Kiyotaka's POV
"Ehhhhhhhhhhhhh?!!"
Everyone shouted in shock. Well, not exactly everyone. Horikita was looking at us wide-eyed, while Yousuke was simply smiling. The rest of the Ayanokouji Group were giving us teasing grins, while Kushida was smiling cheerfully.
"When did you even get to know each other, Kei-chan?" Matsushita asked, clearly interested in the subject.
Of course, she's the one that's the most curious about it.
I couldn't help but sigh at her, remembering the time she stalked me in order to find out more about me.
"We were in the same group during the Zodiac Exam, and we became close since then. However, we kept our relationship a secret until now, because both me and Kiyotaka didn't want to reveal it to everyone... until now." Kei explained.
"Then did you... break up with Hirata-kun so that you can be in a relationship with Ayanokouji-kun?" asked Mori Nene, one of Kei's friends.
"No." Kei said, then after a few deep breaths, she continued. "Due to private reasons, I asked Hirata-kun to be in a fake relationship with me. We broke up because I fell in love with Kiyotaka, and Hirata-kun was more than happy to break off the fake relationship after finding out. Once again, thank you for going along with my unreasonable request, Hirata-kun."
She then bowed after that, while everyone was still shocked by what Kei had just said. She had mixed in lies with the truth, but I was a little startled that Kei revealed this information.
"You're always welcome, Karuizawa-san, and I'm happy that you finally found happiness." Yousuke had his usual kind smile.
"Oh, speaking of happiness..." Kei was still grinning as she looked at me. "Guys, I had just achieved something massive earlier!"
Ah, she was going to talk about that. I sighed again.
"What is it, Kei-chan?" Yuki asked, surprising everyone once more as they were wondering how they got so close so quickly.
"I made Kiyotaka smile earlier!" she said with just the sweetest smile I've ever seen.
"WHAT?!" the Ayanokouji Group shouted, while the others in the class had their eyes widened.
"Seriously?!" Keisei said.
"She made Ayanokouji-kun smile?" I heard Horikita mutter to herself.
"Why didn't you take a picture of it, Kei-chan?" Yuki whined.
"Kiyotaka looked so handsome while smiling! I don't want to show it anyone else, because I don't want any more rivals!" Kei said. The others laughed at this.
"Congratulations, Keipon!" Haruka patted Kei in the shoulder, while her friends snickered at Kei's nickname.
"Pfft, Keipon?!" Matsushita laughed. "That's a great nickname! I'll call you that from now on!"
"You're a genius at nicknames, Hasebe-san!" Shinohara praised Haruka for the nickname.
"Hey, stop it, guys!" Kei pouted. It honestly looked adorable, I could stare at it all day. I decided to join in.
"Oh no, please continue teasing her." I said, grabbing everyone's attention. "Kei's pouting face is the cutest. I want to stare at it all day."
Kei blushed hard hearing that and punched me in the chest in embarrassment. The girls then continued to tease her. Meanwhile, the boys were simply awestruck at just how smooth I was.
"Holy shit, that was smooth." one of them muttered.
"Ayanokouji, you bastard, you got a girlfriend before me! You owe us a meal for this!" Ike said while smiling mischievously.
"If you were any braver, Ike, you probably would have found a girlfriend as well." I said. Ike started sweating as I said this.
"W-W-W-What are you talking about, Ayanokouji?"
"I mean, don't you have a crush on S–"
"Okay, okay, stop!" Ike closed my mouth in an attempt to stop me from saying anymore. Everyone was wondering who Ike had a crush on but decided not to ask.
"Anyway, Kiyotaka, remember your promise earlier, you owe me a date!" Kei said before going to her seat. She was then approached by her friends as they all asked about what went on between me and Kei. I also went to where my new seat was, and my new seatmates were Matsushita and Wang Mei-yu, or Mii-chan as the class likes to all her.
"You lied to me earlier." Matsushita said as I sat down.
"I didn't have to tell you the truth. We were not close and me and Kei had wanted to keep it a secret at the time." I explained.
"You're not wrong." Matsushita said, and she didn't say anything more. After Chabashira-sensei had entered the room, we all stopped our chatter as the class started for the day.
*****
"Kiyotaka!" Kei called out to me.
