"Good Morning, Yamauchi!"
"Mornin' Miyamoto!"
"Hey Hey Hondou!"
I had been sitting on my chair talking to Miyake and Sudou about what had transpired yesterday in the Club fair. It seems that Sudou still takes up basketball and Miyake still takes up Archery. The reason for this is because of their passions. It's a good thing that their passion all together had not changed at all. What concerns me, however, is Hirata's decision of choosing Basketball as well. I heard from Sudou on how Hirata seems to provoke Sudou, goading him into becoming his rival for the sport itself.
If that was true, then I don't really think Hirata of this time line would be useful. In fact, he might become a liability if his desire to overtake his rivals get the best of him. I analyzed his angle and thought that could his past lead him to a different path to take? Is there a reason for Hirata to desire a strong rival?
Somehow, an incident from the first day pops into my mind.
"Wooow! A rising basketball star!!! We'll be cheering you on!!!"
Could it be?
I looked over towards the direction of Hirata's desk. He hasn't arrived yet and it wouldn't be like I'll have a chance to get to ask him questions.
"Hey Hey Professor, we need you here for a sec!"
I couldn't ignore the growing concerns that the newly branded perverted idiot trio was creating with their plans. If I don't take care of any of this, Operation Delta would once more happen, now that I know the instigator of these perverted acts always start with Yamauchi. To think this person would at least have a different personality in this world.
Unfortunately, Yamauchi, You were destined to be nothing more than a lamb in the slaughterhouse.
To avoid his stupidity, I'll have to make an example out of him. But that will have to wait for the time being. For now, I have to keep the ones who would get swayed so easily in this mess, in checked.
Ike, who is growing much more isolated as the days pass by due to his undesirable trait of being a pervert not existing in this universe and the fact that Sudou and Yamauchi hadn't gotten along with him yet, was now vying to join this little charade of perversion. Seeing how the girls were looking at them like they were the biggest scum on the earth, I might as well have to intervene now and-
"Yo, Ike!"
"Hey Hashimoto, what's up?"
Well this is an odd turn of events.
"Remember the game you recommended to me last time?"
"Oh yeah"
They started conversing. Well this is totally unexpected isn't it huh. I could only look before then turning back towards Miyake. "So, today, we won't be able to go home together huh?" I remarked.
"Yeah, can't really help it with the club practice and all that" Sudou quipped in as he munched upon a granola bar.
"Well look on the bright side, you'd get to go home with a cute girl" Miyake said with a sly grin as he glanced towards my neighbor.
"W-what are you suddenly on about Akito-kun?!" Suzune had all of the suddenly cried out in embarrassment. Hmm it seems that Suzune isn't really that used to receiving compliments.
"He's saying that you'd get to spend more time with Ki-"
"Ken-kun!!!!" Suzune cried out in anguish as she abruptly stood up and tried to cover the tall red head's mouth as he laughed at her futile efforts.
What's wrong with spending time with me, Suzune? I thought we were friends?
Then again, i should be complaining. Today, like yesterday, I had seen Suzune standing right in front of my door once again. At the very least, she was much more later, letting me sleep soundly till 7:30 am. But it still bothered me that she's going to my room still. Day 3 in and I might have to tell her that she could just wait for me at the lobby. Like any other normal friend would.
It's still awkward to refer Suzune by her first name, even though I might have to get used to it already... Everytime I did, I remember her just stabbing my arm with the compass. The phantom pains it causes me just makes me not want to call her by her first name. But her insistence to keep doing so might become troublesome in the end, thus I relented.
Watching the three banter, it's nice that Suzune was getting friendly with Sudou and Miyake. It's also a good development that the two of them seems to accept Suzune as their friend as well. If my perception of her being this universe's Airi would entail a difficulty of her making friends with the other classmates.
"Oy Ayanokouji!" Suddenly, Miyamoto had called out to me and beckoned me to come over. I glanced over towards Sudou and Miyake, who shrugged. Seeing that they had no idea about what's going on, I then sighed out as I then stood up and made my way towards the group who was gaining more and more participants in discussion.
As I got there, I realize they were speaking hushed tone.
"Im betting on Airi-chan"
"My bet's on Hasebe-san!"
"Heck my bet's going to be Kushida"
"Onodera's my bet-"
"What about Mori?"
"Airi-sama for the win!"
