The next day, the class atmosphere remained relatively stable despite the previous altercation. As usual, I didn't do anything but stay silent despite being one of the main subjects.
I observed how the different groups within the class interacted and noticed a rift between the guys. Kikuchi and Ike, with his group, ignored each other which was natural given how estranged they've become. This had a large effect on how the other guys acted around them. Onizuka, Makida, and Minami (Hakuo), who were in Kikuchi's group didn't seem to ignore Ike and the other two. Obviously, Kikuchi wouldn't tell them to do something like that, but they didn't feel as comfortable around the other group either.
And for the girls... Well, they didn't really have to navigate around the situation, so they acted normally for the most part.
"It's nothing new." Sugawara patted my shoulder. "Fights between cliques happen all the time, remember? The only difference is how high-profile this is."
"I guess you're right," I solemnly agreed.
We took our PE class at some point. Higashiyama-sensei, knowing my running capabilities, made an offer.
"I already know how fast you can run, Ayanokouji. I can exempt your attendance for today's class," he smiled.
"Ohh, thanks, Sensei."
"By the way, if you're interested, Kimura-sensei's offer is still up for grabs."
Ah, of course...
"Sorry, but I'd have to decline. I have no interest in track and field..."
"Sigh... I see. It's a shame, but I'll tell him that your answer hasn't changed."
I've been getting offers from different clubs after the sports festival. A lot of the teachers were even saying that I got scouted by professional trainers who happened to attend.
"Please do," I bowed slightly.
Well, if I can go back to the classroom to get some sleep, then I'd gladly do so.
"Sensei... Can I also--"
"Shut it, Ueno! You can barely finish a lap with your lazy ass! Now go out there and run before I give you a failing mark!"
Ueno groaned in agony before jogging back with everyone. He was a fairly competent student when it came to academics, but like Yukimura, physical activities were the bane of his existence.
Running out on the racing track in the middle of December was brutal, so we used the Gymnasium. That said, the temperature was still significantly lower than what we were used to. The cool morning breeze made us feel a little bit lethargic.
Feeling relaxed, I took my time walking and enjoyed the scenery around the main building.
It certainly gave me a moment to ponder about myself.
I wonder how much time had passed since I stepped down as the class's leader... To be completely honest, it didn't feel long at all. It would often come up in conversations among my classmates that no one has had the chance to even forget about it.
It was pretty inconvenient given my objective of making Horikita the official leader.
"A leader, huh...?"
My initial purpose for coming to this school was to run away and live like a normal high school student. However, after anticipating the kind of learning environment it has, I figured that testing myself might be worthwhile.
I was mistaken.
Even with the innate disadvantage of being placed in Class D, I easily managed to reach the top.
"That's why I needed a bigger handicap," I muttered under my breath.
I wonder if purchasing the information on the S-System back in April was a mistake. Well, it certainly made things a lot easier, and in the long run, the foundation I've established will benefit the entire class... But what I didn't anticipate enough was the lack of personal growth for some of my classmates. 'Goes to show that I still have a long way to go when it comes to understanding others, I guess.
Living peacefully and doing a Self-Test... Those are two completely different roads, and realistically, I could only choose one. But because I stepped down, I managed to walk on the road of solace, albeit briefly.
After a while, I finally changed my clothes in the locker room and returned to the classroom.
I checked my phone and sifted through my messages. According to what Kikyou had told me so far, Ryuuen's should strike right before winter break. If that's the case, it should be safe to say everything would've ended by the time Christmas arrives.
And so, I sent a message to Chabashira-sensei with that date in particular as the only content. That should ease the tension for the higher-ups of Sakuragaoka Academy. At least now, they know when their official website can be changed back to normal.
"I should probably borrow a new set of volumes from Ijuuin after I finish reading one last classical book," I thought.
"Oh, Ayanokouji." Kikuchi acknowledged my presence as soon as he entered the classroom.
"Hey, Kikuchi."
"I saw you go in. You just got here?" he asked.
"Yeah, I kinda loitered around before coming back," I replied. "Did the class finish?"
There was still about thirty minutes before the next subject.
"Hmm, not really. A few of our classmates are still running. Sudou and the other athletic ones who finished early were free to do whatever they wanted as long they stayed inside the gymnasium. When I was done, I personally asked Higashiyama-sensei if I could go back."
"Well, you did finish early. I'm not surprised that Higashiyama-sensei permitted your request."
"Exactly," he smirked. "I pushed myself really hard to finish the needed amount of laps. Sensei was in a good mood after seeing me run desperately and happily gave the okay. I'm honestly still out of strength right now..."
Given that it was Kikuchi, there was no point in trying to be indirect. There should only be one reason why he wanted to go back.
"Did you want to talk about something?" I asked.
"You must be wondering why I'm still on your side even with all the implications that you were the one who expelled Miyamoto, and that Nene's expulsion was part of your plan."
Kikuchi's smile lingered, but the look in his eyes was different. It was the same kind of gaze that made anyone feel the need to pay attention to his every word.
"At the very least, I don't think it's simply because you believe that I didn't do it."
