(ANHS School Grounds; Takeyama, Keisuke POV):
My little walk with Horikita seemed to have garnered massive attention among the girls in class, plus Sudo himself. It appalls me how a simple walk in the school with a friend can spark a controversy, and heated rivalry among the opposite sex. Horikita was not very popular in the class in the first place, so her hanging out with me apparently stripped her off the little respect that she had earned on the Island.
Speaking of which, it seems no one in our Class cares for Horikita Suzune anymore.
Once it was let out that I was the one behind all the results on the Island Exam and the fights with Class C before the vacation, the number of help requests that I received from the rest of my classmates exploded exponentially.
If you ask me, Horikita is an indispensable person who is almost certainly required if our class even hopes to reach Class A. Her individual abilities are no joke. Both her academic and physical abilities are very high for an average high school girl. I witnessed her fight with Class C's Ibuki Mio on the island — even though she was unwell, she did her best to hold up against a skilled fighter like Ibuki. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Horikita was the most skilled fighter among the females of the grade.
The class ostracizing her just because she was not directly responsible for the victory on the island made me lose a bit of faith in our classmates. She would have to climb back up to the top again from ground zero.
And of course, I would be there to support her on every step of the way.
"Looks like we're paired up for the 3-legged race, Takeyama," said Sudo.
I wondered back on how I ended up being paired with Sudo. His speed was unmatched in our class, so it was imperative that Sudo would be paired up with the second fastest person in the class so as to not waste his tremendous potential.
And I was apparently the next fastest after Sudo. It would have been unwise to beat him in the race, so second place it is.
"Yeah, let's do our best."
Saying so, I bent down and tied the string between my right ankle and his left.
"I'm not going to go easy on you, okay?" Sudo puffed his chest out. "Sure you can keep up with me?"
"Make sure not to overshoot, and I'll probably keep up with you. Don't go in guns blazing. I'll trip and bring you down along with me in that case."
"Yeah, whatever."
We readied ourselves at the start of the track-and-field course, and I positioned my left leg behind me, and Sudo mirrored my position.
"On your mark....."
"Get set....."
"GO!"
Sudo sprang up like a cheetah chasing it's prey, and poor old me was dragged along for the ride of my life. Sudo wasn't holding back, and it could be fatal for both of us if we fall down and injure ourselves.
"Sudo, slow down!" I said, hoping that my words would break through his thick skull.
"Try to keep up!"
"I'm trying!"
I had unintentionally increased my speed way beyond what I had showcased during the trials, and Sudo was genuinely baffled as to how I was able to match his pace. But I couldn't help it. Su-dog wasn't slowing down. And I couldn't risk injuring both of us for the sake of hiding my abilities.
I decided to increase my speed to match Sudo's.
"Woah, you're actually keeping up with me!" Sudo screamed in delight. "I wasn't expecting you to go this fast in a three-legged race!"
"Woah, Takeyama-kun is so fast!"
"Let's go, Takeyama-kun!"
We ended the race together, and Sudo patted me on the back, like a father would do to his son. "I thought you wouldn't be able to keep up! We should definitely pair up for the three-legged race! We'll show those Class C bastards what we're made of!" With that, Sudo struck a valiant pose, pointing his finger into the sky.
Hirata and a few of the girls came running over to me, and I collapsed on the ground, taking in deep breaths from the strenuous exercise.
"Keisuke, are you alright?" Hirata asked me, as he handed me a bottle of iced water.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. I just haven't run this fast in really long," I said, and I gratefully chugged down the water.
"Takeyama-kun, you were soo fast!" Sato-san squealed from beside me. "You're almost at the same level as Sudo-kun!"
"I guess I can go on short spurts as well," I said. "I'm not usually this fast."
The girls then started flailing about how 'humble' I was. Horikita pulled me out of the crowd to spare me from my suddenly growing fanbase.
"So now you're fast as well?" she asked me once we were a bit farther away from the group.
"Just a bit, maybe? A teensy-weensy-tiny-bi- OW!" I rubbed my left arm, which had been unfortunately chosen for the attack from Horikita's compass.
