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"This brings us to the end of the semester."
Inside Class D, everyone was celebrating the sentence that came out of Chabashira's mouth, as it marked the beginning of winter vacation. Not just Class D, either. Practically every class from every year should have been celebrating by now.
"I'd like to remind everyone to please be on your best behavior, even during winter vacation, and to make good use of your time. That's all," she added.
The final day of the second semester.
All classes finished early, leaving the students free by the afternoon. There were no club activities today, either. The school encouraged students to head back early, so hardly anyone would be left in the building.
While everyone had their own plans for the holiday, Kushida, on the other hand, didn't know what to do.
It's not as if she didn't have any plans for the holiday. In fact, she had received many invitations to spend time with others, whether they were from her own class, different classes, or even different years. It's just that, right now, Kushida didn't know what to do with the current situation.
There were a lot of problems within Kushida's scope of knowledge—maybe it was a little much to call them problems, but there were definitely a lot of different situations she knew about. Especially a chain of events that was about to happen today.
A chain of events.
Actually, while she had used those words just now without giving them any particular thought, she wouldn't be able to say what events bookended this chain. Where this incident began, what path it took, or how it ended, she couldn't declare the precise truth of the matter. It could be that it had yet to end, even now, or perhaps it hadn't even started.
But she did know who was directly involved, though.
And speaking of which, the person involved was coming toward her.
"Kushida-san. What are you going to do after this?"
Karuizawa approached Kushida, who was still sitting at her desk as she put her things into her bag.
"After this?"
"I mean during the holiday."
"Hmm... I haven't really decided yet. I have a few things I might do, but nothing's set in stone. I mean, I got invited to a few places too. But I'm not sure if I want to go to all of them." Kushida gave her reply.
"Ah, I see."
Karuizawa nodded as if she understood, then looked around the classroom. Most of the students had already left their seats, talking about their plans for the holidays. Some were making arrangements with their friends, while others were already heading toward the door.
For a moment, Kushida watched Karuizawa silently.
The person involved.
As far as she could tell, though, rather than being involved, she was more of a victim of some sort. She was sadly caught right in the middle of a fight between two horrible people that Kushida didn't remotely like. But speaking of victims, in that regard, both she and Karuizawa really were victims of someone else's problems. Still, Karuizawa's situation was much tougher to deal with when it came to her personal circumstances. More miserable, even.
Karuizawa Kei.
In that regard, Kushida pitied her.
"...What's wrong, Kushida-san? Why are you looking at me with those kinds of eyes?"
Oops.
She made a mistake.
Kushida picked up her bag as she slowly stood up. "It's nothing. Anyway, what about you, Karuizawa-san? Are you going somewhere with your friends?"
"Maybe. I was thinking about going shopping with the girls from our class, or maybe just hanging out somewhere. So, do you want to join us, Kushida-san?"
"Then I'd be happy to join you." Kushida smiled.
"Really?"
"Of course. I haven't decided what I'm doing during the holiday anyway."
"Great. Then I'll tell the others."
Karuizawa seemed pleased with the answer. She pulled out her phone and quickly checked something, probably thinking about when they could meet.
"How about we figure out the details later? I'll message you once we decide where we're going."
"Sure. Just let me know." Kushida nodded.
For a moment, the conversation returned to something ordinary. They talked a little about places they might visit, what they wanted to buy, and how crowded the shopping areas would probably be during the holidays.
It wasn't anything particularly important.
But for some reason, Kushida felt quite odd.
It was far too normal.
Because she had been spending so much time with Kumagawa lately, she hadn't really had a proper conversation with anyone else. Now, when she found herself having a somewhat normal conversation, just like that of an ordinary high school student, Kushida felt a little weirded out.
Her sense of normalcy was definitely a little warped now.
Ding!
As they walked, a notification sound was heard. It was Karuizawa's phone. Karuizawa stopped talking and pulled out her phone.
"Hmm?"
She looked at the screen.
And after a few seconds, her expression changed almost immediately.
The relaxed and comfortable look on Karuizawa's face from earlier disappeared, replaced by a sudden stiffness. Her eyes remained fixed on the screen, and her fingers tightened around the phone.
She didn't say anything.
No, she froze.
It was as if cold water had been poured over her, dampening her from head to toe. Kushida could even see that her face had gone pale from her reaction alone.
"Is something wrong?"
Kushida asked innocently.
"N-no, it's nothing." Her voice sounded different from before, and she even forced a small smile, but due to how stiff she was, it didn't work quite as intended. "Sorry, Kushida-san. I just remembered that I have something important to do."
"Something to do?"
"Yeah. It's kind of important. I should probably go now. Sorry."
"Hmm... Don't worry about it. We can talk later."
"Thanks."
Then, without saying anything else, she quickly left the classroom.
Kushida watched her leave.
Yeah...
The chain of events. Where this incident began, what path it took, or how it ended.
It hadn't even started.
But perhaps it had just begun.
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After Karuizawa left for her so-called "important" thing to do. Kushida didn't really care much about it and went on her way as well.
It had been fifteen minutes since then.
Right now, she was at Keyaki Mall, or more specifically, in a video game store.
