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Intro
12:00pm was the beginning of the 1 hour break for the students and visitors. Having lunch, taking restroom breaks and planning strategies for the next 2 hours for the rest of the events, this would be the best time to conduct such activities.
However, with visitors around the campus, there was one unavoidable thing that was also set to happen during the break of the sports festival. All the visitors were alumni of the school. Whether they were CXOs of large or medium sized companies or captains or managers of specific sports teams or even politicians, it wouldn't be a surprise to have one of them approach a student to talk.
With that in mind, Kiyotaka got up from his seat at the Class B Commander cubicle and walked out. Arisu appeared to be waiting for him just to the side as immediately as she saw him, she walked up to him.
"Ayanokouji-kun. My father wants to see us before you go for lunch. You know what's about to happen next, right?"
Her expression was serious. The usual smug smile she always wore no matter whether the day was dry and sunny or cold and wet was no longer present on her face. Even in situations where they were extremely serious, she would always wear a cold smile. So seeing her like this meant only one thing.
Nodding, Kiyotaka ignored the stares from Kanzaki and Katsuragi and followed Arisu out of the building. Their destination was the main school building, however, they would not enter the school building at all.
Seeing the two of them leave, one of the teachers followed and caught up to them. This was the trusty assistant Chairman Sakayanagi told Kiyotaka about. The assistant actually stood nearby Kiyotaka for the last 3 hours, keeping an eye out for him if anything would happen and responding to it as quickly and discreetly as possible. However, nothing had happened, which was both reassuring and worrying.
Soon, they arrived at the front of the school and to the surprise of no one there, Chairman Sakayanagi and the man they were all expecting to see were standing there. The latter's eyes were as sharp as usual, sharper than a bread and large kitchen knife. As they turned to face Kiyotaka, the piercing glare became more visible. Anyone under such a glare would easily quiver in fear.
However, Kiyotaka and Arisu approached the two adults without fear. They stopped a little bit away from them knowing issues would arise if they got too close. But they were still within earshot to both hear and talk to them.
"Good afternoon Father. Good afternoon Ayanokouji-sensei. It has been a while."
Arisu called out to the two adults as soon as they stopped. Her smile had returned to her face, though it was a more serious smile compared to her usual smugness. Her classmates wouldn't be able to tell the difference between them, but Kiyotaka could tell.
"Sakayanagi Arisu, huh? I guess I should've expected you to be here if your father was here. And the fact that you seem close to Kiyotaka. That was my own stupid mistake for not considering that," Professor Ayanokouji said with his usual Antartica tone.
Being under the guise of such a tone and glare would immediately cause the person to wither into dust. However, no such thing happened to Arisu. She showed barely any fear being under the gaze. There was a small sweat drop coming down from her forehead, but that was barely anything considering how well she was keeping up her composure.
"Seeing you now compared to when you visited that place that day, you've seemed to have grown."
"I thank you for the compliment, Ayanokouji-sensei, especially since it's from you."
Arisu bowed, hands on her skirt as she lifted it a bit too. An elegant bow for a princess-like girl.
"However, I suggest you don't get involved anymore. This is between me and Kiyotaka. Unlike your father here, you don't hold that much power here over the board and the school itself."
"Fufufu. That is indeed true, Ayanokouji-sensei. However, I am considered the princess of the school by most of the students here. Also, it may not look like it, but I'm doing whatever is in the best interest of Ayanokouji-kun. I was told to accompany him and so I'm doing so. Ayanokouji-kun here wants a life at this school so I'm helping him get one. But that's for you two to talk about."
Whether or not she was an involved or uninvolved party, Professor Ayanokouji couldn't do much being an outsider of this school. Though she didn't say this out loud, this was what Arisu was trying to imply. The interests of students at this school mattered the most.
Either way, she stepped back a little and allowed the second inevitable meeting between the two blood related family members to happen. It probably wasn't noticeable to the Sakayanagis until now, but the atmosphere was extremely tense. The Ayanokoujis locked eyes, glaring sharp daggers into the other's body and looking to open a non-existent wound.
"You seem to be enjoying yourself at this school. Aren't you, Kiyotaka?"
The silence ended with Professor Ayanokouji starting.
"Of course. This school is one of the best things that has happened to me. I've experienced a lot at this school more so than the White Room. Why wouldn't I enjoy being here?"
"This place isn't for you. The path you were made to go down was decided the very moment I had put you in the 4th generation. You will guide Japan towards a better future."
"That's just your own beliefs. And even if I want that too, who's to say that the method that Chairman Sakayanagi has with this school isn't beneficial to me? If anything, I see a lot of potential people in this school that could rival, if not surpass me one day. They just need the extra push which is something I can provide."
At that moment, Professor Ayanokouji went silent. Kiyotaka wasn't sure, but he felt that his father's piercing glaring eyes softened for a moment, as if he felt a lot from that statement. But for all he knew, that could've just been a part of his optimistic mind that wanted to believe he was an actual father...
Yeah that was probably it since it more or less looked like Professor Ayanokouji's expression didn't change at all.
"If I recall, you seemed to mention something about not wanting to come to this school anymore. 'Coming to a place like this once is quite enough' you said that day. Yet here you are again with the same goal of wanting to bring me back. Did you somehow find some weird attraction to this school that affected your decision of coming back?"
"Are you trying to make a joke? I have my own reasons for coming here again."
Annoyed by Kiyotaka's attempt of belittling him over something he said a long time ago, Professor Ayanokouji clicked his tongue. It was most likely because he remembered those exact words he said to Kiyotaka that he was so annoyed.