"What are you guys doing?" I asked, unaware of the situation at hand. As I did so, I noticed some girls were glancing over towards me worriedly. I took note that Airi's smile was strained, Karuizawa's gaze was rather calculating, as if gauging if what I was about to do was what she suspects. Seeing her gaze, it's as if I was betraying her expectations of me. Azuma, Mori, and Nishimura, had a nervous gaze upon their looks.
I don't really understand how my appearance to this group shifted their gaze to this particular situation from disgust to worry. The only one who wasn't looking at me worriedly was Suzune. Kushida on another hand, glared at me like she just scraped me off her shoe...
"We're making bets, dude" Hondou remarked as he pointed his pen at some girls. "Name a girl, place the points, then we'll add you to the pool" He said with a grin.
"Alright" I remarked as i pulled out my phone "I'll go for Onodera and possibly Horikita"
I was then met with odd gazes from the guys in this group, a shocked look from Suzune, a pained look from Airi, a glare from Hasebe who was once talking to Airi nearby, and a disappointed look from the other girls.
"Why Horikita?" Hondou asked me with genuine confusion. "She's a 76 possibly"
"Eh? What does that number have to do with swimming?"
"Eh?"
It seems the entire classroom went silent.
Wait.... I just remembered what was supposed to be bet upon this day...
Ah...
Suddenly arms wrapped around my arms as I was pulled away from the group. The guys at that group gasped and glared at me. Why was this?
Airi and Hasebe seems to had pulled me away from them.
"Alright you pigs!" She said with a disgusted glare. "This boy's off limits!!"
Huh... when did these two get close? it's just been three days-
"Now now, Hero-kun, it's not a good idea to trust strangers who call out to you for candy, okay? They might swindle or kidnap you!"
Why are you treating me like a child?
"That's right, my child! You must keep away from fiends who would sully your mind"
Since when was I your child?
No, seriously, what is this situation?
"Oy you two, aren't you guys just over reacting?" Hondou deadpanned as Miyamoto could only sulk, looking at my position right now. Meanwhile, Yamauchi uttered out the words 'damned ikeman'.
"Keep quiet bowlcut! or I'll shove Miyamoto up your ass!" Hasebe roared out as she continued to pull me away from these guys. Hasebe, you're being too violent with these poor souls.
"Hasebe, Isn't thi-"
"Haruka"
"H-Hase-"
"Haruka" She looked at me with a smile.
"H.... Hase...."
"Haruka" She repeated with a smile.
I don't think I'll win this odd argument.
I sighed out "Haruka, I don't think pulling me away from them like a child was necessary" I said- to which I would be then shot down by this woman who was considered the mother of our group back in the last timeline.
"Ara? Whatever do you mean, Ayanon?" Haruka smiled wryly as she pressed herself up against my right arm even more. She brought p her finger and gently poked upon my cheek. "We are just doing what's best for you~ Right Airi-chan?" I think i just heard her utter out 'Oh my, you have strong arms.'
"Hai!~ That's true, Hero-kun~ Or shall I call you Otouto-kun instead~" She giggled as she too smiled. I think I also heard her say 'Oh wow you're right' as she squeezed upon my arm.
I am so confused...
I was aware of Airi's feelings back in my timeline. I may know of Haruka's but I had a feeling that she abandons that for Airi's development. It was something that Haruka would do just for the sake of fulfilling her innermost desires. The reason as to why she stuck around Airi, a sense of need to protect the weak was her pleasure, a trait like Kushida's pleasure for attention.
Now that I am in this position, I just realized that these two...
Might fight aggressively rather than give each other leeway.
At the corner of my eye, I saw someone pouting and someone looking rather amused.
But it wasn't who I thought it would be.
Suzune was pouting.
Karuizawa looked amused.
I sighed.
"I-im not a child, Haruka-"
"Haruka-okaa-sama!" She immediately corrected.
"No" I fired back.
"Okay, so what's your deal with Hasebe and Sakura?" Sudou asked me as we made our way towards the pool. After Homeroom, we were then sent to the school's pool for our P.E. Subject. I sighed at the question, but seeing that Sudou had not relented from his question and Miyake had peered in just to join the conversation, I knew I wouldn't get off their case.
"I honestly don't know the details but according to Sakura, Hasebe had taken an interest on me after that incident." I said, my eyes closed in exasperation as my hands twitched in my pockets.
"Oh you mean when you blew your introduction!" Sudou cried out.
