Currently, I'm seething with my phone in hand. Sending an angry message to Eiichiro, I got up from my table at the cafeteria and headed towards my destination. When you start a routine you start to expect things to happen in that fashion. So when things break that routine and you know the culprit and the reason why that routine is broken, it's normal to be annoyed or mad.
Right now I knew who was breaking my routine and I was pissed.
As time passed, things were getting out of hand. I was legitimately annoyed and I felt justified. Why you may ask? Because I'm currently missing two things; My lunch and my Ichinose Honami.
Things were getting worse, if Ichinose was coming in previously to our office stifling yawns and dragging her feet, I now had a zombie for a secretary. Incredibly determined, she hadn't missed a beat, still coming into the office and continuing to work. But it didn't change the fact that this couldn't continue, she was on the verge of collapse.
It was painfully obvious that she hadn't been sleeping much, if at all. Between all of her responsibilities and the stress of the current situation meant that she probably wasn't even sleeping at night when she got back to her dorm. If this continued, more than likely she was going to be making an impromptu visit to the infirmary and I was angry.
I was angry because there was one person who seemed to be not as earnest despite being the one affected; Sudo Ken. While Ichinose was breaking her back and her mind trying to get him out, Sudo seemed to be oblivious. Continuing to laugh and muck about with his friends, the school functioned with the principle of innocent until proven guilty. Until the trial came to pass he was still allowed to attend club duties and the like.
Eiichiro was out looking for witnesses and working hard to gather all the information he could. He was giving his best effort but wasn't skipping out on his obligations to the class. He really wasn't to blame for any of this but at the same time he had far less responsibilities than Ichinose. So despite the fact that he had a heavy workload, he was still fine.
Horikita, true to her word, was doing everything she could to assist him. Aside from this case however, she really didn't have any other commitments or even a social life outside of this. For that reason, even though she was giving her best effort, there was really no way she would be impacted. The same went for Kushida, who was diligently assisting when required but wasn't making any sacrifices to her social life.
The only one who was really being heavily burdened was Ichinose Honami. Currently struggling with all of her commitments to her class, the council and the case. Not only was there all of this, but she also had to work within the shadows to make sure no one knew what she was doing.
It was taking its toll.
Could I have intervened? Of course. I could have become a part of this and it would have been far easier. Unlike Ichinose, I can function well in obscurity. I even had plans in mind and contingencies in place should they fail but what would be the point?
This was supposed to be a lesson for all of them. If I held their hands like a parent and coddled them what would it achieve? I could have had Sudo out of his situation today. But for what? So that he could go out tomorrow and be provoked into another fight? Should I continually have to fix his problems just so he could play basketball? Do work? I scoffed at the notion, I would have spit on the floor at the thought if it would achieve anything.
If Eiichiro was to be an effective leader, this was a golden opportunity for him. Subterfuge was a valid tactic and one that was going to be used frequently from this point onward. This was even a relatively simple and basic example of it as well. If this were Arisu who were attacking him, this plan would have been a nuisance for her to even think of, a waste of precious brain power. She wouldn't even bother with such a basic strategic move.
So if he couldn't get through this then there was nothing to discuss; he was doomed. He didn't need to come out on top, he just needed to get through it. Go through the motions, have an outcome and learn from it. It's why I had to allow things to pass even though I was getting angrier by the day and was on the verge of intervening but I had to refrain from doing so.
Loath to admit it, I was also annoyed with Ichinose. This was a simple choice to make. Between Sudo and myself there was an obvious choice. Why help that hot head over me? He did nothing for her, the choice was obvious. Sure I'm lazy, but I have merit.
With helping me, she had what she wanted. A high position on the Student Council, the recognition and title that she desired and the work that she craved to help the people she wanted. I wasn't forcing this upon her, she asked for this. The fact that she was destroying her health to help a peon was vexing me to no end. Forget morals, this was an easy choice to make. Assess the costs and liabilities and make a decision.
Right now at the current moment, at best Sudo was going to get a week of suspension. He may lose his position as the newly appointed main roster member of the basketball team but that wasn't my problem. If things continued to trial, he would be risking suspension into summer.
