Ayanokoji PoV
" I refuse."
I do not wish to involve myself in her little 'mission'.
" No.....No you can't refuse!" She said to me in a desperate tone.
I shrugged.
" I can. And I just did." I said in a matter-of-fact tone.
" No.....please....at least think about it a bit more-"
" Horikita. I have no intention of helping you get revenge for someone I don't care about. This is your problem, not mine, so don't rope me into it." I said, ending the conversation between us.
I turned around, ready to exit this dark corner until I felt her hand grabbing my arm with a tight grip, she halted my movement. I looked back at her, feeling a little irritated.
" What?" I asked.
" Please....Please help me...." She pleaded like a helpless child. Her tone reminded me of my past, the children who yearned to be lent a hand by me....
But back then.....I cared for none, and thus, I simply glanced at them before continuing my way.
That part of me hasn't changed.
And so....
" God, you're pathetic, aren't you?" I spoke to her.
I grabbed her wrist from the same hand that she grabbed my arm with and yanked her closer towards me.
" Listen closely, I want nothing to do with you. If you continue to bother me regarding your little
' revenge' then I will eliminate you myself." I said to her, coldly.
I watched as her expression morphed into a face I was very familiar with. Just like them.
" And I don't mean eliminating you from this game....." I closed in on her face, " I mean eliminating you from this school."
I do not intend to make choices that serve no benefit for myself.
That's the mindset instilled upon me ever since I was young.
" A-Ayano....Ayanokoji-kun..." Her tone was shaky, full of fear. I can tell that Director Lumine must've told her something else regarding my identity. If I were to guess, she must have told Horikita that I was an individual with a special background.
That ambiguity that director Lumine instilled upon Horikita's weak mind, is the exact reason why Horikita should feel the most fear if she ever went on my bad side. The fact that she knows little to nothing about me, provides her with an ample supply of logic to not push the matter further.
"....O-Okay...." She finally said, her eyes losing that spark and looking absolutely defeated.
Satisfied with her reply, I immediately let go of her wrist and returned to my usual monotone demeanor.
" I think we'll be receiving new tasks in a bit. Shall we go?" I asked.
".....Hai...." She nodded her head despite looking downcast.
I released a sigh. Perhaps I'm being too harsh on her. She's currently experiencing a feeling that I was never able to understand, I don't know what it's like to lose a person who is close to me. I can't empathize with her desperation and yearning to avenge the one she lost.
"...For what it's worth, Horikita. I wish you all the best in achieving your goal, I will not stand in your way nor will I lend you a hand. If you truly wish to go through with this, then do everything you can but under no circumstances should you ever try to drag me into it. " I decided to tell her that at the very least.
She looked at me with an expression I wasn't too familiar with but it seems like a bit of the spark had returned in her eyes. That's good, if one wishes to gain what they desire the most, then one must be willing to do anything....EVERYTHING....to realize it.
Ding! Our phone simultaneously received a notification.
I checked my phone and already sighed at the task that was stated...
' Give a foot massage to one of your male classmates!
I despise this game.
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It was currently 5 pm. The first round of the game is officially over and all students were instructed to return to their respective rooms to begin the discussion and voting. Both Horikita and I arrived at the classroom and it seems like we were one of the first few there.
" Ah, Horikita-san, Ayanokoji-kun. How were your tasks?" Hirata noticed our presence and immediately took the chance to ask us.
"Horrible." I stated a blunt as my monotone self could.
" Annoying." Horikita also answered. Seems like the old her has returned now that she's responding to Hirata. Even Hirata himself seemed delighted to see Horikita return to her old self, but didn't dare comment about it.
"Ahaha! It was the same for our group too. The director didn't hold back on us." Hirata said.
" I can't believe that psycho director tasked me with flirting to some middle aged employee! I cringed so hard...." I hear Karuizawa sharing her complaints to her friends and they also seemed grossed out by it.
At least you didn't have to massage another classmate's foot.... or wear a maid costume......or wearing that godforsaken bunny ' outfit' and seeking another girl's comment.....
I'd say you got off easy, Karuizawa.
" What of Kushida-san? Does she have any clues as to who the other class murderers might be?" Horikita asked.