"Ken-kun!" Suzune frowned at Sudou and then had reprimanded him by gently chopping him upon the back. "Be nice to Kiyotaka-kun! You know he's trying his best."
"Hahaha! Of course, sorry Ayanokouji!" He said rather apologetically.
"I mean you're right anyways, I did blew my introduction." I sighed out as I pinched the bridge of my nose.
"Nonesense Kiyotaka-kun! You did your best and everyone understood where you're coming from!" Suzune said immediately, as if trying to stop me from retreating to negative thoughts. To have a supportive friend like Suzune, God must have seen my troubles with this woman who tricks me into getting her to class A.
Ah what a time to be alive.
"*cough* prollyjustasimp *cough*" Miyake coughed out some words that I seem to hear but Suzune didn't. Sudou then just clenched his fist and then hit Miyake on the head, his way of reprimanding the guy. "W-what the hell was that for!" I heard the delinquent roar out in defiance.
"That was still uncalled for" He said, shaking his head.
"Yeah that's right Miyachi"
"Alright alright, but may I ask why the two of you are tagging along with us?" I heard Miyake asked, annoyed as he glared at the two in question. One Sakura Airi and one Hasebe Haruka.
"What's wrong? Miyachi? We just wanna accompany Horikita-chan and Ayanon!"
"Now now, Haruka-san, you can call me Suzune" The shy girl in question said with a happy smile, causing Haruka to let out a squeal and wrap her arms around the girl who will most certainly not stab you with a compass unlike her counterpart.
"Suzune-chaaaan!~" Airi too would excitedly hug the awkward girl who would let out a smile once more. To tell you the truth, seeing Suzune smile like that was rather refreshing to see. In the past, she always scowls and rarely smiles. To be fair, I don't really have the right to say such things considering that I rarely smile as well. I think I could only count the times I've smiled so far with my two hands. And most of them involved Kei.
"Are girls usually this hug-ey lovey?" Miyake asked Sudou with an annoyed look.
"Beats me... " Sudou said with a straight look, clearly not understanding the situation unfolding.
"I think girls just can't resist hugging cute things" I said as the two of them looked at me as if I had grown a head or two.
"Heh, look at Ayanokouji getting cocky all of the sudden after getting hugged earlier by two beauties" Miyake said with an amused grin. "Are you telling us that you think you're cute?"
"Bitch I'm adorable" I said monotonously as I held up two peace signs.
Seeing that sight and not expecting me to cuss out loud, the two of them laughed out loud, clutching their sides. Haruka, however gasped as if she had been scandalized.
"Ayanokouji Kiyotaka! Young man watch your mouth!" She reprimanded, however, she too was trying her best not to burst in guffaws. Airi giggled and Suzune had held back her laughter behind her hand.
As we entered into the area where the pool is located, we couldn't help but gasp at the sight before us. For them, they're probably had never seen a pool this big, almost as big as the olympic class ones. I however, just felt nostalgic.
"Woaaaah! The pool looks huge!!!" We heard someone cry out as I glanced over towards Ike. Surprisingly enough he was with Shinohara, Hashimoto, Mori, and Setsuya. It seems that he had managed to get a friend group of his own, that's good to see. If things are like this, then I wouldn't have to worry about his class standing going down in the foreseeable future as he associate himself with a guy like Yamauchi.
"Im getting changed" I said to the others as I then started to make my way towards the changing room. Sudou and Miyake followed behind me.
"Oh hey Class D's King!" A familiar voice called out to me.
"Hey, Kiyotaka!" Another familiar voice called to me.
As I was changing I was approached by two individuals who I made barely any contact in the past but still finds ways to talk to me. One was Sakayanagi's spy, whilst the other was Ichinose's right hand man. What's concerning me right now is that Kanzaki was calling me by my first name as if he already knows me.
"It's been like awhile, neh, Kiyotaka?" He said with a soft smile. What's even more out of this world was that he had slung his arm upon my shoulder.
"Hey..." I hesitated. "Ryuuji..."
"Oh you two know each other?" Hashimoto asked as he approached the two of us.
"Yes!" Kanzaki replied enthusiastically.
"Y-yes..." I replied, much less so.
"We're childhood friends!" Kanzaki added enthusiastically.
"We're childhood friends?" I asked, clearly unsure. It was gone unnoticed by Kanzaki and Hashimoto.
