The TV screen abruptly went shut the very moment the video clip has ended, displaying a replay button alongside other video suggestions. With the remote in my hand, I immediately quit the app and put on a random show
26 wins in total huh ?
I laid down on my bed and stared at the ceiling, getting immersed in my thoughts as the noises started fading into the background. With 26 wins in total, Takahashi Usamu holds one of the highest rankings across the globe, with 2 of his wins being on the international level, while the rest was him dominating the nationals.
He might become a threat
I have spent the past hour doing some research about the guy and sizing him up, and now it was 6 PM in the afternoon, the same day as his appearance.
Today has been pretty wild, especially during lunch break. From Amasawa's talk to fighting Hosen, concluding with the strange occurrence of Takahashi. Currently, I was in my room basking in the calmness after the storm.
It feels pretty weird to be resting in this bed again, probably because of the heavier atmosphere. Since the day I brought those gym equipment I pretty much moved towards Honami's dorm and inhabited there, while using this room only for exercise purposes. You could say that I turned it into a small gymnasium
Honami decided to switch things up and hang out in my room, since we've been abusing her dorm so much. So I had to do some cleaning alongside air conditioning to lessen the claustrophobic smell. Now that club activities are off, she could be here any second now.
I'm not very upset with this arrangement, since the school prohibits the presence of boys in the girls's dorms during curfew, so I might get in trouble if I was caught sleeping over. On the other hand, I get to have my own gym while luxuriating myself with top-notch sleep beside my beloved on every night. So I would be happy to pay private points in the unlikely case that I get caught in order to continue this lifestyle
Besides, if we manage to get a hold of one of the special dorms's apartments, I will get all of those privileges without restrain alongside some extra space. Space was never an issue for us since we weren't uncomfortable with getting touchy, so it was pretty much nonexistent. In fact, it made it all the better
Hmm.. Wouldn't that make us like a married couple ?
Living under the same roof and house as a couple, with no outside interference on our home affairs. The only problems are the lack of documents and the rules against sexual interactions. The former is pretty trivial since it has no effect on a relationship, while the latter is pretty bypassable.
My mind was wandering off towards random grounds, discovering some random ideas while indulging in my self-serving monologues in order to cure my boredom, motionlessly waiting on top of the bed for a certain door crack.
I wonder what that man is doing
I felt the whole lightness of my body turn dim as soon as his name came across my mind, making me slightly exquisite in annoyance. I'm pretty sure that he's still alive and kicking, actively fighting against his confinement while Kouenji's father is the one in control
I could ask the Chairman about his progress but it seems pretty pointless since he hasn't contacted me yet. He's probably pretty busy so I'd rather save the call unless for something extremely important.
Bzzt
Hmm ?
My phone suddenly vibrated, abruptly snapping me out of my thoughts and drawing my attention towards it. I picked it up using my left hand and checked to find a newly received message from one of the contacts, it read-
Clark
I unconsciously descended the phone off my eyes to gaze directly towards the door ahead of me, where a small slender hand landed on the side and slowly pushed it open, revealing a beautiful teenage girl wearing a high school uniform, with a long and silky strawberry hair and mesmerizing blue eyes, combo'd with a beautiful and soothing smile as soon as her eyes landed on me.
" Hello Kiyo~! " Honami energetically greeted me with a warm bubbly aura around her. I replied by setting my phone aside and giving her a thin smile of my own.
" Welcome Honami " I immediately got off my bed and went to aid her while she was taking off her shoes in the meantime after setting some bags off. Arriving in front of her she handed me the said bags before giving me a quick kiss and hoping off my lips.
" So Kiyotaka~ what have you been up to ? " Honami decided to strike a conversation with me, while we were wandering off in our dorm.
" Nothing much, been waiting for you to start my afternoon off " I replied as I set the grocery on the kitchen.
" I see, now that I'm here we can have some fun~! " Honami spontaneously exclaimed before starting to take her uniform off and changing to the set of clothes I brought from her dorm earlier on. While doing that, she gazed around the room and offered her observations. " I never thought that you actually meant it when you said your room was pretty full~ it's literally the definition of cloistered ! "
She expressed her surprise about the lack of capacity in my room and the amount of gym material. After cleaning it up it looks more clean and inhabitable. However, it would be unfulfilling because of the limitations.
