( Takeyama POV )
A knock was heard on my door. I've been getting too many visitors lately, most of them being uninvited.
I walked up to the door, and swung it open.
Outside stood Ibuki Mio, along with Daichi Ishizaki and Albert Yamada.
"Takeyama-kun," Ibuki started. "Can we talk?"
I nodded at their direction and moved aside, allowing them to usher into my room. I closed the door and latched it.
"Why're you here?" I asked, even though I was fairly sure why they were here.
"Takeyama, I know this is a bit selfish and preposterous of us, but Ryuuen-san is going to leave school," Ishizaki said.
I sighed.
That man had the mental fortitude of an orangutan.
"So what do you want me to do?"
"Please stop Ryuuen-san from leaving!" Ishizaki wailed. "Class D is completely done without him!"
"So you want me to stop Ryuuen from leaving school?"
Ibuki and Albert nodded in affirmation.
"And why should I do that?"
Ishizaki pursed his lips. "I know that it is really stupid of us to approach our enemy for help, but trust us, Takeyama-kun, I've got nothing against you. I just don't want Ryuuen-san to leave school because of something so petty. He even entrusted Ibuki with all of his Private Points."
Ibuki opened her balance and showed me her phone screen, as though to prove Ishizaki's point. It currently showed a whopping 3 million points. Had he been extorting points from his classmates.....?
"Well, I don't see why I should stop Ryuuen from leaving this school," I replied softly. "It's not that I have anything against him. But think about it. As the leader of Class C, you're approaching the wrong person for help. Any way that I look at it, it's beneficial to everyone. Ryuuen leaves and we have one less competitor to worry about in the Class battles."
Ibuki bit her tongue to stop herself from retorting. However, she couldn't come up with a valid comeback. Because what I had said was completely correct.
"So..... you're not going to help us?" she asked hesitantly.
"I'll think about it. But for now, my answer is no."
Ishizaki hung his head low, while Albert merely made a sad face.
"Well, I don't see why you would help us anyways," Ishizaki mumbled. "After all that Ryuuen-san has tried to pull off, it's not like anyone in the school other than the 3 of us here would want him."
I chose my next words carefully.
"Well, it's no for now," I replied, prompting Ishizaki to stare at me like I was his god. "But don't hope for much."
Ishizaki and the other nodded vigorously, and soon, left my room without another word.
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Kiyotaka, Karuizawa-san and I were currently sitting in Kiyotaka's room, seemingly in comfortable silence.
"Keisuke."
I turned to look at the brown haired man, while Karuizawa also seemed interested.
"How much did Kouenji take for this act?"
It seemed that Kiyotaka had come to realize that there was no way that Kouenji would have done what he did for free.
"Yeah, how did you even get him to do it?" Karuizawa asked. "As far as I know, Kiyotaka only told me to act like Kouenji was the mastermind when he arrives on the rooftop."
"A grand total of 300,000 Points," I said admirably. "He doesn't entertain bargaining."
"That much....." Karuizawa droned off, lost in thought. "I'll split the money with you, Keisuke. I don't want you to bear the burden." She pulled out her phone to pay me.
"It's not required," I replied quickly, grabbing hold of Karuizawa's hand. "I already have it settled out. I have enough Private Points to last me quite a while. Besides, this was my idea, and no one else needs to be involved in bearing the expenses."
"But you'll go bankrupt if you spend so much all the time!" Karuizawa pouted cutely.
"Don't worry about it," I assured her. "I'll handle it." I couldn't possibly tell her that Kushida was the one who paid for everything.
"Well, if you say so," she replied hesitantly. "But it's strange that Kouenji-kun agreed to this. To be honest, I did not expect him to come even if you offered him Points. You really are a sneaky one, Keisuke."
"I, well, kinda threatened him," I replied airily, much to Karuizawa's surprise. "But hey! It's not like he was helping us in the first place. Some threatening was required."
"Fair enough," Karuizawa said. "Hey, does Kouenji.....?"
Karuizawa drifted off into an uneasy silence, and she looked at me apprehensively.