"You're right. I don't believe you didn't do it. I know you didn't do it," he shrugged. "In fact, I also know that you were the one who saved Nene. That's why I'm thankful."
Since he went so far as to claim that I saved Mori, he must've done some digging.
"I see. If that's the case, then it's convenient for me."
Kikuchi chuckled while shaking his head, probably amused by our conversation.
We could continue probing each other's responses, but unless one of us yields, this conversation was headed to no man's land. And as expected, Kikuchi needed answers more than I did.
"Alright, fine. I give up."
Kikuchi slightly spread and raised his arms in submission.
"Just a few days before Miyamoto got expelled, the remaining girls who weren't included in the class bank finally joined in. They were the reason why we barely had enough points to save Nene. At first, I thought she got lucky. But after thinking about it, it couldn't have been just a coincidence."
Kikuchi took Horikita's seat as he started explaining.
"Miyamoto apologized to you during the submission day, at a time when Ryuuen was busy dealing with Horikita-san and Hirata. Just based on that, I already thought about Miyamoto and Ryuuen not having rock-solid cooperation. The recording from yesterday confirmed it for me. Miyamoto apologized because Ryuuen made him scared of you."
"What does that have to do with me saving Mori?"
"That in itself has nothing to do with it. The relation comes from the timing," he answered. "The class bank was managed by Ijuuin, so I asked him why he suddenly asked the remaining girls to join. He said that he simply thought it was finally time... but that didn't really make any sense. We were too busy preparing for the Paper Shuffle exam to worry about the current state of the class bank."
"But it did make sense eventually," I said.
"Yeah... Ijuuin knew that we needed at least 20 million private points to save someone from expulsion. He knew that someone might get expelled... or someone told him."
"So you're saying that I'm the one who told him?"
"I'm pretty sure that's the case," Kikuchi smiled confidently. "Horikita-san submitted the test questions right after classes ended. Miyamoto apologized to you around that time, and you guys should've talked for a few minutes. I asked Ijuuin to show me his call history, and he readily complied. As expected, there was a call between the two of you that matched the timing."
"Is it that strange for me to call Ijuuin?"
"I knew you guys were friends, so a call wasn't that out of place. But something about your call history with each other stuck out like a sore thumb. All of the recent calls were made by Ijuuin. This particular call was the only call made by you. And if I remember correctly, you were supposed to be hanging out with Miyake and your friends. What else would be your reason for suddenly calling Ijuuin at this point in time?"
"Something would to come mind, right? Ijuuin and I are both otakus, after all."
"I figured that Ijuuin and Professor are already kind of part of your group, so you should've known that you couldn't hang out with either of them that day. It would've been weird if you were trying to invite him. And if you're talking about light novels or manga, I already confirmed it with Ijuuin. On that day, you had nothing to return nor did you borrow anything from him."
He's just as brilliant as I imagined him to be.
"I guess you've figured it out."
"So you're admitting that I'm right?" Kikuchi raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah," I nodded. "I was the one who instructed Ijuuin about the class bank."
"But... that means you also knew that someone was bound to get expelled..."
"Not really." I shook my head. "I just felt like something was up. I didn't really know if anyone was at risk of expulsion, but I wanted to prepare for the worst-case scenario."
Of course, that was a lie. I already had a good guess about the entirety of Ryuuen and Sakayanagi's plan ever since the Paper Shuffle exam was announced.
"So you didn't know who sabotaged Miyamoto?"
"Not yet," I replied.
"You're trying to find them?" Kikuchi asked, sounding pleasantly surprised.
"You could say that."
"Heh, so I guess Ike's accusations were baseless then?" he smirked.
"Not necessarily. I mean, even if I didn't care about the class, I still care about myself. The person who got Miyamoto expelled was also trying to get me in trouble. I expect them to attack me again, so it's better to prepare."
"Haha, you're right about that."
Kikcuhi's light-hearted expression slowly turned serious.
"You know, after Sakayanagi-san blackmailed me and Nene, I finally realized how vulnerable everyone is. I thought we'd be fine as long as we did our best-- as long we didn't trouble anyone," he said. "But despite that, Nene was still targeted. I vowed to be extra careful since then, but it didn't even take that long until this happened."
It was logical for students who didn't have the best reputation like Yamauchi or troublemakers like Kouenji to be worried. Ken was also targeted by Ryuuen for having a short fuse. However, innocent students like Mori or Kikuchi were different. They weren't a liability to the class nor were they troublemakers. They shouldn't have that same worry.
"Well, I don't think the enemy cares about any of that."
"Exactly. It was out of Nene's control. She's strong, but at the end of the day, she's just a normal girl. Nene isn't like you, or Horikita-san, or Hirata. Even if we all live in the same world, we're not fighting on the same battlefield."
"But the battlefields are all adjacent to each other, and Sakayanagi forcefully dragged Mori to a place where she didn't belong. Anyone is susceptible to that."
After stepping down, I wanted to enter that simpler battlefield where I could try to live like a regular student. Unfortunately, Ryuuen and Sakayanagi wanted me to come back to where they were-- back to the battlefield where I once was.