Hirata nods. " Yes, she told me she found some interesting information. But we'll have to wait for everyone to be present."
" I see..." Horikita nods and asks no further questions. She then immediately sat in her desk and I decided to do the same with mine.
For now, we just have to wait for everyone to gather.
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The last duo finally arrived......well....it should've been a duo...
" Sudo-kun? Where is Ike-kun?" Hirata asked.
"....Kanji got eliminated." He said.
Hm, figured much.
" Huh? But weren't you two together? " Hirata asked, and everyone also looked curious as to how Ike got eliminated when this plan was expected to eliminate the possibilities of any of us getting eliminated during the first round.
Sudo scratched his head nervously, he seemed unsure to speak of what exactly happened.
" Er....w-well....I'm not exactly sure if I should say this but.....ugh fuck it! He's not here so I'm free to spill, right?!" He bursted.
" Kanji's first task was to drink 10 liters of water in ONE sitting! He went through the whole day trying to hold his piss until he just couldn't do it no more! " Sudo said.
" Oh, so he gave up and went to the bathroom? Well, we can't really blame him-"
" No. He pissed his pants!" Sudo corrected.
....
.......
"........." Everyone was silent after what Sudo just said.
It seems like Ike was desperately trying to hold it in until the round ends, but failed miserably and....humiliated himself in public. How unfortunate.
There were different expressions on each of my classmates. Most of the boys tried to swallow their urge to laugh while most of the girls looked absolutely disgusted by it ( Even though they were understanding enough but still ) and the minority of students just stared at Sudo with a blank face.
Hirata coughs awkwardly, " A-And then?" He asked for Sudo to continue.
" W-Well after that, I just told him to go back to the dormitories and change his pants. I couldn't follow him at the time because I was in a middle of a task so we were separated and that's probably when he got eliminated...." Sudo said.
" Huh? How did you know he got eliminated if you were in the middle of a task?" Okitani asked, curiously.
Everyone looked at Okitani and then back to Sudo.
" Okitani-kun has a point there. How did you know? Didn't the director say that the eliminations would be announced after the round ends? In fact, it hasn't even been announced yet even though the round did end...." Matsushita said.
" Ah....well....I just assumed? Look, I was hella confused okay! I tried looking for him but I couldn't find him!" Sudo reasoned.
" So you're admitting to the fact that you aren't entirely sure that he'd been eliminated? Suspicious considering the way you described his elimination with confidence a while ago..." Yukimura narrowed his eyes.
This was bad for Sudo. He wasn't good with verbal arguments and so he couldn't really defend himself even if he were to tell the truth.
Somebody will have to step in-
" I don't think it's right to target Sudo-kun for Ike-kun's disappearance. Even if his timing was suspicious, it's completely reasonable to assume that Ike-kun was eliminated if he couldn't seem to find him. " Horikita interjected. Everyone was suprised to hear the previously silent Horikita speaking once more.
" Horikita...?" Sudo, who used to antagonize the girl, was shocked that she stood up for him at this very moment.
" Horikita-san is right." Hirata agreed, " Sudo is our classmate, is he not? What reason is there to suspect him of something? Personally, even if Sudo-kun is rough around the edges, he wouldn't betray our class or his friend." Hirata said with sure confidence.
"...well...if Hirata-kun believes that to be true, Then I won't argue." One of the girls said.
The rest of the girls nodded, and the boys soon followed and instantly stopped suspecting Sudo.
Sudo looked relieved and he gave a thankful look to Horikita. Everyone seemed to calm down until the speakers activated.
" Hello everyone!" Lumine's voice spoke through the intercom.
Everyone immediately stayed silent.
" I'm guessing that all of you are back to your respective classrooms. Sorry for the announcement delay, you see, I was too busy laughing at a certain person's tasks and lost track of time! HAHAHA! I should share it with you guys soon butttttt....anyways....back to the matter at hand." A pause followed, which left everyone nervous.
" We will begin with Class A. And those who were eliminated are..........none! Everyone is still in the game for Class A!" She happily announced.
