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As the person chosen to be the Commander for Class 1C, I was inevitably going to fight the very person I was looking to expel in the island exam.
Yes, that person was none other than Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.
When we first started at this school, some of us were immediately given a task to expel Ayanokouji-senpai as he was apparently a person of interest that was likely a little too dangerous to keep in Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School.
I had done my bit during the uninhabited island exam to try and get him expelled using a lot of the first years under my ring, both in Class C and in other classes too due to a partnership with the other classes in my year.
Unfortunately for us though, we didn't expect Ayanokouji-senpai to be better than we thought, and even to gain help from Sakayanagi Arisu and Ryuuen Kakeru from the other classes. He managed to escape out of our plan and focus on his own issues.
Ever since then, we haven't really been bothered to engage further with trying to expel Ayanokouji-senpai. Our interest in him is still the same, but it was better for us to stay back and just focus on this school's competition.
...At least that was what I wanted to say.
...But my situation was a little different.
I wasn't obsessed with trying to fight Ayanokouji-senpai like Yagami-kun and Nagumo-senpai. Far from it. If I wasn't in the situation I was in, I could care less after my attempt and reward disappeared.
But the fact of the matter was that I was under control by someone outside of this school. Both me and Utomiya-kun.
And that person wouldn't let us direct our focus away from Ayanokouji-senpai. She really wanted to know everything that was happening in the school and now wanted to influence everything from the outside.
How are they able to contact us in a school that forbids outside contact, you ask?
The answer is actually simpler than you think.
While we can't receive phone calls or send texts to people outside of the school since the school uses firewalls to block us from accessing them, the school doesn't actually use them to block some important sites such as forums and a few social media sites.
The reason was because sometimes students may need to do research and forums and some social media sites were quite important for studying. So a school couldn't block those sites and prevent people from studying, even if this was an isolated and elite school.
And on these sites there was one means of communication available there...
The Comments Section and Instant Web-Based Messaging.
It was through this very means that this person controlling me was able to contact me and Utomiya-kun.
And her orders were to always do something to gauge Ayanokouji-senpai's abilities. I had used every method I had to make sure I could.
Yes, I never actually wanted to expel Ayanokouji-senpai, but I had to put on a show to see what he could do. To relay all that information to this very person.
But now... She wanted to strike. She finally wanted a piece of the action in this school.
Her first orders were as such: Stop Yagami Takuya-kun from going after Ayanokouji Kiyotaka-kun.
That was what my meeting with Yagami-kun and Amasawa-san was, to advise him to not do anything anymore. I knew how powerful the woman controlling me was. Even for someone like Yagami-kun, this woman would likely win against him. The very reason why she was controlling me and Utomiya-kun was because she was a powerful girl.
But Yagami-kun didn't listen. He was still gunning for Ayanokouji-senpai in this sports festival. And he might continue after the sports festival if he loses. Well I did my best, he was only going to feel the power of this woman when she arrives.
My thoughts were interrupted when I was called up to face a match against Ayanokouji-senpai.
Being called, I walked over to the court to see the ever bored-looking Ayanokouji-senpai with a racket in his hand.
"I wish the best of luck to you, Senpai. You beat me in the archery round but I won't try to let you win as easily."
I was very good at archery. It was one of the very things my family was good at and so I took their offer to teach me. I could've joined the archery club in this school to pursue archery further, but I really wasn't in the mood to do so. Plus, with that girl controlling me, I really couldn't spare much time for personal hobbies.
Tsubaki said as she engaged in a friendly handshake with Kiyotaka before the game.
"Likewise. But I have my own reasons to win, so I won't be letting you win this either."
Oh? Does Ayanokouji-senpai know about that girl? I'm sure he knows about Yagami-kun, but he can't know about that woman. There was no way.
Ah, it seems I was letting those thoughts show in my expression as Ayanokouji-senpai looked quite confused. I'll assume he doesn't know anything and this is just him saying that for other reasons. Perhaps to do with his girlfriend, Karuizawa-senpai.
Our match began after I sent the shuttlecock over to Ayanokouji-senpai's side. It appeared he was also good at badminton as he easily returned each of my hits with ease. I had to actually try to keep up with him.
I knew I wasn't going to win this game, but I felt I needed to at least make this game somewhat fun, you know?
My thoughts ultimately went back to the woman controlling me and Ayanokouji-senpai in front of me. I assumed he probably didn't know about that woman, but maybe he did? I guess there was only one way to find out.