"Oh, you guys are childhood friends, huh? That's nice you know!"
"Yup! Me, this guy, and a girl in Class A"
Wait...
There may be a possibility but if it was true then that means... I, Kanzaki Ryuuji, and Sakayanagi Arisu are all childhood friends. Wait... I understand Sakayanagi's position but Kanzaki? When have I gotten acquainted with this person before going to ANHS? No matter how I look at things, there was no possibility that Kanzaki of that timeline knew about the White Room.
Unless...
He wasn't connected to me in that timeline...
But to Sakayanagi.
"The Plot thickens..." I whispered to myself.
"I'm sorry, what?"
"Nothing..."
"W-where are the girls?!" I heard Hondou cried out as he looked around frantically. Unfortunately, I was standing right next to him.
"They're likely taking awhile to change" I reminded him, monotonously.
"Hey hey, Ayanokouji, what if I just rushed in the girl's changing room and took a looksie?"
I stared at him. I honestly just want to try to do things differently and maybe try to be a bit more chaotic but that's somewhat just a pain to deal with in the aftermath. If I had told him 'do it, no balls', then that would have caused much more trouble than it needs to be.
"Well you'll get beaten up and then they'll file charges on you for sexual assault and all that things."
"Dude... you don't have to be realistic about it..." He deadpanned and sighed out rather sadly.
I honestly could not bring myself to care that I had brought down your mood to do something even Ike would do... Oh wait, Ike in this world is much more smarter now...
Good for him, I guess.
Everything at this point feels like deja vu. I would hear a girl's voice after a few moments the boys had finished changing into their swimwear. I looked towards my side and saw Hondou had finally moved towards Miyamoto and Yamauchi, leering and cheering for the girls to come out. Sudou would approach me.
"Yo"
"Hey Sudou." I greeted him back as the two of us watched the perverted trio slowly die inside as almost all of the girls from our class decided to sit at the sidelines-
"Ayanokouji-kuuuuun!!!"
I heard Azuma cry out from the bleachers, causing me to flinch. Why? Well this was an unexpected. No, this is much more troublesome- I realize now that by topping out on the ikeman charts, I had replaced Hirata's role by accident.
This of course caused a chain reaction which was spearheaded by Azuma, Nishimura, and Inogashira. I along with Sudou could only watch in awe as half of the girl population had squealed out my name as if I was someone famous.
I sheepishly waved, well I was quite unsure how I'd react.
"Look at you! Smiling and waving like some celebrity" Sudou grinned, shoving me jokingly.
I shot a glare at him and frowned "I honestly don't know how to react, I was a loner before this remember?"
"Well you better get used to it" Hashimoto said as he went by our side, amused at what he was seeing. "No point in really dwelling on the why and how if you ask me. I wouldn't be surprised if a fan club forms under your nose, King"
"A Fan club?! You're living the dream Ayanokouji" Sudou said, growing more and more amused at the unfolding situation.
"Sounds troublesome, but I want to ask, why are you calling me 'King'?"
"Oh? Well it's cuz I had a feeling that with how things are going, you're going to lead Class D" Hashimoto explained nonchalantly. Hey, at least I like this explanation better than Last time.
'He who holds the Excalibur, is the rightful king of all men!'
I let out a sigh at such a memory.
"Ayanoooon!~" I turned towards the approaching perso-
Pompf!
Suddenly she latched onto my arm, causing all sorts of reactions. Sudou roared out in shock, Hashimoto grinned amused, I let out a confused gargle whilst the other boys had glared at me.
"Hasebe-"
"Ha-ru-ka"
"Haruka, may I ask as to why are you latched onto my arm?"
"Who knows~" She smiled slyly. How dare you insight my spells to dodge questions upon my own self!?
But enough about that for now, I am concerned about many things in the moment.
I remember on the first year that I had told myself in the dark recesses of my mind that I was ever so slightly interest in taking a slight peak of Haruka. I mean, I also justified that there's nothing wrong with taking one small peak. Right?
I mean I already did back on second year. In order to get Airi to show off herself, Haruka had agreed to wear something equally revealing. Lets just say it had caused Akito, Kesei, and I to look at and admire the marble-work of the ship that we were on for most of the time. On Kesei's case, sometimes he'd admire the roof work of the pool.
Therein lies the problem. With how Haruka was latching onto my arm, I could safely deduce that I now understand why she had accumulated 40,000 points on the betting pool.