Hm, so they did well with their strategy. Initially, I'd thought that our class would also end up with the same result but unfortunately it didn't. It was at the back of my head, but I assumed that during the first round, nobody would really try anything and the class murderers will remain inactive until they got information.
But it seems like one of the classes were opting for the first option or the second if they'd assumed that Ike was our class murderer. The reason doesn't matter but what does matter is the fact that one class murderer was ready to strike.
Could it be Class C? The conversation taken place between those two Class C girls stayed in my head for quite a while. From the small pieces of info I have on Ryuuen, it's not exactly unsafe to assume that he wouldn't be the type of guy to pull such a move on the first day.
" And for Class B......huh, also none!" Lumine said.
Class B as well? Hmm...seems like there are two classes that had found success with the strategy...
" Class C.....oh! Finally! Seems like there are eliminations this time. The ones eliminated are; Komiya, Sonoda, Oda, and Tokitou! Sheesh, one of the class murderers must have founded a great opportunity and killed these four off discreetly! Orrr....could it be that other class murderers had a hand in this too? Pretty strange that 4 class C students were taken out while A and B remained unscathed but oh well, moving on!" Lumine announced, everyone can noticed the excitement in her tone.
" Class D.....hm, only Ike was eliminated. Oh waitttt, HAHAHAHAHAH! I just remembered! The story behind his elimination is FUCKING hilarious!" Lumine's laugh went through the intercom and it lasted for quite a while.
Everyone in Class D just sighed.
" Okay....okay I'm good." Lumine took a few deep breaths before speaking, " Anyways, that's all for the announcement and-....oh? Ohhh? OHHHH???? "
" Ladies and Gentlemen, I've just received news that Ike Kanji of Class D had passed away!"
" H-Huh?" Everyone in the room gasped.
" W-WHAT?!" Sudo shot up from his seat, his chair making a loud screech as his tall figure began trembling just a bit.
" I assume Class D is suprised but I'm sure this also goes to all the classes. You see, this is still a Death Game! It's VERY possible for a person to die. I never guaranteed that they'd be okay if they were eliminated!" Lumine happily spoke. " And that's all for now! Please vote wisely!"
And the intercom stopped....
" Guys....I don't think she's joking..." Yukimura spoke in a solemn tone.
" No. No I ain't believing this shit. " Sudo said through gritted teeth. His expression looked absolutely bitter.
" SHE HAS TO BE LYING! " Sudo yelled.
" She's not. The director may be a psychopath but she's not a liar." Horikita spoke suddenly.
Sudo gives Horikita a look of absolute disbelief.
" Why are you defending her? What makes you think she wouldn't lie? She doesn't even hesitate to kill!" He shot back.
Horikita stared him back.
" She's proven to have a twisted personality and part of that personality is her refusal to lie just like how she shot Yamauchi-kun even when she warned him of what happens to those who quit. I'm not trying to defend her, but it'll be a waste of time to seek for answers when it's already been given to you." Horikita said.
" Ike-kun is dead. That's the truth." She said in the bluntest tone she could use.
To think that Horikita would be convinced that the director is everything but a liar. She might be right but she must've been prepared to be proven wrong down the line since no sane person would try and defend a psycho or justify one good thing about them even when acknowledging all the bad things about them.
But Horikita knew this had to be said before someone like Sudo goes out of control due to his anger. If he aims his anger towards the director then there's a chance the director will kill him off without hesitation.
You made a good choice, Horikita.
By putting her credibility at risk for the long-term, she'd successfully saved Sudo from committing a grave mistake.
" .....I can't just....." Sudo's resolve began dimming and the slight aura of hesitation was radiating.
Hirata patted his shoulder.
" Sudo-kun....please calm down." He said in a soft voice.
" Hirata, do you believe Horikita too? That the director is no liar?" Sudo looked towards Hirata for his opinion.
" I don't. But Horikita-san seems confident and this be insensitive of me to say but she'd recently lost someone too. I'm sure that Horikita-san is feeling the same, if not, more anger and resentment towards the director than you do. " Hirata said.
Sudo's eyes widened as the realization hit him. It was true, after all, Horikita was told that her brother had died during his last exam due to the betrayal of his kouhai.
Sudo glances at Horikita before sighing and nodding to Hirata.