Lunch break had begun, and as I expected, Kei had approached me with the intention of having a date.
"Yeah, I'll come." I said while standing up. I noticed that some of the boys in the class were glaring at me, but I decided not to say anything.
"Good luck with your date, Kiyopon and Keipon!" Haruka waved goodbye to us.
"Sure, I'll hang out with you later." I promised them. After that, me and Kei headed to Pallet.
"I wonder how Yuki-san will expel Kushida-san?" Kei whispered to me so that no one else will hear.
"I already have an idea as to how she would do it."
"So what is she going to do?" Kei wasn't surprised that I knew, so she decided to directly ask me about it.
Since she probably wouldn't be there to witness it, I just decided to tell her what I think Yuki was going to do to Kushida. Once I finished telling her, Kei chuckled.
"Using her own weapon against her, huh?" she commented. "The problem is, will he play along?"
"He probably will. There's no reason for him not to." I said. "You see, there was one thing that I was wondering ever since our 2nd year began, and I never had the opportunity to ask him, even after our meeting last night. Why did he decide to enroll my former classmates in the school? Why did he let Chairman Sakayanagi do what he wanted?"
"Isn't it because he thinks that they're of no threat to him? I mean, they are dropouts from the White Room." Kei was whispering again. "He probably didn't think that they would stand a chance against any of the students from the 5th generation."
"They were still White Room students of the 4th generation, the harshest generation in the White Room so far. The fact that I was the only survivor shows how incredibly difficult the curriculum was." I replied. "I think it's possible that he wanted to see what these White Room students from the 4th generation are capable of, even if they were dropouts."
"Maybe you should just ask him once you see him again."
"I definitely will."
Before we can continue walking towards the cafeteria, I heard a person speak out from behind us.
"There you are, Ayanokouji-kun."
I turned to see who it was, and it was Sakayanagi Arisu once again. She was accompanied by Kamuro this time.
"Why do you want to see me, Sakayanagi?" I got straight to the point.
"Not even going to say hello, Ayanokouji-kun?" she said. "That's fine, I'm also in a rush as well. You see, I simply wanted to exchange information with you."
"Exchange information?" Instead of answering me first, she spoke to Kamuro.
"Masumi-san, thank you for accompanying me here, you can go have your lunch now." Kamuro swiftly left the scene with a scowl on her face. Sakayanagi, who still had that smug smirk on her face, turned to me once again.
"Yes, I want to exchange information about Hiiragi-kun and the others. Can we please go somewhere alone? My apologies, Karuizawa-san, but can you please wait he–"
"She already knows about the White Room. She can come with us."
Sakayanagi's eyes widened as I said this. She looked at Kei and saw her flinch at the mention of the White Room.
"So she does know. Fufufufu, to think that the situation would be so dire to the point that you would have to tell outsiders about that place."
"The situation isn't dire, it's just... extremely troublesome." I said. Kei giggled at my response.
"Kiyotaka would never see a situation as dire!"
"Fufu, you know him well, Karuizawa-san. What a cute couple you are." Sakayanagi remarked, causing Kei to blush.
"Can we go now, Sakayanagi?"
"Of course, I don't want to take more of your time, after all."
The three of us walked towards an isolated part of the building, the only sound being heard between us being the clacking of Sakayanagi's cane. Once we reached our destination, Sakayanagi spoke.
"Well then, let's talk here." she said.
After that, we exchanged information.
I talked about the situation concerning the White Room students among the first years and the deal with Tsukishiro, while she talked about what happened to all of the transferees in the other classes so far.
"I see, your father must be quite desperate to try such a risky plan." she remarked. "However, I'm wondering about something, Ayanokouji-kun. Why reveal your relationship with her?"
"What do you mean?"
"Don't play dumb, Ayanokouji-kun. You know that Karuizawa-san will be in danger once you reveal your relationship with her, so why do it anyway?"
As expected of Sakayanagi, she knows that something is wrong with the situation. Me and Kei stared at each other for a moment, then I replied to Sakayanagi.
"No matter what happens, don't tell anyone about this." I said, then I told her about the reason why Kei wanted to reveal our relationship to everyone.