She remembered that a new console game had come out recently, and she had heard from some boys, and surprisingly, even some girls, that it was a fun game to play with someone. Feeling a little curious, Kushida went to the store to check it out.
Just as she arrived in front of the store, she was greeted by a wave of people.
"Hmm? It's more crowded than usual."
Is it because of the new game?
Is it really that popular?
It did seem a little strange to have a video game store inside a school, in a place of learning of all places.
While games could usually be seen as a distraction, and bringing a game store into the school could be considered counterproductive, with the school's unique nature, having shops like this and other recreational facilities wouldn't be much of a problem.
Kushida stepped inside, carefully making her way through the crowd.
The store wasn't particularly large, but it had enough space for several rows of shelves displaying games and various accessories. The newest releases were placed near the entrance, while older titles were arranged further inside.
Kushida glanced around, trying to find the game she had heard about.
"Where is it...?"
She continued further into the store until she finally spotted a display with several copies of the game she was looking for.
Kushida picked up one of the cases and looked at the cover.
"...Is this it?"
She didn't know much about video games until recently, so she could be considered a newbie in that area. The only games she had played recently were Dragon Quest IX and some other RPGs with Kumagawa. There were other genres too, but all of the games she had played were either games she and Kumagawa played together or games that he recommended. Other than that, there was nothing.
So, this could be considered her first choice of game.
Feeling a little pleased with that, Kushida went directly to the counter.
Just as she got closer to the counter, she caught sight of a familiar figure standing at the end of the line. While it wasn't that weird, it was definitely a little unusual.
"Senpai?"
"Hmm?"
As if noticing his name being called, the person standing at the end of the line turned around and their eyes met.
It was Horikita Manabu
"Kushida, huh. It's unusual to see you here."
No, no, no. She was supposed to say that.
Out of all the people in the school, she didn't expect someone with his character to be the type to get in line for a newly released video game. It would be easier to imagine someone like Kouenji getting in line for a video game than him.
"...What are you doing here, senpai?" Kushida asked cautiously.
"To buy a game, of course. What's so strange about that?"
"No... it's not that strange. I just didn't realize you were someone who played video games."
Based on his personality so far, it was really a surprise to see someone as strict as Horikita Manabu standing in line at a video game store.
What was it called again?
'Gap moe'?
Kumagawa often said that he liked these types of characters.
"It's true that I'm not someone who plays games that often," Manabu said. "I mean, I played my share of games from time to time when I was younger."
Why does he talk like an old man?
"But Akane said she wanted to play this game."
Manabu held up the game he was about to buy. It was the same one Kushida had been looking to get.
"Tachibana-senpai?"
Manabu nodded. "She said she wanted to play it with me. And seeing as we'll be graduating soon, I guess it wouldn't hurt to relax once in a while. We're not student council members anymore, so we have some free time to play games."
"I see..."
Ohhh...!
Was their relationship beginning to progress? Was this Tachibana-senpai's way of taking things further?
If that was the case, Kushida couldn't help but feel proud of her beloved senpai.
From time to time, she couldn't really help but pity her beloved senior. Despite her obvious loyalty and infatuation with her superior, Manabu didn't seem to reciprocate her feelings. Maybe it was because of his overly serious nature that he didn't pay much attention to her feelings, despite the obvious signs. There was also a problem called Nagumo, so maybe that was why.
She refused to believe someone as sharp as him could be completely dense about romance.
"Did you come here to buy the new game too, Kushida?" he asked.
Kushida nodded.
"Are you planning to play it with Kumagawa?"
Kushida paused for a moment at the question before nodding again.
It wasn't really something she needed to hide. After all, the person in front of her already knew how close she was to Kumagawa and how involved they were with each other. It was just that hearing Kumagawa's name made her hesitate for a moment. Still, she chose to nod.
It was probably just a habit.
"Well, he's the one who got me into games in the first place. Just like you, I'm not really much of a gamer myself. But it's actually pretty fun when you have someone to play with." Kushida smiled as she looked down at the game case.
It really did feel nice to play with him, especially when she didn't have to construct a fake persona and could just be herself without any restrictions.
Manabu nodded, seemingly satisfied with her answer.
"Do you have some time after this? There's something I'd like to talk to you about."
"O...kay?"
Is it something serious?
He certainly sounds serious.
Since Kumagawa wasn't here, it would be better if she stayed a little more active for the time being, or at least until he came back. If she remained passive, there was a chance that some kind of trouble would arise simply because he wasn't around, and it could end up affecting her later.
After they both paid for their games, they went to a bench near the store, a little away from most of the students, and sat down to talk.
"By the way, senpai," Kushida began, "are you perhaps upset with me? There's no bad blood between us, right?"
"Hmm? Why would there be?" Manabu asked, looking slightly confused by the sudden question.
"You know, I had that bet with your sister recently. She almost got expelled because of me. Aren't you angry about that?"
Manabu remained silent for a moment.
As Horikita's brother, it wouldn't have been strange for him to hold some resentment toward her, especially after she had targeted his beloved little sister because of a personal vendetta. He had said there would be no bad blood between them at the time, but Kushida couldn't completely take his word for it.
After all, when it came to feelings, people could be unreasonable at times.
