-kun is busy? Let's talk in some other time then, I wouldn't want to bother you"
"It's alright, I can hold it off, I can make some room if it's really important"
"Eh, uhm, it's really alright if we don't talk now. My concern might be really silly compared to what you need to be doing, Ayanokouji-kun"
"Just tell me, what do you need?"
"Ah-Uhm" She hesitates a little before stopping in front of me, because of our height difference, she tiptoes to reach up to my ear, her generous bust area pressing against me a little. This could easily be misunderstood from an outsider's perspective, but we've found a place devoid of students now.
"A-Ayanokouji-kun, about our little secret, it's alright to stop now right?"
"Do you mean about me pretending to be your boyfriend?"
"Y-yes. It seems like Miyamoto-kun really did keep quiet about this, so this makes things easier for us"
"I see, I guess that's that, we can go back to normal"
"Hehe, I was thinking Ayanokouji-kun would be a little reluctant to put our pretend date to an end. Thank you again for the favor, Ayanokouji-kun"
"It's alright, but I guess you are correct that I was a bit reluctant. It's a shame that we were only pretending" I add looking a little clueless to tease her
"E-Eh? Ayanokouji-kun, please don't tease me, I'm not used to this you know. Also, here are the points you wanted to borrow" She says as she takes out her phone
"By the way Ayanokouji-kun, I don't know how to send points to another person, so would you please take the lead here"
"Ok then, it's really simple, you just need to do this-"
As I come closer to Ichinose, I take her phone and show her the points transfer function. While doing so, I can't help but notice a peculiar detail. She has 2.5 million points. It piqued my curiosity, but I try to carry on normally and suppressing my surprise. Ichinose seems to notice though, it's surprising how observant she is, but she doesn't press the matter. She still stands close to look at how the points were being transferred, her close proximity making her sweet scent from her hair tickle my nose. Thinking more on this though, 2.5 million points is a lot for the start of the year. Did she perhaps discover an exploit? No, that shouldn't be possible with how strict the school is, it is unlikely that they would let something like that pass and that they would notice something wrong immediately. I can only wonder how she got those points.
"Is Ayanokouji-kun thinking about my points balance?" she already noticed my interest, so there isn't a need to hide it
"You're quite observant to notice it. My eyes gave it away when it widened a little, right?"
"Yes, my observation is something that I'm quite proud of" Ichinose says as she takes an exaggerated pose and smiles
"In case you are wondering, I'm functioning as a bank for our class. To ensure the funds aren't carelessly spent, they've entrusted it to me as their representative, and I give them frequent updates on our balance. Apart from that, I don't do anything special" she says matter-of-factly
"..."
Wow, that's really amazing. Something like this can only truly be achieved by a class like Class-B, their friendship and unity is unmatched, and their actions therefore result in efficient and well coordinated movement. All of the students act unselfishly, and put the class before their own enjoyment, that would seem like a faraway dream for Class-D.
"Ayanokouji-kun?"
"Ah, yes Ichinose?"
"You were spacing out a little, something else on your mind?"
"No, I was just thinking about how amazing you and your class is"
"Eh-? It's nothing praiseworthy Ayanokouji-kun, we just do a few little things here and there"
"Still, the unit your class is enviable, our class used up all of our personal and class points in the first month"
"Well, I guess that's just how it is. I feel really confident and proud about my class, I'm gonna aim for Class-A no matter what" She says with a strong conviction.
"I see, I hope our classes don't have to fight so soon"
"Yeah, I just wish everyone could get along though. Everyone is always on edge, but there's nothing we can do about that. I'll be going then Ayanokouji-kun, thank you again for the help, I hope I didn't take too much of your time!"
You can always have my time, Ichinose~ is what I would like to say to her as a joke, but it might not be in good taste for me to do, so we part ways with that. I start walking quickly to meet with Kushida, I can already picture her frowning again.
When I get to the cafeteria, I expected her to be alone, but she is currently accompanied by Mori and Onodera. She's currently sitting farthest away from the group, and she makes an upset face towards me while her friends were grinning and giggling to themselves.
"What's this Kushida-chan? Ayanokouji-kun again?" Mori says
"Both of you keep seeing each other, are you really sure there's nothing going on?" Onodera adds
"There's nothing going on, really!"