"Why do you hide your talents?" she spoke with a tone of annoyance. "I hate people who hide their abilities more than those who don't have them at all."
"They'll get scared of me."
"What do you mean, 'scared of you'? No one in our class is frightened of you," she said.
"Think about it as a trump card we can use later on during Special Exams. Going all out now would just dampen our chances of actually raking in Points later. The Sports Festival does not offer enough Class Points for me to fully show off my abilities."
"So you were holding back the entire time? Even during the grip strength test yesterday?" she asked me suspiciously.
"Well, in simple words, yeah. I was."
"But your grip strength score was considerably high. You were placed second in class, only behind Sudo. Surely you cannot beat Sudo?"
"I probably can."
Horikita raised her eyebrows. "What is the highest you can grip? Sudo had a score of around 82kg, which is incredibly high."
"Promise me you won't tell anyone."
"I promise."
"Take a wild guess."
"I don't know. When was the last time you truly measured your grip strength?" she asked.
"It was yesterday. I was secretly checking how much I could actually bench," I replied nonchalantly.
"From your tone, I would guess around 85. It cannot be possibly more than that," said Horikita, flipping her long, silky hair behind her back.
"You're not even close."
"Now I feel like you're just lying."
"I could show you with the grip strength machine, though," I replied.
"Just tell me how much it is."
"Around 108kg."
"....."
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"Excuse me?"
"Around 108.6kg or so."
"You're joking. I don't believe you."
"Wanna go to the gym and confirm?"
Horikita looked at me with wide eyes, perhaps trying to digest the number that I had just casually thrown into the air. She looked at me, but here eyes were glazed, and staring hard into me.
"I see," she finally said. "You probably did the right thing holding back, then."
"Don't worry. I'll use my full strength during the tug-of-war. It's not like anyone is gonna be measuring the force I exert."
"Yeah, let's keep it at that." With that, Horikita melted back into the class practice.
***
(Room 412; Takeyama, Keisuke POV):
Knock! Knock!
I swiftly woke up from my bed, having almost fallen asleep. I went ahead and opened the door.
"You're early."
"You asked me to come early." And without permission, Horikita strutted into my room as if it were hers, and plopped herself down on my bed.
"Why did you call me? Surely it isn't about the Sports Festival?" she threw a barrage of questions at me.
"It's something else. There'll be another person coming."
"Who is it?"
"Ayanokoji."
"Ayanokoji?" she wondered aloud. "A rather exemplary gathering."
"You were supposed to come at 4:30pm. It's 4."
"I don't see why it makes you so uncomfortable," she snapped. "I'll head back to my room if it bothers you so much."
"Please don't. Tea? Coffee? Hot chocolate?"
"Coffee. So you would be fine with allowing Ayanokoji in early, but not me? Such discrimination."
"It was necessary. I haven't had anyone over in my room before. It's a first. I wouldn't have called you if it weren't important."
"If it's related to the class, shouldn't you have invited Hirata-kun over as well? He's necessary to the class's development as well," said Horikita.
"Can you stop asking questions and actually listen to me? It's really unsettling."
"Fine. You can continue."
"Wait, you aren't gonna scream and shout at me?" I asked with genuine surprise.
"Do I come across as that dominating?"
"That was very bad choice of words."
"Pervert."
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"The coffee is surprisingly good," she said, after taking a sip.
"It's normal convenience store instant brew," I shrugged. "There's nothing else that I added."
"What did you want to talk to me about?"
"It's about Kushida."
"About Kushida? What's wrong with Kushida?" she asked, eyeing me suspiciously.
"You were in the same middle school as her, were you not?"
Horikita almost choked on her coffee. "Where did you get that information from? Did Kushida tell you?"
"No, Ayanokoji and I arrived at that conclusion. We were taking a leisurely stroll outside the building, and were talking about some trivial things."
"Like?"
"During the first day of school, you didn't introduce yourself, and immediately walked out of class, did you not?"
"I did. But what does that have to do with anything?"