" Fine...." He surrendered.
" Listen, Sudo-kun. If you feel that you're disrespecting Ike-kun's death for not going against the director and choosing to sit down. Then please forget about that feeling since everyone here believes you're making the best choice....I want you to know that." Hirata said.
" All right.....Yeah......" Sudo nodded but personally, I don't think the words really reached him.
In fact, unbeknownst to all of them...
Sudo is....
Nevermind. There's no need for me to elaborate since it's of no importance to my goal.
" Anyways.....I believe we should begin discussing now. Everyone please gather around." Hirata called out to the rest.
Everyone got up from their seats and rearranged the tables and chairs to form one long table and we were back to our previous positions from yesterday. Except Ike's chair was empty and nobody seemed to want to sit down on it.
Either they did it to pay respects...
Or they were afraid of Sudo suddenly pummeling them to the ground if they were to take that spot.
" Kushida-san, please share to us the information you and your group have gathered." Hirata said.
" Okay." Kushida cleared her throat before speaking,
" We spotted an elimination taking place in one of the far routes of the mall." She said.
" Really?" Everyone said in suprise.
" Continue." Yukimura said, immediately.
Kushida nodded. " But before the girls and I could try to get a clear profile off of them, they immediately ran away. The best we could was to identify the body and it was Tokitou-kun of Class C." She said.
" Are there any characteristics about the figure that you can tell us? Even if it's minor?" Yukimura pursued the matter.
" No, I'm sorry." Kushida frowned. " I really couldn't tell..."
" It's okay Kushida-chan, you tried your best!" The boys cheered her up.
....
......
.......
" Ayanokoji-kun?" I snapped out of my zone and looked at Horikita.
" Hm?"
" You're wearing an intense expression...." She pointed out.
I am?
I slid a hand over my face and tried to relax my facial muscles.
" Why were you staring at me, Horikita?" I asked her.
" It was coincidental." Was all she said before focusing back on the discussion.
Hmm...
There's something strange about Kushida.
This might sound far-fetch without evidence but...
It's possible that she may have been involved with Ike's elimination.
Director Lumine never stated that class murderers are unable to kill their own civilians.
But if that's the case, then why would Kushida hypothetically perform an act such as that against her own class? What benefit would she be given?
And why am I suspecting her like this when I have no clear evidence that it was her doing......yet my instincts tell me otherwise.
After all the groups shared their information from today, we had agreed on voting on a random student from Class A. We opted with the process of elimination.
And it's highly likely that the other classes will do the same.
Students were free to do eat dinner at the cafeteria during the interval time between 6 pm and 6:30, the latter in which the votes will be announced. I retrieved my free dinner set and sat alone in a table.
I sighed. I feel pretty gloomy from having to sit alone in a table so far in the corner....
" May I sit here?" Horikita suddenly arrived with her free dinner set.
Why is she here? I wondered. But I decided to nod and let her sit there.
" I'm suprised to see you here." I comment.
" There's something I want to tell you in private." Horikita said.
I raised a brow at that.
Both Horikita and I muttered our thanks for the food before we began chowing down.
" What is it?" I asked after swallowing my first bite.
" Kushida-san is not a good person." She said.
" Hm?" I was intrigued now. What could Kushida have done to have Horikita state that out of nowhere?
" Kushida and I attended the same junior high. She was the most popular girl in school who'd gotten along with everyone she met. She tried to befriend me but I obviously declined her friendship for it held no importance to me whatsoever." She said.
They attended the same school, huh....
" And then?" I urged her to continue as I began eating.
" During the last quarter of our school year, rumors began circulating about her. It was all related to one single event which involved the self-destruction of one class. Her class." She said.
" Back then, I didn't want to pay attention it all that much. But it was frequently discussed to the point where my mind was forced to register it all. From what I could recall, it started when Kushida began spreading the secrets of her own classmates. Her classmates, after having their secrets spilled, began targeting each other and the classroom was a complete mess. The secrets that were spilled that day contained each of their animosity to one another and this event managed to delay our graduation by a month." She said.
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
" Why would Kushida do such a thing?" I asked her.
