A/N: While I was writing this parts of my PC died. I ordered new parts that are coming soon but I had to finish off this chapter in small chunks because my CPU is overheating.
It's short and not as good as it could be since it was written in 15 minutes chunks but it'll have to do.
Sorry about this, thanks to Crimson celestial and inferno for editing this since I couldn't do it with no computer.
Thanks
While the night at the karaoke ended not long after the game, I ended up spending more time with Class B after we left. It wasn’t much, just staying with them as a group in the park near the dorms and listening to them talk.
It meant that all of us stayed out well into the night until we were all too tired to keep the conversations going.
I enjoyed my time with them, they were a nice group. It made me consider certain things. How different would my school life have been if I was put into Class B rather than Class D. Would Eiichiro and I be happier if we were there together from the start? I doubt that he would have even thought of being a leader if we were there instead of in Class D. He only took the role when it was clear that no one else would do it and that I wasn’t interested.
One can’t change the past, a man’s pride is his downfall. Eiichiro set upon this path and he wasn’t about to back down now that he was there. I had the points to move both of us if I wanted to but there was no point in doing that. He wouldn’t leave his leadership role to play a follower in Class B anymore. He’d already tasted the forbidden fruit of competition and responsibility. He was too invested.
No matter how pleasant I found Honami’s classmates, I wouldn’t leave our Class. I had people I was fond of. That would go down the drain if I left. Besides, there was something about Hoshinomiya’s actions. They were too desperate. Her slip-up was legitimate. I had a feeling that there was something coming soon that would allow me to steal someone from another Class, and she was scared.
We ended up staying out far later than I usually do. I was a little surprised when they invited me out to the pool with the rest of Class B. I was already sick of the pool. I spent far too much time on the ship around the water, but I decided to go anyway.
Under normal circumstances, I would never reveal the White Room of my own volition, not even for the purposes of a game. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision to do so but I had my reasons.
Deceiving with the truth was something I used from time to time. Machida was one of my other most recent examples. If I were to tell the story of the White Room without proof to someone whom I’d only just met, they’d look at me as if I were some sort of low-grade fiction writer. Atrocities like that were hard for everyday human beings to fathom. For good people who followed the rules of society, places like the White Room were divorced from reality.
One reason was to confirm my suspicions about Himeno. And her reaction spoke volumes. I’m not sure how or why she knew but she does. It spoke to her behavior almost perfectly. If any of the others reacted similarly, I’d know they knew as well. The rest were so quick to gravitate toward my other two stories that it was obvious they had no idea. To the average person, the answer was obvious.
The other reason was that I’d noticed the growing number of people who glanced at me the same way Himeno did. Largely the third years and a small number of second years, but barely any first years. There was no use keeping a bullet in the chamber when you’re about to die anyway. Secrets can only be weaponized if you have a fear of them coming out. Something that I didn’t have. This secret won’t remain hidden for much longer, what’s the point of fighting it?
That became even more apparent when Himeno suddenly asked to speak to Honami in private. Taking the opportunity, I said my good nights to everyone before seemingly retiring for the night. Despite all of our progress, Honami still wasn’t very comfortable with public displays of affection and I wasn’t exactly fond of them either. Rather than our usual goodbye, she gave me a wave and a smile before following Himeno to the back of the dorms.
The lobby was empty as I slipped through. Taking note to see if any of the other Class B students were behind me, I pressed the button for the fourth floor before exiting before the doors could close and slipped into the fire escape as quietly as possible.
Closing the door as quietly as I could, I moved next to the small window before cracking it open as quietly as possible.
They were standing a good distance away. I had to strain to hear their conversation. My saving grace was the utter silence of the echoing hallway and the fact that almost everyone was in their dorm rooms in the dead of the night.
“...don’t want something similar happening to us as what happened with Class A,” Himeno said.
“It won’t. I don’t understand why you’re being like this all of a sudden,” Honami replied.
“I don’t understand why you’re so against this. Don’t you want to be in the same class as him? You’re dating now, are you guys having problems?”
“No, of course not,” Honami said quickly. “He won’t leave his class for the same reason I won’t leave ours. Maybe even more than I. Matsuo-kun has been his best friend for years. I can’t ask Kiyotaka to leave him behind.”
“Besides,” she continued, “we already promised each other that we wouldn’t ask the other to betray our classes. You’re really asking me to break that promise. To ask a question I already know the answer to?”
I wanted to move to the other side of the window so I could see their body language but the risk was too great. From the angle where I was currently standing, there was no way for them to see either me or my shadow in the light of the fire escape. Instead, I had to make do with what I had, cautiously trying to keep as quiet as possible, as I heard the other class B students that were with us give up on waiting for Honami and Himeno and hearing them wait for the lift in the lobby.