"Haruka-san, please give him some space" I heard Suzune meekly say as she then approached us. I couldn't help but feel my eyes slowly lowering. Even in this timeline, Suzune reminds me of a Ramen Bowl. She isn't too big nor too small. She's just the right size.
No...
I mustn't think like this. My heart belongs to one person. I have to cease such thoughts and just imagine my beautiful and lovely wife...
...
...
A different image of Kei just appeared into my mind... Our times at the pool to be specific. These memories aren't helping me at all at the current situation.
Oh well time for plan B...
I looked out towards the window to admire the blue sky. The weather today looks good as usual. World Peace is great.
"Where's Airi-san?" Suzune inquired to Haruka who had, thankfully unlatched herself from my arm.
"Oh Airi? Well she said she's joining the others on the bleachers because her school issued suit didn't fit at all."
"E-eh?!" Both Suzune and Hashimoto reacted.
Sudou looks like he wanted to say something but just refrained himself.
I on the other hand just kept my thoughts to myself. Does this mean that this Universe's Airi is...
It's not just because I was shy, My suit barely fits... I-I fear it would cause a wardrobe malfunction during P.E.
The key word to that was barely. If we compare it to now... This either means two things. Airi was lying at the last time or Airi of this timeline is much more-
"Alright settle down kids! It looks like everyone is here already. Let's gather around!"
The teacher who appears to be the P.E. Teacher called out. He seems like the kind of guy who'd attract the opposite sex with ease.
"Well I expected more people to join but this is fine" He said nonchalantly. I looked around and noted that Onodera, the class' star swimmer in the previous timeline was fidgeting at the side. Was she nervous? If I look back, she's quite confident when it comes to these kinds of things. These personality swaps did a number on my classmates, huh.
Hmmm? What's this?
"You alright?" Sudou asked the fidgeting girl.
"Y-yeah... I'm just nervous... Im not really used to the gazes, you get me?" She was meek, much more reserved. If else, she's almost like Suzune.
"You'll do fine!" Sudou cheered for her and threw a thumbs up in the process. I caught the girl's face reddening.
Some things don't change, huh. How interesting
"Back when I was tryin' out for basketball, I was all jittery as well! shaky even! But look at me now, I'm facing shit head on!" He then looked at her "I know you can do it too, yeah? I could tell that swimming is your passion"
"E-eh? how did you-"
"I saw you at the club fair hanging around the swimming club! That and if this wasn't your passion, you'd prolly be up there with the others"
"I-I see... It is my passion indeed..."
I decided to leave the two to the talking. If all things goes well then they might hit it off pretty well.
"Uh Sensei! I can't swim at all!" I heard a student say
"Oh you'll be able to swim! I'll make sure of it! Learning how to swim will become useful in the long run."
Now that I think about it, the way he said that was a massive hint on itself. A prelude to the island exam, huh?
I dwelled upon what went wrong on the Island exams in the first place. Due to the lack of incoherent leadership, our sense of teamwork had fallen apart, rendering us unable to utilize Ike's survival skills properly. If I compare Class D's performance to Class B, then I'd say that class had a bigger advantage. If Ike had ended up on Class B, they would have efficiently utilized his skills even further.
I looked at the current class D as of right now. Compared to the past Class D, everyone is much more open with one another. Despite everyone having their own friend groups that separate them from other friend groups.
Everyone started the warm-up exercises. Students who didn't know how to swim were allowed to touch the bottom ofthe pool with their feet.Ever since last summer, I haven't been in a pool since. I stepped into thepool, getting quickly accustomed to the temperature-regulated pool Then Istarted to swim lightly.
"Anyway, it looks like mostly everyone can swim." I heard Sensei say after I had finished my warm ups.
"Sensei! Back in middle school I was called the Flying Fish after all!" I heard Yamauchi boast his skills. I remembered how he barely did much back then, I couldn't help but keep myself from laughing.
"Oh really now? Then you guys can immediately start competing against each otherthen! 50m freestyle, separate yourselves by gender!"
"C-compete!? Are you serious?" I heard someone whimper before glaring at Yamauchi who puffed out his chest in pride or more like false bravado.
"I'll give the first place winner a bonus, Five thousand points to be exact. On the other hand, lastplace will get supplementary lessons so prepare yourselves."