"There's no way that's true now, both of you arranged a special meeting alone"
"We took your phone so that you don't alert your secret partner from getting away, you've been exposed!" Onodera claims loudly
"We were just meeting up to discuss Sudou's case and to investigate" I say to try to clear up the misunderstanding
"Oh? Then couldn't you have just gone together in front of the classroom with Hirata-kun instead of meeting up here?" Mori asks, full of suspicion
"Yeah, Yeah, that's really sus, Kushida-chan"
"We needed to investigate here in the cafeteria since Class-C and Sudou supposedly had a small argument here again"
That was a complete lie. Nothing happened between Sudou and Class-C since their last encounter, and we made sure of it. Even if they did have a small altercation here, it's not like there was anything we could do here. Onodera and Mori were too distracted by Kushida's act of being flustered, she even got the blushing right, so both of them didn't press any further.
Since they couldn't get anything out of us, they decided to excuse themselves.
"I guess that's another failed attempt of getting something out of you, Kushida-chan" Onodera sighs with disappointment
"Yeah, you can be honest with us, you know? But I'm not sure how I'd feel if you were with Ayanokouji-kun here. No offence, I just don't know you well" Mori adds
"None taken"
"There's really nothing guys, and shouldn't you be helping us?" Kushida throws the ball back to Onodera and Mori
"Eh? Is that responsibility you're trying to give me? You hear that, Mori-chan, let's leave now!" Onodera shamelessly says as she takes Mori with her while laughing to herself
Eventually, her silhouette disappears from the door and Kushida and I are quickly left alone. But, she comes back quickly and shouts from the door with her little face peeking out-
"Be sure not to do anything lewd you two, this is where we eat you know" Onodera says teasingly
"Kayano-san!" Kushida shouts her name, this time clearly flustered from her suggestion
"Hehehe, see you then!" this time, she leaves for good
"You're friends sure are energetic, I don't see myself ever keeping up with them"
"I don't expect a total loner like you to ever be able to do that"
Kushida says with her other voice, her tone full of venom. Recently, she has been getting a bit too relaxed with me lately, and she would almost get caught when she tries to ease up around my presence. I decide to tease her now that we are alone
"You know, Kushida, you've been letting your other voice slip a lot lately. You should really manage your temper"
"You don't have to tell me that, it's just that you're face is so annoying to look at, I lose control of myself for a moment" She adds sarcastically, but I can still make something out of this
"Is that so? Are you sure you're not slipping up for the wrong reason?"
"What could you possibly be trying to mean?" She asks with her brows furrowed
I close the distance a little, causing her to up her a guard a bit, but I lean on the table she's sitting at
"Wouldn't it be possible to take that as 'I'm starting to trust you more, so I'll let my guard down a little'" I say in a dry voice to intentionally irritate her
"Nope, totally impossible, not in a million years"
"Really now?"
I want to tease her more, so I cut our distance and put a hand next to her, leaning my body so that our skin nearly touches.
"You're not lying right?"
"W-what? W-who would want to be with a loser like y-you. You reek of a 'I'm so lonely, please be my friend' aura"
Kushida turns to insulting me to get me to back off, but I'm sure she already knows something like that won't get a reaction out of me. I move again, much closer this time, while I put one hand on her neck, the other holding her hair and moving her face closer to mine.
Kushida's cute face is currently crimson red, her eyes darting around before averting them to my tie which was tied a little too loosely with an opened top button.
"Kushida, weren't you taught to look to the person you're talking to in the eyes, how would I know if you're really paying attention"
"I-" Kushida is starting to mumble incoherently, and I use this time to put myself over her where she sits. I asked her a few more stupid questions because I know she can't respond
"A-Ayanokouji-"
"Hm?"
Kushida has hit her limit, her face now looking down as she tries to control her breathing. I put my hands away as she starts to calm down, but I am still towering over her while I kneel against her seat. I guess you could say smoke is starting to come out of her ears, because I can see her red all the way to the ears. I touch them to feel how soft and warm they were.
"Hii!" She lets out a questionable voice as she feels a sudden touch
"T-that's, e-enough already" I have a feeling that any moment now, Kushida will either cry or hit me in the head really hard, so I cease my teasing, for now.