It was annoying. I couldn’t hear what they were saying. The bell of the lift sounded signaling it closing again, only then could I continue to listen.
“...moment I ask him to leave his class, he’ll turn around and ask me to leave ours. Is that what you want? Any argument I could come up with against him would be useless.”
“I made a promise that I would do everything I can to help us get to Class A and that hasn’t changed even if you and Kanzaki-kun have taken everything from me. Please don’t make me choose between Kiyotaka and the class, you may not like my decision,” Honami said.
“You would really leave us? For him? Why are you so devoted to him? He does nothing for you, palms off all of his student council duties to you. You’re more like his slave than his girlfriend, why would you leave us for him?” Himeno said angrily.
“He does a lot for me,” Honami argued without hesitation.
“He’s there for me when I need him and listens to me. While everyone in Class B left me alone when I lost my representative position he stayed by my side, never pried into what was happening and who was to blame and made me laugh so that I could forget about how sad it made me."
"Even now he continues to support me and stand by my side even though we're in different classes. He's never asked me to abandon you guys like you're asking me to do to him."
I could barely make out the sounds of Honami’s steps as she left Himeno wherever she was standing. She must have been upset. Her footsteps were hurried as she went to the elevator and pressed the button so vigorously that I could hear it from the fire escape. I waited for the sound of the doors closing before quickly making it up the stairs to the fourth floor, releasing a relieved breath when I opened my door to find Honami wasn’t there and went straight to her room.
Despite the many things that happened it was fairly easy to fall asleep. The natural routine of waking early took hold but I decided against a session at the gym and ended up going straight to the pool instead.
I was a little early, sitting on the bench outside of the building with my phone in hand. Browsing and surreptitiously taking in my surroundings, I was surprised to see a beautiful platinum-haired upperclassman with crimson eyes take a seat next to me. She had an air about her that oozed self-confidence and grace.
She was tall, especially for a girl. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that she could be a supermodel if she so desired. Her skin was flawless and her hair was very well maintained as well. She sat without slouching, crossing her legs one over the other, leaning back on the bench with her arms crossed over her chest. A confident smirk spread across her lips as she looked at me out of the corner of her eye. At first, I ignored her and continued scrolling through my phone but this girl didn’t seem the type that was used to being ignored.
“It’s impolite not to greet a lady when you’re approached,” she said suddenly, exhaling deeply and relaxing on the bench.
“I’ll keep that in mind, senpai. If you’re not too busy, would you keep an eye out and let me know if you spot one approaching?”
She laughed at my candor but didn’t seem to be offended by my comment. Instead, she continued to relax as the two of us watched more of the students gather in their groups, making their way into the building once they had met who they were here to see.
“Do you know what I find fascinating?” she asked.
Realizing I wasn’t going to be left alone to wait in silence, I calmly put my phone back into my pocket before leaning back on the bench and giving her my full attention.
“I find it fascinating that this school is renowned in the country as the school that is funded by the government and responsible for molding the future elites of our country.” She stopped before sitting up and leaning over with her lips near my ear. “Yet seemingly, most of the students in this school seem incapable of using a search engine.”
Her breath on my ear was hot, even more so in the scorching heat of Summer. Once she was finished with her whispers, she leaned back in her seat once again, retaking her original position.
“You came looking for me to tell me that? I’m flattered, senpai-I-don’t-know,”
“You think too highly of yourself if you think that I sought you out. I’m meeting someone here and just happened to see you waiting on the bench.”
“There are other benches around that are either empty or have people far more interesting than me.”
“Before the Zodiac Exam, I would have agreed,” she said, sighing with disappointment. “The moment I saw you at the entrance ceremony I had such high hopes for you. I wanted to see if you’d do anything interesting so I sent Nazuna over to greet you. At first I was very disappointed.”
"I was excited to see what you'd accomplish but instead you did nothing. I thought you'd be boring but I'm glad to see that I was wrong. You really are interesting…"
My silence spoke volumes when she mentioned my first meeting with Asahina-senpai. I always thought that meeting was a coincidence. That made her laugh at me when she noticed.
“Come now, Ayanokouji. You didn’t really believe that Nazuna would approach you out of nowhere without a reason now, would you? When have you ever seen her going out of her way to socialize with her underclassmen?
“Although, I must say, I didn’t connect the dots that BUDDY was one of your creations until just recently. It’s not something I’m proud of. I should have realized it immediately. I’ll have to thank you for that, your little pet project has been quite the source of amusement for me.”
