Once the cavalry event was over, the school gave us an hour's break for lunch. I was surprised that they could fit such a long break into the schedule, but we had been rushing through events, so a long break was necessary.
Most of the grade had spread out amongst themselves, and even for a moment it felt like the barrier between classes had dropped. There was mingling between classes, people eating lunch together. It was something that had been happening more and more since the start of term.
This surprised me a little, since we were in the midst of a competition, but it seemed like human nature to seek out friendship. If our school hadn't organised it so we would compete, this likely would have been the state of our grade since the beginning of the year.
Even with the competition there were plenty of people who had friends across classes. People like Ichinose and Kikyou who were endlessly friendly with everyone had already breached that barrier, so now that there was less to fear from Class C it was easy enough for everyone to branch out.
Kikyou had insisted on making me lunch today, and so we sat down a little way away from everyone where we probably wouldn't be heard to eat. She handed me a bento box with a smile, and watched slightly nervously as I opened it.
It was a perfectly ordinary lunch, complete with rice, teriyaki chicken and some greens. I could have easily made a much more impressive lunch than this. And yet, there was something special about having a meal made for you, that made it much more enticing.
"It looks nice. Thank you."
The nervousness disappeared, and Kikyou relaxed slightly, having gotten approval for my meal. "Ah, it's no trouble. I wanted to practice the cooking you've taught me."
We dug into our respective lunches, only to find it was a lot better than I had expected. Simple, but well prepared.
"I'm surprised you can have lunch with me," I said.
"And what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Kikyou growled. We were far enough away from people that she could let down her mask somewhat. "Do you not want to eat my food, is that it?"
"No, it's delicious. But I thought you would have to be spending time with other people and cultivating more friendships."
Kikyou's life goal was to learn the secrets of everyone around her. To that end, she spent most of her time surrounded by classmates and friends, trying to worm her way into their lives as a confidant and trusted friend. It was insidious and effective.
She slumped a little at my question. "It's a big day. I wanted some time away from everyone when I could just be me." And I was the only person she could do that around.
"An exhausting day," I surmised.
"No, school is exhausting. Sitting in a class and having lunch with every bitch there is, listening to the woes of ugly boys who want a girlfriend and will never get one is exhausting. Today isn't exhausting. It's complete and utter fucking torture." She kept her voice low so that no one would hear what she was saying, but the anger was just as prevalent, perhaps even more scary than if she had been screaming it out.
"I have to cheer for people I despise, be happy when they succeed. Constantly motivate people I want nothing more for than to snap their ankle while they run. Do you have any idea how many times I've stopped Class A fighting amongst themselves? Ichinose isn't even stepping in at all, she's just watching with an upset look. The happiest I felt all day was when Horikita hurt herself. At least then I can annoy her by being overly caring."
She tilted to the side and let herself fall until she was resting her head on my shoulder. "You're my only real friend," Kikyou bitterly admitted. "I just wanted to spend time with someone who actually cares about me, and someone I can actually care about."
I sighed, and began to stroke her head, giving the damaged girl a modicum of comfort.
"Plus, you having lunch with me gives another benefit," Kikyou said with a smile. I looked down, before following her eyes to where she was looking.
A stiff smile was on Shinohara's face as she looked at the two of us. Kikyou was responding with a sickly sweet one. Once Shinohara noticed I was looking at her, she quickly turned away and went to eat with some of her new friends in Class C.
Kikyou began to giggle at the situation.
"What's going on with her?" I asked.
"Ah, that bitch has been talking about you all day since you started to win races. Apparently, she pissed of Karuizawa somehow and is kind of a loner in class now. So, she's looking for someone to boost her status, like Hirata did for Karuizawa," Kikyou explained.
"And did you explain to her that she's worthless to me?"
"In a nicer way, yes I did. She didn't seem to like it though. She's such an ugly cow, but she refuses to accept it. Disgusting pig of a girl, honestly."
They were harsh words, but I couldn't quite disagree. Shinohara certainly wasn't that attractive, but she kept her position through being a bully to those who disagreed. I guess Karuizawa had trusted my assurances enough to finally break off with Shinohara, no longer needing to stay on the same side of a potential bully for safety.
"I never explained what happened with the Class A participation table, did I?" This story would certainly help Kikyou's mood improve.
"Oh, I was wondering how you did it. So, who's the traitor?" She asked, voice peaking in curiosity, although she didn't move from our current position.
"Ichinose."