" You think I'm an exhibitionist ? " I stated off before joining her on the living room, where she was pretty much done changing.
" Well~ No, but I can see now why you asked me to move into my dorm " She finished tidying up her clothes and wandered around the room, inspecting the equipment. I simply sat on the bed and watched her as she started pulling some ropes and testing her strength, before musing out loud." Huh~ maybe I should come here and exercise too "
" You will ? " She nodded.
" Yep~ When I have time I'll make sure to wake up early as well so we can train together~! " She briefly looked at me with a joyful smile before continuing on with her inspections and mumbling. " Maybe I should order a gym uniform too.. Oh~ I got it ! I'll order a sexy one~! "
" Sexy ? Why would you order that ? " I emitted in small confusion, not comprehending the logic behind her words. However, she immediately stopped moving and tilted her head at me, with an expression brimming with mischief.
" You need every part of your body to be active when you exercise Kiyotaka~ " She immediately stated with a wide mischievous grin plastered broadly on her face, with a small and teasing wink.
" I wonder what you mean " I deadpanned. To which she chuckled
" Me too Kiyotaka~ Me too.... "
Just when she finished with her inspections, she immediately joined me on the bed and sat slightly further away from me. Just when I gave the back of her head a questionable look, she started tilting towards me and leaned her head on top of my lap before lifting her legs off the ground and completely laying on the bed.
She cutely shifted her head to face me, with a warm and loving smile plastered on her face. I reciprocated her smile before instinctively moving my hand on top of her bangs and scratching them, she lightly squealed before tilting her head off towards the TV and watch, while I kept caressing her silky hair using both of my hands.
" I forgot to ask you about something " During the middle of the show, I suddenly spoke up, garnering her attention towards me after breaking the comfortable silence.
" Hmm~? " She shifted her head and looked at me, with a curious gleam on her eyes.
" Did you actually record Hosen when came and threatened us, earlier in the hallway " I inquired.
Honami has exclaimed loudly that she has recorded the conversation between us and Hosen in order to counter him. However, she never proved whether it was real or not, so I'm curious if this was just a bluff from her
" Yes~ I have recorded him " Honami answered. However, she had more to add. " But it was only from the middle part, pretty much right after Kiriyama-senpai appeared "
" I see... " I mumbled before continuing on stroking her hair. " Hosen was dumb enough to repeat his plan out loud, which allowed you to record it. Next time when something abnormal happens make sure to keep the recorder on for safety measures, his scream at the start was a dead giveaway "
" Hai~! " Honami beamed, seemingly registering info on her head. " But Kiyotaka~ He wasn't the one who repeated his plan, it was you who provoked him. Did you perhaps do it so I can get a recording of him ? "
" Maybe. " I answered vaguely, making her face morph into a small pout.
I shifted my eyes towards the TV, continuing with our small session as she did pretty much the same. However, shortly after that, she tilted her head back at me, seemingly having her own question to ask.
" Hey Kiyotaka " Her voice was somewhat serious, mixed in with the same lightheartedness earlier on.
" Hmm ? " I shifted my eyes back towards hers as I gave her extra more attention. Similarly, her face had a hint of seriousness too. I tried to get a full read of her face. However, she opened her mouth before I could so
" This question may seem random. But.. " She stopped a little, building up the suspense while narrowing her eyes at me. I slightly cocked my head at her in curiosity. However, she took it as a cue and started firing.
" Is Amasawa-san a white room student ? "
My hands immediately froze, ceasing the finger's movements and abruptly stopping caressing her hair, as my eyes slightly shot up momentarily, before furrowing in confusion.
" Huh ? " My response came in as if late, completely caught off guard by her question. However, when I saw her expression, I immediately knew that she was dead set on fishing an answer out of me.
" I have thought about this for a while, she has a strange interest in you that came out of nowhere and she seems a bit too unnormal compared to a normal student " Honami slightly trailed off while speaking out her analysis, her eyes strongly reconciled with mine before continuing. " And you seem to be both wary and interested in her, which is something I have never seen before. You rarely take interest in people, let alone be wary of them. "
She conveyed her thoughts out while keeping a close watch over my face. I have expected her to notice this, since Amasawa has made it quite obvious that there is a connection between us. However, I haven't expected her to figure it out at least until the result's day, since it would be easier to connect the dots.