"If I may then, did you really send Tsukishiro to this school as Chairman Sakayanagi's replacement just because you wanted to have me expelled from this school? You even destroyed a relationship with him just to get me back."
Chairman Sakayanagi gave a bitter smile. He admired Professor Ayanokouji's strength, willpower and his ideals to the point that Chairman Sakayanagi used to be one of his greatest assistants. It was also to the point that he followed his own father's footsteps in taking leadership over the Advanced Nurturing High School.
However, Professor Ayanokouji had likely broken that image because he used his power to temporarily oust Chairman Sakayanagi and appoint Tsukishiro to get Kiyotaka back. Whether he was angry at it was unknown as Chairman Sakayanagi said nothing about it. Seeing this, Professor Ayanokouji replied.
"You think that person wasn't sent to expel you? On what basis are you basing that on?"
He sounded amused by this, which honestly surprised Kiyotaka. It was almost as if... Kiyotaka didn't think about it anymore and just answered his father's question.
"If Tsukishiro was really aiming to have me expelled based on what you wanted, he would have tried harder than he had already been doing. Sure, he needed to not raise suspicions to the school board, but his plans were completely lackluster. He didn't seem to have control over the White Room students he enrolled here, the fundamental weapon in his arsenal that would get me expelled. And most of all, his leaving speech made it seem like he never really cared whether he achieved his goal or not, more like he just wasn't aiming for it."
That wasn't to say that Tsukishiro wasn't trying to get Kiyotaka expelled. The attempt in the Class Vote special exam by trying to use Arisu to cast votes on him, manipulating the school system to remove Kiyotaka's protection point in the Event Selection special exam and even the attempt during the uninhabited island exam. All of them were real big attempts to get Kiyotaka expelled. However, Kiyotaka believed that with the power Tsukishiro wielded and his own abilities, Tsukishiro would have used more thorough and better methods to try and expel Kiyotaka, even though the latter didn't want that.
What really brought Kiyotaka to that conclusion was Tsukishiro's final meeting with him on the cruise ship. On that day, he was meeting with Chabashira after she called him. However, Tsukishiro happened to crash that meeting too, looking to meet with Kiyotaka. The two ended up exchanging a left handshake, all the while mentioning boy scouts. From what Kiyotaka knew, a left-handed handshake in boy scouts meant a form of friendship and, in ancient times, a form of respect.
This was something which only those who looked at one another as an equal or someone who they were fond of would do, and for someone like Tsukishiro who was aiming to expel Kiyotaka from the beginning, the handshake didn't add up unless he was never aiming for that goal in the first place. This was the conclusion he brought himself to. Explaining it to his father, the Chairman and Arisu in front of them, they seemed to understand.
"I see. When you explain it that way, it seems to make sense. But that is none of your business. You luckily escaped his wrath and now he's been transferred elsewhere, where I'll be dealing with him too. Even without him, I will still get you back however I can. This school isn't enough for a masterpiece like you."
"How would you know that? I believe this school is perfect for me. I've learnt a lot of things that I wouldn't have learnt in the White Room. Things that even I believe are quite valuable now. I managed to make great friends and find very capable people in this school."
Professor Ayanokouji looked even more unimpressed as his eyes narrowed.
"Friends? Capable people? Ignoring the latter, have I not told you already? You aren't capable of making friends. They will hold you back. Why are you not understanding that? Whatever. We'll go nowhere if we keep this up. If you're done spouting nonsense, I'll be going."
As he was leaving, Kiyotaka, the Chairman and Arisu watched him go. The steps created from his fancy black leather shoes were audible as he kept walking.
"If you really think that, then why don't you watch me in the Commander Events."
However, unexpectedly, Kiyotaka called out to his departing father. The man stopped walking and turned his head back to what he believed was a failure of a son.
"What?"
"Watch me in the upcoming Commander Events and see if you truly believe I'm incapable of such things and whether there really aren't any capable people in this school. You'll see the answer for yourself."
"How stupid. But I will watch you in those events anyway. Otherwise, this visit will barely be for anything."
Professor Ayanokouji stomped off, likely to go grab some lunch with the other adults. After watching him leave, Chairman Sakayanagi sighed and turned back to Kiyotaka and his daughter.
"Well that went better than I expected, honestly. Are you sure saying that was a good idea Kiyotaka-kun? I know what you're trying to do, but I can't say whether it's good or not."
Arisu had to agree with her father. The power Professor Ayanokouji held was beyond what anyone believed a person would ever think even a top politician would hold. Kiyotaka knew that after what happened to Chairman Sakayanagi when he was temporarily removed from his position at the school. And more notably, what Matsuo Eshiro and Matsuo Eiichiro had gone through after the former had helped Kiyotaka get into ANHS was beyond what any normal politician had the power to do.
"Whether or not it is good or bad, it's something that should be done. That man is still too caught up in his own ideals to the point he's still looking to do everything he can to get me expelled. Doing this I believe is for the best."
Kiyotaka said this, still staring at his father's leaving figure before the man turned the corner.
"Fufufu. Well I hope to see what comes out of it, Ayanokouji-kun. I'll be sitting in the stands since you know I can't participate in the Commander Events. I'll also put our plan together there."
"Thanks."
The two students left the Chairman and began walking back towards the student areas and their respective class tents.
A/N:
Even though the goal was to avoid seeing Atsuomi Ayanokouji (Yatei Ayatouji/Professor Ayanokouji), they still ended up meeting up in the sports festival, just to confirm what both their positions were. Is Kiyotaka trying to help his father despite facing Atsuomi's wrath? Who knows? Lets go to the next part coming soon!
- rainy26541 (G-String)