"Bullshit." Understandably, she didn't believe it.
"I'm serious. To protect one of her classmates from being bullied to dropping out, she gave up the participation table and is keeping quiet. You said that she hasn't been very involved, right?" As I explained a light suddenly grew in Kikyou's eyes.
"Hahaha that's so cruel! So she has to stand there and watch as everything falls apart. Oh, I'm certainly going to enjoy tormenting her today."
"Don't give anything away," I warned.
"Of course not. But simple questions like 'is there any way I can help your class' or 'surely you know who the traitor is Ichinose-san!' That stuff will drive her insane. Finally, I get to bully the cow-tit whore and she can't stop me."
There was one other thing I wanted to check. "If I told you a rumour about someone in her class, could you have actually gotten them to drop out?" I hadn't actually checked with Kikyou ahead of time, since I didn't want to give out that leverage until now, where it was too late to change things, but I was curious.
"Eh? I mean, it depends on the rumour and the person, but probably yeah, I could do it. What was the secret?" she asked.
"Shiranami Chihiro has a massive crush on Ichinose and confessed to her earlier in the year," I revealed.
"That timid cunt is the one Ichinose is protecting? She'd sacrifice her class for her? I mean, I don't really want to, but if I had to yeah, it would be easy to fuck over her life here," Kikyou admitted. There was a fire in her voice. From my understanding of her, she didn't have any problem with Shirinami that made her hate her. It was the power in the situation that Kikyou held that was most alluring. "But how do you know about that?"
I shrugged. "Ichinose wanted me to be her fake boyfriend to turn down the confession. You might also want to know that Ichinose had never been confessed to before that time."
"No, there's no way that miss cow-tits has never been... fake boyfriend?"
"Yeah, she wanted me to act that way to reject the confession," I explained.
"Oh, her day just got a whole lot worse. Hehehe, I'm going to have so much fun torturing her."
"Again, don't go too far. I need her to keep it a secret at least for the rest of the day."
"Yeah, yeah, I got it," Kikyou replied. Then, hesitantly, she continued. "Thank you for telling me, Kiyotaka."
"It's no problem. You deserve to know what's going on. Another dark little secret for your collection."
"Hey, I don't have dark secrets – I have bright ones." I had no idea what she meant by that.
We sat in silence for a bit longer, watching as our classmates ate their own lunch. Most people had brought some with them today, since no one wanted to be walking to the cafeteria and back.
It wasn't long after though that shouting began to waft through the air, coming from somewhere nearby.
"Who is that?" I wondered.
"I think... it sounds like Amikura and Kanzaki, but I don't know why they'd be shouting at each other." Ah, so things had finally come to a head.
"That would be my fault. I may have suggested that Amikura carelessly lost the participation table to Kanzaki earlier." I explained the intracacies of the situation.
"God, you're genuinely awful. Is there anything you won't do?"
"Probably, but I haven't reached that stage just yet."
"Haha, well, we should probably go watch the results of your hard work," Kikyou suggested. I sighed, and picked myself up from the ground, dragging Kikyou up when she held her hands out to me.
We walked over to the Class A tent, where a small crowd of people were forming, due to the argument going on. In the center were Amikura and Kanzaki staring down at each other. Kikyou broke away from me and began to mingle around with the people watching, trying to find out what we had missed.
Unsurprisingly, it was mostly Class 1-A students here. Class D students had all gone out to eat with friends, and the senior students weren't too interested in their juniors having a spat. I could see Manabu and even further off Nagumo watching though.
"Kanzaki-kun, what are you trying to say? Come on, say it!"
"I'm just asking if you were the one to leak our participation table."
The argument hadn't been going for long, but it was already getting heated.
"You really think you'd betray our class, Kanzaki-kun? How little faith do you have in me?!"
"I'm not saying it was on purpose, it's just..."
"No, go on, finish that! It's just what?"
"You're not the most put together person. I could understand if it was an accident," Kanzaki finally got out. Amikura's face was red with anger at this slight to her person.
"Are you saying I was careless, is that it? That I'm not 'put together'? Sure, I like to have fun, but that doesn't make me any less dedicated to the class than you, Kan-za-ki-kun!" She punctuated his name by poking him firmly in the chest with every sound.
Kanzaki responded by grabbing her wrist before she could pull her arm back.
"Let go of me," Amikura growled.
"There were only a few people in the class who had the whole participation table," Kanzaki almost whispered. "Out of all of us, I find you the least trustworthy, Amikura-san."