But he could care less because he was doing nothing. I could begrudgingly admit that I was being slightly hypocritical. I'm lazy, not oblivious. I am capable of being self aware but that wasn't the point. Ichinose Honami is mine. I found this diamond in the rough. I would not let that idiot put her at risk. Especially when the outcome would lead to the possibility that it would happen again.
So like a petulant child, I stomped toward the classroom entrance of Class B. Upon nearing the entrance, I spotted the four people that I was expecting making their way to meet me in front of the destination.
Eiichiro had what I requested, a blanket folded in his hand and upon seeing the thoroughly pissed off look on my face he tensed. Horikita noticed it as well and made no noise or change in her face to acknowledge it but she noticed. Kushida raised an eyebrow at it but had no other visible change. The one that made me angrier was Sudo, who saw me approaching and completely oblivious to anything, he grinned and waved his hand at my approach.
"Yo, Ayanokouji!" Sudo greeted me enthusiastically. I ignored the idiot, walking straight up to Eiichiro and snatching the blanket from his hand.
"Fix it. Immediately. Before I fix it for you," I said coldly to Eiichiro. He flinched and nodded quickly. I have never been angry with Eiichiro and the truth is even now I wasn't angry at him and he knew it. I was angry at the situation. That was one of the benefits of having such an intimate friendship with him. Very rarely, if ever, did we need to voice what the other was thinking or feeling so he knew what I was mad about.
"Sudo, please. Try to read the mood." Eiichiro hissed at him desperately. Sudo looked completely confused to the fact that I was reaching boiling point.
"What mood?" Sudo asked, completely oblivious.
"Our apologies, Ayanokouji-kun. We will make more of an effort to lessen the burden on Ichinose." Horikita nodded with a small bow of acknowledgement. It seemed she was able to read my demeanor and thoughts.
Kushida stayed completely silent just quietly observing what was going on with calculating eyes. She could tell that I was furious but remained unmoved, most likely trying to gauge my limits and wondering how far I was willing to go with this.
Sudo was completely ignorant as to how bad things were right now. Like a deer ambling about not realizing that a bear was waiting downwind. Unknowingly, he was about to poke said bear.
"What's everyone so serious about? It's fine, we got this," Sudo said cheerfully and put his arm around my shoulder, slapping my back.
That was all it took.
Sudo was reasonably taller than me with a strong athletic build. He was also very capable of fighting, as was obvious by our current situation. But a fighter knew how to gauge their opponents based on basic things. Things like movements, grip strength and the like. So even he knew that this was not the time to start a fight when I suddenly whirled around grabbing him by the front of his shirt and shoved him into the wall in the hall.
"Listen to me," I said coldly. He didn't try to fight back, eyes widened slightly and he gave me his undivided attention.
"These three are doing everything that they can to get you off. Ichinose is barely walking, she's that tired. She's risking her position on the student council, a position she held in middle school and that means a lot to her. Eiichiro is preparing your defense, Horikita and Kushida are doing what they can for you.
"The least you can do is be a little anxious. At least have the decency to be embarrassed. Be a little humble, be a little concerned. If you have any brains, maybe you should take this a little more seriously.
"Lunch is about to end and I haven't eaten. I had to make coffee! I'm hungry. I'm angry. I'm hungry and I'm angry." I knew I was just incoherently rambling now, but I really was hungry if it wasn't clear.
No one seemed to say anything about what was happening with me at the moment. Even Sudo just looked at me, not getting mad and simply taking what I was saying.
"I won't be in class for the rest of the day. Do you need points to pay for my absence?" I asked Eiichiro.
"No, I got it. I'm sorry Kiyotaka," Eiichiro apologized quickly.
"You shouldn't be the one apologizing." I answered, staring at Sudo. Even now he was still too proud to acknowledge anything and just stood there silently.
Finished with them, I opened the door to Class B and instantly spotted the one I was looking for. When I was in the cafeteria, I checked her GPS location and found where she was. As soon as I saw it I knew what was going on. Ichinose had religiously been having lunch with me daily, no matter the circumstances. So when I saw her in Class B I knew what she was doing.