After I had explained everything, Sakayanagi was clearly very taken aback by my explanation. It took her a few seconds to respond.
"This is honestly unbelievable. To think Karuizawa-san would..." She was speechless. She probably never expected the reason for why we revealed the relationship. I honestly couldn't blame her. Even now, I still believe that this was unthinkable.
"Sakayanagi-san, can you give me some assistance for this? Honestly, I don't know if I can handle this situation on my own, so I would like some help on this." Kei said to Sakayanagi.
"I would be happy to help you, but why me specifically? Did you simply see an opportunity and took it?"
"No, I was going to ask you for help, since you would be the most reliable. Since this concerns our whole year anyway, it doesn't matter now whether you were from a different class or not." Kei answered Sakayanagi's question. "If I asked either Horikita-san or Ichinose-san, they would probably object to it, and I really don't want to ask Ryuuen for any help nor do I want to owe him anything."
It looks like despite moving on from the rooftop incident and even growing from it, she still harbored a dislike for Ryuuen.
"Did Dragon boy-san do anything to you, Karuizawa-san?" she asked. Kei stifled a laugh as she heard Ryuuen's nickname, but she kept her composure.
"I'd rather not talk about it, Sakayanagi-san."
"That's fine by me. Now then, shall we part ways for now, Ayanokouji-kun?" Sakayanagi said.
"We'll be seeing each other later this week, then." I replied.
"I am looking forward to Kushida-san's disintegration by Naganohara-san's hands." she said as she walked away. Me and Kei also did the same heading towards our original destination.
*****
"That took way longer than it should have been." Kei grumbled as she took a bite out of the parfait that she ordered.
"What do you need Sakayanagi's help for?" I was curious about it, so I decided to ask her.
"Hehe, who knows?" she answered while smirking.
"Do you really think I wouldn't find out eventually?" I asked.
"I know you'll find out, but at the very least let me keep it a secret, Kiyotaka! You're always keeping secrets from me, so let me keep one in return!" she replied.
"Fine then, but if you need my help, you can just ask me." I told her.
"Hey, I'm doing this so I can help you, Kiyotaka! This whole thing would be pointless if I ended up needing your help anyway!"
"Yeah, I know."
*****
"That was fun, Kiyotaka!" Kei said as we both finished our meals. As we were about to leave the cafe, I heard a voice call out from behind us.
"Kiyotaka! Kei-chan!" It was Yuki. She was waving from behind us with a smile on her face. I then noticed that she wasn't alone.
She was being accompanied with a red haired girl with a mischievous grin on her face. I have never seen her before, which means she must have been a first year.
"Oh, Yuki-san! Who is that?" Kei waved back at Yuki.
"This is someone who can help us with getting rid of that bitch." she answered Kei's question while still having that smile on her face.
"Hello, Ayanokouji-senpai! I'm Amasawa Ichika, your number one fan!" the girl cheerfully introduced herself. Both me and Kei's eyes widened at the revelation.
Amasawa Ichika, huh? One of my worshippers, although it is still incredibly odd for me to say that.
Suddenly, Amasawa jumped at me and clung onto my other arm, much to Kei's dismay.
"Hey, get off of Kiyotaka!" Kei pried her off of me.
"Eh~? Are you perhaps Ayanokouji-senpai's girlfriend?" Amasawa said, being unfazed by Kei prying her off of me. Given what she should be capable of, she probably let Kei pry her off.
"Yes, I am! Do you have any problem with that?" Kei said while crossing her arms in a sign of defiance. Amasawa simply giggled.
"Oh no, I have no problem with it! However, Karuizawa-senpai, that's going to break the hearts of so many members!" she answered.
"So, you're really..." Kei was suddenly reminded of who she was, and became wide-eyed again.
"Yep~!" she pulled down the sleeves of her uniform, and sure enough, the brand of the cult was there on her right forearm.
"So, how and why did you get in contact with her, Yuki?" I asked.
"I simply tried to find her amongst the 1st year students then I approached her." Yuki explained. "She wasn't very pleased by the news about Kushida, so Amasawa-san agreed to help me!"
"Trash like her should be disposed of for trying to go against Ayanokouji-senpai!~" she said in a singsong voice.
"So what did you need their help for exactly? If I had the right idea about your plan, you can execute it all on your own."