"And why should I trust you either, dipshit? You're hurting me now, Kanzaki-kun."
Kanzaki let her wrist go, and Amikura instantly pulled it back to her chest, wincing slightly.
"Is that how you get off, toying with innocent maidens? I never would have guessed," she teased.
"Stop acting dumb for once and use your brain! Someone leaked it, Amikura-san. I just want to know who!"
"And so do I! Stop accusing me without any evidence! It's almost as if you want it to be me! Is that it? You want me to step down, Kanzaki-kun? Because I don't think I can work with someone who jumps the gun like this."
"As if you don't jump the gun, Amikura-san. Who do you think lost us the cavalry battle, because that wasn't Class D's fault."
Suddenly I felt a presence by my side. Looking down I saw Sakayanagi had come to join me, with Kamuro right behind her.
"Fufufu this is sure to be interesting, Ayanokouji-kun. Thank you for provoking this situation."
"I'm rather enjoying it myself. I assume you have something planned?" I asked her.
"Not myself, no. But this is more than either of us ever dreamed of getting. Neither of us imagined you helping so much when we were planning."
There was something odd about that phrasing, but I let it go for now.
I looked across the circle, to see Ichinose standing next to Kikyou. The two of them were talking about something, I assumed this situation due to the pained expression on Ichinose's face. There was a savage flash of pleasure on Kikyou's when she had a chance to let it out.
Ichinose caught me looking at her, and responded with a defeated, grudging smile. There was no happiness left in her, as she watched the class she had lovingly helped over the year be split apart again, but this time there was nothing she could do about it.
The argument had collapsed into childish bickering, and even Kanzaki, famous for keeping a level head was having a difficult time talking to Amikura. Clearly, he had started the conversation in a reasonable manner, but it was Amikura's immaturity that made it hard to question. It was a talent she had to be unpredictable, but it also made working with her difficult. That was why Ichinose rounded out the group, and Himeno did something. What role the latter played I wasn't yet sure.
The crowd parted as someone pushed their way through. From the slight tensing of Sakayanagi next to me, I realised who it was the instant before they appeared. This was the reckoning of Class A, and the time to see whether Amikura's plan with Ryuuen would be succesful.
"Mako-chan, baby, what's going on here?" Ryuuen showed a surprisingly caring side towards his girlfriend.
"Kakeru, Kanzaki's being a bitch. Can you explain that I wasn't the one to give you the participation table?"
"Oh, right, we did agree not to let our feelings get in the way of class conflicts didn't we," Ryuuen explained loudly, for the benefit of everyone listening. I could see the trap closing in already.
"Yeah, so Kanzaki-kun, back off. I didn't leak the Class A participation table." Amikura turned back to face Kanzaki, missing the deadly grin on Ryuuen's face.
"But Mako-chan, you still gave it to me."
Those words silenced everyone around, even those discussing in murmurs from the side.
"Eh?" Amikura didn't understand what Ryuuen was saying.
"Well, when you threw yourself at me at the pool I was shocked, but then I realised that you loved me. I love you to, my precious Mako-chan. And nothing made me happier when you gave me the participation table on our Sunday date."
That was the flaw in Amikura's plan. She had successfully shown Ryuuen to have a heart, and wasn't the tyrant to be feared. In theory, that should have broken the strength of Class C, but it also could backfire onto her. Because in order to do so, Amikura had to expose herself to the same risk. And Ryuuen had managed the situation much better.
In fact, I was noticing more and more Class C students appearing at the edge of this situation, all grinning at the position their leader had put Class A in.
"No... I didn't give it to you." Amikura pointlessly denied the situation, but no one would believe her when the enemy admitted it.
"I don't know if you thought that you could break me off from my class, or maybe you did actually like me. Either way, it's pretty fucking sad Mako-chan." The caring in his tone was gone, and now her name sounded cruel coming out of his mouth. The Class C students began laughing. As expected, the entire class had been in on the plot. "You dumb bitch, you actually thought you'd kicked me off my throne? My entire class put me back up. I'm the tyrant and they want to serve me. But when you handed me the participation table, I'm pretty sure I saw true love in your eyes. It took everything I had not to laugh at how retarded you were kukuku!"
Mako opened her mouth to protest, but before she could move, Ryuuen leaned forwards and before anyone could react, he stole a kiss from her. It wasn't a long one, just a peck, but Amikura seemed stunned by his actions. Ryuuen didn't even change his attitude, a small kiss not affecting him at all.