She nudges me away with her elbow and covers her face with her blazer. She looks really cute right now, sort of like a little, timid rabbit. I take my phone and snap a picture.
"H-hey, n-no pictures!" She says as she tries to grab my phone, but her movements were uncoordinated, and she nearly trips where I pull her back to stop her from falling.
"T-that's... You're so mean, Ayanokouji-kun. I'll get back at you for this" Her voice coming back to her more feminine and cheerful side
I look down and see a pouting Kushida, her face still flushed with pink as she starts to pinch my side while I hold her like I would carry a long log of wood.
"Alright then, that's enough fooling around I guess, let's go look around the place of the incident" I say as I let her go
Kushida slowly gets up from her seat and walks closely behind me. I look over to her and her face is still very pink, but upon making eye contact with her, her face turned sour and she pinched the area around my lower back and tried to twist it. It wasn't painful though, it was on a level of sensation of being poked a little hard, so I guess she was a little hesitant to be violent. She isn't as loud or easily angered like before, so cooperation from her would be a little easier. Looking over to her again, she looks really cute when she's contemplating to actually pinch me or not, her hand still hovering around my lower back.
"It's good that you're not as violent with me as you were the first time I started having you help the class"
"Huh?" Realizing what I meant, she decides to immediately pinch me, but not very hard.
"It's not a bad thing to be a little nicer, you know?"
"Hmph, I think you misunderstand, I'm only trying to get on your good side so you don't order me to do anything stupid"
"Really? I thought you'd already trust me enough to let your guard down a little, I won't make you do anything unnecessary"
"...Whatever... Pervert..." Kushida mutters in a low voice
We continue to walk in silence until we arrive in the special school building. We split the work in two with Kushida asking around the students who usually pass by this area if they heard anything strange during that day, while I inspect the area again for any surveillance. Seeing that there was nothing, I've started to simulate in my head how their confrontation had gone down. After thinking it over a little, I've thought of how I want to trap Class-C.
No matter what happens during the trial, both classes would lose out on something, but it ultimately favored Class-C. Whoever perpetrated for this event to occur thought of this quite thoroughly, but there were still holes in his plan. The one behind this incident still underestimates the competition in this school, but that can work in our favor. Kushida arrives later with no new information that we could use, so I dismiss her and head back to the dorms to rest.
The next day (Ayanokouji POV)
I got up early today and did my usual routine, and again, I meet Kushida who went out to buy coffee from the vending machine. I greet her, but we still don't have much to talk about, so our conversation cuts short when I finish up my training. I get back to my room and prepare a small meal of stir fried rice and clean up afterwards. I still have a lot of time until I see Kushida and Sakura, so I take my time taking a shower, letting the cold water hit me a little longer than usual. After finishing up everything, I change into a comfortable, loose shirt and into dark jeans and leave my room quickly.
I arrived early with 30 minutes left before our arranged time, but I see that Sakura has already arrived much earlier than me. Right now, I can see that she is wearing her glasses with a medical mask together with a coat. If she is trying to not stand out right now, then she'd fail miserably.
I walk over to her and tap her shoulder to which she lets out a small voice, it seems that she didn't notice me.
"G-good morning, Ayanokouji-kun, it's still very early for you to be here"
"I could say the same to you, and what's with the outfit? You stand out a lot"
"Eh? Oh, and I was trying to blend in with the crowd too..."
"Just ditch the long coat and mask if want to do that"
"O-ok"
I take a seat next to Sakura while waiting for Kushida. I tried to start some small talk with Sakura, but our lack of people skills quickly shuts down the conversation. But surprisingly, the silence isn't that awkward, and she seems to be comfortable with the pleasant atmosphere. We continue to wait a little more until Kushida arrives, greeting both of us cheerfully.
Sakura still seemed to be a little nervous going to the electronics store, so she concluded by having strength in numbers. I wonder what she seems to anxious about though. When we arrive, I start to get an idea of why. While we wait in line, Sakura starts to fidget a little, but I put a hand on her shoulder to get her to calm down a little. As our turn comes, the store clerk looks over at all of us and starts talking with a lot of energy. At first, I thought Sakura was just a bit intimidated by the very extroverted clerk, but I immediately dismissed that thought when his eyes started to linger on Sakura. Listening in on the flow of the conversation, he started to get a little touchy with Kushida on the things they were talking about, I can see how some girls may feel uncomfortable around him.