"I simply wanted to make her suffer as much as possible before she gets expelled. After all, she must feel pain and suffering for even thinking of trying to take away your freedom, Kiyotaka!" Yuki said while still having that smile on her face.
"Is that so? Well, as I had said, do as you like." I responded.
"Well then, I simply wanted to introduce Amasawa-san to you, so I'll see you later, Kiyotaka!" Yuki turned to leave.
"See you later, Ayanokouji-seeenpai~!" Amasawa went with Yuki, and then she winked at me. I looked at Kei, and she was fuming.
"I know she's an ally, Kiyotaka, but I don't like her!" she complained.
"She's... incredibly troublesome." I sighed in exasperation, not liking the fact that I will probably have to deal with her multiple times.
We left Keyaki Mall soon afterwards and walk towards the school proper. However, before we entered the school building, an unfamiliar voice called out to us.
"It's nice to finally meet you, Ayanokouji-senpai."
It was a brown haired boy with a serene smile on his face. He was walking towards us without any hostile intent, yet somehow, the situation felt off.
"And who might you be?"
"My apologies for not introducing myself. I am Yagami Takuya of Class 1-B. I am the best student of the White Room's 5th Generation."
Instantly, I noticed Kei tensing up at his words, while my eyes narrowed.
"E-Eh? You're one of the people sent to expel Kiyotaka?!" Kei said.
"Yes. What about it?" Yagami replied. It seems that he already knew about Kei.
"B-But why would you reveal yourself? Wouldn't it have been better if you just hid yourself to try and surprise attack Kiyotaka? Wouldn't that be more effective?" Kei asked. Yagami chuckled at her question.
"Yes indeed. Some of my... colleagues chose to do that. However, I am not like them. " Yagami said. "You know about the Cultists, right, Karuizawa-senpai?"
"Yeah, I know about them."
"You see, there is another side to that story." Before Yagami could say anything, Kei spoke.
"So there are students from later generations that hated Kiyotaka because they're constantly being compared to him? And you're one of those people, Yagami-kun?" Kei said.
Both of us were surprised by what she had just uttered. Yagami looked dumbfounded before chuckling again.
"You are not as dumb as you look, Karuizawa-senpai."
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?!" Kei shouted. Yagami just ignored that question though, and just answeed the previous ones.
"Yes, you're right. I hate Ayanokouji-senpai. Even when I do my best there, it was always not enough for the instructors. They kept mocking us, saying that Ayanokouji Kiyotaka had achieved better results. It made me angry and frustrated. That's why I wanted to beat him. I want to prove to the people in the White Room that Ayanokouji Kiyotaka is not the best. That's why I'm here." Yagami explained.
"You're declaring war on me, huh?" I sighed.
"Yes. I will be the one to defeat you in the end, and prove them wrong."
As all of this were happening, Yagami still kept his smile, though he had an intense expression during that last statement.
Both me and Kei were taken aback.
"Right out in the open like this?!" Kei said.
"I am not like those cowards who wants to hide from Ayanokouji-senpai in order to expel him. Their strategy was born out of a weakling's mindset.
I will be beating him right in front of his face in a fair fight. That's how I will fight you, Ayanokouji-senpai."
I disagreed with him. There was no such thing as a weakling's mindset. People have different ways and preferences when it comes to defeating and burying someone. If hiding in the shadows to try and eliminate someone is their preferred method, then they weren't cowards nor are they a weakling. They are simply doing whatever it takes to win.
That's how we were raised, after all. Winning is everything.
"I see, I will accept your challenge then. However..." I then turned around to leave alongside Kei. "I wonder how much will be left of you once I am done with you."
A chill runs down the spines of those present as I left for the room of Class 2-D, leaving Yagami alone.
"Don't you dare underestimate me, Ayanokouji-senpai!" he shouted in response.
"I am not. I am simply preparing you for your own demise." With that, I couldn't hear Yagami anymore since we were too far from him.
"That was really cool earlier, Kiyotaka!" Kei praised me. I didn't respond though and I was simply quiet.
I'll play your game, Yagami, and all of you that were sent from the White Room. I will show you why I was called the best.
I will show you why I am called the masterpiece.
=end of chapter=