"I will be the tyrant king. The one who will lead you all, and you will all obey me. You will all sacrifice yourselves under my name in order to achieve victory. Do you numbskulls understand?" Ryuuen-kun declared his rule over the class.
Why...? Why must we be forced into conflict with one another? Not only are we forced to make enemies of the other class, but the relationships between classmates are also put at strain.
I don't like it. I don't like fighting one bit.
What was so wrong about living a passive life, where we didn't have to hurt one another?
Why couldn't it just stay that way...?
I should have seen it coming. I've had my doubts, but I wanted to desperately cling to this life, and shook those thoughts off. I wanted to make friends, and finally have fun with people. I didn't want to be alone.
But even so... I can't do anything about it. I can only hope that through the upcoming struggles, Ayanokouji-kun and I can remain the same, and enjoy our friendship. That way, I won't have to be lonely.
I glanced over to Ayanokouji-kun, as if confirming to myself that we can remain the same.
Immediately, a shock went down my spine.
"Ayanokouji-kun...?" I subconsciously called out his name.
In my opinion, Ayanokouji-kun isn't anybody unordinary. He always keeps a straight face, and his expression unchanging.
However, something is different.
His expression remained the same, but I was drawn into the darkness within his eyes.
Why...?
Why do you have such a look in your eyes...?
I then realized that, for the first time in my life, I couldn't get a read on somebody.
———
My normal life has returned.
I layed in bed, staring at the white celling of my room.
For the past month, I have lived a relatively peaceful life. But as soon as freedom came, just as quickly, I was trapped in another cage.
Perhaps there is no such thing as freedom, and we can only live in the illusion of such a thing existing.
Or maybe, our freedom is entrapped by the malice of human nature. After all, since human history has began, we have always been in conflict.
Yet, I continue to exist within the illusion called freedom, and cling to it. After all, I have no interest in involving myself in such conflict.
How long will I be able to live this life peacefully?
It seems it won't last long, as my phone buzzed as I received a text from an unknown number.
"Get outside. Now."
"It seems you have the wrong number. I don't know who this is."
"Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. Come outside. Benches by the pond."
It seems whoever this is, it certainly is directed towards me. It seems I gained unwanted attention. If I were to decline, this unknown person may start pestering me.
If I block their number, they may just start harassing me in-person, creating more unwanted attention for me.
I got up from my bed, and headed outside. I started walking towards the pond, which wasn't far from here.
The pond, especially at night is a generally secluded area.
As I approached the benches, a man with magenta hair stared me down as I approached him.
"What do you want, Ryuuen?"
"Kuku, wise of you to actually show up. I won't have to resort to harassing you now."
"How did you even get my number?" I asked.
"I bought it." Ryuuen chuckled to himself.
Sakagami-sensei did mention that you can buy anything on this campus. Buying somebody's phone number may cause unwanted harassment, but it may not be a problem as blocking a number is relatively simple.
"So, what do you want?" I asked again.
"Your face never changes, huh?" He got up and put his hands in his pockets. "I know you're hiding something, Ayanokouji."
"Whatever do you mean by that, Ryuuen?" I feigned ignorance.
"I've seen your physique, during the swimming practical."
"I believe I mentioned it was just lucky genetics. While I may have a toned physique, it certainly wasn't the product of any intense training."
"Don't give me that bullshit. Your swimming speed was average, but I could tell, you were holding back weren't you?"
"I don't understand what you mean, Ryuuen."
"It's very important to analyze the skillsets of those around you, Ayanokouji. It's what makes a great leader, the ability to utilize the strengths of those around you."
This is something I knew entirely myself. There is only so much that one person can do alone. But by utilizing the strengths of others, the degrees of freedom of your plan expands.
"Ayanokouji. Your breathing technique when swimming was flawless, there was no change in your facial expression. Neither focused nor distanced. It's the little things that add up that allow me to notice these things."
It seems Ryuuen had an especially keen eye on me, after seeing my physique, someone as cunning as him would gain interest in how usable I am.
"Kuku, why do you hide yourself like this, Ayanokouji?" He asked.
"Hah..." I sighed, "I wish to lead a relatively peaceful life, I do not wish to involve myself in anything that is not my own business." I replied.
"Kuku, how interesting. So. What exactly are you hiding?" He asked me.
If I refuse to speak, he may keep harassing me until I give in. Ryuuen doesn't seem like a person who would take no for an answer.
"Fine, I'll tell you, if it will stop you from interfering with my life."
I don't wish to stand out too much. So I'll only reveal a certain portion of my abilities.
"Piano and calligraphy." I said bluntly.
Apparently jokes are good for lightening up the mood, especially in tense situations like this.
It seems my joke was so funny, that Ryuuen had his mouth gaped wide open.
"Ayanokouji, stop fooling around." After a second of disbelief, he finally replied in an annoyed voice.
"Was my joke not funny?" I asked.
"If you joke around with such a straight face, nobody will be able to take you seriously. Even I have the capacity to laugh at jokes, but not when you say it with that face." He replied.
This is definitely a learning experience. I will keep this in mind for future reference.