From behind me, I heard Kamuro say something about a 'chad'.
"To think you'd get lost in your own trap. How fucking dumb are you, Mako? Don't worry, Class C isn't going easy on anyone anymore." Ryuuen smirked, arms wide, the undisputed king in this situation. "You lose, Amikura." He turned and walked away from us, heading back to the White Team area, his class laughing along with him.
"So... it was you in the end, Amikura-san." Kanzaki sounded more tired and disappointed than mad. He understood the argument that Ryuuen had made, of Amikura falling for her own trap.
"I didn't do it. Kanzaki-kun, I didn't give him the participation table. Please believe me!" Amikura was almost desperate, but Kanzaki, and most of the class just turned their back on her and moved off. Despite how tightly-knit the class was, there was no easy way to deny Ryuuen's words. To them, Amikura was guilty.
I was impressed. Even with all the situations I had entertained, I had never expected Ryuuen to be so effective. His entire class had been in on the scheme, probably since that day at the pool. All of them pretending he was lost in the throes of love, acting like they didn't have a leader. That level of faith and trust, to underperform in the morning just to crush the leadership of Class A – it was impressive. It was a level of trust that rivalled Class A's unity. To his class, Ryuuen was their king, almost a god.
"Fufufu he has a flair for the dramatic, does he not?"
"I'm honestly astounded. I didn't expect Class C to be capable of such a deception," I admitted aloud.
"Amikura-san was too smart for her own good. A clever deception, I admit, but it will never work against someone like Ryuuen. The poor girl is out of her depth. The ducks tried to plan too much."
I thought back to when Sakayanagi had first made that comparison, the day the sports festival was announced. "You've been planning together since then?"
"Fufufu Ryuuen knew the relationship would eventually be useful to exploit, and he got me on board that same day. This was an inevitability, although you should receive some of the credit for helping it along. Kanzaki wouldn't have been so aggressive without your prodding." So she had noticed my conversation.
"You two are psychopaths," Kamuro commented. "That girl isn't going to be trusted ever again for the rest of school."
"Probably," I shrugged. "That's the price she pays for getting involved with something she isn't prepared for."
"Well said, Ayanokouji-kun. She could have lived an ordinary life if only she stayed out of our way."
"Ugh. Can we go get lunch now? The 'entertainment of the year' is over, right?" Kamuro complained.
"Fufufu yes, the next events will be starting soon. I'm interested to see how well Class C does now."
"Enjoy your victory, Sakayanagi."
If there was one person to have come out the best in this situation, it was undoubtedly her.
"I'd like to speak to you at the end of the day, Ayanokouji-kun. Please come and meet me at the White Team's tent."
Saying this, Sakayanagi and Kamuro began their slow walk away back to the White Team.
There was still a while until the next events, despite what Sakayanagi had said. She simply had to factor in her slow walking speed. Until then, I needed something to do. There was one conversation I could have.
I walked away from the tents to find a girl sitting alone. In the confusion, Amikura had slipped away and was huddled up beside a tree. She wasn't crying, but there was a slightly vacant look in her eyes.
"Amikura."
She didn't react to her name, so I took a seat beside her, leaning against the same tree.
"I believe you didn't do it," I comforted her.
"That doesn't matter. The rest of my class has already decided I'm guilty." So, she was able to carry a conversation.
I sat in silence for a while, before imparting some valuable knowledge. "I know who betrayed your class."
"Do you have any proof?" she asked. It was a valid question, since there was enough 'evidence' to prove it was her.
"No."
"Then why bother?"
"Because you deserve to know who put you in this situation."
A minute of silence, wherein I didn't press. Then...
"Who was it?" It came out almost as a whisper.
"Ichinose."
"Do you expect me to believe that?"
"It's the truth."
Finally she looked up.
"And how did you figure that out? Did she tell you, or... no. You were the traitor in Class D, weren't you?" A perfect understanding, but not the one I wanted.
"No, I learned it from the real traitor in my class. The one who changed our participation table and gave it to the White Team. Hirata." It was very easy to mix lies with truth. Once she interrogated Ichinose, Ichinose would probably break and admit it. From there, she would believe everything else I said.
"And why on earth would Hirata-kun betray his class. Why would Ichinose for that matter? I call bullshit." A bit of her former energy had returned to her voice.
