( Ayanokoji POV )
Winter was just around the corner. Most of the shops in and around Keyaki Mall had already began decorating for the festive season.
From what I'd heard from Keisuke, winter is quite the exquisite festival in Japan. There's apparently a lot of decorations, sales, food and stuff to look out for. He said that it was his second favorite season, after fall.
Even though I don't get the hype.
"Oi, Kiyopon. You zoning out again?"
A voice called out to me, and I turned to look at Haruka Hasebe, who was staring at me with questioning eyes. "Knock knock, you there?"
"Leave the poor man alone, Haruka," Akito said, as he absentmindedly stirred his coffee. "You know Kiyotaka's the type to stay in his own world."
"Well, it's kinda boring if he does it when we're around as well!" Haruka insisted. "Don't you agree, Airi, Keisei?"
"Y-yes," Airi Sakura said. She had grown to become a much more confident and mature woman around Haruka. Maybe it indeed was necessary for her to get some friends so she could open up on her bottled up feelings and let it all out.
"I'm not sure I concur," Yukimura sighed, as he closed his book. "It indeed is rather strange to zone out in the middle of a conversation, but if we're gonna stay quiet throughout, then I don't think it's much of an issue. Besides, it's not Kiyotaka's fault if he spaces out a bit while we're being boring."
"Aww, I didn't want a logical explanation!" Haruka said, and she flailed her arms about like a child begging for a toy. "I just don't want Kiyopon to feel lonely!"
"I'm not feeling lonely, Haruka," I said to dispel the confusion. "I was just spacing out, like Keisei said. Don't worry about it. It's not lonely to be around you guys at all."
"Woah, Kiyotaka actually complimented us," Akito said astonished. "Even though that didn't sound like a compliment, I'm gonna assume that it was....."
"Hey, I'm gonna go get a refill on coffee," Haruka said, as she stood up. "Do you guys need anything?"
"You don't have to pay for us," I added in. "I'll come, too."
"Don't fret it, Kiyopon!" Haruka said proudly. "I'm doing this because I need to flaunt off my new balance and status!"
Akito stifled a chuckled, and even Airi and Keisei cracked a smile.
The mood in Class 1-D had improved significantly ever since our thorough crushing of Ryuuen's Class.
Or maybe I should say, Class 1-C.
We were the first class in our year to get promoted.
Chabashira-sensei had walked in yesterday in class, and announced it to everyone. The Class Standing currently stood at —
Class 1-A..... Led by Sakayanagi..... 974 CP
Class 1-B..... Led by Ichinose.......... 653 CP
Class 1-C..... Led by Takeyama....... 533 CP
Class 1-D..... Led by Ryuuen........... 342 CP
It was indeed a huge gain for our class. Not only had we crossed the 500 Point barrier, Class A winning the Paper Shuffle against Class B meant that we had closed our gap with Class B by 200 Points in just one swoop. Though our overall gap with Class A did not see a net change, we're still much closer to the summit than we were a measly 4 months back.
"All the credit goes to Takeyama," Keisei said. "He's the one who's been pulling our class along. Horikita-san deserves some praise as well. Besides, I've heard rumors that Ryuuen and Takeyama had some sort of altercation again, and Takeyama-kun came out on top."
"Woah, I'm like, totally falling for Takeyama-kun," Haruka said while laughing. "He's got the looks, the brains and the strength. Not gonna lie, he's the perfect choice for leader."
I had to agree with Haruka on that point.
Keisuke's main skill was not that he was smart.
It was his charisma that pulled the class along.
Ever since Keisuke had taken over control of class proceedings, there hasn't been a single uprising in class against any decision that he has taken. In other words, he has complete command over class affairs. There is not an ounce of disrespect directed against him, unlike the case in Ryuuen's class. Even the outcasts like Kouenji did not mind Keisuke's intervention.
Granted, Keisuke tries his best not to involve Kouenji, but given that Kouenji himself does not have any resentment against Keisuke, and that he goes along with his orders, it is well proven.
"I really wonder how he does it," Akito murmured. "There's so many things happening behind the scenes, it's kinda weird that he tries not to rake the class into them....."
"I think Takeyama-kun does it for us," Airi said shyly. "He tries not to put his classmates in any trouble."