" I don't know. But it's best if you don't visualize her as an angel expecially with the current circumstances. I trust that you will keep this to yourself, Ayanokoji-kun." She said before eating.
" And if I won't?"
" Then I will have made a blunder. That's the end of it." Was Horikita's reply. I wonder why she told me this and even trusted me with this type of information.
Still, if I consider my own instincts into the equation.....it also believes that Kushida may not be an all-out good person in this....
" You can trust me with it." I assured her.
" You're not going to question whether I'm lying or not?" She asked.
" There's no need for me to ask. I can tell that you're speaking what you believe is the truth, and besides.....I was already skeptical of Kushida myself." I didn't say more than that.
Horikita nodded and accepted my answer before she continued eating.
Let's say that what Horikita told was the unadulterated truth. If Kushida were to do such a nasty thing that would lead to her own class's destruction, what is her motive in spilling the secrets?
To summarize: What could have happened before that event?
It seems to me that Horikita's knowledge regarding Kushida is limited to school rumors and substantial evidence like the delay of her graduation. But I need to know the context of it all, and the only person who knows that is Kushida herself, though I'd rather not risk asking her about it.
I have to find a way to prove Horikita's words for myself....
Once the clock hit 6:30, the votes were announced and the intercom activated once more.
" Hello everyone! The votes have been processed and I will now announce the chosen who are eliminated via voting! Class A has chosen to vote out Morofuji of Class C!" Lumine announced.
Right now, my classmates were relying on the hope that none of us will be voted out for this round. We already lost Ike, it'd be troublesome to lose one more this early in the game.
" Moving on to Class B. They've chosen to eliminattteeeeee..." She paused for suspense.
" Totsuka Yahiko of Class A!"
Class B and Class A, seems they've intentionally chosen to eliminate the not worth to mention students.
It was to be expected since it's still early in the game and nobody is really sure about the opposing class murderers. Kushida may have witnessed the murder taking place but couldn't profile the murderer themselves since they'd ran away.
Thinking about it now, I wonder if the other classes spotted similar situations....
Kushida couldn't have possibly been spotted due to her being instructed to not kill anyone in the first round.
That WAS the plan at least....
" And from Class C, they've chosen to eliminate....nobody? Huhu~ Interesting!"
" Wait, did we hear that right? Class C didn't eliminate anyone?" Yukimura asked.
" That's possible?"
" That would mean they wasted their chance!"
" That's good for us, right?"
My classmates looked relieved. Since Class C decided to eliminate no one for the first round, then Class D didn't lose anyone through voting elimination. They seem satisfied with the result.
It's a bizarre strategy of Class C. Ryuuen must've been keen on the rules stated by the director and noticed that she didn't say anything regarding the possibility of choosing not to eliminate anyone through vote.
And since this confirms it, it also opens up another way for the traitor of the class. When everyone decides to vote for one student, the class traitor can simply leave a blank and nobody will be voted out.
This is completely valuable information that my classmates aren't responding on. Truly a waste.
" And last but certainly least, we have Class D! And they've decided to vote...their own CLASSMATE?! HAHAHAHAHA! This is hilarious! They've chosen to eliminate Ijuin from the equation!" Lumine began laughing maniaclly through the intercom.
My class's happy expressions immediately melted into one of horror as they began looking at each other, looking for someone to antagonize, searching for someone to blame.
" WHO DID IT?!" They all yelled at the same time.
" Who in the world....." I hear Horikita mutter to herself. Seems like she'd also been found completely stumped by this sudden reveal.
What kind of fool would do such a reckless thing.....
" H-hey, who decided to Ijuin out?!" Hondo asked.
" It's not me!" Miyamoto quickly answered.
" Ain't me either!" Sudo said.
" Didn't we agree to vote off Manabe from Class C? What the hell happened! " Yukimura looked frustrated.
" None of us did it! We followed exactly what Hirata-kun said!" Hirata's female admirers instantly pulls out their defensive card.
" G-guys....why me? WHY WOULD A PERSON FROM THIS CLASS VOTE ME?! I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING TO ANYONE!" Ijuin yelled.
" C-Calm down, we'll try to figure things out!" His companin, Okiya, assured.