"Don't worry. Even if Suzune really had been expelled, I wouldn't blame you for it. It would simply mean that it was her limit after all. Besides, while I didn't know about your feelings toward her until just recently, I did know about your past to some extent."
Hearing that, Kushida couldn't help but flinch. She felt her heart beating a little faster, but it really was only for a moment before her feelings began to calm down.
With a calm voice and a calm mind, she said, "So you do know, huh... You know about my past and my personality too?"
"To some extent, yes. There's no way I could forget about the incident that happened at our middle school. It caused quite an uproar at the time, but the specific information about it was kept confidential by the school, so I don't know that much. I only know the gist of it."
"....."
She had already suspected it to some extent back during the summer vacation, especially when he said that he was from the same middle school as her. But it seemed that really was the case.
"Now that that's out of the bag, what did you want to talk about, Mr. Former President?" Kushida returned to the main point.
Whether Manabu knew about her past or not wasn't something she needed to concern herself with. There was nothing she could do about it when the person in question had already known about it from the beginning. Besides, she doubted he would tell anyone else, especially now that she was already involved in his affairs in some way.
And Manabu was graduating soon, anyway. Once he left the school, there would be even less reason for her to worry about what he knew.
For now, there was no reason for her to dwell on it.
"I heard Nagumo called you the other day. Would you care to explain what that was about?"
Ah... so it is about that.
But...
"Didn't Kumagawa-kun tell you about it? Or at least report it to you?"
Manabu seemed to grimace slightly at the mention of that name in this situation. He slowly rubbed both his eyes before letting out a small sigh.
"...As you know, I tend to rely on you for these things—"
"Eh? You do? Since when?"
Kushida cut him off.
This was the first time she had heard about it.
"Strictly speaking, I shouldn't have to. In fact, I probably shouldn't even be asking you about this. But that guy isn't exactly reliable when it comes to reporting things."
So he didn't even bother reporting it to Manabu-senpai?
Even though it was supposed to be his role?
What happened to the agreement between the two of them?
Kushida was honestly astounded by his complete lack of responsibility. It was true that their agreement was somewhat lackluster to begin with, but to think that he hadn't even bothered to tell Manabu about what had happened... How did someone with that kind of personality even become the student council president at his previous school?
"So, what exactly happened?" Manabu asked. "Nagumo didn't call both of you for no reason."
"Right..."
Kushida adjusted the game case in her hands and thought for a moment about where to begin. Well, to be honest, there wasn't that much to tell in the first place, so Kushida decided to just get on with it.
She began explaining what had happened in the student council room that day, along with her own thoughts about the situation. In particular, she mentioned how Nagumo seemed more interested in making Kumagawa one of his own, though that was only her interpretation, so it had to be taken with a grain of salt. She also explained her own circumstances and how Nagumo had approached her.
As he listened to her report, Manabu seemed more interested in hearing about Kushida's circumstances than Kumagawa's conversation with Nagumo that day.
"I see... So he had his eye on you too, huh?"
"Isn't it a little late to say that now? Isn't that why you made me do all those menial tasks with the student council in the first place? So it would be easier for me to join later?" Kushida said it accusingly.
This was also one of her interpretations, but she was pretty confident about this one.
And she was right.
The former president simply nodded in response. "You're right. It was so that your path to the student council would be easier in the future."
Hearing that answer without even a shred of guilt only made Kushida a little annoyed.
It was pretty much his way of saying that he had been preparing her so that she wouldn't have much of a choice but to join the student council. Between Kumagawa and all those tasks, she had practically been pushed along a path that would eventually lead her to the student council, ensuring that, no matter what happened, the current president, Nagumo, would eventually take notice of her.
Despite his respectable nature, he was quite devious in his own way.
"It's just that I didn't expect him to be so transparent about his intentions," he added. "I thought he would be more subtle about it, but I suppose that isn't the case. In that sense, following Kumagawa's advice to delay your joining was the right decision."
"Right, about that part, does it really matter whether I joined now or later? If the end result was me joining the student council anyway, would it really make any difference when I joined?"
Even though she had been doing rather well at reading between the lines so far, she still didn't understand that part.
"He didn't tell you about it?"
"He rarely tells me anything, senpai..."
"Well, to put it bluntly, it's to keep you safe."
He really did put it bluntly.
But wait...
"Safe...? Safe from what?"
"From Nagumo's influence. In other words, Kumagawa is trying to create some distance between you and him," Manabu replied.
"Distance...? I still don't get it. What difference does it make to create some distance between President Nagumo and me now? He's already set his eyes on me because of your machination, right?"
"Don't put it that way. But, well, it's true that it wouldn't necessarily make much of a difference now. Still, that wouldn't have been a problem by itself. The issue is that joining the student council would have given him more opportunities to approach you directly."
"Well, I doubt that would work. I don't see how he could possibly out-coerce Kumagawa in the first place..."
What the hell does he mean by "out-coerce"? It sounds like a con artist trying to con another con artist.
"It's more that things could become troublesome once you join the student council," Manabu continued. "It's simply easier to cause trouble for you when you're working under him. The student council has quite a bit of authority, after all, and the president has even more influence within it. Of course, there are still limits to what he can do. But depending on who's in charge, those limits can be... somewhat flexible."