Ichinose was on the floor in the back of the classroom. Laying down on her side, her blazer was folded under her head like a makeshift pillow. One person's blazer was under her to stop her from getting dirty, someone else's was over her body like a blanket and another over her legs covering her from revealing under her skirt. There were a number of people in the room, all doing their best to remain silent so that she could sleep.
A girl came up to me quietly before she stopped when she got close. I didn't know her name but apparently she knew who I was and instantly made to greet me when I opened the door.
"Are you looking for Honami-chan, Ayanokouji-kun?" She loudly whispered, carefully trying not to wake Ichinose. I just nodded, also trying not to make any noise.
"She's really tired, I don't know if she can have lunch today,"
"I'm here to collect her to take her to get some sleep, do you need points so she can skip classes today?"
The girl looked at me with surprise before looking at me with a conspiratory grin. I had no idea what she was grinning about but she cut me off before I could ask anything.
"That's okay, we can cover it." She whispered to me. Another girl took the blanket from my hand, knowing what it was for. She silently went to Ichinose and made to cover it around her legs and skirt as the others came and took their jackets from her. Ichinose just groaned at being moved about but didn't wake up, clearly exhausted.
"You can call me Mako-chan, try not to ravage her in her sleep," Mako hissed teasingly with a wink. I rolled my eyes but went to pick up Ichinose, carrying her out of the room to our office while ignoring the giggles. I could hear some pointed whispers about something about a princess or whatever.
I did my best to avoid people as much as possible, not wanting rumors to spread about that I was some sort of deviant. I had to take the longer route and struggled to open the doors before gently laying Ichinose down on our couch.
My haven was tainted now. I was no longer the only one who used that couch. I cursed my lack of backbone to just leave her where she was. This was not part of the job description, I was supposed to be the one doing nothing and this was her own fault. Why was I even doing this? I'd have to buy a new couch now.
I had a sudden realization as I looked about the room. With Ichinose passed out on the couch, there was only one place where I could sit. A feeling of dread crept up in my heart as I stared at the offending piece of furniture. This was really bad. The only place I could sit; the office chair behind the desk.
I looked at the beautifully sleeping face of Ichinose Honami who was smiling a bit in her sleep. It was as though her dream took a turn and she knew what was going on. This devil, I knew that she would be the death of me the moment I met her. Coffee was bad enough, but this was against my morals. I could just leave her, I've done enough and I'm hungry. Nothing was going to happen to her here anyway.
With heavy steps, I begrudgingly sat on the office chair and winced at how uncomfortable it was. I've never seen my office from this position and I instantly hated it. Taking note of my surroundings, I couldn't help my peripheral vision and saw it out of the corner of my eye.
The stack of paperwork that Ichinose had worked on for the past five days. I would have ignored it normally but my hypersensitive brain spotted it immediately the moment I saw it. Spelling mistakes. In her exhausted state, she was making even the most basic spelling mistakes. It stood to reason that everything there was filled with errors, not just spelling.
I glared at the comatose form of Ichinose Honami from my position. I can't believe that this thought was even coming to mind. She was supposed to make my life easier and now I'm here in this predicament. It's as though the one person you looked up to as a God failed and you realized that they were just human after all. The betrayal.
The first thing that I did was pull out my phone and open my BUDDY app. Class started but more than likely there were some Class D or C students from the second or third years not there. Delinquents. Since the release of the app a lot of them simply did whatever they could to make as many points as possible, giving up on their education.
Searching through I made my post and not long after, someone took the job. I ordered the most expensive leather office chair I could find along with lunch. Leaving instructions to leave the items on the steps of the Student Council, I rested my elbows on the table with my head in my hands.
Making coffee was one thing, this was far beyond what I was willing to do. I won't. I refuse. Absolutely not. This went against all of my philosophies of life. There were five days of paperwork here, probably three days of it were all wrong. I didn't know what any of it was but I am a genius. It's not much to figure out what's what.
I sat there for more than an hour glaring at the paperwork. Everything had been long delivered and my food was probably cold. But I sat there. After a while I got up, collected the things as quietly as I could, and sat on my new chair before eating my food. With one final glare at Ichinose I made my decision. Apparently making coffee once really did make a huge difference in how easily I folded.
Our office had a theme. Stained Mahogany furniture and a deep burgundy couch. Almost everything was a deep rich brown and the walls were cream. The lights up top were the regular type and glowed with a faint yellow hue.