" Huh? Do anything to anyone? You were literally staring at my boobs when we partnered up, you pervert!" Someone openly said.
Everyone looked towards the person who said it. The accuser was Hasabe Haruka, a girl with waist-length blue hair and orange colored eyes. She was highly attractive and she had....bust.
" H-Huh? H-Hasebe-san?!" Ijuin seemed shock by her words. ( btw, i corrected the feminine looking boy description I gave to Ijuin. I confused him with Okitani so my bad.)
" Huh? Is that true?" The girls looked towards Ijuin with newfound disgust.
" W-wait i-it's not-"
" It's absolutely true! I can't believe I was partnered with you for the first round! You creep!" Hasebe was insistent. Her anger seemed genuine.
" H-Hasebe-san, please calm down-" Kushida tried to appease Hasebe's fury butthe effort bore no fruit as Hasebe gained the support from the other girls.
" That's so disgusting!"
" Seriously? he's being a pervert at this time?"
" He deserved to be eliminated! I feel sorry for Hasebe-san!"
They were all on Hasebe's side and targeted Ijuin.
" Hey dude, is that true?!" Okiya asked.
" N-No, I swear-"
" If it's true then we can't back you up man...." Okiya added.
"...." Ijuin grits his teeth in frustration and glares at Hasebe.
Hasebe scoffs. " I'm glad that someone decided to vote you out since they probably shared the same opinion as me." She said with crossed arms.
" YOU FUCKING BITCH!" Ijuin was losing control as he began rushing towards Hasebe but was quickly stopped by Sudo and a few other boys.
" WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?! YOU'RE BASICALLY ADMITTING TO IT-" Okiya tried to snap his friend out of it but Ijuin simply laughed.
" I DID! I DID STARE AT HER HUGE FUCKING BREASTS BUT HOW COULD I NOT? HER BODY WAS BUILT WITH THE INTENTION OF HER BECOMING A HOE IN THE FUTURE ONE WAY OR ANOTHER!" He laughed and everyone was shocked by his words.
Those were his thoughts. And he confessed to them.
" HOW DARE YOU SAY THA-" The girls were about to angrily retort until a knock was heard from the door and in came Director Lumine herself.
" Hello! I'm here to collect Ijuin since you guys eliminated him!" Lumine announced loudly.
The girls visibly smiled at that and pointed towards Ijuin.
" Take that fat pervert away from us!" They said.
" Sheesh! Such animosity! And none of the boys seem to be backing him up either." She observed our class with an unreadable smile.
Her eyes then landed on me.
But quickly averted them soon after and clapped her hands in an excited manner.
" Very well! Come with me, Ijuin." She called out to the chubby boy.
The boys let go of their grip on Ijuin and pushed him towards the direction of Lumine. Ijuin stumbled a bit before looking at the boys with a look of contempt.
" You all are trash-" Ijuin tried to say but Lumine quickly shocked him with a taser and everyone stepped back in shock.
Thud! Ijuin's body fell on the floor completely subdued.
" Sorry~ I do not wish to waste more time! It was a fun show, though! Anyways..." Lumine snaps her finger. " Pick him up, my dear lackeys!"
Hooded figures stepped in the room and quickly took away Ijuin. Lumine waved goodbye at us and followed the hooded figures of the classroom, leaving us in shocked silence.
Today didn't work out.
We lost two people.
To be precise, my worst expectations came to light.
This plan was a failure for Class D. And the Class that had suffered the most loss in the first round...is Class D.
Still, there was a possibility that our plan could've worked....if it weren't due to such recklessness exhibited by one of us.....
Whoever voted Ijuin out was well aware of the consequences or perhaps the lack thereof. And now my classmates are completely sullen by this realization.
Class C may have lost 4 people...
But I can say with absolute certainty...
That Class D lost this round.
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I stood inside the elevator, pressing the button and then closing the doors.
A thought struck upon me as I soaked in the absolute relief and silence.
How did Ike die?
How come the class C students were simply listed as ' eliminated' rather than dead?
A few things weren't adding up. Even if this WAS a death game, I doubt any of the class murderers expected there to be any actual death in this game in hindsight. I highly doubt that any one of them had the intention to kill another student.