Those who were good at swimming were cheering, while the worseswimmers weren't thrilled at all. It was clear that this points prize was to keep Class D from sinking in terms of points deficiency. A bait to catch Class D students' desperation. I glanced towards my classmates and took note how they were less excited and more weary. The ones on the bleachers had a strained look right now. They have been reminded of what Chabashira-sensei had explained.
There were 16 boys and 10 girls, excluding those who didn't know how toswim. When the girls started their race, the boys sat on the sidelines andstarted to cheer for the girls.
If I had been drinking something right now, I would have spat it out right now. Why? Well-
"Horikita-chaaaan!!! Go Horikita-chaaan!"
"Go Horikita-chaan!"
It seems, due to her cutesy personality, friendly aura, and matured looks, Suzune had managed to capture the hearts of some of the boys. My observation of her in the past was correct. If you only talked about faces, Horikita was definitely on top, but her badpersonality dropped her popularity down.
However, This Suzune's popularity is growing at a faster rate than the Horikita of the past, so when she stood at the start line, there were cheers comparable to Airi's when she introduced herself. She waved back shyly at them which struck the hearts of those cheering for her.
The whistle blew, and the 5 girls immediately dived in. Suzune is in line 4. Taking thelead in the beginning, she maintained her lead at a distance. She confidentlycame in first place. The boys roared out in cheers. Her time was about 27.30 seconds. That's pretty impressive. Without even breathingheavily, Suzune slowly got out of the pool. When she heard that the cheers were directed to her, she smiled softly once more.
Kushida, who came in second, glanced over towards the smiling girl before scoffing. I couldn't help but still feel as if this was an ironic sight.
The boys were staring at her bouncing ass as she got out of the pool. I alsounintentionally looked at Suzune. Not because of anything else, I swear.
I watched her approach Haruka who gave her a double high five. In the deepest recesses of my mind, I couldn't help but take notes of physics being applied. With such an energetic action, the high five, an action, has caused an equal opposite reaction. I wasn't the only one to notice this but the boys noticed this too.
"Boing boing..." Miyamoto whispered in awe.
"I have witnessed.... Enlightenment..." Hondou whispered as he clenched his fist.
The second race started. It was pretty one-sided. Onodera, as expected, won the race in a landslide. Her time of 26 seconds was clearly the best time.
"See?! I told ya you could do it!" I heard Sudou cheer for the girl who went in front of him. Onodera smiled and nodded happily.
Now then, as the teacher called us, I couldn't help but narrow my eyes. My mind lingers to a question that I kept asking myself ever since this has all started.
Do I hold back or do I go all out?
If I were to take lead of the class, They need to see me as someone they could rely upon. Someone smart, someone cunning, someone dependable, someone easy to talk to. I am able to showcase my prowess with academics and able to create plans. I'll be able to use my knowledge of what will happen in this school year and be a reliable foundation for this class. In terms of Social life- yeah, I'm still working on that.
"Line up!"
Sensei, could you not have said that in a manner in which I do get flashbacks?
As I stood right beside Sudou, he grinned. "Hey Ayanokouji! Why don't we have a race?"
"A race?"
"Yeah! Whoever gets first place, gets to treat the other some food."
I remained silent for a second as I stared at the end of the pool. It's almost I can imagine the free food being served to me. But that wouldn't be enough to sway my desire to just hold back a little, just a little. But the nagging curiosity of what food he'd treat me with was gnawing at the back of my mind.
"What kind of food"
"I-i dunno, Ice Cream I guess"
Say no more.
"I see... Well Sudou, If you want a race, then you better listen to me now"
"Swimmers! Get ready!" Sensei called out. Before he blew the whistle, I then glanced at Sudou who waited for me to speak.
"Swim like hell"
The moment Sensei had blew the whistle, we dived into the waters. Matching Sudou's pacewas easy to say the least, but with so much in line. I dashed through 50 meters as fast as I could, no I mean I could go faster but that would be overkill. Finishing with great speed, I got out of the water.The boys could only gape at the scene.
"Holy..." Sudou gaped after he got out of the water after what he had just witnessed.
"Shit..." I heard Hirata curse from the sidelines out of frustration and amazement
"Exclamation Mark!" I head Hondou cried out all of the sudden.
I dried myself off as I sighed off then all of the sudden the bleachers went into an uproar.
"Ayanokouji-kuuuuuun!!!!"
?!