"So basically, if I joined the student council, Nagumo-senpai would have more opportunities to mess with me."
"That's one way to put it."
"And Kumagawa-kun was trying to prevent that by keeping me away from the student council."
"Most likely."
"....."
Should she feel happy about it?
She had initially thought Kumagawa was simply being difficult when he told her to delay joining. But now that she understood the gist of it, from her perspective, it did make some sense. It was also nice to know that her partner had been looking out for her.
So it should've made her happy, right?
But for some reason, it also made her annoyed.
Part of her did feel good about it. Honestly, though, it also felt as if Kumagawa simply didn't want one of his toys to be snatched away from him. That thought left Kushida with a rather complicated feeling about the whole thing.
"Now that I think about it, I still haven't asked you this, but what do you think about Nagumo overall?" Manabu asked out of nowhere.
"...What do I think about him?"
"Yeah. For example, if you had to choose between Nagumo and Kumagawa, which one would you rather work with?"
"That's..."
What should she say here?
For starters, she disliked the person named Nagumo Miyabi.
Compatibility.
Attitude.
Personality.
There wasn't a single thing she particularly liked about him.
Even if she looked at him objectively, Nagumo was probably the better choice in terms of overall ability. If it came down to simply working together, he was likely the more reliable one. But when it came to personal preference, as much as she hated to admit it, she was far more compatible with Kumagawa than she was with Nagumo.
She could probably list plenty of reasons why she disliked Nagumo if she wanted to.
But even without them, it would change nothing about how Kushida personally felt about him.
If anything, the more she knew about him, the less she liked him.
So, after thinking about it for a moment, Kushida settled on the first answer that came to mind.
"He's dependable, and popular...?"
"...Is that really all you have to say about him?" Manabu asked. "I mean, I'm asking more personally. With your personality, haven't you already talked to him quite a bit?"
"Well..."
She could only answer with the first things that came to mind whenever people described what kind of person Nagumo was.
At least, those were the things she had heard most often.
Granted, most of those opinions came from second-year girls who were probably just trying to curry favor with him. Still, wasn't that also a reflection of how he was generally perceived?
Even if their reasons for saying it weren't entirely sincere, the fact remained that Nagumo had managed to create that image for himself.
"He's confident, I suppose. He seems to know what he wants, and he's good at getting people to follow him. And... he's certainly capable. I can't deny that."
She wasn't exactly praising him. But she couldn't say any of those things were untrue, either.
Manabu didn't disagree with her assessment. He simply nodded.
"Yeah, he's certainly capable—No, he is certainly talented," he corrected himself.
"You mean because of how he's controlling his year?"
"That too. But rather than simply controlling them, it wouldn't be an understatement to say that he's practically crushed his entire year. You might think I'm exaggerating, but he has enough influence to pick students from other classes, bring them into Class A, and push someone else out."
"That was..."
Kushida fell silent for a moment.
"...So he really has that much control over them?"
"More or less. His methods aren't exactly conventional, but the results speak for themselves."
That was certainly one way of putting it.
She had heard about Nagumo's influence, of course. Everyone had. But as Kumagawa's partner in crime, she'd dug a lot deeper than most people. Even so, hearing Manabu describe it that way made Nagumo's influence sound considerably more extreme than she'd imagined.
"But well, don't think about it too much. Even if Nagumo were that formidable, I still believe in Kumagawa to some extent."
Hearing that, Kushida couldn't help but look at him curiously. "Huh... You seem to put a lot of faith in Kumagawa, don't you, Manabu-senpai?"
"Rather than him personally, I put more faith in his innate talent for destruction."
Well, it was true that his talent for destruction was arguably even more impressive than Nagumo's talent for controlling people. After all, she had witnessed it firsthand. Somehow, Kumagawa always seemed capable of taking an already bad situation and making it even worse.
Then Manabu slowly stood up from the bench.
"Huh? You're leaving already?" Kushida asked.
"Akane is already waiting for me, and I've spent quite some time here."
"Right now?"
She thought they would play tomorrow when the holidays officially started.
"Yeah, it's a bit sudden, I know, but Akane already borrowed game console from her friend to play today. She must've been waiting for quite a while now. Besides, I don't want to take much of your time either."
Kushida immediately shook her head, "No way, senpai. You didn't—"
"No. I don't want to take up any more of your time. Besides, I heard that he's supposed to arrive today," he cut her off.
"Arrive? Who?"
"Kumagawa," he said. "I heard that he's coming back today."
"Eh? Today?" Kushida looked slightly surprised.
How many weeks had it been?
Almost two weeks, probably?
"Take care, Kushida."
With that, Manabu turned and walked away.
"...So he's coming back today, huh?"
For the past two weeks without Kumagawa at school, her daily life had slowly begun to return to something that somewhat resembled normalcy. It really was a strange feeling. On the one hand, she didn't want to get harassed all the time, but on the other hand, things had been pretty boring without him.
Letting out a sigh, Kushida also stood up from the bench, planning to return to her room for the day.