Sakura hands over her camera and presents the papers for the warrant on the camera.
"I see, it got busted huh? Was the camera purchased within the school grounds?"
"N-no, I bought it before entering the school"
"I see, did it have any problems hindering it's functionality when you bought it?"
"W-well, battery charges a little slow, b-but there's nothing other than that"
"I see... Can we see what's in the camera?"
"E-eh? Ah, w-well, is it n-necessary?"
"Oh, hehe, never mind that, I was just a bit curious"
The conversation seemed normal, but Sakura didn't look at the clerk in the eyes since they talked. With her eyes on either the counter or the ground, she doesn't seem to notice that his eyes weren't look at her either. Kushida was looking over the exchange too, noticing that the clerk was eyeing her inappropriately, at her chest to be more specific, and this irritates Kushida who looked like she wanted to do something about it.
"Alright, your paper's are valid, so could you sign these papers here?"
"O-ok, what are they for?"
"Oh, just the usual things needed for something like this. I'll be needing your contact number, dorm address, and some other things too"
"Ahh-O-ok"
Sakura picks up the pen hesitantly, Kushida is worried with Sakura as well. I step in for Sakura and take the pen from her hand before filling up the paper with my information. Even in a situation like this, I still understand how anybody would feel hesitant giving personal information like that. It's a little safer for a guy like myself to do this, and Sakura seems relieved by my intervention. The clerk looks to be troubled from my interference.
"I'll fill up the paper. Contact my number or cite my address once the camera is replaced"
"S-sir, I don't think you can do that"
"Is that so? The camera was destroyed within school grounds, and most of the people here are students, there shouldn't be a problem with finding the owner, right?"
"B-but sir, I th-" Before he says his piece, I cut him quickly
"There is no problem...right?"
I repeat to him again while glaring at him with a cold tone full of suspicion letting him know that I am aware of what he might be trying to do.
"S-sir, th-"
Snap! Crunch!
I form an irritated expression in an angle where Sakura and Kushida can't see. I snap the pen in my hand and thoroughly crush it, all the while staring at him cold. I don't accuse him of anything by remaining quiet, but my actions indicate otherwise. This passive-aggressive method should be enough to stop him from insisting on Sakura's information.
"Sorry, I didn't realize I was gripping it too hard. I'll replace it after this, but, I'm sure this is fine"
I stare him down a little longer after that
"V-very well" He says as he goes back into the door, probably looking for Sakura's camera model
Kushida and Sakura both sigh a breath of relief, the hostile aura I was exuding disappeared after that. I guess I was being a little too intense with my suspicions.
"Sorry, I think I was a bit rude with him"
"N-no, i-it's alright Ayanokouji-kun...and thank you"
"It's alright"
"I'm sorry for having to trouble the both of you"
"Oh, no, it's definitely alright. I was the one who broke you camera after all" Kushida says to assure Sakura
"I'm sorry for holding out on this, but I...Saw something, a-and I have some photos too..."
"Eh? Really? That's great, now we can save Sudou and prove Class-C wrong!" Kushida says cheerfully while holding on to Sakura's hands.
"But hey, why didn't you say anything at the start?"
"I-I was afraid to have to confront so many people in something so important like this. I'm sorry for being so selfish" Sakura says meekly and bowing her head afterwards
"It's alright, you don't have to feel pressured to help out the class anyways, it's not like you are obliged or anything"
'Ayanokouji!!! Don't share your ideals of being lazy with her too!!!' Kushida thought
"We need a willing witness anyways, but it would be better if you cooperate for your sake as well. You wouldn't want to alienate yourself in class like Koenji. Just do what you want to do, and do it for yourself. I think that's a good way to base your actions regarding school"
"Y-yeah, thank you, you two"
After talking a little more, we part ways after. I rest in my room and wait for weekend to come and go. Once the day of the trial comes, we are able to delay the final judgment for 2 more days thanks to Sakura's pictures. I was right to think ahead for the future since Sakura's pictures could only prove that the fight had happened then actually showing who started it. if Horikita were here, then I am sure that she could have reasoned something out of this to give us an advantage, though it is unfortunate that she decided to not interfere. (AN: Sad, no tickled Horikita for this fic)
After finishing the first half of the trial, I pick up a certain box with something that I had ordered in the previous week. I set up this item that I bought and ask Kushida to call out the students who accused Sudou. With that, I wait in the special building and call Ichinose there as well.