"Ichinose was blackmailed. Do you really think that Hirata hasn't picked up on a few bits of information over his time here? Do you think it's beyond Ichinose to abandon the class to protect one of you?" I prompted more critical thinking in the damaged girl.
"No, she definitely would. I see... that makes sense, but why Hirata-kun? What does he get out of it?"
"Horikita and Hirata have a feud going on. Horikita was willing to do the same plan as you, let some of your classmates be sacrifices to get the most points. Hirata couldn't allow that. Didn't you notice how Horikita was targeted, and at the same time, Class D is in a relatively safe position, even the unathletic students? Hirata sabotaged your class to ensure his classmates couldn't lose."
So many lies and truths mixed together untangling it would be an impossibility. The girl next to me though, was taking it as the word of god.
"I see... that does make sense as well. But I still don't know why you'd tell me. This could all be a lie. I was sure you were the most suspect."
"I'm guilty in some way. I could have stopped this, but I let it happen for selfish reasons. I just wasn't expecting you to be hit this hard in the crossfire."
"Ha! As if you actually care about me and my wellbeing. I bet you're just happy that Class A got shredded apart by Ryuuen." She almost spat out his name.
"Actually, I'm not. I put a lot of work into your class, and you interest me, Amikura. You aren't like the rest of your class. Out of everyone, you fascinate me the most. As a leader, I want to see what you can do, when not hampered with betrayal."
"Fat chance. My class is done with me."
"But you aren't done with your class. There's still half a day left of this festival. And then another two and a half years. Are you going to give up now, and spend the rest of your time here alone?"
"Maybe I should. I fucked up, really badly."
"No, you didn't." This negative attitude was making it hard to get through to her. "Ichinose messed up. Kanzaki jumped to conclusions. Ryuuen was cruel. But all you did was your best."
Amikura sighed, letting herself roll onto the grass, looking up at the blue sky. "I know you want something from me. That's the only reason you're being nice right now."
"Of course I want something," I admitted. "I owe you a favour, remember? I can't have you give up while I'm in your debt."
"Ha! That's right, you do owe me."
"Come on, Amikura. Are you just going to lie here all day? Or is the Red Team going to make a comeback."
Like everyone I had used at this school, Amikura had her moment. When everything in her life had come crashing down, this was her chance to take the hand I reached out to her.
Finally, a small smile appeared on her face, small but genuine.
"You're right. I can't give up now. I forgot why I became a class leader in the first place. It wasn't to be a leader, but to help my class. I guess I forgot that at some point." And then, "Thank you, Ayanokouji-kun."
"Don't thank me yet. I'm forcing you back into the belly of the beast."
"Oh, but didn't you know, Ayanokouji-kun? I thrive the best in ridiculous situations. I gotta get back the name of dragon tamer."
The girl had been broken, abandoned by her classmates and friends. Her expected victory had been flipped on its head, brought crashing down. Amikura had been betrayed, lied to, and left to the side, discarded as no longer worth being a leader.
And now I would save her.
Thank you Ryuuen, for doing my job for me.
"Out of curiosity, were you actually attracted to Ryuuen?"
"I mean, kind of? He's hot, in a delinquent way, and he's got a fucked up mind. It's fun to talk to. I actually did enjoy our dates." That would explain why she was hurt so much, even more than I expected. Ryuuen's insults too had stabbed her.
"And yet you kept yourself together enough to continue to bait him. You've got nothing to be ashamed of. You executed the trap as best you could. Ryuuen was just too smart for it."
"Aha, yeah he's not an idiot. I probably should have expected him to pull something like this."
"You'll know for next time then," I concluded.
"Right! Now, let's go win a sports festival!" There was a lot of energy in her voice, but even Amikura must have known the current situation. Class A was situated to come dead last, and Class C would be trying even harder now.
Even so, her regained enthusiasm didn't drop even the slightest as she smiled and turned back to her class.
Authors Notes:
Ryuuen used uno reverse card. It was super effective
Been a while since I could write some Kushida fluff stuff, so that was fun. Ayanokouji preying on the beaten Amikura only works if Ichinose doesn't mention anything. Will she? Won't she? Will she tell part of the story, will she explain anything at all? Who the fuck knows.
Out of curiosity, how would Kanzaki's name be split up to emphasise all the sylabuls like Amikura did. Specifically, the n. I only did a couple of years of Japanese early in middle school, but would it be split ka-n-za-ku or kan-za-ku. I went with the latter in this chapter.
As always, hope you enjoyed!