Even though she had said things had been pretty boring lately without him, it wasn't as if she was looking forward to his arrival either. It was practically guaranteed that she'd get harassed the moment he returned, and there was nothing she could do about it.
And as she walked...
"Oh? Kyo-chan! What are you doing here?"
Running toward her with a beaming smile was Hasebe. Behind her were Miyake, Yukimura, and... Ayanokouji. It was the same group from the last exam. It seemed that even after the exam, they had remained quite close.
"Haruka-chan!" Kushida greeted her with the same beaming smile. "Where are you guys headed?"
"We're going out to have some fun since it's the holidays. We just haven't decided where to go yet. Karaoke is at the top of the list for now," Hasebe replied.
"Karaoke again...?"
Doesn't this place have any other entertainment besides karaoke? Why was karaoke always everyone's first choice whenever they wanted to have fun?
"Haha, don't be like that Kyo-chan. Not everyone likes the same things, you know? Karaoke is just an easy choice when nobody can agree on anything."
"That's true..."
"Actually, even though Keyaki Mall has pretty much everything, I kind of want to go off campus this time," Hasebe said, glancing at the shops around them. "I really want to go to Shibuya or Harajuku. Or maybe see the lights in Omotesando. You know, somewhere that actually feels like a holiday."
"I suppose the campus isn't much of a substitute for those places, other than Keyaki Mall," Kushida said.
The school hadn't really decorated the campus roads for the occasion, so everything looked more or less the same as usual.
"But speaking of going off campus, Kumagawa-kun is out there right now, isn't he?" Hasebe suddenly said. "How nice... While we're stuck here, he's probably enjoying the fresh air and having a great time." She looked slightly dejected. "Maybe I should join the student council next year."
The others laughed and started joking about it as well.
The atmosphere was surprisingly pleasant.
"Even if he was a student council member, I'm pretty sure Kumagawa was being closely monitored outside the school too," Kushida said.
"Really?" Hasebe looked surprised. "I thought being on the student council meant you got more freedom."
"More or less. The monitoring probably wasn't as strict as it is here, but didn't they assign a teacher to accompany them? I'm pretty sure that was partly for monitoring. So he probably couldn't just wander around wherever he wanted, let alone meet his family if he could even contact them."
Though she said that, Kushida was pretty sure Kumagawa had found a way to sneak off somewhere at least once.
You really couldn't put a shackle on someone like him.
And when you gave him even a little freedom, he somehow became twice as troublesome.
"I know it's part of the school rules, but isn't not being able to contact your family for three years a little extreme?" Miyake said. "I mean, wouldn't your parents be worried about you?"
Maybe it was a sensitive subject for him, because his expression darkened.
"My mom's a worrywart. She's probably been anxious this whole time."
"I heard the school handles that part," Yukimura said. "Apparently, they regularly send report cards and other information to the families."
"Yeah, but that's not really the same thing."
As they continued chatting, Ayanokouji suddenly stopped walking.
"What's up, Kiyopon?" Hasebe asked.
Kiyopon?
Kushida blinked at the nickname.
"Sorry, I'm going to head back," Ayanokouji said. "To be honest, I pulled an all-nighter, and I'm pretty exhausted. Let's hang out again during the winter break."
"Oh, you're heading back already?"
"Yeah. I don't think I'd be much fun to hang out with right now."
"Okay, then. Get some rest," Hasebe said with a small wave. "See you later."
Ayanokouji gave a small nod before turning around and walking away.
"....."
Kushida watched him as he left.
What a bold-faced lie.
Did he even put any effort into that lie?
"What about you, Kyo-chan?" Hasebe suddenly leaned closer and began whispering in her ear. "Not that it bothers me, but it's kind of weird for me to go karaoke with two boys on my own. So I'd really appreciate it if you could come with us."
"Ahaha... Sorry, Hasebe-chan. I already have plans today, so I can't really join you this time."
"Eh... What a shame."
She looked dejected again.
Usually, if Kushida were asked like that, she would happily agree and join the group. She could even build up some goodwill with Hasebe as a bonus.
But Kushida wasn't really feeling it today.
Honestly, she was getting pretty sick of karaoke places.
After saying goodbye to Hasebe and the others, Kushida also left Keyaki Mall. But instead of heading back toward the dorm building, she went in the opposite direction.
It was fairly obvious that Ayanokouji had been lying through his teeth.
The excuse about pulling an all-nighter was nothing but a bold-faced lie. So if he was lying about that, then it meant he wasn't actually going back to the dorm. He had somewhere else to be.
And considering the circumstances, there was only one place that came to mind.
After walking for a while, Kushida arrived at the school building. Since it was already the end of the day and the beginning of the holiday, the building was mostly deserted. There were hardly any students around.
Then she noticed a huge black man standing near the entrance.
One of Ryuen's henchmen.
Kushida definitely didn't want to get involved, so instead of approaching the building, she moved away from it and tried to find a spot where no one would notice her, while still giving her a clear view of the entrance.
Thankfully, there were plenty of benches scattered around the area. All she had to do was find the right one.
It wasn't long before she found the perfect spot. She was far enough away that no one would pay attention to her, but she could still see everything happening near the entrance.
So while she waited, Kushida played with her phone for a while.