As the 3 students in question arrive, they looked to be discussing about Kushida and why they were being called here, one of them joked about being asked out and the other 2. However, this laughter is cut short when they meet me standing at the top of the stairs where they were supposed to meet with Kushida.
"Huh? Who the hell are you, and where is Kushida-chan?" One of the students named Komiya shouts
"Hey hey, what's this supposed to mean?" Another question is asked by Kondou
"Sorry to disappoint, but Kushida won't be coming here"
"Huh? What the hell, this was a waste of time"
"Yeah, did you call us here so we could beat you up? Don't look down on us just because we're a little hurt right now"
As Kondou starts to walk up the stairs, I stand my ground and wait for him to come. But as I've calculated, Ichinose arrives and stops Kondou
"Hey~Hey! I don't condone these kinds of violent actions!" Ichinose says in an overly exaggerated voice
Her bubbly presence is enough to at least stop the 3 boys and behave more appropriately with her around.
"What the hell is going on, Ichinose from Class-B is here too"
"Well, she's here to watch over our small talk"
"Huh? Who said we came here to talk with you?!" Komiya shouts to me
"I did, now stay if you don't want to get expelled immediately" I say as I raise my hand, casually pointing at the planted camera.
"W-wait, huh?" Finally, Ishizaki speaks after realizing what trouble they were in
"The entire fight was already recorded, and the outcome of the trial was already decided"
"W-what, what the hell is that supposed to mean? Then why aren't we being punished or something? What kind of school would do that?" Ishizaki argues angrily
"Oh, what do you mean by punish? Did you 3 actually make a false accusation then if you thinking of that?" Ichinose cuts into the conversation, putting pressure on the bad choice of words by Ishizaki
"Uh-no, we're just speculating because we still fought, you know?"
Ishizaki replies, nearly fumbling a few words. Kondou and Komiya have gone really quiet while trying to understand what was going on.
"Well, I'm glad you understand that" I add to what Ishizaki had said
"H-hey, why hasn't the school said anything about this, you guys are just bluffing, aren't you?" Kondou says nervously
"This is a special school, mind you. They probably are trying to exercise independence among the students, and they have probably decided the outcome regardless of what happens here"
"N-no way" Komiya mutters to himself
"This means expulsion for the 3 of you, and a heavy punishment for Sudou. But at least Sudou can still remain in this school, you 3 wouldn't"
I add the last part coldly to put emphasize my point. The pressure of being caught off guard, together with the presence of another class is piling up, they didn't even question whether the camera was real or not.
"N-no way...Ishizaki, what the hell do we do?" Kondou stutters a little
"H-hey I don't want to be expelled man! Let's just admit it now" Komiya says as he starts to fall into despair
"Wait a second, I'll make a call first" Ishizaki reaches for his phone, but I don't let him
"You'd better make the decision now" I say as I pull my phone out with Chabashira-sensei's number ready to call
"We can get rid of you now, but there is room for negotiation"
"I-Ishizaki, let's listen to him!"
"Y-yeah, we can't get expelled, not because of him!"
Now, with the pressure from Class-B and D, the possibilities of the camera and my claims being real, and now with his peers, someone like him should fall apart right about now.
"A-alright, we'll listen to you, just don't call anybody right now" Well said
"Regardless of what happens 2 days from now, both classes will lose something because of this incident. The 3 of you will be expelled, and Class-D will lose an opportunity to gain points. However, a problem is only a problem if we decide that it is, so why not drop the charges?"
The trap is complete, and I have already gathered recordings of their voices admitting to the false charges. I had Ichinose put on the pressure to let Ishizaki and his chums know how this exchange was going to go down, and I dictated the flow from there.
I had already thought of this in my mind, whether to actually follow through with my plan, or to let Class-D and Class-C take both bullets. It is definitely not a small loss to lose 3 students, and we have the opportunity to strike Class-C and put them in Class- D indefinitely, however, there is still a lot of risk for Class-D as well.