"But maybe it would do him good to know that we're on his side," Akito said decisively. "He doesn't have to shoulder the burden of doing everything alone. He can count on his classmates for that."
"He doesn't really talk to that many people, though," Haruka said sadly. "Even though everyone in class admires him, he's not the type to actively go out and make friends. The only people he talks to are Chiaki-chan, Horikita-san and Hirata-kun."
"Doesn't he spend quite a bit of time with Kiyotaka as well?" Keisei suddenly asked, and his vision darted at my direction. "You agree, don't you, Kiyotaka?"
It seems Keisei had noticed my rather close relationship with Takeyama. Well, it didn't come as much of a surprise to me either. Ever since we had discovered that we were from the same background, all hostility and enmity between us vanished.
"We're a bit close," I said slowly. "I think it's easy to talk to him."
"Easy to talk to him....." Keisei murmured. "Say, Kiyotaka. Do you, by chance, know Takeyama-kun from before?"
Keisei eyed me suspiciously.
"I do," I admitted. "We were in the same middle school, even though we didn't really talk much back then. Both of us were a bit of a loner."
"Haw? Kiyopon went to the same middle school as Takeyama-kun?" Haruka wondered. "That's news to me."
"Well, it won't be normal for any of us to know about it anyways," Akito came to my defense. "Hey, Haruka. You said you were gonna buy us some coffee, right?"
"Oh, right! I completely forgot!" Haruka immediately grabbed our empty cups and rushed to the counter. I internally thanked Akito for the save.
"Say, Keisei. What's the plan now?" Akito asked a rather serious question. "We all know how some blokes from Class D are tailing us, right?"
It indeed was true. Akito had breached a major topic. In the past few days, ever since the announcement of the results of the Paper Shuffle, several students from Class D had been tailing students from Class C. Akito had mentioned that Komiya and Kondo were the ones who always watched him whenever he was in the archery club.
"I think it's because they're now wary of us," Keisei said. "They're trying to pressurize us by constantly monitoring our movements. Typical Ryuuen strategy. Now that we've been promoted to Class C, things are gonna get pretty dicey."
"But it doesn't help in any way, does it?" Akito asked. "I mean, everyone in our class is already aware that we're not gonna fall for Ryuuen's dirty tricks anymore. Besides, he's already lost to Takeyama. What is he trying to achieve by tailing us?"
"I'm not entirely sure," Keisei said thoughtfully. "But I don't think we should let it bother us. Ignorance is bliss, as they say. As long as they don't resort to anything violent, it shouldn't really be much of a problem."
"But it's kind of irritating, don't you agree? Being continuously watched by students from Class D, that is."
"Of course it is. But we cannot do anything but ignore it. Once Ryuuen realizes that he's not getting any fruitful results from the tailing, he'll let it be."
I silently listened to their conversation.
I already knew what Ryuuen was actually planning to do, and soon enough, everyone in the class will see it as well. That Ryuuen is actually trying to dig out the second mastermind from the depths.
Currently, it must have been obvious to Ryuuen that Keisuke and the 'second mastermind', i.e., me, are not working together. We had formulated our plans meticulously and flawlessly, making sure that to an outsider, it looks like we aren't working together, but instead, are actively trying to drown out each other.
For example, take the recent Paper Shuffle. Keisuke had purposely missed out on the meeting in the karaoke room, where I had instructed Karuizawa to spill her drink on Kushida-san's uniform. This way, when Kushida breaches this information to Ryuuen himself, he would think that Keisuke isn't involved in this scenario, and would be inclined to use Karuizawa as a means to approach the 'second mastermind' itself.
Sacrificing Karuizawa, to lead Ryuuen into a trap.
As inhumane as it sounded on the surface, I had to go through with this, if I needed Karuizawa's complete trust. At first, Keisuke was rather reluctant with going ahead with this plan, but he agreed nevertheless.
"I hope he leaves us alone soon," Akito said, and he placed his hands on his face. "I don't wanna see Komiya's face poking out of the archery club door anymore when I'm practicing."
Just then, a jingle of bells in The Brewster signaled the arrival of new customers.
A tall, lean man with messy blond hair, and a perpetual, shady grin on his face walked in, gathering the attention of all students seated inside.