But after about fifteen minutes or so, she noticed three people approaching the building. One of them was Ayanokouji, as expected, so Kushida wasn't particularly surprised to see him.
But the other two people accompanying him were faces she hadn't expected to see involved.
Chabashira Sae—the Class D homeroom teacher.
Horikita Manabu—the former Student Council President.
Those were the two people.
"Did he really plan to involve Manabu-senpai and Chabashira-sensei too?" Kushida couldn't help but mutter.
Did he really intend to do so?
Manabu aside and poor Tachibana aside, did he really intend to involve Chabashira of all people?
She knew that if Chabashira involved herself, the problem could probably be resolved rather easily. But the school didn't exactly take kindly to teachers interfering in problems between students. Of course, considering Ryuen's rather extreme plan, this was somewhat of an exception.
But did Ayanokouji really want to involve a teacher now?
Wouldn't that render everything he had done useless?
Well, "useless" was probably a little too strong a word. "Meaningless" would be more accurate, so she would rather put it that way.
But still...
She didn't know exactly what was going on between Ayanokouji and that poor girl, but she knew enough about their relationship. Kumagawa had confirmed it to some extent as well. And if Chabashira were to handle the situation, rumors would inevitably spread. At the very least, Ryuen would probably make sure of that if Ayanokouji hadn't shown himself.
Kushida couldn't figure out what Ayanokouji was thinking.
After watching the three of them talk for a while near the entrance, Kushida saw Ayanokouji approach the building and meet the black guy standing near the entrance. The two of them then went inside together, with Ayanokouji seemingly being guided by him.
A little while later, Chabashira and Manabu also entered the building separately.
Now, there was nothing left but the deserted surroundings, with not a soul in sight.
"Oh well. If they're already involved, it would probably be better if I didn't get involved—"
Just then.
Mid-sentence, she heard a sound from behind her.
A sound.
The sound of footsteps.
A sharp and lively rhythm, less a series of strides than a series of little leaps, tup, tup, tup, tup, tup, tup─such footsteps.
The footsteps grew closer and closer.
She had a very bad feeling about it. The kind of feeling that told her she didn't even need to turn around to confirm it─
But she couldn't help herself.
Tup!
Just as she completed her reluctant, recalcitrant turn─He leapt.
Across more than several feet, as though performing a long jump, airborne with an ideal form and trajectory that seemed to ignore the law of universal gravitation, he flew straight toward her.
And right in front of her eyes...
He landed.
A school uniform.
Needless to say, it was her school's.
Then he flashed her a little grin.
"Hahaha. What an annoying smile."
『』『』『』『』『』
Roughly five minutes after Karuizawa received the message.
Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap—
The sounds of someone's footstep.
Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap—
In the dim staircase, the poor girl keep climbing the stairs.
Her entire body felt as though she had already sunk to the bottom of the ocean, with the cold seeping into every inch of her body. Of course, it was winter, so feeling cold was only natural, but what she was feeling is really distinct, tt was the kind that made her body feel numb.
By now, she should have barely been able to feel her legs. It felt as though all the strength had been drained from her body, yet somehow, she kept moving. She kept climbing the stairs.
It was her heart that moved her body.
As far as she was concerned, there was no strength left in her body.
But her heart still forced her to keep moving.
Soon enough, she reached the door leading to the rooftop. As soon as she slid it open, she was greeted by a group of people. The one standing at the front wore a smirking expression, as if he was enjoying every second of this.
"Heh. I knew you'd come, Karuizawa."
Karuizawa turned off the phone in her pocket and found herself face-to-face with Ryuen, Ishizaki, and Ibuki. Unlike Ryuen, however, the other two looked rather nervous.
"The message you sent... what's that supposed to mean?" Karuizawa asked cautiously.
"There's really no need to ask me that. You're here precisely because you understand what it means."
The message he had sent her a while ago.
It was the message that had made Karuizawa feel as if she had been drenched from head to toe in ice-cold water. She still remembered every word, even though she had only read it once.
'Manabe and her friends told me everything about your past. Come to the rooftop after class, alone. If you talk to anyone, word of your past will spread throughout the entire school.'
Just mentioning Manabe and her friends was enough to guarantee that Karuizawa would understand what the message meant.
She had no choice but to understand it.
"Look, I really don't, like, have a single clue what you're talking about, but it's cold out. I wanna get this over with quickly."
Karuizawa rubbed her arms, as if she could somehow pretend that she had no idea what was going on.
"Kukuku, what a poor actress you are." Ryuen let out a devilish laugh. "In that case, why did you come here? You could've just ignored me."
"Well, that's... because I didn't want any lies spreading around."
"Lies, huh? Everyone here knows the truth. That you were bullied before you started high school. What they did to you, what happened to you. I know all of it."
"A-ah..."
She was trying her hardest to appear calm, but it was easy to see through her bluff. And when confronted so directly, her composure immediately began to crumble.
"What do you want? What do you gain from threatening me?"
"What would you do if I told you I'm just killing time?"
"If you do anything to me... I-I'll tell the school."
"Hahaha, what are you talking about? Didn't you come here alone because you already know you can't do that? Fine, then. Go ahead. Tell the school about it. I'll wait right here."