Looking at the pros and cons, expelling these 3 will put down Class-C by losing 3 students that could be useful in the future, and possible have some other detriments to their class as well. To add to that, by having these 3 expelled, we would be able to know what happens when a student gets expelled. We would also be able to gain new information from it, and that would be 3 less students to worry about in the future. But then, Sudou would also have an invisible demerit for his current actions. He may not have a chance to play for his team because his reputation would be affected, and it would be a waste when I've heard the news of him possibly becoming a starter despite being a first year. He has talent, so it would be a shame to not put it to good use.
Looking at it from another perspective, it can also be dangerous for us. At the moment, any bad news for Class-D would be bad. The demoralized state of Class-D would take any bad news badly, and it would mostly trace back to Sudou constantly getting into trouble. Even if we save him and expel the 3 students from Class-C, the demerits on him would make our class lose the chance to get any points in this month. Considering their morale, our class may even fall into chaos because of how poor Sudou's reputation is right now. Despite our efforts to save him, he would remain in class, but he would basically be a ghost that isn't welcome. And looking at the options again, even the expulsion of the 3 students isn't guaranteed. The recordings will definitely come in handy and can serve as blackmail, but the school may or may not expel them, despite how likely it would seem. I want to play it safe for now and make sure that it can happen, there are too many holes for this plan that is based on the fear of these 3 students.
The only clear option to take with guarantees is the safe option. I can make the problem disappear now, and give our class a chance to earn some points, even if it were only a little. This small change in points would be enough to motivate our class, at least keeping them together until the next exam. For now, taking this route should be the right move, and Ichinose being present will make it look like Class-B came to help Class-D, instead of it looking like someone from Class-D was able to overturn the charges. I can keep under the radar this way, and scout out whoever came up with this scheme until then.
"So... What will it be?"
"..."
Scene change (Ayanokouji walking out of the special building with Ichinose)
"Finally, Sudou is safe at last" I say as I take a deep sigh and stretch
"Hehe, glad to see that you are relieved and able to deal with this case. This should solidify our alliance, and hopefully make Horikita more trustful of Class-B"
"Yes, I'm expecting more from you, Ichinose"
"Same to you. That was quite amazing though, Ayanokouji-kun. With how you were able to think of all of this, it kinda makes you look really cool" She says with a giggle in the end. Cute.
"It's nothing really. It was just a little cunning here and there, I consider myself lucky to even turn up with these results"
"Whatever you say, Ayanokouji-kun. But I think you might be selling yourself short here, Ayanokouji"
Ichinose says as she looks me in the eye with a question more over her head. She looks a little curious, but I don't say much.
"As I've said, I was just lucky"
Ichinose giggles at me trying to deny her, and with that, she leaves for her class
As I walk back to the classroom and announce the news, the class breathes a sigh of relief, and Sudou is practically jumping for joy. Despite this, Sudou still has to mend his relationship with the class, and he does well to apologize in front of the class after Chabashira-sensei's lecture. For now, he has the chance to prove his worth in any future events and tournaments. I'm content with the results for now, but since I've arrived in the classroom, Horikita looks like she's trying to drill a hole through my face from her intense glaring.
"So, it worked out in the end, huh?"
"I guess it did"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It was mostly Kushida and Hirata getting help, and Ichinose lending us a hand too"
"Is that really the case? You've been moving a lot in the last weekend, and you've been meeting with Kushida and Ichinose often as well. Given with how much Chabashira-sensei values you, I doubt that you did nothing"
"That's... really weird, Horiktia. Were you stalking me for a whole week? Or are you just jealous that your precious 'neighbor' has been spending time with other gir- Ugh!"
Feeling a familiar sensation, I see Horikita's fist on my stomach. If Sotomura's knowledge is correct, this makes her jealous or a tsundere. Regardless of what she is, the pain is distracting me form thinking straight and I let it go.
"You seem to have a death wish. Are you looking to die young?"
"No, please forgive me ma'am" I get a quick strike to the head this time, but it was more of a tap this time.
"Well, you did good in saving Sudou. I'll just have to settles with this little incident as a lesson for him, I'll be sure to send him to the hospital if he ever does something stupid like this"
"I hope that doesn't happen though"
As the classes have already ended, students start to get up and leave the classroom, and I do the same. As I get to the door though, the question of Sudou's case was asked.