I shook my head.
"I didn't tell him anything directly," I replied. "Besides, Kouenji isn't the type to dig out other people's secrets. It doesn't suit his style. As long as he gets what he wants and is happy with it, he won't bother you."
Karuizawa nodded, seemingly relieved that Kouenji did not know of her past.
But this was only wishful thinking.
Ryuuen had screamed out on the rooftop that day, 'I'll expose your past to the entire school.'
In other words, Kouenji knows that Karuizawa's past is something that is hidden under wraps, and something that she would not like the school to know about.
However, Kouenji was exceedingly shrewd and clever. I wouldn't be surprised if he has already figured out that Karuizawa might have been a victim of bullying.
Karuizawa was on the rooftop too, so she must definitely know about Kouenji's possible information. However, as long as Kouenji does not do anything with this tidbit, which I doubt he will, there is no need to panic.
As they say, let sleeping dogs lie.
Suddenly, I received a call on my mobile phone, and I took it out of my pocket.
'Ishizaki'
I narrowed my eyes. Why was he calling me?
"I need to take this," I told the group, and I excused myself from the room, and ran into my room. I didn't need anyone to overhear this conversation while I'm out on the corridor.
I picked up the call on the last ring.
"Hello?"
"What took you so long!?" Ishizaki screamed from the other end. "It took..... let's see, 30 seconds!"
"Shut up Ishizaki, before I come over to kick you," I replied nonchalantly, and that seemed to shut him almost immediately. "What do you want?"
"What do I want? You know why I called you!" he beamed. "Thank you, Takeyama-kun!"
"What are you talking about?"
"It's alright, Takeyama-kun! No need to be humble!" Ishizaki said from the other end. "Thank you for helping Ryuuen-san!"
"Wait. Say the same thing again, but slower."
"You saved Ryuuen-san from being expelled. Thank you," Ishizaki heeded to my request, and proceeded to formally thank me. I could hear Albert's affirming hums from the other end as well.
So Ryuuen did not get expelled, huh?
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What?
I clenched my fists in anger.
How?
I didn't do anything.
I even made sure that Kiyotaka did not interfere with Ryuuen's expulsion.
How did Ryuuen not get expelled, or worse, at least suspended? I was hoping for him to get expelled. One less class to worry about.
I grit my teeth.
What the hell was happening? This wasn't a part of the plan. How is Ryuuen still in school?
"Umm, Takeyama-kun?" Ishizaki spoke slowly from the other end. "Are you there?"
"Ishizaki."
"Y-yeah?"
"Did Ryuuen even go to the teacher's office? To submit his letter for resigning from the school?" I asked cautiously.
"Well yeah, duh! He did go. But it seemed that the matter was somehow handled internally by the teachers and principal. I'm surprised it didn't escalate at all. You're the one who put in a good word for Ryuuen-san, right? You revoked his expulsion!"
I kept silent.
Ryuuen's expulsion from the school..... was revoked?
But why?
"But we still got hit by a penalty of 50 Class Points for our behavior, so I guess that compensates," Ishizaki muttered from the other end.
"Where is Ryuuen?"
"Ryuuen-san? Oh, he's outside the faculty office right now. Do you want me to hand the phone over to him?"
"Ask him to stay where he is. I'm coming right now."
"W-wait, Takeyama-kun?" Ishizaki asked me worriedly. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, Ishizaki. I'm just coming over for a little chat."
I cut the call before I could get a response, and immediately put on a jacket. I walked out into the December air towards the teacher's office.
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I stood in front of the school building's third floor, and I could make out the figures of Ibuki, Albert and Ishizaki, standing outside the office.
I walked over to the trio.
"Takeyama-kun?" Ishizaki was the first one to acknowledge my presence. "You actually came?"
"Where's Ryuuen?" I skipped directly to the point.
"He just left. He's outside, sitting down on the bench behind the school. You know the bench next to the vending machine?"
"I do. I'll head over. Besides, how's your mouth? Ryuuen sucker-punched you pretty bad."