"Sorry. To tell the truth, I am fast in general, especially in running and swimming."
"Fast, eh? Kuku. I see. I have an idea then."
"What is it Ryuuen?"
"Ayanokouji, you don't stand out at all. If it weren't for me noticing your physique, I would've never gained interest in you at all. So, you will be a spy for me."
"A spy?" I asked.
"You don't stand out, it makes it easy for you to sneak around. If you ever get caught, you can make an easy escape due to your speed. All you have to do is relay information to me, and that is it." He explained.
"Why should I do what you ask?"
"Kuku..." He walked past me and put his hand on my shoulder, and whispered into my ears, "Because if you don't, I'll do everything in my power to ruin your 'peaceful life.'"
I sighed. I do not wish to catch any attention, nor do I want to involve myself in anything troublesome.
"Kuku, don't worry, Ayanokouji. As long as you do what I ask of once in a while, I won't interfere with your life."
"I see." He removed his hand from my shoulder and started walking away.
He waved his hand at me as he walked away, chuckling to himself.
Ryuuen is a much more understanding person than he seems on the surface. He may be cunning in the sense that he will do anything to achieve victory, but he understands that people will not listen to him without an incentive.
As I thought to myself, Ryuuen sent me a message from his unregistered number.
"This is your first task. I want you to observe Class D, and relay anything that may be important."
Going after Class D is certainly one way to lighten the competition. Class D is currently at a grand total of zero class points, likely meaning that there is a very weak force holding itself together.
Weak links can easily be exploited. Exploiting them this early may remove any potential competition later on.
Destroying the weak chains and bonds holding Class D together, could turn this four-way competition into a three-way.
I sighed. How troublesome.
———
"Shiina, spare me a moment of your time." A voice called out to me.
I put my book down, and when I looked up, the class tyrant stood before me.
"Oh Ryuuen-kun. How may I assist you?" I asked him with a slight smile on my face.
"I'd like your opinion. What do you think of Ayanokouji?" He asked me.
"Ayanokouji-kun...? He's rather dull, but other than that, he is kind and enjoyable to be around." I said, giving my honest opinion about him.
As I gave my opinion however, my mind flashed to a memory. A memory of the sinking depths of darkness within Ayanokouji-kun's dull golden eyes.
... I— I don't know. There might be more to him than meets the eye.
As I thought to myself, there must've been a grim change in my facial expression, as Ryuuen-kun started laughing to himself.
"Kuku, so you thought so too, Shiina?" He laughed. "You have good insight, Shiina."
"Um... Thank you very much?" I replied with hesitation.
"Let me get to the point, Shiina. I want you to do some things once in a while. I just need you to talk to people, and give me your opinions on them."
"Why should I do that? I don't wish to involve myself with others if it's for something malicious." I replied.
"Shiina. You're going to have to fight eventually. This world isn't so fucking colourful and all rainbows and sunshines. I'm not asking you to fight. I'm just asking for insights, think of it as like, intellectual consultation or some shit."
Ryuuen-kun has a point. This is an environment where conflict is bound to happen. But I do not wish to be a tool for Ryuuen-kun, that would simply be trampling on my nature. I do not wish to be used as a tool for conflict, living in fear of not having the ability to act for myself.
"But—" Ryuuen-kun cut me off before I could finish speaking.
"Shiina. I am not asking you to fucking beat up some guy three times your size. I'll leave you to your own peaceful life of reading those fuckin' books you always seem to be reading. I'm just asking you to do me a favour once in a while." He replied.
Ryuuen-kun had made an understanding offer, and compromised to let me live my own life.
This environment calls us to fight for superiority, as we fight for the successful future we envisioned when called here.
But Ryuuen-kun made a tempting offer, to use me to fight for a successful future, but to also let me live a relative peaceful life away from the conflict for majority of my time here.
"... I see... Um... If that's the case, I wouldn't mind helping you once in a while, I suppose." I answered.
"That's all it took for you to agree? To not interfere with your peaceful life?" He started laughing to himself before muttering to himself, "Kuku, they really are similar." As he said that, he continued laughing very loudly.
"Ryuuen-kun?" I tilted my head as I pondered about what he meant.
"It's nothing. Don't worry about a thing."
"Is that so...?"
"That's it for now. I'll come to you if I ever need your assistance with anything. Before I forget," Ryuuen-kun turned his back towards me, "Don't forget Shiina. You will oppose my methods, but you shall realize that it is normal to compete for victory. This shithole of a fuckfest is our normal lives now."
Ryuuen-kun walked away from me as he grinned, laughing to himself.
Certainly, we must learn to accept the cold reality of the environment we were placed in. Attempting to be ignorant to it will only lead to giving up the future we all dream of.
If we laze around, and do not contribute to the effort, one may be shunned by those around us for 'sabotaging' our chances to Class A, and achieving the life we want.
I don't want that. If I don't help, then I can never make friends with the people around me.
We have to face that this is our normal life now, and although I don't like it, there isn't very much I can do about it.
This was normal.
Yet, I couldn't get these thoughts out of my head.
That the look in Ayanokouji-kun's eyes, was not normal at all.