I flinched at the sudden volume of the screams of my name. To think I would have garnered such an attention when swimming. I then glanced over towards a certain direction and saw Karuizawa clapping before turning to Matsushita to say something. Satou in the meantime looked in awe.
Huh, deja-vu.
Now I then, once more I was called back to the frontlines to race once more. Should I even go faster? I wonder that to myself. Looking at Hirata right now, who frowned at me as he stood at my right, perhaps I should just hold back now...
"Hey, Ayanokouji" I heard him call out to me. I turned towards him and tilted my head ever so slightly.
"What's up?"
"I want to race you..."
"Why?"
"I just refuse to be upstage by you..." He said calmly as he looked forward, his gaze firm and steady. As I observed him, I spoke.
"You don't want to be at the sidelines, do you, Hirata?"
"What makes you say that?"
"You're vying to surpass everyone at where they're good at, correct?"
"I don't really care if I win or lose against you. I just want to find an answer" Hirata said as he stretched for the final round. I raised an eyebrow at his statement but chose to stay silent for now.
"An answer to what?"
"A silly question in my mind..." It's about his past, I presume. I chose not to say anything about that statement because I knew it wasn't the time yet. I could tell that he had not taken what had happened in middle school well compared to his past timeline's self. In the past, he was able to abandon the life of violence and chose the way of peace. In this timeline, he still stuck to it, thinking that it was the right way to do, to avoid any more people from being driven to suicide like his friend have been.
"Swimmers! Get ready!"
I got ready.
Hirata got ready.
When he looked at me, I merely nodded at him.
That was enough for him to know that I accept...
"22.04 seconds!" Suzune gasped as the two of us walked side by side. Today, in this afternoon, it was just us walking back towards the dorms. The sun was setting and the skies were growing much more orange as the seconds ticked by.
"Was it really that shocking?" I asked her as I was eating a triple scooped ice cream courtesy of Sudou Ken. It was nice that he had stuck to his end of the bargain. At the end of that bout, I won my race against Hirata with somewhat ease. He told me that he wish to continue to compete against me. As much as having a goal you wish to overcome is a good thing, please don't become troublesome for me, Hirata. You're a great friend to me in the past timeline! You were even my best man.
"It was! I've never seen someone swim as fast as you could, Kiyotaka-kun!" I heard Suzune praise me once more.
"Ehhh i can't be that fast, Suzune"
"But you were!" I saw Suzune pout as I looked at her. I then looked away as she lets out a soft huff.
"Honestly, Kiyotaka-kun, you're always downplaying your capabilities. It's cute and frustrating at the same time" She said with a rather strained smile. Not going to lie, Horikita considering me cute is somewhat off putting but at this point, I have no choice but to just accept whatever the hell this world could throw at me.
Sticks and stones may break my bones but only my father could break my sanity. Or something like that
"I don't really think I'm that special"
"But you are!!!"
I turned back and saw Suzune standing there. The way she glared at me somehow felt rather nostalgic.
"You are special, Kiyotaka-kun" Oy where is this leading us. Your wording is giving me signs that would be detrimental to be misunderstood. It had just been three days, Suzune...
"I... I never had a friend...." She looked down onto the pavement. "All my life, I had been under the shadow of my brother. He who always outshines me and always casts his shadow at everything I do." She looks at her hands, reflecting on her past. It's surprisingly odd that she was able to trust me this fast. But then again, she did say that I am her first friend. All that she had done, she probably had innocent intentions with it.
I could sympathize with her. Before I had Kei, the Ayanokouji Group and the Book Reading Group, I was alone. In my first year, I teeter into trying to garner friendship. I tried to befriend Horikita, and Kushida. Two of the first people to talk to me. Sudou, I tried to also befriend him along with Ike and Yamauchi. But everything fell apart when Chabashira Sensei had twisted my arm into making me cooperate in the class battles.
Achieve the impossible and raise Class D to Class A or I will have you expelled.
You will come to regret using me...
Don't worry, my life's already full of regrets.
Horikita, who thought of me as a friend, I thought of as a tool. Yousuke, Kushida, it didn't matter at that time who. I had abandoned my persona of a regular student the moment my peaceful life had been threatened. I knew that moving forward, nothing would be normal anymore. I fought and fought, no matter how long, just to gain the life that I desired. Eventually, the moment I showed my physical prowess, the Idiotic Trio stopped inviting me to lunch. The moment I revealed my academic prowess, the Ayanokouji group's trust in me slowly wavered. The moment I showed them what I was willing to sacrifice, I felt Isolated. In the end...
