Horikita Suzune's POV:
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I exited the shower and stood in front of the mirror, fully nude. The floor was dripping with water.
"Mhhm. I'll need to shave again," I muttered, after carefully studying myself up and down. Noticing that the time was catching up, I pushed that thought aside and dried myself with a towel.
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( * 26 minutes later * )
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I'm on my way to school. There were fewer students than I expected. I only passed 3 people between the time I left my room, till now.
That's ridiculous. They should be more vigilant. It was almost 7 o'clock. ANHS students must rise to uphold the standards of this school. All of them should ideally present themselves with excellent punctuality.
The only person excusable today was him.
( * sigh * )
If I had done a better job, then maybe the situation would have been different. I couldn't help but blame myself for this defeat. Part of the fault was his, but I couldn't possibly expect anything better from an arrogant boy.
During my contemplation of yesterday's incident, something bothering snapped me back.
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"Yo, Horikita. Good morning."
Speak of the devil. I had noticed him from a distance, but was too annoyed to pay his presence any mind. He was loitering around at the school gate.
"Aren't you supposed to be suspended?"
"Whether I am suspended or made a convict by the law, nothing can stop me from seeing my lovely Ice Queen!"
"Sorry, can you hold on a second?" I proceeded to open my bag. I put my hands in and removed my pencil case. I unzipped the pencil case and furthermore took out my math set. And from within that math set, I got my-
"Oi, oi. Horikita? W-what are you doing with that compass?" His voice was shuddering.
Ignoring that question, I aimed the compass at him. "Remind me again, what my name is?"
"Y-you're Horikita Suzune?"
"Am I? Because I clearly heard 'someone' calling me an Ice Queen. And I find that nickname rather offensive."
"Got it mam! From this point onwards, I'll drop the act." Wow, that was a quick change of heart. I should accept it for now.
"That's good. And remember, if I catch you referring to me like that ever again, then you shall be saying hello to my sharp friend here." I shook the compass in the air for him to see. I think I heard him gulp.
"Yep yep, I got it."
I then placed the compass in my pocket - in case he goes back on his word - and walked past him. I didn't look back, but I felt his presence. When I turned, I saw him following me about a metre away.
I instinctively slowed down my pace to match his. I didn't want to, but I had to get an update on his situation.
When we were walking side by side, I began, "By the way, why were you wandering around at the entrance?"
"Why I was waiting for you, my lovely Ic-"
I shot him a glare before he could finish. Simultaneously, I reached into my pockets. This caused him to stumble over his words.
"... Uhh, erh, I mean I was waiting for you, Horikita."
"Hmp. That's better... Anyhow, I'm curious about how it went with Sudo-kun."
"Ahh, yeahhh. About that... " His voice trailed off at the last part.
"Hm?"
( . . . )
"I lied," he stated.
"You.... lied?" I asked, feeling lost. "About what exactly?"
( . . . )
"Everything," he responded. "I lied about the second years striking a deal with Sudo. I lied about the three Stooges giving us free information. I lied about most of the things they've said, and I most definitely lied about the fight itself. In truth, I was the one who caused things to escalate."
( . . . )
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I am utterly speechless.
And also... three Stooges?
I stopped walking altogether and stood in the hallway. Not many students were passing by, so it was acceptable.
My mind couldn't process the big reveal. My emotions were getting the best of me and I had to close my eyes to calm myself.
( . . . )
When I opened my eyes, he was leaning against the wall a few feet ahead, apparently waiting for my reaction.
"Ayanokouji-kun."
"Yes?" he responded.
"Are you an idiot?"
"Maybe," he said.
"But that's besides the point. You owe me an explanation. I'm trying to think of why you would do this, and I'm coming up with nothing but a dead end."
"So, you want me to tell you my reason for lying?"
"Yes, I do. Explain." I was really angry at him. My face probably gave it away, but I had no intention of hiding it.
"Sure, I can explain. However... it's a long story. Plus I am most definitely suspended and won't be able to attend class. I'm actually heading to get my suspension notice right now," Ayanokouji said whilst pointing towards the Administration Office. "We'll need to make plans after school, since I won't be here during the day."
That's a good point. I better pick a place to meet up. "In that case, how about we go to-"
I was speaking, but he cut me short. "Hold up, Horikita. We might make a rash decision while standing out in the open. Plus there might be inconveniences throughout the day which may prevent us from getting there on time."
"That's.... true."
"So how about this," he said, whilst taking his phone out from his pocket. "I'll contact Kushida or one of the girls in class. I'll tell them to inform you of where we'll meet up. I'll do that right before class ends so there will be less chances of encountering any casualties on the way to our meeting."
Ughh. That's the last thing I want to happen.
"Hmp. No way am I talking to those meatheads," I gave my honest opinion.
"In that case, what do you suppose we do?" he shot back at me.
( . . . )
( . . . )
"Tch!" Looks like I have no choice. "I'll give you my contact."
"Oh, right. Of course! Why didn't I think of that?" Ayanokouji pretended to scratch his head in embarrassment. Does he think he looks cute or something?
"Here." I took out my phone and handed it to him.
When he was finished entering our contact details into each of our phones respectively, I took my phone back.
"I'll text you when school finishes," I said. "We can decide where to meet up from there."
"Sounds like a plan," he said, and began to depart. "I'll see you later, Ice- err, Horikita."
When he was almost out of ear-shot, I called out to him, "If the school system finds out about this, you'll be expelled!"
Without looking back, he shouted, "Fuck the system!"
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Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's POV:
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Who's the boss? Oh, I am!
That's right! I just leveraged Horikita Suzune's number and for a totally pathetic reason at that.
Bwuahahahahha. I feel like the devil.
She didn't seem to notice my true intentions. I made sure of it by carefully leading the conversation towards the sharing of our contact details. I even said that I would call another student to come and inform her of our meeting place, although I knew full well that she wouldn't want that. Based on Horikita's earlier behavior, I had assumed that she was the type of person who hates making friends, so of course she'd deny the option of relying on others.
To her, the exchanging of our numbers would have appeared to be the natural conclusion given the context of our interaction.
But little did she know...
... that Johnny-boy had other plans.
"Huhhh. The bliss of youth," I lightly muttered upon closing in on the Admin Office.
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[ A/N: If anyone knows a fanfic where Ayano gets transported into Tokyo Ghoul, then please let me know. ]
Word Count: 1287