As expected, Karuizawa didn't move a single muscle.
"Aren't you getting a little carried away, Ryuen?" Ibuki asked anxiously. "She might still have something up her sleeve."
She still seemed suspicious of the situation. After all, Karuizawa had come to the rooftop alone.
"Karuizawa's powerless. All she can do is rely on X. There's no need to be so cautious. Even if she records this conversation, what can she actually do with it? Having her past exposed is her greatest fear. As long as we hold that card, she's at our mercy."
"But—"
"Enough. Shut up."
Ibuki was worried that evidence of what they were doing up here could somehow be used against them, the same way they were using Karuizawa's past against her.
But that wasn't going to happen.
Ryuen would make sure of it.
Karuizawa's past was their weapon. As long as he made good use of that weapon, there was nothing to fear. Anyone trying to drive them into a corner would be putting Karuizawa in the same position. The danger went both ways.
It was a double-edged sword.
He had to use the information at his disposal to cause enough disruption to be effective. But if he went ahead and completely exposed Karuizawa's past to the school, he'd have nothing left to threaten her with. He'd crush Karuizawa, but X would get away.
He had to find the person hiding behind her.
He had to learn X's true identity here and now.
And to do that, he needed to gauge just how strong the connection between Karuizawa and X really was.
"Let's stop going in circles, Karuizawa." Ryuen looked at her coldly. "You want me to let you off, right? Then tell me the identity of the person hiding behind you. If you do, I'll keep quiet about your past."
"I don't, like, get what you mean."
Karuizawa looked upset. She had known that he was looking for the mastermind behind Class D, but until now, she probably hadn't realized that they had figured out her connection to him.
"X saved you from Manabe and her friends, right?"
"H-huh? You're wrong."
"It's pointless to hide it. I've got evidence."
"E-evidence?"
Huh...
It seemed X had kept more details from Karuizawa than he'd thought.
If that was the case, then he would slowly and methodically increase the pressure on her until her back was against the wall.
Until there was nowhere left for her to run.
"How do you think X protected you from them?"
"I have no idea. Besides, they weren't bullying me. Even if you say this stuff about X, or whatever—"
"Okay, okay. I get it. If you're not going to fess up, I'll just tell you. X threatened to expose Manabe and her friends for bullying you if they didn't do as they were told. That's how they got them to keep their mouths shut."
Karuizawa didn't answer. All she did was glare at Ryuen.
Of course Ryuen didnt bat an eye on that and contiuned.
"If that was all X did, I wouldn't care. But that wasn't enough for them. You see, X also forced Manabe and her friends to betray me during the Sports Festival. They made them act as spies and leak information to them by threatening to expose the fact that they'd been bullying you."
"What are you talking about? Seriously, I have no clue—"
"All I want is X's name. The name of the person who's been attacking me. I honestly couldn't care less about your past. Wouldn't it be wiser to cooperate? Of course, if you insist on covering for X, then I have no choice. You're okay with me exposing your entire past?"
"I..."
Karuizawa was truly caught between a rock and a hard place. No matter what Ryuen did to pressure her, she had no choice but to keep her mouth shut. Whatever she chose, she'd be making an enemy. She could think about it all she wanted, but all that would do was waste time.
"I can neither confirm nor deny that there's someone hiding behind me. I'm not going to just blurt out a name to you, either. In other words, I have no answer for you."
Apparently, Karuizawa had determined that silence was the only correct answer.
It wasn't a bad option in this situation, but given her personal circumstances, Ryuen could hardly say it was the best one.
"Honestly, I don't really care if I don't learn X's identity from your lips. I'm happy to take my time figuring out who they are. You think I won't have plenty of opportunities to catch X in the future?" Ryuen asked.
"That's assuming X comes at you again. If they realize you're trying to figure out their identity, wouldn't they be even more careful from now on?" she countered.
Would you look at that.
She was smarter than Ryuen had thought.
A clever, sharp-tongued woman. If X's mind really worked the same way his did, then they had probably chosen her because of her social standing within Class D, making her a valuable tool. X had no qualms about using people, which meant they probably had no qualms about abandoning her, either.
There was no doubt that X was moving to advance Class D's prospects. What Ryuen couldn't rule out, however, was the possibility that, if forced to choose, X would prioritize keeping their identity hidden over advancing Class D.
If Ryuen went ahead and exposed Karuizawa, he might never find out who X was.
That would really spoil his fun.
"You really came up with some good ways to protect yourself, huh? Well, it's not like I didn't see this coming."
"W-what are you going to do?"
"That's obvious, isn't it?" Ryuen's grin widened. "Torture is a time-honored tradition."
"Ryuen-san... are you serious?" Ishizaki asked cautiously.
"Ibuki, hold Karuizawa down."
"Huh? Why me? You can do it yourself, can't you?" Ibuki didn't seem very willing to go along with it.
"Do it."
"I won't be complicit in this. It's too risky," Ibuki said.
"Pathetic. You're wimping out after failing me so many times in a row?" Ryuen grabbed the rebellious Ibuki by the arm and pulled her closer. "This is how you earn back my trust. I'll take responsibility for what happens here. Don't hold back."