I have clearly underestimated her skills and understanding over me, which caused me to be caught slightly off guard. I had to keep up a poker face for the first time in a pretty long while, in a private conversation between me and her.
Her eyes showed immense determination, while she seems pretty convinced that her theory is correct, which is. I loosened up a little and decided to be upfront, she was gonna figure it out sooner or later so I decided to not lie to her any further than I already have
" It seems that I can't hide anything from you huh ? " With a small exhale, I started stroking back her hair with a small but proud smile forming into my face. " For your question, yes, you have figured it out. I haven't expected you to, but good job.. "
I moved my hand and patted her, complimenting her with a small proud tone. I was simply impressed by the fact that she managed to see through a white room student. However, her expression remained unchanged.
" Kiyotaka, why is she here ? " I hoped that my flattery would help distracts her from inquiring further. However, she was completely unaffected by it and asked regardless.
" I don't know " I decided to feign ignorance and not completely lie to her, it is impossible to create a sufficient lie since she has enough information about the White room. And I'm still not sure whether Amasawa came to expel me or ally herself with me, so that works right ?
" Kiyotaka are you lying to me ? " Her expression slightly turned dim as she uttered those words, not buying my act.
" Honami, I'm not lying to you. I seriously am not sure why she is here. " I denied.
" Fine. Then what about the acting director ? Why is he here ? " She forcefully accepted my answer and immediately switched gears, attacking from a different angle. Tsukishiro ?
" The acting director ? You mean Tsukishiro ? " I asked, to which she sternly nodded. " What's up with him ? "
" Why is he here ? " She promptly inquired, with a stern and direct tone. " Do you know him ? "
" No, I don't " Just when I said that, I winced internally, as I have subconsciously uttered a lie. It would be alrigh-
" You're lying Kiyotaka, you do know the acting director ! " Honami uttered strongly, slightly shouting. A visible scowl plastered on her face, did she manage to see through me ? " I have witnessed your interaction with him after Kushida came to our Class and there is no way you guys don't know each other.
" I haven't seen you interact with him before that, and it was only a couple of days after he got elected. He also seems to know about your father since he almost managed to laugh like Chie-sensei and Kouenji-kun.
" So I'ma ask you this again Kiyotaka, do you know about the acting director ? "
Honami unleashed her load onto me after luring me into her trap, completely oblivious about my surroundings. She was aware from the start that I was trying to deceive her and simply trapped me. I felt a small bitter taste in my mouth, as I was stuck in a situation with no way out.
" Yes, I do know the acting director. " I sighed before confirming, admitting defeat.
" Is he here to expel you ? " She asked, to which I nodded. However, her face morphed from an upset expression into a frown, and her tone had a trace of sadness. " Why didn't you tell me ? "
" I'm sorry Honami- "
" Don't apologize Kiyotaka, just tell me the reason why " She immediately cut through me and started caressing my left cheek, with a thin smile seemingly not upset anymore. I felt my head getting clearer at the cause of her touch, allowing me to respond.
" I simply didn't want to drag you into this " I answered truthfully, or at least what I believed is the truth.
I didn't want to drag anybody to my mess, let alone someone like her. This is my problem to deal with, and I have to deal with it myself.
" No Kiyotaka, that's wrong~ " Huh ?
" What do you mean ? " I curiously stared at her back as she lifted herself off my lap and turned around, crossing both of her legs and putting her hands on top of her knees, with a small but wholesome smile.
" You have given me a wrong answer, and I'm simply correcting you " She stated, before crossing her arms. " Since the moment you and I became one, I was bound to get dragged into this regardless. If you wanted to keep me out of it, I would be happy to tell you that you have failed Kiyotaka~ Because I was dragged into this the moment your father knew of my existence. "
What she said was definitely the truth, not only she but all the people who are close to me are targets for that man, since attacking them would probably force me to move, she only happens to be the one closest to me.
I'm pretty sure once he gets a hold of me, he won't care about what happens to the rest, because he is only fixated on me. He only cares about his masterpiece and retrieving it is the one above all, and the final objective.
Of course, if the masterpiece themselves object, then it's doomed to fail. Which makes them the only ones in control
Which means that I-
" I am the only one who can fight against that man " I muttered, while peering into her eyes, I felt the dimness of my eyes creeping up while staring up at her. However, she was completely unaffected, radiating a bright aura of her own while peering into my eyes, which were unlike mine, full of light.