"You talked only to Ayanokoji that day, so he was the only one who knew your name. You did not go around telling your name to anyone, and neither did Ayanokoji. In other words, your name was only known to 2 students at that time in the school, including yourself."
Horikita slightly tilted her head, and motioned me to continue.
"However, the next day, Kushida walked up to Ayanokoji and asked for help in becoming friends with you. She used the name Horikita, even though no one else in the class was supposed to know that. The only possible conclusion was that she knew you from before, or she checked the nameplate on your desk on the first day. I dismissed the second option because it was anticlimactic."
"You..... picked up on these subtle clues?" Horikita asked me.
"Not really. I wasn't very sure about this. I had to confirm with Ayanokoji because I hadn't talked to either of you on the first day."
"That..... makes sense. I'll confirm; Kushida indeed was in my middle school. But where is this conversation headed?"
Just then, there was a knock at the door, and Ayanokoji walked into my room. He took the bed next to Horikita, while I spun around on my chair.
"Now that Ayanokoji's here, I'll just get straight to the point."
I unlocked my mobile phone, and navigated to the voice recorder app.
Such absolute idiots! I f*cking hate them! They keep staring at my body with such lewd expressions! A**holes! And Horikita-san! What does she think of herself? She's so goddamn irritating! Die, die, die, die, DIE!
I played the recording to both Ayanokoji and Horikita, and she did not look as surprised as I expected her to be.
"So you indeed took a recording?" Ayanokoji asked me this cryptic question.
".....? What is that supposed to mean?" I asked, perplexed.
"I opened the door to the rooftop on purpose that day, because I knew you were following me. Why would I intentionally open the door to the roof and get myself caught, when I could easily just stay hidden and listen in to her rants?" Ayanokoji explained his stance.
"So you opened the door because you knew I would take conclusive evidence about Kushida's alter personality?" I asked.
"Yes."
"I see. I guess I did a good thing turning on the voice recorder that day, or else your sacrifice would have been for naught."
"I was..... sort of aware of her other persona," Horikita said suddenly. "It's not something that shocks me anymore."
"Anymore? You mean there is something more to her that you are aware of? Something that you're unwilling to share with us?" I pressed her on.
"I only know that there was an incident back in middle school."
"An incident?" Ayanokoji joined into the conversation.
"I do not know the details, but it seemed pretty bad. The principal and the staff members could not do anything about it. I was a loner back in middle school, so I did not associate myself or bother to know what exactly happened," Horikita finished her sob story. "Where did you get that recording, by the way?"
"I heard her ranting on the rooftop before the Midterms, during the time your study group existed," I said. "Ayanokoji was there, too. But he was on the other side of the door."
"..... other side of the door? You mean Kushida-san knows that you are aware of her double personality, Ayanokoji-kun?" Horikita asked.
"Yeah, she kinda caught me." The monotone way in which Ayanokoji said that did not deliver the right emotion. "I don't have anything that I can use against her, unlike Takeyama."
"You can call me Keisuke. I don't mind."
"Right. Feel free to call me Kiyotaka in that case."
"This is not the time to deepen our friendly relations," Horikita said impatiently.
"You can call me Keisuke if you want to as well, Suzune," I said in a half-joking way.
"Do not casually throw out my first name like that again, or I'll stab you with a divider," Horikita said. "And no, I'll be sticking to Takeyama until later."
"'Until later'? You mean you're actually gonna one day call me Keisuke?" I raised my eyebrows.
"That's not what I mea-! Forget it. Get back to the point. I have to go and study."
"Right. So Kushida knows that Ayanokoji knows about her, but she doesn't know about me," I finished admirably.
"You were the one with the Midterm papers?" This was asked by Ayanokoji.
"Midterm papers? I thought you were behind them, Ayanokoji-kun," Horikita expressed her doubts.
"I technically was. Me and Kushida had asked an upperclassman to deal us the Midterm papers from their previous years. But Keisuke had already acquired those papers via Kushida herself just the day before that," Ayanokoji said.