"I think it's okay," Ishizaki said warily, massaging his cheek. "I feel a weird lump sometimes, though....."
I turned around to leave before he could delve into more anatomy.
I headed towards the spot that Ishizaki had pointed me towards.
I walked down the staircase, and was greeted by a nail-biting cold wind. I wrapped my scarf around another fold, and headed towards the magenta-haired boy, who was sitting down on the bench, staring at the floor.
"Ryuuen."
Ryuuen turned his eyes to look at me, and he narrowed them. "Takeyama? The hell you're doing here?"
"I wanna know too."
Ryuuen scoffed. "You really are a bastard, you know that? You won't even let me get expelled."
So Ryuuen really did not get expelled.....
But why?
Why would the school overlook such blatant misconduct from a student, and let them off with just a deduction in Class Points? Guaranteed, 50 Class Points is a huge hit, but that doesn't change the fact that Ryuuen's actions were enough to get him expelled.
Besides, Ryuuen himself approached the teachers with an expulsion letter. In other words, the school does not want Ryuuen to leave.
That did not seem plausible at all.
First of all, if a student himself is applying to leave the school, why would the school prohibit him from doing so? As far as I remember, there was no rule which stated that you could not leave school of your own volition.
It did not make any sense to me.
Kiyotaka did not help him. I did not help him.
Ryuuen should not be in school.
Perhaps it was Kouenji.....?
No. That's not possible. Kouenji would not care about things like these. Besides, he is not aware of the fact that Ryuuen had taken the decision to leave school. Only I was aware, and in tandem, Kiyotaka.
"What are you spacing out for, retard?" Ryuuen mocked me. "Or maybe I shouldn't call you a retard. You did save me from being expelled, after all. You even patched me up after I lost to you. Even though I'm not particularly thankful."
So Ryuuen thinks I'm the one who saved him from being expelled?
I decided to play along for now.
"I didn't want to lose an opponent like you so soon," I lied. "It would be a shame, don't you think, Ryuuen?"
"Tch. You and your twisted sense of justice," Ryuuen replied. "Did Ishizaki and the others tell you about it? I don't see how you did it otherwise."
"They approached me last night, and I decided to lend a helping hand."
"I see."
Ryuuen gave me a short reply, and went back to staring at the ground. I sighed. There wasn't much to talk about to him, now that we've officially established my victory.
"Kouenji wasn't the mastermind, was he?"
I turned to look at Ryuuen, who was eyeing me warily.
"I know Kouenji isn't the mastermind. It's someone else. And I'm sure of it now," he continued.
"Well, you can take your shot Ryuuen," I said. "Doesn't change the fact that you still lost. Whether you figure out the mastermind's identity now or later, it's over. You can only assume their identity."
"Kuku, I expected this answer from you....." Ryuuen smirked. "You're neither going to confirm nor deny my accusations. You're like those annoying lawyers....."
"What are you planning to do now?" I changed the question in my favor. "Will you continue to lead Class D?"
"What do you think I should do?" he asked me cheekily.
"Why're you asking me? It's your class," I replied exasperatedly. "Go ahead and do whatever you think is good for you."
"Then in that case, I might as well continue to be the leader of Class D," Ryuuen replied, standing up. "But I've come to a realization, Takeyama — you're a demon. I'd rather not go up against you so fast. Maybe Ichinose would be a better target....."
Ryuuen smiled an evil smile. I felt a pang of guilt. My heart went out to Ichinose and her class.
"Well, you do you," I waved him off. "I'd rather you keep this incident under wraps."
"Of course. I don't want the entire grade to know about how my ass was handed to me now, do I?" he replied. "You win, Takeyama. I'll give you that. But I'll come back stronger the next time. Once I'm done destroying Ichinose and her class of wimpy losers, I'll come back to challenge you again."
"I'll be waiting for it, Ryuuen."
Ryuuen scoffed, and immediately set off in the opposite direction, towards the dormitories.
"Who do you think the second mastermind is?" I called out behind him, and he turned around to give me one last grin.
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"I have no fucking idea."
With that last sentence, Ryuuen left.
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