"Tch..."
As if she had no choice, Ibuki reluctantly moved behind Karuizawa and grabbed her arms.
"Look, I've got problems of my own. Sorry."
"Ow!" Karuizawa cried out.
Despite Ibuki's initial reluctance, she held Karuizawa firmly in place. There was little Karuizawa could do against someone with martial arts training.
Karuizawa struggled desperately, but she couldn't break free of Ibuki's grip. She probably had an idea of what was going to happen, which was precisely why Ryuen had Ibuki restrain her in the first place. Not simply to prevent her from escaping, but to heighten her fear and desperation.
"If you lay one finger on me, I'll tell everyone!" Karuizawa shouted.
Ignoring her cries, Ryuen turned toward Ishizaki.
"Ishizaki, go fill some buckets with water. Let's start with two. There are two cleaning buckets in the men's bathroom one floor below. No one should be using it right now."
"H-huh? Water? What for?"
"Are you going to defy me, too?"
"N-no. I'll get them!" Ishizaki panicked and hurried past Ibuki, looking as though he might trip over his own feet.
"Now, let's enjoy a nice little chat until Ishizaki gets back," Ryuen said.
"No! Let me go!"
"Heh heh. It was pretty cocky of you to show up here. Did you really think X would protect you this time, too?" Ryuen sneered. "I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that X, Class D's hidden puppet master, promised to protect you from things like this. Right?"
No matter how many times Ryuen questioned her, Karuizawa gave him the same answer. She stubbornly refused to admit whether this X person even existed, but whenever he brought it up, her eyes darted around. She might have thought she was hiding her thoughts, but they were plain for everyone to see.
"If not, none of this adds up. If your past became known, your headstrong attitude would turn people against you, even girls from other classes. Manabe and her friends wouldn't be the only ones targeting you. You must be terrified that they'll all learn the truth. But you've made it this far without your secret getting out. Why?" Ryuen's grin deepened. "There's only one possible explanation. It's because of the person who saved and supported you."
"And you think that person is X?" Ibuki asked.
"For now. But that's only been the case recently, right?" Ryuen turned his attention back to Karuizawa. "X only learned the truth about your past after your spat with Manabe and her friends. You made Hirata pretend to be your boyfriend to protect yourself, didn't you?
Karuizawa's pupils dilated. "Y-you're wrong..."
"But I'm not, am I? Don't lie to me, Karuizawa."
Ryuen leaned closer, staring directly into her eyes. Karuizawa could see her own frightened reflection in them, as though he were trying to peer straight into the depths of her past.
"A-ah…?!"
She was really panicking now.
"Ugh... oof. S-sorry to keep you waiting, Ryuen-san."
Pak!
Ishizaki returned, carrying two buckets almost completely full of water. The contents splashed violently as he hurried toward them.
"Umm... Ryuen-san. Is it really okay to do this? I'm not questioning your decision, but isn't this going a little too far?"
"I told you before, Ishizaki, didn't I? Never admit any wrongdoing." Ryuen glared at his subordinate.
"Y-yes... I was just... well, that shook me a bit."
"The school might appear to strictly enforce a code of behavior, but that's not entirely true. There are loopholes that allow the use of forceful methods if you play your cards right. I've always tried to push the boundaries between what's acceptable and what's considered a violation of the school rules." Ryuen glanced toward the buckets. "Researching the surveillance cameras, incriminating someone, making back-alley deals... They were all part of my experiments to figure out what I could and couldn't get away with. And what we're doing here is another one of those experiments."
Karuizawa began to shiver in the cold winter air.
Ryuen then signaled Ishizaki with a glance. Ibuki pushed Karuizawa forward before stepping away. Following Ryuen's orders, Ishizaki dumped a bucket of water over Karuizawa's head.
"Ah!"
Being doused with water outdoors in the middle of winter would chill anyone to the bone. Karuizawa collapsed, shivering, and hugged herself tightly. Her bravado was gone, washed away by a single bucket of water.
"N-no!"
She covered her ears and sat there, her whole body trembling, as if she were a little girl afraid of ghosts.
"Come on. We're just getting started."
Ryuen took out his phone and began recording. He pushed Karuizawa's wet bangs away from her eyes, watching as her composure continued to crumble. She was probably being reminded of what happened to her in the past.
"If you won't talk, then I'll circulate this video throughout the school."
Whether Karuizawa heard Ryuen's words or not, she was no longer in any state to answer.
"Tsk. I can't watch this. I knew I shouldn't have helped you. You're evil. This is disgusting." But Ibuki didn't leave. She simply leaned against the door instead. "I'll leave after you get a name out of her."
"Fine by me."
He wasn't doing this to entertain Ibuki in the first place.
All he wanted to know was who X was.
And also...
To get some pleasure out of it in the meantime.
『END』
『』『』『』『』『』
Here you go peasants, another chapter.
This was supposed to be one chapter, but I split it into two because it would've been too long. The next chapter should be updated tomorrow, so you can look forward to it. And it's a pretty long one too, almost 10k words at least.
Anyway, that's it for today's chapter.
Hope you enjoyed it.
[Thanks for reading!]