"Hey guys, can you listen for a second. How did Sudou get saved this time?" A brunette names Matsushita asks
"You can thank Kushida and Horikita for their efforts. And starting last week, our class will be working with Class-B. You guys can thank Ichinose as well, since I was able to get her to help us out"
"Oh, really? That's good to hear. That's one class to not worry about" Sato says
"That's really cool, Ayanokouji-kun. You got Ichinose and her class to help us out" Matsushita adds to what Sato said
"Not really, it mostly Kushida and her"
And with that, I leave before that strange girl can ask more questions. I have a feeling that she will be a pain for me in the future.
As I make my way to my dorm room, I enter and let myself fall on my bed.
"Ah, that was annoying, but at least it's done" I mutter to myself
We were able to save Sudou today, and Class-D and Class-B are now in a cooperative relationship. Things should be a little easier now, but I hope the class doesn't get too relaxed over this small victory. I've set up the road to be a little smoother for you now, Horiktia. Let's see what you can do.
Before I can drift into sleep, I hear a knock at my door. I don't recall calling anyone, so I get up tiredly and open the door to see Kushida.
"Hey, I'm coming in"
"Hey- wai" Kushida walks into my room before I can push her out
"Your place is devoid of anything as usual"
"What do you want right now, I was trying to sleep"
"Good, that means I disturbed you right as you were about to" This girl-...
Kushida walks into my room and sits on the floor, leaning against the edge of my bed.
"I didn't ask to be credited, but it was good of you to consider that"
I sit next to her on my bed
"A good and loyal servant deserves a reward every now and then"
Although I intended to joke around, she smacks my foot with a pencil case
"Ouch, it would be nice if you stop doing these things"
"That's the price of making me subservient to you, you'll just have to put up with it"
"I guess that's how it's going to be then"
"Hey, the girls are still talking about you, you know. You rank 5th in the hottest guys tier list. I thought you'd at least credit yourself a bit more"
"I don't intend to do anything like that, I don't want to break my cover and potentially ruin my peaceful life. And what do you mean by list, this is the first time I've heard of it"
"Oh, I guess I didn't tell you about this yet"
She says as she shows me her phone where my name is placed on a solid 5th place, I also happen to notice a lot of other lists as well. One that caught my attention was the list "Boys That Should Die", but I pretend that it doesn't exist. Scary.
"That's interesting, do girls always make these kinds of lists? I don't think I'm particularly attractive though"
"That's just how it is, I think you look pretty good too"
I stare at her from her surprising assessment of me. She notices this and averts her eyes with a hint of pink on her nose and cheeks.
"T-this doesn't change anything, just so you'd know"
"Mhm. You know, Kushida, you can be honest with me"
"What do you mean?" She asks cautiously
"If you're worried that I'll get stolen away by another girl, then it's alri-"
Kushida get's up on her knees to make eye contact me, she makes a face as if she were looking at trash. And before I can react, she pulls the sheets under me causing me to fall to the floor. I'm surprised that she was able to do something like this, but I guess her anger powered her strength to do this. What she didn't realize though, was that she was still very close to me, causing me to fall onto her and pinning her to the floor a little.
"This situation is familiar, from the cafeteria if I remember? Well then, shall we carry o-" I get a light slap and get pushed away from a blushing Kushida
"Gross, pervert, degenerate, dog, deviant, trash" She mutters in quick succession before getting up and leaving my room. She left her pencil case, so I'll have to return this tomorrow.
I enjoyed teasing Kushida tonight, it seems like she's starting to warm up to, when you forget about what just happened a few minutes ago.
"Finally, I can sleep"
.
.
.
And with that, I can finally sleep...
ヽ(^o^)ノヽ(^o^)ノ ヽ(^o^)ノ ヽ(^o^)ノ ヽ(^o^)ノヽ(^o^)ノ
Alright, Chapter 5 is done.
Was it fun? Did you enjoy your read? Please give me some feedback in case my writing turned out badly after not writing for a while.
The next chapter will come a bit sooner compared to this one.
ヽ(^o^)ノヽ(^o^)ノ ヽ(^o^)ノ ヽ(^o^)ノ ヽ(^o^)ノヽ(^o^)ノ
Date Published: 4/2/2021
7931 Words