"Wait, I don't understand," Horikita sat up straight. "Kushida-san acquired the Midterms question papers for Takeyama anonymously, and on the very next day, acquired those same Midterm question papers, from a different upperclassman, along with Ayanokoji-kun? She did it twice?"
"Precisely," I said. "It's because she obviously cannot tell Ayanokoji about my involvement. Because I held her captive with my recording. She would have to reluctantly go along with Ayanokoji's plan, even if she's technically already done it before. She valued her social status, after all."
"Kushida distributed the papers 2 days before the Midterm Tests, during the time when all study groups had pretty much completed all their syllabi. But I had asked Kushida to distribute it one day before the Midterm Test, not 2 days," said Ayanokoji.
"That would mean that Takeyama had asked Kushida to distribute the papers 2 days before," Horikita connected the dots. "She would obviously listen to Takeyama over Ayanokoji because you had the recording. It makes much more sense now."
"That was also a small something that raised my suspicions on a hidden mastermind in the class," Ayanokoji said. "I could not pinpoint Takeyama-kun, but I knew someone was working behind the scenes like me, and manipulating Kushida."
"Ayanokoji was working behind the scenes, and Takeyama was working behind Ayanokoji..... it makes everything sound so distorted and ineffective when phrased that way," Horikita mumbled.
"I don't think we would have been working behind each other's backs if we were aware of each other's existence," Ayanokoji replied. "I'm pretty sure that once we individually confirmed the presence of another hidden mastermind behind the class, we tried to play out our own individual plans into action in hopes of foiling the other's plan."
"Wait, you both were working anonymously during the Island Exam, and trying to mess up each other's plans?" Horikita asked incredulously.
"Well, yeah," I replied. "We hadn't confirmed each other's identities before that. But we were pretty much thinking along the same lines. Our plans did not hinder or overlap each other."
"That's so hard to grasp..... both of you had the exact same plan even though you hadn't even spoken to each other..... " Horikita tried to wrap her mind around the situation.
"But what was the reason you called us here?" Ayanokoji asked me. "Is it to get Kushida onto our side?"
"Yes, but before that, I think I have a theory."
"A theory?"
"Yes, a theory which would explain how Ryuuen managed to figure out the pattern behind the VIP allotment with only 3 VIP's from his Class," I said.
"Care to explain?"
"I think Kushida betrayed the class."
Horikita narrowed her eyes. "That's a very serious accusation, you know that right? I know about her alter persona, but why would it be necessary to reveal herself to Ryuuen-kun? At the end, she is a part of Class D; a backstab would have been highly anticipated."
"But what if there was a backroom deal? Maybe the identity of the VIP in exchange for Private Points, say?" I pressed her on.
"So Kushida-san collaborated with Ryuuen-kun, showed him that she was the VIP, and now Ryuuen-kun, who is armed with the knowledge of 4 VIP's, easily figured out and confirmed the pattern? Needless to say, I think Kushida is very much capable of doing that," Ayanokoji summed up the entire discussion.
"But what is in it for Kushida-san?" Horikita asked the main question. "Even if it is just Private Points, she could have amassed 1,000,000 Points just by collaborating with the group. Does that mean her contract with Ryuuen-kun guaranteed more than a million points?"
"I doubt that is the case. It would seem that there was something else that Kushida wanted," Ayanokoji theorized. "Maybe a safety net for future purposes? A class to fall back on in case her position is threatened?"
"We cannot exclude any possibility now, because we do not know what Kushida is after. We can only be wary of her. I suggest and recommend strong caution when dealing with Kushida. She is, at the moment, very vital, and very dangerous — a double-edged sword."
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A/N's:
Hello! I'm back with a new chapter, finally! Also, a quick note, expect the characters in the story to be OOC (out-of-character). I'm pretty sure you've already noticed it with Ayanokoji and Horikita. I'll try and make Ayanokoji's relation with Horikita a bit more open, and Horikita will not be the useless person she is in the LN.
Basically, Ayanokoji does not hesitate to show his abilities in front of Horikita, but that's for another chapter.
Thank you for reading, and vote for 2-faced bitch Kushida! Cheers.
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