I died alone. Well I chose to die alone so she could be safe...
But in a span of a few short years. I wasn't alone. When everyone abandoned me the moment they saw what lies beyond the thin veil of truth, Kei remained, smiling, wrapping her arms around me to give me comfort.
As I stood there, the wind blew and before me felt like a movie scene. As the cherry blossoms flew by, Suzune's hair waved along the winds. I empathize with you, Suzune. I know what it feels like to be alone, to be isolated due to being underneath the shadow of someone who had dictated your life. Or in your case, someone who has given your family a higher bar of expectations to achieve.
"You're my first friend, Kiyotaka-kun! You accepted my offer of friendship even though I do not know what I was doing! You never told me to leave you alone, you never told me to scram! Nor have you compared me to my brother, nor have you expected me to be like my brother! The moment we spoke, I felt like you saw me for who I am! That's why... to me... You are special..."
As I listen to her words I could only sigh.
"Im telling you... It's nothing special" I repeated my words. I could see Suzune about to argue back but I cut her off...
If given the chance, Ayanokouji-san, would you like a second chance?
This is my second life after all. A world where the white room does not exist, a world where my father isn't trying to hunt me down to do his bidding.
I felt... free...
"After all, that's what friends are for..." I softly said.
I could only watch as Suzune looks up towards me, her eyes brightening up before they grew wet. Soon, her eyes started to leak tears as she cupped her hands over her lips. I could only watch as this girl grew emotional and overjoyed. To see her like this is really overwhelming. I wonder to myself, what would Horikita think if she saw herself like this. Would she frown upon such a unsightly sight and scoff at her for her weakness? Or will it thaw out her icy heart? After all, behind that frigid personality's a good person in her own way.
"T-thank you! Kiyotaka-kun!" She said, her voice quivering as she shuddered due to her emotions overflowing. I could only nod and place my hand upon her shoulder. That's when she went up to me and had cried herself upon my shoulder.
I will never get used to seeing Horikita be like this...
But...
I might get used to seeing Suzune be like this...
A/N: HELLOOOOOOOO IT'S ME! AUTHOR-SAN! ITS BEEN AWHILE, HUH?! HOW'D YOU LIKE THE RE-WRITE OF CHAPTER 1 AND THIS CHAPTER?! BEHOLD SWIMMING!!!!! ALSO ALSO DID I DO GOOD IN TRYING TO WRITE A WHOLESOME SCENE?
The wholesome scene, I tried to base it off from a personal experience to be honest ehehe. I remember when a friend of mine told me 'that's what friends are for' for the first time. It'll probably be much more fleshed out in Suzune's SS later down the line.
Regarding the Ayanokouji Group! Which I'm starting to flesh out now, see see? I wanted Subro, Akibro, Kiyopon, Suzune, Haruka, and Airi to comprise it! Whilst the Boys group would have Subro, Akibro, Kiyopon, Loyal Snek-kun, and Not-Sussy Ryuji
Speaking of Haruka! I was thinking of making her aggressive and very Ara Ara!
"But author-san" you say "Why?"
Well to be honest, considering my plans for Ichinose, we lost a very valuable fanservice Character-
"BAKA AUTHOR SAN! YOU STILL HAVE AIRI TO MAKE INTO A FANSERVICE GIRL!"
SHADDAP! I WANNA MOMMY HARUKA!
Now for the million dollar question...
Should I keep course and make this fic a KiyoKei fic?
Or do I pull a fast one?
If I do keep this as a KiyoKei Fic, I might do another fic, alternate routes for a KiyoZune and KiyoNami.
ⁱ ˢʰᵒᵘˡᵈ ᵐᵃᵏᵉ ᵗʰⁱˢ ⁱⁿᵗᵒ ᵃ ᵛⁱˢᵘᵃˡ ⁿᵒᵛᵉˡ...
If I do pull a fast one, I might have to write a different KiyoKei fic.
Hmm.... Satou.... hmmmm.... HMMMMMMMMM....
I did say I wanted to write a Satou fic. Maybe a Oneshot? I don't know much about Satou.
Bahh I'll think about it! for now! VOTE, COMMENT YOUR THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS!! SPREAD THE WORD BOUT THIS STORY!!! ILL BE BACK WITH THE NEXT CHAPTER SOON!