"It's President Nagumo....." Akito trailed off, as he watched the second-year student enter. "Wait, is that.....!?"
Behind the President, another person with sleek, black hair and a calm look on his face, walked in behind Nagumo. His face was twisted into a frown. He probably didn't want to be there.
"What's Takeyama-kun doing with the President.....?"
"Takeyama-kun is a part of the Student Council, remember?" Keisei reminded us. "And not just a regular member. He's the Secretary of the Council. It's not surprising that he's on good terms with the President."
Keisuke glanced for a second at our table, and our eyes met for a split second. He subtly jerked his head a bit towards the door, effortlessly communicating that there is someone outside waiting for me.
I narrowed my eyes, and glanced outside surreptitiously. Was he talking about her.....?
The President waltzed into an empty table, and motioned for Keisuke to take a seat. They were rather far off from our table, so I could not make out their conversation.
I don't think that's a biggie. I'm sure Keisuke will tell me about it later if it's something important concerning the 2 of us.
Haruka returned to the table with our drinks, and I excused myself from the table, citing the need to use the restroom.
I quickly exited the café, and walked over to a wooden bench placed comfortably on the sidewalk. It was currently occupied by a lone girl with long, purple hair, and she was scrolling through her phone mindlessly.
"Mind if I sit here?" I asked the girl, and she wordlessly shifted a bit to the left, offering me space to sit down. She didn't look at me even once.
"Why're you following me?" I asked her.
At once, she furrowed her eyebrows, and looked at me questioningly. "Following you? I don't even know who you are."
"Today, at The Brewster. 3 days ago, at Keyaki Mall. 4 days ago, at Keyaki Mall. Seven days ago, after class. It's quite the coincidence, don't you think?" I took out my phone, and showed her several pictures I'd taken of her when she was spying on me.
"That..... but when.....?"
"You were trying to follow me discreetly, right? So you couldn't afford to look in my direction. So maybe you didn't notice me take these pictures then."
She sighed slowly, and spoke. "It seems there's no point denying it anymore."
So this is indeed what Keisuke was signaling me a few moments back. He had also noticed this girl stalking me for a few days.
"Why are you following me?" I pressed on the question. "I don't remember having any sort of relationship with you."
"I'm doing this out of obligation," she said. "It's not my wish to follow you."
"You mean you're acting on someone's orders? Sakayanagi, perhaps?"
She involuntarily stiffened as I uttered her name. "Don't talk to about her. She's a real pain in the ass."
"It does seem like you're not on good terms with her," I sighed. "So she bosses you around because she has some dirt on you, huh?"
The girl looked at me with a irritated expression. "You don't have the right to speak of that."
"Oh? Then maybe I should go and report to Sakayanagi that you're not tailing me quite well," I said nonchalantly, and I started to get up.
"Wait!" she said, and she grabbed hold of my arm. "Don't give me that. I'm nobody's lackey."
"That doesn't seem very convincing. Here you are, following and spying on me on the orders of someone who's not your boss? I can only imagine what Sakayanagi perhaps has in her possession to control you this easily."
"Grr..... you're annoying," she said. "Yes. I'm tailing you on Sakayanagi's orders."
"You're just going to rat out on Sakayanagi?" I asked, perplexed. "You're strange. Isn't it against Sakayanagi's wish to do so?"
"Why does it even matter to you?" she scoffed. "Besides, it's you, isn't it? The one who Ryuuen is searching for? He's made it quite clear that Keisuke Takeyama is not working alone."
So the information had made it to the other classes already. I decided to play it like I knew.
"And what if I am?"
She stared at me for a solid minute, before sighing. "I honestly don't care. It's Sakayanagi who does. I'm just doing her part since she can't move around much. I'll take my leave. You'll keep this conversation out of Sakayanagi's notice, won't you?"
"Of course. It doesn't benefit me to tell her anything about you anyways. Besides, you've got the wrong person," I replied.
"Still downplaying it, huh....." she muttered. "Well, that is all. I'm taking my leave now."
Saying so, the girl, whose name was Masumi Kamuro, flipped the other direction, her long, purple hair grazing my face ever so slightly, and walked away.
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