" Yes, I know that. You are the only one who's capable into fighting him and defeating him. " Her hand crept closer, while keeping my gaze locked with hers. She inched closer and closer to me, and with the same delighted expression as always, she uttered. " But you aren't alone in this Kiyotaka~ "
Just as her hand came in contact with me, I felt my eyes slightly widen while staring directly at her. Her sweet and warm tone alongside the sincerity of her words reached deep into my brain, registering every small movement of hers.
" You aren't in the white room anymore Kiyotaka, you aren't alone anymore. You are here with me now, with us. Far away from that dreadful space " She kept reaching more and more, inching closer to my body. However, her eyes oceanic blue eyes brimmed like a crystal, as small droplets of tears starting taking shape.
" You have people that care about you, you have people that love you and won't judge you. You have your freedom that you longed for, and you're free to do whatever you want. " Her slender hand slightly squeezed mine, as she was sitting right in front of me now. With our eyes peering at each other, completely different color and illuminations. However, there was one thing mutual
" So forget about the white room Kiyotaka, forget about that place, you aren't a student there anymore. You are now a student at the advanced nurturing high school where you have a completely different life, so you don't have to remember it. I... " She slowly started losing her breath as her emotions starting taking over, it was obvious that was about to cry. However, she desperately held it in herself, trying to act like everything was normal while it wasn't, all for one reason.
" I'm here for you... Kiyotaka~ You aren't alone.... I'm here " She gathered all of her courage for a reminder and a small head pat. Before seemingly not being able to take it anymore and starting to sob in front of me.
However, I immediately broke off from my motionless state and willingly pulled her towards my chest, even so, she refused to let herself breakdown in front of me. All for one reason
Which is for my sake
Before I even knew it, I laid down on the bed beside her while wrapping both of my arms and legs around her, and deepening our embrace as much as possible. She finally decided to breakdown and start bawling her tears, which I happily took on my shirt.
She has been doing this for my sake since the moment we have met, she has put her utmost attention into taking care of me when we got together, and now she's doing her best into changing me into the best, as best as she can. All for one purpose, which is for my sake
She never expected anything in return for this, except for seeing me turn into a better human. This selfless nature of her is the one charming me, because unlike me, I'm a pretty selfish person.
My sense of superiority clouded my sense of self-evaluation, making me oblivious to my flaws. I knew that I was flawed but it was a mere humble thought with little basis according to evaluation, deeming myself as a perfect human being. The white room staff treated me as a perfect being, which I felt nothing towards, but it helped deepening my perfection complex, on a subconscious level.
However, having someone pointing out your flaws and working hard to fix them is such an eye opening experience. I have only realized recently how arrogant I am and how truly far from perfection I truly am. I do consider myself now closer to perfection than ever. However, it is still off reach because no human can be perfect.
It's been a couple of minutes since the last word was uttered, and Honami seems to have fallen a sleep. I leaned my head against hers, trying to join in as well.
I wouldn't have achieved this much advancement towards the myth called perfection, without Honami on my side.
And without her..... I won't be smiling as broadly
Yayyyy Kiyotaka Development !
Sorry for the delays of this chapter, I simply had a grammar block again, so if it's badly written I'm sorry.
Anyways, if you're reading this I'll upload the next chapter right away, I wanted to mix it with this and it ended up longer and more emotional than expected, so I just split it in half.
The next chapter is just a prelude to the next one, so it would be short.
Anyway, I just wanted to explain something real quick.
Kiyo had a lot of development on my book. However, he's still far from fully developed, he still possesses his white room traits while he pretty much appears perfect in his monologues.
Such as this chapter, where he doesn't cooperate unless it's necessary. He would be perfectly fine without Honami. But she is his ally in his fight but he chooses to fight alone, this is what I meant by ally unless necessary.
This is just him and his white room trait of working alone, which pretty much got developed in this chapter.
His weaknesses only appears when mentioned or pressed on which they come into play, just as Honami did.
Changing takes time, especially with someone like Kiyo who got raised like that. I saw Kinu's interview where he said that Kiyo's flaw is that he never changes, which is something I don't believe.
Anyways I have talked for long, Cya on the next one !