So there were others in this school other than Matsushita and Koenji who knew who I was but didn't approach me. How interesting. Statistically speaking, I knew that not only was it possible but actually a likelihood. Even still, I hadn't given it any thought.
“Here I thought that she was simply doing something out of the goodness of her heart.”
“I hope that’s sarcasm or I’ll be even more disappointed.”
“Who knows.” I shrugged.
“And there it is.” She laughed heartily. “That famous catchphrase that I’ve only heard tangentially.”
“Is there a reason for all of this? Aside from killing time until your companions arrive?”
“Not everyone has an agenda, Ayanokouji. I merely want to find out what kind of person you are.”
“I thought people knew what kind of person I am already. I’m not as unpopular as I’d like to be.”
“You and I both know that isn’t true. People who don’t want to be well-known do not join the Student Council, they don’t start dating the most sought-after girl in their year, and they most certainly do not clean sweep a special test when they’ve been trying to pretend to be mediocre from day one.”
“Is there a point you’re heading towards?”
“You’re just like me,” the girl said with a smirk.
“I’ve been hearing that a lot from too many people.” I sighed in frustration, leaning forward and putting my head in my hands.
“People try to find similarities in the ones they admire or aspire to be like,” she said sagely. “That’s not what I meant though. I’m confident in my abilities and I’m one of the top students in my year, if not the school. No, that’s not what I meant when I said we’re alike. I’m not even close to you in ability.”
“We’re the same in that this school doesn’t interest people like us. I’m not interested in the system here at this school or trying to reach Class A. Aren’t you the same? I watch everyone fight so hard, desperate to get to Class A with the promise of an easy path in the future. And for what? I can get a job easily enough without having to graduate from Class A. You probably have offers lined up already.”
“Where’s the incentive? What’s the point?” She sighed.
I had to agree. I felt the same way as well. In one conversation with a stranger, I’d come to realize how diverse this school was. Moments like these were what made me yearn for the outside world. Away from the White Room, away from all of those spineless politicians and their families who simply told me what I wanted to hear to appease me. This girl was interesting, smart, and beautiful.
“So you don’t like this school?” I asked curiously.
“On the contrary, I’ve never felt dissatisfied with this school. Not once, not in the slightest. I do as I please and the points system certainly comes in handy. With BUDDY, I also get paid to enjoy far more of the luxuries this school has to offer without needing to spend my own points. I’ve been enjoying a life of abundance since you introduced it so I suppose I have you to thank.”
“I have nothing to do with that, your gratitude is unnecessary. You should probably thank Horikita Manabu. That smirking bastard was the one who got it approved in the first place.”
She laughed at the attempt of palming off the credit, and waved it off dismissively as if it wasn’t even worth her time to continue to argue.
“In exchange for entertaining me, I’ll give you a little bit of advice before I go.”
“I can see you don’t socialize with our year very much, or even people from the third year save for the Student Council President and the purple-haired chihuahua that follows him around, so I doubt you have your finger on the pulse of the rumor mill. This secret of yours won’t remain hidden for long. By my estimate, everyone in the school will be talking about it by the first week back.”
“Right now it’s close. Nagumo Miyabi is only very slightly ahead of you in terms of votes for the next Student Council President. You should do everything in your power to make sure that you win the election if you want to continue enjoying your life undisturbed.”
“I have no reason or desire to be the Student Council President,” I said dismissively, waving off her concerns.
“You should,” she said solemnly. “You think your position will remain if he takes that seat? Do you think your girlfriend won’t be put into his secretary position the moment you’re gone? That he’ll leave you alone once you’re no longer a member of the council?”
“I may find him boring and uninteresting but he is a crafty one. He ascended to Class A and had all of his competition expelled. Anyone that had a chance against him from Class B through to D has been removed from the school by his hand one way or another. Nagumo Miyabi is not as stupid as you think he is.”
“Why are you telling me all this?” I asked curiously.
She laughed at my question and stood up from the bench before walking towards, whom I assumed were her friends, before looking over her shoulder and winking at me.
“I just want to see something interesting.”
Whoever this girl was, she’d piqued my interest. I didn’t even get the chance to ask for her name but it wasn’t like I couldn’t find out if I wanted to. It’s not like she didn’t have valid points. That smirking bastard would be elated if I became his successor. Bunbun-senpai would probably faint again—but that was irrelevant. If I became the Student Council President, I’m sure that I could find some way to palm off most of the duties to Honami if I wanted to…
…If I wanted to. When had that changed? A few months ago that wouldn’t have even been a thought in my mind. Why had I suddenly changed my tune and entertained the thought of seriously undertaking the role?
Something about me had changed, someone was starting to change me. When did that start?