"Yeah... We learned that the hard way."
Kikuchi's wry smile was followed by a long sigh. He faced me and looked straight into my eyes.
"I've decided to stop standing around the same place, Ayanokouji. I'm going to where you guys are, and I want you to let me join your side."
"I see... And your objective is to protect Mori, huh?"
Kikuchi's actions were driven by feelings, and those feelings were more intense than I could ever imagine.
"Oh, well, yeah, there's that. As long as Nene wants to live her life as a normal member of the class, then sure, I'll help her keep things that way."
However, it seems like I misunderstood.
"Nene's becoming really close with Horikita-san, so she might want to join this side later. I won't make any suggestions, but if that's what she wants, then I can't really do anything about it," he shrugged.
"Oh, I thought your main goal was to keep Mori from getting exposed to danger again..."
"What? Hahaha, you're not wrong, but that's not the entirety of it," Kikuchi laughed.
I was sorely mistaken. Kikuchi's feelings were strong, but they weren't all about love or romance.
"You're misunderstanding something, Ayanokouji." His smile resembled that of a wise teacher. "My world doesn't revolve around Nene just because I'm in love with her, you know?"
At that moment, I understood Kikuchi a little better. I've been so exposed to the romanticized depictions of love in fiction and I've become so accustomed to the young depictions of love from my high school peers that I forgot what the ideal textbook definition of love meant.
I've read about love in scholarly books before, but I have yet to see a particular concept in practice-- until today. It was the concept of "mature love".
According to psychoanalyst Erich Seligmann Fromm; "Mature love is union under the condition of preserving one's integrity, one's individuality; a power which breaks through the walls which separate man from his fellow men, which unites him with others; love makes him overcome the sense of isolation and separateness, yet it permits him to be himself, to retain his integrity."
It was the kind of love that was miles ahead from the perspective of children-- a very mature perspective that respects the autonomy of both parties.
"I'll protect her and I'll try to help her however I can. That's a huge part of why I'm asking this... but more than that, Nene and I have the same goal-- a goal that everyone in this school probably also has."
"You want to graduate in Class A."
Ike, Yamauchi, and the other guys obsess over the pretty girls in our class and the pretty girls in magazines. You can easily discount that as them being teenagers, but those traits can also apply to people we would consider as adults. A crush, a girlfriend, feelings of lust, feelings of infatuation-- those were all kid stuff for Kikuchi.
"Yep," he replied. "My feelings for Nene are separate from that. We're both gonna do our own thing."
Kikuchi has romantic feelings for Mori, and he cares for her. But more than that, Kikuchi treats her as a fellow human being, as an equal-- not a damsel in distress, not a prize to claim, not a flower on top of a hill.
Borrowing Fromm's words, "In love, the paradox occurs that two beings become one and yet remain two."
In this aspect, no one even comes close to the person named Kikuchi Eita-- not Hirata, not even Kikyou. If his personality was more 'out there', he would probably be more popular than someone like me or Hirata. As a fellow guy, I can certainly learn a lot more from him.
"But right now, that's being hindered by the schemes of our opponents. Horikita-san and Hirata have too much on their plate, so I want to lessen their burden by getting involved more closely." He nonchalantly changed the topic.
"If that's the case, you should probably talk to Horikita. She's the leader, after all."
To my words, Kikuchi could only chuckle. He leaned back, shifting his gaze to the front of the classroom.
"I'm only asking this out of curiosity. Your answer won't really change how I see you or act around you..." Kikuchi paused before turning back to me. "Do you care about the class, Ayanokouji?"
"Can you answer that question before I do?"
"Of course," he scoffed. "Honestly, I don't care about the class. I care about myself and a bunch of people in the class. I'll only act for my benefit and their benefit. If my action benefits the entire class a whole, then so be it."
"How do you judge who to care about?" I asked.
"That's easy. I care about my friends the most. Next on the list would be those who do stuff to benefit the class. And the last ones are the people I find nice," he answered. "It's very categorical which can be a little bit immature, I know. People say that I'm one of the most mature guys around, but I don't think that's the case at all. I may have grounded takes here and there, but I'm certainly not the most mature if I'm letting guys like Ike and Miyamoto annoy the hell out of me."
"I guess that's true... But to be fair, those were the first times that everyone saw you getting worked up."
"That's stress for you," he shrugged. "The girl I like was about to be expelled. Wouldn't it be weird if I didn't get worked up?"
At that moment, the sliding door opened.
"We're finally back!" yelled Onizuka.
A wave of people followed suit. There were only a few minutes left before the next subject, so everyone was rushing back to their seats.
"Well, I'm looking forward to working with you more in the future." Kikuchi got up from Horikita's seat.
"It was a good talk, Kikuchi."
"You can call me Eita. I'll call you Kiyotaka from now on," he smiled.
"Got it, Eita."
Author's Notes:
Kiyotaka has found someone whom he can ask for relationship advice... but that's useless if he's not in a relationship! Well, well, well... Maybe that'll change soon.