"Hey. Senpai?"
Before I sent the serve his way, I called out to him. He immediately paid attention but I could tell he was being cautious, watching my every move.
"Do you have any siblings? Like a brother or a sister? Urgh!"
To test that ability, I sent the serve right after I asked that question. Whatever he answers with will determine how much he knows.
I put more power into the serve too and yet he was still able to return it quite well before answering my question. Ayanokouji-senpai was definitely more powerful than he let on.
"Siblings? I don't have any. I'm what you call an 'only child'. I don't think my family would be good with an extra person to take care of honestly."
Ah that explains a lot. Well I guess he would find out when she comes to this school probably during the cultural festival.
"Why do you ask?"
Ah, I guess he would ask why I was asking such a question. Luckily, I have a coverup to not raise any suspicions.
"I have a little sister and an older brother, Senpai. My older brother is currently getting ready or is probably already working at Toyota Motor Corporation. He's quite successful, more so than I would like to believe he is. And as for my little sister, she's still in middle school at the moment. I don't think she'll be admitted here or even choose to, but I believe she'll do well to become like my mother. Her grades aren't too high but they aren't bad either. Just average like mine."
Toyota was one of the only companies in this country to feature in the top 50 most valuable and profitable companies in the entire world. So having my brother work for them was a big deal.
Ayanokouji-senpai was still confused as to why I was talking about this. I continued to give my actual reason while continuing this game of 'hit back the shuttlecock'.
"There are many other students in this school who have siblings too. A lot of the time, it's easy to tell who has a sibling and who doesn't by looking at their personality and body actions. Sometimes, those with siblings will act a certain way and if you look carefully for those actions, you can easily understand whether they have a younger sister or an older brother. They emit this type of energy around them."
It may sound stupid, but it's kind of true. Some people gave off an aura or energy that exuded that they had a sibling of any sort. Of course, not everyone would notice it but there are people who would. Me being one of them.
Ayanokouji-senpai didn't believe one bit of that. I could easily tell he didn't. He was the type of person to believe in logic and reasoning and my explanation of people giving off that energy definitely wasn't logical.
The unfortunate fact for him was that it was true, but that didn't matter too much.
"And do I emit that kind of energy?" He asked me.
"Not at all, Senpai. You don't emit any kind of energy at all. But I just felt that you might've had a sibling. You never know sometimes. You might even have a sibling and you just don't know about it."
I spoke the truth. Ayanokouji-senpai didn't exude that type of energy. In fact, he didn't exude any type of energy anyway, except for a boring and lazy one, similar to me.
"I see. Well if I did have a sibling, I would like to see and learn about them."
I stopped moving for a moment, frozen completely in place. Because of that, the shuttlecock hit the ground and crowned Ayanokouji-senpai his win against me. He definitely noticed me stiffening up as he stared at me in confusion.
But he didn't have time to question me as we quickly walked away from the pitch so he could begin his next game against the Student Council President. I also quickly escaped so that he could try to find me before that game would begin.
Senpai. I don't think you realise how impactful those words will be in the future. But you will soon come to realise that when the time comes.
I'll be continuing to work for her, and she'll definitely order me and Utomiya to continue to watch Ayanokouji-senpai and ward off others like Yagami-kun and even the Student Council President. From that point onward, she might try to battle with Ayanokouji-senpai when she finds an opportunity.
I wonder how Ayanokouji-senpai will fare against her? Only time will tell.
End of Sakurako Tsubaki SS...
A/N:
With this Short Story, it's probably now confirmed who this "she" and "her" is. But you still won't know the name for a while. This is all buildup after all. Anyway, this final Short Story marks the end of All or Nothing Volume 2. However, tomorrow I will also be releasing my Endnotes. Tune in to understand some of the decisions I made as well as news for Volume 3 and a potential surprise. See ya then!
- rainy26541 (G-String)
P.S. Just a reminder to some of you since you were all hoping for a Kei SS. Chapter titles and Short Stories are always announced before they even release. You can see them as part of the contents page which is contained in the All or Nothing Volume 2 Chapter where the cover and other pages are shown. Keep that in mind for future reference since that's what I've always been doing. And sorry for those who hoped for a Kei SS and lemon. As much as I love Kei and KiyoKei, I need to give spotlight to other people too. Anyway, see ya tomorrow!