This is ridiculous, I can't believe that I'm actually going to do this. All for Ichinose Honami, the bane of my existence.
Resigned, I closed my eyes and took one deep breath. That was all it took, such was my resolve on what I was about to do. When my eyes opened again, everything was white.
I picked up the pen and looked at the first page. This was horrible. Far worse than I imagined. There were so many mistakes that it was barely legible. It couldn't even be fixed, it needed to be completely rewritten.
Face completely apathetic, no emotions and cold eyed I continued to diligently finish page after page. I hate this state. It reminds me of everything that I hated in life now that I had experienced what it was like to be normal. Despite all of this, I was putting myself through it all for one Ichinose Honami.
I sat there in that spot, unmoving from my seat for hours. Not once did Ichinose even stir in her sleep or move about. I was correct in my assumption, by the third day she was making errors. Not many, but they all got progressively worse as time went on. By the time I finished it was already nightfall and dinner time.
Because it was such a short amount of time, it only took a moment before the world bled color again. The headache was almost nonexistent and I didn't break out into a cold sweat this time.
Normal again, I glared one more time at Ichinose before I decided to order dinner for us.
Listen to what I'm about to say right now very carefully. THIS. DID. NOT. HAPPEN. I didn't expend effort, I didn't do any work and if you tell anyone I did this I will deny it. I will hunt you down and I will not be responsible for what happens next. No one can ever know about what I DIDN'T do. This is our little secret, okay?
It was probably another thirty minutes before our dinner came. The idiot who was delivering didn't read the instructions to leave it outside the door without making any noise and knocked loudly before leaving.
Ichinose woke with a jolt. It was barely a moment before she shot to a sitting position and stared around the room in a daze trying to figure out how she got there. When she saw me sitting behind the desk she couldn't help but look in utter confusion.
"Huh?" Ichinose grunted in sleepy confusion. I ignored her and got the food from outside before sitting on the coffee table in front of her and taking things out of the bag.
"You passed out during lunch break," I explained. "I got you from the class and brought you here, you've been asleep since lunch.
"Brought me..here?" She repeated, still half asleep. "What time is it?"
"Who knows," I shrugged.
We ate in relative silence after I filled her in on what happened. She got embarrassed when I told her about what happened with her class, blushing furiously at what Mako had said. After I finished explaining, she noticed her new chair at the desk.
"When did that get here?" She asked curiously.
"That chair that you were using was uncomfortable, I got you a different one. Why didn't you tell me?"
"Hehe, it wasn't really important, I didn't mind," Ichinose said, scratching her cheek.
"Anyway," She said, slapping her knees and putting her empty container on the table. "Time to get to work, rest time's over! You can have your couch back, I'll make you coffee."
Curiously she went to check out her new chair before she went to the kitchen. Ichinose studied it carefully, realizing how expensive it was. After a moment, she noticed the papers in the bin and then looked at the stack on the table. Recognizing it wasn't her handwriting, her eyes went wide and she flicked through the pages frantically.
"You.." Ichinose breathed in awe.
"Absolutely not! You did all of that, every page. I did nothing, understand?" I said quickly before she could say anything else.
Those bright blue eyes started to go moist before she started to blush a bit. She put the paperwork down and fidgeted for a moment.
"Thank you, Ayanokouji-kun," She said quietly.
Troublesome woman, I told you she'd be the death of me.
A/N: Comments have been asking about the chapters so I thought I'd give a bit of an explanation. They're not prewritten, I don't really have a plan, just a generic idea. When it hits me I just sit down and write, the chapter pretty much unfolds as I write it. I'll read the previous chapter to kind of get into the zone but then I just go for it. For example, the Horikita SS and the Koenji SS were written on a whim. I finished the previous chapter and was about to go to bed but then had the idea for doing the expulsion from Horikita's POV so I just wrote it as soon as it came to mind. After I was going to go to bed again, the idea for the Koenji POV came. Yesterday I wrote the chapter and thought of the coffee idea and thought a little chapter would be nice to bridge into this one.
The characters are coming alive literally as I think of it at that moment tbh. There is no plan or anything, it just happens as it happens.