Otherwise, what's their motive in killing Ike?
I sighed. Perhaps I shouldn't try delve into this topic any further.
It's against my own personal goal in this school which is to live peacefully despite these suprising conditions...
I entered my room and closed the door.
But then I froze on the spot as my gaze went towards the figure who stood there staring at the window.
" Oh. You're finally here." She spoke and turned around. I was instantly met with her golden colored eyes, matching the shine of a star.
Why is she here?
I immediately put up my guard as she took a step towards me with that same smile.
" Why aren't you doing anything interesting, Masterpiece?"
I was correct. She does have information regarding my past.
How irritating.
" I don't know what you mean. And how in the world did you get in my room-"
She pulls out a duplicate key.
" I see..." I said. I already guessed that was the case but I needed to ascertain her intentions of being here or at the very least, lead the conversation away from the topic about my past.
" I was delighted to find a student like YOU ending up in my school school. Your past holds some mystery but I have no intentions of diving into it. Rather, I'm more curious as to why you're not doing anything!" She pouted, she feigned disappointment.
She was enjoying this situation, wasn't she?
She could sense my unease.
" I'm doing everything I can to help out my class. So I don't see any reason as to why you think I'm doing nothing-"
" No you're not. You don't give a single damn about your class. You don't give a single DAMN about anyone!" Her eyes showed a deep understanding. It was an uncomfortable gaze to say the least.
She took another step closer.
" You're just like me!" She smiles. " We're both not right in the head! "
"...You're a psycho." I told her.
" And you're a monster." She replied.
" Or should I refer to you as ' Demon'? That's what your folks like to nickname you back at your place, right?" She laughs.
" ..." I kept silent and tried to think of a way to get this woman out of my room before anything bad happens.
" It's just the first game. What am I suppose to do in a game I'm not familiar with? Everything in this school is a first for me." I decided to lie.
" Hm. perhaps you're right. However, you've already thought of a strategy to win in the back of your head, right? " She said in a tone full of mischief.
" You just lack the motivation to implement! " She said it as if it were the solution to a math problem.
" Stop making baseless assumptions-"
" Oh dear, my assumptions are anything but BASELESS. Let's get that fact straight, yeah?" Her eyes darkened.
She was serious.
Eventually the light returned in her eyes in a matter of seconds.
" So how about I provide you with that motivation! If you win this game, regardless of the route you take. I'll let you in on a special reward~" She winks.
" I have no interest-"
" Trust me on this one. You're going to love this reward, Aya-no-ko-ji-kun " She played with my syllables.
I pondered on what she said.
A ' reward' I'd like? I have an idea of what it could possibly be but....it feels unlikely that she'd be able to meet my expectations.
Then again, I know nothing of this woman nor how much power she holds. If she was able to control this school and turn it into her little playground entertainment show......then I wonder if she also holds power outside of this school.
If I agree to win this game, then I'd be throwing away the persona I'm trying to develop as a student.
I'd be throwing away my opportunity of being seen as ' normal' by others...
" Well. It's your choice! I just wanted to put that suggestion out there." She interrupted my thoughts as she stood up from the bed and began walking past me.
" Whether or not you accept my offer is none of my concern. I just want to find excitement in this school and I thought that you'd be able to do just that. However, if you're not up for it then I can just rely on the other victims to make up for it until you do." She said with confidence.
But out of nowhere, I grabbed her wrist, spun her around, and pinned her on the wall.
" Woah!" She looked like she barely registered what had just happened but then her eyes meet mine and she smiles. " What do you want?"
" I have two questions I'd like to be answered." I said to her.
" Then in exchange for my answers, will you agree to try and win?" She asked.
I simply gave her a look that pierced through the very depths of her soul. When most would tremble under this type of gaze, she simply smiled in both excitement and understanding.
" Very well,"
Her eyes began to reflect my gaze.
" Ask away~"
CHAPTER END!
Kiyotaka will now have the full intention to win during the next episode!
Nothing is more motivating than the promise of a special reward by the director. And with his curiosity of her usability, he shan't miss the chance!
SadisticLumine, out~